Seeing I also have Battle for Ninjago city, I was hesitant to get this, because it doesn't look so different, but I'm glad I did.

Parts

After a kinda disappointing "Kingdom Joust" full of super small pieces (though the completed model is still great), this model actually comes with nice parts. Printed windows, many weapons, dragon head, baby dragons molds, large yellow blades for the dragon wings, lots of fire, lots of logs bricks (yeah, they are not really rare), lots of articulations and hinges for the dragon, some big technic bricks, which should be useful for making structures sturdier, lots of gold.

Minifigures

That may be the weakest part of this set. Zane, Nya and Garmadon don't even have backprinting.

Zane and Kai are nothing to special I would say, but ninjas usually look cool, and they do look quite cool.

Nya has very nice front printing, and would be really good if she had backprinting. She has double sided face with a bandana on one side.

Garmadon is probably the weakest of the bunch, but his head is good, it's actually pretty detailed, though that is a bit hard to see, there is kind of a silver pattern with mustache, eyelashes and other details.

Kruncha and Samukai are fun looking figures, with Samukai probably being 2nd best in this set. But they have poor arm articulation, if Samukai can wield 4 weapons, he actually is very clumsy with them.

Sensei Wu, I would say is the best figures with printing in all the right places, but what makes him stand out is his head, it has very nice printing which makes him old and wise (even without his beard. actually you may even consider removing the beard)

The build

That's one of the best build I did, the dragon is built in several small parts linked by a lot of articulations, and then the temple is totally different, it mixes system and technic build with use of rubber bands. you have a base in which the 2 halves of the temple will slide, which is where you actually build the splitting mechanism. The temple itself is not particularly hard to do, though the higher you get, the harder it can get to stack bricks. It has roof elements at 45° which is interesting (though that doesn't look very sturdy)

The completed model

The temple looks awesome, the dragon looks great as well and is bigger than I expected (the dimensions in the description are way off, the wing span of the dragon is actually bigger than the temple). For some reason the temple looks bigger than it is. I mean, I have models that are bigger, but they don't feel as big. Maybe it's just me.

The splitting mechanism works great, but it's kinda hard to fit the dragon in the temple. Also, for display purpose, it would probably be better to leave him outside the temple.

I think playability would be high, you get ninjas, skeletons, a demon, lots of space to fit minifigs (though it's hard to put them in front of the temple, unless they go on the roofs. Though the temple doesn't really have much except for the splitting mechanism. There are some weapons inside, some more flames and I dunno what are supposed to be the 2 other builds, some kind of rotating training stuff, and maybe a japanese game board? Of course what takes the cake is the dragon, very posable, ridable, and it can fire balls.

Overall opinion

It's an awesome model, and it would probably appeal to lot of different Lego fans. I got it for 90€ but I think even the 120€ RRP wouldn't be bad at all, with a beautiful temple and a dragon which is surprisingly big for a 250 pieces build, you would expect it to actually cost more. The only thing it really lacks is backprinting on some figures, and maybe a 8th one.

While a series 1 set, this massive Ninjago capital set is still on the shelves of a lot of toy dealers. I strongly recomend that you get it before it disapears. This set just hits every target audience perfectly on the head. For kids it is the biggest and best Ninjago playset. For AFOL's it is a stunning display piece and complicated building build like nothing else Lego has ever made. For Castle fans it is perfect. For Dragon fans it is one of the best. From minifigs to the main build to the sub build to the playfeatures to the Dragon. Everything hits the nail perfectly. In many ways the Fire Temple stands with the now classic Medievel Market Village for shear perfection.

Pros

• -The stunning main temple, just a gorgeous Asian themed building in striking reds blacks and gold, with those amazing Dragon printed windows
• -One of the best assortments of minifigs. Sensei Woo in the cool black Kimono, Lord Garmadon, the less common Nya and Samukai figs and a couple of Ninja.
• - For Ninjago fans, ALL 4 of the story key Gold Weapons including the Fire Sword
• - The Dragon! A fantastic red fire dragon. One of the best Lego has ever made.
• - The little side bridges. Just wonderful little asian atmospheric details. The drum, the sword rack, the blooming cherry trees. A+ to whoever designed this set. Masterfully done.
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Cons

• - The main temple play feature can be a little fragile if you don't use the specially made push/contact points. There are two green circles on the sides that you use to close the temple. Pushing from any other point invariably knocks roof panels off.
• - The main building is a little deeper front to back than it is wide because of the platform where the dragon stands. This can make it awkward to display on a narrower shelf. Side to Side it fits perfectly on a 32 wide base plate. Front to rear not as much.
• - There really are no other cons other than it is a fairly expensive set. Don't buy from TRU if you can avoid it.
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Not just a great set. Probably the best Ninjago set, and an all time Lego classic. One you will regret not getting if just to have the amazing Asian castle building in your collection. It has oh so many uses in so many themes. A foreign temple in Castle or Adventurers. A Chinese restaurant in City. An intergalactic brothel over in Space Police. Let your imagination run wild.

I have been desperate to build this set for some time, but due to access to other sets it's been sat in it's box, tempting me, for far too long.

It's just beautiful.

Lego have done a great job of capturing the feel of a stereotyped Japanese building in a way that makes it one of the most delightful sets I've seen in a while.

The dragon, which I wasn't that sold on from pictures, was much nicer to build than I thought, and I find a few things about him particularly pleasing - especially the extent to which you can adjust him.

The temple is not the easiest of builds - there's no base plate and while the splitting apart is fantastic for playability, it does make construction a little precarious at times - push too hard without giving enough support and you end up with a split temple, though split in the wrong places.

The mini figs are great - though as has been said before, the daemon's leg's are utterly ridiculous.

As an AFOL - this is the one 'child orientated' set I would not be without.

And since it seems to be on it's way out at the moment, you can pick it up at just over half price, as I did, and the value for money is amazing.

I think the dragon was the weakest part of this set. Maybe that's just because I'm generally not into the dragons. I think the parts used to build the dragon would have been better served in making the temple even better.

Though I must say, it was pretty cool to have the temple split open and have the dragon inside ready to attack.

The temple structure is very nice (though I wonder why a fire temple would be built on the water). The printed windows are very nice; a big yay for no stickers. The two little bridges and side temples were a very nice touch that Lego could easily have skipped to cut costs. My only real complaints about the temple are, there is no upstairs floors for mini figures and the structure is a little unstable, because is has to split open.

The figures are a mixed bag. The ninjas are ok, probably pretty good if you needed anymore ninjas (I don't). The skeleton guys are goofy and I still don't like their feet. Garmadon is ok, he looks like a Japanese demon, as he should. The sensei and Nya are the real gems of figures here.

Steve

I was at our local Fred Meyer and was checking what deals they have, bam... 25% off on all Lego set. Awesome specially Fred Meyer does not jack up the price. I was choosing between the Republic Frigate and this set. Both are gonna come down to just $90, I was having a hard time so I asked my daughter which one she think I should buy? She said get the Ninja Castle, I asked why? She said you already got a lot of Star Wars ships. Good thing I listened to my daughter, here's why:

When I opened the box, I saw there was 3 instructions, so i was thinking this is a good build. The best surprize I got was I did not see any sticker sheet, I was thinking my set didn't have any? When I checked the box, i can see there are a bunch of windows that usually are sticker. Searched the bags and saw that they were actually printed pieces, and that is awesome. First build on this set is the dragon, and I love the color combination of this dragon, makes the dragon looks dangerous. The dragon was build witht he first instruction fo the three.

On to the castle, first to be build is the base of the castle. During building I can already see that the base was a good build, very very solid and for sure hold the whole castle firmly. The locking mechanism as well as the mechanism that swing the castle opens are very simple yet very ingenious. Hands up to the lego people, they always finds a way to surprize fans with what they can do. I was just confused to the use of a lime green piece on the base, could have been a color that go with the set but it actually doesnt matter much, was just curious why? They used the lime green on the side of the castle, it was to indicate where to push to snap the castle together, that does make sense. I am still amazed with the dragon glass windows, make me love it more because its not stickers. The elements inside the castle like sword and spear stand add majestic to the build of this set.

I also love how the dragon fits at the back of the castle with his own pedestal, while the dragons head goes through the second floor. Then when the castle opens up the dragon can come up and do battle. I dont actually play the my legos anymore but I imagine how this set would appeal to the kids, and im sure they would love it. The castle itself is amazing and could stand alone, yet they still add two small bridges, one with the ninja arc (not sure what its called?). One is with ninja swords, and the other with a drum element. Both small bridge have what i would pressume as cherry blossom. All this comes together to present an awesome set. For the actual price of $112 it is well worth it, what more if you got this for less as I did. I was so strucked by this castle, I had to go and get the ninjago blacksmith shop, and now is thinking to get other ninjago building sets.