71792Sora’s Transforming Mech Bike Racer: Hands On Review

It is time to start the Ninjago reviews for 2023. Today I’d like to focus on set that only includes NEW Characters appearing in Ninjago Dragons Rising – I’ll address some of the Classic Ninja soon. Set 71792, Sora’s Mech Bike Racer, features Sora, Arin and Baby Riyu, as well as Rapton – A member of the Imperium whose role we are yet to fully understand.

The set will be released in June 2023, has 384 parts, and will cost $47.99USD/$79AUD/£42.99/€47.99.

Read on to see whether or not this is an engaging and enjoyable set. And whether it glows under UV light…

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Ninjago: Dragons Rising Sets Revealed [June Release]

A couple of weeks ago, the title of the new Ninjago Series: Dragons Rising was revealed. The series will arrive, along with new sets on the first of June in most of the world, although it might take a little longer to arrive elsewhere. – July 1 in Australia for example.

In the series we see the result of the Mergequake – the Realms that have been previously seen on Ninjago, as well as others not seen to date – join together to present a new world, with some familiar aspects. The series will focus on two new characters: Sora and Arin, along with a baby dragon names Riyu.

This will be a great opportunity for the Ninjago-Curious to step into the world, with no knowledge of previous canon necessary to watch the program, although the creative team assured us at a round table meeting a few weeks ago that there will be plenty of tidbits to keep the long time fans of the show happy.

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Ninjagopalooza23 Part I: EVO/Core sets: Hands-On Reviews: 71781,71783,71787

I hinted a couple of weeks ago about my fondness for the intrinsic ‘spirit’ of series such as Ninjago and Monkie Kid – they are both sci-fi fantasy themes and, as such, bring us the closest thing to Classic Space and Castle themes that we are likely to see on an ongoing basis for the time being.

We have seen the first half year present a ‘Core’ Range for Ninjago, while the second half of last year tied in closely with the animated series.

Earlier in the year, I joined several other Fan Media in a conversation with Niek van Slagmaat and Markus Rollbühler, both part of the Ninjago team, about the ‘Core’ Series – the sets we saw released in January, with seemingly no connection to the series, beyond the presence of those Core Ninjago values: Mechs, Vehicles, Dragons, Dojos and of course, Ninja.

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80045 Monkie King Ultra Mech [Rambling Review]

For a theme steeped in classical Chinese mythology, Monkie Kid continues to bring us some of the LEGO Group’s best homegrown Science Fiction type content: mechs, flyers and drivers, along with more organic elements, including animals and landscapes. The latest wave is no exception. Now entering its fourth year/season we see a refresh of the original 80012 Monkie King Warrior Mech. Manifested through sheer willpower by MK, it makes sense that as he develops his powers, the mech will become upgraded. I initially started thinking about this set as MK Ultra… and then I was reminded about the use of this designation for the CIA’s experiments into mind control in the ’60s and ’70s.

I was excited when the opportunity to take a pre-release look at this set came along, and I appreciate the LEGO Group sending it over for an early review.

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2023 Ninjago Core Sets Revealed

After the dramatic finale to the Crystallized Storyline in the animated series, the first wave of LEGO® Ninjago sets in 2023 returns to the ‘Core’ theme: bringing us the Core elements of the Ninjago theme: Vehicles, Mechs, Dragons and Monasteries. Similar to last year, we see some sets with the ‘EVO’ theme: adding powerups and armour – similar to what we have seen in the most reason season.

Today, we have official details for 9 of the new range of sets, due to ship early next year:

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