Fun fact: those bamboo leaves, when they fall off (as they invariably do) can be inserted into the holes of Friends hairpieces and the like. I don't know if the connection is legal or an exact fit, but in my experimental investigations it seems to work well. Who'd want a green feather for their hair? I dunno.

@MCLegoboy said:
"But that skeleton has a smile, he can't possibly be a bad guy. Kai, you're such a jerk."

He lacks the skin and facial muscles to form expressions; that’s just the natural alignment of his jaw.

@MeisterDad said:
"Fun fact: those bamboo leaves, when they fall off (as they invariably do) can be inserted into the holes of Friends hairpieces and the like. I don't know if the connection is legal or an exact fit, but in my experimental investigations it seems to work well. Who'd want a green feather for their hair? I dunno."

I've been using that technique for years as a plume for a character in my webcomic. And that character wasn't even my own character, it was a sigfig of someone else, so I guess he knew about it before hand. The first set I got one of those bamboo leaves in was Speeder Bikes, from the first Star Wars wave in 1999. Pretty sure they were more fragile back then, as they all fell apart after time.

Then again, perhaps I was just rougher with my Lego back then? I was only 7....

This was one of my favorite sets when I was younger!

@Randomness said:
"Is the ninja the ambusher or the ambushee? I can't tell. The name is unclear."

True but I feel like any ambush scenario involving a ninja is going to have the ninja as the ambusher. If you’re being ambushed as a ninja then you’re not all that great a ninja

A classic Ninjsgo set. And yes, Ninjago has been around for 12 years. Enough time has passed for this to have become 'classic'.
The theme was simpler back then. Both in builds as in story and general aesthetic. The villains were the one with vehicles whilst the Ninja only had dragons and buildings and terrain!

I bought this one with money earned from a job along with 8803-13 Space Alien back in the day. It was a nice set. We don't get terrain focussed sets much anymore, so it was nice in that sense. It also includes the original scythe of quakes.

The mechanism is fun, as Kai is launched through bamboo stalks that automatically part. He's not hidden very well (especially since he's red). The mechanism would return in 9463 The Werewolf, now perfected by being higher up, more compact and with a launching lever at the back.

I miss mechanisms like these. In themes like Adventurers they seemed to come up with novel playfeatures every other set. Whilst now 'chair swivels' and 'the mech has (limited) posability' is all there is except for the giant sets.

Ah yes, classic Ninjago. If you ask me, 2011-2013 were the year's golden days, with a resurgence in 2017 with the fantastic Ninjago Movie sets.

Maybe that's just me being nostalgic, but I can't really connect with the absurdity and repetitiveness of Ninjago today. It seems we get an oversized bike at least twice a year, unlike the more fantastical elements (With more of a focus on the buildings and creatures) in the earlier years.

@Brickalili said:
" @Randomness said:
"Is the ninja the ambusher or the ambushee? I can't tell. The name is unclear."

True but I feel like any ambush scenario involving a ninja is going to have the ninja as the ambusher. If you’re being ambushed as a ninja then you’re not all that great a ninja "

I mean, Kai is wearing a fire-engine-red pair of ninja-pajamas, so he might be willing to give his opponent a fair chance of spotting/ambushing him. Either that, or he's just really, really, really, really, really, REALLY bad at stealth.

So it's your choice of Tim Minchin ("Only a ninja can sneak up on another ninja"), or Die Antwoord ("I'M A NIIINJAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!").

Could be both, I suppose.

@CharzBoi said:
"oh hey this is my first set! crazy how this was 12 years ago..
man I'm graduating at the start of next month
time flies yall, make sure it doesn't pass you by"

I thought you didn't collect ninjago?
congrats on graduation, by the way

I love this set, the Scythe of Quakes was a great inclusion in such a cheap set.

@Ridgeheart said:
" @Brickalili said:
" @Randomness said:
"Is the ninja the ambusher or the ambushee? I can't tell. The name is unclear."

True but I feel like any ambush scenario involving a ninja is going to have the ninja as the ambusher. If you’re being ambushed as a ninja then you’re not all that great a ninja "

I mean, Kai is wearing a fire-engine-red pair of ninja-pajamas, so he might be willing to give his opponent a fair chance of spotting/ambushing him. Either that, or he's just really, really, really, really, really, REALLY bad at stealth.

So it's your choice of Tim Minchin ("Only a ninja can sneak up on another ninja"), or Die Antwoord ("I'M A NIIINJAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!").

Could be both, I suppose."

Well, Bonezai is a bit of a bonehead.

I'm in a couple of shared camps here: this was my first Ninjago set too, and I looked at it as Ninja fodder to supplement my meagre but extant 1998-1999 Ninja sets.

I never really "got" Ninjago--still haven't--maybe because I never saw the show. I did see (and even generally enjoyed) the movie, but that wasn't enough to make me a Ninjago fan, per se. I STILL see the theme as fodder for classic themes, like Pirates, Islanders, or Castle, but I'll give the theme credit for absolutely dominating LEGO's lineup for over a decade.

I remember how excited I was when Ninjago was announced. My mom wouldn't let my siblings and I buy any sets with skeletons though. That greatly limited our options in the first wave, and I ended up only owning the Zane Glider polybag from the wave. She also made my brother throw out his skeletons and skeleton horses from the fantasy castle sets.

@PhantomBricks said:
"I remember how excited I was when Ninjago was announced. My mom wouldn't let my siblings and I buy any sets with skeletons though. That greatly limited our options in the first wave, and I ended up only owning the Zane Glider polybag from the wave. She also made my brother throw out his skeletons and skeleton horses from the fantasy castle sets."

I hope she understood how silly that is... It's just little pieces of inanimate plastic! WHY would she do that? There is also a skeleton inside her too... should she throw herself away, by that twisted logic?

Either way, I feel sorry for you and your brother. Throwing away perfectly good Lego is a tragedy!

@ElephantKnight:
The old bamboo segment is incredibly fragile. It's usually okay if you build the set right away and put it on a shelf. If you actually play with the set, they're pretty much doomed. Even if you don't, sorting them, and other repeated handling, can be enough to break a leaf loose. Keeping them in sealed sets isn't always safe, since they're packed in there with other parts. It's surprising they still haven't retired this element.

A little late to give lore, but I had two copies of this set back in the day

I think I remember seeing this model in LEGO Universe. (RIP)

@GSR_MataNui said:
"A little late to give lore, but I had two copies of this set back in the day "

No lore?! THE END HAS COME!

@SearchlightRG said:
" @GSR_MataNui said:
"A little late to give lore, but I had two copies of this set back in the day "

No lore?! THE END HAS COME!"

*sigh* Slacker Lore!
Red ninja's good.
White skeleton's bad.
Golden gardening tool's special.
/Slacker lore!