Featured set of the day: Fire Nation ship
Posted by Huw,
One of the fascinating things about our 'Featured set of the day' articles, in which readers nominate and write about a set that's special to them, is that some of the choices have been quite surprising. That's certainly the case today. Bpk2300 picks an unusual set from a very short-lived theme that was not sold in Europe:
Let me start off by saying that Avatar: The Last Airbender is my favourite television series of all time. Although I crave more of the show, part of what makes it so special is that it was a perfectly laid-out story that had a superb ending after 3 seasons. Here's to hoping the upcoming Netflix live-action remake does it justice!
There are only two sets from this theme, and I don't believe they were popular sellers. The second-hand market is sparse, and the sets that are available are expensive! After a long time of waiting for the right deal, I acquired 3829 Fire Nation Ship new-in-box.
I was quite uncertain of what to expect. This was by far the oldest set in my budding collection. How would I feel when I opened it? Was the build going to meet or exceed my expectations? Or, considering what I paid for it, was I going to be let down? Lego sets and build techniques have changed a lot since 2006!
I'm pleased to say that my expectations were blown out of the water. First off, this thing is huge! I love how the entire ship is brick built. There are many "features" I wasn't expecting, including: a small speed boat build that fits onboard, multiple detailed rooms, a removable jail-cell, a brick launcher, and a lot of usable interior space.
One of the best aspects of this build? No stickers! All of the graphics are prints, including in areas one can't readily see. For a set from 2006, the design doesn't appear "dated" to me. It's aged well. The only downside to this set? Although the included minifigures are great, Lego never made a General Iroh minifigure. He is my favorite character, and is arguably one of the most iconic from the TV series.
This set is certainly the crown jewel of my collection for a few reasons. I adore the IP, it's larger than I was expecting, it's rare and the entire building process was enjoyable. I made sure to have Avatar: The Last Airbender playing in the background during the build to enhance the experience!
A recent poll asked which licensed theme we wished would return. Avatar: The Last Airbender was an obvious choice for me. I hope you enjoy this review of a rare set from an oft forgotten theme.
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29 comments on this article
I had a friend who had this. Amazing boat. That price per piece ratio is also amazing due to the size of most of the pieces and that it was a licensed set. Really wish I would have gotten it then as I'm unsure that I could get it easily now!
I randomly found a MISB one at LEGO Fan Weekend in 2010 and bought it for 600DKK. I've seen it reach 3x that price on BrickLink.
It's one of the more rare pieces in my collection... But damn, what a lazily designed set it is. :'D
There's so many bizarre things about it. The super ugly, blocky little boat in the back. The two 1x4 dark red plates, seen in last photo (right) that do absolutely nothing. In the same photo, the fact that the ladder isn't attached using its own clips, which just hang in the air. I could go on.
The set had a bunch of play features, and the 54x 2x6 dark gray bricks are nothing to sneeze at- but the design is such a mess.
Great review, and good timing too with the animated series arriving on Netflix. I always enjoyed the fire nation soldier mini figures in these sets but the others never really appealed to me too much.
Is this the worst box art ever? It looks so much like M*ga Bl*ks...
Nice feature! Forgot this even existed. Gotta agree with @Electromistress, it's pretty ugly. It looks like a MOC, and not in a good way. It does look okay compared to the source material, though.
@Huw, how do we submit a featured set article of our own that we've written?
Use the contact form below.
This set is the single reason Lego stopped its "bring your kids to work day" in the set design department.
I am glad thought that it has found an appreciative audience. Every set needs a fan.
Any idea why this theme (and others) never made it to Europe?
I missed the boat (zing!) on Avatar back in 2006. So these sets never got my attention on their own and when I finally saw them in the Lego catalogs, I was not impressed. Not sure what the ship looks like in the cartoon, but the CGI box art revealed this to be a blocky mess. Maybe that is what it is supposed to look like, but I am of the opinion that for 2006, they could've done way better. Seeing these photos of it really only confirm my suspicions. This set is the definition of a great parts pack, though.
You have to thank the Spongebob theme for this theme to fail :(
I think this set is beautiful! A work of art! Through my rose tinted glasses ;)
Like others I'm not impressed by either Avatar set but have everything crossed that they revive the theme when the Netflix show arrives. I reckon remakes of these sets today (let alone in a couple of years time) would be amazing. Ninjago has given Lego loads of experience to create a beautiful air temple and I'm sure the ship could be designed to the standard of most large scale Star Wars ships these days. There's so much potential here...
Netflix sure is the place for a lot of remakes of shows.
I have mixed feelings about this set. When I first saw it in catalog images back in 2006, I thought it was a terrible set. So blocky, so primitive, it looked like a Mega Bloks kit from 1998 or so. I still think it looks terrible by 2006 building standards. And yet, for several years I've found myself wanting a copy of it. It reminds me of the pirate ships I used to build out of my bucket of basic Mega Bloks bricks, so it appeals to my inner child. I always built those ships with a full-length top deck and wondered why none of the Lego pirate ship sets had a full top deck; this was the first Lego ship to have a full length top deck. Even today, only a few very expensive ships have had a full deck with a fully accessible hull underneath - 10210, 70618, 21322, and maybe 71705. (City ships with floating hulls don't count.) Then, too, even though the Fire Nation Ship belongs to the fictional world of Avatar, it's a much more modern-looking ship than any of the pirate ships; one's imagination leaps to Second World War-inspired destroyer/submarine cat-and-mouse hunts rather than to ferocious buccaneers raiding the Spanish treasure fleets. And yet - and yet - it's now so rare and so expensive on the secondary market that I just can't bring myself to get a copy. Here's hoping we get a fully modern update before 2026!
Love Avatar. The source material may not be the most attractive thing in the world but this monstrosity looks like the product of a child building with ‘70s pieces and techniques. It makes Classic Space look sleek and modern.
I bought this for 50% on clearance at a small toy story in Solvang, California. I never saw the show and still haven’t, but the set just seemed so strange and I had to have it! It isn’t my favourite set but it certainly is unique in my collection. I should have hunted down the other set in the series when I could but I decided against it, much to my regret now. At least this is a good investment set and one I wouldn’t be entirely sad to see leave if I had to sell it, although it was one of the first sets I bought together with my partner.
Looks like 90’s Freestyle theme and Harry Potter had a baby.
>that was not sold in Europe
This is not true. I saw both Spongebob and Avatar sets in Poland hipermarkets when they premiered.
If you are not aware - Lego did Spongebob and Avatar to see which licence sells most. Of course spongebob won.
I love the show very much, but I still think these sets didn't do justice to the show.
Holy cow, this has to be the ugliest set I've ever seen. It seems my dark ages were timed to precisely avoid Lego's disaster years...
That said, I guess every set is someone's favorite and there's no fault in the appeal of nostalgia.
The cartoon show is great. Kids loved it.
Wasn’t even aware of the 2 sets.
Looks like a cheap chinese knockoff.
they look like mocs for me, they seems 2 sets rushed. Even worst, the fire nation ship remind me of a mega blocks sets.
It's really sad, an awesome cartoon with not so great sets...
I'm happy that there are people out there who like this set, but in my opinion, it's just plain awful. The build is incredibly blocky and primitive, and the mostly grey color scheme looks incredibly bland.
Even the Box Art is probably some of the worst looking LEGO has ever made. It looks more like the box of a Chinese Knock-off set rather than a LEGO set.
I'm sorry to say it, but I think we'd be better off forgetting about this abomination of a LEGO theme.
This is a blockish as hell and ugly as hell ship...
Well, at least someone's favorite animation got real with LEGO minifigs as opposed to my crave of Zelda (not-knock off) minifigs
@Bricklunch said:
"This set is the single reason Lego stopped its "bring your kids to work day" in the set design department.
I am glad thought that it has found an appreciative audience. Every set needs a fan."
Eeeh have you seen the upcoming helicarrier set? Seems to me they're still doing a "bring your kids to work day"
They should bring back these LEGO sets
When I saw pictures of this set for the first time once on ebay, I had to check if this was a real Lego set. I just couldnt believe it. It looked like a fake or knock-off to me.
But if you like it, I am completely fine with this! :)