Master Chen's Ferry: A Ninjago Take on the LEGO Ideas Steamboat

Steamboats are amazing; can we all just agree on that for starters? Pretty much any time a steamboat shows up in a movie, TV show, or cartoon, it instantly steals the show and becomes the most memorable thing you take away from the film.

Enter the LEGO Ideas 21356 River Steamboat. It is beyond a doubt a gorgeous display piece in its own right that would look good anywhere, but it also is an amazing starting point for anyone looking to build other LEGO steamboats—at least that was the very first thought that the MOC-er in me had when I first laid eyes on the set! The sight of that beautiful red paddle wheel had my cogs turning at once, and I knew I had to get this set and turn it into my favorite steamboat ever…

We’ll dive into some of the parts, techniques, and assemblies that not only make this an enjoyable set to build, but that also were pivotal in determining how exactly I was going to fulfill a long-time dream of my own—recreating Master Chen’s ferry from Ninjago!

if you remember anything from lego ninjago season 4, I’ll bet it’s this!

Swimming With the Fishes

But before we get to that, it seems only appropriate that I first prove my other statement, namely, that this steamboat set would look amazing anywhere—and the pond in Grandpa’s backyard (which may have previously featured in a BrickNerd article!) is as wonderful as anywhere else.

This time there was no underwater photography involved (thankfully, though there was a slight chance of some minifigures getting wet…), but a friend and I grabbed our cameras and had a bit of fun photographing some appropriate minifigures getting aboard the river steamboat while some real goldfish took a peep at our shenanigans.

And no review of this set would be complete without a mention of the super satisfying paddle wheel function, so here’s a quick video tour for you as well!

Master Chen’s Noodle Ferry

And now on to business! After a good long time, I was able to convert this beautiful steamboat into one inspired by the Ninjago TV show! Here’s the end result, but come along and I’ll walk you through the entire process.

That’s one huge box! Check out the two steamboats (almost!) side by side

The first obvious difference between the two steamboats is the color scheme—out went all the classic white and tan, and I scrounged up all the teal I could get ahold of, along with a black hull and a bunch of red accents to match that beautiful wheel from the show. I actually ended up making the wheel wider to fit the new custom hull I’d put together, which sank it lower into the water and unfortunately made including the function from the set impractical. But hopefully the results of my efforts to match the look from Ninjago were worth it!

The colors for the second story were a bit harder to settle on because they look very different across the artwork and scenes from the show, but I eventually settled on dark blue and nougat—and I’m glad I did, because, mmmMM, those colors are delicious!

Then I grabbed all the Elemental Masters from the tournament that I could get a hold of, and voilà!

Here’s a quick look at the different parts and techniques I “borrowed” from the steamboat set; plus, of course, the big red paddle wheel! The lamp and bottle builds were so satisfying, I just had to include them in the ferry. And then of course we’ve got that big steam stack that is a must on a ship like this, and I borrowed heavily from the official ferryboat’s one as well. I also made the railing out of the strings included in the set. And number of the set’s stickers managed to sneak on board here and there, see if you can spot them all!

I do have to say, fastening the string for the Ideas River Steamboat set was certainly a lot easier than doing all the loops and knots I ended up having to finagle before finishing Master Chen’s one! If you want a crash course in how to prioritize simplicity over complexity, I recommend checking out at how the string is threaded in the set, haha!

Master Chen’s Ferry

And here’s the final thing! A UCS Master Chen’s Ferry from Ninjago!

View fullsize
View fullsize

For the sail, I actually managed to create it with real™ LEGO paper, using, amusingly enough, the recyclable paper wrapping that the sails from Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship come wrapped in. So everything’s 100% LEGO on this set revamp; nothing to see here, purists!

Speaking of satisfying, I have to say these photo edits are some of my favorites ever—which is definitely good because I spent way too long on them!

Some Extra Nerdiness

As a quick aside, here’s a question for the nerds among us: how many of the Elemental Masters from the Tournament of Elements were cameos from non-Ninjago themes?

And, when was the roster of Elemental Masters from the season finally completed in minifigure form? Let us know in the comments if you have the answers! (If you’ve tried collecting them, I’m sure you do!)

Only One Can Remain

Yes, it’s true—in my case, my LEGO Ideas 21356 River Steamboat succumbed to Master Chen’s imperious need for noodles (or to his need to ferry Elemental Masters over for his secret fighting ring), but we’d love to hear what your favorite steamboat is and to see your version of it!

In the end, converting the River Steamboat into Master Chen’s ferry reminded me just how flexible and inviting this steamboat set really is. It’s a solid build on its own, but it also gives you plenty of room to customize, experiment, and recreate your favorite ships from across LEGO themes. If you’ve been thinking about trying your own steamboat makeover—or even building something completely different, this may be the set you have been waiting for.

LEGO Ideas 21356 LEGO Ideas River Steamboat is available for around $330 US | $430 CA | €330 EU | £290 UK | $500 AU.

DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

What is your favorite steamboat ever? Have you ever seen a set and instantly been inspired to turn it into something else? Let us know in the comments section below!

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