The small bugs that you only think about when swimming in a creek may seem like odd inspiration for 70611 Water Strider. Will such unusual source material undermine the appeal of this The LEGO NINJAGO Movie set?
Price: £39.99 / $29.99 / €39.99 Pieces: 494 Available: Now
Nya’s aqua based mech, 70611 Water Strider, is like the fellow ninja machines, completely unique. Each of these sets reflects the elemental power and personality of the ninja it belongs to. In this case, that means water and therefore the mech wades through the sea on four long legs.
I built every set from The LEGO NINJAGO Movie’s launch wave over a period of just two days. During such a compressed timeframe, I was able to note my reaction to each offering and how they differed. 70611 Water Strider is the model that took me by surprise the most – in a really good way. By every metric – piece count, minifigures, price and size – 70611 is a home run.
70611 had barely registered on my radar before I started building it. While technically appearing in the film’s first trailer, the amount of screen time Water Strider commands can only be accurately described as blink and you will miss it. Channeling their inner Toa, each ninja aligns with a certain element with the only female of the group, Nya, representing water. Accordingly, in name, function, and appearance her vehicle of choice mimics the water striders that skirt across the water in almost any creek or stream.
The aspect of this set which most surprised and delighted me is its size. Years of Star Wars and other licensing fees have lowered our collective expectations of the footprint sets in this price bracket possess. 70611’s four legs buck this trend as they are both bulky, contain multiple points of articulation, and are extremely long. Add in the substantial torso with rotating power cell and the result is a set I would have happily paid 25% more for and not felt cheated.
That theme of value keeps rolling right along into other categories. It is almost unheard of for a set this cheap to break the 500 piece mark, outside of parts bins I know of no offering that does do. 70611 Water Strider falls short, but only by four elements. As is actually true of every set in the theme, the minifig count is off the charts. Finally, 70611 makes a solid entry for both AFOLs and children. Of all the theme’s sets this is the one my children have played with the most.
70611 Water Strider is loaded with play potential, has a great look and lends itself to all sorts of interesting combat poses. The attractive design paired with its impressive size, makes it a striking display model. I expect this will prove one of the most popular sets from The LEGO NINJAGO Movie range and cannot recommend it enough.
70611 Water Strider is available now at shop.LEGO.com. You can help support Brick Fanatics’ work by using our affiliate links.
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