Lego set #70638 is the perfect set for any Lego Ninjago collection.

This set includes a boat/sub, Kai S.O.G biker, and an S.O.G bike.

The Minifigures are Kai who is the same Kai as seen in other S.O.G series sets, and a S.O.G biker who is equipped with night vision glasses.

The S.O.G bike is just a normal Lego bike with stickers on the side.

The Katana V11 boat/sub is about 12 inches long and looks very true to the show.

It also includes spring loaded shooters, katana storage, and space for Kai in the cockpit .

Overall I think this set was a fun build, and i would say that any Ninjago fan should get this set.

So I first saw this set at a water park. My 4 year old was taking a break and eating some snacks when he saw an older kid (maybe 10) playing with this set. The two of them played together for over half an hour until it was time to leave. For months my son talked about this set, and how you shouldn’t play with Legos at water parks (one of the projectiles went down a drain).

Four months later my son got this set from his grandparents at their house and he had a really hard time waiting until we got home to open it (especially since he knew he’d be falling asleep in the car that night). I went to work the next day, and my wife had a hard time convincing him to wait until after school to open it. Well, when I got home from work it was complete (except for stickers) and my son said he built it with mommy. Of course mommy doesn’t like building Legos, but I guess her contribution was correcting a single mistake.

So why is this set so awesome? Let’s just say that nearly everything on it moves, it comes with a treasure trove of swords and weapons, and fires missiles. This is our first Ninjago set, my son has mostly Batman, Star Wars, and police. What makes this so different is that it is truly a toy with all the moving parts. The middle launchers open on two hinges, the sides fold down, the cockpit opens, and the hood opens and can hold swords. I think that Ninjago will become his next big thing. He had already seen the movie but after getting this has started watching the show.

The build actually seems rather involved, but despite some new building techniques, it was very doable for a highly motivated 5 year old. Where the set has differed from my son’s Batman sets is that it doesn’t lend itself well to rebuilds. Where a Batmobile can easily be turned into a Joker or Lex Luther mobile, this boat just remains itself, and a big part of that is it does so much stuff that he doesn’t want to break it, whereas a Lego Batmobile can do as much as a Hot Wheel.

The bad guy rides a standard motorcycle, which is beyond boring when compared to the boat. As a result, the minifigure is useful as a bad guy, but the motorcycle is pretty much ignored. It would be great if Lego could figure out how to make minifigure scaled motorcycles more interesting.

It definitely helped that my son saw this set in action before he got it, it added to his excitement and motivation. However, once built, any kid will be blown away by how much fun this set is. I don’t know if this is the case with all Ninjago sets, but it certainly puts Batman and Star Wars to shame packing so much play into relatively small set.

I bought this set because it was the first boat for a single ninja in the entire Ninjago world. I like the overall build of the set because of the different modes you can play with it in. There are very little unique parts, but that is not expected from a smaller set. It could have been better if the villain in the set (Luke Cunningham) had more of a water-based vehicle even though S.O.G. is a biker gang.

Summary

This set was on my wishlist, due to the striking nature of the Katana speed boat; I like the aggressive look. I was not disappointed. The build is fairly straightforward, but still quite a bit of fun. And - admittedly building slowly - it took me longer than expected to put the boat together (some 40 minutes). The play features are well designed and integrated into the vehicle, it has great sailability (or swhoosability), and the domed transparent 2x2's under the bottom make it slide easily over a flat surface. The minifigs are nice, though not exceptional.

Based on size, looks, playability and pieces, IMHO this set offers good value for money at RRP.

Build experience

The set consists of two bags, and has 10 stickers. The stickers are easy to apply, though be careful you align them properly, since due to the print design, them being applied incorrectly does stand out a bit. The motorcycle is nice, and fits the theme of the kit (flame spewing engines).

The build sequence is logical, and easy to follow. There were no construction techniques that left me stunned, but the designer has done a very good job combining all the different elements, and making use of the various angles in the build and slopes of various pieces. The colour scheme is dominated by red and orange/yellow pieces. A nice touch is the reverse canopy, the slope of which works well now.

The recommended age is 7-14, and 7 year olds should easily be able to build the Katana.

The minifigures

The minifigures themselves do not look special at all, at least to me. Both Kai and Luke Cunningham (the Sons of Garmadon bad guy) are currently unique, but I highly doubt they will stay unique (especially Kai).

Kai has a new print - front and back torso, the front torso print continued on the legs - that is well done, and looks good. He has the two piece head gear. His double scabbard has been used before. He has two face prints.

Luke Cunningham is a very busy and well done print on both sides of the torso, with the S.O.G. logo on the back. The front torso print is continued on the legs, and the leg print is equally well done. He has a single face print, and a helmet wearing night vision goggles. The shoulder pads are nice.

The build

I really like the build. I like how the designer has been able to hide all kinds of features - the spring-loaded shooters that are folded in, the storage for the katanas, the sides being able to fold in or out as extra 'wings'. In many ways at first glance it looks like a well designed power boat racer, rather than a fighting vessel. The flames fit the design and colour scheme well, yet become not overbearing at all. The cockpit is quite well done - having a control panel rather than a steering wheel or sticks.

Play vs display

I think that even for its fairly small size, the Katana makes for a nice play and display set, although IMHO it will mostly appeal to children as a play set.

The boat can be easily handled by smaller children, it is not too big. It offers multiple play features (side panels folding out, the shooters folding out, the katana storage). The flames coming out of the engine suggest power and agility as well. Luke Cunningham and his motorcycle - which is very basic with nice sticker print - offers a bad guy to go after.

The Katana is striking enough - in design and colour - and big to be able to have it work as a small display piece.

The verdict

I think this is a good set, and IMHO one of the most appealing sets of the first 2018 Ninjago wave. As a package, it might IMHO actually be the best set of them all - admittedly not having seen all the sets built, and not intending to buy all of them either. To me it offered good value for money. I had fun building it, and it looks good in the end. If you like Ninjago, or speed boats or striking vehicles of any kind (or are looking for a nice play set for a present) this is definitely a set worthy of consideration.

First and foremost, I think this set is great. The spring loaded shooters are the only weapons the actual boat has, but both Kai and Luke Cunningham have weapons of their own, both of which are katanas. The difference is that Luke has one red katana, while Kai has two silver katanas. Built in storage for Kai's katanas is also provided in the form of an opening section at the front of the boat, which helps a lot, as Kai obviously cannot carry his katanas in the actual cockpit. Speaking of the cockpit, the sides of the cockpit can open up, to enable easier access to the inside of the cockpit. I also like how Kai is exclusive to this set, which is a running theme throughout this season's sets. While he is also available in the Kai-Spinjitzu Masters set, that set includes him in his Spinjitzu Master form, making the regular Season 8 version of him exclusive to this set. The bike provided for Luke Cunningham looks cool too, with its primarily black, purple and red design, as well as the inclusion of two stickers at the front of the bike. The set is fairly cheap as well, which is always a bonus, only costing around $30 in Australia. The inclusion of a few flame details at the back of the boat is a nice touch as well, and really drives home the fact that this is Kai's vehicle for the season. Overall, if you're a fan of Season 8 of Lego Ninjago, then I would highly recommend this set.