Ninjago

Ultra Sonic Raider

A childhood Ninjago vehicle brought back with seven figures and a solid-gold Zane on top.

Brick Rated Score

4.0/5

Set 71739 · 2021

Pieces726

Minifigs7

Year2021

Set number71739

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The verdict

I grew up watching kids beg for the original 2012 Ultra Sonic Raider, so this Legacy remake landed somewhere soft for me.

Seven minifigures for the money is genuinely generous, and Golden Legacy Zane is the reason a lot of people bought it. The vehicle itself is a little bulky and the play features feel finicky once you actually swoosh it around, but as a figure pack with a big chunky ninja truck attached, it delivers. Best if you love the early Ninjago era and want those four founding ninja in one box.

Best for: Ninjago fans who want the four original ninja plus a collectible Golden Zane in a single box

The full review

What it is

The Ultra Sonic Raider is one of those sets that means more than its parts count suggests. The original 9449 came out in 2012, right when Ninjago was catching fire in living rooms everywhere, and this 2021 Legacy version brings it back to mark ten years of the theme. What got me was the roster: Kai, Zane, Cole and Jay all in their Legacy dragon suits, the two Hypnobrai snakes Mezmo and Rattla, and then Golden Legacy Zane sitting on his own little display stand like the guest of honor. Seven figures in a 726-piece box is a lot, and if you have any nostalgia for early Ninjago, opening those bags feels like a small reunion.

The catch

I will be straight with you about where it wobbles. The vehicle is a bulky thing, more inspired by the later Ultra Stealth Raider than a faithful copy of the 2012 model, and it had to be widened to seat four ninja. That makes it chunky rather than sleek. The bigger frustration builders raised is that this Legacy version quietly dropped the weapon holders, so the four golden weapons end up with nowhere sensible to clip. And the play features can be finicky once you swoosh it around and try to split it into its four smaller vehicles. Value-wise, at the 79.99 launch price you are really paying for the figures, with the model along for the ride.

Who it's for

So here is who I would steer toward it. If you love the founding era of Ninjago, or you specifically want that Golden Zane and exclusive Mezmo, this is an easy yes, and the fact that it retired in July 2022 means the sealed price has climbed since. If you are chasing a clever engineering challenge or a display-shelf centerpiece, this is not really that set, and you would be happier elsewhere. But for a kid who wants the classic four ninja and a big transforming truck to crash around the carpet, it hits exactly the note it is aiming for, and it does it with a generosity that a lot of licensed sets in this range do not.

The parts story

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

The build runs around two hours and it is comfortably in that relaxed, no-stress zone. There is nothing here that will trip up a nine-year-old, and honestly nothing that will surprise a seasoned builder either. You spend most of your time on the chunky central chassis and then the fun bit at the end, breaking it down into the motorcycle, the shooter-equipped jet, and the two little all-terrain runabouts. It is a friendly, playful build rather than a technical one, which suits the age range it is made for.

The real treasure is in the minifigures, not the bricks. Golden Legacy Zane is the headline, a fully gold-decorated figure made for this tenth-anniversary release and exclusive to the set, complete with his display stand. Legacy Mezmo is also exclusive here, and the printing on his snake face is genuinely crisp. You also get all four golden weapons and the four founding ninja in their Legacy torsos. Element-wise the vehicle leans on standard Ninjago parts rather than headline new molds, so the collectible pull is squarely those exclusive figures.

Fun facts

01This is a Legacy remake of the original 9449 Ultra Sonic Raider from 2012, rebuilt to help celebrate ten years of Ninjago toys.
02The Golden Legacy Zane figure was never seen before this set and comes on its own little display stand as a tenth-anniversary collectible.
03It launched June 1, 2021 in most countries but did not reach the US and Canada until August 1, 2021.
04The set retired in July 2022, and sealed copies have since climbed well above their 79.99 launch price.