Review: 71768 Jay's Golden Dragon Motorbike
Posted by CapnRex101,
Motorbikes are common among NINJAGO sets and could become repetitive, particularly given their consistent scale. Thankfully, the designers continue to develop completely unique models with distinctive features, which reflect differing environments each season.
71768 Jay's Golden Dragon Motorbike includes few such distinguishing features, although its aerodynamic shape is attractive. Hopefully this design reaches the standard of 70762 Cole's Dirt Bike and 71745 Lloyd's Jungle Chopper Bike.
Summary
71768 Jay's Golden Dragon Motorbike, 137 pieces.
£17.99 / $19.99 / €19.99 | 13.1p/14.6c/14.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
This motorbike looks suitably aerodynamic, but lacks other distinguishing features.
- Excellent minifigure and vehicle integration
- Appealing colour scheme
- Lacking in character
- Only two minifigures
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Unique renditions of the ninja are even more common than NINJAGO motorcycles, although none match the majesty of Golden Dragon Jay! This minifigure integrates the dual-moulded wing elements introduced during January and I think they look fantastic, combining pearl gold and trans-yellow plastics. The proportions between the wings and the focal minifigure appear effective too.
The wings are connected to Jay's back using Technic pins, enabling them to swing back and forth. The shoulder armour component looks great and complementary pearl gold adorns the helmet too. This helmet also exhibits a splendid dragon motif, with Jay's eyes peering through the mouth, beneath vivid trans-yellow eyes.
While overshadowed by the dramatic wings and helmet, the actual minifigure features lovely detail too. I love the jagged lightning on Jay's torso and legs, including metallic silver accents that continue across his head. The trans-yellow arms and legs also appear striking, especially with bright light yellow hands showing through this trans-yellow plastic.
Jay carries the Nunchucks of Lightning, which include updated dragon handles. This weapon looks good, although I prefer the earlier version from 70668 Jay's Storm Fighter. However, the collection of golden weapons is welcome and I am pleased they are available in the smallest of the summer NINJAGO sets.
The lone Vengestone Warrior opposing Jay includes brilliant detail too, especially across the new head. The colour combination of pearl dark grey and trans-pink looks outstanding and the translucent core allows light to pass through, which illuminates the eyes and teeth when lit from behind. The crystal formations on the chin and forehead are similarly impressive.
Intricate moulded detail continues on the reverse, with several ridges. Pink crystals adorn the torso too, presumably shattering this warrior's armour and therefore exposing the left arm and right leg. This asymmetry works nicely, but I dislike the purple faulds around the waist because that colour conflicts with pink.
The warrior's crystal sword includes the new blade element. I love the irregular shape, but the trans-pink shade differs noticeably from the minifigure because the blade is made from softer plastic. That was doubtless necessary for safety, but such variation is unfortunate and I have found the blade detaches from the hilt rather easily.
The Completed Model
Several crystalline creatures support the Vengestone Warriors, including this spider. The six legs, rather than eight, are articulated and I like the trans-pink crystals, alongside a matching eye. The surrounding black and light bluish grey elements are awkward though, seeming more mechanical than organic.
Jay's motorcycle measures 19cm in length and looks incredibly sleek, somewhat resembling Lloyd's vehicle from 71709 Jay and Lloyd's Velocity Racers. The colour scheme of pearl gold and blue is appealing and almost wholly uninterrupted across the model, with only occasional black and grey elements.
The smooth bodywork becomes particularly obvious when viewing the motorbike from either side. The varied tyre sizes and resulting forward rake certainly conveys the desired feeling of speed. Personally, I generally prefer bulkier and more rugged bikes, like 71745 Lloyd's Jungle Chopper Bike, but this example seems fittingly streamlined.
The unusual front tyre reflects the sporty appearance of this vehicle and I wish the rear wheel presented the same texture. Also, the Technic forks are strong, but could perhaps have been improved with additional detail. The undecorated dragon head above those forks is splendid though, as the trans-yellow plastic appears to represent cracking energy.
Pearl gold armour elements decorate the flanks, reminiscent of the 4x4 rock texture parts that have been produced before. Their ridged design looks superb and the same piece appears on several new vehicles from the Crystalized subtheme. Additionally, a folding kickstand is present to support the motorcycle on display, which is very useful.
The cockpit is perfectly designed for Golden Dragon Jay, even accommodating his enormous wings! The motorcycle seems relatively bland without a rider, but adding the minifigure greatly enhances its appearance. Even so, I would have preferred a smooth rear tyre, since this wheel would be more appropriate for an off-roading motorbike.
Overall
71768 Jay's Golden Dragon Motorbike lacks the personality of my favourite NINJAGO bikes, although I like the sleek design. The shaping around the cockpit looks excellent and I like the smooth front tyre, while Jay's integration with this motorcycle is remarkably seamless, despite his overwhelming dragon wings!
Both minifigures are also well-executed, but the appeal of the Vengestone Warrior is inherently limited because the same character appears in almost every Crystalized set. Given the price of £17.99, $19.99 or €19.99, I think another minifigure could have been provided to match existing equivalent sets. While this motorcycle is fun, there are areas for improvement.
102 likes
16 comments on this article
Great review! More Ninjago 'crystalised' reviews please, especially don't forget the crystal temple!
agreed on above! love the reviews, I would like to see the kai raider next, that sets just intresting. thanks for the review Capn!
Didn't realize you get all the new golden weapons in this set- a must buy for me.
Good review. This set is slightly basic but being at the lowest price point of the wave, I'm okay with that. I like the size of the bike and the parts selection. I agree that the minifigure selection could be improved—Golden Dragon Jay looks incredible but the single crystal mook and uninnovative spider drone don't really compare to the much better range of antagonists in the larger sets. The Mechanic from the Samurai X Mech set might have been a better fit here, and would help contextualize the mechanical-looking spider which otherwise feels somewhat out of place..
That's a very cool Jay variant, pretty much unique enough it could be it's own character .
There's a Ninjago-font J on the chest but that's about it.
This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but the overuse of the matte-gold colour just makes a set look really washed out in colour. Individually the figures and bike works, but all together, all those matte-gold pieces are just an eyesore. I'll buy it anyway (for the figures mainly) but I think this set is far from great.
@undead_rising said:
"This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but the overuse of the matte-gold colour just makes a set look really washed out in colour. Individually the figures and bike works, but all together, all those matte-gold pieces are just an eyesore. I'll buy it anyway (for the figures mainly) but I think this set is far from great."
I like the set, but I agree that a little gold goes a long way! I'm curious how the gold armor elements on the side would look with a 22385 shield piece on top to break it up a bit.
Pretty respectable $20 set! Jay is by far the worst looking golden dragon variant since the gold and trans yellow don't provide as much contrast. I'm glad that they include all of the golden weapons in a pack. Although the shurikens are the only parts that actually look really good besides the ...samurai X helmet attachments? Is that what those pieces are for? I do find it interesting they included doubles for everything but the nunchuks. I really wish they used gold as more of an accent for this wave, but they weren't too outrageous with this set.
I agree the gold and trans-yellow isn't the best color combination in terms of contrast
But this isn't a Classic Space Jay with Trans-yellow / Grey / Blue but a Golden Dragon/Weapons story arc.
@PhantomBricks said:
"Pretty respectable $20 set! Jay is by far the worst looking golden dragon variant since the gold and trans yellow don't provide as much contrast. I'm glad that they include all of the golden weapons in a pack. Although the shurikens are the only parts that actually look really good besides the ...samurai X helmet attachments? Is that what those pieces are for? I do find it interesting they included doubles for everything but the nunchuks. I really wish they used gold as more of an accent for this wave, but they weren't too outrageous with this set."
Yeah, they’re the new Samurai X horns.
I agree with @undead_rising, the colours on this are just… uggghh. It’s just a big blob of mustard.
Another thing that gets me is how un-Lego-like it looks, particularly how the top and side panels, as well as the structure around the rear wheel, all seem to be made from large pieces of cheap plastic.
I know deep down that they’re all bespoke Lego elements, and I get that the overall design is intended to be very toyetic to appeal to its target audience (and I am nearly 40 after all, so that is definitely not me!).
It’s just giving me some nasty early-2000s vibes from when the styling of Lego’s products was in a really bad place =p
kewl
Are the rear wheel covers the same piece or a pair of mirrored pieces? They look the same to me, which is simpler for Lego to make, but slightly less cool
I plan on getting this bike only for the Vengestone Warrior so I'll have a minion to go with Zane's Golden Dragon Jet that I also plan on buying.
I agree that two minifigures is a little scarce for this set, and the spider looks terrible. I've seen the new official Ninjago clips and the spiders look much smaller and different to the sets. Also, you can't build armies of those spiders since only this set contains one.
The bike does look very good though.
Lego gotta love Jay, blue pins and yellow axes don't clash with his color scheme.
With how popular oversized bikes are, I'm surprised RoboRiders didn't do better back in 2000.