Summary

Most Ninjago waves had some kind of mech in their line-up, normally clearly recognizable as either a vehicle for the bad guys, or for the Ninja's. The allegiance or ownership of this mech is much less clear, which allows for many play scenarios. The build was fun, and although the mech is not the biggest, the result is still quite impressive. There are four minifigures (two good guys and two bad guys) with various weapons. The mech is fairly stable, and offers some poses. A nice touch is how the two swords can be put in his hands, or in a scabbard. Overall, I think this is a good set, with quite decent value for the RRP.

Build experience

The pieces are divided over four bags (could have been three). Good news for sticker-haters: rather unlikely for Ninjago sets, there are only three stickers in this set. One for Lloyd's banner, and two for the mech's torso. The given age range is 8 to 14, though IMHO many younger children should be able to complete the mech without too much trouble. Overall it took me about 60 minutes to build the mech.

Lego apparently has some spare teal pieces, as they are used in the core of this mech. Thankfully, they - just as other off-coloured pieces - are covered up nicely. First the torso, then the legs and feet, followed by the head and arms, and finally the hands are constructed. Most of the structure is made simply by brick-stacking. There are few special pieces, IMHO used. The one truly special piece is the face of the Oni Titan, which is a very nice print. I like the use of soft rubber tires under the feet to give them some friction on smooth hard surfaces. Additional articulation in the knees might have been nice, but might also have compromised the stability of the mech.

The minifigures

There are four minifigures in this set. The evil boy and girl - Garmadon and Harumi - are not unique to this set, while the good boy and girl - Nya and Lloyd - are (so far) unique to this set.

Harumi is also found in set 70651 Throne Room Showdown. Her boots and surcoat / armour are represented by a detailed but subtle print (which seems to mostly disappear in bad lighting). She has a double face print, one with a scowl, and one outright angry. Her long white hair is of a soft rubbery plastic. She is armed with two red katanas.

Garmadon is in his resurrected version, which is also found in set 60643 Temple of Resurrection - including some of the gory goodness, with ribs showing. He is armed with two katana's and two pole-weapons - which are a nice little build. He has only one evil / angry expression.

Lloyd seemingly has a new type armour, somewhat body shaped. The print is highly detailed and very well done. It is continued nicely onto the legs, although there is a small (blank-green) line where legs and torso connect. He carries a nicely constructed banner on the back. He is armed with a falchion like weapon. His cowl is of the two-piece variety, with the bottom part being black. His two face prints are fairly similar.

Nya seems to have new clothing as well. Not sure whether it is true armour or not, since the top part has a zipper. The print is quite detailed yet, and in better register than Lloyd's print - pretty much no gap in the print between the torso and the legs. I like her hairpiece. The difference between face prints IMHO is rather negligible, which is a shame. She is armed with something that looks like a double scythe.

The build

Overall, I think the designer has done a great job with the Oni-Titan. To me, my first association is that with a "Samurai-Golem". The added tree is a nice little touch. So are the two swords. The designer has done a very good job in covering up the structural elements. He has also done a nice job in breaking up the colour-monotony in a subtle way with the use of dark and light greys, olive greens and some dark blue. The clever use of parts also creates some nice texture for the mech. So far, this actually might be the favourite 'humanoid' mech I own so far. The hands are also well designed.

As a second 'samurai' this in some ways is a nice contrast to set 70613 Garma Mecha Man. IMHO Oni-Titan is a little more posable. I also like how this mech does not have a 'cockpit' for control.

I can see why the designer has not used too may ball joints, which limits posability, but adds stability. Most joints are als pretty well covered up.

Play vs display

I would argue that this is mostly a play set, although the mech is good and big enough to work as a single display piece. The well integrated disc-shooters in the hands, the functional fingers, the swords, all add up to a good play set. It is also fairly easy to handle.

The verdict

I like the Oni-Titan, but I think it is positioned in a tough spot. Its price point is flanked on either side by two excellent dragons, Stormbringer (set 70652) and Firstbourne (set 70653); I would not be surprised if many buyers opt for either dragon, rather than Oni-Titan first (which is what I did). I think it is a very nice mech, also for non-Ninjago fans, that has been well thought out and well designed. The price itself is reasonable, also given the minifigures included in this set. In that regard, it is an excellent set for an IMHO very nice series of sets for the Ninjago 'Hunted' theme; I do not think one makes a mistake buying this set.

This set is pretty conflicting for me, because most people dislike or flat out hate it, but I do actually like it quite a bit. While the design is not as cool as it was in show, it's translated pretty well in my opinion and the earthy design really works. The build of the Oni Titan also a ton of playability value. Not only is it pretty big, but it's a really solid threat, and the figure selection is really good, even though three of them come in a cheaper set. In terms of elements I don't care for, I'll admit the color scheme is not perfect. The gray and green are good but the dark blue just doesn't fit and I would have much prefferd trans purple like how it was in the show. What we got was fine, I just preffered the colors of the show version. Altogether though, I am a fan of this set. It's not an all-time best or anything but it's good for what it is and I think the hate is a bit excessive.

Man is the build for this set great! I really enjoy all the positions that you can move the arms and legs. Even though it is not accurate to the show, it is still a great set! I’m a big Ninjago fan and I tend to get all of the sets. But I have a couple of things I would change with this set. First off, the minifigures in this set all come in cheaper sets. For example, Lloyd, Nya and Harumi all come in the throne room showdown which is a 20$ set (US dollars). And it isn’t bad to get another Garmadon considering he only came in one set the wave prior to this one. But at the same time I wish that they could have added characters from the show in which we have never gotten in physical form. One last thing that I would change with this set is the head. The head just seems to be smaller than I would have liked it to be. It is a decent set for the price of 50 US dollars but if you can find it on sale, don’t pass it by!