Review: 70611 Water Strider
Posted by CapnRex101,
70611 Water Strider is the smallest of the six vehicles which belong to the ninja in The LEGO NINJAGO Movie, containing 494 pieces. This is an appealing model though, taking inspiration from the pond skaters that are perennial inhabitants of wetland areas and lakes around the world.
The spindly design of the limbs is unusual and helps to distinguish this mech from the others released in conjunction with the film. Moreover, the minifigure selection is excellent in my opinion and the price point seems extraordinarily low, particularly in the US where the set costs just $29.99! The price of £39.99 in the UK is higher but even that appears to be quite reasonable in relation to the content of the set.
Minifigures
The five male ninja are easily distinguished by the colour of their attire but Nya has undergone several design changes since joining the team in season five and her visual identity is therefore a little weaker in my opinion. Fortunately, The LEGO NINJAGO Movie replaces her dark red robe with a striking pearl dark grey and black uniform. The fabric faulds around her waist are very distinctive and the pale blue accents look superb, reflecting Nya's elemental power of water. This is definitely my favourite incarnation of the character to date.
Kai, by contrast, remains relatively unchanged from his appearance in the animated series. He wears a red shinobi shozoku with a black trim as well as a simple belt and a head wrap. This combination of red and black looks superb, especially on the legs which are printed with an attractive diamond pattern. Kai comes with a pair of silver katana which slide into the pearl dark grey sheath on his back while Nya wields a spear with a tassel fitted to the butt.
Garmadon's forces take design inspiration from several different sea creatures and Puffer is one of my favourite such minifigures. He is currently exclusive to this set and sports an elaborate helmet which is shaped like a puffer fish, complete with tiny fins, spines and two large eyes. It looks very cute but also offers some protection as a trans-clear visor covers the soldier's eyes. Otherwise his uniform is similar to that worn by other members of the army, consisting of a sand blue shirt, padded trousers and an air tank for swimming underwater.
A standard Shark Army Thug completes the minifigure selection. He also wears a sand blue shirt and a dark bluish grey chest rig with pouches for equipment on the front and back of the torso. This design continues onto the legs which looks great and I like the thug's grim facial expression and dark orange hat. However, the same head and knitted cap appear together in six other sets so something distinctive would have been preferable.
The Completed Model
The most striking aspect of this set is definitely its size. It measures 30cm wide with the legs in their standard configuration, as shown below, but can extend to stretch almost 50cm from the corner of one footpad to another! This looks good in relation to the other ninja vehicles as all are scaled down from the movie by about the same amount. They are therefore ideal for display together and I look forward to adding 70632 Quake Mech to the group.
Each leg includes just two points of articulation, one at the knee and another at the ankle. This may seem quite limiting at first but you can still create plenty of dynamic poses and the fixed hips do not detract from the model in my opinion. In fact, they ensure that the mech remains very stable and the other joints are sufficiently sturdy that you can easily display the Water Strider with a couple of legs off the ground.
The legs are constructed around a strong Technic frame but they look great, featuring some trans-light blue pieces among the black as well as a few stickers. These do improve the appearance of the model for me but you could leave them off if you prefer. The pearl silver hoses which connect the feet and the legs look brilliant too and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they do not hinder the articulation of the ball joints at all.
The footpads are fairly wide so ensure the absolute stability of the model but their surface area would clearly be insufficient for a mech like this to really walk on water. Presumably the 6x6 trans-blue dishes placed on the underside of each foot represent some kind of repulsor field which allows the vehicle to hover very slightly above the surface or to artificially maintain the surface tension of the water beneath.
The cockpit is dominated by a large trans-clear windscreen which is somewhat surprising given the number of trans-light blue pieces found elsewhere on the model. However, it looks good against the black bodywork and I like being able to see all of the interior detail from the outside. This entire module can be rotated all the way around on a turntable, allowing the Water Strider to change direction very quickly.
The cockpit canopy can be removed to place a minifigure at the controls inside. This area is simply furnished with a seat and a pair of levers which is absolutely fine, although I think the tan upholstery looks out of place as these elements are visible from the outside when the seat is not occupied. Blue would perhaps have been more appropriate.
Four angled cannons, or perhaps headlights, line the front of the vehicle and a rotary stud shooter is placed in the centre. This is activated by turning the cylindrical water tank at the rear and works well, launching six studs in quick succession. Additional trans-light blue details are fitted to the sides of the cockpit. These dishes could represent lights, more weapons or simply mechanical details but in any case I think they look rather nice.
Two angled Technic panels protect the water tank. Turning this section activates the stud shooter and it also seems to supply energy or ammunition to the guns as two black hoses connect either side of the water tank with the cockpit module. The entire assembly looks superb, visually balancing the model between the front and rear.
Most of the ninja vehicles include sashimono. These decorative flags were traditionally used to identify soldiers during battle in feudal Japan but look equally impressive on the back of the Water Strider. I am very pleased to see Nya's water symbol filling the lower half of the central banner and the opportunity to angle each one as you see fit is also welcome.
Overall
70611 Water Strider did not initially stand out among the first wave of The LEGO NINJAGO Movie sets from my point of view, perhaps because of its plain colour scheme in relation to the other ninja craft. However, it has proven to be a very pleasant surprise! The model is remarkably large and I like its spindly design which gives the impression that this vehicle would be a lot more nimble than a bulkier machine such as 70615 Fire Mech.
Furthermore, the set offers marvellous value for money, particularly in the US where the price point of $29.99 is exceptionally low for a set of this size and piece count. Even the UK price of £39.99 feels reasonable to me. My only criticism relates to the model's relatively plain colour scheme, although the combination of black and trans-light blue suits Nya perfectly and I am not sure which other colours could have been used instead. I therefore have no hesitation in recommending this set.
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your thoughts on the set in the comments below.
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21 comments on this article
After the Ice Tank this is my least favourite of the hero vehicles from this theme. While it is an interesting construction and design, visually its just not very exciting to me.
As for the price point... I never understood why America gets stuff cheaper then the UK when we've the main Denmark factory so close... surely the RRP's should be much closer to each other rather then just a generic match. Especially when the Euro price is the equivalent of £35.83, distribution costs can't be much different... especially with a US price of £22.79... its kinda an insult to we Brits.
After reading this review I ahve to admit I am warming up to this set. I thought that it was kinda interesting and was very impressed with the price point. After seeing the water strider up close I think it's a terrific toy. I believe it would/could be terrific as Mr. Freeze's mech and he can fight Batman in it! Lots of possibilities outside of TLNM realm with this one. Thanks for a great review!
@GrizBe
It's the first wave of payback from Europe for brexit!
Great review and a great set! I completely agree about the colour scheme but still picked this one up a few weeks ago as I really love the Puffer.
The size of this set for $30 just blew me away. At nearly 500 pieces it's worth a buy even just as a parts pack.
I wonder if the puffer could be used in an under-sea moc as the real thing?
Yeah, gonna echo others about how nice this set's size is. Despite a much lower price point than the other ninja vehicles, it still doesn't feel totally dwarfed by them, thanks in part to the impressive span of its legs.
It looks a bit Ultra Agents to me... but I love Puffer!
For anyone looking for any sort of rhyme or reason to Lego's pricing... don't bother. This £40 set costs $30 in the US, while another £40 set (60160: Jungle Mobile Lab) costs $60 in the US. I figure we win some, we lose some.
Looks like a ninjago version of the homing spider droid
Looks amazing, Lego must take inspiration from a lot of places to come up with these sets and kudos to the designers for such adventures.
I just hate fact that you get Manta Ray and this set for the same price while in Euro (and Zlotys) are MUCH more expensive.
Love the unique build, but I like what Buildbros did with that set!
I was not a huge fan of Nya's color change this year, and this black vehicle seems mech compared to the usually brighter Ninjago vehicles, especially the others from the movie. The other part that I disliked was that while the strider design is nice, it has been done a couple of times before, so it didn't feel very unique. That said, it's a solid set which ends up being much larger than I anticipated (which is another con for precious display space) but will still fit in with some of the larger sets, plus the price point is a good one. And I have to say that Puffer is my favorite aquatic minion so far. :D
Great review, thanks! I too was very pleasantly surprised by both the size and appeal of this model upon building it. And for the price and the minifigure selection, you really can’t go wrong here.
I picked this up almost immediately when the line was released, which is unusual for me in general but particularly because I don't know much about Ninjago (and still haven't seen the movie!)
Outstanding parts selection, especially at the USD price point, and imaginative design. My favorite of the first wave, though I have not picked up Destiny's Bounty or Ninjago City yet (hard to compare at the wildly different scales, too).
I have it, but `I don't really like it. The legs don't swivel near the cockpit, and there are barely any unique/rare parts in it. The canopy is the only that stands out. (It is different from the similar 'slave I' type.) I am already drowning in black.
Sainsburys have these on clearance so even better value now!
Brainslugged, City sets in the USA are higher than in the rest of the world randomly. It's very weird how LEGO decides a price. However I think it proves just how much profit LEGO makes on a set. If this nearly 500 piece set can be $30 in the USA, yet 40 Pounds, $53 in England how much does it cost to make?
Good timing for the review, my copy I got for $18.50 just arrived.
One thing that you have to remember is that UK prices generally include "VAT" tax - but due to the nature of local and federal taxes the US prices tend to be displayed exclusive of tax {usually about 7-8%}
This is a model somewhat striking... venom. It is an interesting successor of the 7707, though it does not convey the same elegance.
Honestly I bought this set just for Puffer. But Im very happy with whole set. Nice built. Model is nice and very fuctional yet very sturdy/robust so it wont break weh you have it on your hand.
But what suprised me is fact, that set is somewhat different from movie. If you look close in movie area aroud cabin have some different pieces and on other places some translucent legos are different.
I dont quite get it why Lego model is not 100 % accurare I get it with Star Wars etc right:D But with movie from Lego.. :DDD