25 Years of Adventure In Review

[Peppermint_M]

Hurrah, Johnny Thunder and Adventurers is still popular even 25 Years from launch. A true classic theme that deserves the love we pour upon it. LEGO did give it a nod in the 90 Years of Play set and we have been fortunate in a way, to have new Indiana Jones sets this year. At least we get some adventure from LEGO.

Is it the story Johnny Thunder had, his friends and foes and the minimal narrative we had to launch playtime with the sets? Or do we love the exotic locales and treasure to be found there? For me, I was the kid who wanted to be an archaeologist but also that book on Egyptology was very exciting.  Loved the theme, adored it even and I still enjoy building for it. 

Full disclosure: I totally wanted to run the contest this Silver Jubilee year so I could get a lot of cool Adventurer MOCs to look at and enjoy. Staff privilege means I can do that and offer prizes as an incentive! 

While very worthy winners were voted in by you all, I want to share some of my highlights. I try and avoid creating bias during a contest, so now I have a chance to praise things without anyone's toes getting trodden on.

First off, a little aside. My favourite graphics I created for this contest had to be the Jungle and Orient Expedition banners and the World Map poster. I am not a graphics expert, or actually even great at it. These came out how I wanted them and I was pretty pleased. 

  

On to the actual contest: Thanks so much everyone who entered! 43 entries in total, a really great turnout and lots of neat MOCs for us all to look at. People really embraced the concepts I set out for each category which was fantastic to see; so many excellent interpretations of the theme. A contest is nothing without entries and you really went all out. 

Our very worthy winners created some superb entries, some of which are gaining traction outside of Eurobricks circles (I was tickled to see a few turn up on my Facebook feed from other sources, with mention of the Eurobricks contest). You three do have a whole thread to celebrate in, but yeah that was some excellent work of the highest quality. 

       

Chose a tag! I can apply it to your profile so everyone knows you rock at Adventurer MOCs. 

I would like to say also to everyone else that your entries are much appreciated and voting must have been a tricky choice for scoring. When a contest is running, I don't want to field accusations of playing favourites or influencing the vote, so I abstain from voting and don't comment on MOC threads with personal opinions. It keeps the peace, but means I can't heap praise on the builds I particularly enjoy. (Thought I do bug my family with links and shoving my phone in their faces to show pictures!). So, take these as honourable mentions:

Starting with Category A. The largest of the build sizes to allow scope for all manner of locations and treasures. Space for a narrative to be shared with as many figures as you desire. The showstopper if you will. Builders did not disappoint! 

I loved this build, the tribespeople have a dynamism that gives us action, the structure is a great looking build with techniques that really speak of an ancient ruin and the rockwork makes the precipice look natural. Thumbs up for the character too, making a recognisable Johnny Thunder out of parts outside of the theme, wonderful!

Another Great Adventure, a troupe of explorers hiking well defined terrain, with Himalayan temples and a hot air balloon and I love those! Again, figures made up to suit the theme and the environment using a variety of parts.

NPU with the canoe. An enigmatic jungle temple. While a little more greenery would really elevate this, I still love the colours. 

And finally from Category A:

So darn cute! A little and realistic story, Dr Kilroy really does strike me as the kind of single-minded chap who would accidentally bump into an elephant. This made me smile.

Category B allowed for a lot of variety also, I like including at least two sizes in a contest so everyone can enter and not feel like they need enormous builds populated with tens of figures. It also meant a chance to explore a specific character and the environment you would expect to find them. After the Haunted Manor set gave us a glimpse at Baron Von Baron's home, it got me thinking about other Adventurer characters.

Eye popping colour. A character I personally had as a child and was very pleased to see. Creatures, treasure and a location that combines with the mythology and the actual geography of the region. This sort of creation was what I had hoped the category would garner. A look at a location where someone schemes and plans...

Dynamic poses, a story without words and a completely left field but hilarious build I totally wasn't expecting and loved to see. 

Hurray for a hangar! I am forever saddened by the fact that I cannot own one IRL to kick back at until adventure calls. This was precisely the sort of creation I was looking for as I discussed the concept of the contest with my fellow AFOL little brother.

 

Of the many offices, this one I like for the equal amounts loot and books on the shelves, the wall mounted items and the layout of a large study in which all the ne'er do wells of Adventurers can convene. 

 

Finally, another larger scale figure, allowing for lovely details and things to spot in the office room. The models on the shelf, the bug display and the little bumble bee on the plant. Just a nice thing to see.

At last we reach Category C. The smallest opportunity to enter for even the littlest ATV or carriage, right up to lovely big efforts thanks to Digital builds. Digital is not always my cup of tea, but this contest has helped get me on side with the whole thing. It isn't so much being a snob, it is more the fact I love the tactile part of LEGO and in the past, rendering has not truly shared the tactile impression of a build, also I keep expecting a few AutoCAD functions when I use the popular software (can you pan? is there a way to pan I keep missing? ).  However there were great digital builds entered here.

Half-Tracks are the coolest and this one is kitted out for Adventure, everything you could need all in one package. 

Who doesn't appreciate a sidecar? This is exactly the small but top notch build category C was designed for. A stocked up bike to get ahead of the villains!

Superb plane. I love it. Excellent shape, great build techniques/part usage. Really nice. Planes were the first things I ever MOCed and continue to be a personal favourite, so seeing really great planes is fab.

 

Great details, a good vehicle design and lots of fun features. Also, love the camels!

 

Again, all the entries were much appreciated and have much to admire, these were just my personal highlights. I enjoyed coming up with the idea, the graphics and then seeing all the MOCs arrive. 

Thanks again!

 

 

 

 

[Peppermint_M]

Hi everyone, my review is now live! 

Winners, feel free to quote the Tag you want. 

@Rui Miguel, @Zapalski. @BardDandelion

[BardDandelion]

Once again - plenty of great entries! Good job everyone! ;)

@Peppermint_M I want golden scarab tag! :D

[Peppermint_M]

5 hours ago, BardDandelion said:

I want golden scarab tag!

One tag added!

[CDKiii]

@Peppermint_M

thanks for having host this nice contest.

good time and wonderful competitors here.

congrats again for the winners.

[Yperio_Bricks]

Adventurers hit the shelves in 1998 when i was 15 and got into my very long and deep dark ages. If the theme would have released just a few years earlier i would have loved it like pirates and knights. The theme has grown on me ever since i learned about it and there is much more to learn. Just recently i found the german audio play on YT. Indiana Jones is the theme of the year for me and to me it is a licensed version of adventurers. Or is it the other way round?! Anyway, this contest was fun and we saw many fantastic creations. Thank for everyone for bringing adventurers to life with your magnificent mocs and stories  And thanks to @Peppermint_M for hosting the contest  

[Rui Miguel]

On 9/11/2023 at 9:43 PM, Peppermint_M said:

Hi everyone, my review is now live! 

Winners, feel free to quote the Tag you want. 

@Rui Miguel, @Zapalski. @BardDandelion

Thank you again @Peppermint_M for this amazing opportunity. I agree with your review and this was an awesome contest. 

I will pick as a tag Johnny Thunder's hat, it can't get more iconic than that  Thank you