Destiny's Shadow

When I first decided to buy into the Ninjago: Hands of Time line of sets, my first purchase was the Destiny's Shadow. This set was the most familiar to me, reminding me of a miniaturized version of the Destiny's Bounty as seen twice before. The design looked very interesting as well, and I also thought the minifigure selection of the set was very desirable given it was a simple 30 dollar set. As such, I purchased this set, and I was not dissapointed in that regard. PROS The first pro to mention is the minifigure selection. This set allows one to obtain 2 ninja (Lloyd and Cole), as well as an 'exclusive' Vermillion Warrior. The three figures have lots of fine and crisp detail that I think are very worthy of display, and personally appeal to me as a collector and fan. The weapon selection is also very nice, giving the builder a large amount of swords to play with and a time blade, the 'pause' time blade if I am correct. The second pro worth mentioning is the unique shape the ship is given. The golden railing bent around the edges gives the ship a very elegant feel and design, and the odd angles that the back 'roof' elements are positioned at give the set a unique feel. The ship also comfortably can stand all six ninja if need be, which, to me personally, is a very desirable trait in any scenario. Another pro worth mentioning is the play feature. While I have seen many criticize the wing feature for being 'unnecessary' or too small, I believe it adds a small bit of flair to the ship that would otherwise not be there. The wings are elegant and made out of a durable plastic, allowing for it to be bent around the arrowhead pieces as it is shown in the model. The coloration of the wings also fit well with the rest of the model. CONS There are, however ,a few cons that prevent me from giving this set a perfect score. The front portion of the ship, while fine when viewed from above, is rather jagged and blocky, lacking the 'hull' design that ships emulate. The Dragon head up front, while very clever, is far too small for the ship and gives the front of the ship a very spindly feel. The back portion of the ship, as well, is also very rickity. While it will not fall off without being actively played with, the parts are connected using very fine technic pieces, meaning the plates will shake and, at times, fall off. CONCLUSION I personally would recommend this set to anyone who is looking to find a good set to purchase for the line. If you do not wish to buy the entire line, but also want to buy one good set, this would be my recommendation. Simply be ready for some shaky plates and a slightly jagged hull. more less

The new season of LEGO Ninjago is all about controlling time, and kids can be in control of the action with this construction set. It's going to be fun for fans of the LEGO Ninjago series who want to play out favorite scenes from the show and create their own action-packed storylines. This set has a lot of nice detail and will make a nice addition to a LEGO Ninjago collection. more less

The build itself was more challenging than I expected. Though the set is designed for builders as young as 7 years old, I found myself forced to take apart the nose of the vehicle after realizing I had made a mistake several pages back (the shame!). There are also some interesting two-point connections along the side using Mixel ball joints, though these too gave me some pause as I had to press in firmly enough to connect the pieces, but not too firmly as to crush the entire vehicle. more less