The world of LEGO NINJAGO is filled with cool vehicles, epic mechs, fearsome dragons and ancient buildings. But the LEGO NINJAGO set I’m taking a look at today offers something a little different. In fact, it seems to have taken inspiration from the Monkie Kid theme by offering a large-scale take on a character, namely the Crystal King. In the new season of NINJAGO, the Crystal King is a mysterious new character who is recruiting past villains to join the ranks of his Vengestone Army. But how does his large-scale mech-like creature compare to other sets? Here’s a closer look at The Crystal King.
Product Details
Kids can enjoy playing out gripping scenes from the NINJAGO®: Crystallized TV series with The Crystal King (71772) playset. An awesome gift for kids aged 9 and up, The Crystal King comes in the form of a Centaur creature with 4 legs, 2 arms, a pair of wings, a large sword and a platform in the chest to attach a minifigure.
The ideal building set for passionate ninja fans
This fun-filled construction toy comes with 5 battle-ready minifigures: an exclusive, never-seen-before Lloyd, The Crystal King, Harumi, Vengestone Guard and Vengestone Warrior, all armed with weapons for kids to play out clashes in NINJAGO City.
- Set Name: The Crystal King
- Set Number: 71772
- Pieces: 772
- RRP: £54.99/$59.99/59.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 6
- Stickers: Sheet x 1
- Minifigures: Lloyd, The Crystal King, Harumi, Vengestone Guard & Vengestone Warrior
- Instructions: Booklet x 1 + LEGO Building Instructions App
- Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Release from June 1st
Although mechs are quite prevalent in the NINJAGO theme, they are all fairly similar in style. This oversized version of The Crystal King offers something very different as it’s a centaur-type creature. It still acts as a vessel for a minifigure pilot, which is one of my favourite features of the build. The chest area is covered by a transparent pink canopy covering an area in which the Crystal King can be placed. It’s surrounded by gold coloured claws, which act as a ribcage.
Its multiple limbs have varying degrees of movement. So the arms are flexible being connected to the body by a rotating click joint. There is also a joint at the elbow and wrist. Plus each claw-tipped finger can be moved. The back legs are fairly short so only have moveable joints where they join to the body and at the feet. Although the front legs are much chunkier, they have extremely limited movement. This is due to a combination of how they are connected to the body and the use of the newly introduced bowed plate. Thankfully the feet have a decent range of movement so you can at least get the creature to stand correctly.
The best aspect of the set is all the little details. In particular, the head is nicely detailed and makes clever use of parts. Pink horns make great eyes just as a black sausage doubles an eyebrow. The combination of elements can be a little fiddly but it’s worth it for the end result. Other neat flourishes include various transparent pink elements such as crystal fins and mini pyramids.
The set features five minifigures with an emphasis being the bad guys. There’s only one good guy in the set and that’s Lloyd. He’s wearing standard robes, no special Golden or Golden Dragon outfit here. They might not be trimmed with gold or have wings, but the detail on the robes is quite nice plus this is the only set to feature this version of Lloyd. As with many of the new NINJAGO sets, the generic villains are known as the Vengestone Army. They all look extremely similar thanks to the use of the same head and legs. The only difference between them is a slightly different torso design and ones wearing some crystal shoulder armour.
With the set being named after this season’s big bad, it’s not a surprise that the Crystal King is included in the set. The version here is unique and unlike his other forms found in a couple of other sets. This version only has a single set of arms but does have the Oni-style mask, just with smaller horns. The torso design has similar traits to the rest of the Vengestone but with the addition of a splash of golden yellow. That Oni-Mask is a call back to the Sons of Garmadon storyline but also has a similar look to the Vengestone grunts. Finally, this is another set to bring back a past villain in the form of Harumi. This former princess of Ninjago and later a commander in the Sons of Garmadon is now a member of the council of the Crystal King. As with others, her outfit is the same generic torso and legs but her unique white hair and face make-up are both the same as her previous minifigures.
Review Round-up
The Crystal King is an interesting set. It has some cool little details, especially the head and chest control panel. The blend of colours combines nicely, using mostly darker elements really helps to highlight all the transparent pink pieces. It does lack any play functions, the movement of limbs and the area in which a minifigure can be placed are fun but don’t really do much. I like the line-up of minifigures, even if the Vengestone are very similar not just in this set but in all the new NINJAGO sets. I definitely has taken some inspiration from the Monkie Kid sets, which is a good thing.
For
+ Doesn’t take long to build but is still a sizable set
+ Interesting detailing around the chest and head
+ Unique minifigures
Against
– Front legs have limited movement
– Can be fiddly in places, especially on the head
Coming June 1st: UKIrelandUSCanadaGermanyDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
