I received this set for Christmas in 2016 in my stocking, and I was blown away. It still stands as one of my favourite Ninjago sets. Also, this set was released shortly before the big solar eclipse I witnessed on the West Coast. I don't know if that is where Lego got idea for the Day of the Departed movie or not.

MINIFIGURES: First off is the exclusive Cole figure. He has a normal Cole head except for the green bolt in the corner of his head. On his torso is his symbol and there are orange high-lights around it. His arms are transparent and they do have arm prints, which adds to his uniqueness. Little Nelson is a figure that I could have done away with. His outfit is a simple purple suit with an old style hood. It would have been nice to have got a Dareth fig, seeing that he actually fought the stone warriors and Kozu. The baddies include two stone warriors, one small and one large. The small one is a scout, and he occupies the wooden tower where there is a cross bow and a disc shooter. The large one is a swordsman who has one of the day of the departed blades. The stone warriors almost look like they are a cross between an Indian and a samurai.

BUILD: The construction process only took two hours when I got this in 2016, and I could probably do it in an hour these days. Once complete, the buggy has a deattachable flyer and a small driller function that is pretty unless. If you take off the driller part, then you can use the mega stud shooter. It has independent suspension that utilizes two rubber bands that have held up so far.

SUMMARY: This set was the last of the Ninjago series before it went down hill with the Hands of Time disaster. It came with a good amount of figs and the buggy was an A+ design. Now if we could only get Jeep to make it.....

I picked this one up on sale from Amazon. I had assumed it was just another iteration of Coles annual black off roader. Wow! Did I underestimate what a sweet little set and build this is.

Box/Instructions - The front box art is gorgeous. A stunning and kinetic dessert scene that feels more alive than normal. It shows the Rock Roader in action and gives a clear impression of what is involved. The cover art reminds me a bit of the art from the original Agents boxes. Very dynamic. Instructions are two stapled books, curled and spindled in the box as normal. There is a small sticker sheet.

Minifigs - The set comes with 4 very nice minifigs. Cole RX, Lil' Nelson, and 2 Stone Warriors.

Cole RX - is the highlight of the set. Gorgeous front and back printing, leg printing, multi colored cowl and trans black arms with arm printing. A masterpiece of detail and color.

Lil' Nelson - The Purple Ninja? OK I admit I haven't seen the latter episodes so I am not sure how there is a small child in purple. But he looks great. He wears the classic style wave 1 Ninja hood in a new color, purple. He has a nice purple and lavender robe printed on the front, with a homemade ninja logo safety pinned to his back. He uses purple short legs. His face is a standard freckled child but really all you see is his eyes. His main accessory is a stickered 1x2 gold tile of a "Kendo Cole" Ninjago Card.

Short Stone Warrior - The first Stone Warrior is a short legged fellow. Both Stone warriors use the same torso with some nice front and back printing . The short guy has a ninja style face scarf and a straw hat in red. His weapon is one of the new stud shooter crossbows.

Tall Stone Warrior - His tall companion is similar. He uses printed regular legs with some very detailed leg armor printing. He has the Stone Warrior shoulder armor, the straw hat and a shield made with a technic disk and a sticker.

Parts - OMG!!! You would not believe what a jackpot this one small set is for odd, unusual or cool parts. Pearl Gold Ski Poles. Sand Green Flags and Cheese Graters. Black Ice Cream Cones. Dark Brown Railroad Trucks. Gunmetal New Macaroni Tubes. Gold Chains. Light Tan Masonry Bricks. Everywhere you look there is something distinct.

Build/Model - There are three main builds. The Stone Warriors get a small wooden tower with the crossbow and a disk thrower. Not much too it but it has some nice colors. The second build is Nelson's flyer which also forms the top rear of the Rock Roader. The final 2 build stages/bags are the Rock Roader itself. and it is magnificent! This is one of the most well built and simply fun playable vehicles they have ever put out. It has a full springy suspension. So it is an actual off roader. The shaping and colors are wonderful and really give it a good look. The main play feature is the stud gattling gun on the front. It is driven by a fifth wheel hidden underneath the car. When you push down while rolling the wheel spins and the studs fire. There is also a drill nose that stores on the rear that may be mounted on the cannon to turn it into a borer. Finally Nelson's rear cockpit snaps off to form a nice well made flying vehicle.

Overall - It's a pure fun vehicle. Incredibly swooshable. Everything about it works. It's a 400 piece set with 4 figs for $39 MSRP so it is hitting an acceptable price point. This is possibly the best of the Day of teh Departed wave of sets. I cannot recommend it enough.

Overall Rating: (4/5)

My overall rating for this set would be a 4/5 because I found it to be a well-built model with valuable aspects for children and collectors of Ninjago. Some things to point out are the extensive suspension in the wheels, the detachable flyer in the rear, and the shooting or drilling feature in the front.

Building Experience: (5/5)

I give the building experience a 5/5 because the range of parts contributed to a fresh design and shaping. The Rock Roader doesn't take long to assemble, but it's a creative build that challenges the average.

Parts: (5/5)

The parts certainly recieve a 5/5 because they were integrated in interesting ways and appeared in some uncommon colors. For example, the minifigure ski poles at the rear of the vehicle and the handful of sand green pieces scattered across the model.

Playability: (4/5)

I think younger kids will find this set to be a more "playable" model but older kids (such as myself) will appreciate its build and try to use the techniques in our customs or MOCs. That having been said, I actually did enjoy messing around with the Rock Roader. I'm even guilty of playing with it for a bit on the floor--something I haven't done in years! I simply loved the suspension and, honestly, everything about it. The minifigures only add to the playability. Cole looks great in new attire, we get the "purple ninja", and then two members of the stone army.

Value for Money: (3/5)

Even though I really liked this set, I think its original price point was a bit steep. I believe I purchased it for about $30 during a sale so I'm far more satisfied.