LEGO® 71799 NINJAGO® City Markets: Minifigures & Build

Following on from our in-depth look at the fantastic range of new elements in 71799 NINJAGO City Markets, it's time to build the largest Ninjago set ever.

Doing an element review before building such a large set does not help speed up the process, in fact it slows it down.  All the bags have to be opened and searched through to find the new elements and with 51 bags that takes a lot of reorganising. No complaints though, I was very happy to be constructing this set and putting all those new elements and recolours to good use...

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO® 71799 NINJAGO City Markets
£319.99 / $369.99 / €369.99 / AU$549.99 / CA$479.99
6,163 pieces, rated 14+
Available at LEGO.com from 1 June 2023
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Minifigures

There are an incredible 21 minifigures included in the set, featuring previously unreleased characters from throughout Ninjago’s series. Gayle Gossip and Vinny Folson, Chamille Blazey H. Speed, Miss Demeanor and Hounddog McBrag all appear as a minifigure for the first time. There are many new heads and hair so forgive me if I do not create an exhaustive list as I want to get on and talk about the actual build!

First we have from left to right:

• Nya has a new Head (6434435), printed Torso (6437940) and Legs (6434433) both in Dark Azure.
• Lloyd has a new Head (6434431), printed Torso (6438252) and Legs (6434437) both in Green.
• Urban Arin has new printed Torso in Bright Light Orange (6437858) and Legs in Dark Blue (6434459)
• Blacksmith Kai has no new elements.
• Detective Zane with his newly recoloured Fedora in Light Bluish Grey (6445927) . His Printed Head in Flat Silver (6434511) is new, as is his printed Torso in Light Bluish Grey (6446000).

• Chamille appears for the first time with detailed printing on her Medium Lavender Torso (6445887) and Legs (6454494). 
• Houndog McBrag has a new Head (6434505) and Torso in Reddish Brown (6445841).
• Sora is a new character from the Dragons Rising series with new Head plus Printed Torso in White (6437615) and Legs in White (6434456).
• Miss Demeanor has new Head (6434486), plus Printed Torso (6445844) and Legs (6434488) both in Pearl Dark Grey.
• Bartender Dareth has a new Head (6434435) and Printed Torso in White (6445834).

• Sushimi chef has a new Torso with Sushimi chef logo in Red (6445850).
• Vinny Folson the cameraman appears for the first time with a new printed Torso in Blue (6445921).
• Gayle Gossip the NINJAGO news reporter has had her hair curled at the front especially for this set, she has a new Head (6434489 ) and Torso in Bright Pink (6445848)
• Blazey Hyper Speed (formerly named Racer Seven) appears for the first time, sporting a cool Bionicle top depicting a flaming Kanohi Hau (6445846)
• Dr Cyrus Borg appearing for the first time as Cyrus Borg. He appeared in his OverBorg form in 70722 OverBorg Attack released in 2013. He has a new Head (6434491 ) and his Torso in Light Bluish Grey is a new print (6445852)

There are also a selection of vendors and workers to populate the markets:

Elderly lady street vendor has no new elements.

Tea Vendor has a new Head and a new Printed Torso in White (6445832).

Kid from the Dojo has no new elements.

Borg Store employee has a new Printed Torso in Medium Azure (6445845).

Boat Vendor and  Baker/Chef have no new elements.

Building the Set

There are three instruction booklets, 51 bags of elements and three sticker sheets; building this 6,136-piece set takes time.  The great news is that there are a lot of fun small builds and interesting techniques used throughout the build with very little in the way of repetition. Each subsection of the build is satisfying so you can have proverbial tasty bites when eating the elephant-sized set.  The completed set covers two 32x32 baseplates, so you may have to plan ahead and consider where it will fit for display.

Baseplate 1

The first building to emerge from the watery base is an older style 'wooden' building with Blacksmith Workshop and Bakery.

The bakery with sleeping/living area above is on the left - Note the clever use of the Book Binding in Black (6167879|28684) as the awning above the ground floor's front window. On the Right we have the Blacksmiths.

You can see the new 'Rolli Fence' in Black (6443650 | 3224) being used as an actual fence with tressils in the arch structure above the Blacksmiths. The simple interior of the Blacksmiths workshop can be seen with an anvil, tool area, fire and water barrel.

The wooden-slatted windows on the room above the bakery are created using some clever SNOT work and Fence 1X4X2 in Reddish Brown (6150305|33303).

The Bakery and living area can both be accessed for play by simply pulling them out like drawers, a simple but very effective method. Spot the unprinted Minifig Head Special, Cube in Dark Azure (6431378 | 19729) used as a bedside table lamp!

One of my favourite elements in the bakery was the use of the Box 1X3 in Dark Brown (6310366|69066) for the stairs leading up to the living area. Note the White unbaked items next to the cute rolling pin, the Medium Nougat baked bread and pretzels and then the rather overdone Dark Orange Croissant still inside the stone oven - I love these sorts of playful details.

Upper Cable Car Terminal

The next level up forms the upper cable car terminal which has four play functions: two lift mechanisms, the drawbridge style opening for the cable car to enter the terminal and the pulley system for the cable car itself.

The accessible lift for the cable car is raised and lowered using the Technic disc with the sticker saying 'turn' in Ninjargon. Did you spot the use of the new recolour, Slope 33° 2 x 2 Double / Inverted in Light Bluish Gray (6393207 | 1762)? They are used for the flower pots on either side of the entrance to the cable car. Clearly this was not an essential recolour so I like to think the designer thought that AFOLs would love a Light Bluish Grey version of this element...and voila.

The platform lift on the right  is simply pushed up manually and held in the raised position with a clever little locking mechanism. There's a Technic gear at the back that rotates the drawbridge style gates open to allow the cable car into the terminal stop. The gears at the very top are used to work the pulley to move the cable car up and down the rail.

Baseplate 2

Before adding more structures, we must move onto baseplate number two at this point.  The upper levels are built on the raised walkway that spans both sides of model. The initial base construction on this side has quite a few little nuggets of joy, one of which relates to the outflow pipe.

The detailed sloped SNOT section is fun to build and slots next to the corner tiles connecting with the Tan Telescope element.  At this point in the build its not clear exactly why such a detailed area is required.

On completion, the reality is that it is detailed and fun because the designer wanted it that way and makes for a lovely little detail that was a joy to create. The image above also shows the accessible entrance to the lower cable car terminal via the ramps - love that curvy handrail!  It's worth noting that the columns aren't 2x2 as you'd expect. Instead they use copious amounts of Technic Driving Ring Extension 8 Tooth in Red (6433875 | 35186).

Ground Floor Buildings

We start with the older ground floor buildings once more with a colourful convenience store, or perhaps an apothecary?. The colours are delightful and it's fun creating all the little details on the shelves and the flooring. The printed statuette of Cole sits on the drawers in the middle of the room.

If you had been wondering where the new Creature Head Pixelated (Minecraft) in Black (6251338 | 19727) was used then then wonder no more! Positioned sideways, it's hollow underside allows it to become a postbox with just enough room to slip a 1x2 tile inside.

The room above looks to be Arin and Sora's living space. It has bunk beds and space for not much else as it is rather small. The top bunk neatly slides in and out of position to allow small fingers to place their sleepy minifigures into both beds. On the far right you'll see I left one roof section out of position to demonstrate the simple but effective construction using Bar Holder with Clip in Black (6015891|11090) and the Candle in Black (6290456|37762)

I thought it was interesting that all the Bar Holders were glossy and yet all the Candles were matt in appearance. It's a neat little roof texture in any event.

The three 1x2 Plates with Bar can be pulled to allow access to the lower room while the upper room can only be accessed from the ceiling by lifting off the next level. You can see the two new Technic Truss 7x16 in Reddish Brown (6441039|79768) in position to form the lower terminal for the cable car.

On the opposing corner to the outflow pipe, the upper walkway support is also constructed using the new Technic Truss 7x16 in Reddish Brown (6441039|79768). The Glass for Window 1 x 4 x 6 in Trans-Purple (6388563 | 57895) are all stickered in this set, which makes me feel rather thankful that the LEGO designer Markus Rollbuhler chose to recolour this element for us! The movie posters are held in their angled position simply by resting on the 1x2 Plate with Rail with the lights wedging them in place - clever huh?

Small yet joyful

There are many smaller builds that really stood out in terms of the attention to detail. The first of which is built early on in the build when assembling the base area.

The little stall for the tea vendor is cute and made me realise that I had the tea caddies upside down when I photographed them for the new elements post...oops.

The other little stall takes advantage of the stable 45 degree angle provided by Rolli Fence in Reddish Brown (6430288 | 3224) but I particularly loved the slated roof constructed using the newly Minifig Shield Rectangular Curved with Stud in Black (6432249 | 98367).

While out of sync in terms of the build process, there are two other small builds that fit into this category which I'll highlight now;  the jukebox and pool table from the Karaoke bar that I will come onto later. The pool table is incredible use of the recoloured Brick Special Arch 1 x 2 Jumper in Green (6443640 | 38583) - NPU!

The Bridge

Linking the two market areas (and baseplates) at the ground level is a beautifully designed ornamental bridge. 

Deconstructing it slightly shows the use of the The Technic Panel Car Mudguard 13 x 2 x 5 in Bright Red/ Red (6321714 | 71689) which has previously only been in 42125 Ferrari 488 GTE released 2021 along with the Minifigure, Shield Circular Convex Face in Red (6441038 | 75902).

The angle that the bridge finally rests at is equally beautiful as it sits diagonally with a patchwork of wedge plates seamlessly forming the angles and curves.

Borg Store

We move back to the first baseplate now that a linking upper walkway has been formed. A Borg Store with office is constructed next to the upper Cable car terminal. The elevator, that is pushed up manually, provides access to the upper level of the store where a simple desk and chair reside with a computer and table lamp.

My favourite aspect of this section is the use of the Wheel Arch, Mudguard 4 x 10 in Lime (6443641 | 80567) to create a window frame on both levels.

The store's side walls are easily removed for play access. The establishment gives off 'mega expensive store' vibes with the minimalist feel and small yet exclusive inventory to spend your Ninjago dollars on.."

Karaoke Bar

Above the lower cable car terminal we find the Karaoke bar in all its Trans Purple splendour. This is Laughy's Karaoke Club, a bar owned by Dareth who is one of the 21 minifigures included.

With the front removed, the interior with pool table, darts board and stage area on the left can be seen.  Note one of Dareth's trophies on the shelf and the framed B&W photo nod to Prime Empire with Dareth and one of the bartenders in the snapshot.

The jukebox from Season 8,  Sons of Garmadon episode can be seen nestled in the corner from this angle with the curvaceous window formed by two Panel 3 x 4 x 6 Curved Top in Trans-Purple (6446120 | 2571). Note the small gap in the wall in the far right as this gap becomes very important later on for matters of a more personal nature. Tucked under the steps is a little aircon unit and a box. Nearby is small shrine with candle and flower next to the statuette of Jay. This is a reference to a time in the TV show when the ninjas were not around to save the city and the people of Ninjago City put out shrines.

The designers managed to get all the original ninjas to appear in the set, although not all as actual minifigures since Jay and Cole are Trophy sized:

• Minifig Trophy Statuette 'Jay'  with Ninja Outfit print in Dark Blue (6434489)
• Minifig Trophy Statuette 'Cole' with Ninja Outfit print in Black (6434516)

Flushing Toilet...yes really!

Above the Karaoke Bar sits another level with a Sushi Hut and a toilet...a flushable toilet! This area is accessed via the stairs we saw to the rear of the Karaoke Bar. A Dark Blue balcony rail utilises the recoloured Window Round 3 x 3 x 2 in Dark Blue (6446122 | 73878).

The "Sushimi’s" sign with the fun pancake-making cephalopod is adorable, and the construction is more detailed than may first appear. I'll admit that I'm not sure if this is a Squid or an Octopus but I'm leaning towards Squid.  New colours that we highlighted in our parts review can be seen in their final position here, such as Vehicle Track, Roller Coaster, Curve in Lime (6268052 | 25061) used for the sign and Design Element 4 X 5 X 1 2/3 Smooth with 2 x 2 Round Brick Attachment in Red (6406958 | 85834) for the crustacean's body.

Removing the roof structures gives access to see the interiors and potentially activate the play feature on the toilet itself...we will come on to that shortly.

From this birdseye view you can see the ingenious use of Plate 2X6, W/ Function, No. 1 (6378415|78168) as the toilet bowl - normally it's used to hang LEGO art sets. Also special mention must go to the presence of the Mini Antenna as a toilet brush and the recoloured Technic Panel Fairing 2 x 1 x 1 in White (6434569 | 89679) as the toilet roll - hanging correctly to my delight!

Things are quite tight and it's not easy to place the minifigure on the toilet utilising the door as it cannot open fully.  Obviously putting the 'poop' into the bowl either requires small fingers or a good aim to drop from the roof - neither is perfect and we had quite a lot of 'misses' when trying out this play function.  Peeking through the door shows the Technic 2M Half Beam in white, this is the handle that needs to be pushed to flush the toilet.

Having toilets in LEGO sets is not as rare as it used to be, but I believe this is the first flushing LEGO toilet. The design mechanism is really very clever and a lot of effort has gone to not only flush the toilet but 'deliver' the product out at the bottom of the baseplate area.  

Pressing the flush lever raises the axle thus allowing the tile to tilt and the poop to slide into the little 'poop toboggan run'  via the false back  in the Karaoke bar's wall behind the poster! 

Now I'm not going to go into whether raw sewage should be entering the Ninjago city water as clearly this is a fun and unique play feature.  Any question regarding the inclusion of this function was immediately wiped when I saw the joy it brought to my seven year old twins.  Lets just say there has been a LOT of flushing in our Ninjago City market toilet.  Also they have experimented on what exactly they can flush...perhaps that's an article in itself.

The Cable Car

The cable car is a cute build that I liked, not least for its Bright Light Orange and Dark Turquoise colour scheme and curves. 

The cable car utilises the recoloured Plate Round Corner 2 x 2 with 1 x 1 Cutout in Bright Light Orange (6444576 | 79491) and the rare Brick Curved 2 x 4 x 1 1/3 with Curved Top in Bright Light Orange (6393827 | 6081). It's a robust car that handles well when going up and down the rail.

It has space for a few minifigures (who know each other well) or a minifigure in a wheelchair.  There are hinged openings at the top and bottom for easy access. The cable car remains on its rail with a simple 2x4 Tile to lock it in position - this is the weakest link in the system but is only at risk of pinging off if the cable car swings due to impatient, enthusiastic turning.

The cable car can be moved between the two terminal stations by turning the technic gear at the upper station as mentioned previously.  It is not a high speed cable car trip but more of a gentle ride to allow you to sip your drink and enjoy the view of the beautiful ornamental bridge below.  It could do with a bigger gear to increase the speed for impatient little hands but adults will probably be able to stay patient...just.

Colours

This is a large set with a lot going on; Old city buildings, newer builds, the cyberpunk feel, a cable car contrasting with nods to the tranquil nature of Ninjago old world with the ornamental bridge, water and floating lilies. It emulates the way a traditional market evolves over time with newer builds on top or to the side of the older original market areas.

The colour schemes are beautiful and I've summarised the main ones here to show in simple terms what's going on. There's a lot of complementary colours eg Green/Red, Blue/Orange and also analogous colours like Dark Purple, Dark Blue, Teal, Light Aqua.  From left to right  we have the Borg Store Top Floor, Borg Store Ground floor, Karaoke Bar, Toilet and Balcony area, gound level 'traditional' buildings.

Final Thoughts

This set is absolutely full of amazing new moulds, recolours and rare colours.  As a parts pack goes we are being spoiled with all the new elements.  Just go back and take a look at the LEGO® parts review: 71799 NINJAGO® City Markets to see just how many great colours the designers managed to cram in.

It's a fun building experience as there are many detailed smaller parts to the build.  The set itself works best when displayed with the other big Ninjago City builds, you can see lots of other folks showing it next to Ninjago City Gardens, Ninjago City Docks and the original Ninjago City itself.  Having the space in the centre where the cable car runs works best when this set is 'bookshelved' by the other sets, otherwise it can seem a bit empty.

The toilet flushing play feature is a civil engineering work of art and will bring entertainment for sure.  The only negative is the precision required when aiming for the toilet bowl and the requirement to remove the somewhat finicky arched Sushimi's sign as parts are prone to 'pinging off'.

The inclusion of 21 minifigures, including the host of fire time appearances is also very appealing, a marketplace need to be populated!

Overall, this is a fun building experience and I also learn some new techniques and ideas from these larger Ninjago City sets - this one is no exception. It does come with a price tag of £319.99 / $369.99 / €369.99 / AU$549.99 / CA$479.99 but there's plenty of exciting elements and the 21 minifigures to take into account.  For Ninjago City collectors, this is addition will really work well in between the other sets in the series.

READ MORE:  LEGO® Disney™ set review: 43222 Disney Castle

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