Building Ninjago City (Part One)

by David B. · Published February 12, 2018 · Updated February 19, 2018

So, this week-end was my birthday, and after pondering it for a few months (pretty much since it was released), I dove in and got the Ninjago City Set (Lego 70620).

I really wasn’t sure if I should get it. I never cared for Ninjago before, but just like many other adult fans of Lego, I find the Ninjago Movie sets quite great for the most part, and this one in particular is probably the most amazing set I have seen. The price was a deterrent though. 300 € for a set is quite a lot of money for just a hobby. Sure, I can afford it (not every month), but I also have kids to feed. It kinda feels wrong indulging in expensive Lego, not sure why (don’t worry, they didn’t have to skip a meal, me neither). On the other hand, the last expensive set that I bought was four years ago, so it’s not like I buy one every other day. But really, it’s one of the most amazing sets I have ever seen, so if there’s an expensive set I should buy, it’s definitely this one.

And here we are, all the pieces are in their bags and in my house and I’m ready to build it.

And just like I did with the Orthanc Tower, I decided to blog about the building of the set. Partly to “record” it, partly to make the process last longer. I can’t remember why I decided to do it with Orthanc, but the result was that it took longer to build than it should have (I spread over several weeks, even months). This was a good thing, it made it a more interesting and more fun experience. I still have good and fond memories of that built.

Doing it again with the Ninjago City should also be a great experience. Also, I’ve noticed that one of the reasons I really (and intensely) got back into Lego as an adult, is that I find building those sets to be a very relaxing experience. A good way to get rid of every day stress. Well, except that building a smaller set lasts only a few dozen minutes, rarely more than a couple of hours. And, these days, I tend to build my sets as the same time that my daughter plays with hers on the same table. While it’s a good father/daughter bonding time, it’s not exactly “relaxing”; I have to be careful that my daughter doesn’t drop or lose some of my pieces, I need to help her with hers, and there’s a time frame; I know she’ll be bored sooner or later and will want to do something else, so I always kinda rush, to make sure I’m finished building my set more or less when she’s finished playing with Lego for that afternoon.
In other words, it’s a very fun time, but the relaxing aspect of the thing is gone.

This time, I barely told her that I got the set, and I’m building it at night, alone, one bag at a time, while taking pictures of the process.

I’ve already built two bags as I’m typing these lines, and yes, I can confirm, the fun and relaxing experience of building Orthanc is back!

So, let’s start and see what building the Ninjago City looks like:

Yes, that’s quite a lot of Lego. More than 4,000 pieces. The biggest set I have ever owned.

To help me build it… Myself… Well, my Lego self. And I dressed up as the main character from the Ninjago Movie for the occasion. Loyd, right? (I still haven’t seen the movie by the way).

Oh, by the way, I recently changed phones, and sadly, I’m not too crazy about its new camera. So, I’m experimenting with a few different camera apps. Expect the quality of the pictures to be changing at times (some of them are also taken with my “real” camera – maybe I also could use my old phone for this endeavor, most of the “good” pictures you can see on this site where taken with it. It’s in a drawer nearby nowadays, just a charge away from being useful again).

Of course, with more than 4,000 pieces, a simple booklet or two won’t do. It’s literally three books that are needed for the instructions. They’re all basically the size of a somewhat thick magazine and may weigh about one kilogram bundled up together. Those books don’t only contain the instructions, but a few interviews with the designers and the movie director, as well as sketches and drafts for the design of the city).

And here we go, here is the content of the first bag.

I’ll be helped in the beginning by Kai. I assume he’s one of the main characters, probably the red ninja of the group (I really don’t know anything about Ninjago). No idea why he has a croissant in his hand – probably a reference to a scene in the movie.

It has begun…

Interesting how the “underwater” of the river (or is it the coast?) is designed, with light green for shallow waters, darker green for a bit deeper and black for deeper waters. As you’ll see in the next post, they’ll all be covered with transparent blue tiles.