First thing I recognized in this set was that Sai/Spear build being very similar to the one in : 853516 : Monsters Army-Building Set

Even would be nearly identical if you used the longer brown bar piece.

Loved this set. Was so cool to get his golden sword. Great figure as well.

@R1_Drift said:
"You know, I've always wondered what would've happened if Ninjago was cancelled in 2013. What would LEGO look like today?"

We probably would have called it VID-jago. And no Ninjago City modulars (still looking for Docks!).

@MCLegoboy said:
"Spiiiiiieeeeeeooooouuuun Spuuuuuuooooooeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiin"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crF2AIDlo54

I prefer the DX version, but sadly LaLoyd’s doesn’t really match, and Nya never got one.

I remember getting this mainly for the dragon sword.

@ao_ka Maybe Bionicle G2 or Hero Factor could've taken over again! Maybe LEGO would get desperate and make some military themes. Or nothing would change, and licenses and city would just subsidize Lego.

@ao_ka:
I was just looking at 71742, and thinking how it could have (they all could have) been so much better if they added any sort of membrane between the fingers. The dragon bodies are only half the equation, excluding maybe half a dozen instances of wingless dragons. As it stands all, or nearly all, of the winged dragons look incomplete.

@PurpleDave said: "I was just looking at 71742, and thinking how it could have (they all could have) been so much better if they added any sort of membrane between the fingers. The dragon bodies are only half the equation, excluding maybe half a dozen instances of wingless dragons. As it stands all, or nearly all, of the winged dragons look incomplete."

I don't really agree with that, to be honest. I thought 71742 was one of the best sets they put out, last year.

If they need to do that plastic/fabric membrane to form the wings? I'd rather not have them at all. I don't like that stuff. It rarely fits properly, and honestly, I think the dragons look better without it. It gives them a unique style to them. I don't think they look incomplete, I look that look.

So make a stackable wing segment that works like the Harry Potter spiral staircase. As it stands, they look like their wing membranes got obliterated.

I remember when I got Kais first Spinner and how disappointed I was when I opened it and it had just a regular golden katana instead of this golden sword. I then assumed it only existed in the art for the show and the part is just simpler like with the other golden weapons.

@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"I remember getting this mainly for the dragon sword. "

Yeah, that would be my only reason, too. I do it from time to time, you know, getting a set just for one piece.

What's the purpose of those two red bricks and the plate?

@GSR_MataNui said:
"Kai's lore is pretty well known so I'll keep this brief.

just curious; do you ever not keep the lore brief? it seems like you are always "keeping the lore brief"
so what I am asking is do you ever just go all out with lore? do you ever just do a filibuster of lore till your audience is crying for relief? like a volcano erupting but instead of lava, lore comes out? :)"

@Aramor said:
"What's the purpose of those two red bricks and the plate?"

I belive they attach to the spinner to make a wall to stop the figure from getting hit off, that’s my best guess.

@Aramor said:
"What's the purpose of those two red bricks and the plate?"

That, and more. You can stack the bricks under the boat stud underneath to elevate the spinner. You can put both bricks on opposite sides or two on top of each other at one side.
And most importantly for display: you can stack the bricks on top of each other on the 2x2 plate to form a stand for the cards. The stack of cards in these sets are the right thickness to slot behind the studs and rest on the sides of the bricks behind them.
This can then be used as a target or obstacle...

Oh, and did I mention the booster packs have snakes/kunai/blades that can fit in three technic holes underneath so they can deploy if the spinner is spun?

It's surprisingly fun to figure out which weapon works the best for knocking opponents without being knocked out yourself.

Oh, and some of these had exclusive minifigs like the NRG ones, (curse you, 9570 aftermarket price!) or figs that only apear in one other large set (nearly ALL of them!).

Say what you want, but these things were very well thought out. This is probably a factor that helped Ninjago's succes!

@alegrispa:
That sword wasn’t created until 2011, for 2507, also appearing in 2254. I also remember expecting it would come in everything that year, but I don’t remember if I actually bought any sets without checking first. I do remember buying Mountain Shrine to get it, and being glad I didn’t have to buy the big set just for a sword.

@Binnekamp:
Physics says that weapons mounted to the base would be more effective at dislodging your opponent, while handheld weapons are just going to risk ripping your minifig loose when they make contact with anything.

As for the spinner packs, I remember a lot of complaints over their high price considering the heavy base that helped drive that price was just going to end up in a dusty corner of many build areas. And I remember many people still bought them because the alternative was buying just the minifig off Bricklink for almost the same price by itself. And I remember the same level of success was nowhere to be seen when Chima debuted with Speedorz. They ended up forcing those on anyone who ordered from LEGO.com, and I think they showed up with three pallets of the same set that year at Brickworld. During the convention, you had to actually try one out to get a free copy, but they hadn’t even given out half of what they brought by close on Sunday, so they started offering them by the handful to anyone who walked past during teardown. I know some people accepted them for the stackable crystals, but I think they still took some back with them.

Kids these days are missing out, playing the card game with these spinners was the bomb. I like that the new spinners have ripcords and look like tornados, but without the cards and array of weapons they lose their collectable aspect.

@PurpleDave said:
" @alegrispa:
That sword wasn’t created until 2011, for 2507, also appearing in 2254. I also remember expecting it would come in everything that year, but I don’t remember if I actually bought any sets without checking first. I do remember buying Mountain Shrine to get it, and being glad I didn’t have to buy the big set just for a sword.

@Binnekamp:
Physics says that weapons mounted to the base would be more effective at dislodging your opponent, while handheld weapons are just going to risk ripping your minifig loose when they make contact with anything.

As for the spinner packs, I remember a lot of complaints over their high price considering the heavy base that helped drive that price was just going to end up in a dusty corner of many build areas. And I remember many people still bought them because the alternative was buying just the minifig off Bricklink for almost the same price by itself. And I remember the same level of success was nowhere to be seen when Chima debuted with Speedorz. They ended up forcing those on anyone who ordered from LEGO.com, and I think they showed up with three pallets of the same set that year at Brickworld. During the convention, you had to actually try one out to get a free copy, but they hadn’t even given out half of what they brought by close on Sunday, so they started offering them by the handful to anyone who walked past during teardown. I know some people accepted them for the stackable crystals, but I think they still took some back with them."

Of course. I meant which type of handheld weapon. And how they hold it.

@NatureBricks:
Not all Ninjago sets are eligible for RSotD. They have to have been released ten years ago, by calendar year. The theme launched in 2011, so only sets from 2011 or 2012 can be picked, at the moment. On January 1st, 2013 sets get added to the pool.

Given the current range, nearly half of all releases (a few of which don’t even meet the RSotD criteria) are spinner packs. Several more are polybags.

@Binnekamp:
Conventional wisdom was that any handheld weapon would cause the minifig to stop spinning, without affecting the base, resulting in you ripping your own minifig loose while not really affecting the other guy. Are you saying it’s possible to use a handheld weapon to knock the other minifig free instead? Does it involve bracing a long weapon against one of these bricks?

@Zordboy:
I think there’s a new champion for “best dragon ever”! *cough 76406 cough*

@NatureBricks:
Bricklink lists 43 items for 2011, and 47 for 2012. You can knock out bundles (4), gear (1), and sets with less than 10 parts (3), so the list drops from 90 to 80. There were 14 spinners in 2011, and 22 in 2012, for a total of 36. That’s 45% spinner packs. I’d say the odds of any random Ninjago set being a spinner, at present, is much higher than the odds of any RPotD being from 2020-2022, which seems to happen with much more frequency.