Thread by @Toothdominoes

Thanks so much for the positive response to the #Ninjago summer sets for this year! I was lucky enough to get to design 2 sets for this wave. Here is a thread on the development of the Hydro Bounty.

This is the first model I developed mostly from home during the pandemic so I have less fully build pictures as I was mostly tinkering with the model instead of building new versions from the ground up.

There was an older sketch model by Theo Bonner, that explored the aesthetic and concept. I took it from here and was tasked to make it into a submarine version of the Bounty, then named the Sword of the Sea. I did some sketches to start off with to explore the shape and features.

A lot of development time was spent figuring out the structure and how to build something that was elegant but could also house 2 of the smaller submarines. Additionally, a bounty needs a transformation feature on the back.

I explored several accent colors but ended up going for the simple but elegant black and white. I really wanted to include the dark tan shields unprinted and found a cool turbine build that I liked.

The door construction proved to be a real pickle as we needed something that could open wide enough to let the subs pass through but also be strong enough. My friend Milan Madge was facing a similar problem with his shuttle, so I stole his solution and turn it transparent blue.

I really liked the idea of a mech being the figurehead of the ship and explored a lot of different transformations to make it integrate well with the bigger submarine.

I came up with a neat mechanism to fold out the fins on the turbines. The final model includes a string mechanism that allows you to unfold both sides by pulling the rear facing cannons on the Bounty.

Because we knew Wu would be left on the surface, I really liked the idea of him calling in remotely on a television with legs. That idea turned into the Wu Bots. (Or Tea-Vee as I have seen him be called <3) Thanks for reading this thread! Hope it was insightful.