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Name: Chauchilla Cemetery Battle
Set: 7196
Theme: Indiana Jones
Subtheme: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Year: 2009
Pieces: 187 (?)
Minifigs: 4 (and a skeleton)
Price: $US19.99 (according to Toy Fair), yet to be confirmed elsewhere
Resources: Brickset
Introduction
Indiana Jones and Mutt Williams are in Peru investigating the disappearance of Harold Oxley, Indy's old colleague. They follow a clue to Chauchilla Cemetery to the grave of Francisco de Orellana, a Conquistador who supposedly found the legendary city of Akator and brought back a mysterious treasure. However the guardians of the cemetery are not too keen on a visit from these uninvited grave-robbers...
Part 1: Box, Parts and Instructions
The front of the box:
The back of the box, showing set functions:
A side view showing the minifigures:
Contents include three bags of parts...
...and an instruction manual:
The A5 sized manual is laid out in portrait format:
The parts list:
The parts, debagged. As you can see, there is a lot of bley, with some brown plates and bricks, and a hint of tan
:
The painted chassis of Mutt's red motorcycle is separately bagged:
And de-bagged:
Unlike the pearl version that was released with the Conquistador skeleton in last year's 7627 Temple of Akator, the armour here is metallic silver. Castle fans rejoice!
Parts-wise, there is a great selection of dark bley slopes and cheese, but not much else of particular note. Here are a few of the other interesting pieces - the pearl gold version of the treasure chest, 2 goblets, 4x plants, 2 scorpions (we haven't seen these in a while), the cheap bley daggers, 2 emeralds and a Crystal Skull. Not a bad haul, overall.
Part 2: Minifgures
There are four minifigs in this set - Indy, Mutt and 2 Cemetery Warriors.
I was really excited by the prospect of a new Indy face!
Then I noticed it is almost exactly the same as Mutt's except with a few lines taken off and some stubble print added 
Yes, we know Indy has a son and heir, do you have to keep slapping us in the face with the family resemblance? Besides, Mutt is a son and not a clone so by rights should be half-Marion! (In Lego terms that means he at least should have a 'scared' print on the back of his head). Compare and contrast the genetic similarities below:
The Cemetery Warriors are identical in every way, with a double sided head print. With the shaggy mop, they do resemble Harry Potter more than a little. This is Harry Potter on crystal meth:
And this is Harry Potter after a spray-tan:
(Note the accessories; a blowpipe and, er, chainsaw
)Our cast together. Note Mutt's simple but clever lantern.
And the Conquistador skele - he needs to take in his arms a bit. Seriously, what was he, a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal?
Mutt's motorcycle is a great new mould and will make this set a must-have for City fans too. The dark red paint job is sleek but I am sure we will see this piece in different versions. Here's Mutt's motorcycle chassis assembled over the usual motorcycle frame but before the side bags are added:
And with the side bags:
Mutt on his cycle. One thing Lego has been omitting from bikes (and this is also true of 7641 City Life and the Camper set) is the headlights, but I'm sure most people have a few (dozen!) 1x1 trans clear round plates lying around to use as a spare
:
Here's a comparison shot from the movie:
Part 3: The build
The build is divided into two sections - Orellana's Cradle (and Grave), and the entrance. These sections are connected by Technic pins and for the sake of the box art have been split apart so you can see inside more clearly; when you build the set, it actually runs in a straight line.
First up, we build Orellana's Cradle-Grave. Here is the base with Technic connection showing:
Already we see lots of cheesy stonework and the Crystal Skull's resting place:
Spiderwebs and candlelight - just what a dusty old crypt requires:
The gold chest contains a few treasures:
The cheese slopes wedge Orellana's skele-feet so he doesn't flop all over the place. He effectively conceals the Crystal Skull behind him:
Just like in the movie, Indy has no qualms about grubbing about in human remains.
"Get out of my way bony, I'm not getting any younger myself!"
It's a shame we couldn't have a tearing shroud like in the film, but otherwise the Lego rendition is faithful to the scene:
Next, we build up the 'exterior' to the Gravy-Cradle, with some concealed hideaways for the Cemetery Warriors, and the moving stone disc which Indy slides over.
The base of the exterior section, showing where the Technic bricks will connect to the other section:
The stone disc, which you can see is also connected like a see-saw to Technic bricks:
The disc is now in position:
The mechanism works by means of a gear concealed on the other side of the doorway. Dr Jones has kindly volunteered for this experiment to show us how it works:
The door is closed when the handle is down, like so:
When spun, the door flips up and Indy falls through the other side:
Finishing off this section are little ladders where the Cemetery Warriors can conceal themselves:
This is a nice touch; I thought the way they darted in and around various unexpected places in the movie was one of the film's creepiest aspects:
Part 4: The finished model
The unconnected sections as seen from the rear:
Joined!
Side view:
With the figures in place:
Here's the sequence as Indy goes through the stone entrance again. Not very elegant. Plus, Orellana has stinky feet!
The poison dart blowpipe is a little difficult to position (how do minifgs feed themselves?
) but it can be done:
And finally, spare parts
Part 5: Overall Rating
Minifigures - 7/10. The idea of giving Indy a new face was a good one; it's just a shame the face they gave him was Mutt's!
The Chauchilla Cemetery figs are great, with a new torso print and head, but it is slightly disappointing that they are identical, especially considering the smaller 7195 Ambush in Cairo had two very distinct villains. However the metallic skele-armour is sweet and there is nothing really here to complain about. Parts - 7.5/10. Good selection of useful dark bley slopes, with a sprinkling of other interesting stuff. And of course the sweet, sweet motorcycle
Playability - 7.5/10. Some nice little features, and the sliding disc mechanism works well. Probably the weakest part of the set is that the gear that works the mechanism tends to fall out. The hidey-holes for the warriors are a clever touch and hiding the Crystal Skull behind Orellana is true to the film.
Price - Remains to be seen for non-US markets, but if it is $US20 it will be priced in Australia at $AUD35-40. Probably a bit expensive at that amount, but worth picking up on sale for the parts, the bike and the two Cemetery Warriors.
Overall - 7/10. This set is a good little one, but hardly essential. It's kind of like a foreshortened 7623 Temple Escape with a whiff of Harry Potter about it! (Maybe I feel that way because of the mop hair, spiders, flames and web-pieces, all HP staples
). I suspect most collectors will want it for the motorcycle and Cemetery Warriors, but apart from that it is a useful parts pack. In terms of Indy sets at a similar price-point, I wouldn't rate it as highly as the wonderful 7621 Secret of the Lost Tomb, but it is certainly better than the decidely average 7625 River Chase.(Note: screencaps were taken from this livejournal and then photo-edited, as I don't have a DVD copy of KOTCS
Thanks to the original poster!)
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Anyways I like these fets they feel fun and slightly different, however this set has 50+ less pieces than the 2008 $20 IJ sets.
Thanks Joey!