Set #70614 Lightning Jet: With this next LEGO Ninjago Movie review we discuss Jay’s vehicle which is not a mech, but a very powerful jet that is powered by the Element of Lightning. This set is much larger and bulkier in design than the original model, which I never owned; so here we get to finally discuss a large NINJAGO based vehicle piloted by Jay.

Box/Instructions

Box: This box is huge, I mean really large, it stands out as being rather long compared to some other boxes as the scale of the box requires enough space to fit all the parts. The images on the front and back are really impressive showing some great action shots, and the features of the model which are a bit awkward, but we’ll get to those after we discuss the rest of the points.

Instructions: We have, once again, a very large manual. It’s pretty thick stock and shows us the steps based on the numbered bag style of building, everything flows nicely without any issues I could detect. Great looking manual.

Parts

This set is loaded with parts, so many parts that make one massive looking jet vehicle. You’ll also find that most of them do not have detailing, that is because the set uses stickers. I have never seen a set with so many antenna elements either, they make the model a little too busy, but if you happen to need an abundance of those parts well here’s a set for you. Especially on clearance.

Minifigures

Crusty: With this Minifigure we find the typical Shark Army uniform printed on the torso and legs, Crusty wears the exact same uniform as the generic thugs, but features an air tank element which is new for the Theme and a very impressive orange lobster based helmet. He carries a fish with sawblade stuck in its mouth for a weapon and the facial print is standard evil soldier looking with beard and mustache. (A very small beard, think Fu Manchu.)

Ed: This is Jay’s father and he is wearing an apron over his clothing as he has a wrench meaning he has a skill as a mechanic. The parts are all unique to him in this set and he has a nice looking facial print with one side smiling and the other open mouthed in fear. Ed looks great and it’s nice to have him included in this set.

Edna: Wearing a similar style of outfit to her husband, Edna is prepared to lend a hand with a knapsack seen printed on her back that resembles a tool belt or something. She has a relaxed expression on one side and terrified on the other as both Ed and Edna will be attacked by the Shark Army forces included in this set. Edna does not get to carry any accessories.

Jay: Jay has his ninja uniform in this set complete with new two-piece mask. He’s included in other sets in this outfit so he isn’t unique to this set as far as the print goes. He includes his personal weapon, a nunchuck which uses familiar build techniques to make. He’s a solid Minifigure and a nice version, while I was a bit disappointed with the movie the new Ninja costumes were very well done with some nice nods to the other versions he’s worn before.

Jelly: This soldier from the Shark Arm has a print which matches with some variants of the Shark Army Thug, however while the torso and legs do look similar there are some added details since he is meant to represent a jellyfish. As such he has dangling pink legs on the front and back of his torso print, perfect for stinging perhaps, which match up with the pattern printed on his large bubble sized helmet. (Which is also a new element.) He includes a fish with studs over the mouth, for some reason, and a stud launcher for weapons. He’s definitely unique for a soldier.

Shark Army Thug: Another generic soldier with prints that match a large number of these nameless soldiers in the service of Garmadon. He’s got the dreaded hammer wielding fish as a weapon and is poised to strike at the hapless Ed and Edna. Great generic soldier all around.

The build

Bag #1: Jay and Crusty begin dueling while you build the small crab vehicle, this entire build is relatively quick, there are a few minor sticker placements required, but nothing too difficult for any level of builder.

Bag #2: Jellyfish and Shark Thug join the fray as the main cockpit build commences, this build is also simple and straight forward with a few minor sticker placements. This portion of the build also involves a lot of Technic elements for the framework. Overall a quick build.

Bag #3: Ed and Edna hop out to help their son build the rest of his massive vehicle. This portion of the build is touching up and finishing the main cockpit and fuselage, there aren’t a whole lot of elements involved with this build, but it works.

Bag #4: The landing gear and full lower section is completed with this build, which again uses only a few elements. Most of these builds are quick because they only use, like, maybe thirty-forty parts in all. Though I didn’t think to count it at the time, so I could be off on that estimate.

Bag #5: We begin to get into repetitive steps time as you build two of the same sections of the wing/engine elements of the model here which are relatively quick to build of course.

Bag #6: Continuing on from the previous build, the wings start getting larger and the sticker placement comes back. These portions of the build are all repetitive and naturally a bit bulky as you continue to build. The profile of the model starts to look huge.

Bag #7: In this final bag you finish off all of the wings with all those antenna parts to make for a very cluttered mess, but the build is quick and repetitive due to the nature of the build. Not much else to say really, moving on.

The completed model

Lightning Jet: The Lightning Jet is huge, and very awkward to pick up. Fortunately LEGO thought ahead and made ‘landing gear’ on the bottom of the model which is a glorified handle to hold the model so you can zip it around and fire on the Shark Army with the large Technic missile launcher on the front of the nose.

Additional play features include a geared gimmick which spins the large circular section on the back to simulate charging up Jay’s electric dynamos, or cannons, which are located in the front of the wing section and can be revealed by flipping the two sections on the front wings via hinges. There aren’t a lot of moveable parts on this model and it seems a little too busy, honestly though I feel that was the point. Jay has made this thing to be super cool and super edgy, perhaps to impress somebody, but it is so buys that it can cause some problems. Its shelf space is rather large after all, still though it’s a very solid model. Built more for display rather than play though in my opinion.

Shark Army Assault Crab: This brilliant little model resembles a Fiddler Crab with one large claw on one side with Mixel joints to allow you to open and close the claw and a ‘smaller’ claw which is really just a stud shooter, the rapid fire kind that spins and launches studs at rapid speeds. (Making them easy to lose.) The model is a nice little side-build included in the set and features some great details, there’s a nice flag with fuel tank build on the back showing how this thing is powered. Jay can easily take this thing out though.

Overall opinion

I enjoyed this set quite a lot, but I have to admit the finished product can be a bit of a problem when you want to find place to put it on your LEGO Movie set shelves. This thing’s profile is awkward and a bit of a mess, but overall it’s a great and satisfying build. It’s massive, has some decent play features and great Minifigures. I’d recommend tracking it down if you still can find it in your area. Recommended.

"WHAT IS THAT?" The first time I saw pictures of this set I had trouble understanding what I was looking at. A blue porcupine? A sea urchin with crab pincers? At the behest of my son, we purchased this set, and I am so glad we did. With a fabulous design and wonderful cast of supporting characters, this Lightning Jet 70614 is a set worth getting.

Building Experience

There are quite a bit of Technic pieces in this model, especially in the handle/trigger mechanism. The wings feature a fair amount of repetitive duplicate builds, and the set has a normal amount of stickers. The entire build took me about an hour to complete.

Completed Model

The minifigures included in this set are excellent. Jay is included (of course) in his masked ninja outfit. His parents, Ed and Edna, have really nice design and have meaningful identities, unlike the Zane and Kai sets which feature random civilians who occupy Ninjago City. Three good villain minifigs are included as well, featuring the excellent Crusty with crab helmet. Not just that, Crusty gets a small crab mech to operate; no other Ninjago Movie ninja mech to date includes a build for the villains to battle with!

The jet features a handle with a "trigger-activated rotating electro-disc" (that is the round eyeball-looking part on top), poseable wings and a large spring-loaded shooter in front. This build would be difficult to hold without the handle underneath, so that is a nice inclusion. The jet itself is very large, bigger than I anticipated, and the blue color is striking. Although the landing pads are just stable enough, tipping side to side isn't an issue since the wings hover just above the ground.

Conclusion

At $60 in the United States, this set is an good value. The jet is large and unique and beautifully-designed, the selection of minifigures is excellent, and the crab mech is a great addition to make a more complete play scenario. Sitting on my work table among my other LEGO sets, it looks unlike anything else there.

Summary

Another top set in the Ninjago Movie line. The aircraft is big, blue and with all the antenna's sticking out almost looks like a flying porcupine or Lion fish. The build is quite some fun, and the Fiddle Crab mech is a nice addition (and offers a nice item for play). The minifigs are ok to nice. IMHO of the first Ninjago wave the Lightning Jet is the best or second best of the four sets in the 49 euro - 69 euro range (70612 Green Ninja Mech Dragon, 70613 Garma Mecha Man, 70614 Lightning Jet and 70615 Fire Mech). To me the Green Ninja Mech Dragon is the only competitor.

Build experience

The Fiddler Crab is a nice little build, and it is nice to see how effectively with few pieces the designer has created a very nice good looking mech with quite a bit of character. Building the Lightning Jet itself is not too difficult, though probably the most advanced of the four Ninjago sets in this price range. There is quite a bit of Technic used, and one has to pay attention at various stages. There are not that many stickers, but they are in highly visible places, and should be applied with care. The build sequence is nice, and construction is broken up in logical steps and sections. The attachment of the antenna's could have become tedious and repetitive, but isn't too bad - mostly because it is nice to see how they have designed the set in such a way that the antenna's are solidly attached, and will not come off during play.

The minifigures

The set comes with 6 minifigures - Crusty, a Shark Army thug, Jelly, Jay and Ed and Edna Walker. All but Jay (found in four sets) are unique minifigs, although the differences between the Shark Army thug and Jelly in this set and those in other sets are minor. Crusty's headgear is a soft rubber mould, and looks nice; he is probably my favourite Shark Army minifig produced so far. Ed and Edna are also very nice minifigs.

The build

The Fiddler Crab mech is nice, although not extremely stable - it takes some fiddling around with the legs to get it to stand properly. I do not get the feeling that the big claw is a major issue for its display stability. It also possesses a gattling stud shooter to go up against the Lightning Jet.

Inspiration for the Lightning Jet seems to have come from the Lion fish as well as the flying Batvehicle in the Dark Knight Rises. It is big, and turned out bigger than I originally thought it would be. The antennas sticking out do not add a lot of bulk, but do add a lot of volume to the space it takes up. Due to a clever use of plates and clamps the antennas are solidly attached - and they will not come off easily. The red/black flare shooters (?) are easiest to come off. The Lightning Jet is held by a grip (almost like a pistol grip). Holding the Jet is quite comfortable, it is fairly well balanced. The trigger serves to rotate the lightning disk on top of the jet. There is a separate trigger for the missile launcher under the nose.

The skid under the nose and the bottom of the grip serve as a stand, which is surprisingly stable - though the Jet can be tipped over.

Play vs display

The Lightning Jet set is IMHO more a play set than a display set, if not more. The Jet itself has great swooshability, and the Fiddler Crab mech and the Jet are both armed to go up against each other. And the Fiddler Crab claw can of course also be used to grab Ed or Edna. That said, the Lightning Jet would look very well in a display of the Ninjago Movie mechs.

The verdict

I really like this set - and in hindsight would have liked to get it over a number of other sets - like the walker-mechs. I love the blue colour, and the Fiddler Crab only adds to the appeal of the set. IMHO it looks much better in reality than in images. I consider it one of the better sets in the outstanding Ninjago Movie line.