Dr. Jones, I Presume
Entry posted by xccj
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"Those men are trying to kill us!"
"I know, Dad!"
"Well, this is a new experience for me."
"Happens to me all the time."
Downside of the start of 08: I'm still sick, and I've had a pretty bad sore throat for about a week. I went to the doc. to get it checked out, and it's not strep. So it should run it's course in about a week... you know, right when school starts back up. Ah well, better to be sick on vacation than at school with assignments due.
Upside of 08: I convinced my mom to stop by Target (partially to buy another electric toothbrush... yeah, the old one got jacked with everything else. They really got everything that time!) I decided to, hey, why not look at the Lego section. I'm done with 07... the Barraki were okay, but I've got all of them, I got the Mahri I cared about, and even then I was disappointed, and none of the titans looked too good to me. But, lo and behold, they have 08 sets already there! Of course, I'm drooling over on the Bionicle side, noting with disappointment that Tanma is sold out... as well as all the other Avi-Matoran, leaving only a few shadow Matoran that I wasn't exactly interested in. Then I take a look at the other showcase... Indiana Jones sets. I couldn't help myself... I bought an Indiana Jones system set along with a Bionicle set! Now here's a quick review on it.
Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail, my favorite of the Indy trilogy, and I am physicked to see the forth movie this summer. When I heard Indy was coming to Lego, I thought that was pretty awesome! The game sounds like one I might have to get... it should be even cooler than Star Wars because there'll be sets and characters not yet made into plastic. Of course, I heard the news from BZP, and heard what the four sets this winter were going to be on, but I didn't see the actual set images until I got my Lego catalogue this week. First, I'll comment on some of the other sets, from Raiders of the Lost Arc.
First off, I noticed something in all the set descriptions. Indy's facing a bunch of Nazi stooges, but they're all "guards" in Lego terminology. Hmm... and in both sets that should have the Arc in them, it's just refered to as treasure. Of the four sets, the only other one I might be interested in is the one with the truck... that was an awesome chase scene, but it's too expensive for my taste. The Lost Tomb set is nifty, reminiscent of the old Adventurers sets but canon. They even have C3PO and R2 carved in the back... I remember watching the comentary on the movie and seeing that. Lego sure is funny. 
The Temple Escape set is extensive looking with lots of fun traps and everything... if I were ten years younger, I would be craving that set with a passion. I like the basic construction of the whole thing, from what I can see... and I find it interesting that one of the "statues" is actually an old baby t-rex mold upside-down. All in all, fun to play with, but too expensive to collect.
As to the Motorcycle chase... it was one of the cooler chases in the third movie... second to the tank sequence. Of course, it has two motorcycles... one for Indy and one for the guard. I like the construction of the sidecar for Professor Jones. It's so basic, but effective. Plus, connected in between the side car and motorcycle is Indy's whip! The image of Indy's mini figure for the set shows that he has the whip... but you cannot see it in any of the actual pictures of the set. Well, that's because it's hidden on the back of the side car. 
I really wanted to get the whip, and I was going to be very disappointed if it didn't come with the set, but I was pleasantly surprised instead. More on that later.
The actual motorcycle is kinda lame... just two pieces and wheels. Oh well, more realistic than the tri-wheel Lego motorbike I also have. And the guard's bike, with only two wheels, is very unstable... I actually prefer Indy's bike with the sidecar. They're all fun to chase around. The guard station building is not as cool... I thing those bricks were mostly added to make it a full $10 set. Sure, it's fun to knock off the road blocker with Indy's bike, but I thought it got old. The boxes did come in useful... they were able to hold some of the little extra pieces that came with the set, such as an extra pistol. The pole is nice, but I wish it was easier for Indy to pick it up and joust with it, just like in the movie. Ah well, it wouldn't work anyway, because the "guard" doesn't fly off his bike easily, and Indy can't throw the pole in between the spokes of the wheels. However, if situated right, as seen in the pict/ above, Indy can swing from said pole using his whip. The whip isn't great, because you can't use it to lash out at baddies like you can in the game. But it's not a solid mold... it's flexible and can wrap around stuff. I liked rearranging the pieces in the pict above to let Indy swing into the "guard" and knock him off.
Over all, was it worth it? Well, yeah, I'll say yes. I got an authentic Indiana Jones mini-figure, with the hat, side bag, whip, and pistol. I even got Professor Henry Jones, who is cool in and of himself (better than that Dr. Lightning or Dr. Kilroy from the old Adventurers sets... although it's the same hat. I never liked that style of Lego hat). The motorbike with the side car is excellent... I am sure to bring that back to the dorm to be on display. As sets go, it isn't terribly amazing, but it's not a rip off either. Then again, if you're not into Indiana Jones, then you may want to get something a little more piece heavy.
But for my first system set in many years, I'm glad I picked it up. I also got a Phantoka, but I won't tell you which, because that'll spoil the review for later. I hope to also get some more blogs posted with humorous pictures of some 07 sets. Hey, what better way to start off a new year than by making fun of the last year.
'Night.
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