Random set of the day: Elephant Caravan
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 7414 Elephant Caravan, released in 2003. It's one of 20 Adventurers sets produced that year. It contains 86 pieces and 3 minifigs, and its retail price was US$20/£14.99.
It's owned by 2491 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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33 comments on this article
Any set with a moulded System elephant is cool in my book. Add to that it’s the only set with that turban in red and some neat minifigures and you have one nifty set.
I love everything about the elephant. It's one of my ideal Lego animals, with the right mix of recognizable elephantness, system connectivity, and blockiness. The trunk/tail is still regularly used!
dang, that elephant for $20!! what a deal!
Lego elephant.
LEGO ELEPHANT!
This was a day-one purchase for me.
hashtag:bringbackmodularanimals ?
I haven't gotten any of the big single-molded body animals, I've only ever known 2000 Dinosaurs bodies and I think they're lovely. The only real downside in my opinion are that the legs were always combined, but I feel there could have been a way to rectify that had the parts continued just a little longer. There's also just a certain LEGO aesthetic to them while the newer animals really just feel like toys from a different brand that's been put in the box. Keep in mind that I do say this without ever really having much experience with the newer style stuff that's essentially really been around since 2005's Dino Attack, but look at that Elephant. It has special elements for the head and ears and the end of its trunk, and I want to say even the ears are potentially not that specialized and even came in something else before or perhaps after, regardless they were repurposed, and everything else on the Elephant is just a recolor of parts designed back for the 2000 Dinosaurs line, whose parts bled over into not only Orient Expedition, but also Harry Potter, Star Wars, Studios, Alpha Team, and we still use the medium tail and tip pieces, and even the trunk piece to this day in various themes. It's a shame that the bodies never stuck around past 2005 because they were great for larger animals from Carnivores to Herbivores to even Sea Monsters.
Oh well, I guess this is a true sign that I am becoming an old man because I'm reminiscing over the days of overly specialized parts that still managed to be useful in multiple circumstances as I grumble how the younger kids of today just won't understand...
This was such a good set and an awesome sub-theme for Adventurers, albeit their last.
“Where’s my elephant!?”
Bring back Adventurers while we’re at it.
Adventurers was such a great theme, I love the between-the-wars era and the different locations.
People whinge about doing different countries and what not well Adventurers had Egypt, the Amazon rainforest, India, Nepal and China. All cool locations!
Plus great animals, characters and vehicles such as the hot air balloon, zepplin, river steamer and RE.8 aircraft in a desert set I forget the name of.
Personally I really dont see why Lego cant bring back adventurers with updated parts and prints, they remade Johnny Thunder and he looked good (the original was better but Oh well). There are so many opportunities for locations and cultures, and new animals of course! Personally Id like to see another desert one, perhaps a safari one and a return to Nepal. A new Orient Expedition would be popular I think as a way to include Indian culture as well as Chinese/Japanese without having to be based around ninjas all the time...
The elephant looks awesome btw.
I'm so glad I completed my collection of non-polybag/promo India and China Orient Expedition sets. Hard to believe I have both of what are now among the most sought-after LEGO elephants of all time.
NO ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!
In the spirit of what inspired that statement, I absolutely will not explain what it's about. It's nothing against elephants, though.
@PurpleDave said:
"NO ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!
In the spirit of what inspired that statement, I absolutely will not explain what it's about. It's nothing against elephants, though."
I can relate.
Sadly I stopped collecting LEGO after 2000, and the gap 2001-2003 was long enough to miss this subtheme entirely.
I always really wanted this set as a kid, still haven't gotten my hands on it
The best theme of that period!
The only element that remains in my collection from this set is that neat fabric blanket!
Elephant, turban, pith helmet, top hat, and a cool car that's not too big.
Total win!!!
I remember being in Toys-R-Us in December 2002 and being amazed at the selection – from 2000 sets that were somehow still on the shelves to 2003 sets that I'd never seen before. And out of all of them, this is the one I brought home that day.
@DavidBrick said:
" @extremepayne said:
"dang, that elephant for $20!! what a deal! "
And the theme was always on clearance so $10! Just like LEGO sold 5 cypress trees for $5, $1 each. Now worth a lot more than that."
Just like I regret not getting 10k bitcoin ten years ago. I could have bought every single Lego set and the space to go with it, without my wife even complaining!
What I love the most about old animals are their neutral eyes. Compare the old shark with new one. The former actually feels like a predator. the latter has brows and a silly expression, I can't stand it.
Why LEGO has never re-used the Elephant mold in other sets past Orient Expedition is beyond me. Any set that included it would have sold like hot cakes.
@extremepayne said:
"dang, that elephant for $20!! what a deal! "
Not dang, dung!
Adventurers will always have a special place in my heart as my single favorite theme. Never had any of the India Orient Expedition sets, but this beauty has been on my wanted list for a very long time now.
Great set to have interesting adventures with. Just not sure whip is politically correct unless that is to keep away Highwayman, as the sword is not much use high up on an elephant. Only concern I have is that the attachment for the cart is way too high up, so the elephant always has to stand on its two back feet which cannot be healthy or lift the cart off the ground when on all fours.
I was out of the Lego game by the late 90s, so I totally missed this theme. Didn't even know the pieces used for the trunk and tail originated with this elephant, but that's a nice bit of trivia. If I hadn't lost my interest in Lego at that point in time, I definitely would've bough this one. Now I'm like: holy crap, Lego made an elephant? Everything here is good, especially for its day.
Definitely one of my most wanted. I’ll get it one of these days!
The first Orient Expedition set I got! :D
My original intent was to collect all the OE sets that had new characters in... which essentially meant this one for Babloo, then the three big sets of the range. Naturally, as an 11-year-old kid at the time, I quickly lost interest in actually *saving up* what seemed, at the time, a very large amount of money and kinda gave up after the Scorpion Palace.
In any case, this was a pretty nice set! The car was nothing special, just standard Adventurers Car fare, but the elephant was spectacular :D
@ambr said:
"Only concern I have is that the attachment for the cart is way too high up, so the elephant always has to stand on its two back feet which cannot be healthy or lift the cart off the ground when on all fours."
No, it worked fine on all fours ^^ The cart would be tilted backwards a bit, certainly; but because the the cart 'handles' only attached to the elephant via the fabric blanket piece, it was flexible, so the cart's wheels and the elephant's feet could all be firmly on the ground, and just the fabric would crease to compensate for that ^^
This must be the regular Lego set with most animal mould mass vs the rest of the set ever made ;)
If we ever get a updated elephant mould I am sure it will come in a set that cost over 150$ and to buy it loose will cost more than this set cost back in the day..
I had/have this one! Always exciting when that happens with a Random Set of the Day.
This set was one of my white whales.
I eventually snagged it, minus the cart, the car, and the Pippin and Lord Sam Sinister figures for $50 on Ebay. Was worth it in my opinion because the elephant is just that gorgeous, as is the cloth piece.
Genuinely disappointed that this is not Edward Elephant’s caravan.
Own this set since childhood, some really cool pieces there.
But really LEGO, did you really have to include a whip? Toys should not promote animal cruelty. Seriously - do you expect the kids to have the figures whip the elephant to make it run faster? Even as 10yo this bothered me.
If this was done today they probably would have put a carrot at the end of the whip - to show they don't mean kids to beat him but to lure him towards food which is much, much better.
You know, this just might be the most perfect LEGO set in existence. It's got everything: a nice number of varied minifigs, a cool, memorable, unique creature, a very well-made car (it genuinely looks great even by today's build standards), and plenty of accessories. So many unique pieces, too (like that blanket!). I'm so glad I've kept mine intact after all these years.
@ThatBionicleGuy said:
"...as an 11-year-old kid at the time..."
11 in 2003! I feel old :~P. I started collecting minifigures and moulded animals in the early ‘90s when I was already well into adulthood. As a result, I was able to obtain the moulded elephant and other animals before their prices went through the roof. The elephant from this set is about £50 now in new condition according to Bricklink. Great as it is, I wouldn’t fork out that much for it. Here’s hoping that LEGO produces many more large moulded animals in the near future.
Ok, fine, I'll explain the thing about the elephants. You see, it all started when...