Because it takes a few baddies to stand up to this bunch of pretentious young ninjas with their robots of all kinds, today we are talking about the set The LEGO Ninjago Movie 70609 Manta Ray Bomber, with its 341 pieces, its 4 minifigs, and its public price of 29.99 €.

If you've watched the movie trailer closely, you already know that this stingray seaplane bomber with a Zodiac on its back is actively participating in the invasion of Ninjago City. It is the basic flying machine which comes in excess to darken the sky of the city.

First observation, the thing actually looks like a manta ray. The designers did the job, and whether from the front or from above, we find the curves and the expression of the batoid that everyone knows.

We add to that a color that gives it a military aspect without seeming to touch it too much, a few stickers with numbers and that's enough to create an army of mechanized flying fish.

The presence of the Zodiac on the back of the craft seemed incongruous to me at first. But that was without counting on the fact that these infamous shark-men can thus go hunting for the nice frightened civilian in the port of Ninjago City and knock them out with the on-board cannon after having destroyed half of the city by dropping their bombs. colored. A good point for the playability.

The machine seems to me here faithful to the version of the film and that is a good thing. No excessive narrowing or massive simplification. The spring rifles are really well integrated in the mouth of this bomber and the machine is easily handled.

On the minifig side, we get the young Ninja Cole, the frightened nice civilian Shen-Li with his yoke and two buckets, and two villains: one Great White and Shark Army Gunner. It's enough to have fun.

As usual, too bad for the difference in color between the arms and the upper torso at Cole's. Yellow on a black background, it's yellow less yellow ...

Those who want to build a fleet of flying rays will have a few copies of Cole to sell to amortize the investment. The other minifigs can still be used to create a large army. Regarding Shen-Li, it seems that we all have a double somewhere ...

There is nothing here to philosophize for hours but this set does the job. So I say yes for this box, it is above all a good way to get something to tickle at a reasonable price. The LEGO Ninjago Movie mechs by spraying them with bombinettes disguised as bees before zigzagging in a Zodiac in the canals of Ninjago City. An entire program.

Note: We do as usual, you have until August 19, 2017 to manifest yourself in the comments.

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.

This is a set that we will be talking about a lot in the coming weeks, including a house test (and a happy one in the end ...): the reference 70620 Ninjago City is THE essential diorama to stage all sets based on The LEGO Ninjago Movie.

While waiting to look in more detail at the contents of this large box of 4867 pieces which will be available from September 1st. on the LEGO Shop at the retail price of € 299.99, you can still hear what the designers of the set have to say in the video below.

We will speak again in due course of this modular building which brings together many different atmospheres, a few nods to the most assiduous LEGO fans and 16 minifigures. Ultimate playset for young fan or pretext to extort € 300 from fans of modulars and LEGO references of all kinds? Or both ? I will tell you what I think about it shortly.

A bridge, some rocks, a bamboo cage, a river and two scorpions, this is the box The LEGO Ninjago Movie 70608 Master Falls, with its false pre-movie set airs, its 312 pieces, its 3 minifigs (and a skeleton), and its retail price of € 29.99.

You saw it in the second trailer of the film which gives us a glimpse of the scene reproduced in this LEGO box, here is the simplified version of the bridge on which Garmadon and Sensei Wu clash, with perhaps the key to a unenviable fate for the old sage with pants off.

Once again, LEGO kept only the essentials and transformed the film bridge into a simple strip of nougat-colored caterpillars stretched between two rocky peaks incorporating a few meta-pieces. It's minimalist, but we'll do with it. Everything is symbolic in this set: the river, the vegetation, the ruins, the rocks ... There is a bit of everything but above all too little of each element.

The set will probably find its place in a "house" jungle and perhaps provide a few hours of play for young fans of the Ninjago universe even if I have the impression that when choosing between something that flies and who throws bombs and this bridge, the young fan will move towards other sets.

There are two blue Technic pins on the bridge, to easily stage two minifigs without them falling. Why blue, I don't know.

The railing of the bridge is summed up here in an alignment of a few pieces which hang in the void. They are not even connected to the deck floor. It's almost aesthetic but not very functional. You will spend time aligning the pieces that make up this railing, it will keep you busy.

Integration of three color microfigs Tan in the ruins does not save the furniture, but it is still taken.

The minifig collector will find here something to fill his Ikea frame inexpensively with Garmadon in "Jungle" outfit, the usual version of Sensei Wu and the young haired Kai.

Something definitely bothers me about Kai, probably the fact that he seems to have lost his way under an Italian ice cream machine ...

"Jungle" Garmadon is here decked out with a "camouflage" epaulet that struggles to hide its strong hairiness and that we will probably see again equip some less festive custom minifigs very quickly.

The skeleton holds a map in its hand that leads from Destiny's Bounty to the Temple of the set 70617 Temple of The Ultimate Ultimate Weapon passing through the bridge in question. This card is also logically present in the set 70618 Destiny's Bounty since the boat is according to the drawing the starting point of the quest which leads to the temple.

I am far from sharing the enthusiasm found in other "reviews" about this box. The bridge bears little resemblance to the one in the movie, and while I can understand LEGO's desire to provide a solid and playable set, it's visually very, very far from the reference scene. The use of caterpillar elements seems to me to be more laziness than creative genius.

This set could possibly come to complete the temple of the reference 70617 but it will be difficult to be sufficient on its own. Even putting the whole thing together isn't very exciting. A good point for the bamboo cell which will occupy you five minutes, the time to correctly align the bars that compose it.

In short, I pass. This set is a starter product that does not appeal to me much.

Note: We do as usual, you have until August 14, 2017 to manifest yourself in the comments.

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.

This is one of my favorites from the line of sets based on The LEGO Ninjago Movie: The Set 70616 Ice Tank, with its 914 pieces, its 5 minifigs and its retail price of € 79.99.

I'm even ready to forgive him for being once again just a budget version of the machine seen in the trailer for the film. The ensemble, with its futuristic insect look, caught my eye.

My first thought went to Plasma Bugs from Starship Troopers, find out why. This is probably what unconsciously attracted me to this tank with the appearance of a bellicose insect.

In the first trailer of the film, the original version of this tank is equipped with two sets of tracks on each side and a very elaborate suspension system. The LEGO version is less ambitious.

As usual, LEGO has therefore simplified the thing but I want to be indulgent today: the end result does not suffer too much. I was already a fan of Titanium Ninja Tumbler from set 70588 with its removable cell released in 2016, and here I find the type of vehicle that a ninja like Zane must have in his garage.

While moving, the tank spins the mixer of the ice cream vat, the blue abdomen, which contains a few parts. The functionality of this ice cream maker is admittedly anecdotal, but I found the idea pretty cool.

The rotation of the blades striking on the parts which themselves strike on the surface of the tank generates a noise which will probably please the youngest but that some will quickly find annoying. It will suffice to remove these pieces to find a little silence on the living room carpet.

The whole is held up rather well, the machine is easy to move. The blue tank is well designed, it does not fall apart at the slightest manipulation. The less careful will find their account without having to rebuild everything after each slightly hectic session.

The machine really suits Zane, Elemental master et Ninja of ice of his condition. We are in the theme, no doubt about it.

As for the planned armament, it is necessary to be satisfied with the rotating cannon located to the left of the cockpit. A gear allows the cannon to be put into action to sow coins all over the living room. It's limited, but there is a bit of fun.

Lots (too many) of stickers to stick again, mainly to dress the cockpit and the banners located at the back. But it is at this price that the whole gets a really nice look. No stickers to put on the canopy of the cockpit, that's already it. A second canopy identical to the one protecting Zane is located under the cockpit. The MOCers of spacecraft may find their account there.

As on the other sets which feature these vaguely Japanese flags, these elements are the weak link of the whole. They hamper the handling of the machine a little and have a tendency to turn and to unhook a little too easily. We can always consider removing them temporarily for an "active" play session so as not to spoil the fun.

On the minifig side, LEGO obviously provides the owner of this Ice Tank, namely Zane, a Shark Army Thug, a Shark Army Angler, Patty Keys and Torben. A single ninja for 79.99 € is not much, especially since the rest is made up of generic characters.

Regarding the two frightened civilians to protect, nothing very exciting as it stands. We will have to see what their exact role is in the film to judge the interest of these two characters and determine if LEGO is filling or if Torben and Patty Keys are doing anything other than running away from Garmadon's men.

A good point for the Shark Army Angler's helmet, if you like monkfish this is for you.

As is the case with many other sets in this film-based range, this gearbox is sorely lacking a second vehicle, even minimalist, driven by the two villains.

For maximum playability, it will therefore be necessary to extend the planned budget and purchase another set featuring the machines piloted by the shark-men such as the sets. 70609 Manta Ray Bomber ou 70610 Flying Jelly Sub which we will talk about in the coming days.

You can still have fun crushing baddies with the caterpillars of this tank, I tried, but it's fun for five minutes, no more.

In summary, the machine has style and that's what makes me say yes. Regarding the public price, it is the high bar. This box will end up being available for barely more than 50 € one day or the other and it will be time to have fun.

Note: We do as usual, you have until August 11, 2017 to manifest yourself in the comments.
Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.
If I do not get a response from him to my request for contact details before August 20, a new winner will be drawn.

If you were planning on purchasing products from the LEGO Ninjago range on the LEGO Shop or in a LEGO Store, wait until August 14.

LEGO will offer the bag 5004916 Kai's Dojo Pod from this date for any purchase of products from the range in question.

This offer will be valid until October 29, 2017, so you will have plenty of time to make up your mind (if there is any left when you decide ...).

This offer can be combined with the one that will allow you to obtain the small set 5004936 Iconic Cave from 30 € of purchase without restriction of range from 10 to 30 August 2017.