Review: 71860 Lloyd's Titan Mech
Posted by CapnRex101,
70676 Lloyd's Titan Mech was released to great acclaim in 2019, widely considered perhaps the best LEGO mech ever made at the time! On the other hand, while the original design continues to look spectacular, other mechs have improved on its articulation.
NINJAGO Legacy exists to revisit past favourites and 71860 Lloyd's Titan Mech updates the 2019 model with modern joints and more dramatic shaping. The original set is beloved, but I think this iteration has the potential to be even better, hopefully following the exceptional example of 71821 Cole's Titan Dragon Mech, which remains my favourite LEGO mech.
Summary
71860 Lloyd's Titan Mech, 1,293 pieces.
£119.99 / $129.99 / €129.99 | 9.3p, 10.1c, 10.1c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Lloyd's Titan Mech is an outstanding model, albeit not quite as articulated as I hoped
- Distinctive and attractive armour
- Quite poseable for display
- Stunning colour scheme
- Grimfax finally appears in physical form
- Poor elbow articulation
- Slightly too expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
The original Lloyd's Titan Mech appeared in the Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu range and Lloyd was dressed accordingly. This minifigure instead wears updated ZX robes from Rise of the Snakes, like the other Legacy ninja this year. All the Titan Mech pilots have had completely different suits thus far, so their inconsistency does not bother me.
I like the subtle metallic gold pattern on Lloyd's torso and legs, paired with his shoulder armour and matching detail on the head wrap. The original minifigure, released in 2012, featured silver accents, but I think gold is equally effective on Lloyd. Additionally, this combination of green and dark green looks nice, as ever.
The hood piece prevents Lloyd from turning his head, which can look awkward when the mech faces to either side and its driver's head should follow. Nonetheless, this is an excellent version of the character, equipped with two swords.
Though unusual, notable characters from the animated series occasionally fail to appear in the associated sets. Grimfax is a prime example, as the former king of the Never-Realm and quite an important character in Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu, though one conspicuously missed out of the sets produced in 2019.
Grimfax's dark blue armour stands out among the Blizzard Warriors, although its style remains consistent and reflects the animation. The dual-moulded helmet looks lovely and has stayed in production for much longer than usual because this element has been used when testing other combinations of opaque and transparent plastic, hence the helmet could return here.
I wish Akita had returned too, but her headdress element is apparently long gone. Grimfax is a great addition though, with a perfect double-sided head that captures the animated character's facial hair, plus fearsome expressions. This figure carries an axe, again reflecting the animated series.
Several of the Legacy sets released for the 15th anniversary of NINJAGO come with exclusive Elemental Masters from the Serpentine War, such as Zane's predecessor as the Master of Ice. While some Elemental Masters are elaborately dressed or armoured in the show, this character wears simple dark blue and sand blue robes, with white details.
This colour scheme certainly suits the Master of Ice and the minifigure comes with a trans-light blue crystal to denote his power. The double-sided head looks excellent as well, with facial hair accurate to the animated series and expressions ready for battle or a peaceful moment.
Each anniversary minifigure stands on an attractive base, displaying the 15th anniversary logo on a 2x2 round tile. Black, red and gold are colours closely associated with NINJAGO since its beginning, so these are a great choice for the minifigure base. Technic pins are included to link the seven collectable figures together.
The Completed Model
LEGO designers have had ample opportunity to hone their mech-building skills during the past decade and the results are spectacular! I love the proportions of the mech and its angular body shape around the figure's core, giving way to more rounded features further down the arms and legs. No other LEGO mech particularly looks like this one.
This includes 70676 Lloyd's Titan Mech. The pair evidently share a sand green, white and gold colour scheme and you can see where details of the original model have influenced its modern equivalent, but various other features have been abandoned. The wings are totally different, for example, while the original mech had a wrist-mounted saw missing from the new design.
In addition, the new mech is substantially taller than its predecessor, measuring 33cm in height. This also makes Lloyd's vehicle one of the biggest Titan Mechs in the collection and I think they look amazing when arranged together. I was unsure about the use of white on 71785 Jay's Titan Mech or 71821 Cole's Titan Dragon Mech individually, but seeing them in a group, it works.
I appreciate that each mech has its own character as well. Simply by looking at them, you can get the sense of Jay's vehicle probably being quicker and more agile than the others, whereas Zane's mech is quite small and incorporates lighter weapons. Perhaps he performs a sabotage and espionage role on the team in these mechs. I look forward to equivalents for Nya and Kai, doubtless coming soon!
I was incredibly impressed with 71821 Cole's Titan Dragon Mech, especially for its articulation, so I hoped this mech would be similar. Indeed, the articulation is adequate for certain dynamic poses, but the ankles and particularly the elbows are restricted. The shoulders are surprisingly moveable though, as the chunky pauldrons can move out of the way.
Even so, I have found it quite difficult to work with this figure. Whereas it feels like Cole's mech can achieve essentially any pose you wish, as long as it remains planted on both feet, this one seems more limited. For example, it is quite difficult to pose Lloyd's mech with its sword held in two hands. One-handed stances are fine, but options are always appreciated.
The elbows cannot even reach ninety degrees, which is a major problem, but the knees offer a good range of movement and feature adjustable knee armour. With that in mind, some creative action poses are possible, such as the classic 'superhero landing', pictured below!
The dragon-shaped horns on the head are among the aforementioned details from the original mech retained on this one. They are quite oversized relative to the head as a whole, but I think that exaggerated style works. The pearl gold frog attached to the chin looks superb too, while a lime green piece represents the visor.
As usual, the pilot sits inside the chest, with the head acting as a hatch on top. However, unlike on earlier Titan Mechs, Lloyd is really tucked away and perhaps better protected than his fellow pilots. The minifigure does not fit inside with his blades sheathed on his back, sadly, but I do like the printed consoles around the figure.
The angled golden panels on the chest were another memorable feature of 70676 Lloyd's Titan Mech and another that returns, using different pieces. These blades fit together neatly around a 4x4 wedge slope in the middle, although they are only attached via ball joints, so the blades can be knocked out of position quite easily when handling the mech.
The shoulder armour is very reminiscent of the large plates, known as sode, worn by samurai and protecting their shoulders. The textured bricks on top look perfect and I like the pearl gold details as well, resembling bolts pinning the armour together. The word 'Titan' appears on each shoulder in Ninjargon, appropriately.
Large ball joints give the shoulder armour a fantastic range of movement, so they hardly inhibit the arm movement. Compared with other areas of the mech, the arms are actually quite simple, but the exposed joints look fine to me and I like the smooth finish on the armour. In addition, the pearl gold wheels on the forearms are inspired by similar parts on Lloyd's prior Titan Mech.
These certainly improve the mech's appearance, giving the arms some mass, but they prevent the elbows from bending past roughly 75 degrees. While this is enough for many poses, Cole's Titan Mech has double-jointed elbows, which raised my expectations for subsequent mechs, so this is a bit disappointing by comparison.
The sword, on the other hand, is impressive. The combination of two pearl gold blades is very effective, whether the resulting gap is solely for decoration or works as a swordbreaker, with a few golden accents on the hilt too. Also, I like the white and sand green pieces, so the weapon really complements the mech. There is even a tassel, represented by a mop head element.
The hilt is designed to fit snugly into either of the mech's hands, though it can be stored on the back as well, secured with a Technic pin. Ideally, it would be attached a bit higher, so the mech could more easily reach back to grasp the hilt, but you cannot pose the model that way anyway because of the restricted elbows.
I wish the back of the wings had been decorated and the blue Technic pins concealed, but they are only visible from behind, thankfully. Otherwise, the detail across the front of the wings looks lovely, including two red and gold semicircles. While their actual purpose will become clear later, they add interesting texture to the wings.
Also, all four wings are fully articulated on ball joints. You can arrange them basically however you like, fully splayed out for maximum impact or retracted. These options are useful for visual balance when posing the figure, as with the earlier 'superhero landing' pose.
You can remove the whole wing pack and the mech still looks marvellous without it. Wings are sometimes helpful to increase a mech's physical presence on display, but the shoulder armour and chunky thighs satisfy that requirement here.
The wing pack connects to the back using Technic pins, exactly like the wings on 71821 Cole's Titan Dragon Mech. You can therefore switch the two and I think the pearl gold blades from the 2024 mech are surprisingly effective on this one. Actually, these six blades bear a resemblance to the wings on Lloyd's original mech, more so than the standard wings.
Both large wings are detachable and they can link together to become a shield, which is a nice idea. The semicircular features form the shield boss and I like its general shape, with spikes on the bottom. The shield connects to the Technic pin holes on the forearms and feels quite secure there, but once again, the wheels cause a slight obstruction.
The smaller wings, meanwhile, double as wrist blades. However, it is difficult to pose the arms with these blades in a proper action stance, I have found. The wrists are very dynamic, but the elbows are again problematic for posing. Nonetheless, these blades are a welcome feature.
6x6x2 canopy elements form the thigh armour, with a few smaller pieces and stickers creating mechanical detail. The mix of smooth and richly textured surfaces looks splendid and I like the robot arms used on the knees in particular, resembling actuators of some kind.
Like on earlier Titan Mechs, multiple ball joints reinforce the knees. Also, the golden armour on the front moves to cover the knees in different positions, so the joints are never totally exposed from in front. The round structures underneath are another detail influenced by the 2019 design, though exaggerated on this occasion.
Several recent mechs have included pistons to strengthen the ankles and Lloyd's mech is the same. I like the mechanical aesthetic and the ankles have a generous range of backward and sideways motion, though they cannot move forward very far before armour on the feet collides with the shins.
Removing those armour plates definitely improves the situation, as shown below. However, the ideal solution would have been to design ankle plates that could accommodate the shin armour passing behind them with minimal interference, similar to 71821 Cole's Titan Dragon Mech.
Overall
The best way I can summarise 71860 Lloyd's Titan Mech is to say that everything from 70676 Lloyd's Titan Mech has been intensified. This version is larger and better articulated, its shape seems more dramatic and there are more options for display. I think the model looks incredible and the minifigures are great, but there are a few issues of note.
I have complained a lot in this review about the articulation and I do find the elbows annoying, but the mech is still very poseable as a whole. The greater problem is Cole's mech, which still overshadows this one for me. Moreover, the price of £119.99, $129.99 or €129.99 seems fairly expensive for a NINJAGO set of this size, but Lloyd's Titan Mech is still a lovely model.
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17 comments on this article
That lineup of the different Ninjago mechs is absolute peak. Truly LEGO's best original theme. Unless Hero Factory comes back...
This mech is a real beauty, thanks for the review and more ideas for cool poses!
I though I'd like it much less than Cole's Titan Mech but once built, it does have great presence and it's stable, thus I like it just as much as its predecessor.
The price is high, so I'd recommend waiting for a minimum 20% discount.
Really seems like an unnecessary Legacy set, given that 70676 was already great and only released... 7 years ago... oh. Still, Season 11 and later still feels too new to need the Legacy treatment, when there's still so much from earlier seasons yet to be made as physical sets.
The picture of all the Titan Mechs together is quite impressive, though it kinda make me wish Cole's mech had a giant scythe and Jay's a pair of nunchucks, to vary the weaponry a bit and reflect their pilots' original weapons. It also gives off extremely strong anime/Power Rangers vibes, which I suppose is the intention (and fits for Lloyd's mech, considering Season 11 was the one that featured actual anime scenes, for no reason), but it is indicative of what Ninjago has become over the years, and I can't say I'm a fan of it. Also, I think 71846 fills the spot for Kai's mech, for now at least, even though it doesn't share the white accents.
Finally, looking at that one picture of the mech's sword held vertically... I'm gonna need those blade pieces in red ASAP, LEGO.
A couple things: The angled gold bits on the chest actually sit underneath the angular sand green piece in the center. Should help those lock in. Also, while Lloyd can't keep his swords on his back, there is dedicated storage behind him. You can slot the blades in the bar clips in the back of the cockpit (I didn't see it in the pic, so not sure if you missed that).
Anyway, I have this one and love it. I (unpopular opinion) was not a huge fan of Cole's Titan Mech, which I found to big, cumbersome and wobbly to be particularly fun. This one, while having a bit less range of motion, I find far more sturdy and enjoyable. My biggest gripe is the ankle articulation, which is a prevalent problem for Lego Mechs (ankles and hips are far more valuable than knees and hips).
One thing I’ve found is that the upper body of this mech detaches relatively easier from the lower body. The joint between them isn’t as strong as the one on Cole’s Titan mech, which seems like a disappointing oversight.
Now I kind of wish we'd also get minifigure-sized jitte.
I'm guessing the next One Piece wave is going to be -delightfully unhelpful- there.
Nice review!
Regarding the figure not fitting with their swords, I was impressed that this set actually had a solution for that! The two gold handle pieces in the cockpit are placed so that you can slot both swords into those as storage while the minifigure is piloting the mech. Really handy solution that's a lot more elegant than just clipping them somewhere.
Very nice and thorough review. I always like comparisons between similar sets where possible. 71775 has long struck me as Nya’s unit in the Titan Mech line, even if it doesn’t carry the actual name. Still, if Lloyd’s now gotten a second entry I suppose there’s hope for Nya to get a full-fledged Ninja Titan Mech. Wonder how long Arin, Frak, Sora, and Wyldfyre will be waiting for theirs…
It is nice Grimfax finally gets a fig, and handy that things worked out to where he could use the same helmet mold. I honestly kind of wish that we could have had General Vex in Crystalized instead of Mr. F. It is too bad about Akita-I for one don’t care for minifigure exclusivity in large sets, so it’s a pity she wasn’t available with a magazine or couldn’t return here on top of appearing in 70678. Still, at least she actually got a figure (or two, counting her wolf form from 70671) unlike her brother Kataru, Krag the yeti, any of the Ice Fisher villagers from the same year, or any of a number of other Ninjago characters.
Speaking of which, it’s also nice to see Hibernus, the Master of Ice. Now if only Lego can figure out how to get us the Serpentine War Masters of Form, Gravity, Nature, and Sound. Then at least that set would be complete, along with the Tournament of Elements roster. Of course, Lego always seems ready to introduce more of them…
Babe wake up, they just released a new Jeff Bridges minifigure
Dang this looks awesome.
I kinda wish it wasn’t so white. I have so much white and black. I need parts in other colors!
It's a nice mech and all, but I really miss the trans green wings. That and the head sculp were what made the original so special to me. It seems a little soon to have a legacy remake of this mech, but at least it's a good rendition. Hibernius is a great inclusion, although I can't help but see a water bender torso and legs for AtLA.
The mech’s shield looks like Sentinel Prime’s shield from Transformers Dark of the Moon.. “You will return what belongs to ME!!”
Am I right?
Exo-Force walked so Ninjago could run.
I can't see the phrase "superher landing" without hearing Deadpool's voice in my head. "Woo, superhero landing! You know, that's really hard on your knees. Totally impractical. They all do it."
@L3G0_0ptimusPr1m3 said:
"That lineup of the different Ninjago mechs is absolute peak. Truly LEGO's best original theme. Unless Hero Factory comes back..."
You really botched the spelling of "Adventurers," there...
@TheOtherMike said:
"I can't see the phrase "superher landing" without hearing Deadpool's voice in my head. "Woo, superhero landing! You know, that's really hard on your knees. Totally impractical. They all do it."
@L3G0_0ptimusPr1m3 said:
"That lineup of the different Ninjago mechs is absolute peak. Truly LEGO's best original theme. Unless Hero Factory comes back..."
You really botched the spelling of "Adventurers," there..."
I'll never get used to the American spelling of "Monster Fighters".
Tbh, I think I prefer the aesthetics of the OG version (especially its head, chest, pauldrons, wings and even the thinner, but more tightly armored legs with little boosters) over the redesign.
I also like the flyer more than the shield and blades, even if it looks a bit funky, as I used to imagine, it was a satellite with solar panels shooting orbital laser beams down after charging or flying down to become a booster pack for the mech (bionicle Red Star style)!
Yeah, the articulation is better now, but I feel, the only points really missing from the old one, are knees and maybe upper arm swivels.
In the end, Cole's titan mech still reigns supreme!
@JavaBrix said:
"
Babe wake up, they just released a new Jeff Bridges minifigure"
The Dude abides.