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Set Review: 9444 Cole's Tread Assault
 Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 12:25pm by Andrew, BZPower News Manager[Source: Emzee] While we're taking a break from the constraction reviews we thought we'd take a look at another Ninjago set. Today it's Cole's Tread Assault being examined by Emzee. Read on to see what he had to say about this ninja monstertruck thing. Presentation
The packaging is rather standard, which is fine - no point in changing what already works. The big difference I noticed was the green coloring, allowing me to not mistakenly buy a 2011 set that I wouldn't be able to review. The box shows me everything I need to see. The main attraction is right there in your face, and it also reserves some room to feature its two minifigures and an "alternate" model of the vehicle.
Building
You are given two gigantic tires, three bags of pieces, a set of stickers, and two instruction booklets (good sign!). The bags seem large to me, but I don't really mind. You get to marvel at all the cool pieces without even opening the bag. I'm impatient though, so I just tore them open and began building.
The build was easy but not to the point of being boring. For a set targeted to people younger than 16, I was quite engaged. The unconventional ways that some of the pieces came together really got my attention.
The set didn't take long to finish. It only took about an hour and a half for me. I love how the Technic pieces are mixed with the System pieces here. They blend together very well in my opinion. Set Design
In this set, you get 286 pieces for about $40.00 USD. I'm not sure how good of a deal that is, but is seems kind of expensive to me given the parts. It's got some nice gold pieces though, including two golden Lehvak Va swords (that is how I will always remember them). These might not all be new pieces, but they are what interested me the most.
Despite the price, I really like how this set came out in the end. The black and gold fit neatly together, and the brown pieces didn't mess up the color scheme like I thought it would. The yellow-green colored pieces may be a different story though. One thing I do not like is how the cockpit is put in there. There's nothing holding it steady. It's allowed to just spin freely along the axle pins.
The minifigures look cool. I really like the Skales minifig and the smaller snake. Cole has these gunmetal shoulder pads, and he comes with a golden scythe. Playability
The missile is, of course, the first thing I noticed. Those are always fun to shoot. However, the vehicle is a little awkward to hold when you're rolling it around on your table (or floor) due to the blades on the sides. The spinning cockpit gets a little annoying too. I wish they had designed that better. There's also a function where if you push the button in the back of the vehicle, it will do this:
This just got an "Oh. Okay" reaction out of me. It's similar to what Kai's Blade Cycle does. I guess that's cool. The missile is, as I said, a welcome addition to the set, and at least I can say that the set has multiple functions.
Usually I focus more on playability since I'm not a MOCist. However, I think had more fun building this set than actually playing with it. Nonetheless, if you have a ramp or incline somewhere, I imagine that there will be much more fun to be had. Final Thoughts
Just a reminder, this set cost $40.00 USD, and maybe that's normal for a set like this - I can't say for sure. If I am to be completely honest though, I'm not quite sure the set is worth the whole $40. No doubt though, this is a decent Ninjago set, with some cool minifigs and a great color scheme. If you're a builder, you may like the set even more. All-in-all, I have to say give it a buy if you're into the theme or you like how it looks. And there you have it. As per usual, be sure to thank Emzee for the review of Cole's Tread Assault in the Talkback - you can thank Todd Webb too for giving Adrian the LEGO Store gift card he used to buy this set. Anyway, there's plenty more reviews in the pipe, so keep checking back right here on BZPower.
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