Random set of the day: Three Minifig Pack - Ninja #3
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 3346 Three Minifig Pack - Ninja #3, released in 2000. It's one of 22 Castle sets produced that year. It contains 22 pieces and 3 minifigs, and its retail price was US$5.
It's owned by 253 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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Directed by Jon Turteltaub
Green ninjas! The proto-Lloyds?
Gotta love the original ninja theme. I only had one small set as a kid, always wished I had more.
I always loved the detail of Lloyd being the green ninja and the most powerful of the team while the green ninjas from the original Ninja line were the rarest of the bunch.
The ninja and samurai minifigures of that era were so cool. That ninja head wrap part has not been beaten - and that’s not me being nostalgic.
The masters of greeeen...
At least Huwbot is back to normal - for now.......
This is a good set.
@LegoRobo:
I only see a samurai. And two shrubs that aren't doing anything remotely suspicious.
The best Lego Ninja theme, don’t @ me.
I heard that Hasbro and LEGO got into a... ‘disagreement’ with this line, particularly the Star Wars Packs, as a minifigure is technically an action figure. Basically canceled the line, but forunately we have the CMFs.
@TheWackyWookiee:
I've heard that rumor as well, and I've heard a conflicting rumor that they decided these minifig packs sabotaged sales of larger, more profitable sets. We've never really gotten a clear story on that because it's one of those things they just love to be completely not-open about. I don't think we'll ever hear the truth through official channels, and at this point I don't know if anyone would notice if a current or former employee tried to slip it out on the sly. There's a strong possibility it would just be dismissed as another rumor.
So the original Ninja were a subtheme of...Castle?
Nowadays we get *1* minifigure for $5
Sigh where did the good ole days go
two green ninjas? this can't be, there's only one chosen one!
@Galaxy12_Import said:
"So the original Ninja were a subtheme of...Castle?"
Yes, it was supposed to be a Castle theme set in Medieval Japan with feudal Samurai fighting Ninja in the Edo period. To be honest, its a pretty cool concept. I never got any of the Ninja sets, but I remember thinking they sure looked cool as a kid.
@Galaxy12_Import:
Yeah, basically. Islanders was a sub-theme of Pirates. That's kind of how things were done in those days. There were four major themes (Town, Space, Castle, and Pirates), with the latter three having distinct sub-themes that were released in waves, introducing new factions that would help drive storytelling for the kids. Town...was just Town. The closest they came to having factions was rotating through Police, Fire, and Hospital sets on a regular basis.
@legoninjago69:
*pssst* The one on the left is a girl.
When I was a kid Ninjas used to live in castles...
Now they live in futuristic cities with flying motorcycles...
I'm getting old lol
Of the non-Star Wars minifigure packs in 2000, this was the only one I really considered getting. There was a certain allure to the Ninja theme, since it was one of the rare examples of LEGO sets my parents vehemently denied me getting. The Mortal Kombat and Power Rangers fads of the 90s were still fresh on their minds, and they didn't want me being influenced by similar things thanks to LEGO. A silly notion, of course, and by the year 2000, with me turning 12 and all, it was as good a time as any to break ranks and buy this set for myself when I saw it at the Big Store in LEGOLAND California. But alas! Foresight was not with me and I went for the Battle Droid minifigure pack and the Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker minifigure pack. I thought those exclusive figures in each (OOM-9 and Luke Skywalker in hooded Jedi garb) would forever remain exclusive...more egg in my face.
Now the only "green" ninja I have is one of those Lloyds in Ninjago City. A loss for my collection, for sure.
@chrisaw said:
"The best Lego Ninja theme, don’t @ me."
Agree to disagree?
I have all the minifigure packs from that year. Great minifigures and nice little stands.
I see only one minifig pack here.
2000: For 5$, you get a pack of three minifigures, and you know what you are getting.
2020: For 5$, you get only one minifigure, and because it's in a blind bag, you don't even know what you are getting.
A defunct theme from the past, guess that makes it Ninjawent
Good thing nowadays we have $5 blind-bag single minifigures and $15 sets with 4 minifigs and a lame filler build, usually Star-Wars-only!
Wait a minute . . . :O
The GREEN Pow... Ninja! Finally!
Ninja
GO!
:oP
@PurpleDave said:
" @Galaxy12_Import :
Yeah, basically. Islanders was a sub-theme of Pirates. That's kind of how things were done in those days. There were four major themes (Town, Space, Castle, and Pirates), with the latter three having distinct sub-themes that were released in waves, introducing new factions that would help drive storytelling for the kids. Town...was just Town. The closest they came to having factions was rotating through Police, Fire, and Hospital sets on a regular basis.
@legoninjago69 :
*pssst* The one on the left is a girl."
Though by 1998, those four major themes had been joined by Aquazone, Wild West, Time Cruisers, and Adventurers. And once the main Town line became juniorized, there were less-juniorized "subthemes" like Outback, Divers, Res-Q, and Extreme Team.
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"Of the non-Star Wars minifigure packs in 2000, this was the only one I really considered getting. There was a certain allure to the Ninja theme, since it was one of the rare examples of LEGO sets my parents vehemently denied me getting. The Mortal Kombat and Power Rangers fads of the 90s were still fresh on their minds, and they didn't want me being influenced by similar things thanks to LEGO. A silly notion, of course, and by the year 2000, with me turning 12 and all, it was as good a time as any to break ranks and buy this set for myself when I saw it at the Big Store in LEGOLAND California. But alas! Foresight was not with me and I went for the Battle Droid minifigure pack and the Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker minifigure pack. I thought those exclusive figures in each (OOM-9 and Luke Skywalker in hooded Jedi garb) would forever remain exclusive...more egg in my face.
Now the only "green" ninja I have is one of those Lloyds in Ninjago City. A loss for my collection, for sure. "
The one of these packs that I really regret not getting was 3347... Now there's a minifig that remained exclusive...
"Back in my day, we didn't settle for ONE Green Ninja..."
-Nick on Planet Ripple, LEGO Rewind
I feel like, if I was more serious about buying Lego nowadays, this would be the ultimate white whale of my collection. I had a few of the minifigure packs - Star Wars 3340 and 3341, and Rock Raiders 3347 - but for whatever reason I didn't seriously consider this one as a kid, even though I thought the Green Ninjas looked cool. I only realised just how appealing it was to me once they were long-gone from the catalogue - and since they were Lego shop exclusives, there was no other way of finding them.
They go for ridiculous prices these days, too, so I'm likely to never get that chance again xD
I still wonder what role the Green Ninjas had in the lore of the theme. I know the Black Ninjas were the robbers, the Grey Ninjas worked for the Shogun, and apparently the Red Ninjas served the Ninja Princess - the lone White Ninja of her day - in rebellion against the emperor. But Green Ninjas, being exclusive to this minifigure pack, never got any lore that I'm aware of.
...unless they're a White and Grey Ninja, respectively, and have just rolled on the ground until their robes got covered in grass stains... :P
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OH! Speaking of Ninja, I had a random realisation the other week, based on another set in the theme that's been RSotD previously, and I've been waiting for the chance to share it!
3050 Shanghai Surprise. I've heard the set take a fair amount of flak for the fact that Shanghai is in China but the Ninja theme is based on Japan, suggesting that the Lego designers or set namers couldn't differentiate the two cultures. However I recently learned that the word shanghai has an entirely unrelated definition too: "Shanghaiing is the practice of kidnapping people to serve as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence" (Wikipedia).
In other words, it's not culture confusion: the name, rather, implies that the Emperor has "shanghaied" the red ninjas to sail his ship! No wonder they resent him enough to rebel against him in subsequent sets like 3053 Emperor's Stronghold!
(I'm determined to unpack a coherent storyline from this theme, as one of my nostalgic favourites: could you tell? xDD)
At that time I was probably thinking about the cool things I could do with the Moviemaker set. But I never bought it.
Had I seen this set I probably would have bought it without thinking twice.
@Your_Future_President said:
"Nowadays we get *1* minifigure for $5
Sigh where did the good ole days go"
Admittedly, the level of detail is much, much higher nowdays.
@HappyLEGOfan said:
" @Your_Future_President said:
"Nowadays we get *1* minifigure for $5
Sigh where did the good ole days go"
Admittedly, the level of detail is much, much higher nowdays."
True but more detail does not always equal better. Sometimes the simplicity of earlier designs suits minifigures more. I’m not against detailed minifigures: I have hundreds in my display collection. But I also appreciate the minimalist aesthetic, e.g. of the black ninja and the grey one from this RSotD’s era that also populate my display collection.
@Galaxy12_Import said:
"So the original Ninja were a subtheme of...Castle?"
To be honest, I don't think the original 1998-2000 LEGO catalogs and magazines ever officially identified Ninja as a Castle subtheme. It's just something that AFOLs have taken to. While some more recent official LEGO sources may make the connection between Ninja and Castle, it's probably just a bit of "recursive citation" from the fans.
@DavidBrick said:
" @chrisaw said:
"The best Lego Ninja theme, don’t @ me."
"
Found these figs in a bin of LEGO I got at flea market a few years back.
That samurai helmet crest needs to come back. Looks so much better than the damn bucket handle.
While Ninjago has had some neat waves, I miss the simplicity of these sets and their fortresses. Mostly because I'm more fond of buildings and Ninjago leans more toward the vehicles, Mechs, and Dragons.
@SJPlego said:
" @Galaxy12_Import said:
"So the original Ninja were a subtheme of...Castle?"
To be honest, I don't think the original 1998-2000 LEGO catalogs and magazines ever officially identified Ninja as a Castle subtheme. It's just something that AFOLs have taken to. While some more recent official LEGO sources may make the connection between Ninja and Castle, it's probably just a bit of "recursive citation" from the fans."
It's from a time when almost everything was marketed as a new theme, and old themes were disappearing. I hated it!
Those green Ninja's are super awesome. I wanted them as a kid, but never got them.
I still want them. And would look very sharp guarding a white ninja, surrounded by a bunch of black ones.
Ah! I can't believe I didn't catch this sooner! La-Loyd Garmadon is the Green Ninja. These are a pair of green ninja, male and female. This is _Lord_ Garmadon and Misako! Silence indicates agreement!
@phi13:
Wild West and Time Cruisers were way too short-lived to constitute major themes like the other four. I could potentially be convinced on Aquazone and Adventurers, since both have seen revivals of a sort. And Town didn't really work like the other three of the Big 4. They all consisted of a string of different factions bound together by a common setting, where Town was just town setting that occasionally had some more specific town stuff, most of which I don't think was officially tied to the Town theme any more than Ninja was to Castle.
@Feroz:
None of the minifig 3-packs were ever released at retail, that I know of. So unless you had access to a LEGO Store or a LEGOLAND park at the time these were released, I doubt you would have ever run across one of these in the wild.
@SJPlego:
Did they ever identify any of the post-Futuron subthemes as "Space"?