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  • The LEGACY of LEGO NINJAGO


    Sara S

    “I’m just going to come out and say it, you guys have run out of ideas and now you’re just repeating yourselves,” Tommy Andreasen says,  wearing a hoodie sitting across from Tommy Kalmar in long sleeves and Michael Svane Knap in a black hat. And he’d know too, Tommy A has been working on LEGO® NINJAGO® since its early days, when it was called LEGO Ninja.

    He is of course referring to the LEGO NINJAGO: LEGACY sets. These sets might seem familiar to long time fans of LEGO NINJAGO—they are updated versions of some of the first LEGO NINJAGO sets.

    “it’s not a matter of running out of ideas, it’s taking the great ideas we had and making them even better,” Michael explains. Michael’s role in LEGO NINJAGO is two part, not only does he build models, he also works in creating the TV show.

    Why LEGACY?

    Overlord.png.7fda01361cbda0b7074e1b6bc98217e9.png“When a lot of these sets originally came out, it was back in 2011 and 2012. The way we build with LEGO bricks, the way we actually put sets together, has changed a lot. This means we have new elements; we have new ways of making the build even better.”

    This LEGACY sets also cater to a new audience of LEGO NINJAGO: kids who are watching the series for the very first time but have no way to get their hands on sets which have been off the shelves for years.

    “And of course, for existing fans, it’s re-igniting their love, that is what is what LEGACY is about. It’s a celebration of NINJAGO,” Tommy Kalmar says, who is Story Manager for LEGO NINJAGO.

    Classic Sets with New Minifigures

    “With the Minifigures we want to bring some newness into the line. The first wave of LEGACY is grabbing 1st and 2nd season, so we’re taking the designs of those two, and for the ninjas, mashing those together to create a new NINJAGO design,” Michael goes on.

    The Overlord appearing in  the Golden Dragon is an example of this – he appears as a Minifigure reflecting his different states and bridging different designs.

    70666 the Golden Dragon was a set which was designed to be more affordable and reach more children, but in other cases, the team gets to beef sets up more, such as 70669 Cole's Earth Driller.

     “it wasn’t much in the show, but it was there, and it was awesome. It could fit 6 Minifigures!” Tommy A exclaims.  

    1259603494_Driller2013.thumb.png.0d626fe7d333624a99d2969be5b941a5.pngDriller.thumb.jpg.d92dd49ea8e268caac7aba3fc0da60d3.jpg

    70502 Cole's Earth Driller 2012 vs. 70669 Cole's Earth Driller 2019

    “The original product back in 2012 – it was tiny – It was far away from where it fit in the TV show,” says Michael. The LEGACY model has 3 times as many pieces, although the team lament that it still only fits 2 Minifigures.

    Truer to the TV Show

    The new LEGACY sets are designed to look more like their counterparts in the TV series.

    “During the first year of the TV show, some of the models weren’t fully developed when they put into the series, so the earlier products didn’t always look exactly as they did in the show,” Michael explains.

    This was also an opportunity to release the most iconic location in the world of LEGO NINJAGO: 70670 the Monastery of Spinjitzu. While 2504 the Spinjitzu Dojo was released in 2011, this is the first time the Monastery as a whole has been done.

    70670_back_01.thumb.jpg.f8ebfece336a57583b31f5f94549e2c5.jpg

    70670_func_06.thumb.jpg.baeea975a9e624d41563582db17ca7a0.jpg70670_func_02.thumb.jpg.05f0787d773e8ddee3fa858f1f1e6788.jpg

    It’s so iconic, it’s amazing we’ve never done it,” explains Michael. Afterall, this is the home-base of the ninjas, and where Wu and Garmadon grew up with their father, the First Spinjitzu Master.

     “It’s something that we really saw the potential of putting the love into presenting it as it was in the TV show.”

    Not Done Yet

    There are still mountains of LEGO NINJAGO stuff to do, and despite what Tommy A says, the team hasn’t run out of ideas.

    “We hope to have more launches—we could do ideas from tv show which never made it into products… there’s so many things from the NINJAGO universe,” he adds.

    “I have more locations on my list as well which could be interesting. There are still golden opportunities from the epic final battle to explore and beef up,” Michael hints and smiles.

     

    Edited by Sara Skahill




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    Recommended Comments

    Anna  - theBrickBlogger

    Posted

    I hope the Ninjago team knows how much the story touched the life of kids and continue to influence them to this day. Just today, one of the early fans of Ninjago who used to write Ninjago fan-fiction with other young kids at our website wrote me that he is now in college studying and working on Hollywood films and TV shows. He said that his background in writing Ninjago stories layed the groundwork for who he is now and how much he appreciates the Ninjago story and fan community. I hear stories like this regularly from kids who still stop by and share where their life is at now. It's really touching to hear. Keep the saga going and keep being awesome! :)  

     

    • Like 4
    • Thank You 1
    Adam White

    Posted

    I'm still amazed by the passion fans of the show have. That's testament to the story telling and characters created by LEGO. Although it's a little tricky to stay up-to-date with the TV show here in the UK, the sets are amazing and seem to get better with each wave. 

    • Like 1
    SeniorDivineTongue

    Posted

    As a late comer to the Ninjago series, I've grown into a major fan of the series.  I wasn't too keen on the Lego Ninjago Movie until after I watched the entire series available on Netflix.  I'm glad you guys have come out with the Legacy sets since I wasn't collecting Lego back in 2011.  Please keep them coming.  Please.

    • Like 1
    Asko Feldmann

    Posted

    I know this might be a bit off topic, but it is a shame the Atlantis line didn’t go any further.  It was a clever show, but I think only one episode existed, which generated the line of sets.  The sets were fun to build with my daughter, who would have been under ten at the time.

    In the drive for new products, ideas, story lines, maybe this is something LEGO should explore.  An IP which they own and would be brand new to the next generation of kids.  Very much like reissuing older Ninjago sets, a very sensible idea if you look at the demand and going rate for the early sets on Bricklink.

     

     

     

    • Like 2
    CommanderMenacingSpider

    Posted

    I Can't for the next chapter of LEGO's NinjaGo, as we're about to celebrate 10 elemental years of the Masters Of Spinjitzu! #NinjaGoLives

    Christian Treczoks

    Posted

    Nice Monastry! I hope that this legacy series will bring back the Temple of Airjitzu (70751) - I'd love to turn this into a Ninjago City Modular.

    • Like 1
    Brickthus

    Posted

    The question I have for the LEGO Ninjago team is:
    "Following on from the Airjitzu spinners, how could further Ninjago products exploit flying functions?"

    I bought into the Airjitzu products because of their functionality.  I really liked the way a LEGO product incorporated a function that I had enjoyed in a helicopter when I was a child; the helicopter was one of my favourite outdoor toys, especially on camping trips.  So much so that we had to buy another one when it broke.

    A "holy grail" of LEGO products is to make something fly by using only LEGO power.  With a spinner I succeeded.

    Could the Ninjago characters combine their spinners to create a quadcopter?  Could we have a small phone-controlled quadcopter drone as a LEGO product?

    • Like 1
    Brayden Nelson

    Posted

    Fabulous article. The LEGACY line is indeed a special one. 


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