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A little help regarding Ninjago and what to buy...

DeadareusDeadareus Member Posts: 264
edited December 2012 in Everything else LEGO
The time has come where my son (age 4) has expressed an interest in Lego sets outside of what I like to collect.... He's asked for some Ninjago.

He'll be getting Fire Temple & Lloyd ZX for Christmas.

What is the best 'rival' spinner to battle Lloyd?

Are there any othe sets I should look for?

I'm looking to buy 1 more (small-medium sized) set for under the tree to accompany the two mentioned above. No need for the other dragon sets just yet...I'll wait and see what he thinks of this before investing any more into the theme.

I'm also not sure if he will be using/playing the actual cards, but the spinning and battling aspect may interest him.

I saw the spinners are spun manually. Is he too young to enjoy this feature? If so I'll probably lean towards a vehicle of some sort.

Any suggestions are appreciated..thanks.

Mods: I realize there is another thread about buying Ninjago but it seemed to be more about r/c and no weapons.... but if this should be merged then by all means feel free. thx.


Comments

  • TheCultLeaderTheCultLeader Member Posts: 48
    9441 Kai's Blade Cycle is a good small vehicle. You might also consider 9591 battle pack to give him a couple more spinners.
    Deadareus
  • Penkid11Penkid11 Member Posts: 788
    I would go for #9444 Cole's Tread Assault for a vehicle.

    For enemy spinners I'd go for #9571 Fangdam or #9573 Slithraa. Most spinners are going to be a bit more than the typical cost, as they are sold out on S@H, and pretty much only available from third-party sellers now. Good luck!
    Deadareus
  • gmpirategmpirate Member Posts: 1,654
    Hmmm, might be a time to teach him a valuable lesson about clearance sales. He can have "all" the Ninjago sets if he just waits until after Christmas/New Year's :P
    Deadareus
  • LegoFanTexasLegoFanTexas Member Posts: 8,404
    For a 4 year old? Most of the Ninjago spinners are rather advanced, you're not going to have him build them, are you?

    #9444 is a great vehicle, but I doubt the average 4 year old could build it.

    The spinners, as others have noted, are now all going up in price because they are now all sold out.

    Several can still be had for right around RRP ($10), but many others are now quite expensive.
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    Build ability depends on the 4 year old, and it's unclear from the post if you plan on building with him, or having him build.

    What is the best 'rival' spinner to battle Lloyd?

    My 5 year old honestly did not care. He simply picked by which one looked cool. If you can find any snakes, I would just grab a snake spinner. The reality is that my kids will put many different minfigs on those spinners.


    Are there any othe sets I should look for?
    I'm looking to buy 1 more (small-medium sized) set for under the tree to accompany the two mentioned above. No need for the other dragon sets just yet...I'll wait and see what he thinks of this before investing any more into the theme.

    While 9444 is great, and was the Ninjago set my son wanted at barely 5, I also feel that it is somewhat unstable and a bit persnickety.

    Jay's plane is cheap has about 250 pieces, and comes with a Ninja.
    Kai cycle is also cheap, small and comes with a Ninja.

    For my son, the critical part was having Ninjas to play with.



    I'm also not sure if he will be using/playing the actual cards, but the spinning and battling aspect may interest him.

    My 5 year old still liked the cards, but he made up his own way to use them. He liked spinning them. He really liked the 3d battle arena. I picked it up cheap. It is not worth $25, but he really used that a ton.

    I saw the spinners are spun manually. Is he too young to enjoy this feature? If so I'll probably lean towards a vehicle of some sort.

    Again, I think this depends on the kid. To give you a gauge. My son will be 6 in about a month. He was building 200- 400 piece sets when barely 4. I would check every few pages. At 5, he would take about any set, and just build it. I wouldn't bother to check. He got his first spinner as an early 5 year old, and had no issue spinning them. He's enjoyed the spinners. I think having at least two spinners makes sense.

    My only other suggestion...One thing I have found is that my son does like picking out a set or two after Christmas. With the new Ninjago sets coming in January, you might want to leave open the possibility of letting him choose one....or he may see a new line that utterly sparks his interest.
  • AmberylAmberyl Member Posts: 193
    If you're willing to get an EOL'd set, I'd get #2519 Skeleton Bowling, or #2520 Battle Arena. The arena is especially nice because it's a confined area in which to do spinner-battle, it comes with a pair of spinners, two ball-shooters, and a couple of cards. If you want a single good starter set, the arena definitely seems to be it.
  • MaskieBoyMaskieBoy Member Posts: 25
    I would ask him what his favorite character is and just get him that one's spinner. If you wanted a vehicle I would go with #9444 Cole's Tread Assault. I it is probably not a set he could assemble by himself but it could be a fun project for you and your son to build together.
  • leemcgleemcg Member Posts: 607
    edited November 2012
    My boys (nearly 6) are super into Ninjago at the moment and have a lot of stuff of their Christmas lists. But they only really got into the actual characters and wanting specific items once I started letting them watch the TV series on YouTube (we're in the UK). Now they know far more about who does what (and who they want to pretend to be) than I do.

    I have picked out some sets for my stash when they've been on discount but I've almost entirely failed to pick the things they would like. So my advice is get your son involved a bit.
  • DeadareusDeadareus Member Posts: 264
    Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Greatly appreciated.

    So far anything that he has built I have helped him with until last week he built the Ghost Clock by himself. We are close to him building sets by himself but I will happily still be helping him w/ all his Christmas sets... And no doubt i'll be playing with the spinners as well. They look fun.

    He has only seen the Ninjago cartoon maybe once or twice as most of his 'screen time' is spent watching shows on Netflix or downloaded shows on the PS3. I expect this will change now that he's expressed interest in Ninjago as I will buy or PVR some episodes for him.

    To be honest I was dreading the inevitable interest of his in a theme that I didn't really care about.... (There's a Lego budget and I would prefer it was spent on Star Wars and Superheroes) BUT oddly enough, I am super excited about the couple of Ninjago sets we have so far. That Fire Temple looks amazing, as does the Epic Dragon Battle which I'm sure will be purchased down the road. And battling minifigures on spinning discs?!?! Yeah, I can see how that would appeal to kids. "Santa vs. Bunny Suit Guy... GO!"

    Thanks again for all the suggestions. I think I'll keep and eye out for #9444 and another spinner (lots of spinners in stock around me), then call it a day.
  • LegoFanTexasLegoFanTexas Member Posts: 8,404
    ^ Just keep in mind that if you want any of the green boxed sets, don't wait, they will be gone by the end of this year, or at least most of them will be.

    Epic Dragon Battle will do well in retirement, it is already on backorder with S@H and sold out at Amazon and many other places.
  • DeadareusDeadareus Member Posts: 264
    ^ thx LFT. That was my reason for getting Fire Temple first.

    I also regret having passed up on For 99$ at TRU on Sunday.. But I'm sure it will be around for a while.

    What's the status on the Ice Dragon Attacks? EOL'd or just out of stock everywhere due to popularity?
  • roxioroxio Member Posts: 1,384
    Ice dragon attacks long gone in UK, I got almost 3x rrp on eBay, bought up all I could on @LegoFanTexas advice
  • BuilderMomBuilderMom Member Posts: 21
    My son is 5 1/2 and has been into Ninjago nearly since the beginning. Unfortunately, we didn't pick up the dragons before EOL, as I thought they would be a bit difficult for him at the time. The prices have skyrocketed. Unless you feel you HAVE to have the dragons, skip it. You'll get far more Lego on your budget without them.

    I'm a huge fan of the Brickmaster books, as you get several builds for your buck. We don't have the new (green) one, just the red one, but have gotten much play out of it. My Costco was running low on them last time I was there, but definitely check yours soon if you've got one near...some of the best $15 you can spend on Ninjago.

    You're gonna face the dilemma of how do get all of the ninjas relatively cheaply. I would recommend trying to get them all the same "level" if you can. There have been 5 levels...original, DX, ZX, Kendo, and NRG. NRG is the most recent (well, I hear we're about to get them all in elemental robes). However, I think that most of the sets out right now have ZX. Lloyd (the one you have) is ZX, as his NRG has not yet appeared that I know of.

    The thing about Ninjago is that the kiddos are really into the minifigs. Focus on getting one of each Ninja and you'll thank me later. While the sets are really cool, they're mostly pretty unstable when built for a 4 year old. Thus, I'd focus on the ninjas and a couple of spinners. If you get the Brickmaster book, there's a Cole ZX. If you can find it, Jay ZX was in a poly for about $5. For Kai ZX, you can try to locate the spinner variety (was $10) or get the Blade Cycle ($15). Zane ZX was also available in a booster pack (poly 9554) for about $5. Thus, assuming you can find them, it's possible to get all four ZX ninjas for under $50. That's definitely the way I'd go to introduce a 4 year old to the line. You have to think differently than you're used to. For him, it's not gonna be mostly about the coolest build of a single set, but the play of the minifigs. Granted, he could always be different, but I say this having watched many 4-5 year old boys play ninjago for quite some time now.

    On another note, if you're interested, I made a template for an iron-on to create many ninjago t-shirts for my son's last birthday party. You just print it onto the iron-on paper. Then iron on to the color shirt of your choice ... my son has them in all the colors as a result of said birthday party (cheap party favors if you pick up the shirts on sale at Michaels). PM me if you want it and I'll email it to you.
    Deadareus
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    Most of the dragons were gone end of last year/January. I managed to nab an ice dragon at Walmart, but I snoozed too long on the earth dragon.

    I think based on his build ability then, go with basic spinners, and smaller sets. the little cycle is a smaller set, but you will need to find it soon. If you can't find any smaller ones, there will be some out with the new wave, and you could let him pick out a smaller set. Stash Epic Dragon if you can find it. Fire temple should be a fun one for the two of you to work on together.
    Deadareus
  • LegoFanTexasLegoFanTexas Member Posts: 8,404
    Fire Temple (#2507) is now retired, but you can still find them for a semi-reasonable price.

    Ice Dragon (#2260) and Earth Dragon (#2509) are just nuts, those are 4x retail price now, I'm selling Earth Dragons every day for over $100, which is crazy for that set. Ran out of Ice Dragons at $100 thinking that would be the limit for a 157 part set, but they have gone right past that number.

    Lightning Dragon (#2521) in the USA was an interesting one, since it was TRU exclusive and only out 6 months. It has gotten expensive over here, but I understand it was still out in Europe for awhile. Much cheaper from European sellers for a long time, but shipping cancels a lot of that out.

    Epic Dragon Battle is easily a $250 set once retired. Will it stay for 2013? I have no idea, but they are selling for well over RRP now because they are out of stock everywhere.

    If you can't find Epic, backorder it from S@H and just wait for it.

    BTW, having built them all, Epic is by FAR the best... Ice Dragon is actually better than you'd think for 157 parts, but Epic's wings flap, it has a proper "swooshing" handle, and it has 4 Dragon Heads, what more could you want? :)
    Deadareus
  • LegoFanTexasLegoFanTexas Member Posts: 8,404
    roxio said:

    Ice dragon attacks long gone in UK, I got almost 3x rrp on eBay, bought up all I could on @LegoFanTexas advice

    You are very welcome. :)
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,556
    Deadareus said:


    I'm also not sure if he will be using/playing the actual cards, but the spinning and battling aspect may interest him.

    I saw the spinners are spun manually. Is he too young to enjoy this feature? If so I'll probably lean towards a vehicle of some sort.

    Not at all, they are very easy to spin. In fact, I'd suggest buying a few spinners. You are meant to play 1 vs 1 with the spinners, but my kids love spinning as many as they can at once, like a Battle Royale / King of the Ring. You are not limited to having just ninjas or their enemies on the spinners, you can stick any minifigs on them. But I would definitely get a few extra spinner bases.

    If they don't have time for building, my kids love playing the spinners. They are quick and easy to build and a lot of fun to play - you don't even need to use the cards if you don't want to, just keep a score of who beat who. This also works if they have friends over - four or five can set them spinning and the first one off gets eliminated. Sometimes they play for hours with them bashing up each other, when I try to get them to build instead.
    Deadareus
  • leemcgleemcg Member Posts: 607
    @roxio That's very interesting. I presumed Ninjago demand in the UK was just fundamentally lower because of the lack of the cartoon.

    My boys are really into it, as they've been watching the cartoon on YouTube, but I have been basically working on a target of 50% discount for Ninjago - they seem to have extra discounts in various 3 for 2s, or just really cheap in other sales. I never imagined anything I had particularly increasing in value here (I've even got a Lloyd spinner, so coveted in the US).
  • roxioroxio Member Posts: 1,384
    ^I found 8 Lloyds in local Asda for £5, all sold for £15 in a couple of days.
    My stockpile of epic dragons is growing.......
    Thezoofox
  • RomanticWarriorRomanticWarrior Member Posts: 248
    edited November 2012
    My 4-year-old just got into Ninjago too. Lots of good advice. As someone mentioned, the kids love to collect all of the ninjas. I would suggest

    Jay ZX booster pack (Jay)
    Kai's Blade Cycle (Kai)
    Venomari Shrine (Zane)
    Lasha's Bite cycle (Cole) - a good complement to Kai's cycle so he can have an even battle.

    Don't know much about the spinners, as my son hasn't started on those yet.
    Deadareus
  • LegoFanTexasLegoFanTexas Member Posts: 8,404
    ^ Those are good suggestions... Just keep in mind that it doesn't give you a spinner for Jay, but Amazon does still have 9553 in stock (abit $1 above RRP).

    Blade Cycle is gone, so that will be an over RRP unless you can find it in stores. There were still some copies this weekend at my local LEGO store, but I would think they are gone now.

    Two more options:

    1. You can just buy Epic Dragon Battle and Fire Temple and get a ton of figures including Nya and Sensi Wu which are now getting hard to find by themselves with their spinners.

    Granted, that is about $250, but you also get two very cool Dragons and the Temple.

    2. Cheaper option... 9449 - Ultra Sonic Raider - Comes with all 4 Ninjas (and 2 snakes) in 1 box for $80.
    Deadareus
  • DeadareusDeadareus Member Posts: 264
    Thanks again guys.

    Just got back from our shopping trip and will start checking local stores tomorrow. Already checked one Walmart and they had a few different spinners but the only sets available were Fangpyre Mech, Kai's Cycle and a training set.


    I'll most likely grab another spinner and a smaller set for christmas then grab Epic Dragon set if I see it and hang on to it for his birthday or Easter provided he expresses interest in it.

    Seems like these are flying off the shelves though... The Walmart shelf dedicated to Ninjago was basically bare.





  • AmberylAmberyl Member Posts: 193
    I also want to throw in a good word for Destiny's Bounty, which is a great build, and is a transforming airship. It has lots of minifigs, though no spinner bases.
    Penkid11
  • Penkid11Penkid11 Member Posts: 788
    ^Seconded. If there is any set better that includes Sensei Wu, I would love to hear it.
  • punkinannpunkinann Member Posts: 16
    You can get a green ninja for $10 as part of the Lego Character Encyclopedia. The green ninja seems both popular with the boys, and hard to find. Dunno why, never seen the series.
  • MaskieBoyMaskieBoy Member Posts: 25
    The green ninja is supposed to have all the powers of the original ninja combined.
  • Penkid11Penkid11 Member Posts: 788
    punkinann said:

    You can get a green ninja for $10 as part of the Lego Character Encyclopedia. The green ninja seems both popular with the boys, and hard to find. Dunno why, never seen the series.

    Not true, that was his form in the last five episodes. It is also not the same one from the spinner.
  • punkinannpunkinann Member Posts: 16
    LegoFanTexas said:


    2. Cheaper option... 9449 - Ultra Sonic Raider - Comes with all 4 Ninjas (and 2 snakes) in 1 box for $80.

    #9449 is on sale at Target for $59.50. If you have a Target card, it's 5% off and free shipping.
  • DeadareusDeadareus Member Posts: 264
    Well, based on availability in my area I have narrowed it down to # 9948 The Samurai Mech or #9444 Coles Tread Assault for the medium sized set coupled with another spinner.

    This will give him The Fire Temple, Two spinners and one of the above sets. So far I am leaning towards Coles Tread assault as it just looks bigger despite having way less parts.

    Thanks again for all the suggestions. If there is a clear winner between these two sets or something I am overlooking please feel free to comment. cheers, D.
  • Penkid11Penkid11 Member Posts: 788
    You can't go wrong with the Fire Temple. It's beautiful when built, and a wonderful pile of MOC pieces once disassembled.
  • Rainstorm26Rainstorm26 Member Posts: 1,018
    One thing to think about for people who are thinking about stashing large quantities and having them go up in value. It would seem to me that now that the TV series is over, that interest in the Ninjago line might fade rather quickly, especially with the new Chima TV series coming out. Now seems to be the optimal time to sell as the series just ended.
  • AanchirAanchir Member Posts: 3,043
    Rainstorm26 said:

    One thing to think about for people who are thinking about stashing large quantities and having them go up in value. It would seem to me that now that the TV series is over, that interest in the Ninjago line might fade rather quickly, especially with the new Chima TV series coming out. Now seems to be the optimal time to sell as the series just ended.

    I don't think it will fade so quickly. After all, I've seen no indication that Cartoon Network is going to stop airing reruns of the Ninjago TV series. They might even have marathons from time to time. Additionally, Ninjago will still be promoted through other channels such as the graphic novels (which have been tremendously successful). There are at least two Ninjago graphic novels slated for release in 2013. And of course, let's not forget that the complete second season and complete series are expected for release on DVD and Blu-Ray in early 2013.

    Certainly Ninjago won't last long without the TV series, but it probably has more than enough momentum already for the 2013 line to see a decent amount of success.

    It also shouldn't be forgotten that Ninjago has become dear to many kids' and adults' hearts, and that's the sort of thing that nostalgia is built on. Even if there is a temporary dip in demand for Ninjago toys, I guarantee that the minifigures at least will have an increase in demand in the long run. Just look at how much money Avatar: The Last Airbender minifigures go for online and at conventions. And that was a one-year, two-set licensed theme with minifigures that were incompatible with figs from any other theme, not to mention inauthentic to the character designs in many cases. Certainly licensed themes' demand has played by different rules than non-licensed themes' demand in the past, but Ninjago had such a powerful media presence that I fully expect aftermarket values to be closer to those of licensed themes than to those of past non-licensed themes.
  • DeadareusDeadareus Member Posts: 264
    Picked up Samuarai Mech for 30% off... Bonus.

    If i can find Coles Tread Assault on sale somewhere I'll grab that as well.

    It's going to be a bit of a mish mash of minifigs... Some original (Fire Temple), some ZX (Lloyd Spinner and Cole), and whatever the heck Samuarai X is?

    I still have to purchase another spinner as well... I may return the Lloyd Zx spinner and get the starter kit to have a battle arena.

    I'm assuming I'll grab the Epic Dragon set in the new year so I'll get Lloyd then anyways.
  • Penkid11Penkid11 Member Posts: 788
    If anything, keep Lloyd, get rid of Cole. Lloyd is rarer (and much better than most spinners in my opinion).
    Deadareus
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