Review: LEGO Ninjago 71716 Lloyd Avatar Arcade Pod

Today we must quickly turn to the LEGO Ninjago set 71716 Lloyd Avatar Arcade Pod (48 pieces - 9.99 €), a new attempt on the part of LEGO to offer us boxes in which it is possible to store and transport the contents of the set concerned.

Here, the container takes the form of an arcade machine composed of a very large molded part on which are grafted a cover, a base, a glass, several stickers and some decorative elements. The series of three sets taking up this idea and integrating in turn Lloyd (71716), Jay (71715) and Kai (71714) is inspired by the world of video games Empire premium declined in short videos uploaded by LEGO to bring the 12th season of the animated series.

No mystery here, the 48 pieces of the set are quickly assembled and it is the installation of stickers that will take the most time. The arcade cabinet is pretty well designed, except that you have to remove the base completely to really interact with the two minifigs placed inside. The locking latch is supported by two pins and the assembly does not open unexpectedly during transport and the terminal door serves as a storage space for various accessories. The head of Lloyd's avatar is also plugged in and the body of the character takes place just in front of the minifig of Digi lloyd. It is then necessary to break down the minifig to align the torso and legs in front of the display.

The object obtained in this box is rather successful, we immediately recognize the arcade machine and the model will find its place at the bottom of the backpack of a young schoolboy fan of the Ninjago universe. The decorations placed at the top of the construction will undoubtedly come off during movement and it will then be necessary to go in search of the different parts at the bottom of the bag to reconstitute the thing but it is generally very transportable.

Unfortunately, if the idea is good, the realization leaves aside an important constraint which harms the coherence of the content a little: A minifigure cannot reach the buttons of the game console which is much too high. We can therefore conclude that the terminal is really only a storage box and that it has a little trouble convincing of its possible double use. We are not going to lie to each other anyway, with this molded box, LEGO tries above all to impose a new "collectable" product rather than a real toy with which we will have fun for long hours.

The arcade machine is dressed in four large stickers including two huge side stickers. LEGO is kind enough to provide us with eight small additional stickers to stick on the terminal or elsewhere according to your desire and your creative capacities.

This box also allows you to obtain two minifigs and only the Avatar version is exclusive. The Digi Lloyd minifig with its "life bar" on the back is the one already seen in the 71709 Jay and Lloyd's Velocity Racers, 71712 Empire Temple of Madness and 71713 Empire Dragon sets. The handle of Lloyd's saber shaped like a gamepad Pearl Gold is only available in the three Arcade Pods but it is found in white in several boxes marketed since the beginning of the year.

The Avatar version of the character is not uninteresting but its realization leaves much to be desired with colors that do not match anywhere. The green pad printed on the legs in Pearl Gold is too dark for that of the torso which is on a green base with a pad-printed insert which turns pale yellow instead of being matched with the head and the hands of the character. Again, the official visuals are way too pretentious and the reality is disappointing.

In summary, for 10 €, we get two minifigs, their accessories and a decorated box that allows them to be transported. After the ball-shaped capsules, square boxes from the Friends range or books from the Disney universe, LEGO offers a new variation of the toy to take everywhere thanks to a container made of a molded shell. Why not, even if in this specific case I would have appreciated getting an arcade machine to assemble and scale minifigs.

Note: The product shown here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at March 20, 2020 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn. Shipment of the batch as soon as the sanitary situation permits.