Classic LEGO Sets: Adventurers
Posted by Huw,
One of the great things about this series of articles on classic LEGO sets is that it's inspired so many people to contribute to it. Today Brickset member SprinkleOtter, aka Allan, writes about Adventurers sets:
In this article, we will be taking a look at one of my all-time favourite themes: Adventurers. Why Adventurers, and not a more mainstream theme, you may ask? The answer is simple: Adventurers was always doing something completely new, be it mummy or blimp storage cases that could be part of set, moulded dinosaurs, or a board game that used the very sets and minifigures that it came with in the gameplay- and that's just what it did with parts.
Theme-wise Adventurers was also original, with a cast of minifigures ranging from explorers, archaeologists, evil barons, and henchmen that stayed more or less the same (though name changes were all too common...), you could have adventures in almost any part of the world, from the tombs of Egypt, to the Amazon jungle, to the peaks of the Himalayas, or even the mythical Dino Island. Perhaps the most iconic part of Adventurers is the theme's main character himself- Johnny Thunder (also, peculiarly, known as "Joe Freeman" and "Sam Grant"), an Indiana Jones-esqe character who has appeared not only in the Adventurers theme, but in LEGO Studios, LEGOLand promotional sets, and even The LEGO Movie, along with a considerable number of video games.
Adventurers was an outstanding theme with a great legacy, possibly opening the door for Indiana Jones sets, and providing the inspiration for the Pharaoh’s Quest and Dino themes (Josh Thunder even appeared in Dino!). If you missed some of the sets or even the whole theme the first time around, keep reading to see which ones you should consider adding to your collection!
Promotional: 1278/5903 Johnny Thunder and Baby T
Adventurers had a shocking number of promotional and "spotlight" (my term for a set built around a minifigure) sets, ranging from child-sized buggies to impossibly small airplanes, rafts, and jungle scenes, but the one that really stood out was Jones and Baby Tyranno.
This set caught my attention for four reasons, not the least of which being the hint at how Johnny Thunder is similar to Indiana Jones. Another major reason I find this set to be better than the others is it is actually realistic (I wouldn't want to be hauling it around a hot jungle all day, but...), and not a coin-operated child's ride.
Johnny's cart also comes with everything an explorer might need on their adventure, and the baby T. Rex provides lots of play options, especially if you own a full-sized T. Rex to be its protective mother. Unfortunately, there aren't any listings for this set on eBay at the moment, but there have been several sold for decent amounts in the recent past, so my advice is to be patient. ;) Or, if you want, this set would be ideal for part sourcing.
Vehicle: 5955 All Terrain Trapper
The All Terrain Trapper beat its competition for this slot by sheer quirkiness and playability. Combining both a car and a boat into one vehicle (which is the first of its kind to do so, and there has only been one other car boat in a LEGO set- 7625, in the Indiana Jones line), designed for trapping dinos with its launchable net.
The set also includes a separate trap, camp, and two dinos, for hours of captivating play. A whole cast of baddies are included too, to operate their car boat and trap. I would have liked to have seen a water-dwelling dinosaur in this set to make full use of the boat function of the trapper, but I suppose the two included dinos are sufficient.
Flying vehicle: 5928 Bi-Wing Baron
Because there are so many planes, hot air balloons, and gliders in this theme, I have decided to give them their own category. With so many original models to choose from, it was difficult to select a single set, but I ended up choosing one that fits really well with the theme and its intended pilot, Baron von Barron.
If I'm not mistaken, this is the first minifigure-scale Biplane to be produced by LEGO, and Adventurers had several more models like it. The Bi-Wing Baron is a very swooshable model, and is armed with twin rifles for shooting down (or missing, knowing Barron...) Johnny's hot air balloon. The level of detail in this model (particularly the engine) is spectacular, though I think a window piece would work better between the wings, like later models have.
Small adventure set: 5936 Spider's Secret
The perfect starter set for someone getting into the theme, Spider's Secret could be its own self-contained adventure, or could lead into other sets. Both Pippin Reed and Senor Palomar are included in this set, providing both a good character and a bad character to compete for the ruins and/or map.
Inside the ruins, behind the web, is the Spider's secret- a booby-trapped idol of some sort, that apparently another minifigure tried, unsuccessfully, to reach in the past. Along with the ruins and figures is the staple of Adventurers- a buggy (a rather good-looking one too). Also in the set are a lot of extras like a camera, fire, knives, scorpion, and snake.
Medium adventure set: 5958 Mummy's Tomb
The model I picked for the medium category is one that I think embodies the whole theme, and if I could only have one Adventurers set, it would be this one. Mummy's Tomb has everything that is great about Adventurers, including traps, a tomb, secret rooms, a mummy, a small buggy, the main good and bad guys, and everything you need to start your adventure.
Another great thing about this set is that the excitement starts before you even open the box- the front panel of the box opens to reveal a sort of map, with elements of the set such as the mummy and sarcophagus cover visible through clear plastic.
Large adventure set: 5976 River Expedition
Competition for the Large Set slot boiled down to a choice between the Scorpion Palace and the River Expedition (neither the T-Rex transport or Sphinx Secret Surprise struck me as good value, though my decision on the Sphinx might have been biased by how I always got stuck on those tents in LEGO Racers... :P). Ultimately, I chose the River Expedition, because it felt like it offered two sets in one, and boasted seven minifigures and a monkey.
The ruins part of this set is well designed, with the mountain looking like the face of a big cat of some sort, and the mouth actually being the opening of a cave or tunnel. To one side of the tunnel is a large palm tree, a camp and dock, though the villains' boat is nowhere to be seen. On the opposite side of the mountain is a rather obvious trap, though one that is still effective, and the humorously-named Rudo Villano can fall for it again and again without it getting old. Achu (now the designers are just having fun...) is included with the set, and makes a good guardian of the treasure in the cave.
The steam ship could be a set by itself, and would fit right in with other City, or possibly Pirate vessels. Though not overly large, the ship makes good use of the space available, and contains a galley/research room, a smokestack, control deck, mast, equipment barrel, and plenty of room to place the three minifigures.
Extra large location: 7419 Dragon Fortress
One of my favourite sets, Dragon Fortress boasts nine whole minifigures (no skeletons here!), and at 732-pieces, is the largest Adventurers set. The Dragon Fortress could easily be appropriated into a Ninja or Samurai stronghold or, with a little imagination, a fortress for your Knights minifigures.
Dragon Fortress is, as the name suggests, an imposing, three-level fortress, built into a mountain or hill. As can be expected, dragons are the main theme of the fortress, with dragon banners and symbols everywhere. A catapult, twin crossbows, and two rock-slides provide defence of the fortress, and a trap door positioned in the upper level can give intruders quite a fall (unfortunately, otherwise, Dragon fortress is entirely lacking traps...).
I find the trio of fireworks outside the fortress to be a wonderful tie-in with Chinese culture, and it really helps make the model seem more realistic. In the back of the fortress, there is a doorway, inside which is the Guardian minifigure and two keys, with a wall behind him. To the sides of the fortress are two gatehouses (which can be "unlocked" by the keys), each containing a Technic gear. Turning the gears will unlock the back doorway, allowing you to slide it out, revealing the Golden Dragon beneath the fortress.
Though the dragon's body had appeared several times before in Fright Knights, the gold printing, headpiece, and ruby wings were all original. One way I must commend the Golden Dragon is for his durability: I have had mine ever since the theme came out, and he shows almost no sign of wear. While the wing clips look very chunky and easy to break, they are not, and mine have withstood innumerable attachments and detachments.
Dragon Fortress contains all of the main characters of Orient Expedition, as well as Jing Lee, Chang Wu, two guards, and the Stone Guardian which together, make for hours of stories with the Dragon Fortress. Johnny Thunder's gang also has a well-build half-track, with suspension of a sort on the back wheels.
Unfortunately, all new-in-box Dragon Fortresses are currently listed for over four times their original price, though used ones can be picked up for much more reasonable prices.
Want to buy the sets mentioned in this article?
Many are listed on eBay at the moment, both used and MISB. The links below show available lots at eBay.com.
- 1278 Jones and Baby Tyranno
- 5903 Johnny Thunder and Baby T.
- 5955 All Terrain Trapper
- 5928 Bi-Wing Baron
- 5936 Spider's Secret
- 5958 Mummy's Tomb
- 5976 River Expedition
- 7419 Dragon Fortress
The commission we receive when you buy or bid at eBay via links at Brickset directly contributes to the running and upkeep of the site.
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45 comments on this article
I still think the Indian palace should be here. I am fortunate to have found lots of these sets on fleamarkets. But never the Indian palace with the elephant. Also the ballon set is great.
The early Adventurers sets came out during my mid-teens dark ages (where I still liked Lego, but I wasn't collecting a lot of sets) ... and I remember absolutely loving the theme. You're right. The thing that appealed to me about Adventurers was that it was a line of sets we really hadn't seen before. And there was a lot of variety between the different sub-themes, and a lot of really interesting pieces and great sets.
All the planes were great. My favourite was the larger plane that came with the Dino Island line. That was gorgeous (as was the little car 5920, a set that, like the plane looks just as awesome in a modern-day Lego city). But I loved the little plane from the Amazon too (I don't think I bought 5928. My loss). And yeah. The mummy sets were really cool. I loved the Aztec warrior from the Amazon line. It was so good to finally have some Lego dinosaurs (even if they were single piece animals, but y'know. Dinosaurs!). As for Orient Expedition, not only did we get an elephant, but the cool giant-sized monster minifigs (the Yeti and Tygurah). And the brilliant little junk 7416. Gosh it was a good theme.
Love the reviews!! One thing, Ins't this http://brickset.com/sets/6345-1/Aerial-Acrobats the first set with a minifigure-size biplane ?
i love the bi wing baron, it reminds me of the movie mummy 2 when they are flying in the plane.
they should have used an example of this set when the mummy came out and did a whole theme.
think i might try and scour some of the old ones down.
A very enjoyable article. I am surprised that 5938 Oasis Ambush has been omitted. A great set with treasure not hidden where you would expect it! A pair of these sets either side of a pyramid make for great statues to complete an Egyptian city. Another personal favourite was 7410 Jungle River. Lots of detail and a few animals (snake and crocodile) to add some peril.
@ whitergr
I stand corrected- Bi-Wing Baron isn't the first minifigure- scale biplane. Thanks for letting me know. :)
@ Zordboy.
You mean Island Hopper? Yeah, that one was good, and Island Racer would fit right in with LEGO cars both on the street and racing through Dino-infested jungles. ;) Honestly, I think that the DIno Island dinosaurs were better than anything up until the most recent Dino theme. Though the Dino Attack/Dino 2010 dinos were good for play, they just didn't look right, with the T.Rex having spines on the underside of their tail.
Don't forget Jun-Chi. ;)
That junk certainly wasn't- it's my favorite ship to this day.
@ rivele.
I certainly advise trying to hunt down some of theses sets. :) Perhaps you should start with the All Terrain Trapper to help you with that. :P
So glad you picked Bi-Wing Baron - my first LEGO set ever, and the one that started it all!
@ Haz.
Thanks! :D
Though Oasis Ambush had almost as many features as Spider's Secret, I had to go with the one that, in my opinion, would be a better start in the theme. Though both sets had traps, a similar selection of minifigures, and some gear, Spider's Secret also included a car, and a larger set of ruins that a minifigure could fit inside. Still, Oasis Ambush is great, and the mechanism to open the door is very creative.
Jungle River is one of my favorites, too. The riverboat in that set is the bets boat LEGO has built that small. The crocodile certainly completes the set, and probably makes poor Johnny wish he had brought a bigger boat. :P
I really love these sets! I have the Mummy's Tomb set and my boys still play with it quite a bit. I was really hoping that the recent Pharaoh's Quest would have caught on more and the characters would have had some globetrotting experiences also. PQ has beautiful sets. But the difference between PQ and Adventurers, I think, was the secrets and traps. Those are always a treat for young boys, and PQ had so few of them (just the two most expensive sets). Oasis Ambush and Spider's Secret are two great examples of small sets with lots of clever play value. PQ looked fantastic, but that kind of 'secret' playability just wasn't there.
Ah, Adventurers! I love all of the sub-themes, but I have to agree pride of place goes to the Dragon Fortress. I still have one MISB tucked away in storage, bought several years ago when its price was much more palatable. The amount of clever features in that set is just amazing, especially as the designers seem to have really though about the 'treasure hunt' leading through all the parts of the fortress to collect the keys which finally unlock the basement with the main prize.
I also think 7417: Temple of Mount Everest is likewise a wonderfully designed set which just oozes 'adventure'.
Adventurers was something else, that, sadly, was before my time. I do love those dinosaurs- LEGO has yet to produce another Stegosaurus, and Baby T-Rex hasn't been redone either.
You didn't even mention the famous blimp! THAT was unique. I don't think TLG would do something like that again, sadly.
Oh, you got stuck on those tents, too? My least favorite part of that circuit: Swerving to collect that green in 2nd place and then dead-ended by a tent and dropped to 5th!
Will Bionicle count as classic lego?
@ xDeadpoolx.
I was originally going to have the Scorpion Palace in there, but while it was a 9.8, the other was a 9.9. :P
Yay! My favorite theme.
I'd have used the Island Hopper for the airplane category. It is one of the best planes ever produced. Though the Biwing Baron is a cool set too.
The Dragon Fortress is a wonderful set. Best use of that crappy baseplate ever.
For me, Adventures has and will always be "Orient Expedition". For some reason it was never marketed as a sub-theme of "Adventures" and I only recently discovered some of the earlier sets (though I still prefer the 03 ones by a long shot). I have extremely fond memories of watching the old flash comics back in 2003. Unfortunately, I only managed to get one set (the tiny yet packed 7410 "Jungle River"). Orient Expedition, Knights Kingdom II and the "Deep Freeze" Alpha Team line were the themes of my childhood.
These articles have been fantastic! Please keep them coming. The Adventurer type themes have always been my favorite throughout the years (next to LotR/Hobbit of course ;-) ). But most of the 'original' sets were a little before my time unfortunately.
Thanks for your positive feedback on the articles. I have two more in the pipeline and then will be happy to publish any that any of you would like to write.
7418-1 Scorpion Palace would have been on my list of best Adventurers sets...
I think this is a great theme, but this list is terrible. Frankly I'm disappointed. To start with it has not one, but two Dino Island sets. There are so many great promotional sets in this theme, there tons of better set than 5903. The same thing goes for 5955. 5955? Really? What a junky set. I like 5958, but I think several of the Orient Expedition are better. 5976 better than 5978? No. It's only my opinion, but 5978 is the best set of the whole theme. 5928 and 7419 are both great sets and clearly deserve to be on the list. There's only a passing mention of the storage case sets. Where are they on the list?
As a side note, I'm still working on completing this theme. This is one of the hardest themes to complete because of the number of promotional sets. I'm still looking for some of the Kabaya sets.
All Terrain Trapper was my first ever set. This article gave me such nostalgia...
@ Mr. PicnicBasket.
Well, that's the point of these articles, right? :)
Actually, baby T.Rex have appeared in a few sets since Adventurers, such as the Batcave, or a couple Indiana Jones sets, in grey. :)
I mentioned them, but they didn't deliver quite as much as the others, in my opinion.
YES! those tents were the most annoying part of the game, and hitting one would lose you the race.
@ Floridsword.
Well, that would be up to Huw, I think. If he is up to a Bionicle review/s, I certainly am. :)
@ LegoAthos.
One of mine, too. :)
It was certainly in the running- it just wasn't quite as revolutionary as the others.
Yeah, those baseplates had issues. :P They would make a nice basement for a fort/castle, if you knew how to use it.
@ legomaster1378.
Yeah, Orient Expedition defined the theme for me, and was one of the first themes that I got almost every set of (well, that and Mission Deep Sea).
Well, you got one of the best small sets of the line, so that's nothing to knock. :)
If you want to see the flash comics again, I believe you can watch them here:
http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/files/LEGO/LEGOFlashComics.zip
@ Talcontar.
Thanks! Actually, I think it is Huw we should be thanking, for starting this all. :)
Great article and a great theme. Some of these sets are must haves like the scorpion palace and the dragon fortress, which I do not own but is on my list. The scorpion palace is great and goes well with castle, which is the main theme I collect. I would love to see more adventure sets. How about a Pagoda from Myanmar or Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
While I would not classify Bionicle as 'classic LEGO' I'm certainly happy to publish an article like these about it if someone would like to write one.
My favourite theme and a big part of my coming out(?) of my Dark Ages. Favourite plane for me was in 5909. Closest thing to a Lego SE5A I've seen. The Island Hopper though....a close second. Amazon Ancient Ruins was my first Bricklink purchase. Dragon Fortress definitely top of the tree though. Beautiful model and in total agreement about the fireworks. Still need to get the blimp. One day....
@ Huw.
Ha ha. Scorpion Palace certainly seems to be the fan favorite.
Maybe I should rebuild mine...
@ LusiferSam.
Well, I guess there has to be one of every vine...
Um, do you have something against Dino Island? Because there were 7 slots, and four subthemes, which is about proportional.
I think you misunderstand the point of these articles- they aren't to say that you should by these sets and only these sets, but are supposed to get people thinking about the theme, and to give information on some of the sets, and give a list of the sets that the writer would pick.
Obviously, people are still going to have their favorites.
@ Larsnelson.
Thanks!
Don't we all want more Adventuers sets? They ended the theme, when there was so much left that they hadn't done.
@ Huw.
I can do that. My brother's and my collections combined have about 90% of the Bionicle sets.
It's going to be quite a lengthy article, though. :P
@ kiwishark.
Yeah, Dragon Fortress certainly took first place for this theme. I'm glad someone else felt the same about the fireworks. :)
One thing you didn't really mention in any detail is the number of animals that were released with the Adventurers series. From scorpions and dinosaurs to elephants and yeti. There were all sorts of animals that came out besides the dragon. In fact, most of the animals that were included in this series were never released again. I still want to get both the dark- and light-gray elephants for some part-sourced sets I have, but they cost around $25 or more each!
@larsnelson @huw @sprinkleotter
If you go to the LEGO Customer Service site for instructions, go to Adventurers, and scroll down, you will notice that Pharaoh's Quest sets are actually listed under Adventurers, and have no category of their own. So, it looks like this was meant to be the descendant of the classic sets!
That bi-plane was a great set! I had come out of my dark ages by then, but still had very little interest in anything beyond Space and Technic--but I made an exception for that set! I remember modding it, too, lengthening the wings by 4 studs and offsetting the top wing forward for realism. I think I also removed the flames and the lower-wing guns. Anyway, fun set--still have it assembled, though packed (only so much display area to go around!)
Another great article. This was such a fun theme, the first one that I can think of that made real good use of different functions for traps, secret doors, etc. I saw the Monster Fighters as the spiritual successor to this theme (sad that was a one and done, but that's a different topic.)
Man this takes me back. While I only participated in the first two waves of Adventures before I guess I turned to bionicle, I really enjoyed them. I always loved getting the extra bits for the minifigs the most I think, and you're right, there was always plenty of good accessories.
It makes me so sad that my blimp canister got stepped on my a family member and messed up. That's the exact kind of quirky part I'd use today to make some ridiculous Constraction MOC. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, thank you Allan for writing this and Huw for featuring it. :D
Well there's a can of worms for everyone, I to would be up for writing a bionicle article, I'd focus more on the original wave or at least 01-03 as I think those were the pivotal years that really sparked Bionicle's popularity that it would ride for the next 7 years. And if anything deserves to be in the "classic lego" category amongst the history of lego it would be those first years of Bionicle, and I would say give it another five-ten year, and Hero Factory 2.0 because it's really revolutionized the way Constraction MOCers build.
Thank for the enjoyable reading. Back in 1998, I was ready to quit my Lego-hobby, because there was nothing I would like to buy. Being a Lego City fan I could not buy those juniorized sets that were mad in late 90`s. And the... Johny Thunder came a got me thru this! I loved this theme. I was hoping for more. Many years ago I had an Idea - Johny Thunder and the quest for Atlantis (and Johny Thunder on a way to the moon). When I heard about Lego Atlantis theme - I thought it is really happening! Unfortunately it was not the case. Someone please use this ideas for building some very nice (steampunk kind of) MOCs!
Nice article. Too bad that 5958 had a limited release - I haven't seen it in Europe yet. Anyway I HAVE to get myself that BLIMP!
P.S. Those ruins in 5976 are representing monkey/gorilla face, I think.
Oh yeah, I remember these! I got on board when orient expedition just started and the one set I always wanted was the dragon fortress. Sadly, being a kid a didnt get a lot of big big sets like that, but now that's I different story! XD Thanks for the summery of such a great theme Huw!
Love the Adventurers theme, especially in later years with those unique Asian inspired sets. Can't say I would've chosen most of the above sets to showcase the theme, but to each their own.
@SprinkleOtter
First I didn't mean to sound as negative about your work I did. Thank you for the all hard work, time and effort you put in to this article. These really are great and I do enjoy them.
However I think you're the one that has misunderstood me, not the other way around. I was simply expressing my opinion about the choose of sets to limelight. I feel there are better sets in several of the classes that better reflect the greatness of this theme. It's not about being right or wrong, its only an opinion. And in this case I'm clearly in minority, but that's ok.
Yes, I do have a problem with Dino Island. It's a crappy subtheme. As an overall 2000 was not great for Lego sets. I think they put out a lot of junk that year and Dino Island just one of many problematic subthemes. To me it feels like they took the worst elements of Jurassic Park: The Lost World and rendered them in brick from, and badly. It's licensed theme without the license of a bad movie. Plus I never really have felt the Dino Island fit all that with other Adventurers subthemes. Again it only my opinion, feel free to disagree me.
@ Lusifer.
No, everyone is entitled to their opinion- I won't disagree.
However, I must ask- why are you trying to complete the theme if you think a quarter of it is so bad?