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Indiana Jones Reviewed
by Joe Meno
A new LEGO theme that was announced in 2007 was the Indiana Jones series of movies. The first wave of sets came out in the US at the start of 2008 and BrickJournal has some reviews!
 | Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase Set # 7620 Figures: Indiana Jones, Henry Jones, Soldier Parts: 79 Instructions: 1 book Stickers: None Price: 9.99 USD |
The minifigures are nicely done. Indiana Jones is probably one of the best minifigures produced, thanks to the accessories he has. He alone has three new parts: his fedora, whip, and satchel. He’s also flesh-colored, which makes the figure more realistic (I say that loosely), even if the color is not the traditional yellow skin color. (As a point of policy, the LEGO Group uses flesh-colored minifigures for licensed properties, like movie properties. Indiana Jones, Batman, Harry Potter, Star Wars and now Speed Racer are LEGO licensed properties.) One thing I do wish could have been included would be a suitcase instead of a map for Henry Jones (in the Last Crusade, he always had the satchel). On the other hand, the pith helmet is a good substitute for Henry’s hat.
The building is pretty easy and has a bit of cleverness. The motorcycle and sidecar are a nice simple build, and the finished model is scaled to the figures, which has been tough to do. The crossing gate is a simple build but includes a nice surprise: new box pieces. These 2x2x2 brown boxes, or crates, are a cool new piece that will fit in very well, as crates on ships’ loading docks, as cargo on trains, and even in a KeithLUG diorama. : )
The good:
Minifigure assortment
Play possibilities
Fast build
The bad:
Not much to do beyond chase on motorcycles
Overall rating: A good collector set, not so good as a construction set. Great introduction to Indiana Jones LEGO sets at a good price.
 | Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb Set # 7621 Figures: Indiana Jones, Marion Ravenwood, Skeleton Parts: 277 Instructions: 1 book Stickers: Yes Price: 19.99 USD |
This set is loosely based on the Well of Souls scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. For those unfamiliar with the movie, this is where the Ark of the Covenant is found, and later where Indy and Marion are trapped.
As a playset, this has some great functionality. The overall model itself is a semi complete room, and there are some traps and escapes worked in. Over the center altar, there is an overhead compartment that ‘drops’ snakes. At the front, there are two statues that fall backward through breakaway walls. All of these are activated by the builder, and are cleverly done. A very nice touch is a skeleton hanging behind one of the walls. When the wall breaks away, the skeleton swings into sight.
The center altar is the resting place of the Ark, which is also included in the set but not spotlighted. The model itself is built to scale to the minifigures, so there was not much room detailing that could be done.
Another detail that won’t be missed by the Indiana Jones fans is the inclusion of a sticker that has hieroglyphics of C-3PO and R2-D2. This is not based on the licensing of both Star Wars and Indiana Jones by the LEGO Group, but by an actual hieroglyphic that was in the Map Room in Raiders. In an area that wasn’t seen by the camera, there was a hieroglyphic that was done of the Star Wars characters. This is a really cool tip of the hat to the fans of the movies.
The number of minifigures is the only shortcoming of the set — there’s only two. One is of Indy (of course) and the other is of Marion Ravenwood. She is in her satin gown and looks a bit odd – her figure needs to be trimmed, I think. With the Ark included, it would have been logical to have Sallah in the set. After all, it wasn’t Indy and Marion that moved out the Ark, it was Indy and Sallah.
I really enjoyed building this set, as it has a couple of surprises in building, and as a result, it brought back memories of building sets when I was younger. At its price point, it’s a great value, and for me, this is the best set of the theme.
The good:
Fun building experience
Play possibilities for set
Price
The bad:
Too few minifigs
Overall rating: The coolest set overall with something for both the collector and the builder.
 | Race for the Stolen Treasure |
This set is based on the truck chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Indy commandeers a horse and hijacks the truck carrying the Ark. In the movie, this is one of the great truck chases on film, and with the set, builders can play out the chase…sort of.
For starters, the Ark was substituted with a more generic treasure. It’s a little odd to have Indy chasing after gems and gold, as he goes after archaeological items. The number of vehicles in the chase set were reduced too – in the movie, there is one motorcycle, and also the lead car, with Belloq (Indy’s nemesis). While it’s understandable that the number of vehicles had to be cut down, the lack of the lead car (which is a nice roadster type car) really hurts the set. Another factor is that the part count is actually lower than the Lost Tomb set, which costs less!
With all the negatives above, you might think that I really didn’t like the set. That’s not true. There are some nice building techniques in the vehicles – the truck and jeep are probably the most realistic-looking vehicles in a LEGO set to come out. I was just disappointed that there wasn’t more.
The building, as a result, is probably the most complex in this set. Both the truck and jeep are made up of many plates, so they have a high level of detail. The truck has places where minifigures can hold on that match to the movie (Indy can hold onto the front grille and go under the truck) and the jeep has a machine gun that can be swiveled.
The minifigs are good too – the generic soldiers have some variety, and the detail on the printed torsos is great. There’s a driver to both the truck and jeep and one gunner. Indy gets a horse. Really.
So this set is fine, but could have been so much more. What’s good is that this set will no doubt be used to make many jeeps and trucks…which isn’t a bad thing at all.
The good:
Cool truck and jeep models
Good play possibilities
The bad:
No Ark?
No lead vehicle?
No Belloq?
Overall rating: This is the weakest of the sets – not because of what’s in it, but what’s not! But if you want a great looking jeep and truck….
 | Temple Escape Set # 7623 Figures: Indiana Jones, Belloq, Jock (the biplane pilot), Satipo, two skeletons Parts: 554 Instructions: 2 books Stickers: Yes Price: 59.99 USD |
There are four minifigures in this set: Indy, Belloq, Jock, and Satipo. This is a good selection, as all of these were part of the scene in the movie. Jock has a fishing pole and a snake, just like the movie. It’s nice to have Belloq in a set too, as he was Indy’s main competitor/nemesis in Raiders.
There is also a custom piece for the idol, which is a faithful reproduction of the movie prop. With the model of the tomb (which can be described as a set of traps on a path) there is also a model of a biplane for Jock. One cool detail can be found on the biplane stickers – the call letters to the plane are OB-CPO (which were on the real plane), a tip of the hat to the Star Wars films.
The traps are pretty neat, but the best two traps are the idol trap, where removing the idol causes its altar wall to fall over, and the boulder, where a release sends a wall down and the boulder rolling away!.
Building was pretty easy — the set is somewhat modular – separate parts of the tomb are built then added to make one large model. The setup of how each part is built is interesting, as it seems to go in increasing difficulty from the front of the tomb to the altar.
In terms of playsets, this is the best Indy set out of the group – this has the feel of an Indy movie with the tomb, and it’s a complete environment, which lends itself to many play possibilities. For collectors, this will have a lot of appeal because of the idol and of Belloq.
The good:
Many pieces
Fun traps
Good minifig assortment
The bad:
Boulder trap is a bit cramped – needs more space to roll.
Where are the natives?
A little expensive
Overall rating: A nice set that creates a very good Indiana Jones play environment. Very playable with the traps!
So what set would I recommend? I originally thought that the Motorcycle Chase set would be the one that I would want the most because of the minifigures, but it turns out that I really enjoyed building the Lost Tomb because it reminded me of the fun of the movie and the fun of building. Who could ask for more?
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