Brickset pick of the week: Earth Dragon Defence

 

  • Brickset pick of the week: Earth Dragon Defence

    Posted by Huw, 28 Aug 2011 12:43. Filed under Pick of the week.

    2509: Earth Dragon Defense
    Ninjago, 2011
    More details...
    ©2011 LEGO Group

    This week I've selected another set that I've just built and which is available at a significant discount, in the UK at least.

    Ninjago Earth Dragon Defence is one of the new Ninjago sets that has just been released. I first saw it at the London Toy Fair in January and thought it looked cool then. So, yesterday, while at the Milton Keynes LEGO store (helping to build the 'ribbon' models for the new London Stratford shop opening soon) I thought I'd treat myself.

    Ever since the Vikings dragons appeared in 2005, I've had a soft-spot for LEGO dragons so I was pleased to see that so many were to feature in the Ninjago theme. I bought the Ice Dragon, 2260, earlier in the year and this is the only other NinjaGo set I've bought so far, not being a huge fan of the theme otherwise, particularly the cheap-and-nasty spinners.

    The Earth Dragon isn't what you'd call a traditional dragon because it doesn't have wings. It's more of a giant lizard or pre-historic monster but I have to say, once built, it really is a fearsome looking thing. It's built mainly from brown and dark tan pieces and measures 15" (38cm) head-to-tail. Its front legs are fully poseable but its back ones are fixed. The spike-wielding tail can be swished from side-to-side. A ring of sand green aircraft tail pieces make up an armoured shield behind which Cole DX sits. Wyplash, the undead enemy in this set doesn't stand a chance against this thing...

    The minifigs are so-so (you probably have them already if you have other Ninjago sets) but the creature is excellent and a sight to behold once built and I highly recommend it.

    Price-wise in the UK, it's £30.99 which if I'm honest, is a little on the high side. Luckily though, you can currently get it at Amazon.co.uk for 31% off making it a much more reasonable £21.36.

    In the USA it's $35, and while I haven't managed to find a saving online for you, that's a far more realistic price anyway. Amazon.com doesn't seem to stock it (but 3rd party sellers do) so you are probably better getting it directly from shop.LEGO.com or your local toy store. 

     

    By the way, last week's Pick of the Week: SpongeBob Herioc Heroes of the Deep is now even cheaper in the UK: £9.19 which is 34% off.

    Update: looks like this article may have caused a bit of a rush on the set in the UK, the price is now back up to RRP :-(


    16 comments, latest one posted 21 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by starfire2 in United States, 28 Aug 2011 14:19

Defense is spelled with an s not a c. ;)

Posted by mo123567 in United States, 28 Aug 2011 14:21

I have all four of the Ninjago dragons and the Earth dragon is definately my favorate. Who says dragons need wings to be menacing.

Posted by Berrybrick in United States, 28 Aug 2011 14:24

starfire2- I could be wrong, but I think that's the british spelling.

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 28 Aug 2011 14:25

^ You're right

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 28 Aug 2011 14:43

Nice review, Huw (and not @Huw. :P)! :) I see you've done a new "Pick of the Week" cathegory; you may want to put the first "Pick of the Week" in the new cathegory, it's still under "Brickset news". :)

EDIT: He did it. :)

Posted by jimnbobproductions in United Kingdom, 28 Aug 2011 15:09

I didn't know that Amazon sale was on until you pointed it out Huw; I bought the Blacksmith Shop and Skull Truck at full price! Oh well, at least I can still take advantage of it with this set.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 28 Aug 2011 15:23

Yes thank you Berrybrick, we do indeed use the Queen's English on this site and spell it with a c.

Posted by Zrath in United States, 28 Aug 2011 16:49

The first time I saw pictures of that dragon, I knew I had to get one. It just looked too cool!
I do have one but I haven't had the time to build it yet. I'm a bit disappointed that the back legs are fixed.
This will have to be remedied somehow. :)

Berrybrick: I do believe Starfire2 was being facetious. :)

Posted by ditonthouikwel in Belgium, 28 Aug 2011 19:58

"cheap"-and nasty spinners. hehehe, those things must be the most overpriced pieces of lego there are. At 10 euro a piece , even at half price i'd have to think wether or not to buy one of those. i was expecting them to be 3 euro a piece, cause they are only one special brick more then a collectible minifig. It's almost that lego thinks if they add some other activity to building they can multiply the price by 2 too. spinners, games, heroica.. it kinda makes me sad :(

Posted by Dlakii in Australia, 28 Aug 2011 22:04

I admit I'm fairly tempted to eventually look into this set, if only because it reminds me vaguely of the earlier design of Medeus from the Fire Emblem series. It's certainly one of the most appealing Ninjago sets I've seen, partially for its more grounded take on dragons; the other dragon designs do interest me, just not quite as much. Regardless of the spinner gimmick and the skeleton minifigs, I do quite like the general aesthetic of Ninjago, if not quite enough to justify buying it en masse instead of Alien Conquest.

The only thing that really bothers me about this set, and the other Ninjago dragons, is the presence of a Thornax launcher in the throat. Those things barely worked with BIONICLE, they were jarring in World Racers, and they're even more jarring here, though this set does a better job of integrating them visually than the others. Also, I can't really see mounting them in the dragon's throat being a particularly efficient way to launch those fickle things anyway.

Posted by Nightshroud99 in Canada, 29 Aug 2011 00:01

Cool set! Mine should be arriving from LEGO.shop any day now.

Posted by Zordboy in Australia, 29 Aug 2011 00:03

I adore the Ninjago Dragons. I bought the Ice Dragon as soon as it was out, and loved the unique and unusual design. But the Earth Dragon is also absolutely brilliant. And like said, the design is so different. I love how it's basically a giant frill-necked lizard. But no, I absolutely adore the dragons. I think they're beautiful. Hard to build, but worth it.

I can't wait until the Lightning Dragon battle is out, and I have to figure out a way of getting the Fire Dragon without buying the whole temple.

Posted by macmon in Philippines, 29 Aug 2011 02:07

I definitely agree that this is one great dragon without the wings. As I said in my review of the Earth Defense dragon, the tail is something nice with this set. And just wished that LEGO made a sea dragon instead of 3 flying dragons.

Posted by el_rey95 in United States, 29 Aug 2011 11:37

I agree, a sea dragon would be awesome!

Posted by mo123567 in United States, 29 Aug 2011 13:12

Macmon,

I agree about the three flying dragons. They all rely on the same wing design technique. It's cool but once is enough. I would like to see more variety. I was hoping for a sea dragon as well, kind of like the midgard serpent from the vikings theme, but unfortunately it looks like there may not be more dragon sets next year. If the rumors are true, then the only thing that really compelled me to buy ninjago sets in 2011 will be gone in 2012.

Posted by Gandalf1 in United States, 29 Aug 2011 13:29

The Ninjago dragons are not that interesting to me. While they are kind of impressive, I prefer the architectural models, like the Spinjitzu Dojo and Garmadon's dark fortress.

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