Dareth vs. Nindroid
Posted by Huw,
Dareth vs. Nindroid is a polybag that's currently available in Toys R Us in the UK. It's a TRU exclusive and free when you spend £25 on Ninjago, or £4.99 otherwise. This is despite the back clearly stating, in five languages, that it's 'not for sale'.
Components are made in Denmark, Mexico and China. I'm fairly sure that Dareth's legs and torso are made in China, and the Nindroid's torso too, although it getting harder to be sure because the tell-tale signs that have flagged Chinese-made items in the past are no longer evident.
The absence of (c) LEGO under the foot used to indicate Chinese plastic but that is present now, and there are no longer mould numbers on the arms and hands, although they've been absent for a while.
The only real giveaway now is the positioning of the hands: in China they are inserted at right-angles to how they are shown below.
Anyway, this isn't really relevant any more because the quality seems just fine.
Dareth's torso has a great print, front and back, and looks to be a close match to that seen in the cartoon.
I don't think the Nindroid is anything special although I don't have any other of this year's Ninjago minifigs to compare it with.
It's a great little freebie if you're buying Ninjago sets (at full price) at TRU, and probably a must-have for Ninjago fans given Dareth is unique to this set although I'd say there's a fair chance he'll turn up in one of next year's.
I've no idea if and when it'll be available elsewhere in the world: if you're desperate to get hold of him, why not head to the forum marketplace topic and hook up with someone in the UK to organise a trade...
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Wish I knew when it would be hitting the US. I want the "brown ninja".
"Not for sale." Very clever.
I think it's a great Dareth, but I think he's sorely lacking a neck-bandanna thing that all the 2014 ninjas have. Or does he even have one of those in the show? I've never watched it...
No he never wears one
Still, a full Ninja mask or bandana-face-mask would have been a sweet addition.
Got mine today at Brent cross north london. If anyone needs ine get in touch
Good review. I don't think it particularly matters which parts are made in China if you can't tell the difference. After all, if you want to avoid buying Chinese-made parts on principle you'd probably want to avoid the set altogether. And if there are quality issues with any of the parts, they're worth reporting no matter WHERE the parts come from. That's my perspective, at any rate.
The part that would stand out most to me as a Chinese-made part would probably be the Nindroid headgear, as LEGO tends to source a lot of parts with special painting like that from China. Minifigure parts with ordinary printing on ordinary surfaces like the torsos and legs in this set can basically be made anywhere, so with those you can't be quite so sure.
Anyway, glad to hear the quality of Chinese-made parts is more satisfactory now. My feeling has always been that it'd be better to improve the quality of Chinese-made parts than to stop making parts there altogether, so it's good to hear that's what LEGO seems to have done.
I love this polybag and it caught me completely by surprise. Dareth's a great character, so having him in minifigure form will be a real treat. It's definitely on my wish list. Gonna have to check my Toys 'R' Us more frequently in the coming months, and hope they don't run out of these as quickly as they ran out of LEGO Movie collectible minifigures and polybags back in February.
Is that hair dark brown?
Dareth looks great, I'll get it if I can find it.
I'ts not that interesting for me and I don't collect Ninjago, anyway, so why have I posted here? :-P
Do these torsos have a block of contrasting color on the neck? That used to be a very reliable way of telling a Chinese-made minifigure from one made in Europe.
Having said which, I've been very impressed with most of the Chinese minifigs, from as far back as many of the PotC ones, which blew me away with their level of printed detail. Glad to see the question of sub-par plastic seems to have become a non-issue!
The hair piece is really nice.
Great match to the show! This better come states side!
Cool review, and neat to learn about the material locations.
Brick Adjuster on YouTube purchased this polybag after spending $30 or more (before tax) in Canada's Toys R Us stores ($30 Canadian currency).