Review: 7195 Ambush in Cairo

[Inconspicuous]

Welcome to my review of 7195 Ambush in Cairo, still warm from the Academy Oven! Svelte already did an excellent review, but I wanted to share my opinion as well. In fact, I dedicate this review to him because his early Indy reviews were what attracted me to Eurobricks!

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Crashing through the streets of Cairo, our hero Indiana Jones searches for Marion who has been captured by thugs. Dodging carts and market stalls, he finally catches sight of the abductors. But will an ominous swordsman bring his quest to an end? Decide for yourself!

BASIC INFORMATION:

Set Name: Ambush in Cairo

Set Number: 7195

Number of Pieces: 79

Minifigs: 4

Price: 10.99 USD, 12.99 CAD, 19.99 AUD, 13.99 EUR, 9.79 GBP

Theme: Indiana Jones

Subtheme: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Year Released: 2009

RESOURCES:

Brickset

Peeron

Bricklink

Brickshelf

THE REVIEW:

BOX:

Front:

The box art displays a scene where Indy is dueling the Swordsman and Marion is hiding from the thug. The picture shows all the pieces of the set clearly.

Top Edge:

The top edge shows the four minifigures that come with this set. The pictures are smaller than actual size, because of the small box.

Side:

The side shows a real-size Indy because it wouldn't fit on the top.

Back:

The back shows another scene. This one isn't too different from the front, but shows everything from a slightly different angle.

Box:: Thoughts: Fine box art, plenty of details on the sides, and a decent box size. It serves its function well.

Contents:

Out come the contents! Only about half the box was filled.

Sorted:

Just instructions and two bags. No DSS or Lego Club Ads.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Front:

Exactly the same as the box art. The fold is not necessary and makes keeping them open a pain.

Front Pages:

The minifig page and the start of the instructions. Yes, the first step is to put the Tommy gun in the barrel.

Random Page:

A random page where the cart is being built. A nice "burnt parchment" background is used throughout the booklet.

Parts Inventory:

The parts inventory. I was under the impression they sorted it by color though.

Ad:

An ad for the rest of the 2009 Indy sets. A review of one will be heading your way soon.

Back:

And the back. They changed one of the sets that you can enter win to the AAT. I've filled out the survey for every set ever since.

Instructions:: Thoughts: Fine backgrounds and no unclear steps. Folded manuals still bug me, though

PIECES:

The Two Bags:

Only two bags with no sub-bags. Nothing too fancy.

Pieces (unsorted):

And they're open! Lots of nice yellow, tan, and purple.

Pieces (sorted):

The pieces in all of their Cairo goodness. I just love the colors.

Un-assembled Minifigs:

The components of the minifigs. They make up a good chunk of this set.

Color Comparison:

The skin color for the Swordsman and the Thug is not quite Ugha and not quite Jones. I have personally never seen this color before, although it has appeared in other sets.

Pieces:: Thoughts: Excellent variety and colors. Who can resist a tan barrel?

MINIFIGS:

Cairo Swordsman:

Great printing and details. The Fantasy Era sword kind of kills it for me though. The turban piece isn't new but hasn't seen the light for a while.

Cairo Thug:

Finally, the Ninja headpiece is back! Great printing as well. Do I sense a theme remake?

Unmasked:

Underneath is the same head from Venice Canal Chase.

Marion:

Now featuring a silver frying pan. More new printing, and the expected double-sided head.

Indy:

This right here is my favorite part of the set. I just love the Cairo Indy torso. I'm just plain tired of getting the same torso over and over again. It definitely gives the impression of sweat which adds to the set because it is a chase scene in the hot Cairo sun. It's just one piece but it makes all the difference.

Group Photo:

And a group photo. Lovely printing on all of them!

Minifigs:: Thoughts: This is one of the high-points of the set. 4 superb minifigs with great printing is just fantastic for a small set.

THE BUILD:

Stall Build:

The market stall is built in 9 steps, pictured at 3 step intervals. No interesting techniques are used. You could practically build it using the box art.

Cart Build:

The cart also takes 9 steps, and uses a slightly interesting technique for the sides of the cart.

Extra Pieces:

Just two pieces leftover. Extra guns are always useful.

Build:: Thoughts: Quick and easy. No revolutionary techniques used. For a set mainly focused on minifigs, this is expected.

COMPLETED PRODUCT:

The whole set:

And the finished product! Lovely minifigs, nice cart, nice stall, lots of accessories, and a tan barrel. A match made in heaven.

Random Scene:

The set also offers great playability with plenty of hiding spots and Indy can even take Marion on a hay-cart ride.

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Now for those Totals!

Design: 9/10 The top of the stall looks odd, but everything else is fine.

Parts: 10/10 Nice colors and selection, and a tan barrel! I cannot emphasize that enough! TAN BARREL!!

Build: 8/10 Stall is slightly repetitive, but the cart is fun to build. A very quick build for a $10 set though.

Minifigs: 10/10 Exclusive figures with new prints. This gets a 10 without hesitation.

Playability: 10/10 Two good guys and two bad guys makes playing fun. Throw in a barrel to hide in, a cart, and a stall to crash through, and your score is perfect!

Price: 9/10 Good money value but in my opinion should be $9.99. I still feel it was worth it for the minifigs!

Total: 56/60 A great little parts and minifigs pack that stands strong as a playset as well. Great pieces and colors will delight MOCers everywhere. It's a bit overpriced, but $1 isn't that much. This set is simply a must-have for anyone.

Thanks for reading!

-Inconspicuous

[Luke McAwesome]

Great review, great pics, great set!

I'll probably pick this up if it pops up in my local Wal-Mart, it seems like a good deal.

[Commander Flash]

Nice review the new set. The New torso for out Indy is nice, and a change from the always tedious original. That tan barrel is a good new piece

[prateek]

Great review I might get this if I don't find a Clone BP.

[JCC1004]

Thanks for posting another wonderful review. You're going to make me buy another!!! I'm seeing clear pictures more often. I believe that age is gone.

Edit: With great knighthood comes great posts? I've come very far since December.

Edited August 14, 2009 by JCC1004

[JeffD984]

My buddy picked up three of these and they're just a great, fun set! One thing we did to add a little variety was replace the purple "cloth" of the market stall with the orange roof of the Lego City garbage truck. Same piece, just colored differently.

[Nuju Metru]

This set is awesome, so much cool stuff and great minifigs for such a small price... Also, lots of cool MOCing parts. Thanks for reviewing!

-Nuju Metru

[gondortoast]

this isa good sized set and i love the figs time to start saving

toast

[Derek]

Great review!

Very thourough, you did the set justice! It has become one of my favorite Lego sets, and has some fantastic minfigures. I think the new face for Marion is more realistic and better looking, and the dark flesh color for the darker skinned figures adds a new level of realism to the new Indy sets. I'm hoping for a variety of faces (female too) in this and other colors to make a diverse Lego population...

The Cairo minifig of Indy has become my favorite version of him!

Thanks for sharing!

[Flobnomdob]

Nice review.

WHY must I always read the reviews of sets and want them after they've been discontinued and cost triple quadruple on eBay? It's not fair!!