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    Discuss This Story ReviewWednesday, September 3rd, 2014 at 8:06pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager

    It's time for our first Ninjago Month set review! Today I take a look at 70720 Hover Hunter, the smallest set in the 2014 Ninjago line. Will this set's spinning saw cut its way into your heart, or will it hover alone on a store shelf? More importantly, will you be lucky enough to win a copy? You'll have to continue on and read and watch our review to find out!

    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

    70720 Hover Hunter Review 01 70720 Hover Hunter Review 02

    The box is straight and to the point. We see the Hover Hunter front-and-center being driven by a Nindroid while Cole attacks with his Techno Blade. Along the top we see the 2014 Ninjago logo featuring Zane with part of his face removed, revealing his Nindroid eye underneath. It certainly grabs your attention if you don't ignore it in lieu of a bigger set.

    On the back of the box, the Nindroid has dismounted and is attacking Cole man-to-robot. There's an ad for the Ninjago website and the bottom left corner shows that this is just one of four Techno Blades for you to collect.

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    At only 77 pieces, there's not much to this build. Everything is pretty much studs-up and it goes together fast. The only exception is the bit of Technic building on the bottom for the play feature, but even that is pretty straightforward.

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

    70720 Hover Hunter Review 03 70720 Hover Hunter Review 04

    My favorite piece in this set is probably the 2x2 round tile with the sawblade pattern printed on it. When I was looking at the box I was betting it was going to be a sticker, but I was pleasantly surprised! Aside from that, the Techno Blade is the only unique element here, although the purple wing pieces only come in two other sets. The clip with bar socket is very useful and I'm glad to get more of those. The printed 1x2 tile control panel is always a welcome sight, as it's been around for quite a number of years. Finally, the purple cheese slope, saw blade, and Hero Factory spike are nice additions even if they're not all that rare.

    70720 Hover Hunter Review 09 70720 Hover Hunter Review 05 70720 Hover Hunter Review 06 70720 Hover Hunter Review 07 70720 Hover Hunter Review 08 70720 Hover Hunter Review 10

    It's impressive to me that this set looks very purple even though it only has six purple pieces - color in general is done well in this set with the purple complimenting the silver and trans-red, and black filling up the rest of the space. It's a simple design, but with only 77 pieces the designers did a good job. The flick-fire missiles look very tacked on, but at least it means they're easy enough to fire. There's a couple big engines on the back, but they're empty, which seems odd. Some flames, or even the piece designed to fit in there, would have been a nice touch.

    Probably the most interesting part of this set is the bottom. Using a few Technic pieces, a tire, and a skid plate, a mechanism was created so that when you roll the Hover Hunter across a flat surface the saw blade spins. It's simple but effective and a great addition. My only complaint would be the use of yellow half-bushings instead of light-grey.

    70720 Hover Hunter Review 13 70720 Hover Hunter Review 14 70720 Hover Hunter Review 15 70720 Hover Hunter Review 16 70720 Hover Hunter Review 11 70720 Hover Hunter Review 12

    There are two minifigures in this set. We finally get Cole (and the rest of the Ninjas) with hair in 2014, which is awesome. The hairpiece is great, as is the printing on his torso, with a nice electrical pattern and some brown and gold accents. On the back we see the electrical pattern continued as well as the earth symbol. His face is the same one we've been getting since 2011, which is fine.

    Next up we have the Nindroid. It's wearing some sort of robe or tunic with nice purple accents that hide some, but not all, of the machinery underneath. It looks like his face has been battle-damaged and part of the outer shell has been removed, revealing the circuitry underneath. That would probably also explain the super-angry expression he has. On the back we see the cloth continue, complete with the Nindroid logo, and more circuitry underneath. While there's not another face on the back, we do get some more exposed metal. It's definitely a mean fighting machine!

    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

    70720 Hover Hunter Review 17 70720 Hover Hunter Review 18 70720 Hover Hunter Review 19 70720 Hover Hunter Review 20

    As I mentioned earlier, there's a cool function where the saw spins when you roll it across the ground. Unfortunately, that's not the easiest thing to photograph, so make sure you watch the video review. You also get two flick-fire missiles that work as well as flick-fires do. Since they're right on the edges they're easy to access so you can get some good force behind them.

    That's about it for the play features, but for a small set I think that's plenty. Since this set includes Cole and a Nindroid, there's plenty of roleplaying fun to be had here. While the Nindroid has a giant saw, all Cole has to do is get one hit in to hack the Hover Hunter and put it out of commission. Then it's a one-on-one fight and the two will be much more evenly matched.

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Great color scheme
    • Ninjas with hair!
    • Cool function
    • Printed tiles - no stickers!
    • Good amount of play value

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Engines seem a bit lackluster
    • Only six purple parts

    At $12 for 77 pieces, this set might seem a bit expensive at first. But considering the large saw blade and purple wings, I don't think it's that unreasonable. You get a cool little hover vehicle, a good guy and a bad guy, and one of the exclusive Techno Blades. I'm happy with the set, and if you're looking for a good entry point into the Ninjago line, you should be too.

    Thanks all for reading and watching - I hope you enjoyed the review. If you skipped the video, you should go back and check it out to find out how you can win a copy of the set! This is the first of many reviews for Ninjago Month, so keep checking back on BZPower for more Ninjago news, reviews and other LEGO stories!

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