Kites, scrolls and bedtime books: an Old Town Easter egg hunt celebrating 15 years of NINJAGO®
For 15 years, NINJAGO® has invited fans to explore an extraordinary world of ninjas, villains and ancient legends. To celebrate this milestone, Senior Model Designer Lee Chi Wing wanted to capture the spark that has made NINJAGO one of the LEGO Group’s most enduring themes.
For Lee, it is the “room for creativity” that gives NINJAGO its timeless appeal and helps explain how the theme has continued to grow and evolve for 15 years.
Lee felt strongly that the centrepiece product in the theme’s 15th year should break new ground. The result is the NINJAGO Old Town 15th Anniversary set, an ancient and atmospheric twist on iconic sets like NINJAGO City (#70620 ) and the NINJAGO Temple of Airjitzu (#70751). “I was completely blown away by those sets,” Lee recalls. “I wanted this product to do the same for a new generation of fans.”
The ring-shaped Old Town set, partly inspired by Lee’s childhood passion for LEGO castles, unfurls into a linear, street-like display, whose four main modules can be arranged in any order, encouraging fans to rebuild and reimagine the scene.
Lee’s goal was to create a set that would delight newcomers to the world of NINJAGO and long-time fans alike.
“Older fans will have their minds blown by all the references!” Lee says, with the Old Town set crammed full of amazing details harking back to scenes and characters from the NINJAGO archive.
There’s at least one Easter egg from every season of the show, according to Lee, giving fans plenty to discover along the way. But to get you started, Lee has picked out five of his own favourites nestling inside the 15th anniversary set.
1. The Green Ninja Scroll
A cornerstone of NINJAGO lore is the Green Ninja Scroll that foretold the rise of an all-powerful green ninja destined to lead the team. This marks the scroll’s very first appearance in a NINJAGO set. “When I found out we’d never done this before I was shocked, it’s such an important artefact,” said Lee. This scroll is hidden away inside a secret compartment above the Old Town gate.
2. Morro’s Kite
Before becoming the Elemental Master of Wind, Morro was a lost child discovered by Master Wu at the Monastery of Spinjitzu. Wu gifted him a kite, which now makes a nostalgic return, caught in the pink blossoms of the Old Town tree. “This is my favourite tree that I’ve ever designed,” says Lee, hinting that another Morro-related detail lies hidden among its roots.
3. Jack the Rabbit Bedtime Book
Lee’s favourite detail in the entire set dates back to season 1, when Master Wu read young Lloyd a bedtime story called Jack the Rabbit. Nearly forgotten, the book now reappears as a nod to NINJAGO’s earliest moments. “This is a relic no one probably expected,” says Lee.
4. Master Wu’s “Horse” Carriage
“This is a really deep reference,” warns Lee. In the pilot episodes, Master Wu calls for his carriage. But with no horses in sight, Wu makes the ninjas pull him along as part of their training. The scene is memorialised in a blueprint found inside The Old Town’s carpenter’s shop.
5. Dr Saunders’ Cryptic Signpost
Spoiler alert: That friendly museum curator, Dr Saunders, was secretly the older Time Twin Krux all along. A clue to his secret identity can be found on the museum banner on The Old Town tower, where the decals on either side of the museum graphic are in fact the deconstructed logo from the Time Twins’ hoods.
And that’s just the beginning, Lee says. “I really hope that in this one anniversary set people will feel they have a complete celebration of NINJAGO.”
The Old Town is both a tribute to celebrating 15 years of Spinjitzu and a reminder of what has always defined the theme: endless room for creativity.