This was the biggest LEGO set I ever owned for quite a while and I still love this thing. In a way, even though I really liked this set as a kid, I don't think I really appreciated until I had way more sets. It took some time to truly realize how beautiful and amazing this set was, but now I consider it to be one of the best Ninjago sets of all time. The monastery is one of my favorite locations in the entire show and I'm so glad to see it translated into a gorgeous one to one repllication. The craziest part is how they manage to keep the general structure and ornate design without having to make this set a $200+ or a D2C. Even though it doesn't a full interior, or really an interior at all, I never really minded that since the point of the set is to be the iconic training grounds for the ninja. The play features included aren't incredible by any means, however they do all add to set. Since the set has a front and back section, I like the customizability of being able to keep them together or seperate them. The back section is definetly more impressive, but they work together to make one accurate, and stunning build. I appreciate the figure selection as well. Even though I don't love the legacy one minifigures, I'm glad you get all six of them in one set. On top of everything though, the value of this set is spectacular: 1060 pieces for $80. Even with price to part aside, this set warrants its pricepoint. This is easily one the best sets we've recieved for the theme, and easily the best non-D2C legacy set.

70670 Monastery of Spinjitzu

1070 parts

79.99 USD

Theme: Ninjago (Legacy)

Year: 2019

I have an immense amount of nostalgia for the original run of LEGO Ninjago sets- they were what really got me into LEGO, and I grew up enamoured with the sets and show. That said, I did miss out on a few sets along the way. While I collected the vast majority of 2011 sets, there were a few I missed out on, one of which was 2504 Spinjitzu Dojo. With that set arriving in the mail soon, I thought I'd take the time to review the newest version.

Box and Instructions

The box is very large, and squarish, but quite thin. The illustration is an attractive blend of art inspired by the show and renders of the set itself. The instructions are fairly thick, perfect bound, standard stuff.

Build

The building experience for this set is quite interesting. There's a nice use of small detail piece as well as larger panels and such to quickly move the build along. The play features are all well designed, and interesting builds too.

Minifigures

There are 8 figures in this set: all six ninja, Sensei Wu, and Wyplash. The ninja figures all appear up to the modern standard of detail, but still maintain that older colorful simplicity. Wu is very similar to the original 2011 black kimono variant, although I must say I prefer the original design, simply because it's more intricate and sleeker-looking. I likewise prefer the original Wyplash figure, as it wasn't just a combination of parts from other figures. In terms of accessories, all four Golden Weapons are included, along with Wu's staff, a dagger, pearl silver katana, and spear. I vastly prefer the new Nunchucks of Lightning, with their more detailed handle parts, but I don't love the awkward design of the Scythe of Quakes.

Completed Model

The Monastery looks excellent when completed. I appreciate the separate front gate, which makes for a far more versatile display, and makes play easier. It's a very economically designed model, in the sense that there's space to play inside but also appropriate room to place figures and dedicated spaces to display accessories. I particularly like the way that the Shurikens of Ice are visible through the circular window. The other displays are integrated into the play features, which all work well and are decently concealed. I personally love the chicken-flinging catapult, it works quite well and is quite discreet. The additional training equipment is also well designed, and I appreciate that they can be attached or removed from the monastery proper. The roof tessellates nicely, and I particularly enjoy the use of helicopter blades, which is a nice callback to the iconic Fire Temple. The two Spinjitzu spinners are nice, but not as good as the original ones from 2011. The set also looks great on display, especially with the two halves connected.

Overall

As a longtime Ninjago fan, I can confidently say that this ranks amongst the most striking sets in the line. The price/part is excellent, and the volume of items is also quite good for the price. The number of minifigures is excellent, and it's nice to get all four Golden Weapons. My only problem with this set is the lack of another skeleton or two to even the scales a bit. It's certainly worth buying while it's still on shelves, particularly if you missed out on or enjoyed the original, or if you're a fan of Asian architecture.

Summary

The Monastery of Spinjitzu is a re-imagining of the old Spinjitzu Dojo (set 2504), and this is a vast imrpovement. Not only is there an actual temple - much like the ones the ninjas trained in - but it is also much cheaper in price per part (some 45%!).

Overall, this is temple is the 13th set labeled 'temple' within the Ninjago range, and it is one of the few 'true' temples in this series. It is also one of the largest. It captures the primary elements of the Monastery of Spinjitzu from the TV-series quite well. The whole set looks good, and has also quite a few play-features. The 8 minifigures also are quite good, with 7 ninjas and one villain. Only the villain is actually unique, the rest can be found in other sets.

I also think this set offers a nice and slightly cheaper alternative to the Ultra Dragon (set 70679) as the top end set of the Legacy wave of sets. As such, this is a set that IMHO is worth its money.

Build experience

Building the set was fun, and took me a little over 2 hours. The age range is given as 9+, but frankly I think many younger children should be able to build this set. There are a number of stickers, but not too many, and fairly easy to apply. The most difficult are the two to be placed on the windows. If they are crooked, or fingers placed on the transparent section, this will be immediately obvious.

The fact that the build can be nicely divided into two parts is nice, and should help keeping younger buildings going: they can build the first section, play a little, and then build the final section. Construction of each of these two sections is subdivided again. The inclusion of the new gear wheels is nice, though one has to pay attention to the way they are placed in order to have the rest of the construction line up properly. During construction, there are quite a few off-colour pieces used, but it is nice to see all but two (the door hinges) of them disappear from view during construction. Although I did not feel I came across any truly special construction techniques, IMHO there is enough there is enough inspiration there for use in one's own creations.

There are IMHO few (very) special pieces there, though the many red lightsabre hilts as well as the red rounded column pieces are interesting.

Minifigures

There are 8 minifigures: the full Ninja crew and Master Wu, and Whiplash. The ninjas have different style garbs, which is nice. The prints are well done, and continued on the leg. Every single one of them has two well executed face prints. What they have in common is a dragon print in gold on their kimono. On the back they each have a character print.

Master Wu now has dark clothing, with a gold dragon on the back. The print is nicely continued on the legs. As he has no full hair cover, he only has a single face print.

Whiplash is unique to this set. I like the way he is done, including the print on his skull. The lack of exaggerated head (as in the old minifigs) has drawn some criticism, but personally I like the new minifigure a lot. Overall, IMHO, it is well executed.

The build

As mentioned before, this is one of 13 Ninjago sets with the 'temple' tag listed on Bricklink. You can see the advances in the Ninjago designs and the new pieces when you compare it with some of its predecessors. And frankly, IMHO it holds up well. It cannot compare to the likes of the Temple of Airjitzu (set 70751), and in many ways I like the Fire Temple (set 2507) better (I would love to see a re-imagining of that one). But thereafter it is difficult to come up with a ranking, and the Monastery of Spinjitzu is IMHO a viable candidate for third on the list.

The main structure is well done. The Golden Weapons are nicely stashed, three of them well protected by traps. The mechanisms operating the traps are well done. The structural design is well done. The one thing I do not like is the lack of depth in the structure. I would have liked to see the structure two more studs deep in the front, and two to four more studs deep in the back of the central element and the tower. There is - for instance - no real space to pose a minifigure in the back.

The designs of the roofs are nicely done, and again somewhat different from what has been seen before.

The front section is well done. The designer has done a great job in covering the Technic elements that are part of the gate. The two stickers on the white wall are awesome. The one design mistake is IMHO the yellow modified brick used to clip on the gates (which themselves are well done). The Ninja training equipment is nice as well, and it is nice you can vary the way they are attached to the wall.

Is there room for improvement and expansion? Definitely. The original temple is circular, with actual buildings and rooms in the back. The latter are not included in this set, and the circular wall is not complete.

Play vs display

This set is mostly a play set; the two 'dueling sticks', the various traps, the training equipment, all points towards play. On the other hand, the set lacks bad guys to fight against. The decision to make two separate parts helps with play it is not too cramped, while IMHO the lack of depth makes play more difficult.

The set could also be used as the starting point for a display set. IMHO one needs to expand this set to make it a full and true display piece. It can be the basis for a set-up that could eclipse the Temple of Spinjitzu.

The verdict

Overall, I think this is a good set, worth of being at the top end of the Legacy series. That said, its appeal is in the temple look, and the Temple of Spinjitzu being one of the most important structures within the Ninjago universe. As a play set, I think there are sets out there that probably offer more value for money. In some ways I am not sure that it would be at the top of a Ninjago wish-list for the Legacy series - which is as much an endorsement of the quality of that series than anything. I would have liked to have seen more bad guys, for one. That said, it is a good set that offers fair value for money.