Embark On The Adventure of A Lifetime With Lego’s “Oasis Ambush”!
Written: Apr 14 '05
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Pros: Awesome sphinx, cool sarcophagus, skeleton, stenciled hieroglyphics.
Cons: No longer made!!!
The Bottom Line: If you liked the Orient Expedition series then you are going to flip when you discover the Adventurers / Egypt line!
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO - Oasis Ambush |
One of my all time favorite series from Lego was the Egypt one. This was the precursor to the modern Orient Expedition line only it was marketed under the Adventurers series. The whole series had a great flow to it and you could combined the elements in so many different ways that your head would spin. The brood have always had a deep love of Egyptian culture so when I had the chance to order a lot of the sets from this series, I didn’t waste a minute whipping out the credit card. I had several of the Oasis Ambush sets but they had all seen better days and the pieces were scattered all over the place. When the set first hit the shelves it cost about eight bucks but if you try to find it now chances are you will get it at a complete steal or pay through the nose. It’s no longer in production so some places will try to rake you over the coals while others will be happy just to get rid of their overstock. This is where it really pays to shop around and check prices but I do have to say this, it is a completely awesome set so if you find it for less then ten dollars, be sure to snatch it up!
Lego Adventurers Oasis Ambush
In a lot of ways this reminds me of the Orient Expedition Secret of the Tomb because of the trap door element. In this set it’s more of a hidden chamber but you can easily convert it into a hiding spot or booby trap if you want. Resting on top of the main chamber is a very nice looking sphinx, this doesn’t look exactly like the ones that you see in Egypt but hey, you are working with Lego elements here so don’t expect a faithful duplication. Even so, it is a good likeness and something that really adds a lot of character and charm to the set. This rests on top of the trap or secret door to the chamber; it can be lifted by hand or by attaching the plastic chain to it. If you have extra Lego pieces you can build a small hook to attach the chain to or have one of the figures hold the chain to open it. You can stash all kind of goodies inside it – the four gold coins, scorpion, map piece – what ever you like. If you have other Egypt sets you can fit one of the top pieces of the sarcophagus into it but it isn’t big enough to fit the entire case into.
Sometimes it’s the extras that really help to define a set; in this case the treasure [gold coins], weapons [shotgun, pistol, spear] and foliage really help to give this small set a lot of visual appeal. You only get one scorpion but if you want more you can check Lego fan sites or brick brokers to buy them for about .30 cents a piece, a small price to pay for a deadly little creature. The small tree that comes with it looks great with this set as well as others in the Egypt series and for once collectors weren’t given some useless thin thing – this thing has a thick trunk and full leaves. The set is easy to build and the instructions walk you through all the facets of building the set. You can build this in five to ten minutes if you have some Lego building experience and a little longer for those just starting out. This set hit the shelves in 1998 and was discontinued in late 1999, early 2000 so they are pretty much impossible to find in retail stores unless they deal with older Lego sets.
The Figures
You get three figures with this set; the ultra cool skeleton, the explorer [presumably Johnny thunder] and that silly guy in the top hat. This was always a reason for debate amongst Lego collectors; who was he, why was he included in the sets and what was his true purpose? There was a small comic book type story included with the series but it didn’t really tie in with the whole Adventurers theme so you had to sort of fill in the story holes. Without a doubt the skeleton is my favorite, can you really have too many skeletons in your collection? All three of the figures have their redeeming qualities but I have to admit, the hat was always swiped and used in Monopoly games when that particular piece went missing. There is a sarcophagus head piece included in the set and this can be used inside the tomb or on the skeleton, it’s all up to you.
The Hieroglyphics
Hummm, one of the most interesting parts of the set are the pieces that are stenciled with the very unique Lego hieroglyphs; these combine elements from standard Egyptian hieroglyphics and Lego images to form a very cool Lego language. Some of these sets came with the images already stenciled onto the pieces and others required that you affix a sticker to the piece. Luckily all the sets that I have purchased [so far that is] have been ones that have had the images stenciled on. I coated them with some sealer to protect them, something you may want to do if you decide to invest in this set.
The Bottom Line
If you are someone that likes the Orient Expedition theme or were a fan of the Adventurers series then this is a great set to try and track down. It is a lot of fun to build, doesn’t take up a lot of space and you do get a lot of unique pieces with it. You can easily combine it with other series from the main series as well as the Egypt line and when they are all connected it makes for one hell of an impressive set up. I have no doubt that eventually I will get my hands on each and every set in this mini series regardless of the price, the kids really like using the unique pieces to make their own Egyptian scenes and they are great for their ongoing Stargate project. Outside of the “Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins” set, this one ranks as one of my favorite from the series!
The Stats
Set Name: Oasis Ambush
Family Set: : Adventurers / Egypt
Lego Set: 5983
Number of Pieces:
Age Recommendation: 7 and older
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 5 - 10 minutes
Cost: $ 9.00
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
Related Adventurer set reviews …
Johnny Thunder
Johnny Thunder and Baby Dino
River Raft
Sam Sinister And Baby T
Dr. Lightning's Car
Adventurers Lego Pen
Jungle Surprise
Island Racer
Research Glider
Egyptian Mummy
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): see review
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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