Ideas for new Adventurers Sets

[Tom Bricks]

With the Indiana Jones theme ending (I believe) In a few years we could be set for anotherAdventurers Line. Where should it take place? What kind of sets would you like? Should new Characters be added or old characters given an updated look?

I would personally like another jungle theme set in South America, with the same cast of characters returning.

[lightningtiger]

Since 'Johnny Thunder' was ment to be an Australian - something in the Australian outback or snowfields of the Australian Alips or rainforests of North Queensland, he could searching for gold or maybe even for the Bunyip - Australia's own Big Foot !

I'm a conformist! !

[Blondie-Wan]

With the Indiana Jones theme ending (I believe)

Noooooo!

Oh, it certainly could be ending, but I really hope not. I do think there's a very real chance it'll return - no guarantee, certainly, but it's got a decent chance, I think. As I understand it, it's going on hiatus simply to make room for Prince of Persia, and I doubt that's a theme they'd keep around for very long even if it's somewhat successful (and certainly I doubt it'll actually be more successful than Indiana Jones already has been). And 2011 will be the 30th anniversary (!!!) of Indy...

we could be set for anotherAdventurers Line. Where should it take place? What kind of sets would you like? Should new Characters be added or old characters given an updated look?

I would personally like another jungle theme set in South America, with the same cast of characters returning.

Now, this is vexing. On the one hand I love and adore Indiana Jones, and want it kept as a LEGO theme for years and years to come, but on the other I also love LEGO's original Adventurers theme, and I certainly wouldn't expect it to come back with Indy around (especially if it's true they're putting Indy on hiatus to make room for the far less similar Prince of Persia). What to do?

One possible solution I've wondered about would be simply combining the two - how about Indy / Adventurers crossover sets? Just imagine - official sets with both Indiana Jones and Johnny Thunder as comrades (or friendly rivals?), teaming up or competing for fortune and glory, while thwarting the nefarious schemes of Lord Sinister and René Belloq. Perhaps they could revisit classic sets from one theme with the characters from the other, or produce all-new sets combining characters from both. I think it would be delightful!

That idea aside... I do imagine TLC will probably never stray too far from some sort of adventure-based theme for too long. If Indy is indeed gone for any significant length of time, I imagine Johnny will return, in one form or another, at least for a little while (and perhaps eventually replaced again with some other adventure theme)...

[def]

I think they would avoid going to somewhere they've already been, unless it becomes a 'Greatest Hits' sort of line, which would be quite fine too.

Alternatives to the Amazon would be the Andes mountains, which weren't done justice in the Indy line, and Central America/Mexico (think the Guatemalan buildings used in Star Wars as Yavin) since they are still discovering ruins there today.

It's hard to beat Egypt, China and India as exotic locales. Persia would be great, but I think someone is doing that So maybe West Africa, like Timbuktu, would be a good replacement for Africa. In Asia, I'd love to see Thai or Malaysian style sets.

There are so many places unexplored.

[Piranha]

Great Topic Idea!

I think that was my first post and wow was I a noob :blush:

Edited February 25, 2010 by Macoco

[lisqr]

Why do they have to go somewhere with people? I think arctic or antarctic will be a good idea. I want to see some steampunk like icebreaker.

[Tom Bricks]

Great Topic Idea!

I think that was my first post and wow was I a noob :blush:

I clearly didn't see that one. I guess someone can merge this then?

I do like the Idea of the Johnny Thunder in the Wild Wet one in there too.

Edited February 25, 2010 by Tom Bricks

[Bricknave]

I'd like to see a revisit to Egypt as a special-addition "bringing back memories" set. Except it would be a completely different adventure, with the treasure being a Pharaoh's crown carved out of 100% Carnelian (which is an orange-colored gem native to Egypt). The Pith Helmets would be completely new molds, that would be more realistic.

As for an adventure story set-line, I have some ideas:

*The Adventurers go to Greece to search for an ancient scroll that belonged to Plato (would be the quest for Atlantis if the Atlantis theme wasn't released already).

*The Adventurers go back to the Himalayas to find Shangri La.

*The Adventurers go to Cambodia to find an ancient [insert name of a wonderful artifact to treasure].

*The Adventurers go to Nubia to find a long-lost [insert name of a wonderful artifact to treasure].

Edited February 25, 2010 by Bricknave

[Athos]

Here are some other discussions of the idea (which I'd shared in Macoco's previously referenced prior thread):

Africa

New Subthemes

Plus all my thoughts and extensive descriptions description of how I'd like to see Adventurers continue.

Steve

[Dr Kilroy]

I really appreciate Shangri La idea. I also would like to see some European Adventurers sets. But I truly want the return of Johnny Thunder and his companions/enemies (especially Dr Kilroy ).

Regards, Dr

___________

My 200st post - yay!

[not-in-use-anymore]

Let's see...Indiana jones did 4 movies:

-Raiders

-Temple of doom

-Last Crusade

-Crystal skull

Adventurers did 3 lines:

-Egypt

-Jungle

-Orient Expedition

-new line coming in 200X about aliens, tree killing foreign machines, and Johnny's son, Randomname Typeofweather

If they do make more, they'll probably be very updated, some things i want are:

-new prints

-the old style windscreen

-maybe a new villian, but I'd like to keep Vivillano and Sam Sinister/Baron-something/Slyboot

-a waterfall set, with hidden cave in back

-other animals(lions/tigers, maybe printed elephants)

-oh, and bring back something similar to the orient expediton sets, with a game.

I've never tried mixing Adventurers with cheese...it could lead to some interesting sets

Edited February 25, 2010 by indianajones

[Etzel]

...

Adventurers did 3 lines:

-Egypt

-Jungle

-Orient Expedition

...

Actually, there were 4 lines. You forgot Dino Island. Possible the weakest of them but it still provided some good parts and minifigs.

I'm all in for a sub-saharan Africa theme, and also for a Australian, Arctic or east European one. Adventurers have so much more potential than IJ and I really hope it will return some day.

[Blondie-Wan]

I'm all in for a sub-saharan Africa theme, and also for a Australian, Arctic or east European one. Adventurers have so much more potential than IJ and I really hope it will return some day.

Oh, I must take strong exception to the first half of your statement! As much potential as Adventurers indisputably has, I can't agree at all that it has more (let alone so much more) than Indiana Jones - in fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of any subthemes or set concepts for Adventurers that couldn't also fit into Indy, but I can think of quite a few Indy ideas that wouldn't fit Adventurers at all.

That said, I do also hope Adventurers will return some day, even though I also want Indy to go on and I know it's profoundly unlikely both would be done at the same time. Adventurers is a great, classic theme, and there's tons of unexplored territory (so to speak) left for it.

[def]

in fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of any subthemes or set concepts for Adventurers that couldn't also fit into Indy, but I can think of quite a few Indy ideas that wouldn't fit Adventurers at all.

Since Indie is pretty much restricted to the films (not popular enough for expanded universe...yet) there are a lot of themes that don't fit Indie. Adventurers is basically Indie with the restrictions from Lucasfilm. That's a lot of freedom.

There seems to be a lot of Adventuers buzz here. Anyone want to start a pool for when the petition gets started?

[Blondie-Wan]

Since Indie is pretty much restricted to the films (not popular enough for expanded universe...yet)

Ah, but you're wrong, there - there's a ton of "expanded universe" material for Indy (actually, the preferred term for this franchise seems to be "expanded adventures," or EA to its sister franchise's EU). There's a slew of novels, comics and games - and what's more, there's a whole television show, which enjoys higher-level canon status. And one of the most prolific and talented Indy MOCers here has already done a number of scenes from the show, many of which could easily work as sets.

there are a lot of themes that don't fit Indie. Adventurers is basically Indie with the restrictions from Lucasfilm. That's a lot of freedom.

I'd say quite the opposite, actually - Indiana Jones (and other themes based on licensed narratives, such as Star Wars) can conceivably fit multiple thematic milieus, while LEGO's own themes are devoted specifically to those ideas (general classic adventure, the Wild West, undersea adventure, etc.). The Indiana Jones series contains material that, if it weren't all tied to the exploits of a particular character but were still done as LEGO sets, would fit into a whole bunch of themes besides Adventurers - there'd be City, Trains, Architecture, Wild West, Castle... even Atlantis and Studios (!). (There's also a whole bunch of Indy lore that LEGO presumably just wouldn't do because of their other policies over the kinds of material they simply stay away from, such as 20th century warfare, though of course the Indy theme has pushed the edges of that already anyway.)

The only obstacle to all this would be the likelihood that TLC would mostly want to stick with the movies, which I do agree is probably the case. That said, they could do an awfully broad, diverse range of things within the Indy theme if they wanted to, which is all I'm saying. They wouldn't even have to make stuff up - just basing sets on existing things in the various Indy movies and shows, books, comics, games, etc., they could do numerous trains, western scenes, adventures on every continent in all sorts of environments, crimefighting, Atlantean ruins, military engagements, countless trap-laden temples and "lost civilizations" and such, beautiful CC-style modular buildings from the world's great cities, action-packed vignettes and tranquil vistas, world-changing moments from 20th-century history, vampires, even dinosaurs.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Blondie-Wan

[ZincSpoon]

Maybe Johnny and the crew could travel to England and have something to do with Stone Henge (lots of oppertunities for street chases)

[EspEth12]

here Seems Indys MIGHT not be ending after all, but you know this is brickipedia.

You can't trust everything you find on there.

Edited February 27, 2010 by EspEth12

[Etzel]

Oh, I must take strong exception to the first half of your statement! As much potential as Adventurers indisputably has, I can't agree at all that it has more (let alone so much more) than Indiana Jones - in fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of any subthemes or set concepts for Adventurers that couldn't also fit into Indy, but I can think of quite a few Indy ideas that wouldn't fit Adventurers at all.

That said, I do also hope Adventurers will return some day, even though I also want Indy to go on and I know it's profoundly unlikely both would be done at the same time. Adventurers is a great, classic theme, and there's tons of unexplored territory (so to speak) left for it.

I was thinking that the Indy movies are only 4, you can't make much more of it than what has been done. Unless they do remakes as SW, but I really hope they don't, that's just artificial respiration of an already dead theme IMO. You wrote as response to def's post that the "expanded universe" of IJ opens up for a lot of new ideas but how many do actually care about the EU stuff? Nothing wrong if you do, but I think the public interest isn't very big outside the original movies. And even with the EU you are still very limited on what you can do because of the characters. Adventurers do have some specific characters but there is nothing that hinders them to be changed if it's required, not something you could do with IJ.

EDIT: @EspEth12

I wouldn't trust Brickipedia when it comes to rumours about LEGO. No official information about the IJ theme ending or not has been released at this point, but since no sets have been seen in the first or second wave of 2010 it's very likely that it has ended. Nothing indicates that it will be back in 2011 unless you take no news as a sign of news of it's return.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Etzel

[EspEth12]

I was thinking that the Indy movies are only 4, you can't make much more of it than what has been done. Unless they do remakes as SW, but I really hope they don't, that's just artificial respiration of an already dead theme IMO. You wrote as response to def's post that the "expanded universe" of IJ opens up for a lot of new ideas but how many do actually care about the EU stuff? Nothing wrong if you do, but I think the public interest isn't very big outside the original movies. And even with the EU you are still very limited on what you can do because of the characters. Adventurers do have some specific characters but there is nothing that hinders them to be changed if it's required, not something you could do with IJ.

EDIT: @EspEth12

I wouldn't trust Brickipedia when it comes to rumours about LEGO. No official information about the IJ theme ending or not has been released at this point, but since no sets have been seen in the first or second wave of 2010 it's very likely that it has ended. Nothing indicates that it will be back in 2011 unless you take no news as a sign of news of it's return.

Yeah, I doubt it too, but you know it COULD be true.

[not-in-use-anymore]

Isn't this ideas for new Adventurers sets, not Indiana Jones sets? I like the Stonehenge idea, but they should bring back the useful parts, like the windsheild. If they do have more, I want to have one last big temple, something like the big jungle one. If Adventurers doesn't return, I'd at least like to see a return of 2+ function traps.

[Blondie-Wan]

I was thinking that the Indy movies are only 4, you can't make much more of it than what has been done. Unless they do remakes as SW, but I really hope they don't, that's just artificial respiration of an already dead theme IMO. You wrote as response to def's post that the "expanded universe" of IJ opens up for a lot of new ideas but how many do actually care about the EU stuff? Nothing wrong if you do, but I think the public interest isn't very big outside the original movies.

Oh, I certaily agree it's not likely, for just the reasons you mention; I was merely commenting on what could be done (as in, what there was some sort of basis for in the existing body of Indy lore). I certainly realize the commercial potential of sets based on the TV series (to say nothing of the books, comics, games, theme park attractions, etc.) is not nearly as great as that of sets based on just the movies, and I therefore agree it's less likely we'll see any actual sets done from those sources as it is we'll see any more from the movies (and even the latter is quite uncertain at the moment). I'm just pointing out there are a lot more stories about Indiana Jones in existence than most people realize, and they cover an awful lot of ground.

[def]

Ah, but you're wrong, there - there's a ton of "expanded universe" material for Indy (actually, the preferred term for this franchise seems to be "expanded adventures," or EA to its sister franchise's EU). There's a slew of novels, comics and games - and what's more, there's a whole television show, which enjoys higher-level canon status. And one of the most prolific and talented Indy MOCers here has already done a number of scenes from the show, many of which could easily work as sets.

I'd say quite the opposite, actually - Indiana Jones (and other themes based on licensed narratives, such as Star Wars) can conceivably fit multiple thematic milieus, while LEGO's own themes are devoted specifically to those ideas (general classic adventure, the Wild West, undersea adventure, etc.). The Indiana Jones series contains material that, if it weren't all tied to the exploits of a particular character but were still done as LEGO sets, would fit into a whole bunch of themes besides Adventurers - there'd be City, Trains, Architecture, Wild West, Castle... even Atlantis and Studios (!). (There's also a whole bunch of Indy lore that LEGO presumably just wouldn't do because of their other policies over the kinds of material they simply stay away from, such as 20th century warfare, though of course the Indy theme has pushed the edges of that already anyway.)

The only obstacle to all this would be the likelihood that TLC would mostly want to stick with the movies, which I do agree is probably the case. That said, they could do an awfully broad, diverse range of things within the Indy theme if they wanted to, which is all I'm saying. They wouldn't even have to make stuff up - just basing sets on existing things in the various Indy movies and shows, books, comics, games, etc., they could do numerous trains, western scenes, adventures on every continent in all sorts of environments, crimefighting, Atlantean ruins, military engagements, countless trap-laden temples and "lost civilizations" and such, beautiful CC-style modular buildings from the world's great cities, action-packed vignettes and tranquil vistas, world-changing moments from 20th-century history, vampires, even dinosaurs.

I don't think you understood my post I explicitly wrote that Indie wasn't popular enough for an expanded universe Lego series, not that one didn't exist. Maybe you think it is, but I don't think so.

Adventurers has already shown it is a series not 100% grounded in reality, seen in the dinosaur series. But, I've seen your avatar, so I know what side of the fence you're on, and I'll leave it at that

[Blondie-Wan]

I don't think you understood my post I explicitly wrote that Indie wasn't popular enough for an expanded universe Lego series, not that one didn't exist. Maybe you think it is, but I don't think so.

It appears I misunderstood you indeed, though not in the way you appear to think I did; I thought you meant the series wasn't popular enough to have an "expanded universe" at all, not simply one represented in LEGO sets (i.e., I thought you meant there weren't any novels, comics, etc.). It appears we misunderstood one another.

As I noted in a previous post, I certainly don't think sets based on the novels, comics and so on (or even the TV series, as much as I might wish for them) are particularly likely, either. I do continue to hope and wish for them, though. FWIW, I do think that if such sets were done, they could sell quite well. Even people unfamiliar with the stories the sets were drawn from might buy the sets anyway, if the sets were appealing enough.

At any rate, even putting all that aside, there's still plenty of room for sets drawn purely from the movies; TLC hasn't come anywhere close to exhausting the possibilities of the four films. I constantly see people wanting the tank from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (and there are lots of other vehicles and plenty of action and characters in the scene it's in - ample fodder for multiple sets from that one scene, actually). The "Lao Che's Air Freight" Ford Trimotor would also make a terrific set - indeed, it would complete a pattern LEGO began with Peril in Peru (they've done one medium/large, $50 set based around an airplane or airplanes for each of the other three movies; the same size/price-point would be a good one for the Trimotor, and give us a quartet of these sets, one per movie). The Dunn & Duffy Circus train from the "Utah, 1912" Last Crusade prologue is yet another obvious candidate, with the added benefit it would appeal immensely to Trains fans as well as Indy ones. And there are still many important characters from the movies who remain completely unrepresented so far, including Marcus, Sallah, Oxley, Mac, Donovan, Toht and others, as well as characters like Belloq who appear in multiple outfits but have only one minifig.

Adventurers has already shown it is a series not 100% grounded in reality, seen in the dinosaur series. But, I've seen your avatar, so I know what side of the fence you're on, and I'll leave it at that

Heh. I'm very definitely pro-Indy sets, but that's not to say I'm anti-Adventurers. Frankly, I'd love to see both themes get extensive continued representation. As I noted earlier, I'm even open to sets combining the two, with Indy and Johnny and their respective sets of companions setting off on quests and adventures together.

FWIW, I've also seen at least one Adventurers fan site that effectively treats Indiana Jones as simply a specialized Adventurers subtheme (one rooted in an established fictional narrative series originating in movies). One might present a reasonable argument that it is.

I do very much love Adventurers as its own theme, too, and not just for its resemblance to Indy. The theme began while I was in my dark ages, alas, and I don't have most of the sets, but I do have a few Dino Island and almost all the Orient Expedition sets. I hope to get more someday.

[Blondie-Wan]

Meanwhile, as far as the main topic goes...

Really, I'd like to see more sets in the existing themes (or reissues of some of the classic ones as Legends or something, if TLC is still interested in doing those). The areas already covered do include an awful lot of the "classic" adventure environs; perhaps extending one of the themes would be a good idea. For example, if Orient Expedition returned (as "Orient Expedition II" or something), we could see a lot of additional territory covered that would fall under that theme but that wasn't represented with specific sets in the previous subtheme - sets set in Java, say.

I also wonder whether it might be fun to have a subtheme involving an epic voyage around the world, and thus including sets from a wide variety of environments. The major obstacle I see to this would be that it would probably call for a much broader color palette, range of specialty / accessory elements, and so on than TLC would want to produce all at once, but I think it could be done. If nothing else, things like the first Agents wave make me think they're not incapable of handling a theme set in a wide variety of environments all at once like that...

[Mission Commander]

It appears I misunderstood you indeed, though not in the way you appear to think I did; I thought you meant the series wasn't popular enough to have an "expanded universe" at all, not simply one represented in LEGO sets (i.e., I thought you meant there weren't any novels, comics, etc.). It appears we misunderstood one another.

As I noted in a previous post, I certainly don't think sets based on the novels, comics and so on (or even the TV series, as much as I might wish for them) are particularly likely, either. I do continue to hope and wish for them, though. FWIW, I do think that if such sets were done, they could sell quite well. Even people unfamiliar with the stories the sets were drawn from might buy the sets anyway, if the sets were appealing enough.

At any rate, even putting all that aside, there's still plenty of room for sets drawn purely from the movies; TLC hasn't come anywhere close to exhausting the possibilities of the four films. I constantly see people wanting the tank from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (and there are lots of other vehicles and plenty of action and characters in the scene it's in - ample fodder for multiple sets from that one scene, actually). The "Lao Che's Air Freight" Ford Trimotor would also make a terrific set - indeed, it would complete a pattern LEGO began with Peril in Peru (they've done one medium/large, $50 set based around an airplane or airplanes for each of the other three movies; the same size/price-point would be a good one for the Trimotor, and give us a quartet of these sets, one per movie). The Dunn & Duffy Circus train from the "Utah, 1912" Last Crusade prologue is yet another obvious candidate, with the added benefit it would appeal immensely to Trains fans as well as Indy ones. And there are still many important characters from the movies who remain completely unrepresented so far, including Marcus, Sallah, Oxley, Mac, Donovan, Toht and others, as well as characters like Belloq who appear in multiple outfits but have only one minifig.

What does this have to do with adventurers? Most of that post belongs in the Indy discussion thread.

Back on topic: I would really like to see The Adventurers in the Sahara Desert. They could be trying to find a lost treasure or researching giant animal hybrids. I think they should also return to the Orient. Like what was mentioned before some Legend sets wouldn't hurt. As long as they return I'm buying!