Hotep Has His Revenge Inside The Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins
Written: Apr 08 '07 (Updated Apr 25 '08)
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Pros: One of the most amazing Egyptian sets, nine figures, hieroglyphic tiles, skeletons.
Cons: Incredibly hard to find but well worth the effort.
The Bottom Line: Trap doors, ancient scrolls, mysterious spells and hidden treasure await if you are brave and daring enough to enter ... The Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins ...
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO - Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins |
Ask any Lego Adventure fanatic which sub series was the best and chances are they will say the Egyptian theme. Why was this something that people flipped over? Well, there was a great story behind the creation of it, interesting characters, lots of unique elements and the introduction of the sarcophagus, mummy figure and hieroglyphic tiles. These sets weren't cheap when they were first introduced and some five to eight years later, the price is only going up on them since they are no longer in active production. The brood have always had a deep love and respect of the Egyptian culture and when I started getting these sets I had to lay down some pretty strict rules about how they were handled. I do have to admit, they handled these sets a lot better than I thought they would.
There are three large sets in this series, meaning they have more than 600 pieces and cost over $70.00. If you had even one of these sets and a couple of the smaller ones you could build a huge scene and have a lot of fun with it. At one point in time this set was used to build a Stargate based on the movie and eventual television series. I have to roll my eyes at this part in the review; I was the one that suggested that they try to build a scene from Stargate and I was the fool that said, "It can't be that hard". Have any idea how hard it is to build a round stargate from Lego pieces? Imagine trying to a round peg an pound it into a square hole. I had to enlist the help of some Lego fanatics to get some ideas on how to build the actual gate and even though it took about four hours to build, the end result was well worth it.
Lego Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins 5988
To call this a massive set is an understatement. With over 700 pieces, two buildings, one vehicle and a hot air balloon, you are looking at a really nice bang for your buck. When this was first introduced the price hovered in the eighty dollar range but dropped a little when the sets got the full push from Lego. Now that they are discontinued you can expect to pay anywhere from seventy to a hundred dollars for a set; more if they are mint and in the box. Is it worth it? It all depends on if you are a Lego fanatic or into all things Egyptian. For me this was something that I had to get when it was first introduced; I loved the idea of using it as a teaching tool and the various hieroglyphics on the tiles [both large and small] were fun for the brood to try and decipher. The designers put a lot of thought into this series and in my opinion it is a real shame that sets that are put out today lack this type of style and replay value.
The largest piece in the set is the four tiered forbidden ruin building; this is an open back piece that includes a secret turning door [much like the one featured in the Harry Potter series], secret trap door, beautiful Egyptian tiles and a nice sandstone colored base plate. Now, some of the Lego fans out there might not care about the size or color of a base plate but I do. While I loved the color of this one since it mimics sand, it's too small and limited what you can build from the pieces. There is a small ceremony stand that is separate from the actual temple and I didn't really care for the design of it so I used the pieces to add to the temple to make it a little taller. One thing that I adore about the temple is the white grate that hangs down from the center entrance. Look at it at just the right angle and it looks like a set of teeth ready to come crashing down on whom ever dares to enter.
Building the temple is a true test f patience. It took me about forty five minutes to build just that part of the set because I had a hard time distinguishing the different elements. Try having about 150 of the same color brick in front of you for a half hour and see how bonkers you go. Needless to say, this isn't something that I would suggest for kids or adults that are just getting into Lego sets. If they try this and fail at it, it could really put them off Lego building forever. The hot air balloon is really nice but it wasn't something that I wanted in the scene so I used the dome from it to cover a watering hole we made from other Lego base plates. Never throw them out, even if they get cracked or damaged, you can recycle them, paint them, cut them to a specific size or use them for background. As far as the vehicle is concerned, it is basic but gets the figures from point A to point B without much trouble. This is a little smaller than you think it is going to be based on what it looks like on the box so if you have extra pieces, try to extend the length of it a little before you ad the wheel base to it.
The Egyptian Adventurers Collection
There are more than a few crossover sets in the Adventurer theme; these are sets that are considered generic because they can be combined with any of the Adventurer themes. I was really happy that they added the Orient Expedition to the series a few years ago but they never really gave it the push that it needed to get kids into it. Thankfully I got my hands on a lot of the sets when they were on clearance and was able to use about 30% of them with the Egyptian sets.
5909 - Treasure Raiders
5918 - Scorpion Tracker
5919 - Treasure Tomb
5928 - Bi-Wing Baron
5938 - Oasis Ambush
5958 - Mummy's Tomb
5978 - Sphinx Secret Surprise
5988 - Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins
2996 - The Lost Tomb
1183 - Egyptian Mummy
5381 - Adventurer's Accessories
5988 - Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins
3020 - Raft of Johnse
3021 - King Pharaoh The Third
3022 - Plane of Hurrykain
3023 - Slyboot's Car
Figures
There are nine figures in this set but if you count the skeletons, there are eleven. Sets of this size usually have some awesome figures and this one is no exception. Included are the usual suspects like Johnny Thunder, Sinister Sam and Pippin but you also get Dr. Kilroy, a new adventurer character named Harry, pharaoh drone and of course the star of the set, Hotep. The three skeletons that come with the set are the run of the mill garden variety. They can be used anywhere in the set and let's face it, you can never have too many of them around. One thing we did when we were building a huge Egyptian scene was too elevate some of the sections and building and use sand in between them. Then we took various skeleton parts and had them sticking out of the sand. Needless to say, it was messy but well worth it.
Without a doubt, Hotep is the coolest figure in this set. Not only does he have an awesome headdress but when you have him in the tan sarcophagus, the colors all work great together. One thing that sets this mummy apart from the others is the creepy 'dead' color of his skin. To me this was a really nice touch by the designers and something that makes him a true collectible if you are into Lego figures. Pippin Reed is the one of the few female characters in any of the Lego sets or themes that has a name and is instantly identifiable from other fembots. Her red lipstick and stenciled on pig tails are a dead giveaway that she is cute but make n mistake about it, she is well educated and knows how to use all the weapons and tools that come with this set.
Accessories & Animals
If I've said it once, I will probably say it a million times, accessories are what sometimes make or break a set. There is no denying that this is an incredible set that stands on it's own merits but having a lot of cool things to add to it makes it even nicer. Some of the really awesome things are the animals; scorpions, snakes and bats are a few of the critters you will find in this set but to me, the ultimate is the gray crocodile. Yes, you read that right, a gray croc. 99% of the time you get the standard green one in sets but because this set is all about Egyptian things [mummified that is], the gray one works out a hell of a lot better than a green one. The falcon is another nice animal and thankfully they went with a gray one; some people have said that they got a gray one and a while one but I only got a gray one with mine. If you want to buy more of these, check online for piece resellers. If you are going to go this route I highly suggest Baylit [Bricks As You Like Them], I have dealt with him numerous times and he has never let me down.
When you look at all of the accessories that you get with this, it is a bit overwhelming but given enough time, you will be able to make use of all of them. The movie camera, magnifying glass, gold coins, flags, scepters, gems, map pieces and tools you understand why this set has such a high price attached to it. There's no shortage of tools either. If you are going to go on a dig you better have tools to get the job done; some that come with this set include shovels, pick axes, small hand shovels, crates and a nifty little magnifying glass that really comes in handy for any of the characters to use.
Without a doubt the things that give this set the authentic feel and look of a mummy's tomb are the various stenciled hieroglyphic pieces that appear in the set. There are several long thin column pieces that are used on the front of the tomb as well as some square ones that are featured on the walls. These are not stickers that need to be applied to plain tiles so that is one less thing to worry about having to do when building this. Other sets in the series have blank pieces that come with stickers; these have to be positioned properly the first time or you are going to end up screwing them up. Why the designers decided to change the way they made these in the middle of the series is beyond me but it probably had something to do with money.
The Bottom Line
If I were looking for this set today I would definitely pay a hundred dollars for it if it were still in the box; there are so many cool pieces in it that you could literally double your money selling off the ones that you don't want. When I went to get extra tiled pieces I found that they cost almost three times as much as the blank tiles and stickers. If you are going to buy this set I highly suggest that you seal or clear coat the stenciled pieces to keep them looking great and from peeling, chipping or getting scratched. If you are going to sink a huge chunk of change into a set you might as well take fifteen minutes to protect your investment. There's so much to do with this set but the real fun comes when you use your imagination and combine it with others or use the pieces to make your own scene. I really wish I would have picked up a few more of these when I had the chance but at least I got one of them while the getting was good.
Name: Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins
Theme: Adventurers / Egypt
Set Number: 5988
Pieces: 710
Age Recommendation: 6 and older
Difficulty Level: Hard
Assembly Time: 30 – 60 minutes
Price: $70.00
As always, thanks for the visit ..
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2007 Freak369
Other Lego Adventurer sets
Johnny Thunder, Johnny Thunder and Baby Dino, River Raft, Sam Sinister And Baby T, Dr. Lightning's Car, Adventurers Pen, Jungle Surprise, Island Racer, Research Glider, Amazon Ancient Ruins
Egyptian Hieroglyphics: How To Read And Write Them
The New Book of Pharaohs - The Egyptian Cinderella
The Gods And Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
Egyptology: Search For The Tomb of Osiris
Eqyptian Stained Glass Coloring Book - Egyptian Coloring Book
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 70.00
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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