Even though I have been a Ninjago fan since 2012, the Kai Fighter is the only set which I own both the original and the Legacy version. At first, I wasn't interested in the remake at all, since I was already satisfied with the 2014 set. However, I decided to buy the new one and see if it's better than the older Kai Fighter, and I am happy to say, that the new set is definitely worth checking out.

Packaging

The box for this set is much larger than the original, which makes sense, since the new set is a lot bigger. On the front you can see an action shot of the Kai Fighter fighting the Nindroids. On the back there are all the set's functions shown and a couple of shots of the vehicle from the show. I actually really like the box art for this one and it's one of the few LEGO boxes which I will keep.

Instructions and building experience

The instructions are surprisingly long and thick for a 40 dollar set. The building experience is similar to the original one, but there are a lot of different building techniques used here compared to the old one. The front and back are built completely separately, so when you finally connect the two halves of the jet, it's really satisfying.

Parts

To my knowledge, there aren't any recolours and new pieces in this set, except for one. This is the first set to contain piece 66956, which is included here in red. It also appears in 71720 Fire Stone Mech, and will appear in the upcoming Monkie Kid set 80016 The Flaming Foundry. For new printed pieces, we only have Kai's torso and legs and Lloyd's torso, which is slightly different than the one in the Legacy Jungle Raider.

Minifigures

For minifigures, four are included, with most of them being exclusive. We have Legacy 2 Kai, an updated version of Legacy 2 Lloyd, a Nindroid general and a Nindroid Warrior.

The minifigure, which most Ninjago fans are the most excited about is Legacy 2 Kai. Surprisingly, while most Kai variants are fairly common, appearing in at least three sets each, this one is exclusive to the Kai Fighter. However, he is basically a recolour of the other three Legacy 2 suits which we got earlier this year with minor differences, like his symbol on his back. Also, Kai is the first Legacy 2 Ninja to fix the spelling error on the torso. On Lloyd, Jay and Cole, the writing on their gis spelled "Manter", instead of "Master". Fortunately, Kai's suit has the correct spelling. Other than that, I don't have much to say about this minifigure. The details on him look very nice and I have no complaints about him. Kai has the same hairpiece as the one from the LNM sets and underneath his Rebooted mask, he has two face expressions. One is angry with a closed mouth, while the other one looks happy/suprised. Kai comes with two silver katanas.

The second Ninja included is Legacy 2 Lloyd. While most people think that he is the same as Legacy 2 Lloyd from the winter wave, he's not. Much like Kai, Lloyd now has the correct spelling of the word "Master" on his torso. Besides that, he is the same as the figure from sets 71699 and 71700. I like the figure, but he isn't very interesting. Lloyd also comes with two silver katanas.

We also get a Nindroid with an armour piece, which probably makes him a general. Besides the armour, he is identical to the version included in the Thunder Raider. I honestly like the new Nindroids more than the originals, and this one is no exception. His printing looks good but I wish that he would have some printing on his legs. This minifigure comes with a saw/axe combination.

The last figure is a generic Nindroid Warrior, who is identical to the previous figure but without the armour, and to the version included in the Thunder Raider. Still, the minifigure looks very nice and is a fantastic army builder. Honestly, I have no complaints about him. Nindroid Warrior comes with a red katana, which LEGO seems to include with almost all Legacy Nindroids.

Build

In this set we get the Kai Fighter (duh) and a small turret for the Nindroids.

The turret is very simple, but I like the fact that it has a shooting function, which adds a lot of playability to this set. I like the purple pieces and that you can pose the actual cannon up and down. Other than that, it's not anything special.

The main reason to get this set is obviously the Kai Fighter itself. Compared to the old version from 2014, I think that this one is much better. It's bigger, sturdier and the main function works much more nicely. But before I get to that, let's start at the front.

At the front of the Kai Fighter, there are two big golden blades, which are the same pieces as the ones from the original, which is nice to see. There is also the cockpit, in which you can place Kai to pilot the vehicle. On the original, it was placed more in the middle, which I think looked better, but here, it would interfere with the mechanism inside. Behind the cockpit, we have the mechanism for the main function. If you angle the front section down, the wings will angle forward. While I like it, it isn't as drastic of a transformation as on the original, where the wings angled backwards. Some may not like that when the function is activated, the cockpit is forced to always angle down. I, however, don't mind it and I think it makes the Kai Fighter look more unique compared to other flying vehicles from Ninjago.

The jet's wings are built almost the same as on the original version, but this time much larger pieces are used. Instead of the medium-sized blades (which are also used on the front), here we get the large ones typically used as swords for mechs and CCBS figures. I honestly like the size change and the Legacy Kai Fighter looks more battle-ready compared to the old set.

I also need to mention, that this set uses a lot more stickers than the old one, which many people may not like. IMO, the stickers add a lot of extra detail to the jet and none of them were difficult to apply.

Playability

In terms of playability, this set has a lot of it. Besides the main transformation function, it also has one spring-loaded shooter used for the Nindroid's cannon, and two on the Kai Fighter. However, the latter two can only be used in transformation mode, because otherwise, they will hit the front section of the vehicle.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think the new Legacy Kai Fighter is a definitive upgrade to the previous version. It has more minifigures, more pieces and an overall better design. Compared to other Legacy sets, this set is worth buying even if you own the original. For a $39.99 set, it delivers both in play and display, and if you are a Ninjago fan, you can't go wrong with buying this set.