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A great review of a great set! I got one on sale for the equivalent of $40
US ($60 Cdn).
I can't wait to get paid and buy a few more so I can get working on a big
Adventure project -- and now that I think about it, having another one of
those beige hot air balloon pieces would make a fantastic Indiana
Jones-style boulder. :)
--
Paul Davidson, aka Tinman
http://theForce.net
"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful
than you can possibly imagine."
Bruce Schlickbernd <corsair@schlickbernd.org> wrote in message
news:FL3vno.2Aq@lugnet.com...
> An 8! OoooooOOOoooo! Got this one for my son at $50 from TRU. A great • set.
>
> Bruce
>
>
> In lugnet.reviews, Joseph Gonzalez writes:
> > The dark temple of Set lays nestled in an overlooked hollow of the valley • of
> > Karnak. Desecrated by thieves some thousand years before Christ, • something
> was
> > awakened during the break-in. Since that time any vegetation within a • 50-mile
> > radius refuses to grow. Oases dried up, water disappeared, and it is • even
> > rumored that the very sand burns the unprotected feet of mortals who • dare to
> > venture too close. The few travelers that have stumbled upon it and • returned
> > to tell the tale say that an otherworldly moan emits from the temple • orifice.
> > Furthermore, the outside of temple has taken on the visage of an unknown
> > pharaoh and at the darkest of midnight the very eyes of that countenance • can
> be
> > seen to glow.
> >
> > It's been awhile since I got excited about a brand new theme but the • release
> of
> > Adventurers in 1998 really did it for me. I loved the Pharaoh's • Forbidden
> > Ruins set at first sight but it would take almost a year and a half to • finally
> > be able to afford it. I often buy new sets and let them sit on the shelf • for
> > just a bit before I open and assemble them but the 5988 demanded to be • opened
> > immediately! It's big, it has lots of people and there are just enough
> > vehicles and pieces that once I was finished with assembly I didn't have • to
> > wrestle with my kids to get equal playtime with it, there was something • for
> > everybody.
> > The set is comprised of the tomb a truck and a hot air balloon. The • truck is
> a
> > six-wheeled vehicle with an open bed. The cab has a hinged roof but it • looks
> > kind of goofy because the windshield sits low on the hood and there is a • large
> > space between that and the roof. I give the designers a "B" for effort • because
> > a truck fits in well with the other vehicles of the theme but it needed • just a
> > little more design time to look good.
> > The balloon, on the other hand, was a nice, unexpected touch. The basket • fits
> > three or four figures. On the floor there is a hot air tank with a hose • that
> > connects to the bottom of the balloon. There's even a lever that looks • like a
> > valve (nice realism). Netting stretches over the top of the balloon and • there
> > are a few sandbags hanging on the sides of the basket.
> > Ah, but the tomb is the masterpiece of the set. The front of the tomb is • so
> > designed that it looks like a real face with fangs and glowing eyes. (The • Tyco
> > company did this a decade earlier with one of their more notable castle • sets.)
> > There is an "eternal flame" burning just to the left of the entrance • (the
> > instructions show the flame piece laying horizontally, what's up with • that?)
> > and a standing obelisk. The entrance has no doorway but opens immediately • to a
> > short corridor. Each wall of the corridor is made up of a skeleton • standing
> > between two columns. A halberd hangs just behind the last column on the • left
> > side (that trap will be explained in a minute). A chamber lies behind • each
> > wall of the corridor. The chamber on the right is empty while the • instructions
> > suggest placing a sarcophagus in the room on the left. The sarcophagus • has a
> > blue bottom with a preprinted tan lid. A ladder hanging over the right • chamber
> > leads to the second level. This level features two trap doors. One door • opens
> > to drop whoever is standing on top of it to the floor below. The second
> > trapdoor is located directly above the entrance corridor. This second • door is
> > loaded with bricks so that as it opens it drops the bricks on whoever is
> > walking around downstairs (KerSplatt!). Also, a chain is attached from • the
> > bottom of this second trapdoor to the hanging halberd so that as the door • opens
> > the halberd drops. If the travelers make it this far, there is a black
> > treasure chest at the far end of the second level.
> > This is only the front half of the tomb. There is a second "rear" half. • Each
> > of the halves is erected on a 16x32 tan baseplate and the plates can be • placed
> > adjacently (to make a complete tomb) or separated as distinct stages. • The
> > second half depicts a ceremonial area. There are columns on each side of • the
> > area with two jackal statues and a revoling door panel making up the rear • wall.
> > A dark grey crocodile forms a table near each lateral wall. A scroll, • black
> > chalice and some other transparent vial sits on each table. Between the • crocs
> > is an altar based on two scorpions facing each other (nice imagery here). • The
> > altar is hinged and sits at an angle like a low podium. Behind this • altar is
> > the rear wall with a revolving panel. One side of the panel is blank or • can
> > have a standing skeleton and the other side has a magnetic base. While • it
> > isn't specifically pictured in the instructions, I believe a bell jar • with a
> > gem is supposed to sit on the leaning altar. When the revolving door is • turned
> > so that the "magnetic" side faces out, the base comes just close enough • to the
> > altar that the jar jumps from the altar to the door (and out of the reach • of
> > the adventurers). The door would be spun once again to show the blank • wall
> and
> > your adventurers are left wondering what happened to their treasure.
> > This set includes everybody from the 1998 lineup: the pilot, standard
> > adventurer guy, pith helmet girl, pith helmet professor, monocle bad guy, • black
> > hat bad guy, mummy and three skeletons. Of course, there are plenty of
> > supplies: rifles, picks, shovels, etc., plus lots of creatures: dark grey
> > birds, dark grey bat, snakes, scorpions.
> > There also many unique pieces including the dark grey car cab, large tan • dome
> > top and bottom elements (for the balloon), eight red 3x3 diagonal beam • bricks,
> > four of the new large sloping wall elements (two prepainted, two not), • two tan
> > colored rock/wall pieces, lots of tan wood-shaped pieces (1x2 and 1x4), a • dark
> > grey sarcophagus lid, two grey alligators, and the black treasure chest.
> > There are a lot of great aspects to this set and the fact that I've seen • them
> > on sale for as low as $65.00 lately makes it well worth a discount price.
> >
> > !!!4x2ReVu Stats!!!
> > Rating: Eight out of eight studs.
> > Thumbs up for: A great stand-alone set. Lots of figures, lots of • individual
> > assemblies to keep yourself (or a small group) busy with.
> > Wallet-Wise: 710 pieces for approximately $80.00 (though that price has • been
> > seen to drop considerably for clearance by late 1999).
> > Date: 10/29/1999
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