SET REVIEW: 70724 NinjaCopter

[Voltex]

I won the NinjaCopter set in one of the Ninjago Month raffles and it arrived in the mail today, so I thought that I would share my thoughts about it with you all, in the style of our wonderful official BZP reviews. 

 

I apologize for the bad pictures. All I have is the camera on my phone.

 

Presentation

 

The box is flashy, and if I actually ever bought regular LEGO sets it would catch my eye for the simple fact that it is a hovercraft/helicopter. The semi-ominous image of Zane's and the contrast between the white/gold/blue of the good guys and the black/purple of the Nindroids allows me to instantly know what is going on. That said, out of the few system sets that I have ever owned, none of them really lived up to the image on the box (which is partially why I have never ventured far beyond constraction). That said, I got this $60 set in a raffle that I bought about $3 worth of tickets for, so I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

 

 

Above you can see most of the instruction booklet, part of the sticker sheet, and the various bags of parts. I wish I had thought to take a picture of just the instruction booklet; the cover is very unique. While the set is displayed exactly as it was on the box, the blueprint background is different and, I think, fits in very well. I almost wish that this was the art displayed on the box as well.

 

Building

 

The Nindroid gliders are both very simple, and I finished building them in about five minutes. I would expect that those who are more used to system will be able to complete this section more quickly; however, this is the first system set that I have built since 2009 or 2010, I believe. It has been awhile.

 

 

As you can see above, the two gliders attach; I really like how they look, and the fact that both Nindroids can remain attached to their respective sections at the same time is an added bonus. I really like how seamlessly they can be combined together like this, while still serving just as well on their own. If this glider was packaged as its own smaller set (perhaps with one of the heroes included to battle against), I would strongly consider purchasing it.

 

 

The rest of the build is far more complex, and is split into three main sections; the front, the back, and then everything holding them together. The entirety of the NinjaCopter took me about 45 minutes to build - again, I would not consider this indicative of an average speed, since my skills with system are extremely rusty. That said, I felt very satisfied putting it together, and as each of the three sections was completed I grew excited to see what the final product would look like, and also how it would all come together. I really like the giant golden wheel piece here that is used to hold the rotor blades together; it has a variety of conveniently placed peg holes, and I would love to see it re-used in the new Bionicle line.

 

 

The back section builds similarly to the front half, albeit minus the cockpit setup and the wings on the sides containing the mini laser blasters or whatever they are. I do wish that more had been done to differentiate the back half from the front; while the final product does look very cool, and the vague symmetry helps the set, I did have a bit of a hard time remaining focused on the build during this section. Had it been more unique compared to the front half, I would have remained fully engaged. 

 

Set Design + Playability

 

With the set completed, I feel extremely satisfied. There are a number of cool features included in this set; the tail can be twisted to turn the wheel + rotors in the middle, as well as aim the cannons on the side (if this sort of feature could be implemented into a constraction set with the current building system, that would be awesome). As stated earlier, the Nindroid glider can split into two pieces, and there's even a small jail that can contain one Nindroid (what happens to the other, though?). The NinjaCopter itself is very sleek in appearance, and the colours all match well together. I did find myself not quite sure of where to hold it, before settling upon the "roof" bit above the rotor blades. 

 

Playing with this set on its own would certainly be fun, but it would really shine among other Lego sets (not necessarily Ninjago; crossovers are always cool). Using the NinjaCopter as aerial support against an enemy armada would be totally wicked. I just wish there was something I could use to display it properly, so that it would not have to sit on the surface. This set deserves to appear as though it is floating. 

 

Final Thoughts

Pros

• 4 Minifigs! The more Minifigs, the better
• Colours match well, and it's an excellent source of parts
• Several cool play features
• Looks cool and makes me want to write a story about Ninjago

Cons

• Stickers... why not just print the pieces?
• Where do I hold it again?
• Has to sit there like a dead duck when not in use
• An over abundance of weapons for the Minifigs, considering this is a vehicle set

As far as price to piece ratio, I have no idea; I never tend to buy system sets, so I don't really pay attention to the prices either. If you're going to spend $5 to enter a raffle in which you might win this set, I would definitely say that this is worth your time, and it's an amazing prize. If you're going to be buying it in a store? I would personally hesitate, since I'm not typically a fan of either system or Ninjago, but if you can somehow get it for $10 off, then I recommend you go all-in and take this sucker home. 

 

Only one question remains...

 

 

The orange piece above came with the set, but was never used during construction. I have no idea what this is for. It's an abnormally large and unique piece to bundle with a set that does not use it... if anyone has the answer to this mystery, please inform me. 

 

That is all! Do not expect more of these from me. I buy sets so rarely these days. =P

 

[fishers64]

It's a brick separator, used to separate stubborn bricks and save fingernails the world over. 

 

Nice review. I won't be getting this one - too expensive, and I already have the gold wheel in the middle in purple, so yeah. It's definitely an excellent value for $3.

[Voltex]

It's a brick separator, used to separate stubborn bricks and save fingernails the world over. 

 

Nice review. I won't be getting this one - too expensive, and I already have the gold wheel in the middle in purple, so yeah. It's definitely an excellent value for $3.

 

Ah... I wish Lego had included it in sets when I was younger. I could never separate bricks to save my life. A couple got stuck while I was building this, but they weren't too hard to separate.

[fishers64]

Ah... I wish Lego had included it in sets when I was younger. I could never separate bricks to save my life. A couple got stuck while I was building this, but they weren't too hard to separate.

I actually have had an older version of it in my collection for years. It's not really that obscure, although like you, I had no idea what it was. I thought it was a TV remote.

[Lyichir]

More printed pieces would be fairly wasteful for a set like this. Its ice detailing only applies to a single Ninjago character, so to get enough use out of printed pieces to justify the expense, there would have to be more vehicles this year specifically for Zane, and you'd have to use the same parts with the same patterns across most of those (which would be difficult and impractical given the size of the stickered slope pieces involved). Notice that the buzz-saw emblem on the Nindroid vehicle is printed—that's because it's a small, versatile piece that can be used on the majority of the Nindroid sets.

 

Otherwise, good review! This is a great set and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[-Windrider-]

It does look pretty gorgeous, and deceptively (?) swooshable. I can empathize with you on your remark about the abundance of weapons for the minifigs in a vehicle set, too. I'm reminded of clone trooper or Jedi pilots and trying to stash their oddly included blasters or lightsabers in starfighter cockpits.

 

Thanks for your review, and congrats on the win!

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I really like how this set looks. I, too, wonder why they give sets stickers to put on pieces instead of just putting the designs on the pieces themselves. But I guess one can always just leave them off.

 

But anyway, thanks for reviewing this set.

[randomreviewerbros]

Great review! I dont think I'm getting this one though because I'm probably going to get the Nindroid Mechdragon because I have the Kai Fighter, the Hover Hunter and the Battle for Ninjago City sets from this year so the Mechdragon would go well with those sets!

[Voltex]

 

Ah... I wish Lego had included it in sets when I was younger. I could never separate bricks to save my life. A couple got stuck while I was building this, but they weren't too hard to separate.

I actually have had an older version of it in my collection for years. It's not really that obscure, although like you, I had no idea what it was. I thought it was a TV remote.

 

 

Now I'm imagining Minifigures using that as their television remote...

 

More printed pieces would be fairly wasteful for a set like this. Its ice detailing only applies to a single Ninjago character, so to get enough use out of printed pieces to justify the expense, there would have to be more vehicles this year specifically for Zane, and you'd have to use the same parts with the same patterns across most of those (which would be difficult and impractical given the size of the stickered slope pieces involved). Notice that the buzz-saw emblem on the Nindroid vehicle is printed—that's because it's a small, versatile piece that can be used on the majority of the Nindroid sets.

 

Otherwise, good review! This is a great set and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

You raise several good points. The stickers aren't a major concern of mine; more a minor annoyance.

 

It does look pretty gorgeous, and deceptively (?) swooshable. I can empathize with you on your remark about the abundance of weapons for the minifigs in a vehicle set, too. I'm reminded of clone trooper or Jedi pilots and trying to stash their oddly included blasters or lightsabers in starfighter cockpits.

 

Thanks for your review, and congrats on the win!

 

Nah, it's pretty swooshable. Very swooshable indeed. And thanks.

 

I really like how this set looks. I, too, wonder why they give sets stickers to put on pieces instead of just putting the designs on the pieces themselves. But I guess one can always just leave them off.

 

But anyway, thanks for reviewing this set.

 

It does actually look better with the stickers on... but I have terrible aim with stickers. =P

 

Great review! I dont think I'm getting this one though because I'm probably going to get the Nindroid Mechdragon because I have the Kai Fighter, the Hover Hunter and the Battle for Ninjago City sets from this year so the Mechdragon would go well with those sets!

 

And now suddenly I'm jealous of a Ninjago collection... I honestly never thought I would see the day. xD