Review: 5918 Scorpion Tracker

[Tom Bricks]

Now replaced by Indiana Jones, the former Adventurers line held a treasure trove of characters and exotic locations. Released in 1998, the the first line brought us Johnny Thunder and his friends (and enemies) in the deserts of Egypt. In this same year, Thunder's car on his expeditions was released, 5918 Scorpion Tracker. This little car/jeep included many accessories and, true to it's name, two of the new scorpions. I love this little set and currently own two of them, as they are a great addition to any collection. I no longer have the box or instructions for this the so the images provided in these parts of the review are from Peeron, and Brickset.

Name: Scorpion Tracker

Set: 5918

Theme: Adventurers, Desert

Year: 1998

Pieces: 31

Minifigs: 1

Price: USD $4.00

Bricklink

Peeron

Brickset

The Box

The box is typical for the Adventurers line including the logo on the upper right corner. It also says that the set contains 34 pieces, contrary to Bricklink, Peeron, and my own count.

The Front of the Instructions

The Instructions do not tell the builder of the Adventurers theme however even though it contains the same image as the front of the box.

Minifig from the Front

The only minifig included in this set is the famous Johnny Thunder, probably one of the most easily recognisable Lego figures of the 90's. The Adventurers line brought the idea of each set being part of a story, much like the first pirate line, back to Lego and because of this Thunder has quite a lengthy biography. He is from Australia, is an archaeologist, and just like Indiana Jones is never without his hat. He sports his typical kaki shirt and red bandanna with a handgun tucked into his belt. He is also called Sam Grant in some parts of the world. To his right is one of the new scorpions. I do like this animal but it would have been better had its claws been able to hold things, much like the Lego crabs.

The Minifig from the Back

The back of the figure which is pretty much nothing. You can however see the back of the scorpion in this shot.

The Build

Certainly not a very complicated build but from here that the only thing supporting the 4x8 plate (that supports everything else) is a 2x2 black plate. This doesn't do much for the overall look of the car as made obvious when viewing the car from the side.

More of the Build

Even though this set is rather small there are some interesting pieces. Easily visible here is the tan 2x1, 45 degree double slope, a great piece to have even though its not very rare. Also shown is the lovely windshield piece that in my opinion works very well here.

Interesting Part

Shown here is the vehicle base that was common in the adventurers theme, and recently reintroduced in tan in 7682 Shanghai Chase. For some reason it includes what looks like a radio in between the seats even though it gets covered by a printed tile. I know some people like doors in their sets but I like this part more as it allows for two minifigs to ride side by side.

The Car

The complete car is shown here without any of the distracting accessories. I think the grille piece on the front of the car works well here and is great for MOCing older cars.

The Front View of the Car

Looks great from the front and this the best angle to view the set from. No real bumper to speak of but the black tile is fine on such a small car. For some reason from this angle the car looks happy and because the headlights look like eyes and the wheel almost looks like a raised eyebrow the car has a personality.

The Side of the Car

From the side the car looks rather odd as there are two random holes in the side. This to me is the biggest flaw in an otherwise well designed set. it is obviously quickly fixed though and without these holes looks much better.

The Back View of the Car

The back is certainly the worst angle to view this car from as there is really nothing to see. I would have liked for a printed licence plate to go here. I do however like the use of the crate as the back as it is a good place to store the loads of accessories included in the set.

Accessories

This is one thing that TLC did well in the 90's as it usually gave the minifigs more weapons and tools than they could hold. To help him Johnny Thunder has enlisted the help of his scorpion friends. The pickax, rifle, shovel, binoculars, and map (not shown in picture) really add to the playability of this set.

Overall

The overall look of this set is rather stunning and the car is a great addition to the Adventurers theme. The two scorpions included are also usefull because this was a cheap way to get the (new at the time) scorpions.

Overall Rating

Minifig: 8/10 Johnny Thunder is great and unlike his modern counterpart Indy he was not in every set.

Parts: 10/10 Great part selection for a low price with wheels, tools, weapons, a map, and car parts. What more could you ask for?

Price: 9/10 For only $4 this was a great pickup, I wish TLC's $4 sets where this good now.

Playability: 9/10 You can do just about anything with this set, explore, dig for treasure, run over scorpions, the possibilities are endless.

Overall: 9/10 I used to love this set as a kid so maybe I'm biased but how could you not like this set?

Sadly Johnny Thunder and the entire Adventurers line met it's end with the arrival of Indiana Jones. It was in fact more violent than most had suspected.

[just2good]

Nice review.

I like this little set! And I want that map.... The cars cute....

I wish they brought back Adventures...... That was one of the best themes.

[posades]

I actually got this set way back when and remember loving it; worth the price of admission for sure. And great review too Tom Bricks!

[LEGOMAN132]

Very nice reveiw. I like that last picture it great.

[WhiteFang]

Nice review! This is one of the nice vehicle which the Adventurers set offer. It's simple design, along with many useful accessories, such as printed map, rifles, spade and etc. The windscreen feature is my fave part as it allows the builder to adjust up or down.

[Stauder]

I love this set. This is the oldest set I remember receving, all them years ago. Brings back lots of memory's of a great lost theme.

If you see this set for a reasonable price, I highly reccomend it.

Stauder.

[Alldarker]

Good review of a good set!

I have had a interest in the Lego Adventurers line, as shown by my recent review of the Temple of Anubis. In recent times I have been mostly buying the large sets in the Adventurers line like the 5988 Temple of Anubis, the 5986 Amazon Ancient Ruins, the 5976 River Expedition and the 7419 Dragon Fortress. Most of these contain a vehicle just like this one. The design of these vehicles is usually excellent for the size of the set, especially the fact that two figs can sit side by side.

You could argue that comparing Lego Adventurers to Indiana Jones is like comparing Megabloks to Lego, but that would not do the Adventurers any justice. The sets were usually very well designed, had a freedom of design beyond the strictly licenced borders of the Indy movies and were often playset-based.

Like many others, I hope Lego is able to restart the Adventures theme once the Indy theme is done (although there might then be legal obstacles to such a comparable theme).

[the Inventor]

Nice review, I also have two of those little jeeps. What is nice, but sadly we won't see this theme back because of Indiana Jones.

It was my first Adventurers set, and I loved that you could fit two minifigs in.

Small price, great set.

the Inventor

[alex12]

I loved the adventurers theme and this little set.

Who knows when Lego have finished with Indiana Jones ( not yet i hope ) maybe we will see a return from this awesome theme.

[AwesomeStar]

This was my first ever set. Hehe, I remember my Dad building it for me.

Thanks for the review of a set I'll always love!

~A.S.

[UsernameMDM]

Got this little set and love it. I kind of wish JT would come back when IJ has ran its course. Wonder who would win in a race between the Scorpion tracker and the Island Racer (<-- my fav Adventurers vehicle).

[WesternOutlaw]

This was my first Desert Adventurers set that I bought two of (one for me, and one as a gift). It came out around the time or a little before the movie, Mummy.

I really think this is a fantastic introduction to the Desert Adventurers theme. It has Johnny Thunder as our favorite Adventurer hero, scorpions, and extra gear - a perfect combination for a small set. I wished I picked up a few more when available back in the day.

Thanks for the review. It's always great to see reviews of fantastic little sets like this one.

EDIT: I like how you pictured it with the sand piece from the new pirate collection. I used the piece in my Indy Desert Adventure Diorama as well.

[Captain Blackmoor]

This is still one of my favorite cars, I believe this is my first robust car. I wasn't really fond of the racing verhicles and so on. This set is very simply designed, yet very handy and I'm still happy with the window and the tan "sitting area" brick.

Thanks for the review!

[prof1515]

You omitted noting the best feature of this set, one which made it worth purchasing. This was the only set of the original Adventurers (Desert) line to feature a windshield without the dust and bullet hole printing and one of the few wide release sets to do so (it was released primarily in bucket sets and again the next year in the Air Zeppelin and others but never again in such an inexpensive widely-released set).

It was also the smallest general-release set to contain the Anubis map, second smallest behind the Kabaya mummy one.

Edited June 17, 2009 by prof1515

[streifen]

Great review!!

i bought this set too back then. nice little car that can take 2 minifigs comfortably with a storage at the back.

[Dannylonglegs]

I think another one of the hilights of this set is the black binoculars, those babies have come in handy so many times

I loved the old adventurers thems, and it's a shame that indie, cool though he may be has taken the theme from jhonny.

[samthelegoman1]

Great set! I miss Adventurers!

[prof1515]

It also says that the set contains 34 pieces, contrary to Bricklink, Peeron, and my own count.

That's because until recently Lego packaged the head and body of a mini-figure assembled together and therefore considered them to be one piece.