Set Review ➟ 71821 LEGO^® Ninjago Dragons Rising™ Cole’s Titan Mech

2024-09-30 | Mark

It turns out that 2024 is the year of Ninjago mechs, the latest of which is Cole’s Titan Dragon Mech. Cole’s mech is the largest of eight Ninjago mechs released in 2024. Is this a good mech in terms of play and build? I have no idea. So I turned to an expert for answers.

Mark: So. When this model arrived the first thing you said to me about it was what?

Louis: I can’t really remember that. If it is anything in the past, I really can’t remember.

Mark: You claimed that Cole finally had a mech. Also Kai was the only character without one.

Louis: I claimed Kai was the only character without a Titan Mech.

Mark: Knowing that you have many mech models and thinking you would be a more knowledgeable source of Ninjago mech knowledge than I, I said you could have the set if you would write the review. What happened then?

Louis: I built the model. I did not write the review.

Mark: When asked repeatedly why the review wasn’t done your comment to me was what?

Louis: I’m working on it.

Mark: Over a period of how long was this comment repeatedly made?

Louis: Now you’re just being mean to me.

Mark: Fast-forwarding past some father-son dynamics and photo sessions, we researched the validity of your initial claim, and what did we find?

Louis: Cole had the second highest number of mechs out of the main cast and Kai tied Lloyd for the most.

Mark: Looking at Ninjago mechs for the main minifigure characters, including mechs from the Ninjago Movie, here is the breakdown:

Key: s < 100 pc, m 101-200 pc, l >= 201 pc
* this is a combo mech, sort of Voltron style, with each character piloting a section
† this mech has two minifigures sitting in a single cockpit one behind the other
‡ this is two mechs that stick together, the smaller one becomes like a chest plate for the larger one

Mark: With the data in hand, do you have any further comments or assertions?

Louis: Kai still needs a Titan mech.

Jay’s Titan Mech, Cole’s Titan Mech, Zane’s Titan Mech

Mark: You wanted to say something about the Fire Stone mech.

Louis: It’s a two seater that is shared between Kai and Cole, but it’s predominantly red, so Kai gets it. The combo mech—Kai should count as two because he has a complete small one that goes inside the big one.

Mark: All right. Anything else?

Louis: No.

Mark: Let’s get to the model now, starting with the feet. I noticed the feet use the rubber studs that we often find used on tank treads for grip.

Louis: That’s become more common now. They used to use a tire or some other piece under there to provide friction.

More studs, more grip.

Mark: So these studs show up on what other Ninjago mechs?

Louis: The Jay Titan Mech and Nya’s Samurai X Mech come to mind.

Mark: I observed that the ankles were using a double piston assembly similar to the one we first saw on Toa Mata Nui.

Louis: Toa Mata Nui only had one piston on his ankles.

Toa Mata Nui and Cole’s Mech legs compared.

Mark: Toa Mata Nui is hell of a lot less heavy than this thing.

Louis: It’s finally good to have a mech that can move its feet and not just stay in one standing pose.

Mark: Looks like lots of other mechs have movable feet.

Louis: That was before LEGO started to normalize knee joints.

Mark: Define “normalize knee joints”. I think you mean “actually include knee joints”.

Louis: Yup.

Mark: So this model has knee joints?

Louis: Fancy knee joints.

Mark: Holy cow. Those are elaborate!

Louis: They’re very Gundam.

Knee joint fully bent, top view.

Knee joint mid bend, top view.

Knee joint straight, top view.

Knee joint fully bent, side view.

Knee joint straight, side view.

Back of knee joint, straight.

Mark: And this model has mid thigh rotation.

Louis: It’s the first LEGO mech to my knowledge to have it.

Mid thigh rotation point…

…offers 360° of rotation…

…not that all of it is useful.

Mark: What’s going on at the hips?

Louis: It’s got universal movement using a technic rotation joint.

Mark: And this is uncommon in Ninjago mechs?

Louis: Extremely. Well, it’s uncommon for mechs of this size, not for smaller mechs. This uses the larger assembly of 79505 combined with 80563 and a couple 47455’s instead of the 48171/47455 or 44224/44225 or some other combo used on others.

The model uses this…

…instead of this…

……or this.

Mark: The larger ones, that’s what they used on the Source Dragon. Heavy models.

Louis: It’s more movable. It’s opposite the assembly of Samurai X.

The hip joint on Cole’s mech.

The hip joint on Nya’s Samurai X mech.

Mark: How is it more movable in terms of rotation and cant?

Louis: You get seven positions of cant versus three in Samurai X, Jay’s Titan Mech has four—but one is in so far why would you ever use that? [the foot can essentially be positioned under the opposing hip]—Lloyd’s has two on the (71794) Lloyd-Arin combo. Rotationally we get 10 on Cole, then parts start coming off. Samurai X gives us 11. Lloyd gives 13 without the extra mech attached.

Samurai X with right foot under left hip.

Mark: So, it’s sort of more movable as opposed to universal.

Louis: Sort of. It’s more movable in terms of range of usable movement for posing.

Mark: Okay. Moving on to the torso. This has full rotation at the torso, right.

Louis: Yup. No ab crunch, though.

Mark: What’s next? Shoulders?

Louis: Yeah. We can talk about how they bang into everything.

Mark: You have a penchant for hyperbole.

Louis: They bang into the hips, too!

Mark: Okay, so maybe not hyperbole. So, besides the hips—good grief—what else do they bang into?

Louis: They can hit the head if they cant; they break the face, too. They hit the wings if they rotate.

Shoulders hitting head and hips.

Shoulder hitting wings.

Mark: The shoulders are so big they obstruct the peripheral vision of the driver.

Louis: It’s not the shoulders, it’s the cockpit.

Mark: Well, the shoulders sure aren’t helping. The driver is in a hole.

Louis: It’s not as bad as Nya. She’s in a box.

Cole in the cockpit.

The cockpit box…

…where Nya can see nothing.

Mark: While we’re here it’s probably a good time to talk about the minifigure.

Louis: It’s got new legs and torso, shoulder pads in a new color, a reused hat, and a reused head from the first wave of Dragons Rising. I hope in the future LEGO releases all the ninjas in similarly styled costumes with their accent colors being the primary against the white.

Mark: What else do we have to talk about? Elbows?

Louis: It’s got bicep rotation that mimics the mid thigh rotation.

Mark: How much?

Louis: 360.

Mark: So what are the elbows?

Louis: It’s a ratchet. Double ratchet.

Mark: Those are hinges.

Louis: Ratchet hinges.

Mark: And you’ve got how much movement?

Louis: Shy of 180.

Mark: What? Let me see that. Oh. It’s a double set of double hinges. First time I’ve seen that. Have you seen that assembly before?

Louis: I don’t think so.

Elbow with double hinge assembly.

Mark: And there’s a stop on the back that limits movement to a normal human range of movement.

Louis: Unlike Samurai X whose elbows can bend backwards.

Mark: Wrists?

Louis: Ball-and-socket.

Mark: Fingers?

Louis: Robot arms.

Mark: Can they grasp anything?

Louis: No because there’s a pin in the palm.

Mark: So the sword is using a pinhole?

Louis: Many pinholes. It’s got three.

Hand with fingers, wrist joint, and pin.

Hand with sword attached to pin.

Mark: The head?

Louis: Clip and bar joint at the shoulder to the neck and Mixel ball joint at the neck to the head. It’s also got light piping so the front will glow if the back is lit.

Mark: Light piping. That’s a euphemism for having some transparent plates uninterrupted by opaque ones? Some marketing team must’ve put in extra extra hours coming up with that. [eye roll]

Neck attachments.

Light piping. You see it? Me neither.

Louis: It’s the first mech to have it. I think this might also be the first Titan mech to not have any sort of projectile launchers.

Mark: Finally, the wings.

Louis: Wings.

Rear view of wings. Arms have been removed from the model for clarity.

Wings forward.

Wings partially back.

Wings all the way back.

Mark: Those are damn stupid.

Louis: The whole wings backpack can come off. It also holds Cole’s weapons, so without the wings he’s defenseless.

Mark: Except for that honkin’ big-ass sword.

Louis: That honkin’ big-ass sword and no adversary.

Mark: What’s the wing articulation?

Louis: It’s a double-mixel joint at the back and an axle hinge at the base of each wing.

Wing blade forward.

Wing blade centered.

Wing blade back.

Mark: That kind of sums up the build. Talk to me about play value.

Louis: It’s not the most playable of the mechs. It’s big, heavy, and parts like to fly off of it. You kind of pose it once or twice and put it on a shelf.

Mark: It is very posable, though. Also somewhat wobbly.

Louis: Indeed.

Mark: Okay, so, summing up.

Louis: If you want something that is big and posable and you don’t want to fiddle with it too much, it might be right for you. If you want a mech that is fun to play with, this isn’t it. It’s more model kit than playset.

Mark: How was the build?

Louis: It was enjoyable and atypical for a Ninjago mech.

Mark: How so?

Louis: It’s SNOT everywhere, the entirety of the lower leg is more complex.

Mark: That knee for sure. And the dual-hinged elbows. Some different, fresh thinking there.

Disclaimer

Thanks to LEGO for kindly providing the set for review.

33638