Lego Adventurers - Dr. Lightning's Car
Written: Sep 07 '02
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Pros: Easy to build, brown carryall crate, Dr. Lightning figure.
Cons: Not much fun as a solo set.
The Bottom Line: Not an essential set, but has some nice elements.
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Systems LEGO Adventures: Dr. Lightning's Car |
The Adventurers series is almost extinct; a few sets are still on the market but most of the exciting, larger sets have been retired. Even so, the small mini series that features Dr. Lightning’s Car, Sinister Sam and Baby T [5914], Mike's Swamp Boat [5912] and Johnny Thunder's Plane [5911] can still be found at smaller toys like KB Toys and non-chain stores. These inexpensive sets can be combined to enhance replay value and to ‘test the waters’ to see if a child would be interested in the Adventurers series.
This set can easily be combined the Studio or Jungle series if you already have any sets from those series. Overall this set is “nice” but doesn’t contain any pieces that can’t be found elsewhere. Be sure to look for these on clearance at stores like Big Lots, if for nothing else than the cool brown crates and tools.
The Vehicle
Made up of only fifteen pieces, Dr. Lightning’s vehicle is small, functional and even has a cool little crate attached to the back. The vehicle is very basic and easy to assemble so this would be a great set for those just getting into building Lego sets. The red 2x8 flat plate serves as the base for the car and since this is one solid piece you won’t have to worry about it falling apart if it is under heavy use. At first glance this might look like the Island Racer [set 5920] because of the gray front section and red accents but Dr. Lightning’s vehicle is much smaller, has less detail and has no front grill or headlights. Perfect for hauling around the experiments the doctor is doing on the island or even the occasional baby dinosaur, this vehicle makes a great addition to the Adventurers series.
Dr. Lightning
Dr. Lightning is a highly stenciled figure that makes a great addition to the series. From his white helmet to his bright red bowtie – he looks like he’s ready for anything! His face features a full white beard, small mouth and stenciled glasses. His torso has red suspenders, red bow tie and a white button down shirt. It’s a little strange that he would have light green legs – it really makes it look more like a holiday figure and one from this series. I opted to switch his legs for black ones I had on hand. Overall the figure is nice and is available in a ton of sets from the series so you should have no trouble finding him.
Accessories
Included with this set are two tools – a shovel and an axe. These can be used by Dr. Lightning or stored in the brown crate. The crate can be used as a stand-alone piece or attached to the back of the vehicle. I found it almost impossible to have the figure carry or even drag the crate so this is more for a background effect than a functional piece. If you have other Adventurers sets and other figures you can play around with them and have one figure on either end of the crate. This takes a little while to get the positioning right but it is possible to carry the crate if you use two figures.
About The Name ….
The Lego website has this listed as Dr. Kilroy’s Car not Dr. Lightning’s Car. The Lego representative I spoke with said that the European version of the set had the set labeled as Dr. Kilroy’s Car since he was featured in the series overseas. The sets are identical, have all the same elements, instructions and box photos, the only thing different is the name. If you are looking for this set at the Lego website, type in the set number [5913] into the search engine to see if it has been restocked.
Instructions
The instruction booklet for this set is small but covers the building of the vehicle and Dr. Lightning with nice detail. The first section of the booklet features the construction and the second part has a small comic strip – something that is present in almost every Adventurers set. Since this is a small set it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes total to assemble it, making it a great ser for those just getting into Lego’s or crossing over from the Duplo series.
The Bottom Line
I wouldn’t consider this an essential set since almost all the pieces can be found in other sets within the series. If you are a collector of the Adventurers series then picking this up is a necessity to complete the series but not a necessary set to have to complete the play scene. Make sure you check out the box for alternative building designs, while there are no printed instructions for these designs, they are easy enough to assemble by looking at the pictures.
If you are near small toy stores like KB Toys, check out their Lego section to see if they have a display of this set and others in the series. From time to time they receive shipments from their warehouses and put them on sale to simply get them out of the store and free up display space.
The Stats
Set Name: Dr. Lightning’s Car
Family Set: Adventurers / Dinosaur Island
Lego Set: 5913
Number of Pieces: 20
Age Recommendation: 6 - 12
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 10 minutes
Cost: $ 2.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2002 Freak369
Other reviews of interest:
Johnny Thunder & Baby Dino
http://www.epinions.com/content_34172145284
Sinister Sam & Baby T
http://www.epinions.com/content_52843548292
Island Racer
http://www.epinions.com/content_70503992964
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $2.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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