An Overdue Promise

Recall, if you will, October 7 of 2017. On that day I posted my Monthly HapPENings for September, and I made an offhanded comment to you guys:

And [my iPhone 7] takes very crisp, clear photos, something I'll be demonstrating in next week's post. #Foreshadowing

So what happened the week after I said that? I posted about The Future of a Franchise, in which I gave my thoughts on the direction of the Star Wars series. I had this afterthought to offer:

(Also, a quick sidenote: I promised to be showing off my new phone's camera for this week's post, but I worked a lot of overtime and wasn't able to finish up the post. I want it to be as good as it can be, so you'll have to wait just a little longer before you see what I have in store for you. Thanks for understanding!)

Then I had a Humble Beginnings post. Then the Bibliophile Sweater Tag. Then another thing, and another, and another, until no one even remembered my promise . . . save for me. Today, I'm finally making good on that promise.

I'm doing a photo dump of my LEGO Ninjago sets! I took 50 pictures last year for the post, and I hadn't even shot any of my buildings and whatnot. Now I have even more, so if you guys like these, I'll definitely be doing more of them. (Truth be told, I'd love to do more LEGO photo dumps whether you like it or not, so you may not have much say in the matter.)

Because 50 pics would make this post excessively long, I'll start with some of them now and do the rest later, maybe as a special post. *looks at checklist* I got the intro out of the way, which means it's time for the fun part!

Also, a little aside: Kaitlyn whipped up a lovely watermark for me, since I didn't know how to make one myself. Let's all congratulate her talent! You can thank her every time you grace your eyes upon it.

This is Jay, the Master of Lightning. Despite the sets often depicting him with a serious face, he's the group comedian. Then again, he can get pretty frowny and hysterical when he's stressed. He's often a blabbermouth, but that's part of what makes him funny. In case you're interested, his suits are the Techno Gi, Honor Robe, and Fusion Armor, respectively.

As you can see, I've got a number of variants of Kai, the Master of Fire. Naturally, he's hot-headed a lot of the time, but he cares deeply about his "brothers" and his sister. He's also shown himself to be selfless in critical moments. You can see him wearing his Destiny Robe, Deepstone Armor (top, left to right), Elemental Robe, Training Gi, and Jungle Gi (bottom, left to right).

Meet Cole, the Master of Earth. Of all the members of the team, he is one of the most dependable--like a rock, I guess you could say. He's a go-getter and the natural leader of the group. At the time of this photo, I only have two minifigures of his Techno Gi. Not sure why they gave him a katana, because he generally uses a scythe (perhaps it's because that version came with a book).

Lloyd is the prophesied Green Ninja, the savior of Ninjago and the Master of . . . Energy. Which is kinda vague, but whatever. (In the movie, they poked fun of the show in a friendly manner and said his power was "green.") Technically, knowing the Green Ninja's identity is a spoiler, but the episode that revealed that aired over six years ago, so I think it's fine if I mention it. Out of all the Ninja, Lloyd has had to mature the most, and his character arc is really interesting when you consider everything he's dealt with. Here, he's got his ZX (Zen Extreme) Armor, Elemental Robe, Techno Gi, and Honor Robe.

Zane is as cool as the ice he wields. He started off as a stiff dude who didn't understand jokes, but upon finding that he was a Nindroid, he's grown into his new role. He even found that his funny switch had been turned off, so . . . that's something. Honestly, while all of the Ninja have had great development and character arcs over the years, Zane's is special for me, due to spoilery reasons. I've got him in his Elemental Robe, Destiny Robe, and jail uniform. Because reasons. (And no, don't start getting ideas that I like him because he had an evil stint or something, since that'd be inaccurate.)

Nya is the girl power on the team. She can take on bad guys just as well as the others, and while she has a tough exterior at times, she can also be really sweet. So she doesn't fall into either pit of the female protagonist. Before she discovered that she was the Master of Water, she fought crime as Samurai X to prove her importance to the Ninja. From left to right, she's wearing her Destiny Robe, Honor Robe, the jungle variant of her Samurai X armor, and her . . . I dunno, her standard outfit before she became a Ninja.

Meet Senseis Garmadon and Wu. Garmadon wasn't always a wise sensei; in fact, he was the show's main antagonist for a while. Due to the prophecy that the Green Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord, he did everything in his power to prevent the final battle from happening. Honestly, whether he's good or bad, Garmadon will always be one of my favorite characters. Not only do I love his voice, I love his character development. I'd watch the show just for him. He's one of the best villains I've ever seen.

Wu, younger brother of Garmadon, has stayed on the path of light his whole life. He put together the Ninja as a team, and has taught them much along the way. But even wise men make mistakes, and Wu is no exception. Some of his have brought difficult trials upon the heroes. Also, he's the only person to have a 3D mouth, for some inexplicable reason.

. . . I'm sorry, I'm probably doing more info-dumping than I should. I'll try to cut back.

Here's Ronin, a man with not much moral code who'll sell out to the person with the deepest pockets. While he has helped the Ninja on a few occasions, he's also turned on them, so they never fully trust him. Again, one of my favorite characters because of his voice and his conflicting values. And c'mon, those outfits are nothing short of epic, especially the one with the rice hat.

First off, this is one of the best pictures I took, in my opinion. The focus is just really appealing to my eyes, and I'm proud that I got them to stand in dirt. It was easier than you might think!

Second, these peeps (don't ask) are Shade, the Master of Shadow, Ash, the Master of Smoke, and Skylor, whom I can't really say much about because spoilers. They came in a special set with just the three of them, and I knew I had to get them. My only complaint is that LEGO should've made more of the Elemental Masters.

The vicious, indestructible Stone Army arises. To cross them is to court death, for they are unstoppable . . . or are they? Headed by General Kozu (the tall one in the center with his Day of the Departed version on the far right), they will stop at nothing to crush the Ninja. Unless, however, you wear the Helmet of Shadows, in which case you can control the Stone Army.

This is another one of my favorite pictures. Getting them to stay standing on loose stones was a challenge, especially for the three taller guys. But my efforts paid off, and this picture is the result. That's actually at the base of my family's shed, and it looks like they're emerging from a dark tunnel.

Why be a regular ol' pirate bound to the sea when you can fly and have the advantage? These are two members of the Sky Pirates, Doubloon and Clancee. Doubloon was once a great--albeit talkative--thief who made the mistake of trying to steal from Nadakhan, the djinn who heads the crew. Using his magic, Nadakhan made Doubloon literally two-faced: he only has two different expressions. The man became the quietest member of the gang, but is still quite deadly.

Clancee, on the other hand, is quite different. He felt that he never belonged with the Serpentine, and this could be because he doesn't quite fit in with any of the five tribes. Desiring to be a pirate, he joined Nadakhan's crew. He's nervous most of the time, and gets both airsick and seasick. However, he is possibly the most honorable of the pirates. And it's hard to classify the guy as bad. He just got in with the wrong crowd.

Morro is not a ghost you want to cross. Not only does he want to curse all of Ninjago, he's got a personal vendetta against the Ninja. Led to believe by Wu that he was the Green Ninja, only to discover that he wasn't, Morro became revenge-bent and desired to claim that role for himself. While he leads many ghosts into battle, the ones depicted here are a Skreemer (who can attach to a person to make them a ghost), Ghoultar, and Attila.

I think the color design of the ghosts works really well with the old fence. If it was a bit darker outside, it might look a little spooky. Maybe. I'm also really happy with how the focus turned out.

This just an assortment of minifigures who belonged to none of the other groups I've shown. I've got a security guard for Kryptarium Prison, the place for Ninjago's most dangerous criminals; Captain Soto, a pirate brought back from the past in his jail uniform; and the autopilot robot for the D.B. Express, a massive truck used by Nya in The Tournament of Elements.

People say technology will rebel against us one day. Well, that already happened in Ninjago, when a powerful entity known as the Overlord digitally possessed tech. One of the first things he did was take over the head of technology's production, Cyrus Borg. He then created an army of evil Nindroids based off of Zane's blueprints. His second-in-command, General Cryptor (far right), was a foe to be reckoned with. While the season they were in was the shortest, it was the first to have a hero die in an emotional scene.

While the wood of the shed in the background doesn't quite fit, the metal on the ramp does. And really, this was the only place on my yard that matched the tech vibe.

Now, while I'm very knowledgeable about Ninjago, I can't tell you much about these guys. I have et to watch the season they're in, so I can only say that they're part of the Vermillion. The dude on the left is Commander Blunck, and the one on the right is Tannin.

The picture, however, is probably my favorite. I don't want to sound proud or anything, but I love the aesthetic of the scene. They're standing on one of the swings that my dad made years ago; you can tell they haven't been used much anymore by the rust on the chain. But it somehow really works with the design of the Vermillion.

Ah, the old crew . . . the ones that started it all. The Skulkin were the first enemies to appear on the show. Spearheaded by Lord Garmadon, who usurped the role of leader, they captured Nya as part of their plan to obtain the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu. Although they failed, they've appeared in the show a couple times afterward to still prove that they aren't easy targets. From left to right, they are Chopov, Krazi, Master Samukai (former leader), Bonezai (far back), Lord Garmadon, General Kruncha, Frakjaw, and another Bonezai.

Here we have four of the Ninja on their own bikes, heading out into battle in a way that's pleasing to the eye. Well, my eyes, anyway. Of all of them, I think Jay's bike might be my favorite, but maybe that's because it looks big and tough. Kai's is probably the wimpiest.

A variation of the above shot. The neighbors must've thought I was weird to be lying down on the driveway to take pictures of LEGO. If only they knew just what they were missing!

Sorry, I don't want to come off as boastful, but I enjoy photography. So when I take pics like these, and they turn out well, it just makes me happy. That's all.

OverBorg (as in, Cyrus Borg being controlled by the Overlord) and Tannin have their own monstrous machines to do battle. They seem to have an excessive amount of blades. I hope the Ninja stay sharp. Get it? . . . I'll see myself out once this post is over.

Is it weird that this makes me want to write, for some reason? That it kinda inspires me? I think so, but I'll run with it.

I do not remember how I got Kai's bike to stay tilted. but that's pretty amazing. I don't the little knob sticking out on the side would've touched the ground. Regardless, it's wonderful. Also, I kept the back of Lloyd's bike just out of frame so I could use my finger to make him pop a wheelie.

Nya appears to be in danger, but don't worry! Her lover is coming to rescue her!

. . . That probably sounded way too strange. Let's end here.

I've got more pictures, so if you want to see more, lemme know. I also have tons of other LEGO themes that would be really fun to photograph. Did you have a favorite shot? Did I do too much info-dumping and not enough photo dumping? Are you interested in watching the show now?