READ THIS BEFORE COMMENTING! Yes, there are LEGO Magazines in Europe that include minifigs. As that implies, they are only available in a handful of places. They do not solve access to minifigs as it only adds options on a regional level. This does lower their cost on the aftermarket, but not a lot. LEGO tried releasing these magazines in the US, but it failed. They would not be a viable solution to the issues brought up in this video.
monkie kids could been success in sets if they started them off cheaper and built up brand itself with tv show like ninjago did, as i tried to get into monkie kid (as im og ninjago fan). Though set prices for monkie kid gave me sour taste for show i think same applys to dreamzzz partly great figures in monkie kid & dreamzzz but prices are just too much for starting off brand.
@@ravenspurplebeats5412 Fr. I love the MK tv show, and the sets are good as well, but the prices are terrible, and the cheapest set from the first wave was $35. We've only gotten 2 $20 sets in Monkie Kid's entire 5 year run, and nothing below that.
As annoying as this problem is, I'm really glad Lego at least gives everyone the option to buy any Ninjago or Monkie Kid figure they want on Pick a Brick. It does have problems, specifically with some of the pricing on a few elements, but assuming you have the patience to wait 6 months for Lego to add the minifigure parts from the most recent sets, it can save you so much money if you just need a few figures to fill the gaps in your collection.
Not any. The only full climber suit on pick a brick is Kais. Zanes mech suit and cinder's head isn't there either. We have no confirmation any of the summer suits will arrive in October, and/or December (it's a 4 month gap)
@@AdiR9234I just ordered the DR S1 Ninja from there earlier today! They had most of the climber Ninja actually, and 4 of the 6 Mech Pilot figures. I just can’t wait for them to add the Source Tournament minifgs
My problem with Ninjago Figures this year is that they made to many suits for the ninja, there are the mech pilot suits, climber suits, tournament suits. The budget was spread to thin this year, the mech pilot suits shouldn't have existed, we should have got instead Climber suits for Arin and Sora and figures with secundary characters, and in the mech wave they should have used either the S1 suits or the climber suits
I like what you're thinking. Would leave some room for more side characters. What would also be great is that, by using the Season 1 suits in the mechs, it makes them easier for younger builders to access, and if Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu was any indication, whatever season starts a series becomes highly sought after. Would work in everyone's favor.
So glad someone is finally talking about this. This issue has gotten worse and worse for Ninjago over the past couple of years and this summer wave really cemented the problem. I remember being able to get the entire cast of characters in the $10 spinners and cheaper sets back when I was growing up, and my heart breaks for kids today who can’t experience that same luxury. I’m totally ok with locking certain side characters behind more expensive paywalls for the fans who want them, but the main ninja should be EASY and CHEAP for kids to get their hands on! This needs to change!
I look at all those resale prices for the classic characters and I get so depressed knowing kids won’t be able to afford the characters (or the versions of them) that they love. I’m not asking they make carbon copies, but perhaps something like LEGO Star Wars does? Make new figures but make it so that they are clearly >this< version from >this specific< scene or season. Maybe pair them with some screen accurate vehicles. Do what Legacy was supposed to do, basically.
@@PenPlays totally agree! Iconic villains like the Overlord, Time Twins, Samukai are all $100😭. Would love to see Legacy make a comeback, and maybe they just do low risk $20-$30 sets a couple times a year! Make ways for kids to get older characters that aren’t available anymore, but update the figures so they’re not the exact same
The way they handled the climber suits is particularly egregious. So few sets and the only way to get all the climber ninja is to buy the Lego store exclusive expensive Wolf Mask Dojo.
@@ethanstudios1 I look at Avatar Zane as the blueprint, but giving him a faceprint more in line with the older seasons. I'd even avoid calling this hypothetical subtheme "Legacy" at all, as LEGO ended that subtheme for a reason, and if we keep asking them for that specifically, they won't bring past designs at all.
@@LordShrub In the US at least, the Wolf Mask Shadow Dojo is available from most retailers. As its a set over $100, you're not as likely to find it in-store, but most if not all online sites have it.
You hit the nail right on the head. As someone who was a massive Ninjago fanatic from 2013 to 2018 and now a revived fan as of now, the biggest appeal of the show to me was the individual characters, their personalities and how they played off each other. Sure the mechs and locations were cool and the sets definitely reflected that, but the characters and the mini figures by extension made Ninjago what it was.
I’d like to say that ninjago having exclusive minifigures to big sets is to make sure people DO buy said big set because of this minifigure to complete the collection But what I LOVE about the dragons rising wave is that there really isn’t a “exclusive minifigure” to the big sets. I know the golden guards and spirit of the temple are exclusive, but the main ninja aren’t exclusive to any big set! Like the biggest set of the wave (my favorite) the empress vs Jiro, none of the ninja are exclusive and Zane and Jay can still be obtained in the smaller sets. But then recently with dr s2, Lloyd nya and Cole are all in the big sets only with no cheap options..
As a 19 year old who loved ninjago as a kid. I still love it and collect it and even have my own little story line going😭 and i know for a fact when i get kids myself their getting legos 😮💨
I was a Ninjago fan as a kid, I had like one set/season if I was lucky and I was happy about it. If I had all the ninjas (don't care about having all the season suits) I was happy about it. 🤷♂
I noticed that with the crystallised sets they capitalised with the selective distribution thing. With one ninjas set you get another ninja. If you want kai and his bike you'd have to buy kais bike and another set which features kai, but then you get another minifig that needs a set but the one you got doesn't match, so you want more and end up buying 4 sets for 4 ninja and 4 vehicle
One thing alleivating the problem for Ninjago is minifigure reprints in the Ninjago Magazine. Even if it's not avaliable in the US the amount of stock it adds to the secondary market massively drives down the price for previously expensive minifigures like the Ice Emperor, Sora, Spirit of the Temple and the Climber suits.
And yet the rare figures that get magazine packs are still priced higher than they should be, despite that fact. Magazine distribution is not nearly as widespread as it is, and honestly only does so much to alleviate aftermarket value worldwide, regardless.
issue with climber suits and magazines is then ones which arnt in said magazin (as i live in uk and they only did 3/6 climber suits) the 3 which wasnt in mags then shot up and become pain to complete set.
The fact that this summer wave for ninjago goes from a $10 set to a $50 with nothing in-between is insane. I'm literally just done with the theme at this point! Officially been priced out :(( oh well
You missed fact Ninjago have become BUDGET THEME since underwater theme. They reuse molds over and over making the figures less exciting. When I saw recolored wolf warriors I litteraly went "WTF, NOT AGAIN" They havent even recolored the face...
Honestly the solution to this problem are the magazines, but sadly those aren't avaliable in every country. Thanks to those magazines I have characters who would be way harder to get normally. Of course you're better off buying some 10-15 $ sets if you want to have lot's of figures, but some of the magazines do have absolutely awesome figures, like Oni garmadon or dragon form cole.
6:38 Unrelated, but seeing the 2011 minifigs together like that again hit a huge nostalgic chord. I think I'm a Ninjago Genwunner, even though I've enjoyed some later sets, nothing to me beats the simplicity and tone of the pilot year. I know hero vehicles and mechs and such were always planned for when the theme was finalized, but it seems most pure to the original "Ninja Ghosts" internal concept collection. Gosh, this must be what it's like for people that say they fell off of Bionicle after 2003... Ninjago fans, don't crucify me...!!
Really glad I grew up with the 2011 ninjago with skeleton and snakes… kids today can not only experience how those sets were but man was the show good. Plus the prices were reasonable. Man I really wish I’d had gotten the fire temple tho that would have completed the collection from back then
Id argue not every set needs to be a combat in a box set. Realistically 99% need to be combat in a box, not including polybags. Coles titan dragon mech you can really feel the builds budget not being siphoned off to minifigures. But that's only 1 set, and I would like it to stick to 1 set per year that's not combat in a box. Lego as a building toy, I like it when they focus on the builds once in a while. But yea the prices of this wave are ridiculous. Even for adult collectors.
I would argue that one reused Wolf Mask Warrior would have been nice. Just so that, if I were an older builder who still plays with their toys, my Cole would have a bad guy to fight, even if they’re sorely outmatched. Would only ask for a bigger batch to be made of them, since they would already be designed and in production.
@@PenPlays What’s the point of including a grunt antagonist when they can’t even scratch Cole in his mech? Kid or adult, anyone can see that the mech can simply stomp the bad guy to win, and that’s not a fun play scenario.
Monkie kid in particular has a minifig problem, more so with the show actually IMO. The characters in show are always shown in their s1 outfits, this barley changes (the main cast I mean) but every wave has new outfits, so we end up having a ridiculous amount of noncannon figures. Pigsy is a particularly bad contender, but id argue Mr Tang is the worst, as his outfit has has been wearing for 5 seasons only showed up in one set, years ago, which is impossible to get now.
I'm sure the choice of using the season 1 versions has something to do with some sort of guideline. On thing that is important, though. The sets are often designed first, and then the show's designs after the fact. The problem is with Monkie Kid is how the animation style is so drastically different from LEGO's usual design ideologies that it causes huge discrepancies in the character selections and designs. It's fun for the show, but for the collector, it's not as fun.
@@Bionickpunk truly a catalyst of the choice to adhere to Season 1’s designs in the show (as great and stylistic as they are). I like the idea of Sandy fitting in the sets however, but the feeling just doesn’t feel the same as having a huge dude.
@@PenPlays The reason the outfits don't change in the show has to do with the animation pipeline. In 2D animation, each little change (be that a scratch in the face) is a WHOLE NEW character and there's only a limited amount of new characters they can make which is why the outfits of the main gang stays the same
Yeah this is a big reason why I just don’t even bother with Monkie kid sets. I enjoy the show for the characters, thus I ideally want the characters to look like they do in the show. Plus the prices.
you know what's worse in China their middle class is bigger, and family are willing to buy a 1 $60 set then like 2 or 3 $20 dollar sets but now there straying away from that in monkie kid you will get like 1 bad guy in some hero build for like $60
I mean, it's not that bad, most of important characters are going to be able to purchase in magazines (except if you live in the USA, then it may be a problem)
I mean, from an American’s standpoint, them being in magazines doesn’t help lower prices terribly much, at least not all the time. Looked around for Climber Lloyd (who has a magazine paper bag) and the lowest price I could find was $25. I mean, Oni Lloyd had a paper bag, as well, which the paper bag version always goes for pretty cheap, but that’s because the bag and set versions are different. Set exclusive had his Oni face while the paper bag had his headband hair (which, side note, the constant usage of the headband hair miffs me deeply, we haven’t seen the regular hair for Lloyd at the very least since 2021. They keep using the headband pieces in contexts where the normal hair would work better (ie. this, also blacksmith kai). I digress.) A figure having a paper can sometimes, help the price but not always. And that’s assuming they even get one. Again this is solely from an American perspective, I’m at the mercy of Europeans reselling them lol
I've been a Ninjago Fan since the they began. The problem for me has always been two. 1 the reuse of the ninja's head prints since the movie give the same boring expression they have had for 7 years. They need new expressions. The 2nd problem is the variety of characters. 2 ninja's in armor and 2 generic bad guys are sooo boring. Sets with different characters, bad guys with names, and different version of the ninja has always proven to be better. A suggestion can be to add a civilian for the ninja to save, or a character we don't get enough.
for me villian/bad guy wise it varys on season as i got mini army of golden/black from dragons rising (love sword piece), crystal creatures from crystalized & ghosts from morro season.
GOD I KNOWWW they started giving the ninja new faces with s6/skybound & s7/hands of time and then the movie came in and ruined everything 😭 Please give me a set where zane is smiling again. please lego. it's all i want
Goated takes all around. LEGO is a toy for kids and figures should be distributed with accessibility in mind. ESPECIALLY front lining main characters like Arin and Sora
I am a OG collector, who just started going back to get all the Ninja suits last year. Its crazy expensive, but fun. For new Ninjago, its not as exciting. At the end of the year, all of these minifigures may end up on Pickabrick anyway (DRS1 minifigures are). So since I don't really care about the new show, Ill just pickabrick and bricklink the minifigures. Maybe Ill get the source dragon just because its pretty dope tho
Thing is, that was the last wave they put the entire minifigs on the website. Since then, they’ve been o my adding some pieces, but not all. I think the days of whole Ninjago minifigs on Pick a Brick have come to an end, sadly
I hate that they got billion suits in s2. I really liked that they had only 1 in s1 they should do it that way tbh. Also crystalizied had one of the best minifigure set placements.
Crystalized is one of the primary examples of how not to handle minifigure distribution for the series. Almost every figure is exclusive per set. The exceptions being the Golden suits, but their only other set they were included in was the terribly priced $150 Golden Ultra Dragon, making the fact they're in multiple sets basically moot.
@@PaleozoicBricksNope. The quantity of unique minifigs was not out of the ordinary for the theme. It just all got pooled into one half of the year, since they saved so much money with the reuse of all of the Core suits during the first half of the year.
@@PenPlays I ask becasue I felt the amount of figs per set felt a bit insane. Less of the cost of design, but the amount per set I guess is a better way of rephrasing.
3:10 Exactly! I've thought about his recently and it's 100% why chima or nexo knights haven't succeded, their characters are pretty much a single character trait and nothing else
I remember back when I was a kid and wanted all the serpentine. I had all of them except the green and black/orange generals since they came in the largest set of the wave.
Same, the serpentine were some of my most favorite characters in the entire series. They always bring back Pythor, which isn't a bad thing! But I wish we could see Skales and Acidicus again, or any of the generals..
My guy having a villain mini figures in stand alone sets are not fucking needed. How the hell can you sit their a think a set like cole's mech that came out, would need a villain figure to "help" it. the mech alone is what really sells that set like the hell are you on?
9:13 issue with this criticism in particular is that there is a 20 dollar set with ryu sora and Erin. It’s a really good set too. It’s the slightly older ryu build
@@PenPlays oooooh true! I forget the second half of the 2nd season will prominently feature those suits. Hopefully the next wave has a cheaper option for them.
@@PenPlays but I will say I don’t feel like not having the tournament versions would have bothered me much as a kid. But I wasn’t very online, and didn’t keep up with stuff as much. But as an adult I minmax getting all the figs and it’s a pain. I’ve skipped sets I’d likely have enjoyed more to get characters I want
The real problem with the figures is how they don't look enough like the characters in the show. Especially the face prints are often off in their expression or missing details (printed chins, since s8/movie). And sometimes accessories look way different in the show than they do in the sets, specifically stuff like Lloyd's sword. Or the Dragons Rising armor pieces that have the mask attached to them and look a lot different in the show.
It's important to consider that the sets are designed first, and then the show is finalized. I do agree that we could use more face print variety, however.
Glad I’m not the only one noticing this. I’ve felt this a lot in the latest two waves from Ninjago - I have a running collection of specifically Lloyd figures, owning every single one of them except DX (I’m not spending that much on one character, at least not right now). And, of course, in the past wave and this wave, Lloyd’s only been available in the more expensive sets. Wow, look at that, I could get the source tournament Lloyd from the $90 combo vehicle set. A $90 set that is 576 pieces, at that - that price is ridiculous. I’m fine with putting certain characters exclusively in expensive sets, but not the main ninja and certainly not when those expensive sets have no reason to be that expensive in the first place (another set from the same wave is over 600 pieces and only $50 by comparison. What in the world.) The good news is the local store I get Lego sets from tends to not have expensive sets sell very well, so it’s only a matter of time till they chop the price in half. I got Jay’s titans mech and Zane’s ice dragon creature for $40 and $50 respectively just cause this store still had them 3 years later and had discounted the heck out of them. A similar thing will probably happen here, since they keep buying large stocks of Ninjago anyway. However, it’s not a guarantee and it’s really frustrating to have to wait that long. I’ve just resorted to getting most of my minifigures through sellers on eBay or Bricklink, but sellers have a tendency to charge more than what’s ideal due to the exclusivity of the figure. Even if it’s available elsewhere - Climber Lloyd, despite being in a paper bag, I couldn’t find for any less than $25. Something’s gotta change.
I do like the idea of the fun unique designs in the gimmick sets. As long as other affordable sets give us the main suits. Magazines are only available in a couple countries so they won’t be very helpful getting them in people’s hands on the long run, sadly.
This video doesn’t take into consideration the fact that ninjago has 9 main characters. Making all of them be affordable to kids for every outfit is just impossible.
Sure, there's nine main characters (which is far more than the show started with but I digress) but if you include two or three of them in each affordable set and have a few small-medium sets that spread them out, a kid that would want to collect all of them could afford it. There's a sweet spot between having characters exclusive to sets that cost several hundred dollars and somehow including most of the cast in ten dollar sets. If you've got a few of them in sets of different prices and there's enough overlap, it's far more doable.
@@stevenbobbybills the problem with that is there’d end up being too many sets, and it’s already known that the set designers aren’t the ones deciding what the set prices and sizes are. Because there are sets required for the larger price tags there can’t be loads of sets for ten dollars. Also I think it was unfair of Pen to also get angry that these smaller sets didn’t include an antagonist figure because the sets are not expensive enough for that, and having lots of enemy figures is actually quite annoying as they are usaully not as interesting as the ninja/protagonists. In my opinion lego really shouldn’t be making sets above 150 on the regular and they should be making overall cheaper sets but that isn’t a specific theme’s fault and there’s nothing those themes can really do about it.
With Ninjago, there are 9 ninja now, and Lego can’t reasonably make a bunch of smaller sets to fit all of them. By your count of Minifigs per set price, that would be at most 5 figures in a $60 set, and at least 2 should be villains in my opinion. That would really be 4 or 5 sets under $60 in one wave, which is really unusual for many themes, and that’s also implying that each ninja is exclusive to one set (not counting any sets over $60), which then makes the adult collectors feel like they aren’t getting their money’s worth. Ultimately, the figures are the most expensive part of a set, and by having no every single one be available in small sets, there’s no incentive to buy bigger sets anymore, especially when the parts in those sets are a lot less valuable on the aftermarket. Also, there is still one big variable you forgot: the Ninjago magazine. In Europe, there’s a Lego Ninjago magazine that has one figure in each issue, and whichever figure is included is devalued to about $5 almost immediately. For example, Oni Garmadon. I’d consider him a main character in Crystallized, and though he was once an outrageous $30 on the aftermarket, he then came in a cheap $5 magazine, and the figure is now really cheap on bricklink. Then other side characters like the Temple Spirit have also appeared in the magazine, solving your side character issue for at least one figure. The magazine is actually a perfect way to get full sets of ninja, for example how all 4 Dragon Ninja were included, now sitting at a 5-7 dollar price range on Bricklink. While it may not include every ninja of the wave, it will certainly cut into your perspective of having to buy sets to get figures. And also, in most cases you shouldn’t be buying sets just for the figures.
All main characters aside from Wyldfire were available in sets under $30 by the March wave. Out of all of them, only Sora was in an iconic and familiar suit. That is not what folks are looking for, as neat as the variants are. The magazines do nothing for the overall market, unfortunately. If the magazines were that effective, Oni Garmadon would be $7. He is currently $19 which is INSANE. That’s a sixth the price of the set he came in. Your point on minifigs is valid, but they add value where it is otherwise lacking, and with Ninjago, it’s more of a lack of consistency on delivering that, rather than it lacking, hence why it’s a part of this series.
I agree that the selective distribution makes it so hard to get minifigs like the airjitzu ninja or lord ras or the nrg ninja. and lego should put cool minifigures in more sets.
It sucks to me that villian sets dont sell because we despretly need more i swear the ninja have too many vehicles and im questioning what they do with half of them after the season because somtimes they dont evwn get destroyed. I loved the snake vehicles and i want to see more like that
I agree with you I've seen the problem of minifigure distribution in Ninjago for a while There needs to be cheaper sets with more readily available minifigures Also the ninja have too many suits per year, thete should be more side characters instead. The side characters being limited to Ninjago City sets is not good, there should be more minifigure/battle pack sets Lego has to stop being greedy and go back to making Lego accessible to kids They should try to bring the magazines to the US, if they tried before they should try again
I will say putting certain minifigs in larger more expensive sets makes them better and for people wanting them more, i think Ninjago is doing the right thing on this, with some figures, like yes arin should be in a cheaper set, but lord ras i think should be harder and more expensive because hes much more cool and has better prints, but thats me, feel free to roast me if u want
We're on the same page. It's why characters like Roby and Bleckt being in the Tournament Temple City feel warranted. And then, say with Ninjago City Markets, we should see niche ninja variants in there, and then citizens like Cyrus Borg, but then you have characters like Miss Demeanor, Hounddog McBrag and Chamille who all could be in other sets if planned right.
I have liked this series, but this one is a tough sell. None of the non-licensed themes have a minifig problem. Every minifig is available to buy individually through LEGO. If you wanted Oni Lloyd from the Ultra Dragon, with both weapons (tassel included), you were looking at like 6 bucks. Most figures you can get for $4 or less with their accessories. There is no non-licensed figure problem.
Most of those minifigures you mentioned are no longer available through Pick a Brick on LEGO's website. Starting this year, they have stopped adding entire figures to the site as well. It is no longer a solution, and never was a widespread one either.
The only issue with monkey kid is the fact that its an online and lego store exclusive. Its been out since 2020 if im not mistaken and i still dont know how i feel about the theme, as some cruel joke i live in one of the few states without a lego store and shopping online is very strange where i live so for me its very inaccessable
I also live in one of those states! It does suck having no LEGO Store for the MK sets, but… not all LEGO Stores carry the Monkie Kid sets either. Since China really is the only target audience, the sets here in the US are just not as prevalent.
@@PenPlays maybe one day lego will grace the states we live in with a store. But i dont even have a 3rd party store like i know some places have bricks and minifigs
@PenPlays Do you think Lego will rethink these , lets call them business solutions, they have implemented across the board from helmet holes and waistcape to skimping out in minifigs offered per kit? Capes are next on the block because of the new element molds introduced in superheroes. I just hope they don't figure out how to barely print pauldrons on torsos because I promise there spending money on that research instead of giving us what we have become a custom to in those regards. Because its cheaper product costs than the haphazardness in the past
Great video! I am a huge LEGO Monkie Kid fan, it's my favorite LEGO theme. Really cool characters and an awesome story! I highly recommend the show. But I can't afford most of the sets. I would love Monkey King's Ultra Mech, but no way am I paying $200 to get it. Same with minifigures, I would love a Nezha minifigure, Li Jing minifigure, and possibly the 100 Eyed Centipede minifigure. But I can't buy them on Pick a Brick and the sets they come in are $100-$200. I hope they make more sets like the MK's Combi Mech and Mei's Dragon Jet that are only $20 each.
I’d think I’d argue that Monkie Kid sets are much more difficult than Ninjago sets in terms of minifigures. But I do think there should be a balance allows consumers to get more minifigures
now i mostly lean towards bigger sets but i do agree with this statement like back in march when 3/6 of the climber ninja were locked to a $100 set and the arin thing for the recent tournament wave is just dumb considering for the previous dragons rising waves arin and sora have been available for cheep the young dragon riyu set was a prime example of this so you think they'd do that now that they finally gave arin and sora new suits
Exactly! I recently just started getting into ninjago again, and it’s so hard to find characters for cheap prices, I recently got evil jay and master Lloyd, along with two wolf villains and a jay mech which I thought was awesome. But I couldn’t find any characters like arin or sora in those cheaper sets?
See I don’t mind them appearing in sets that are that price. It’s just the fact that they’re their main suits for that part of the season, and not being in affordable access that gets me. There can be less prevalent, but cool suits on the bigger sets, if LEGO must do outfit variants.
What I really don't like about the Ninjago summer wave is that you either have to blow all your money for the minifigs (buying at least like $250 to all the important ones), or blow all your money on the incredible builds like the $150 Source Dragon or $100 Titan Dragon Mech. But the only way to really get any worthwhile build AND good minifigs is to get the entire wave.
I disagree: you can get TTC and TTA and have all the figures you could ACTUALLY need, only one your missing is Titen suit Cole which wasn’t all that important
Real heavy on the side characters!!! Their are so many I want to see, but they have not been made... Or even different versions of characters, like Base Aspheera, King Vangelis, Queen Vania, Regular Mr. F, Vengestone buyer Harumi, and more.
Finally someone who sums up this problem that Ninjago has had for a long time, I think Ninjago has put out a decent amount of affordable sets this year. The problem is they're having a lot of trouble bridging the Gap between small and huge....... They can't find medium. I think something that is vastly underrated is the magazine market for these figures though, a lot of the exclusive and or hard to get minifigs are coming out with foil pack magazines over in Europe, and I think if they expanded that market to the US......... Kids, and people in general, would have an easier time getting ahold of minifigs.
They tried expanding the market to the US, and it failed miserably. People are not buying print here the way they used to, and the prices were also atrocious which didn’t help.
Honestly, I think they’re doing the right thing introducing Arin, Sora, Riyu and Wyldfyre after the clear cut off point that was Crystalized. The problem, however, is that LEGO was incredibly stingy with how they sprinkled them across each wave, with the cheapest way to get the three main newbies pre-2024 being a nearly $50 bike/mech. Wyldfyre (my beloved) was only available in a $55+ set pre-2024. This has been both lessened and worsened in 2024. Sora’s in two cheap sets (one of which giving her show-accurate hair), Arin’s in three cheap sets, Riyu’s a $15 impulse buy (with Arin and Sora), but poor Wyldfyre is stuck in a $40 4+ set at the cheapest (and a $70 mech if you’re not that desperate for her new look). Arin’s in a $70 grossly overpriced dune buggy (and as stated in the video, his tournament gear is only in two $100+ sets) and Sora’s tournament gear is $50 at the cheapest. It is utterly depressing when I’m able to remember when you could get all the Season 4 ninja for about $90 if you knew what to look for (the lava bridge with Cole, the jungle trap with Kai, Lloyd’s buggy, Jay’s mech and Zane’s dragon) and know that kids today won’t have that experience with their heroes.
Speaking as a massive fan of Monkie Kid, minifigures are one of the biggest problems in the sets. I absolutely agree that the main characters should be more accessible (especially Tang, why is he always in the biggest sets?), and it annoys me when they chicken out of including everyone on one set, usually having everyone there but one (usually Tang). And also, how come Ninjago gets show only characters, but we don't? When I heard we were getting a Megapolus set, I was expecting it to come with Mayor since he's one of, if not the most popular show only characters and this would be the perfect place to include him, and I was disappointed when he was completely excluded. Why does 100-Eyed Demon get to be in 2 sets even though he was only in one episode with a rather forgettable showing IMO, while Mayor, who appeared a lot through the first 3 seasons and is infinitely more of a character than hundred eyes, gets nothing?
Lego is a big company and they know what they’re doing. They’re not dumb. They don’t care about this stuff, they only want money. There’s been hundreds of sets i’ve missed dure to the sets being over price. Yet, fans will still pay these egregious priced sets. Unless we stop buying these sets is when they’ll stop this idiocy.
Simple, because Lego is trying to become a Luxury brand and increase the profits as much as possible each quarter. But it is not some massive luxury. It's a toy. Not a lifestyle product or anything. It shouldn't even be considered a high end toy, the quality control is steadily falling down
Not only are these sets expensive, they are needlessly too big and extra expensive because of it. That dragon, apart from other problems, could have been 80$ and perfectly fine like that, those treads on Combo Vehicle are the worst part waste in a set I've ever seen in a set. This is why, for the first time since forever, I'm skipping these sets. Battle Arena is ok to get, the minifigures are worth it, but the rest will be 3$ on Bricklink soon. I don't understand why LEGO keeps pricing kids out of these products, or was I the only poor kid who grew up on 10$ sets, and kids now easily have 1000$ to spare to pick an entire wave of sets every few months?
my issue with newer ninjago sets is how many sets i need for all figures (and odd time i feel i need too many sets climbing suits being example) also prices are kind high & time gap between lego set releases is to short now for wallet to recover. As i got lucky on orange mech suit cole as found bl seller seller at time selling them each for £16 which saved me buying set as didnt want the mech due to space.
@@PenPlays i would like it more if they did sets in longer gap then releasing sets is it each 3-4 month as im og ninjago collector and also collect sw theme so at times my wallet can hurt more then it needs.
tbh i dont care about the new aron and sora figs. The thing that pisses me off is the rerelease of really good minifigs like pale man that are in sets over 200$, like man i just want that i m not willing to spend all that money for that one fig
That Paleman is not a rerelease. He’s a completely brand new minifigs of an older character. I do see your frustration tho. It’s part of why I bring up this discussion.
Always good to get the oldest set first. Azure Lion is retiring this year as well, I believe. Now’s the time! You’ll have plenty of time to save up for the arena later, since it’s new.
I know. She’s featured prominently in many parts of this discussion. When LEGO decides to market her as such, I’ll go more in depth on her inclusion as well the next time I get the chance. She’s not being treated like Arin and Sora by LEGO. At least not yet anyway. Crossing my fingers that changes.
Holy facts on the minifigure amount btw. The amount of people asking for LESS minifigures is crazy. Coles mech needed 6 minifigures. The source Dragon could use more too. and why can't we get a suit line with arm printing 😪But thats asking for a lot I guess LOL. We only got 11 villain minifigures for DRS2 P2, with like no army builders. Old ninjago would never
See I appreciate the idea that Cole’s Mech decides to focus on the detail. But… one repeat Wolf Mask would have been neat! The thing is, I think we need to consider the idea of encouraging LEGO to do less suit variants per year and use that printing budget in more ways.
Minifigs take up a lot of the budget for a set and can inflate the price drastically. Lets say the budget for a minifigure is $4-$7, depending on the level of detail and parts budget per fig. That's money not going to the build itself. If Coles dragon mech was the exact same with the 6 minifigs you want, the set could shoot to $120 at the bare minimum. This is a very precedented thing. Nya's Samurai X Mech from crystalized was $120 and had 1003 pieces. and 9 minifigures. Coles dragon Mech has a whole 52 parts more than the Samurai X mech, costing a whopping $20 less. This is also not taking into consecration the fact that certain parts are more expensive to produce than others, mainly gold. That could be a bit more intensive to produce so the pieces don't have GPS or Gold Plastic Syndrome, and the fact that set had a side build that's include in that 1003 piece count. Id say its less about people asking for less and more of putting the budget into different areas of a set. Just becasue a set has good minifigures does not make it bad, and just because a set has few minifigures does not make it automatically bad.
@@PaleozoicBrickswe do need to keep in mind that most pieces are still a hundredth of a cent to produce. Most of what we pay for is on LEGO’s quality control (which has been shaken as of recent). We just justify the price based on what features are included, such as character variety, to make sense of something we don’t entirely understand. I won’t admit that I do, because I do not, but it’s a given that minifigs, especially in non-licensed themes, are not as expensive to produce as we realize. I just hope that with how much we are paying for these sets, that the actual humans being involved in the process, are being paid properly.
@@Bionickpunk enough of this budget crap and mech fans bs. ITS A LEGO NINJAGO SET. NEVER in 13 years has LEGO NINJAGO released a $100 set with 1 minifigure. Hop off legos d already. I swear the only people who are defending this set are new ninjago fans or don't even care about ninjago at all
@@Bionickpunk me the huge Mecha fan who wholly understands the value of a fancy mech. You do realize no developmental budget will go into reusing a Wolf Mask Warrior, yes? Only part of the production budget. Which we can go into a long discussion on how subjective that is, due to plastic costing pennies, but unfortunately neither of us have the explicit details to back such an argument, due to LEGO’s secrecy on the matter. Your argument focuses on the designer’s perspective of budget being wholly rigid, when we don’t actually have any means to prove that, and I’m not sure if even he has all the details either. A grand total maybe, sure, but we can’t rely on all that without hard data we aren’t ever going to get.
@@coreyhenderson9241I’m an old 2011 fan, the builds are still amazing but a lot of the 14+ sets like the Cole Titan Mech and Source dragon are incredibly builds!!!! Besides, there’s like 3 D2C sets (Tournament Temple, Markets, Gardens) Wait for more city sets if you really want some nice builds I suppose
I see where you're coming from in one aspect, but what you're saying also implies that the sets for younger builders aren't fantastic builds in general. That Kai Mech I featured in this video is only $30 but WOW is it a great build. Plus you get four minifigs too. But then Ninjago is delivering on 18+ experiences, without the black branding (which is a marketing gimmick as all kids can easily build 18+ sets). Cole's Titan Dragon Mech, Ninjago City Gardens, Source Dragon of Motion, Dragonstone Shrine, Tournament Temple City, and Ninjago City Markets are exactly what you're looking for. If I had it my way, we would at least be getting 18+ sets of the weapons from the franchise. A Golden Weapon set being the first choice. Lots of display opportunities.
You bring up a good idea of smaller Ninjago City sets. Now, sure, would they be over $100? Probably, but for it being what it is, that would still be kinda nice.
READ THIS BEFORE COMMENTING!
Yes, there are LEGO Magazines in Europe that include minifigs.
As that implies, they are only available in a handful of places. They do not solve access to minifigs as it only adds options on a regional level. This does lower their cost on the aftermarket, but not a lot.
LEGO tried releasing these magazines in the US, but it failed.
They would not be a viable solution to the issues brought up in this video.
At this point every Lego theme has a minifig problem...
GREAT PENPLAYS LEGO NINJAGO AND MONKIE KID MINIFIGURES
That's the point. This is a series
"Lego Classic has a minifigure problem" and its just a 5 second clip of Pen saying "there's no minifigs"
Lego Duplo has a minifigure problem
He means Thers no problem duh
It's basically impossible for a kid to buy Monkie Kid sets nowadays. The cheapest set of the newest wave is $80! It's so ridiculous.
monkie kids could been success in sets if they started them off cheaper and built up brand itself with tv show like ninjago did, as i tried to get into monkie kid (as im og ninjago fan). Though set prices for monkie kid gave me sour taste for show i think same applys to dreamzzz partly great figures in monkie kid & dreamzzz but prices are just too much for starting off brand.
@@ravenspurplebeats5412 Fr. I love the MK tv show, and the sets are good as well, but the prices are terrible, and the cheapest set from the first wave was $35. We've only gotten 2 $20 sets in Monkie Kid's entire 5 year run, and nothing below that.
They are made to focus on Asia and allegedly Asia prefer larger sets with more stuff overall
I thought Monkie kid was popular, i mean its been going for 5 years strong @@ravenspurplebeats5412
@@ravenspurplebeats5412 "could been success" mk sets ARE successful though, just not much so in the western world. they are doing really good in asia
As annoying as this problem is, I'm really glad Lego at least gives everyone the option to buy any Ninjago or Monkie Kid figure they want on Pick a Brick. It does have problems, specifically with some of the pricing on a few elements, but assuming you have the patience to wait 6 months for Lego to add the minifigure parts from the most recent sets, it can save you so much money if you just need a few figures to fill the gaps in your collection.
As stated in the video, we are at a point where they are not adding complete minifigs to Pick a Brick anymore, so it's no longer a solution.
Not any. The only full climber suit on pick a brick is Kais. Zanes mech suit and cinder's head isn't there either. We have no confirmation any of the summer suits will arrive in October, and/or December (it's a 4 month gap)
(Sorry I didn't see PenPlays comment, I was writing mine own at thay exact time so it never showed up when I was writing my response)
🎉😊@@AdiR9234
@@AdiR9234I just ordered the DR S1 Ninja from there earlier today! They had most of the climber Ninja actually, and 4 of the 6 Mech Pilot figures. I just can’t wait for them to add the Source Tournament minifgs
My problem with Ninjago Figures this year is that they made to many suits for the ninja, there are the mech pilot suits, climber suits, tournament suits.
The budget was spread to thin this year, the mech pilot suits shouldn't have existed, we should have got instead Climber suits for Arin and Sora and figures with secundary characters, and in the mech wave they should have used either the S1 suits or the climber suits
Yes, theres too many. 💯
I like what you're thinking. Would leave some room for more side characters. What would also be great is that, by using the Season 1 suits in the mechs, it makes them easier for younger builders to access, and if Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu was any indication, whatever season starts a series becomes highly sought after. Would work in everyone's favor.
So glad someone is finally talking about this. This issue has gotten worse and worse for Ninjago over the past couple of years and this summer wave really cemented the problem. I remember being able to get the entire cast of characters in the $10 spinners and cheaper sets back when I was growing up, and my heart breaks for kids today who can’t experience that same luxury. I’m totally ok with locking certain side characters behind more expensive paywalls for the fans who want them, but the main ninja should be EASY and CHEAP for kids to get their hands on! This needs to change!
I look at all those resale prices for the classic characters and I get so depressed knowing kids won’t be able to afford the characters (or the versions of them) that they love.
I’m not asking they make carbon copies, but perhaps something like LEGO Star Wars does? Make new figures but make it so that they are clearly >this< version from >this specific< scene or season.
Maybe pair them with some screen accurate vehicles. Do what Legacy was supposed to do, basically.
@@PenPlays totally agree! Iconic villains like the Overlord, Time Twins, Samukai are all $100😭. Would love to see Legacy make a comeback, and maybe they just do low risk $20-$30 sets a couple times a year! Make ways for kids to get older characters that aren’t available anymore, but update the figures so they’re not the exact same
The way they handled the climber suits is particularly egregious. So few sets and the only way to get all the climber ninja is to buy the Lego store exclusive expensive Wolf Mask Dojo.
@@ethanstudios1 I look at Avatar Zane as the blueprint, but giving him a faceprint more in line with the older seasons.
I'd even avoid calling this hypothetical subtheme "Legacy" at all, as LEGO ended that subtheme for a reason, and if we keep asking them for that specifically, they won't bring past designs at all.
@@LordShrub In the US at least, the Wolf Mask Shadow Dojo is available from most retailers. As its a set over $100, you're not as likely to find it in-store, but most if not all online sites have it.
You hit the nail right on the head. As someone who was a massive Ninjago fanatic from 2013 to 2018 and now a revived fan as of now, the biggest appeal of the show to me was the individual characters, their personalities and how they played off each other. Sure the mechs and locations were cool and the sets definitely reflected that, but the characters and the mini figures by extension made Ninjago what it was.
I’d like to say that ninjago having exclusive minifigures to big sets is to make sure people DO buy said big set because of this minifigure to complete the collection
But what I LOVE about the dragons rising wave is that there really isn’t a “exclusive minifigure” to the big sets. I know the golden guards and spirit of the temple are exclusive, but the main ninja aren’t exclusive to any big set!
Like the biggest set of the wave (my favorite) the empress vs Jiro, none of the ninja are exclusive and Zane and Jay can still be obtained in the smaller sets. But then recently with dr s2, Lloyd nya and Cole are all in the big sets only with no cheap options..
Personally, ninjago neeeeeds to have a way for us to get minifigures, even unarmored, for much cheaper (
EXCELLENT WORK. PENPLAYS LEGO NINJAGO AND MONKIE KID MINIFIGURES
As a 19 year old who loved ninjago as a kid. I still love it and collect it and even have my own little story line going😭 and i know for a fact when i get kids myself their getting legos 😮💨
I was a Ninjago fan as a kid, I had like one set/season if I was lucky and I was happy about it. If I had all the ninjas (don't care about having all the season suits) I was happy about it. 🤷♂
unironically one of my favorite youtube series
You're very kind. Thank you.
I noticed that with the crystallised sets they capitalised with the selective distribution thing. With one ninjas set you get another ninja. If you want kai and his bike you'd have to buy kais bike and another set which features kai, but then you get another minifig that needs a set but the one you got doesn't match, so you want more and end up buying 4 sets for 4 ninja and 4 vehicle
One thing alleivating the problem for Ninjago is minifigure reprints in the Ninjago Magazine. Even if it's not avaliable in the US the amount of stock it adds to the secondary market massively drives down the price for previously expensive minifigures like the Ice Emperor, Sora, Spirit of the Temple and the Climber suits.
GOOD.
Good actually
You have more ways to get iconic characters and just cool minifigures
And yet the rare figures that get magazine packs are still priced higher than they should be, despite that fact.
Magazine distribution is not nearly as widespread as it is, and honestly only does so much to alleviate aftermarket value worldwide, regardless.
issue with climber suits and magazines is then ones which arnt in said magazin (as i live in uk and they only did 3/6 climber suits) the 3 which wasnt in mags then shot up and become pain to complete set.
I am SO Happy Magazines exist.
The fact that this summer wave for ninjago goes from a $10 set to a $50 with nothing in-between is insane. I'm literally just done with the theme at this point! Officially been priced out :(( oh well
You missed fact Ninjago have become BUDGET THEME since underwater theme.
They reuse molds over and over making the figures less exciting.
When I saw recolored wolf warriors I litteraly went "WTF, NOT AGAIN" They havent even recolored the face...
Back in my day ninjas just had regular outfits and dragon outfits. 👴
Honestly the solution to this problem are the magazines, but sadly those aren't avaliable in every country.
Thanks to those magazines I have characters who would be way harder to get normally.
Of course you're better off buying some 10-15 $ sets if you want to have lot's of figures, but some of the magazines do have absolutely awesome figures, like Oni garmadon or dragon form cole.
6:38 Unrelated, but seeing the 2011 minifigs together like that again hit a huge nostalgic chord. I think I'm a Ninjago Genwunner, even though I've enjoyed some later sets, nothing to me beats the simplicity and tone of the pilot year. I know hero vehicles and mechs and such were always planned for when the theme was finalized, but it seems most pure to the original "Ninja Ghosts" internal concept collection.
Gosh, this must be what it's like for people that say they fell off of Bionicle after 2003... Ninjago fans, don't crucify me...!!
Really glad I grew up with the 2011 ninjago with skeleton and snakes… kids today can not only experience how those sets were but man was the show good. Plus the prices were reasonable. Man I really wish I’d had gotten the fire temple tho that would have completed the collection from back then
Id argue not every set needs to be a combat in a box set. Realistically 99% need to be combat in a box, not including polybags. Coles titan dragon mech you can really feel the builds budget not being siphoned off to minifigures. But that's only 1 set, and I would like it to stick to 1 set per year that's not combat in a box. Lego as a building toy, I like it when they focus on the builds once in a while.
But yea the prices of this wave are ridiculous. Even for adult collectors.
I would argue that one reused Wolf Mask Warrior would have been nice. Just so that, if I were an older builder who still plays with their toys, my Cole would have a bad guy to fight, even if they’re sorely outmatched.
Would only ask for a bigger batch to be made of them, since they would already be designed and in production.
@@PenPlays What’s the point of including a grunt antagonist when they can’t even scratch Cole in his mech? Kid or adult, anyone can see that the mech can simply stomp the bad guy to win, and that’s not a fun play scenario.
Monkie kid in particular has a minifig problem, more so with the show actually IMO. The characters in show are always shown in their s1 outfits, this barley changes (the main cast I mean) but every wave has new outfits, so we end up having a ridiculous amount of noncannon figures. Pigsy is a particularly bad contender, but id argue Mr Tang is the worst, as his outfit has has been wearing for 5 seasons only showed up in one set, years ago, which is impossible to get now.
I'm sure the choice of using the season 1 versions has something to do with some sort of guideline. On thing that is important, though. The sets are often designed first, and then the show's designs after the fact.
The problem is with Monkie Kid is how the animation style is so drastically different from LEGO's usual design ideologies that it causes huge discrepancies in the character selections and designs.
It's fun for the show, but for the collector, it's not as fun.
@@Bionickpunk truly a catalyst of the choice to adhere to Season 1’s designs in the show (as great and stylistic as they are). I like the idea of Sandy fitting in the sets however, but the feeling just doesn’t feel the same as having a huge dude.
@@PenPlays The reason the outfits don't change in the show has to do with the animation pipeline. In 2D animation, each little change (be that a scratch in the face) is a WHOLE NEW character and there's only a limited amount of new characters they can make which is why the outfits of the main gang stays the same
Yeah this is a big reason why I just don’t even bother with Monkie kid sets. I enjoy the show for the characters, thus I ideally want the characters to look like they do in the show. Plus the prices.
We don't agree on much but you're absolutely spitting here. Great video
Thanks for watching, and I appreciate the comment!
you know what's worse in China their middle class is bigger, and family are willing to buy a 1 $60 set then like 2 or 3 $20 dollar sets but now there straying away from that in monkie kid you will get like 1 bad guy in some hero build for like $60
Monkie Kid is really needing a shift on how they're handling things, specifically. The way they're going isn't nearly as sustainable as it used to be.
I mean, it's not that bad, most of important characters are going to be able to purchase in magazines (except if you live in the USA, then it may be a problem)
Not always, and unfortunately the presence of the magazines doesn't alleviate resale value that much either.
I mean, from an American’s standpoint, them being in magazines doesn’t help lower prices terribly much, at least not all the time. Looked around for Climber Lloyd (who has a magazine paper bag) and the lowest price I could find was $25.
I mean, Oni Lloyd had a paper bag, as well, which the paper bag version always goes for pretty cheap, but that’s because the bag and set versions are different. Set exclusive had his Oni face while the paper bag had his headband hair (which, side note, the constant usage of the headband hair miffs me deeply, we haven’t seen the regular hair for Lloyd at the very least since 2021. They keep using the headband pieces in contexts where the normal hair would work better (ie. this, also blacksmith kai). I digress.)
A figure having a paper can sometimes, help the price but not always. And that’s assuming they even get one.
Again this is solely from an American perspective, I’m at the mercy of Europeans reselling them lol
@@FedoraLloyd I think I found new climber Lloyd for like 17 PLN (so about 4USD) once on "vinted"
I've been a Ninjago Fan since the they began. The problem for me has always been two. 1 the reuse of the ninja's head prints since the movie give the same boring expression they have had for 7 years. They need new expressions. The 2nd problem is the variety of characters. 2 ninja's in armor and 2 generic bad guys are sooo boring. Sets with different characters, bad guys with names, and different version of the ninja has always proven to be better. A suggestion can be to add a civilian for the ninja to save, or a character we don't get enough.
for me villian/bad guy wise it varys on season as i got mini army of golden/black from dragons rising (love sword piece), crystal creatures from crystalized & ghosts from morro season.
@@ravenspurplebeats5412 Yes some season it varys, the villains are interesting to collect like the ghosts and crystaliesd villains.
@@harrisonspooner264 but can apply same rule to sw collectors kinda when it comes to clone army building
GOD I KNOWWW they started giving the ninja new faces with s6/skybound & s7/hands of time and then the movie came in and ruined everything 😭 Please give me a set where zane is smiling again. please lego. it's all i want
Goated takes all around. LEGO is a toy for kids and figures should be distributed with accessibility in mind. ESPECIALLY front lining main characters like Arin and Sora
I am a OG collector, who just started going back to get all the Ninja suits last year. Its crazy expensive, but fun. For new Ninjago, its not as exciting. At the end of the year, all of these minifigures may end up on Pickabrick anyway (DRS1 minifigures are). So since I don't really care about the new show, Ill just pickabrick and bricklink the minifigures. Maybe Ill get the source dragon just because its pretty dope tho
Thing is, that was the last wave they put the entire minifigs on the website. Since then, they’ve been o my adding some pieces, but not all. I think the days of whole Ninjago minifigs on Pick a Brick have come to an end, sadly
I hate that they got billion suits in s2.
I really liked that they had only 1 in s1 they should do it that way tbh.
Also crystalizied had one of the best minifigure set placements.
Crystalized is one of the primary examples of how not to handle minifigure distribution for the series. Almost every figure is exclusive per set. The exceptions being the Golden suits, but their only other set they were included in was the terribly priced $150 Golden Ultra Dragon, making the fact they're in multiple sets basically moot.
@@PenPlays Due to the fact crystalized had so many suits than needed to be exclusive, did that not help the awful pricing of that line?
@@PaleozoicBricksNope. The quantity of unique minifigs was not out of the ordinary for the theme. It just all got pooled into one half of the year, since they saved so much money with the reuse of all of the Core suits during the first half of the year.
@@PenPlays I ask becasue I felt the amount of figs per set felt a bit insane. Less of the cost of design, but the amount per set I guess is a better way of rephrasing.
They only had one in season 2
3:10 Exactly! I've thought about his recently and it's 100% why chima or nexo knights haven't succeded, their characters are pretty much a single character trait and nothing else
I remember back when I was a kid and wanted all the serpentine. I had all of them except the green and black/orange generals since they came in the largest set of the wave.
And now both those generals are $60 each in good condition. It’s insane how things have changed
Same, the serpentine were some of my most favorite characters in the entire series.
They always bring back Pythor, which isn't a bad thing! But I wish we could see Skales and Acidicus again, or any of the generals..
@@AtomicRobloxProductions Pythor is like Dr Nefarious of the Lego Ninjago universe (if you know, you know.)
BigFig Sandy is literally all im missing 😭
So sad we don’t get bigfig Sandy anymore 😔
My guy having a villain mini figures in stand alone sets are not fucking needed. How the hell can you sit their a think a set like cole's mech that came out, would need a villain figure to "help" it. the mech alone is what really sells that set like the hell are you on?
I’m wanting the multi-billion dollar company to make more minifigs. The thumbnail and title make that very clear.
ALso I am ALL about NOT invcluding conflict in smaller sets beside the "starter pack" with 4 figs.
9:13 issue with this criticism in particular is that there is a 20 dollar set with ryu sora and Erin. It’s a really good set too. It’s the slightly older ryu build
It doesnt have the new ones
That set doesn't include Tournament Arin nor Tournament Sora
@@PenPlays oooooh true! I forget the second half of the 2nd season will prominently feature those suits. Hopefully the next wave has a cheaper option for them.
@@PenPlays but I will say I don’t feel like not having the tournament versions would have bothered me much as a kid. But I wasn’t very online, and didn’t keep up with stuff as much. But as an adult I minmax getting all the figs and it’s a pain. I’ve skipped sets I’d likely have enjoyed more to get characters I want
6:35 - 7:25 Bro, I feel like you're reading my mind.
The real problem with the figures is how they don't look enough like the characters in the show. Especially the face prints are often off in their expression or missing details (printed chins, since s8/movie). And sometimes accessories look way different in the show than they do in the sets, specifically stuff like Lloyd's sword. Or the Dragons Rising armor pieces that have the mask attached to them and look a lot different in the show.
It's important to consider that the sets are designed first, and then the show is finalized.
I do agree that we could use more face print variety, however.
Glad I’m not the only one noticing this. I’ve felt this a lot in the latest two waves from Ninjago - I have a running collection of specifically Lloyd figures, owning every single one of them except DX (I’m not spending that much on one character, at least not right now). And, of course, in the past wave and this wave, Lloyd’s only been available in the more expensive sets. Wow, look at that, I could get the source tournament Lloyd from the $90 combo vehicle set. A $90 set that is 576 pieces, at that - that price is ridiculous. I’m fine with putting certain characters exclusively in expensive sets, but not the main ninja and certainly not when those expensive sets have no reason to be that expensive in the first place (another set from the same wave is over 600 pieces and only $50 by comparison. What in the world.)
The good news is the local store I get Lego sets from tends to not have expensive sets sell very well, so it’s only a matter of time till they chop the price in half. I got Jay’s titans mech and Zane’s ice dragon creature for $40 and $50 respectively just cause this store still had them 3 years later and had discounted the heck out of them. A similar thing will probably happen here, since they keep buying large stocks of Ninjago anyway. However, it’s not a guarantee and it’s really frustrating to have to wait that long.
I’ve just resorted to getting most of my minifigures through sellers on eBay or Bricklink, but sellers have a tendency to charge more than what’s ideal due to the exclusivity of the figure. Even if it’s available elsewhere - Climber Lloyd, despite being in a paper bag, I couldn’t find for any less than $25. Something’s gotta change.
I would make it so that this 10€ gimmic (idk how to write this) sets have the normal suits and maybe bring most of them in magazines
I do like the idea of the fun unique designs in the gimmick sets. As long as other affordable sets give us the main suits.
Magazines are only available in a couple countries so they won’t be very helpful getting them in people’s hands on the long run, sadly.
maybe Lego and blue ocean (who makes the magazines) could finally start releasing the magazines everywhere, not only in europe
@@MandrinNinja They did release the magazines in other regions. They failed.
Me who's not up on Ninjago: 8?! When did we get 2 more ninjas?
This video doesn’t take into consideration the fact that ninjago has 9 main characters. Making all of them be affordable to kids for every outfit is just impossible.
Correct, which was the whole point of this video.
@@PenPlays I thought the video was telling the ninjago theme to do better with their minifigs, which I thought was unfair considering this.
Sure, there's nine main characters (which is far more than the show started with but I digress) but if you include two or three of them in each affordable set and have a few small-medium sets that spread them out, a kid that would want to collect all of them could afford it. There's a sweet spot between having characters exclusive to sets that cost several hundred dollars and somehow including most of the cast in ten dollar sets. If you've got a few of them in sets of different prices and there's enough overlap, it's far more doable.
If you haven’t yet, I’d recommend watching the video the whole way through
@@stevenbobbybills the problem with that is there’d end up being too many sets, and it’s already known that the set designers aren’t the ones deciding what the set prices and sizes are. Because there are sets required for the larger price tags there can’t be loads of sets for ten dollars. Also I think it was unfair of Pen to also get angry that these smaller sets didn’t include an antagonist figure because the sets are not expensive enough for that, and having lots of enemy figures is actually quite annoying as they are usaully not as interesting as the ninja/protagonists. In my opinion lego really shouldn’t be making sets above 150 on the regular and they should be making overall cheaper sets but that isn’t a specific theme’s fault and there’s nothing those themes can really do about it.
14:31, I seriously want that set just for ONE specific hat. I could order it individually but it would still be like over $10.
With Ninjago, there are 9 ninja now, and Lego can’t reasonably make a bunch of smaller sets to fit all of them. By your count of Minifigs per set price, that would be at most 5 figures in a $60 set, and at least 2 should be villains in my opinion. That would really be 4 or 5 sets under $60 in one wave, which is really unusual for many themes, and that’s also implying that each ninja is exclusive to one set (not counting any sets over $60), which then makes the adult collectors feel like they aren’t getting their money’s worth. Ultimately, the figures are the most expensive part of a set, and by having no every single one be available in small sets, there’s no incentive to buy bigger sets anymore, especially when the parts in those sets are a lot less valuable on the aftermarket.
Also, there is still one big variable you forgot: the Ninjago magazine. In Europe, there’s a Lego Ninjago magazine that has one figure in each issue, and whichever figure is included is devalued to about $5 almost immediately. For example, Oni Garmadon. I’d consider him a main character in Crystallized, and though he was once an outrageous $30 on the aftermarket, he then came in a cheap $5 magazine, and the figure is now really cheap on bricklink. Then other side characters like the Temple Spirit have also appeared in the magazine, solving your side character issue for at least one figure. The magazine is actually a perfect way to get full sets of ninja, for example how all 4 Dragon Ninja were included, now sitting at a 5-7 dollar price range on Bricklink. While it may not include every ninja of the wave, it will certainly cut into your perspective of having to buy sets to get figures.
And also, in most cases you shouldn’t be buying sets just for the figures.
All main characters aside from Wyldfire were available in sets under $30 by the March wave. Out of all of them, only Sora was in an iconic and familiar suit. That is not what folks are looking for, as neat as the variants are.
The magazines do nothing for the overall market, unfortunately. If the magazines were that effective, Oni Garmadon would be $7. He is currently $19 which is INSANE. That’s a sixth the price of the set he came in.
Your point on minifigs is valid, but they add value where it is otherwise lacking, and with Ninjago, it’s more of a lack of consistency on delivering that, rather than it lacking, hence why it’s a part of this series.
Darn I need to get more ninjago sets
I agree that the selective distribution makes it so hard to get minifigs like the airjitzu ninja or lord ras or the nrg ninja. and lego should put cool minifigures in more sets.
Me everytime new Ninjago sets release, "I've got to be smart with my money"
It sucks to me that villian sets dont sell because we despretly need more i swear the ninja have too many vehicles and im questioning what they do with half of them after the season because somtimes they dont evwn get destroyed. I loved the snake vehicles and i want to see more like that
I have a theory about villain vehicles, but I’m gonna save it until I’ve fully thought it out first.
@@PenPlays cant wait, your videos are always well thought out and edited
I agree with you
I've seen the problem of minifigure distribution in Ninjago for a while
There needs to be cheaper sets with more readily available minifigures
Also the ninja have too many suits per year, thete should be more side characters instead. The side characters being limited to Ninjago City sets is not good, there should be more minifigure/battle pack sets
Lego has to stop being greedy and go back to making Lego accessible to kids
They should try to bring the magazines to the US, if they tried before they should try again
I was so devastated when i looked up the Pigsy figure and it looked nothing like the show. Look how they massacred my boy
I will say putting certain minifigs in larger more expensive sets makes them better and for people wanting them more, i think Ninjago is doing the right thing on this, with some figures, like yes arin should be in a cheaper set, but lord ras i think should be harder and more expensive because hes much more cool and has better prints, but thats me, feel free to roast me if u want
We're on the same page. It's why characters like Roby and Bleckt being in the Tournament Temple City feel warranted. And then, say with Ninjago City Markets, we should see niche ninja variants in there, and then citizens like Cyrus Borg, but then you have characters like Miss Demeanor, Hounddog McBrag and Chamille who all could be in other sets if planned right.
@@Bionickpunk ur weird, because now some have no value to people
I have liked this series, but this one is a tough sell. None of the non-licensed themes have a minifig problem. Every minifig is available to buy individually through LEGO. If you wanted Oni Lloyd from the Ultra Dragon, with both weapons (tassel included), you were looking at like 6 bucks. Most figures you can get for $4 or less with their accessories. There is no non-licensed figure problem.
Most of those minifigures you mentioned are no longer available through Pick a Brick on LEGO's website. Starting this year, they have stopped adding entire figures to the site as well. It is no longer a solution, and never was a widespread one either.
2:35 Newest show is great.
The only issue with monkey kid is the fact that its an online and lego store exclusive. Its been out since 2020 if im not mistaken and i still dont know how i feel about the theme, as some cruel joke i live in one of the few states without a lego store and shopping online is very strange where i live so for me its very inaccessable
I also live in one of those states! It does suck having no LEGO Store for the MK sets, but… not all LEGO Stores carry the Monkie Kid sets either. Since China really is the only target audience, the sets here in the US are just not as prevalent.
@@PenPlays maybe one day lego will grace the states we live in with a store. But i dont even have a 3rd party store like i know some places have bricks and minifigs
@@PenPlays ok so funny thing my state is getting a lego store on friday wow is that funny
@@mrminemachine8 Luckyyyyyy
@PenPlays Do you think Lego will rethink these , lets call them business solutions, they have implemented across the board from helmet holes and waistcape to skimping out in minifigs offered per kit? Capes are next on the block because of the new element molds introduced in superheroes. I just hope they don't figure out how to barely print pauldrons on torsos because I promise there spending money on that research instead of giving us what we have become a custom to in those regards. Because its cheaper product costs than the haphazardness in the past
Great video! I am a huge LEGO Monkie Kid fan, it's my favorite LEGO theme. Really cool characters and an awesome story! I highly recommend the show.
But I can't afford most of the sets.
I would love Monkey King's Ultra Mech, but no way am I paying $200 to get it.
Same with minifigures, I would love a Nezha minifigure, Li Jing minifigure, and possibly the 100 Eyed Centipede minifigure. But I can't buy them on Pick a Brick and the sets they come in are $100-$200.
I hope they make more sets like the MK's Combi Mech and Mei's Dragon Jet that are only $20 each.
I’d think I’d argue that Monkie Kid sets are much more difficult than Ninjago sets in terms of minifigures. But I do think there should be a balance allows consumers to get more minifigures
Lol everyone has a problem with something 🤷 i enjoy them so oh well
now i mostly lean towards bigger sets but i do agree with this statement like back in march when 3/6 of the climber ninja were locked to a $100 set and the arin thing for the recent tournament wave is just dumb considering for the previous dragons rising waves arin and sora have been available for cheep the young dragon riyu set was a prime example of this so you think they'd do that now that they finally gave arin and sora new suits
Yes, I agree And also, I want some of them, but they’re way to expensive
The fact that ninjago could easily go on for 30 more years if they keep being creative with the themes and story
Exactly! I recently just started getting into ninjago again, and it’s so hard to find characters for cheap prices, I recently got evil jay and master Lloyd, along with two wolf villains and a jay mech which I thought was awesome. But I couldn’t find any characters like arin or sora in those cheaper sets?
I brought up the distribution problem with AshnFlash. He agrees that having to spend $50 or more to get just a rock climber suit is ridiculous.
See I don’t mind them appearing in sets that are that price. It’s just the fact that they’re their main suits for that part of the season, and not being in affordable access that gets me. There can be less prevalent, but cool suits on the bigger sets, if LEGO must do outfit variants.
What I really don't like about the Ninjago summer wave is that you either have to blow all your money for the minifigs (buying at least like $250 to all the important ones), or blow all your money on the incredible builds like the $150 Source Dragon or $100 Titan Dragon Mech. But the only way to really get any worthwhile build AND good minifigs is to get the entire wave.
I disagree: you can get TTC and TTA and have all the figures you could ACTUALLY need, only one your missing is Titen suit Cole which wasn’t all that important
@@ClassicStudStudios Yes but then you’re missing out on arguably the best mech and best dragon they’ve ever made for the theme.
New Penplays yap session
Good point on side characters
Real heavy on the side characters!!! Their are so many I want to see, but they have not been made... Or even different versions of characters, like Base Aspheera, King Vangelis, Queen Vania, Regular Mr. F, Vengestone buyer Harumi, and more.
A lot of them were made for the show first, but that also just hands them so many options to choose from for inclusion in sets in the future.
@@PenPlays exactly!!! They have plenty of options!!!
Finally someone who sums up this problem that Ninjago has had for a long time, I think Ninjago has put out a decent amount of affordable sets this year.
The problem is they're having a lot of trouble bridging the Gap between small and huge....... They can't find medium.
I think something that is vastly underrated is the magazine market for these figures though, a lot of the exclusive and or hard to get minifigs are coming out with foil pack magazines over in Europe, and I think if they expanded that market to the US......... Kids, and people in general, would have an easier time getting ahold of minifigs.
They tried expanding the market to the US, and it failed miserably.
People are not buying print here the way they used to, and the prices were also atrocious which didn’t help.
@@PenPlays ah, well then thank you for explaining that.
Honestly, I think they’re doing the right thing introducing Arin, Sora, Riyu and Wyldfyre after the clear cut off point that was Crystalized. The problem, however, is that LEGO was incredibly stingy with how they sprinkled them across each wave, with the cheapest way to get the three main newbies pre-2024 being a nearly $50 bike/mech. Wyldfyre (my beloved) was only available in a $55+ set pre-2024.
This has been both lessened and worsened in 2024. Sora’s in two cheap sets (one of which giving her show-accurate hair), Arin’s in three cheap sets, Riyu’s a $15 impulse buy (with Arin and Sora), but poor Wyldfyre is stuck in a $40 4+ set at the cheapest (and a $70 mech if you’re not that desperate for her new look). Arin’s in a $70 grossly overpriced dune buggy (and as stated in the video, his tournament gear is only in two $100+ sets) and Sora’s tournament gear is $50 at the cheapest. It is utterly depressing when I’m able to remember when you could get all the Season 4 ninja for about $90 if you knew what to look for (the lava bridge with Cole, the jungle trap with Kai, Lloyd’s buggy, Jay’s mech and Zane’s dragon) and know that kids today won’t have that experience with their heroes.
Speaking as a massive fan of Monkie Kid, minifigures are one of the biggest problems in the sets. I absolutely agree that the main characters should be more accessible (especially Tang, why is he always in the biggest sets?), and it annoys me when they chicken out of including everyone on one set, usually having everyone there but one (usually Tang). And also, how come Ninjago gets show only characters, but we don't? When I heard we were getting a Megapolus set, I was expecting it to come with Mayor since he's one of, if not the most popular show only characters and this would be the perfect place to include him, and I was disappointed when he was completely excluded. Why does 100-Eyed Demon get to be in 2 sets even though he was only in one episode with a rather forgettable showing IMO, while Mayor, who appeared a lot through the first 3 seasons and is infinitely more of a character than hundred eyes, gets nothing?
Lego is a big company and they know what they’re doing. They’re not dumb. They don’t care about this stuff, they only want money. There’s been hundreds of sets i’ve missed dure to the sets being over price. Yet, fans will still pay these egregious priced sets. Unless we stop buying these sets is when they’ll stop this idiocy.
Simple, because Lego is trying to become a Luxury brand and increase the profits as much as possible each quarter.
But it is not some massive luxury. It's a toy. Not a lifestyle product or anything. It shouldn't even be considered a high end toy, the quality control is steadily falling down
Where’s the final part of the series listed on the end screen? I’m not seeing anything
It will be available soon
Not only are these sets expensive, they are needlessly too big and extra expensive because of it. That dragon, apart from other problems, could have been 80$ and perfectly fine like that, those treads on Combo Vehicle are the worst part waste in a set I've ever seen in a set. This is why, for the first time since forever, I'm skipping these sets. Battle Arena is ok to get, the minifigures are worth it, but the rest will be 3$ on Bricklink soon. I don't understand why LEGO keeps pricing kids out of these products, or was I the only poor kid who grew up on 10$ sets, and kids now easily have 1000$ to spare to pick an entire wave of sets every few months?
Back in my day (oof) 2012-13ish i buy multiple booster packs for the spinners and remember only getting vehicle sets
my issue with newer ninjago sets is how many sets i need for all figures (and odd time i feel i need too many sets climbing suits being example) also prices are kind high & time gap between lego set releases is to short now for wallet to recover. As i got lucky on orange mech suit cole as found bl seller seller at time selling them each for £16 which saved me buying set as didnt want the mech due to space.
You're right on the money. This that is why this video is here.
@@PenPlays i would like it more if they did sets in longer gap then releasing sets is it each 3-4 month as im og ninjago collector and also collect sw theme so at times my wallet can hurt more then it needs.
Feel ya about collecting LEGO Star Wars too
Maybe they need a Ninja City CFM wave!
That would solve very few issues, I'm afraid.
tbh i dont care about the new aron and sora figs. The thing that pisses me off is the rerelease of really good minifigs like pale man that are in sets over 200$, like man i just want that i m not willing to spend all that money for that one fig
That Paleman is not a rerelease. He’s a completely brand new minifigs of an older character.
I do see your frustration tho. It’s part of why I bring up this discussion.
@@PenPlays yeah i know a remake like tox in the 50$ one, but one is on a high budget and the other one no
Guys should i buy the mighty azure lion set or the tournament battle arena set from ninjago
Always good to get the oldest set first. Azure Lion is retiring this year as well, I believe. Now’s the time!
You’ll have plenty of time to save up for the arena later, since it’s new.
"candy colored ninja" what candy is titainium
One that wears bright white.
I find it weird when you bring up poor print quality you didn’t use hunted Cole’s torso or cinders abysmal face
Both solid examples, but I'm partial to how hilarious "Manter" Lloyd is.
@@PenPlays manter is something only true fans will understand. And it’s such a funny mistake done so I see why it was included
There are figures in the magazines
Please, read the pinned comment.
I think this guy hates minifigures.
Is friends next?
I don’t think friends is gunna be covered 😂, out of every theme, it’s the only one you can argue isn’t about the figures
You should probably watch the LEGO Star Wars video in this series that's already out...
@ClassicStudStudios you should probably watch the LEGO Star Wars video in this series that's already out...
@@PenPlays I did actually!, but I don’t recall friends being mentioned😅
@@ClassicStudStudios Rewatch time!!
Wyldfire is a ninja get it in your head
I know. She’s featured prominently in many parts of this discussion. When LEGO decides to market her as such, I’ll go more in depth on her inclusion as well the next time I get the chance. She’s not being treated like Arin and Sora by LEGO. At least not yet anyway. Crossing my fingers that changes.
Arin sora aaaaaaaand
…and Riyu, yes, who as an animal mold, or build, is not a part of this conversation.
Why you put ninjago and monkie kid in same video are not them good enough to be seperate
Yes. Might as well put them in one video to double the greatness
Womp womp
All of The characters are not perfect for example Lloyd
Holy facts on the minifigure amount btw. The amount of people asking for LESS minifigures is crazy. Coles mech needed 6 minifigures. The source Dragon could use more too. and why can't we get a suit line with arm printing 😪But thats asking for a lot I guess LOL. We only got 11 villain minifigures for DRS2 P2, with like no army builders. Old ninjago would never
See I appreciate the idea that Cole’s Mech decides to focus on the detail. But… one repeat Wolf Mask would have been neat!
The thing is, I think we need to consider the idea of encouraging LEGO to do less suit variants per year and use that printing budget in more ways.
Minifigs take up a lot of the budget for a set and can inflate the price drastically. Lets say the budget for a minifigure is $4-$7, depending on the level of detail and parts budget per fig. That's money not going to the build itself. If Coles dragon mech was the exact same with the 6 minifigs you want, the set could shoot to $120 at the bare minimum. This is a very precedented thing. Nya's Samurai X Mech from crystalized was $120 and had 1003 pieces. and 9 minifigures. Coles dragon Mech has a whole 52 parts more than the Samurai X mech, costing a whopping $20 less. This is also not taking into consecration the fact that certain parts are more expensive to produce than others, mainly gold. That could be a bit more intensive to produce so the pieces don't have GPS or Gold Plastic Syndrome, and the fact that set had a side build that's include in that 1003 piece count. Id say its less about people asking for less and more of putting the budget into different areas of a set. Just becasue a set has good minifigures does not make it bad, and just because a set has few minifigures does not make it automatically bad.
@@PaleozoicBrickswe do need to keep in mind that most pieces are still a hundredth of a cent to produce.
Most of what we pay for is on LEGO’s quality control (which has been shaken as of recent).
We just justify the price based on what features are included, such as character variety, to make sense of something we don’t entirely understand.
I won’t admit that I do, because I do not, but it’s a given that minifigs, especially in non-licensed themes, are not as expensive to produce as we realize.
I just hope that with how much we are paying for these sets, that the actual humans being involved in the process, are being paid properly.
@@Bionickpunk enough of this budget crap and mech fans bs. ITS A LEGO NINJAGO SET. NEVER in 13 years has LEGO NINJAGO released a $100 set with 1 minifigure. Hop off legos d already. I swear the only people who are defending this set are new ninjago fans or don't even care about ninjago at all
@@Bionickpunk me the huge Mecha fan who wholly understands the value of a fancy mech.
You do realize no developmental budget will go into reusing a Wolf Mask Warrior, yes? Only part of the production budget.
Which we can go into a long discussion on how subjective that is, due to plastic costing pennies, but unfortunately neither of us have the explicit details to back such an argument, due to LEGO’s secrecy on the matter.
Your argument focuses on the designer’s perspective of budget being wholly rigid, when we don’t actually have any means to prove that, and I’m not sure if even he has all the details either. A grand total maybe, sure, but we can’t rely on all that without hard data we aren’t ever going to get.
I wish lego was only for 18+ because we would get so many more great builds
No, that is a HORRIBLE idea. Yes builds would be better ( probably )…
But then what’s left for the kids 🥲 there’s already
@@ClassicStudStudioswell Ninjago needs more big more expensive builds for old fans like me to stay interested
@@coreyhenderson9241I’m an old 2011 fan, the builds are still amazing but a lot of the 14+ sets like the Cole Titan Mech and Source dragon are incredibly builds!!!!
Besides, there’s like 3 D2C sets (Tournament Temple, Markets, Gardens) Wait for more city sets if you really want some nice builds I suppose
I see where you're coming from in one aspect, but what you're saying also implies that the sets for younger builders aren't fantastic builds in general. That Kai Mech I featured in this video is only $30 but WOW is it a great build. Plus you get four minifigs too.
But then Ninjago is delivering on 18+ experiences, without the black branding (which is a marketing gimmick as all kids can easily build 18+ sets). Cole's Titan Dragon Mech, Ninjago City Gardens, Source Dragon of Motion, Dragonstone Shrine, Tournament Temple City, and Ninjago City Markets are exactly what you're looking for.
If I had it my way, we would at least be getting 18+ sets of the weapons from the franchise. A Golden Weapon set being the first choice. Lots of display opportunities.
@coreyhenderson9241 bro lego is fine with losing one fan then losing a bunch because of every set being upwards of 100 dollars
We could get ninjago city markets like dlc which have few side characters in it and a small building peice to go with city markets
You bring up a good idea of smaller Ninjago City sets. Now, sure, would they be over $100? Probably, but for it being what it is, that would still be kinda nice.