The Blacksmith Shop set from the Ninjago theme is a great set. It includes the blacksmith shop, and 2 minifigures. It was released in 2011 for $19.99 and has 189 pieces.

Minifigures

Kai- Good and simple minifigure for the first version of Kai. 8/10

Kruncha- Great skeleton minifigure with new head piece. 10/10

Build

The build looks good and has great playability. The roof can move up and turns the back wall to reveal weapons. The build overall is decent for display and good for playability. 9/10

Summary

This is a great set with a good build and great minifigures. It is mainly for playability but it looks good on display too. Overall this set was a cheap set for 2011 and is really good.

This is a great set to add to any LEGO collection and it's fun to play with as well. The build can be a little bit tricky but when it's finished it is very sturdy and it also looks very nice. We also don't need to worry about any stickers as well. I like the way how the roof of the building can be moved up if you want to sviwel the weapons rack. There're 4 swords and on the other side is a chicken leg and a hammer. I also like the micro builds in the inside with the plate which has hot water in it, the fireplace, the lantern, the chimney and an anvil. Underneath the roof you can also a staff, a spear and two X-Men claws. We also get a nice looking map in this set. I really can't complain about this model.

All in all this set is a great set and I would HIGHLY recommend you to get this. You can find this set on eBay, BrickLink and Amazon for sure. Here is the link where you can check out the full gallery I made for this set on my website: www.klokriecher.de


Videos I made of this set:

Stopmotion

Review

Speed Build

This Set is really nothing special, and the $20 price point is good for what you get. It would’ve been nice if it had one more Minifigure, considering kai came in a smaller set, but the play features are ahead of their time with the cool opening roof and the hidden weapons rack. I don’t have any problems with it, it’s just nothing too useful. I’d buy this for $30 at most secondhand on eBay.

Let me start by saying that I'm confused by Ninjago. I get the Ninja bit but I'm lost when it comes to skeletons and mad big trucks. This set is from the Ninja side of the theme though. It's a blacksmiths workshop with a hidden weapons store.

Instructions

The instructions are easy enough to follow, taking 43 pages to put the 189 parts together. At the back of the booklet is a list of weapons and which sets they appear in. This list suggests that the pike with side blades (part 43899) is unique to this set. However according to Bricklink it also appears in 2504 and 2519...

The build

The most interesting part of the build is the roof with its mechanism. It's also the part that may confuse younger builders as it's not entirely obvious how to align the gears. Luckily that can be fixed at the end without having to take anything apart because the revolving panel is held on with a friction pin. Simply hold the roof down and straighten up the panel.

Parts

There's a nice range of parts here; mainly grey and brown bricks and slopes for the walls and tree with a little red for accents. There are some Technic parts for the mechanism and lots of weapons; 9 swords, spears and claws.

Minifigures

There are two minifigs in this set. One is a nice looking red ninja, the other an odd looking skeleton with shoulder pads, a helmet and black lumps for feet.

The completed model

The blacksmith shop is a very clever design. The tree on one corner gives the impression that it's hidden in a forest. The roof is on an angle which looks good but also necessary for the gearing of the revolving panel.

The use of fences on their side for the roof is an interesting idea that works well and the anvil, water bowl and lantern are nice touches. Yes, the anvil would look better with a normal 1x1 plate instead of the round plate that's used here but it seems to be a rule these days to use the round version in sets that are aimed at younger builders.

The fireplace and chimney are basic but the parts use is very effective; there's a fire in the fireplace and using the crate for the chimney leaves the top open which I like.

Summary

At full price (€17,99 in Ireland) this set 189 part set is close to 10 cent per piece and that's not great for a non-license set. However I picked it up for €12,99 and at that price it's well worth the money.

A good looking cleverly designed model with many useful parts and a nice play function. What's not to like? Well, the skeleton for me but that's not enough to put me off buying the set and I'm sure the target audience will like him.

I had been looking forward to buying this set for a good while, and picked it up at the Lego Store soon after its release.

Box/Instructions

The box is styled in the typical Ninjago fashion, and appears to be the new type of box, as it is much thinner than other $20 sets made recently. The instructions are all correct, and have a teaser for the 2012 Ninjago sets on the back cover of it.

Parts

You get a very good selection of parts from this set, including a nice amount of dark and light bley, and some good tree and fence parts in brown. You also get a number of red pieces, mostly red 1x2x5s and two long red technic poles. As well as multiple black roof parts, and many weapons, including 4 (!) katanas (1 gold, 2 metallic gray[a different color than the ones in PoP sets], and 1 black) and many more which I will list later.

Minifigures

You get two minifigures with the set, the red ninja Kai, and the skeletal Kruncha. Kai is nothing special, as he has already been in several other sets, including Moutian Ambush, where he is featured in his DX form (despite being released at the same time as this set). Kruncha is similar to the many other "big head" skeletons in Ninjago, except he has a Samurai Helmet, which is, unfortuately, molded into his head. Despite trying to look scary, his giant head looks more comical than anything. He has the new skeleton torso with the... loincloth and two straight arms that are different from the ones used on Battle Droids and the Fantasy Era Skeletons. His accessories are a scimitar (the same mold used by the Orks from the Fantasy Era) and a chestplate, similar to the ones used in the UFO theme oh so many years ago. The chestplate looks great on Kruncha, but on other minifigures it looks awkward, as it leaves a noticable gap between the arms and the sides of the chestplate.

The build

The build was one of the more frustrating in recent memory. The tree on the side of the shop is build into it, and fell apart often, either from my hands brushing up against it, or the in progress model being very unstable, with some of the plant parts only being held by 1x3 plates. There was also another time that I was trying to fit together the technic rods onto the roof, I put too much pressure on the model, which resulted in most of the front facade flying away.

The completed model

The final model was an interesting piece. The open back where most of the playability occurs looks very nice with the chimney (one of the few I've seen that doesn't use an arch), water dish, and brick-built anvil (although the black 1x1 stud should be replaced with a 1x1 plate) The main feature of the set is the revolving door/roof. When you pull up the roof, the door revolves, revealing 4 Katana sheathes. The opened up roof also reveals a hiding place for a spear, halberd, and two tiger claws introduced in Prince of Persia. For a simple function, it's very enteraining to do over and over again. Speaking of the roof, it uses a very NPU of fences to simulate shingles. The only downside I see is the "chimney", which is built using two different greys, which contrasts badly on such a small detail, and tops off with a dark grey crate, which looks more like a crate than the top of a chimney.

Summary

Overall, this is a wonderful playset for young kids, and certainly the best in its price range in Ninjago for that purpose, but as a model, it leaves a lot to be desired with its poor front facade and sometimes weak structure. As for the figures, you can get Kai cheaper easily, and Kruncha isn't really that special. The best purpose this model serves is as a parts/weapons pack, with many weapons that can be reused to suit your castle armies, or as an expansion to a blacksmith's house in the new castle village.