2258 Ninja Ambush
Price: $6.99 USD/£6.49 GBP
Pieces: 71
Price Per Piece: $.985
Minifigures: 2
LEGO Description:
I would say that on average, the smaller sets that LEGO puts out generally fall into two categories: they are either 'piece' sets that have some nice rare pieces, or they are a minifigure set, designed to give you a nice amount of minifigures for a lower price than they would appear in other sets. This particular set however falls into the elusive third category of both 'piece' and minifigure, while heaping on a whole bunch of playability on top. I'm a huge fan of the NinjaGo line (excepting the overpriced $10 booster packs) and as of right now, this is the most satisfying set for price, parts and playability.Ambush the evil skeleton soldier and protect the golden scythe!
As part of his training to become the Spinjitzu Master of Fire, Kai is sent into the bamboo forest by Sensei Wu to protect the Golden Scythe. Hit the button to launch a surprise attack on Bonezai before he steals it! Set includes 2 minifigures and 3 weapons. Includes 2 minifigures: Kai and Bonezai Features golden scythe, black sword and bone weapons Set measures over 2'in (5cm) tall
But enough of me huffing and puffing, let's get to the nitty gritty.
The Minifigures
This set comes with two minifigures. Mr. Ninja's name is Kai and the skeleton's name is Bonezai (terrible, terrible terrible play on words). I'll comment on Bonezai first and move onto Kai second.
Bonezai features the new skeleton model. New arms, new legs, new body, and new unique head (to the minifigure.) Each skeleton features their own unique face, adding in some much needed variation of skeleton heads to the LEGO universe, as well as adding, dare I say it, depth of character to each minifigure.
While I'm generally satisfied with the new skeletons, this one had some production flaws. Upon opening my little pouches of LEGO from the box, I discovered that there were little flecks of strings of plastic still attached to the LEGO skeleton body. If you look closely at the image above you can still see of them hanging on. This wasn't really quite an issue but it did not seem like a finished product. Furthermore one of my arms broke immediately when I went to put it on the body. The connector piece to the body snapped in twain and hung on only by a thread. It really peeved me. Luckily this set came with an extra arm. Still, I have never had another skeleton arm break on me, so I must infer that this one is of inferior quality.
Kai, our intrepid Mr. Ninja, is my favorite one so far. He has by far the most memorable face. I'm finding the other ninja faces to be quite generic. What sets Kai apart from the others is definitely the prominent facial scar, as well as the slight detailing to the curve of his mouth. He sports the regular NinjaGo printing of robes, a belt and the printed clasp on his chest.
Quite surprisingly, neither of these minifigures features any back printing at all. For Kai that is alright, but if you look back at Bonezai you'll notice that he's sporting some sort of diaper thong and there is no back to it...which is quite a wardrobe foul where I come from.
But over all I have to say that I really do like the minifigures. The front printing is quite well done and they are both wonderful to have.
The Accessories
I said that this was also a parts set, and the weapons that come with this set are definitely intriguing. First off we have the sword. It's becoming pretty standard and comes with every single NinjaGo set as far as I can tell.
Well beyond that we have the introduction of the new large Femur (assuming that is a thigh bone) and attached to it is one of those wonderful axe blades that I do think look quite threatening. You can attach any standard sort of connector to the bone, and the ends of the bone can be held by a minifigure's hand.
The real attention grabber of this set though is definitely the 'Golden Scythe.' It is a combination of 3 pieces. The shaft of the scythe is a standard rod done in solid pearl gold. Pretty nifty to have. The blade of the scythe is a large golden 'tooth' piece. What most people will want to pay attention to however, is the haft connector piece. It is much like the golden lightsaber handle, except that instead of having holes for vertical pieces to be allowed, one hole is flipped on it's side, giving it a horizontal capability for both sides. I anticipate this piece to become highly sought after and prized.
Weapons in action.
The Set
The set itself is built entirely around the concept of playability. This set transcends the simple 'piece' and 'minifigure' categorization and goes heavily for the playability and fun components. Although I deconstruct most of my sets, I must say that I played around with this one for quite a while before deconstructing it.
The whole concept of this set is built around the idea of a Ninja 'flying out of nowhere' in an ambush, hence the title. The set wholly lives up to the name. I've intentionally taken a side view for this shot to show you exactly what this set is. It is a lever. It catapults the ninja through some bamboo at Bonezai. You start first by popping up the bamboo and placing Kai in his place, where he is easily propped up by some plate pieces.
If you press down the lever, the bamboo will part, allowing Kai to be catapulted through the bamboo and surprising Bonezai.
So here we can see the set in it's entirety. Bonezai is trying to steal the Golden Scythe from its little bamboo pedestal. Kai is not about to let this happen.
Bonezai is about to get ninja ambushed 8-)
The Summary
I hope I've done justice to this set and conveyed to you all how great it is. Besides the broken arm and the plastic thread left on the minifigure and the lack of backprinting, I love this set fully and wholly. I really cannot find any fault with it and it comes out to a great price per piece. This set is worth having more than one of. I highly recommend owning this set.
Go out and get yours today.
