Review: 71861 The Old Town from LEGO® NINJAGO®

Thirteen years after the original planned end date, LEGO® NINJAGO® continues to go strong, celebrating its 15th anniversary this year with a selection of sets based on the theme's history. The flagship set of this anniversary wave is 71861 The Old Town, which debuted in January 2026 as part of the "Legacy" subtheme.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

71861 The Old Town

• Release date: 1 January 2026
• Pieces: 4851

Price: US$299.99/ £269.99/ 299.99€/ AU$499.99

• US$ 299.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 399.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 269.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 499.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 549.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• 299,99€ on LEGO.com Deutschland, Nederland, France etc
• PLN 1299.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 3999,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 2499.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

 

Recolours and rare elements

With the majority of the set budget presumably going towards the impressive minifigure selection, it contains no new molds and a relatively meager selection of recoloured and rare elements.

Only two elements have been recoloured specifically for the set:

• 2x Windscreen 6 x 6 x 2 Canopy in Dark Green (6585087 | 35332)
• 22x Animal, Frog in Black (6584302 | 28841)

Three elements in the set appear across a total of two sets, including 71861 The Old Town:

• 2x Slope Double 45° 1 x 1 in Sand Green (6579025 | 35464)
• 1x Plate Round Corner 5 x 5 with 4 x 4 Round Cutout in Sand Green (6584303 | 80015)
• 1x Door 1 x 4 x 6 with 4 Panes and Stud Handle in Sand Blue (6560250 | 60623)

A further 8 elements appear in three sets:

• 1x Animal, Bird, Parrot in Black (6517012 | 27062)
• 1x Door Frame 4 x 4 x 6 Corner in Reddish Brown (6592323 | 28327)
• 5x Slope 18° 2 x 1 x 2/3 in Reddish Brown (6518956 | 5404)
• 2x Window 1 x 2 x 3 Flat Front in Warm Gold/ Pearl Gold (6547883 | 3662)
• 1x Tile Round 2 x 2 with NINJAGO on Red Banner, Black '15' with Face print in Warm Gold/ Pearl Gold (6578600 | 115049)
• 1x Tile Round 2 x 2 with Gold Creature on Lime/Bright Green Background print in Dark Red (6578517 | 114983)
• 7x Plant, Leaves 4 x 3 in Yellow (6561362 | 2423)
• 9x Plant, Plate 1 x 1 Round with 3 Leaves in Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow (6545172 | 32607)

Minifigures

The set features a whopping 23 minifigures (not counting the First Spinjitzu Master statue), narrowly beating 2023's 71799 NINJAGO City Markets for the distinction of most minifigures in a LEGO Ninjago set.

Many of the figures included are reimagined versions of hard-to-find figures such as Krux and Acronix, the Mailman, Harumi, and Mystake. This is also the first physical appearance of multiple fan-favorite characters including Dr. Julien, Dr. Saunders, the First Spinjitzu Master, and the young versions of Wu and Garmadon.

Sticker sheet Easter eggs

The stickers in the set are packed with references to the last 15 years of LEGO Ninjago multimedia. We've identified many of the references and translations, but with the dizzying array of stickers in the set, we've surely missed a few!

• 1: Sensei Wu’s rickshaw (Pilot episodes)
• 2: Mural from the Temple of Light (Season 2)
• 3: Dragon Form scroll (Season 15) 
• 4: Realm of One and Dragons (Season 8)
• 5: Yin-Yang Eclipse Scroll (Day of the Departed)
• 6: Green Ninja prophecy scroll (Season 1)
• 7: [Translation: He is alive] (Season 4)
• 8: [Translation: Wanted] (Dragons Rising, Season 1)
• 9: Empress Beatrix (Dragons Rising, Season 1)
• 12: 70618 Destiny’s Bounty (The LEGO Ninjago Movie)
• 13: [Translation: Shadow Theatre] (Dragons Rising, Season 2)
• 16: Wu-Cru, Sons of Garmadon, Sky Pirates, Red Crows (Garmadon comics and Spinjitzu Brothers books)

• 17: [Translation: Shintaro] (Season 13)
• 18: Cyrus Borg (Season 3)
• 19: Twitchy Tim’s gas station (Season 15)
• 20: [Translation: Faith]
• 22: [Translation: Two Moon Village] (Garmadon comics)
• 23: [Translation: Post Office]
• 24: Prime Empire (Season 12)
• 25: Wojira (Season 14)
• 26: Prime Empire (Season 12) / Video game Champ (71025 Minifigures Series 19)
• 28: [Translation: Lookout]
• 29: [Translation: Open]
• 30: Nuckal (Pilot episodes)
• 33: Mirror of Dread (Season 11)
• 34: Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitzu (Season 11)

• 36: Four Weapons Blacksmith (Pilot episodes)
• 39: [Translation: Old Town]
• 40: 9446 Destiny’s Bounty (Season 1)
• 41: Kruncha (Pilot episodes)
• 42: Shurikens of Ice (Pilot episodes)
• 43: Sword of Fire (Pilot episodes)
• 44: Nunchuks of Lightning (Pilot episodes)
• 45: Scythe of Quakes (Pilot episodes)
• 46: Dragon Hunters (Season 9)
• 48: [Translation: Old Town]
• 50: [Translation: Sleep Sleep] Spider’s in the House (Season 8)
• 51: [Translation: Once upon a time…]
• 52: [Translation: Jack Rabbit] Jack the Rabbit (Season 1)
• 53: [Translation: Dr. Saunders] (Day of the Departed)
• 54: [Translation: Chucks] (Season 5)

Building experience

The set consists of four distinct assemblies, each with their own instruction booklet. This is ideal if you enjoy building as a group activity!

The first ten bags of the set are used to assemble the front gate of the town and several supporting models, including a tea cart, woodshop, and statue of the First Spinjitzu Master.

A variety of rock work and vegetation is integrated directly into the walls of the front gate, helping to lend the model a sense of age.

While the tea cart, woodshop, and statue of the First Spinjitzu Master are all relatively straightforward builds, they complement the rest of the set quite nicely and provide additional opportunities for play.

Next, the combined post office and workshop are constructed from bags 11 through 21.

The back wall of the post office is hinged to allow easy access to the interior, which is furnished with a counter, water cooler, and disorganized shelf of mail.

A staircase to the left of the post office leads to a small, open-air workshop belonging to Faith and the Dragon Hunters. A rotating crane is mounted to the roof, allowing items to be moved between the workshop and street level.

Bags 22 through 26 are used to construct a small lookout and some of rocky landscaping to accompany it.

 

The lookout is perched on the edge of a bluff, supported by angled struts. The structure itself is constructed in a classical East Asian style, with ornamental fences and flying eaves.

The final section to be assembled is the 3-story tower that overlooks the rest of the town. A small bluff is located to the right of the tower, featuring a staircase carved into the cliff face and a cherry blossom tree.

A secret hideout for the Loyalists is concealed beneath the rock work, accessible only through a hinged section of cliff face. The hideout features a poster of Beatrix and a circular shrine in the center of the chamber.

The elevated first floor of the tower houses an office for Dr. Saunders, a guise of the villainous Krux. The office features a chair, desk, and a bookshelf integrated into the wall. Various scrolls are displayed on the walls, referencing LEGO Ninjago history. One of the walls is removable, allowing access to the interior.

A small storage space exists above Dr. Saunders' office, accessible via ladder. This area contains a pile of newspapers and miniature versions of the boxes associated with both the 9446 and 70618 releases of Destiny's Bounty.

The third story of the tower features an office for the Administration Agent, featuring a file cabinet and a desk with a cleverly-constructed fan. The interior wall is decorated with a landline phone and a scroll depicting Wojira and Nyad fighting.

The back of the tower largely mirrors the front, with walls that can be removed to reveal the interior of the tower.

The set is complemented by a small display for the three collectible 15th anniversary minifigures included with the set. This display can be connected to those found in other anniversary sets, for a more impressive arrangement.

Conclusion

While the model doesn't correspond directly to a location from the Ninjago canon, it has exercised this blank canvas to include a multitude of references to different eras. Whether you followed the series from the original pilot episodes, became interested after The LEGO Ninjago Movie, or are a recent fan of Dragons Rising, you're all but certain to find something to appreciate.

If you're approaching this set as a builder, it provides a very reasonable value for 4851 parts at US$299.99/ £269.99/ 299.99€ with a price per piece value of 6.2c/ 5.6p/ 6.2c. This places the set within the top ten best value sets of 2026, when ranked by this rough metric.

Available now on LEGO.com

 

READ MORE: Review of the March LEGO® Icons set 11376 Ford® Model T®

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