Ninjago

Golden Mech

A gleaming pearl gold giant that finally gives the Temple of Light mech its own spotlight

Brick Rated Score

4.2/5

Set 71702 · 2020

Pieces489

Minifigs4

Year2020

Set number71702

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The verdict

The moment I clicked those pearl gold hip and knee joints into place, I understood why this set gets so much love from Ninjago fans.

It takes the mech from 70505 Temple of Light and lets it stand on its own as the star instead of an afterthought bundled into a bigger set. For the money, you get real articulation (ankles, hips, shoulders, elbows, even fingers) and a color scheme that photographs beautifully on a shelf. If you want a display piece with genuine poseability rather than a static brick statue, this is one of the better mechs LEGO has put out.

Best for: Ninjago collectors who want a poseable golden mech centerpiece without buying the full Temple of Light set

The full review

What it is

The moment I clicked those pearl gold hip and knee joints into place, I understood why this set gets so much love from Ninjago fans. It takes the mech from 70505 Temple of Light and lets it stand on its own as the star instead of an afterthought bundled into a bigger set. Brickset's own review called it one of their favorite LEGO mechs, and I get it. The knee joints alone put it ahead of a lot of other mechs that just lock the legs straight.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the tradeoffs. Because this is a standalone spinoff of a bigger playset, it does not have the depth or building surprises of the original Temple of Light. And while General Kozu is a genuinely unique minifig, Lloyd, Wu and the Stone Army Scout are variants you have probably seen in other Legacy sets, so do not buy this expecting four fresh characters. Since it retired at the end of 2020, prices have also climbed a long way past the $39.99 it launched at, so if you are shopping secondhand now, budget accordingly.

Who it's for

For the money, you get real articulation (ankles, hips, shoulders, elbows, even fingers) and a color scheme that photographs beautifully on a shelf. If you want a poseable golden mech centerpiece and do not need the full Temple of Light set, this is a smart way to get it. If you already own 70505 or you are chasing brand new minifigs, you can safely skip this one.

The parts story

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

Building the Golden Mech is a fairly quick, satisfying session rather than a marathon. The frame goes together in logical stages, torso first, then the articulated legs, then the arms and giant katana, and you can feel the designers working around a real constraint: not every LEGO element exists in molded gold, so the team had to hunt for parts that could actually be produced in that color while still maximizing the golden surface area. That puzzle shows up in small ways, like where dark green or pearl gold panels get swapped in to keep the silhouette clean.

The standout piece is obviously the mech itself, dense with pearl gold plates and slopes you rarely see outside Ninjago's higher end sets. Wu's staff comes in sand brown here specifically to match his bamboo bo staff from the show, a nice bit of screen accuracy. General Kozu's elemental lightning blade and the Stone Army Scout's crossbow round out a set of weapons that feel purposeful rather than filler, and at 489 pieces for a display centerpiece this size, the part count per dollar holds up well against other mechs in the theme.

Fun facts

01The Golden Mech is a standalone spinoff of the mech included in 70505 Temple of Light, redesigned so it could stand on its own as its own set.
02Wu's staff is molded in sand brown specifically to better match the bamboo bo staff he carries in the Ninjago TV show.
03The mech's knee joints are a detail many recent LEGO mechs skip, giving this one noticeably better posing options.
04The set retired in December 2020 after less than a year on shelves, and secondhand prices have since climbed well above its $39.99 launch price.