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    Discuss This Story ReviewMonday, September 15th, 2014 at 9:53pm by Benjamin, BZPower Reporter

    Continuing our Ninjago Month celebration comes a set review of the largest vehicle for this Ninjago wave: The NinjaCopter piloted by Zane and Pixal. This $60 set, with 516 pieces, boasts some heavy artillery and flying maneuvers to outsmart the Nindroids in their own flying machine. Read, and watch, on for the review and to learn how you can win one of these sets for yourself.

    First off, a special thank you to The LEGO Group for sending BZPower these Ninjago sets for us to review as we embrace Ninjago within our forums. We are doing all kinds of giveaways along with our reviews, contests, and new forum reveal. Be sure to check everything out and enjoy the Ninjago celebration.

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

    Box front Box back

    The box is large and colorful, showing some action between the NinjaCopter and the Nindroids' fliers. It is really flashy, between the action shot and the large Zane head in the corner, as well as the Ninjago logo and minifigs on display. The back keeps this along with featuring some action features, like the blunt shooters and the Nindroid flier splitting into two things. It also makes note that one of the special weapons to collect comes in this set.

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

    Nindroid glider Step one Nindroid Vehicle

    The Nindroid glider/flier thing is fairly simple, yet neat. Adding more purple to my collection is always a plus. By the time it is built, the whole thing can be appreciated for the design and how it fits two Nindroids.

    Front blades Cockpit Rear assembly Adding some bulk

    More build Tail Complete

    Building the NinjaCopter makes use of the numbered bags extremely well. Naturally, the system would go in different stages, but here we see it when building the front, back, top, tail, and extras. Everything comes together nice and orderly. It is important to pay extra attention when building this set, as I had to disassemble some parts a few times to make sure all the pieces were lined up, while that is not usually something I have to worry about.

    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.

    Pieces

    Some highlights with the pieces we get include the large windshield, the trans-blue ninja-weapon, plenty of gold pieces, and a crow. (Someone is going to have to explain the significance of the Ninjago crow to me though.) With 516 pieces though, there are some pretty nice additions to a collection whether they are old or new parts.

    Copter front Copter side Copter rear

    I am really impressed by the size of the NinjaCopter. At over a foot long, it has plenty of room for details between the fins, tail, helicopter blades and some mounted weapons. It mostly consists of the front cockpit with the big windshield and the back with a tiny �jail� and the tail. There are also fins up front with flick fire missiles and fins in the back with blunt shooters. It's always nice to have some more blunt shooters.

    Vehicle Vehicle side Vehicle back

    The Nindroid's transport is pretty neat for what it is�an additional vehicle for the bad guys. But it is really cool when it separates into two vehicles: A glider and the initial flier. Both have some pointy bits to make them formidable against the Ninjago team.

    Minifigs Minifigs back

    The minifigs are cool. Minifigs usually are. Zane has a new look, but the Nindroids pretty much all look the same between the sets (these two have different torsos, but the heads are the same). This is, however, the first set that Pixal has appeared in, and she is given a blade weapon, some funky hair (cave-woman style), and even another expression on her face to switch to.

    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.

    Tail normal Tail and blades side Rear wings normal Blunt shooter tilt

    What I really like in playability is seeing what the gears from the assembly finally do. The tail of the NinjaCopter can turn to either side, which in turn make both the rotor blade in the middle turn, but also the blunt shooters near the back! I was very impressed with this feature, though the fact that there is a small Nindroid jail and other cool features all make it better.

    Two in one

    As mentioned, the back of the Nindroid flier separates into a glider so that both minifigs have a vehicle so as to terrorize the Ninjas. Nothing much, but fairly cool.

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

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • New Pixal character minifig.
    • Great selection of new and cool parts.
    • Clever play features.
    • Two-in-one mode for Nindroid's vehicles.

    � �

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Tricky disassembly to fix any building errors.
    • I have no idea what the little Bohrok-eye tail thing is for.
    • Poor piece-to-price ratio.

    This set has a very neat build that was fun to see coming together. Upon completion, the sum of the parts shows itself off with some flashy play features and shiny gold details. The minifigs are a welcome addition, including Pixal and Zane's new outfit. I was thoroughly impressed with this set, from build to design and look. Any negatives are outweighed by the positives. This is a great set, especially for fans of Zane.

    Kevin in Copter
    Go get 'em, Kevin!

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