tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post3457165482892118824..comments2024-03-27T08:37:54.894+00:00Comments on New Elementary: LEGO® parts, sets and techniques: LEGO® NINJAGO® June 2023: Elements RisingAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05188856208086872634noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-75924259262099235682023-05-24T20:43:24.049+01:002023-05-24T20:43:24.049+01:00I would love to have a tour through the moulding h...I would love to have a tour through the moulding hall to find out how they do ittobymachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17746453405498562767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-33387143073754541822023-05-24T20:07:04.689+01:002023-05-24T20:07:04.689+01:00I have a hypothesis on the hole in the new spinner...I have a hypothesis on the hole in the new spinner balls: they want the interior plastic to stay centered within the exterior plastic. My first thought when I saw that they were dual-molded was: "how do they make sure the inner ball is centered in the outer ball while molding? You can't touch the inner ball, because that would create a break in the outer material. And you can't rely on it staying put because of shape, because it's spherical." <br /><br />Now, they might be able to manage it with clever engineering and the outer plastic being injected from enough spots in the right directions that it forces the inner part to be centered due to pressure. But that sounds particularly dubious in a gravity environment. <br /><br />But a hole through the middle gives the mold a way to hold the inner part in a fixed position while the outer part is being cast around it. So I'm betting that's why that hole is there. Nathttps://woodelf.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-34352083474905581142023-05-23T07:02:35.376+01:002023-05-23T07:02:35.376+01:00Me too! Need a dish on top though?Me too! Need a dish on top though?Tim Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16996491218361385692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-88528798059723883962023-05-23T07:02:13.129+01:002023-05-23T07:02:13.129+01:00Great reply! It's like a second review :)Great reply! It's like a second review :) Tim Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16996491218361385692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-17207206724002575272023-05-23T05:24:17.764+01:002023-05-23T05:24:17.764+01:00My first thought when I saw the frying pan helmets...My first thought when I saw the frying pan helmets was "I'll be building Daleks now, won't i?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-72196642273445742372023-05-22T22:33:36.540+01:002023-05-22T22:33:36.540+01:00Agreed, they immediately jumped out at me as usefu...Agreed, they immediately jumped out at me as useful for spaceship engines, wheel hubs, cylindrical container endcaps.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-72838222790539551202023-05-22T18:35:13.529+01:002023-05-22T18:35:13.529+01:00I'm actually really excited for the "fryi...I'm actually really excited for the "frying pan" helmets. Similar function to the Minion™ heads but with a neutral color. It'll be a great detail on all kinds of mechanical builds. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-48937066328329733482023-05-22T18:34:33.675+01:002023-05-22T18:34:33.675+01:00Great review!
I'm really interested in the ne...Great review!<br /><br />I'm really interested in the new ninja masks and neck brackets. Two-piece masks aren't new to Ninjago—the Ninjago movie era figs had them, as did the ones from the "Sons of Garmadon" and "Hunted" arcs—but unlike those ones, these seem better designed for using the lower half with different hairpieces as a half-mask. The neck bracket's weapon holster would keep it from working with longer hairpieces, but hopefully it will work with all the shorter hairstyles the main ninja typically opt for.Andrew Barnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723179808721244651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-56430632845133711232023-05-22T18:25:39.152+01:002023-05-22T18:25:39.152+01:00Among the set's recolors, the black ones immed...Among the set's recolors, the black ones immediately jump out to me as useful. I can imagine the black rubber cable getting a lot of use for rope ladders, rope bridges, ship rigging, string lights (as we've already seen in the upcoming wave of City and Friends sets), climbing ropes, and more. The black hard plastic wheel could also be of interest to a lot of Space builders due to its cosmetic similarities with the wheels from 90s LEGO Space sets.<br /><br />And as a Bionicle fan, buildable figure parts like the curved shoulder cover are always exciting to see in new colors. Besides buildable figures, I feel like this black one in particular could make a good bucket/scoop for catapults (though I suppose the existing Titanium Metallic one or a future recolor in some shade of brown could be just as viable for such purposes).<br /><br />Thanks again for the detailed overview! It definitely gets me eager to read your reviews of this wave's sets!Skye Barnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12504300686346575904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-704329419519855992023-05-22T18:12:39.890+01:002023-05-22T18:12:39.890+01:00The new ball piece is larger than I had expected —...The new ball piece is larger than I had expected — in photos it looked slightly wider than two modules, and because of that I'd assumed it would be more or less the same size as the Zamor sphere. I'm sure that there are many Great Ball Contraption builders out there who will be quite a bit disappointed that it's not smaller.<br /><br />The dual-molded approach seems like it may be as much for balancing the ball's weight as it is for aesthetics. Compared to some past spinner components, I could imagine this one getting quite a lot of use across different sets and themes — whether as projectiles, roller bearings, or big sparkly treasures.<br /><br /><br />Lord Ras gives me more tiger vibes than lion vibes due to the printed stripes on his head and arms, which aligns neatly with his role as part of a dragon-hunting faction (since dragons and tigers are often used to symbolize diametrically opposed forces in Chinese and Japanese media).<br /><br /><br />It surprises me that Arin is the ONLY ninja in this wave's playsets with any sort of "signature weapon", since in the past that was often a common thread with each new wave of LEGO Ninjago sets. But his grappling hook certainly stands out nicely from any of the ninja's signature weapons from past waves of Ninjago sets. It's also a very nice mold that could prove versatile even outside the Ninjago theme — I could certainly imagine Super Heroes sets inserting the handle into a megaphone or other "gun/blaster" piece to represent a more high-tech grappling gun, or Pirates sets using it as an anchor on smaller boats and ships.<br /><br />I appreciate that the handle's braided texture and rubbery cable nicely matches the two current whip molds, as well as other Ninjago weapons like katanas. While the grapple itself lacks connection points, the size of the "hooks" looks like they'd dangle nicely from a 3.18 bar.Skye Barnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12504300686346575904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276033407505619194.post-51259181011209984192023-05-22T18:12:08.391+01:002023-05-22T18:12:08.391+01:00Great overview! I definitely appreciate seeing the...Great overview! I definitely appreciate seeing these parts and hearing them described in more detail than I could make out from the official set images alone.<br /><br />One slight correction: isn't baby Riyu Sand Blue rather than Sand Green? They're certainly an adorable critter, and their design language is very suited to Ninjago while still being generic enough it could potentially be used in sets or MOCs with a different fantasy setting. That's a vast improvement over the "baby dragon" mold I grew up with, which even without printing had such highly specific molding that it felt out-of-place among other molded LEGO creatures with their smoother, cleaner contours. <br /><br />I was a little surprised that this wave only ended up using this mold with one color and pattern. In the future, I could definitely imagine a wave using this mold for many differently colored baby elemental dragons that could serve as "collectables" similar to the baby dragons from the Elves theme. It would be also be fun to see a "grown up" brick-built version of Riyu in a future wave!<br /><br /><br />The new 3x3 curved wedge is really exciting to me due to my affinity for character and creature building. Although it doesn't neatly match any existing curves, that's not too much of a deal-breaker for me when compared to other, much more specialized "creature" components from themes like Jurassic World or Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts.<br /><br />The part's curvature nicely ensures that the printed eyes are visible both from the front and the sides, which is an important consideration for brick-built animal faces IMO. And its narrow size also boosts its versatility for creatures that existing compound curve or dome pieces would be too large for. Curves like this could also have interesting potential for vehicle models, or for the chest and shoulders of more "humanoid" brick-built figures.<br /><br />I suspect the center cutout is there to allow for different "muzzle" shapes on creatures that use it for a face. Although both the current sets that use it as a face fill that gap with a 1x4 curved slope, I expect we'll see even more varied creatures built using this part going forward. I can definitely imagine a smaller curved element being used there to create a blunt, turtle-like bill, or a part with connection points on the top being used to allow for a rhino-like horn.Skye Barnickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12504300686346575904noreply@blogger.com