Over the years one of my children has collected several LEGO NINJAGO dragons, so the LEGO NINJAGO Empire Temple of Madness set 71712 took his eye immediately. We were sent this set for review, and no surprises, the 12 year old was on it like a shot... 

This is an 810 piece set, which is recommended for builders aged 9 and over, and we agree with that assessment. My 12 year old had no problem building independently, and was not at all disappointed with either the build or the final model. 

Vanilla Underground call themselves the home of officially licensed merchandise for all the family and to prove it have sent us a big bundle of items - including something for everyone here. Favourite TV, movie, book, music and game characters on pyjamas, t-shirts, stationery, backpacks, lunchboxes and more...


I gave Vanilla Underground a rough idea of what sort of things we like, plus some sizes, and so our package was mainly a surprise parcel. It was a pleasant surprise too - we were delighted! First up, our 9 and 10 year old boys. Minecraft Pyjamas for the pair of them.


A big hit - I've already washed both pairs twice. No runs, loose threads or shrinkage, I'm pleased with the quality. My 10 year old's pyjamas are quite thick too, ideal for Winter despite the short sleeves. The same goes for the 5 Nights At Freddy's pyjamas in the photo below - great cold weather lounging pyjamas.

Modelling so that you can actually see the pictures on the pyjamas isn't their strong point...

What better for a Sunday morning than a swift game of 'Where's The Ninja'? We were guests of Warner Bros at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre last Thursday evening for a special event to promote the release of The LEGO Ninjago Movie on DVD and Digital Download, and my partner saw his opportunity to have a bit of a photobomb chuckle.

There's a Ninja in every photo - some are more obvious than others and some are hilariously photoshopped in because we just weren't as organised as we gave ourselves credit for. The Ninja is blue and made from DUPLO. We'll start easy...


This is really not hard, but as with all good 'spot the character' puzzles, the answers are upside down at the bottom of the page. If you are using a desktop PC, I'd suggest turning your head rather than the screen... no cheating now!

The LEGO Ninjago Movie was released on Digital Download on January 30th and we were among the first people to watch it in the comfort of our own home. We had already seen the movie in the cinema, but everyone wanted to watch it again and we were sent a bundle of goodies by Warner Bros to make a movie night of it!


We are big fans of the LEGO movies and we have really enjoyed them all. Ninjago is a LEGO theme with your traditional ninjas and dragons mixed with amazing technology and mechanics. It's an excellent theme and Ninjago are the most played with LEGO sets here.  There is also a Ninjago TV show, as well as books and of course the 4D cinema and Ninjago City Adventure play area at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre. We are in very familiar territory and even I know all the names of the characters.

No spoilers - I don't agree with spoilers...

We had thought we'd missed out on any previews of the new LEGO Ninjago Movie as we couldn't get down to London, but then we got an amazing invitation to go and see it at the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre!


We've been to the Discovery Centre at the Trafford Centre many times over the past 6 years, but rarely when it's closed to the general public, only once at night and definitely never to see a full length movie. When the boys realised where we were going, especially with it already being after tea, they were incredibly excited.

BrickBox.me run a monthly LEGO and minifigure loot subscription service for children aged 3+. Each month the box has a theme and we've been sent April's LEGO Pirates BrickBox to review.


As soon as my 7 and 8 year old boys saw the front of the box they were very keen to get inside. Funnily enough, I didn't have to explain what it was, they understood this one straight away...


We love Pirates here and as my friends will already know, Ninja Pirates are my all time favourite. It even says it in my Twitter profile... I think BrickBox knew when they sent us this box.. The BrickBox April Box contained 2 great LEGO Ninjago Pirate polybag sets, as well as 3 other smaller pirate minifigure sets.

You may have noticed that LEGO movies are everywhere at the moment,The LEGO Batman Movie has just hit the cinemas, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie trailer is whetting our appetite for the next one! Half term is around the corner, so I've gathered together some of the best LEGO Movie activities that are around at the moment....


We reviewed The LEGO Batman Movie and loved it. Here's the LEGO Batman Cribs short, our favourite of the LEGO Batman trailer videos - there are loads more on their You Tube channel.


There is a great LEGO Batman Movie website, with loads of free stuff for kids. A good place to start is with the SigFig Creator. Make a mini version of yourself - go random or even create your own supervillain... We have a complaint - where's the curly hair!!

The most important thing to say about the LEGO Ninjago Temple Of Airjitzu is that it's stunningly beautiful. Truly a gorgeous model that I've spent the last few days really enjoying. It was a lovely build and uses some amazing build techniques as well as ingenious use of existing LEGO elements. It's not a simple build and the 14+ suggested age guide is right.

On 17th October (today) Titan Magazines will launch a children's LEGO Ninjago Graphic Novel series with volume 1: The Challenge Of Samukai and Volume 2: The Mask Of The Sensei available immediately in book shops or online. With around 64 full colour pages of comic strip and character art, and priced at £3.99 each, they are perfect for my 6 year old and his early independent reading.



 


Volume 1- The Challenge Of Samukai tells what happens when Samukai boasts he can beat Sensei Wu and the Masters Of Spinjitsu, and Garmadon takes him up on the bet.