71780 NINJAGO Kai's Ninja Race Car EVO

71780 NINJAGO Kai's Ninja Race Car EVO

Happy New Year's Eve, everybody! (depending on your time zone, of course) I've been quite busy with other projects so I wasn't able to post this year. So sorry about that. Despite this, I made sure to be able to post one article to close the year. Today, I'll be reviewing one of the new NINJAGO sets, namely Kai's Ninja Race Car EVO. I was skeptical of these NINJAGO sets at first, but they have actually begun to impress me. 

Anyway, this set includes 94 pieces (less than what I was expecting) and has one minifigure, namely Kai. The set is for 6+, in my opinion not because of the complexity of the build but because of the small pieces of which there are many in this kit.

Here is the packaging with the image of the completed thing. Now, I don't care too much for the new box designs, but maybe it's because I just really miss NINJAGO Legacy. I mean, those sets were so cool. For a set to include themes and characters that haven't been touched upon for a long while is a special thing which naturally gets fans excited. (I'm looking at you, Tournament of Elements). Anyway, enough about that. Let's now move over to the sole minifig in this set: Kai.

I like this figure. It's yet another example of the ever-changing ninja costumes which are nice to collect. The hood piece is simple enough, with yellow and red getting the message across about the powers of this ninja. 

The torso piece is good, but could use some improvement. In my humble opinion, the piece would look better if one of two things occurred. The first thing is that the fire be touched up a bit. It's fine, but at the same time it's a little corny and requires detail. I mean, I was even confused as to whether they were dragon heads or fire. 

The other option is that the fire be removed entirely and some standard detailing go into the torso. I yearn for that old, nostalgic, and plain feel on the ninjas' costumes. Still, I'm content with this torso design so don't get me wrong. I just feel like it could be improved. 

The legs piece has a decent design with the bottom segment of the ninja "robe" being put on there. There is also detailing which is made out to resemble boots but I'm not sure due to those rope-looking things that may possibly be lining on boots, but in my eyes seem to be for a different purpose. 

Overall, this minifig has room for improvement, but is satisfactory when used in a one-fig kit. 6/10?

Here is the car with Kai by its side. It's got a sturdy build but is not the most attractive of cars. Doesn't matter though, as we all know that this is a ninja car, designed for speed and effectiveness, not looks. I'm a fan of the huge wheels on the vehicle, and they remind me of the rover wheels from the set 60225 CITY City Rover Testing Drive. Pretty cool.

The car has a few stickers which you should have no trouble applying. Trust me, I put one together myself. 

I would like to mention the fact that there is a minor process that you can perform to, let's say, transform the car into some sort of turbo mode.

As you can see, the back of the box provides instructions on how to do this process. Don't worry about it though. It's very minor and just involves switching the wheels inside out and attaching some swords and a spoiler. I assume you will want that spoiler on anyway so only two things will have to be done.

Overall, I'd have to say that this car is a satisfying little build to add to your collection. It's got a good foundation, fits well with other NINJAGO builds, and has some good pieces as well as a fun little transformation function. The downside is that it doesn't have the aesthetics that some other vehicles may have, like 71783 Kai's Mech Rider EVO or 71776 Jay and Nya's Race Car EVO. The vehicles in both of these sets have better aesthetic qualities than this one. 

Now let's talk about the price. This set's retail price is about US$9.99/£8.99/€9.99. Not too pricey, considering the current state of things, with CITY sets having considerably high prices compared to a few years ago. 

 

Anyway, that's it for the first and last review of the year. Again, I apologize for all the delays and times without articles. Next year though, I'll have the articles and reviews coming steadily. Have a good night and a happy new year! See you in 2024!