Lego 70607 - Ninjago City Chase - Review

Lego set 70607 - Ninjago City Chase

For this post, I thought I'd do something a little different... a review of a Lego set. If people like it, I'll do more.

The Lego Ninjago Movie doesn't come out until September, but the affiliated Lego sets have just hit the streets. I've seen the trailer for the movie, and it looks like it will be the usual fun Lego romp with lots of laughs along the way to learning a lesson about the importance of family. (If that doesn't sound familiar, it's because you haven't seen the Lego Batman Movie yet!)

I've never been a huge fan of the Lego Ninjago sets. My main interests have always been City sets and Trains. But recently a friend recommended the Temple of Airjitsu, and this combined with the upcoming massive Ninjago City set, have convinced me to add a Ninjago area to my layout.

Since I likely won't have mechs or airships battling over the neighborhood, I was looking for a set that could fit in with the Ninjago area while also being able to mesh with the overall city theme. I found what I was looking for in this set - Ninjago City Chase (70607). It's one of the smaller Ninjago sets out, and I picked it up locally for just under $19.

So, where to start with the review... Well, with the box and contents of course!

The front of the box for set 70607.

The front of the box shows a scene of mayhem on a city street as Officer Toque and Nya chase down a Shark Army Thug, while Lloyd Garmadon leaps from the top of the police tuc-tuc, and Ham laments the destruction to his fish and fruit stand! It also has an inset image detailing the five, yes five (!) minifigures that come with this set.

The back of the box for set 70607.

As usual, the back of the box shows more scenes you can recreate and different ways to play with this set.

So, the box looks great, but what's inside?

Instructions, two bags, and a sticker sheet.

Just like almost every other Lego set ever made, you get an instruction book. There's a set of stickers and two numbered bags. Bag 1 will build the police tuc-tuc, while Bag 2 contains the parts for the fish and fruit stand and lampposts.

Police tuc-tuc and (from left) Shark Army Thug, Officer Toque, and Lloyd.

In addition to the tuc-tuc, Bag 1 contains Lloyd Garmadon, Officer Toque, and a Shark Army Thug. I mention them here for the sake of completeness, but I'll review all the minifigures together later on in this post.

The tuc-tuc is a great little build. It's small, but has a lot of character, and will look great in the Ninjago neighborhood. I also think it will look at home anywhere on the layout, as it is a unique police vehicle that is very useful. From neighborhood patrols to parking ticket duty, you can expect to see this little guy all around town. It won't be my first choice for high-speed pursuits, but you can't have everything.

The tuc-tuc has room for a driver and one passenger or prisoner in the back. Additional officers can catch a ride by grabbing onto the bars on the side of the vehicle. There's a clip behind the driver to hold an extra set of handcuffs. The only stickers that go on the tuc-tuc are the badges on the front sides and the police signs on the top and rear. These are written in a font that gives them a lot of Asian flavor, while still being clearly legible as "Police."

2x2 tile with two studs.

Reverse curved 2x1 slope.

The tuc-tuc has a couple of parts that I believe are brand new with the release of this theme. There's a 2x2 tile with two studs in black, and a reverse curved 2x1 slope in light bluish gray. Both are fantastic additions to the Lego builder's arsenal.

Spare parts from Bag 1.

As usual, Lego provides spares of some of the smaller parts. Among the spares in bag 1, you get an extra pop-top for a soda can (which is a great piece to have extras of) and 1x1 "cheese" slopes in white, transparent blue, and transparent red. All are very useful parts that will quickly make their way into other builds.

Fish and fruit stand with Nya (left) and Ham.

Bag 2, as previously mentioned, contains the fish and fruit stand, a pair of lampposts with signs, and the Nya and Ham minifigures.

Ham's fish and fruit stand.

Ham's fish and fruit stand has a very Asian look. It uses three stickers: one for the fish sign, one for the fruit sign, and one for the name of Ham's business. From what I understand, the signs in Ninjago City are written in an imaginary alphabet, which looks Asian but is a 1-to-1 replacement for the English alphabet. Brickset.com has a great article on the language here.

The sign above Ham's stand says "Shop." The shop has two attached trays, one on each side, to hold a pair of fish or cherries. The stand also has a pair of red lights overhead.

Lampposts and signs.

The set includes a pair of lampposts, which are connected with a black string with climbing grips. The lamppost construction is very creative, and they look great, though they are quite tall. Each lamppost has a red light - which in this case is a transparent red minifigure head! Personally, I'd not seen that part in that color before, so I was pretty excited.

Each lamppost has a pair of signs, which is where the remaining four stickers are used. According to brickset.com, they read (from left): Newtown, Arlo, Hotel, Uptown.

Spare parts from Bag 2.

Again, Bag 2 has a nice selection of spares. Of note are the tan 1x1 slope, a cluster of cherries, a black lightsaber handle, and a pearl gold 1x1 tile with pin holder.

From left: Ham, Nya, Lloyd, Shark Army Thug, Officer Toque.

Rear view, from left: Ham, Nya, Lloyd Shark Army Thug, Officer Toque.

As promised, now I'll take a closer look at the minifigures. This set comes with five figures - which in my opinion is fantastic for a $20 set. Considering the collectible minifigures cost $4 each, this is a great value.

Ham comes with a tan conical Asian hat in a style not seen previously. Because of the style of the hat, he does not have a switch head, which is a bit of a pity as his only expression has him screaming in fear or anger.

Nya's figure is fantastic! She's got her hair up in a ponytail with a silver band, and is wearing a black jacket over a striped shirt. Her legs are her best feature - she has on a pair of ripped jeans! She does come with a switch head, so you can make her look happy or determined.

Lloyd is another great figure. He's got on a green hoodie and black pants. His switch head is less than exciting, as there is relatively small difference in the expressions on either side.

The Shark Army Thug does not have a switch head, so his only expression is a one-eyed scowl - which is quite appropriate for the villain in this set. His torso printing shows a web belt and pouches, and he's got on knee pads.

Last, but not least, we have Officer Toque. He's a cop with Asian features, and no switch head, under a police helmet. He's kind of generic in my opinion, but he's a welcome addition to my City police force.

I am sure Nya and Lloyd will provide torsos and pants to a great many minifigure conversions in cities and towns all over the world.  I'm thinking of picking up extras of the Shark Army Thug for my special operations troops.

Accessories.

Each minifig carries a unique accessory. The Shark Army Thug has a fish-hammer. Yes, apparently that is a thing. The cool part of this is the fish in a new color - light blue!

Officer Toque has handcuffs for securing the bad guys. Nya has a very cool light gray 1x2 tile with a phone printed on it, while Ham has a green 1x2 money tile. Lloyd is drinking a can of soda, with the previously mentioned 1x1 round tile with the pop top print.

Set 70607 assembled.

As I think you can tell from the tone of the review, I am very pleased with this set. It is worth the cost just for the figures, if nothing else. When you throw in the police tuc-tuc, the stand, lampposts and other parts, this set provides one of the best overall Lego values I've seen in quite some time. It also provides a great play experience, in my Adult Fan of Lego opinion, with a nice little scene and lots of options.

This is a set that I can see builders buying in multiples for the figure parts and accessories. I know one or two more will likely make their way into my collection, without a doubt.

So that's it, my first Lego set review. Tell me what you think in the comments below: good, bad or ugly. If there's enough positive response, you may see more posts like this in the future. Thanks for reading, and as always...

'Til next time!