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LEGO Ninjago City un-stacked small version

by Thita (admin) on March 20, 2018

The LEGO Ninjago Movie Ninjago City is one big set. Measuring over 24” (63cm) high, 12” (31cm) wide and 16” (42cm) deep, it towers over the already large LEGO Modular Buildings, and not to speak of the regular LEGO City, and LEGO Creator houses. If you do collect the LEGO Modular Buildings, with some modifications, the #70620 LEGO Ninjago Movie Ninjago City could be added to the layout (see some examples linked at the end of this post) . 🙂

You could also display Ninjago City all by itself. However, because it is a corner building, it does look sort of unfinished without adding something else. The #70657 LEGO Ninjago Movie Ninjago City Docks, that will be released later this year, is meant to be attached to Ninjago City, and the two together should make up a cohesive neighborhood. (Sorry, no pictures of the dock yet, but we should be getting images soon).

But what if you do like Ninjago City, but you don’t have space to display such a large set? Or, you simply prefer the smaller LEGO City and LEGO Creator houses, and Ninjago City just doesn’t fit well with them? There is an option I ran across recently by LEGO fan LittleDansonMan, who basically un-stacked all the quirky little shops of Ninjago City and lined them up in a row. He shares: “I thought the original design of Ninjago City was really cool, but it didn’t fit with the rest of my city. I noticed most of the shops in Ninjago City were of comparable scale to the LEGO Creator 3-in-1 buildings that I love, so I decided to see what the Ninjago City shops would look like in a similar layout.”

As you can see, LittleDansonMan was able to create a whole Chinatown-style street that looks great, but isn’t so overwhelming in size as Ninjago City. The layout did require some modifications and adjustments, but not too much. Some sections were swapped or expanded, or the shape was changed a bit to fit with the rest of the street. The original set itself provided all the parts, except for some details on the roofing.

If you collect what LEGO refers to as the “little brothers of the LEGO Modular Buildings“, which includes the #31026 LEGO Creator Bike Shop & Café from 2014, the #31036 LEGO Creator Toy & Grocery Shop from 2015, the #31050 LEGO Creator Corner Deli from 2016, and the #31065 LEGO Creator Park Street Townhouse from 2017, the un-stacked version of Ninjago City could add a perfect little Chinatown to the layout.

So, if you have been eyeing the Ninjago City set, but you felt it was too big for your display, you might consider un-stacking it for a different layout. You can find the set at the LEGO Ninjago section of the LEGO Ninjago Movie section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the Ninjago City set? Did you build it already? And What do you think of this un-stacked version? Are there any other modified version of Ninjago City that you really like? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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Updated LEGO Sisyphus kinetic sculpture

by Thita (admin) on March 19, 2018

in Featured LEGO Creations

Jason Allemann is well known for his very interesting and engaging LEGO models, particularly his kinetic and motorized creations. Jason also freely and happily shares instructions for most of his models, so other LEGO fans can build them, display them, and learn from the techniques used. 🙂

One of Jason’s most popular LEGO sculptures depicts Sisyphus pushing his boulder. The model was inspired by a fascinating video by Disney Research on Computational Design of Mechanical Characters. The video features character models with realistic motion, which is achieved by using mechanical links and gears (check it out, it’s really cool!). This gave Jason the idea to build a LEGO version of the mechanism, as well as Sisyphus (one of the examples featured in the Disney Research video).

Since building Sisyphus a couple of years ago, Jason used the same mechanism in other creations, refining and perfecting it along the way. And recently, he decided to revisit the old Sisyphus project to see if he can improve it with updated techniques and newly introduced LEGO parts. He was particularly bothered by the black rod that supports Sisyphus’ body, as well as the issue of LEGO no longer producing some of the parts, making the model challenging and expensive for others to replicate.

Jason ended up redesigning Sisyphus pretty much from the ground up. And, even though the overall appearance and functionality of the model haven’t changed, there are some significant improvements to both the mechanism and the efficiency of the parts used. In the video below, Jason discusses many of these changes and how they compare to the original solutions. And, you can also find some additional notes and tips on building the model on Jason’s website at JKBrickWorks.com.

As usual, Jason kindly created building instructions and parts lists for both the motorized and manually powered version of Sisyphus. The only difference between the two instructions is that the motorized version includes the steps and parts needed to build a motor assembly (using a LEGO Power Functions M-Motor and LEGO Power Functions Battery Box) that can be inserted inside the base. The motorized version can also be powered in the same way as the manually powered version, by disengaging the motor and using the crank at the back. If you don’t have the LEGO pieces needed to build the models, and you don’t want to bother with purchasing them on BrickLink, Jason also provides full building kits, which includes both the parts needed and the instructions. You can find the building kits here.

If you already have the first version of Sisyphus, or you haven’t built it yet but got the parts for it, Jason gives some guidelines on his website about how to convert the original project to the new one. Basically, changing the clear support rod and corresponding mechanics is what requires the most changes, but they are mostly isolated to the top of the center section of the model. For the rest, you can use the parts and instructions from the original project, or pick and choose what you want to upgrade.

Building complex mechanisms out of LEGO bricks – like kinetic sculptures and motorized models – is a fun, fulfilling, and educational experience. They can both challenge and elate a LEGO builder who wants to push their skills further. LEGO themselves provides some interesting examples, particularly in the LEGO Technic line and robotics kits, however, these sets tend to stick with vehicles and robots. What I most like about Jason’s creations is that they are not just mechanically complex but also look quite beautiful.

What do you think? How do you like the new version of Sisyphus? Have you built (or did you consider building) the original model? Are you happy with the updates? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Ninjago City un-stacked small version

Updated LEGO Sisyphus kinetic sculpture

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