30537 Merchant Avatar Jay LEGO Review - Series, 2020

Simple build; excellent aesthetic.

TL;DR:

• Original Price:  $4.99
• Pieces: 47
• Minifigure(s): Merchant Jay
• Sticker Sheet: No
  
• Pros: interesting parts & part usage, looks great
• Cons: small set

Assembly: 

 Leftover Pieces

• Interesting Techniques:
• The use of corner and straight panels to make a sort of bento box for the cart's body is a neat technique. While none of its contents are anchored down, I know that's not always necessary. Colorwise, I think it might have worked better if the smallest compartment were black and the largest light grey, but since we put the bright-colored fish in the black section it still works out ok.

• I really like the use of a paint roller for the lantern's arm. It's a small detail, but on such a tiny set it carries a lot of weight, design-wise, and is an elegant choice. 

• Interesting Pieces:
• The weapons pack in trans-neon green is fun, and fills Jay's cart quite nicely. It's been available in several other colors, but this particular color seems to be exclusive to the Ninjago: Prime Empire sets.

• Pain Points:
• The only downside of the set is that Jay's conical hat leaves his rear face clearly visible.

• Overall:  Coming from the 12th season of the original Ninjago series, this set shows some of what Jay was up to when he was stuck inside the video game Prime Empire. The dragon clasps on his torso look really nice, especially with the silver printing, and it's good to get so many trans-neon green weapon parts. It's a small set, but this is a great example of a good polybag: a few interesting or unusual parts, a minifigure that looks good (though Brick Economy says it's exclusive, that just means this particular combination of minifigure parts & accessories is unique; the torso itself was in twelve sets and five minifigures) and might be hard to get without buying more expensive sets, and an overall good look to the final build. It's simple, and could easily be replicated with parts you already have, but unexpected techniques—like the paint roller lantern and bento box cart—elevate it and make even this simple little set a good learning experience.

Score (out of 5 🧱):

• Price: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
• Process: 🧱🧱🧱
• Presentation: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
• Play: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
• Pieces: 🧱🧱🧱🧱

• Total: 🧱🧱🧱🧱

Lego Instructions: here