Unravel The Mystery...Decode The Curse...Crack Open The Sarcophagus With Lego's Egyptian Adventurers "The Lost Tomb"
Written: Sep 27 '06
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Pros: Nicely detailed sarcophagus, excellent sarcophagus, cool mummy.
Cons: Hard to find, sarcophagus need extra special handling.
The Bottom Line: What's hidden inside the tomb? Only the bravest of the Adventurer team will find out the secret of 'The Lost Tomb'!
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| Freak369's Full Review: The Lost Tomb |
When the Lego designers finally started adding some medium sized sets to the Egyptian branch of the Adventurers series, Lego fanatics went crazy for them. For a while it was almost impossible to find them in stores because people were buying them as soon as they were stocked. Sadly, the series was killed off about a year after its debut but three years later parts of the theme were added to the Lego Studio series. The Lost Tomb is an incredible mid sized series that can be added to the Adventurers, Studio, Egyptian or Expedition lines but finding it might be a tough task. Since this is no longer in active production by Lego you are faced with scouring smaller toy store, conventions and auction sites to try and track one down. It isn't impossible to find one but it took me the better part of two years to obtain a set that had all the pieces and was still in the original sealed box. I could have went through the item list and picked up the pieces that I needed to build this set but it just wouldn't have been the same. All in all, having to wait two years to find someone that had a sealed set was more than worth it.
The Lost Tomb
W-O-W! I was really impressed with the stenciled detail on the front part of the tomb entryway. The two cream colored panels that have cartouches on them are pieces that I’ve been trying to track down for several years. The tomb itself is small and measures seven and a half inches wide by three and a half inches deep. If you have extra light gray and blue Lego bricks from other sets you can enlarge the tomb to make it accommodate the sarcophagus. The black sloped tiles on top of the tomb are a nice accent but there aren’t nearly enough to really expand or enlarge it. The earlier sets had stickers that came with them instead of the stenciled hieroglyphics, I bought a ton of the sticker from Baylit [Bricks As You Like Them] so I could put them on different pieces. This would make for a really nice entryway if you are building a larger tomb scene but as a stand alone set, there really isn't a lot to it. If you have extra bricks you can build a back end to it but it isn't necessary.
The one piece that impressed me the most is the small 1x4 flat tile that sits between the two above mentioned cream colors panels. This serves as a warning to all those that enter the tomb that it is cursed. The amount of detail on this small piece is exceptional and rather hard to find. It’s only been featured in five sets – all of which are in the Egyptian Adventurers series. The tile has three small scenes on it – a Lego figure working on the front of the tomb, a figure entering the tomb and being greeted with the mummy and the last is that of the white skeleton head wearing the Lego figures hat. If you are a Lego junkie you know how hard it can be to track down pieces like this so if you are going to try to build or enlarge your tomb scene, start looking for reputable brick brokers and as always, I do suggest Baylit for your brick and building needs.
Desert Caravan
The small but very cool looking vehicle that comes with this set is only big enough to accommodate one Lego figure but if you remove the small pieces that make up the back part of the set, you can have enough room for two. Small textured wheels help it move over sand and obstacles and give it a nice overall look. The yellow headlights and gray grill give it a nice appearance from the front but it looks a little too compact. The small windshield and steering wheel don’t do much for the vehicle but they can be swapped out for better looking pieces if you desire to do so. With a little bit of modification you can change this small caravan into something that will be a real asset to the set. Add a few hinges in the back and you can pull or tow the mummy’s sarcophagus or larger parts of the tomb.
Figures
As much as I hate to say it, the mummy that comes with this set is ugly. There are way too many colors on him to really be able to focus on one thing at any given time. The headdress is made up of yellow and blue stripes, when have you ever seen a mummy with those colors? They should have gone with a straight yellow if they wanted to skimp and not use a metallic gold tone. On the up side the gray face peg is really cool and gives him the 'dead' look. I swapped out the torso and leg pieces for ones that were straight black and he looked a hell of a lot better. I have to assume that the other figure in the set is Sinister Sam but I can't be all that sure about it. Since the set was killed off years ago there isn't a lot of information about the characters in this series. He is a nice looking figure but bears way too much of a resemblance to the guy from the Monopoly set for my taste. Who the hell runs around the desert in a top hat?
Accessories
You get a lot of different tools with this set, mostly stuff that you would find on a treasure hunt or archeological dig. You can never have too many shovels or pick axes and this set has a total of two each in different sizes. Since these are smaller pieces they are prone to getting lost or getting sucked up in the sweeper. Make sure that these are kept away from smaller children because they could very easily be swallowed and cause serious damage. The small wooden crate is always a nice perk; you can use this to store things in, haul treasure or snap it into the back of the vehicle. There isn’t a lid or cover for this piece but in a way that's good, it just means you can shove more stuff in it and if it hangs over the sides … so be it. The red snake can be used for a lot of different things; the one that came with this set was promptly snatched up by one of the brood to use in an Indiana Jones scene.
Instructions
This isn't incredibly hard to build if you follow the step by step illustrations in the instruction booklet. There are separate sections for the vehicle, figures and tomb and I highly suggest that you follow them to the letter before you start making any type of modifications to it. It shouldn't take more than about ten minutes to build everything in the set but if you are new to Lego sets, you might need a little extra time for the tomb because some of the placements of the elements are a little confusing. You can check the sides and back of the box for alternate versions of the tomb and vehicle however there are no step by step instructions provided for them.
Price
When this was in production it had a suggested retail price of $7.99. If it were sold today chances are it would sell for twice that much because of the types of pieces that are in the set. As I said, I spent about two years trying to get my hands on this set before I finally found someone that was advertising it on a Lego fan message board. The cost? $12.00 plus shipping and handling. The most I was prepared to pay for this was twenty dollars so when I say it for almost less than half I was pretty happy. Even with the shipping fee, I got it for less than what I expected. Is it worth it? The cartouche columns, black sloped tiles and black sarcophagus are some of the reasons why this is a nice collectors item but the mummy and hieroglyphic tile are what really make this set worth tracking down. As much as I complain about the colors that were used for the mummy, it is something that you rarely come across.
The Bottom Line
If you are a Lego collector or into Egyptian things, this is a set that you definitely have to try and track down. Your best be to try and find one online is to do a Google search with the name and set number [lego, lost tomb, 2996] to get accurate results. Stick with Lego fan boards or brick vendors that have good feedback to avoid getting ripped off. I was extremely lucky to find this for twelve dollars and I don't feel the least bit embarrassed saying that I completely expected to receive an opened box or a set that was missing pieces because of the low price. Thankfully the person I was dealing with was on the level, we've done a few more deals since I purchased this set and these days he sends me emails of sets that he has to sell before he lists them on the message board.
The Stats
Set Name: The Lost Tomb
Family Set: Adventurers – Egyptian Series
Lego Set: 2996
Number of Pieces: 75
Age Recommendation: 6 - 12
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 10 - 20 minutes
Cost: $ 7.99 [SMRP]
As always, thanks for the visit…
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2006 Freak369
Lego Adventurers sets…
Johnny Thunder, Johnny Thunder And Baby Dino, River Raft, Sam Sinister And Baby T, Dr. Lightning's Car, Island Racer, Research Glider, Egyptian Mummy, Oasis Ambush, Scorpion Tracker, Sphinx Secret Surprise, Jungle Surprise
The Lego Studio series added a few very cool sets in the Adventurers series so be sure to check out the Curse of The Pharaoh and Temple Escape but you better not forget the Oriental Expedition set, Secret of The Tomb. All three of these sets make for great add on's!
Read more about Johnny's adventures in the Lego book The Lost Temple. Want to unlock the secrets of the treasure map? Then grab your Lego Adventurers Pen!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): see review
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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