Today, the new LEGO Ninjago City Gardens kit is officially available for purchase, and we’re going hands on with the latest creation. With a vibrant build bustling with detail, over 5,600 pieces, and stacking up to over 29 inches tall, is the latest expansion to the Ninjago City worth the cash? Head below for a closer look and all of our thoughts on the LEGO Ninjago City.
Hands-on with the LEGO Ninjago City Gardens set
The latest addition to the LEGO Ninjago lineup enters in celebration of the theme’s 10-year anniversary, delivering the latest creation yet from the lineup. Stacking up to 5,685 pieces, the kit arrives with a whole cast of characters to populate the four stories of rooms, shops, and other buildings.
Ranging from a ramen shop and ice cream parlor to a history museum and video game lounge, there are quite a variety of locations built into the model and bring its total height up to over 29 inches. In true Ninjago fashion, you’ll also find a mix of futuristic and more classic themes intertwined into a massive model that sits on a 32 x 32-stud baseplate.
Highlights
All of those 5,685 bricks are leveraged to really bring out the details on the Ninjago City Gardens, and LEGO maximizes the value of each piece to achieve an eye-catching model. Just about every inch is filled with character and adds to the overall vibrant design of the set, with various signs, decals, and overall unique architecture.
On that last note, each of the included rooms that stack up to this skyscraper-like model is different from the last. All of them are super unique in their own right, featuring interesting shapes, color schemes, and fun techniques to differentiate each one. The buildings only get more creative as you head up the City Gardens, which the Ninjago aesthetic merges the entire LEGO kit together into a cohesive build.
Foliage is another area where this set stands out, which makes complete sense given its Gardens name. A large tree out front highlights the facade and is joined by a cherry blossom tree on the top. Plus around back, there’s a little zen garden-type build that adds some extra greenery into the mix.
Connects to other LEGO Ninjago City builds
On top of being a standalone build in its own right, the LEGO Ninjago City Gardens kit also expands upon previous additions to the theme to create an even more vibrant layout. This marks the third installment in the Ninjago City lineup, and while the largest and most unique yet, carries over the same kind of attention to detail and overall theming we’ve seen before.
The build here features a city street corner, giving you two sides to connect other buildings. It blends in perfectly with the previous two Ninjago City kits and provides a truly unique display piece compared to anything else offered by LEGO.
19 unique minifigures
Because we’re talking about a city here, LEGO includes a bustling selection of minifigures to add some life to the kit. There are a total of 19 characters here, some of which are straight out of the Ninjago universe as some of the titular ninjas and other related characters. Others are much more generic in that they certainly blend into the Asian-inspired landscape of the build, but won’t feel out of place in other creations.
Alongside there just being a large number of minifigures, LEGO has included a pretty solid variety in designs that all feel unique to one another. They’re also different than what we’ve seen in the past with other Ninjago City kits, which is a nice touch as well. But even with that said, the figures aren’t quite as big of a draw as other kits. Each of the minifigures are definitely appreciated for filling out the city, but there aren’t any that make it a must-have like we’ve seen from recent LEGO Star Wars builds.
But even if you’re not a Ninjago fan for the characters themselves, there are a lot of unique minifigure designs here that certainly stand out and bring up the overall value of the kit.
LEGO Ninjago City Gardens is packed with value
The Gardens is the largest LEGO Ninjago City kit to date. Alongside just how impressive of a build the finished model actually is, the price per dollar value of just $0.05 makes this an even more compelling kit at $299.99.
If you’re going to drop this kind of cash on a LEGO set, is the Ninjago City Gardens the right call? It’s certainly on the pricier side for a build, especially when compared to all of the other builds in the LEGO catalog right now.
Even if there are some eye-catching builds in the licensed department, the LEGO Ninjago City Gardens is unparalleled overall. You won’t find anything that’s quite like this creation in the current lineup, and even though it’s only February, this is easily going to be one, if not the most unique build, of the year.
9to5Toys’ Take
At the end of the day, the $300 price tag is going to be a deal breaker for a lot of LEGO fans who aren’t into Ninjago enough to justify the cost, or would just rather pick up a massive Star Wars build instead. But for those who do find the Ninjago City Gardens eye-catching, LEGO absolutely delivers an incredible set that’s as unique and creative as it is a good value.
On top of just being a love letter to the last decade of Ninjago kits, it highlights all of the intricate ways that LEGO can combine into a striking final model. There’s so much charm packed into the set, thanks to the unique architecture and vibrant overall design.
At the end of the day, I can’t recommend the LEGO Ninjago City Gardens enough. There’s nothing else like it out there from LEGO, and transcends the Ninjago theme into being a build that should appeal to all kinds of builders.
Buy the LEGO Ninjago City Gardens set direct from LEGO
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