Ninjago

Cole's Dragon Cruiser

A hot rod that turns into a golden dragon, and a minifig lineup that steals the whole show.

Brick Rated Score

3.7/5

Set 71769 · 2022

Pieces395

Minifigs4

Year2022

Set number71769

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The verdict

I bought into this one for the transformation gimmick and stayed for the minifigures.

Golden Cole and Golden Dragon Kai are genuinely gorgeous, and pairing them with General Aspheera as the villain gives you a real Crystalized story on your shelf, not just a car with some ninjas in it. My honest reaction the first time I flicked the lightning blades forward into dragon mode was a small laugh, it is a fun piece of engineering for a set this size. Where it stumbles is value, the vehicle itself is smaller than the box art suggests and most of what you are paying for lives in the minifigures, not the model.

Best for: Ninjago collectors chasing the Crystalized-era minifigs, especially Golden Dragon Kai and Golden Cole

The full review

What it is

Cole's Dragon Cruiser is a Ninjago Crystalized vehicle built around a neat trick, it looks like a sleek gold roadster until you push those lightning-blade panels forward and it snaps into dragon attack mode. I liked that the transformation is not just cosmetic, it actually changes the silhouette enough that the car reads as two different things depending on the pose. The stud shooters and the roomy driver and passenger seats keep it playable for kids who want a ninja vehicle they can actually race across the carpet, not just display.

The catch

Where I have to be straight with you is price versus what you get. At around $45 for 384 pieces, most reviewers (and I agree) felt the real draw here is the minifigure lineup rather than the model itself. The cruiser is noticeably smaller in person than the box art leads you to expect, so if you are buying this purely to be a centerpiece vehicle on a shelf, it will underwhelm a little. It is also a fairly simple build, there is nothing here that will challenge an experienced builder's technique.

Who it's for

If you are chasing the Crystalized story, especially Golden Dragon Kai (exclusive to this set in regions without the Ninjago Magazine) and Golden Cole, this is close to essential. If you just want an impressive-looking Ninjago vehicle and could take or leave the figures, I would put this lower on the list. Retired now, so secondhand prices have crept up from the original $44.99, which makes the minifigure argument even more central to whether it is worth grabbing today.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build itself is quick and straightforward, which fits its age-8-plus target. You are not wrestling with tricky sub-builds here, the fun is almost entirely in watching the roadster take shape and then testing the dragon-mode transformation once the last golden panel clicks in. It is a good weekend build for a younger builder who wants to see results fast, less so for someone who wants an absorbing technical challenge.

The real value is in what comes out of the bags for minifigures. Golden Dragon Kai comes with printed golden dragon wings and his own elemental weapon, and Golden Cole gets equally strong gold detailing that makes him stand out from earlier Cole variants. General Aspheera brings a crystal weapon and serpentine styling that is distinct from anything else in the wave, and the Vengestone Brute rounds things out as a solid, if less exciting, henchman. At 384 pieces for four well-detailed figures, the piece count undersells how much of the box's appeal is sitting in those four little bags.

Fun facts

01Golden Dragon Kai is exclusive to this set in markets like the US that do not sell the Ninjago Magazine, which is why collectors specifically sought this set out.
02The set released globally on June 1, 2022, but North America and Canada did not get it until August 1, 2022.
03Brickset reviewers concluded the minifigures alone were worth roughly $35 to $40, making the $44.99 asking price feel like a fair deal for figure collectors even if the vehicle itself underwhelmed.
04The set is now retired from LEGO's own store, and BrickEconomy tracks new sealed copies selling for around $77, up about 71 percent from the original retail price.