Review: 70739 Airjitzu Kai
Posted by Huw,One of the more interesting innovations we witnessed at the London Toy Fair in January was the Ninjago Airjitzu flyers which are essentially 'playground toys' that replace the Ninjago spinners and Chima Speedorz. I get the impression that the latter were not good sellers: the first ones were virtually impossible to operate properly and although last year's redesigned ones were easier to use I think the damage to their reputation was already done because the shops are now awash with them at bargain prices.
They've just landed in the shops so I headed down to my local Smyths this morning and forked out £7.99 for the red one.
It's packed in an odd-shaped box, sort of a hexagonal shape at the bottom and flat at the top.
In case the front leaves any doubt about what it does, the back illustrates it perfectly.
Here are the new parts that form the guts of the flyer:
The clear dome is likely to be of most interest to MOC-ers. It's connected to the circular black piece in the image above by two Technic pins. The assembly is then twisted into the red spinner, bit like fitting a bayonet-fitting lens to a camera.
Kai is sporting a funky new outfit for this set, printed front and back.
As well as the functional parts, a number are provided to build a handle assembly, plus a few extra weapons for good measure.
Here's the dome fitted into the flying disc. Kai only just fits in it with a couple of mm to spare all round.
A brown Fez: nice...
This is where, if I were a competent video reviewer, I'd place a video of it flying. Unfortunately I'm not, so you'll have to take my word for it that it does indeed fly very well. You need to give it a good yank to get it to climb to a decent height although it doesn't take much to get it to hit the ceiling. I haven't tried it outside yet to see how high I can get it to go but I reckon 4-5m should be possible. Unlike the first Speedors which were badly designed and almost impossible to play with, anyone will be able to pick one these up, pull the cord and have it flying in no time.
This is definitely a set that's better to play with than to build and display. I don't think there's a need to own them all, but it's worth buying one just for the fun of flying it.
I guess time will tell whether they'll catch on as a playground craze or whether they'll be in the bargain bin this time next year...
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40 comments on this article
I loved the Spinners and the Speedorz (My five year old daughter and I had no problems with the original Speedorz.) because of the game component they each offered.
These look like a silly toy. I'll get three--one for each of my children--since they will amuse them for an afternoon or two for sure, but I'm not going to be a completist on these.
I know of several boys who will absolutely love these, among my nephews and friends' kids.
For me, I am not going to make the mistake I made with the spinners, which was at first completely ignoring them then later deciding I wanted the variant outfits of the main characters, some of which are now super-expensive (looking at you, NRG Jay!!!)
I'll be buying the four ninjas when they get a bit discounted.
what's the distance between the pins of the trans clear dome? i hope it's a regular distance so it can be connected to a beam
The term "peg-warmer" is quite apt for the Speedorz range. Hopefully that doesn't carry over to this range too.
Hmm, two small boys of my acquaintance are going to love these. Their mother, less so, as they travel behind the fridge, knock the lampshade, land in the fish tank etc.
Be interested to know how much of a beating these can take when they come crashing down to the ground, as was the case with similar action figures I had as a kid and suggested in this lego ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K22MR68qtYc
I think we demand a video review!
That kid in the red t-shirt on the back of the packaging is surely the next shouty win! kid
Picked up the Wrayth one in Billund last week. Travels well through the air and its good fun!
I like the look of the Flyers, a unique design, and they look better than the Speedorz and Spinners did. I won't be picking any up, due to wanting a good deal of the other Summer-Sets. :-(
If Airjitzu works better than Speedorz and the spinners, then they'll sell. Only problem is that LEGO Stores probably won't let kids test them out in-store. These seem like an upscaled disc launcher that holds a minifig.
Can we ser Kai face without the cover? That clear canopy seems useful for spaceships…
You could use those clear domes as nose gunners in a few World War Two planes. I want one!
Count me disappointed that the fan doesn't have standard LEGO fittings. It would be very useful to Technic if it did.
My 6y son got Wrayth at Legoland Germany a week ago - he (and me, too) loves it. It´s sturdy and can fly high - 6-7m at least. If you practice a bit , you even can give it a direction and aim on to something. Great minifig. with lots of (glow in the dark) weapons!
Definitely worth the price!
@Joefish: The reason for that is that if kids could attach whatever parts they wanted to the propellors, they could easily become a safety hazard. This is a consideration many people don't think about, but which comes into play with lots of different types of LEGO launcher. It's important to ensure that the launcher can only fire the specific ammo it's designed for.
@Trawernix: Speaking as an owner of the set, Wrayth's weapons aren't actually glow-in-the-dark. They're Spring Yellowish Green, same as most of the summer Ninjago parts that people have mistaken for glow-in-the-dark. The current glow-in-the-dark color (White Glow) is far less visibly greenish.
Anyway, my brother and I have all six of these. They're pretty cool. My only disappointments are that the launchers are all built the same, that the domes can only fit extremely small weapons (hence why each set comes with a pair of shurikens), and that the shurikens are all gold instead of some new colors like Silver Metallic, Titanium Metallic, or Black.
I was surprised to see that the shurikens are a new mold. They used to be individual parts, but now they come on a sprue, and have additional detailing on the hand grips. Surprisingly, the sprue can be attached to LEGO studs. I'm told by some of the designers I met on the LEGO Inside Tour that this was a happy accident and would not be the case if the part were not made of rubber.
@Aanchir - thanks for the information - didn´t realize, that they don´t glow in the dark - I wonder, my son didn´t complain ;-)
@ Lordmoral: Kai's face is the same as the NRG version, if my eyes don't deceive.
Rhotuka spinners 2.0 ;) Are these supposed to battle in mid air?
Also, why does Kai have the shuriken? :P Aren't those for ice?
^ @SprinkleOtter The shuriken are the only ones that seem to fit into the dome :)
Also, the only real reasons I see to collect them all is to get all of the minifigures. Other than Zane, the other three ninja are exclusive to these sets as of right now. Also, it's worth noting that I believe that these are their Ninja spirits/ghosts, not just another swanky outfit, hence the red/white/blue/orange faces :) Great review though, Huw! You did very well with this one.
@Huw No close-up of the printed 2x2 round tile and no picture of the head under the hood. Hate to say it, but are your reviewing skills getting a little rusty? :P
Other than that, good review!
Flying Lego...... What is not to love? :)
Must buy some.
^^ Unimportant details...
Lego hasnt learned anything since spinners and speedorz, have they?
^ Yeah, but who doesn't love a flying minifig? :P
I picked one up in Smyths as well. I also got hold of a 70735. Have to say these are great fun and me and my son have been flying these all over the garden for most of the day.
I was just interested in these for the figs, but now I want some of those clear parts. Cool!
Spinners are best, but this is pretty good. The minifig is nice, too.
These look like fun. I'll pick up at least one or two I'm sure. Some of the figure prints look decent, plus the new parts and the play value should be worth the cost.
Surprisingly I haven't seen too many speedorz around here "warming the pegs." So either they actually sold them all before I ever saw them on clearance or they dumped them somewhere else because they couldn't move them.
Yeah, the kids the back of these things always look weirdly excited. This one seems a bit air-brushed, though, which is a bit odd.
The Speedorz never did well in Australia. I remember K-Mart clearancing a whole bunch of their leftover stock out really cheaply (and that's how I picked up a couple more Chima residents, like the fox, skunk and white gorilla). I can never help the feeling that all this stuff is trying to reinvent the wheel ... or more appropriately, the Lego brick. It's Lego. Isn't that enough? Or am I just wearing my old-man hat?
Having said that, I love that brick-built sword weapon. That's cool.
I may just get this one since I want all of the ninjas' original golden weapons. I already have the pieces for the nunchucks, but need all of the others. This set will finish it, even though the scythe won't be completely accurate.
The questions are as follows:
1. Are they standard lego teeth on the prop spinner?
2. How stable can you mount one using a tire above the clear part to hold it down on the base, and can you spin it fast enough off a lego motor to try to rig up a quadcopter?
Not that I'm saying I'd do it, but I do hope someone does.
Interesting idea but I don't think the teeth on the spinner are compatible and there's no way to attach the disc to anything.
That huge red piece is not LEGO!
@jbooth, to make a quad copter you'd need two left-spinning and two right-spinning blades.
It's a really cool idea but sadly it can't happen without that critical detail worked out.
Having looked at the other flyers, I really like Wrayth's because of the 2x2 round tile with a Skreemer's face on it! Although I think this one is also good.
A big hit for ages with the 7 year olds in the garden this afternoon. They were flying off the shelves literally in Smyths Friern Barnet!
@8BrickMario, the face is similar but I believe it is different. There are markings on his cheeks that you can see through the hood, but those aren't visible on NRG Kai.
@Benjet6464: What do you mean "LEGO didn't learn anything?" You say that as if spinners and Speedorz weren't successful, which is absurd. Both were successful. Neither was PERMANENTLY successful, nor was either intended to be. They were "craze" items, designed to generate a lot of interest in the short term and then be phased out in favor of something new. And right now, this is the "something new".
@Adzbadboy: Of course it's LEGO. It's a LEGO-branded toy that comes in a LEGO-branded package. If your definition of LEGO doesn't have room for less traditional parts that's just an indication that you have a weak imagination. You might as well say that large Technic tyres aren't LEGO because they don't have any studs.
@nicola80: standard 4M spacing for the canopy pegs.
@Andhe: the twist lock of the minifig pod in the rotor means it is unlikely to come apart on landing, so scratches only. Just as likely on the ceiling as the landing site!
@Joefish: no problem fitting the rotor to standard Technic parts with a few tricks!
@Jbooth 1 and @Huw: The rack can interface with Technic cogs (successful launch from Technic 'handle') but not as easily as with Technic racks.
@Jbooth 2: With 2x PF M-motor, freshly-charged LiPo and 15:1 gear-up it was sufficient only to match the rotor weight. There is more power in a child's arm than the 5.82W of the LiPo. It is peak rotor speed that is critical for rapid take-off, slowing to zero-net-weight speed at the top of the flight. Quad-copter unlikely yet, but I have made some more efficient rotors using Technic panels.
@Rare White Ape: yes and no. Yes, it would be most efficient that way but no, it's not essential.
First pic of my Technic rotor attachment experiment: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=6273826
Actually I believe the Speedorz sets are not selling well, at all, hence they are discounted heavily just to clear stocks.
Good for me as I can get them as parts :)