Review: 71838 Kai's Motorcycle Speed Race
Posted by CapnRex101,
Sets costing roughly $10 or equivalent in other regions have become relatively scarce recently, as the price of Battle Packs and other products previously occupying that price range has risen over time, vacating the sub-$10 category.
71838 Kai's Motorcycle Speed Race is therefore quite unusual, but seems fun, considering the natural appeal of having two motorcycles to race! In addition, the set includes one of the new Reveal Blades and the minifigures appear impressive too.
Summary
71838 Kai's Motorcycle Speed Race, 79 pieces.
£8.99 / $9.99 / €9.99 | 11.4p/12.6c/12.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
I wish the bikes differed more, but this is a fun set at a good price, nonetheless
- Excellent play value, for its size
- Two great minifigures
- Affordable price
- Motorbikes could be more distinct
- Nothing to reveal with the Reveal Blade
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
The ninja don Ghost Hunter suits for the second part of Dragons Rising season three and Kai looks fantastic in his, featuring a detailed shoulder armour and mask piece. The texture on the left pauldron is lovely and the dual-moulded red eyes and moulded teeth on the right look even better! Otherwise, the design is pretty conventional, but I like the flames on the torso and legs, plus Kai's hair.
Ghost Hunter suits are useful when facing the likes of this Spectral Dragonian Scout, whose consistent parts appear in lots of the new sets, but this exact combination is unique. The aqua, metallic silver and trans-light blue colours work brilliantly together, alongside red and dark blue accents. The scout undoubtedly seems ethereal, as intended.
My only slight complaint is that the helmet could perhaps have looked better in silver to match the chest armour. Apart from that, these are two excellent minifigures and both are fully armed, as the Dragonian wields a curved sword, while Kai is equipped with two katana and a trans-red Reveal Blade, albeit without anything to reveal in this set.
The Completed Model
The two motorcycles are tiny, constructed around the standard motorcycle fork pieces. Using these elements on such small vehicles gives little opportunity to adapt them to the characters, but I like the colours on Kai's bike, matching his minifigure, at least. The light is a nice addition too, in trans-light blue.
Kai can ride his bike and looks alright, but you cannot really alter his stance without detaching the legs from the studs underneath. Furthermore, there is actually not enough space for Kai to hold his weapons upright with either hand on the handlebars, nor is there anywhere to stow the Reveal Blade.
Unsurprisingly, the Spectral Dragonian's motorbike is essentially identical to Kai's, apart from colour changes and a few cosmetic updates, like the blades clipped on the sides. I do like the thinner tyres on this model though, trying to distinguish the motorcycles to some degree.
Adding wings to the Dragonian minifigure would probably have helped in that respect too, just making this motorcycle look a bit bulkier with its rider on board. Even without those wings, this design looks fine, if generally unremarkable.
Overall
Two motorbikes belonging to rival factions offer inherent play value, so 71838 Kai's Motorcycle Speed Race achieves its fundamental purpose. Personally, I think focusing all the elements on one bike would be more interesting, but providing both is definitely better for play. For their size, the vehicles are well-designed and the minifigures are excellent, especially Kai.
Clearly, for those buying some of the bigger sets and particularly 71844 Ninja Combat Vehicle, where Kai also appears, this is not an essential purchase. Nevertheless, it serves a role as an effective introduction to NINJAGO and I think the price of £8.99, $9.99 or €9.99 is fair.
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26 comments on this article
This is Cloud.
I'm not a fan of Ninjago, but I think the theme itself is appealing and has many useful pieces if you are interested in oriental architecture or martial arts. IMHO, the bikes are a bit bland (interesting to see a front light that is pointing just at the front wheel, ehem...), but that Spectral Dragonian helmet is fantastic, Kai minifigure is superb... and that Reveal Blade is just epic! For me, it's a Day 1 purchase.
This is only a tenner? Give it a few years, and the Not-The-Buster-Sword alone is going to sell for that much on Bricklink.
Pretty good value.
My love of transparent Lego minifigure elements is at odds with my distaste for this motorcycle frame.
No summary box?
Poor guy’s hands are so red from frostbite. Oh well, it looks like he has a stone Chima mask, so he’s not even the brightest anyway.
I can't argue with the fact that it is excellent value for money but can't shake off the fact they did the bikes dirty with a 'simple' (lazy) design, especially when you can easily get equally good or slightly better ones as magazine gifts like 212404 or 212325 . But i reckon they had strict brief to stick to which probably also dictated the budget and breadth they had on designing this set. That said, that sword looks like a deal-breaker to me, as well as two decent minifigures to boot.
"Sets costing roughly $10 or equivalent in other regions have become relatively scarce recently as the price of Battle Packs and other products previously occupying that price range has risen over time, vacating the sub-$10 category. "
I wondered if this is correct so I had a look on lego.com. They currently have 40 sets available to purchase at £8.99 (the price this set is). Of course this is across many themes, but I saw in-house and licensed sets, minifigure based and Creator style sets, some DUPLO and 4+ style. But one thing I did notice, there was no STAR WARS in that price bracket any more. 7 of the £8.99 sets are Ninjago, 7 are Friends and 8 are City, and firmly aimed at kids. Minecraft, Animal Crossing and Spiderman get an entry or two. It makes it look like they know the younger kids are no longer into Star Wars and they are not producing sets in that bracket. Whereas other themes get sets aimed at kids at the $10 / £8.99 price.
You have to go back 17 years to 2008 to find a $10 battle pack, as by 2009 they were already $12. Of course we have had the Planets and Microfighters much more recently at $10 / £8.99 until a couple of years ago.
@whiteghost said:
"No summary box?"
Thanks for the reminder; added.
@CCC said:
""Sets costing roughly $10 or equivalent in other regions have become relatively scarce recently as the price of Battle Packs and other products previously occupying that price range has risen over time, vacating the sub-$10 category. "
I wondered if this is correct so I had a look on lego.com. They currently have 40 sets available to purchase at £8.99 (the price this set is). Of course this is across many themes, but I saw in-house and licensed sets, minifigure based and Creator style sets, some DUPLO and 4+ style. But one thing I did notice, there was no STAR WARS in that price bracket any more.
You have to go back 17 years to 2008 to find a $10 battle pack, as by 2009 they were already $12. Of course we have had the Planets and Microfighters much more recently at $10 / £8.99 until a couple of years ago."
I have created a query for sets costing less than $10 and you can see how the numbers have fallen by filtering by year: https://brickset.com/sets/query-11637
We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. Admittedly, under $10 is an arbitrary limit and the change actually becomes even more apparent at sub-$20: https://brickset.com/sets/query-11659
Cheap way to get Kai from this wave. I will be picking this up when I get the Temple Bounty.
I love little kits like this. They’re relaxing, I never have to worry about running out of oomph before finishing them, and I don’t plan to ever be too old to enjoy at least a brief brum-brum session. Plus occasionally I like putting together mini photo/video skits with Lego and those are usually easier with titchy kits. More whimsy, I suppose.
@CapnRex101 said:
" We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. $10 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, so I have anything roughly around that price in mind when making the point. I think it holds true though."
I added some more data to my post. In particular, 7 of the current £8.99 sets are Ninjago sets so I don't think this set is really that unusual. Ninjago is still a theme that is at least partly aimed at younger kids and so where they tend to aim these small sets.
Love the cost and play value. We need more impulse sets.
Such a solid miniset!
I do want this for some peculiar reason. The minifigures and Kai's motorcycle look great.
@CCC said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. $10 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, so I have anything roughly around that price in mind when making the point. I think it holds true though."
I added some more data to my post. In particular, 7 of the current £8.99 sets are Ninjago sets so I don't think this set is really that unusual. Ninjago is still a theme that is at least partly aimed at younger kids and so where they tend to aim these small sets."
That is fair, although several of those current NINJAGO sets are gimmick-based. They count, but are not necessarily going to appeal as introductory sets to a theme.
Regardless, it is the case that many themes have vacated that price category and I still find it extraordinary that the likes of Monkie Kid and DREAMZzz were launched without sets costing $10 or less.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @CCC said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. $10 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, so I have anything roughly around that price in mind when making the point. I think it holds true though."
I added some more data to my post. In particular, 7 of the current £8.99 sets are Ninjago sets so I don't think this set is really that unusual. Ninjago is still a theme that is at least partly aimed at younger kids and so where they tend to aim these small sets."
That is fair, although several of those current NINJAGO sets are gimmick-based. They count, but are not necessarily going to appeal as introductory sets to a theme.
Regardless, it is the case that many themes have vacated that price category and I still find it extraordinary that the likes of Monkie Kid and DREAMZzz were launched without sets costing $10 or less."
Monkie kid is in desperate need of a shake up with sets, seriously considering its current state of affairs. A couple of £10 sets would be amazing. Doesn't dreamzzz have £10 sets with the izzy and z blob 20 in 1 sets?
@CapnRex101 said:
" @CCC said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. $10 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, so I have anything roughly around that price in mind when making the point. I think it holds true though."
I added some more data to my post. In particular, 7 of the current £8.99 sets are Ninjago sets so I don't think this set is really that unusual. Ninjago is still a theme that is at least partly aimed at younger kids and so where they tend to aim these small sets."
That is fair, although several of those current NINJAGO sets are gimmick-based. They count, but are not necessarily going to appeal as introductory sets to a theme.
Regardless, it is the case that many themes have vacated that price category and I still find it extraordinary that the likes of Monkie Kid and DREAMZzz were launched without sets costing $10 or less."
I think the main point of gimmick sets IS to be an introductory set to the theme—attracting kids with a unique play gimmick at a low price point and getting them hooked so they'll consider going for bigger sets with more building involved in the future.
Heck, arguably "two tiny bikes you can race against each other" is a gimmick of sorts as well, encouraging a simple but exciting play pattern not unlike the other sorts of "good guy vs. bad guy" format things like spinner sets take. It's just that, in this case, it's being done with common parts like wheels and tires instead of having brand-new parts to enable a novel play feature.
@Goujon said: "Monkie kid is in desperate need of a shake up with sets, seriously considering its current state of affairs. A couple of £10 sets would be amazing. Doesn't dreamzzz have £10 sets with the izzy and z blob 20 in 1 sets?"
I think Monkie Kid is ending from what I've heard—sadly this year's small wave was apparently something like a "last hurrah" for the theme.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @CCC said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. $10 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, so I have anything roughly around that price in mind when making the point. I think it holds true though."
I added some more data to my post. In particular, 7 of the current £8.99 sets are Ninjago sets so I don't think this set is really that unusual. Ninjago is still a theme that is at least partly aimed at younger kids and so where they tend to aim these small sets."
That is fair, although several of those current NINJAGO sets are gimmick-based. They count, but are not necessarily going to appeal as introductory sets to a theme.
Regardless, it is the case that many themes have vacated that price category and I still find it extraordinary that the likes of Monkie Kid and DREAMZzz were launched without sets costing $10 or less."
I rarely go in toy shops these days as I tend to buy LEGO online. So the LEGO I do see on shelves tends to be in supermarkets. I frequently see sets up to about £25 on the shelves at Waitrose (City, Friends, Ninjago and botanicals) and then these sub £10 sets in cheaper supermarkets. So to me they seem quite common.
I think the other thing that skews set price points are the magazines. I've seen many Dreamzzz magazines with the characters as paper bag gifts, and I'm sure I've seen sets widely available discounted to about £12. Maybe they are using that old trick of high RRP and widely available discounts to market it.
@Lyichir said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @CCC said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. $10 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, so I have anything roughly around that price in mind when making the point. I think it holds true though."
I added some more data to my post. In particular, 7 of the current £8.99 sets are Ninjago sets so I don't think this set is really that unusual. Ninjago is still a theme that is at least partly aimed at younger kids and so where they tend to aim these small sets."
That is fair, although several of those current NINJAGO sets are gimmick-based. They count, but are not necessarily going to appeal as introductory sets to a theme.
Regardless, it is the case that many themes have vacated that price category and I still find it extraordinary that the likes of Monkie Kid and DREAMZzz were launched without sets costing $10 or less."
I think the main point of gimmick sets IS to be an introductory set to the theme—attracting kids with a unique play gimmick at a low price point and getting them hooked so they'll consider going for bigger sets with more building involved in the future.
Heck, arguably "two tiny bikes you can race against each other" is a gimmick of sorts as well, encouraging a simple but exciting play pattern not unlike the other sorts of "good guy vs. bad guy" format things like spinner sets take. It's just that, in this case, it's being done with common parts like wheels and tires instead of having brand-new parts to enable a novel play feature."
Maybe so, but I am not sure gimmick-based sets are always an effective introduction because they are often so detached from the bigger sets. In fact, NINJAGO has generally moved away from spinners and sets like them interacting directly with larger sets, which made up a huge part of the theme at the outset. They have moved back in that direction to some degree this year and perhaps that is an effort to make the spinners more successful as introductory sets, but I still think there is scope for more, especially in themes other than NINJAGO.
I would not describe two motorbikes in a set as a gimmick. As you said, that is just a common play pattern and one we see regularly in LEGO action themes, including NINJAGO, at various price points.
Anyway, my initial point stands that the number of small introductory sets across the LEGO portfolio has dropped. This is clearly illustrated by the data, linked above.
@CapnRex101 said:
"I would not describe two motorbikes in a set as a gimmick. As you said, that is just a common play pattern and one we see regularly in LEGO action themes, including NINJAGO, at various price points."
"Conflict-in-a-box"
@Goujon said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @CCC said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" We would probably expect some fall in the number of sets due to inflation, but it still strikes me as a noticeable trend. $10 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, so I have anything roughly around that price in mind when making the point. I think it holds true though."
I added some more data to my post. In particular, 7 of the current £8.99 sets are Ninjago sets so I don't think this set is really that unusual. Ninjago is still a theme that is at least partly aimed at younger kids and so where they tend to aim these small sets."
That is fair, although several of those current NINJAGO sets are gimmick-based. They count, but are not necessarily going to appeal as introductory sets to a theme.
Regardless, it is the case that many themes have vacated that price category and I still find it extraordinary that the likes of Monkie Kid and DREAMZzz were launched without sets costing $10 or less."
Monkie kid is in desperate need of a shake up with sets, seriously considering its current state of affairs. A couple of £10 sets would be amazing. Doesn't dreamzzz have £10 sets with the izzy and z blob 20 in 1 sets?"
Dreamzzz had one kit in the second wave and two in the third, but the first wave’s lowest price was 18.99, so it didn’t have any on launch, polybag and magazine mounts aside. It would've been nice to have a couple of sub-£10 sets in the mix in the first wave.
I was going to complain about using the same base for all small bikes lately, then I remembered I have many Classic Town cars that looks exactly the same but in different colors.
@Crux said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
"I would not describe two motorbikes in a set as a gimmick. As you said, that is just a common play pattern and one we see regularly in LEGO action themes, including NINJAGO, at various price points."
"Conflict-in-a-box""
I prefer "battle in a box," for the alliteration.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Crux said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
"I would not describe two motorbikes in a set as a gimmick. As you said, that is just a common play pattern and one we see regularly in LEGO action themes, including NINJAGO, at various price points."
"Conflict-in-a-box""
I prefer "battle in a box," for the alliteration."
"Battle-in-a-container"
Great figures!
The bikes, not so much.
But it's only 10 dollars so guess lego wants you to play for the figures and the parts come as a nice bonus or something.