Review: 6763 Rapid River Village

[ZO6]

I've always been a bit surprised that there are no reviews for the two largest sets from the Indian subtheme here on EB. I know that these sets are generally less popular amongst the AFOL crowd, but personally I've always been intrigued by them. Rapid River Village looked to have a large amount of play potential (for which I'm a huge sucker), and the minifigures also seemed really wonderful. I recently took the plunge and bought a MISB copy of the Legends re-release of the set off of Bricklink. Join me as I take a close look at this often overlooked set!

Info

Set# - 6763

Name - Rapid River Village

Theme/Subtheme - Western/Indians

Year - 2002

Piece Count - 343

Minifigures - 7

Price - MSRP $70US

Links

Brickset, Bricklink, Peeron, Brickshelf

Box

The Legends line re-release of this set features a smaller and arguably less exciting looking box than the original. Still, the front seems nice and clean and really highlights the model well. The stitched leather look around two of the sides is quite nice, and the bright colours in sections of the set really pop out. The Indian chief in the lower left is kind of cute, and he appear in the top right as well at his actual size.

Alternate model! Hurrah for that! I miss the days of seeing what kind of crazy stuff you could build with the parts in the set.

Here's all the contents of the box - which was completely stuffed! This is one of those extremely rare cases where every square inch of space has been used up in the box. I guess since this was a re-release, TLC wanted to use as little cardboard as possible to keep down prices. I approve!

Instructions

The picture on the front of the manual is the same as on the box. Even though the instructions were packed in a very full box for 9 years, they are in perfect condition. I guess TLC did a better job of packing boxes back then, eh?

I love this picture on the back on the manual - there is so much mayhem and craziness going on. It makes me want to build the set as fast as possible so I can get in the action.

As per usual with older instructions, you add loads of pieces every step, and you get to find what and where they go on your own as there are no piece call-outs. I think this made building sets a lot more fun than just adding one piece every page. Colour differentiation is also perfect.

Parts

The set contains 7 bags of parts - 4 large and 3 smaller ones.

Here are the largest pieces. I apologize for the inconsistent background colour, but the parts themselves should still be easy enough to identify.

Now for the smaller parts. Mostly basic parts, but that's fine by me.

Thanks to the use use of three baseplates, this set takes up a lot of real-estate. Everyone loves tan plates, and having one with a river running across it is very nice. Though there is a decent amount of unused space on the baseplates, I'm glad that they were used as they help to give you a unified village.

Warning, a great many AFOL's eyes will be greatly offended by this picture! Love 'em of hate 'em, this set contains 5 BURPS and 3 LURPS (they've always been a part of my Lego building experience throughout my life, so I really don't mind them at all).

Oh-la-la, aren't these nice!? The teepees in the Indian subtheme have always caught my eye. They no doubt played a large role in my desire to acquire this set. They're made out of a really nice cloth material and feel expensive - I like!

There are only three printed pieces in this set, but these shields are beautiful.

A fairly rare piece nowadays, this set also includes a neat little canoe.

A very unique piece, this hollow stump has only appeared in 5 sets - all of which are part of the Indian subtheme. This set is the only one of the bunch to include more than one of the piece. A minifigure can be put in a sitting position and tuck nicely into the stump. Also, pieces can be clipped onto 5 spots around the top of the stump.

Minifigures

The set contains 7 wonderful minifigures. These were amongst the most detailed figs when they were first released in 1997, featuring intricate prints and bright colours. They are essentially also the only minifigures ever to feature printed noses. These little guys are yet another reason why I had to get my hands on this set.

To sweeten the deal even further, you get two horses that feature absolutely wonderful prints. Both of these horses are exclusive to the Indian subtheme.

The Build

Now for my favorite part - building the actual set. You start things off my constructing the teepee. The two supports are joined together at the center by a technic pin with ball.

The tow log pieces get put into place - these were a little tricky to get in the correct spot as they have to be oriented just right for the studs to line up. The teepee will remain empty, though it's nice that there is at least room inside for whatever you want.

The fabric is wrapped around the supports to create the teepee. This is a painless process yet the material is firmly held in place. That awkwardly placed ladder becomes a rack of sorts to store weapons and accessories on - I'm not complaining as it's always nice to have extra ladders. The red jumper plate on the pair of black bricks will become a fire.

The first section of the village is now complete. I like that this area was not cluttered up too much and allows the minifigures plenty of room to roam around.

Next up is the construction of the second area, and a watchtower. Note that there are a few green and brown 1x1 bricks attached to the BURP to spruce it up a bit. You just know that if this set had been produced within the past 4 years it would have used cheese slopes instead. I prefer the bricks.

The watchtower is finished at the point. I'm sure any minifigure would be overjoyed to have a ladder at his disposal to help him get to the top! The red and yellow parts of the supports, along with the features are nice details. The base of a second teepee, and fire are also built.

Here's the second area now complete. The medicin man gets his own custom tent and shield, plus a personal bodyguard sniper in the lookout. Either of these first two sections might not be too terribly exciting on their own, but when you combine everything together at the end, the set becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Now begins the laying of the foundations for the third and final section of the village. This section is where all the fun happens. 1 rock piece down, 5 to go (that must be a record amount of BURPs and LURPs to be used on a single 16x32 baseplate).

There is substantial growth in very few steps. Note that once again, there are a number of green and brown 1x1 bricks used to liven up the rocks pieces.

Ah, some of the fun stuff. On the left is a secret door into a cave of despair (Alright, that sounds a bit rough - lets call it the cave of mystery). Above the ladder (Another ladder! These minifigures are going to be pleased as peaches to have this kind of access!) is a little contraption to support or release a trap door that will soon be installed. The overlapping of the massive blue sloped parts helps to make it seem like the water is rushing downstream...or that there are rapids.

Making progress - 4 rock pieces down, 2 to go! With the top of the ridge plated up, you can hardly tell that the 2x2 brick at the weird angle is part of some sneaky trapdoor releasing mechanism.

That tiny corner of plate is all that holds the trapdoor up, but it works surprisingly well. I haven't had any problems of loads being prematurely dropped.

Yes, this is still the same set, only a bunch more pieces have been added. The grey panels above the trapdoor will be used to hold and guide a fire and snake into the pit of mystery below. I'm not sure if the designers had this in mind or not, but I find that the round grey 1x1 brick is useful for resetting the trap door after it has been triggered. Over on the right is another one of those devices for use in conjunction with a trapdoor.

All the ladders and rock pieces have now been used up. The second trapdoor is also put in place, though the tiles on top make it slightly less inconspicuous than the first one. Oh well, if the tiles help to send a minifigure to his watery doom than I suppose that's what counts. The big black slope and the leaf will also be part of yet another play function/trap.

Totem pole! This gets built as a submodel and then attached to the ridge. The bright primary colours contrast nicely with the surroundings.

Done! The final bits added here really help to make this seem like a natural piece of landscape. I'm not sure what kind of birds those two grey parrots are meant to represent exactly, but their presence is welcome anyways.

Complete Set

The three sections can now be connected via 4 grey 2x2 bricks resulting in the finished model. Isn't it wonderful? The village is physically quite large, and there is a lot to see and play around with. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Here's a look at the back of the village. The large blue slope is around 3 bricks high at the start - this allows the canoe to basically slide down to the curved river bit on its own.

The back corner - the green and blue bricks behind the BURP were put there by me to be out of the way. They can be attached to their respective horses when saddles are not used. The view isn't terribly pretty from here as the village is mainly meant to be view from 2 sides. Still, the space behind/inside lots of the BURPS and LURPS could be used to have the minifigures hide out in.

Here's a look inside the case of mystery. As I've highlighted in a video, this is mostly just a large area where minifigures can be hanging out and then have the ceiling collapse on them as part of a play feature.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I really love how many ladders are provided in this set! I know it's not hard to use one's imagination and have minifigures scale any sort of heights on their own, but it really is thoughtful to have ladders available.

A view from above to help give a sense of the size of the set.

Here are some videos of the play functions:

More:

The model can also be configured differently by relocating to watchtower section to the side. Not only does this give you a change of scenery, but it can also make the set significantly easier to display!

Final Thoughts

Design/Build: This set does a fantastic job of giving you a nice looking large village to play around with. You can just imagine massive flat plains continuing out at the front while the back is parts of a huge ridge. The build isn't terribly exciting at first as you're just building teepees and other small structures. Once you build the bulky third part and join everything together though, you just feel like you're getting so much content. Despite the now primitive building techniques, the set still has a nice organic look and feel to it. There are loads of nice, if albeit simple-ish details. Overall I think the set looks great.

Pieces: For the most part the set is just made up of regular bricks and blocks. The stand outs are the fabric teepees, and the lovely river baseplate. Many will be turned off by the abundance of BURPS and LURPS, and possibly even by the stump pieces. However, for myself and perhaps some others, these parts are just fine. The minifigures were pretty groundbreaking in their day, and even now they still stand out do to their details and bright colours. I'm not normally a minifigure lover, but the figs in this set were almost worth the price of admission alone.

Playability: The big selling point for me! This set has got a great combination of providing play value both in which you use your imagination for, but also with an abundance of traps and functions. The ridge section is particularly packed with things to play around with. This set is a lot of fun.

Verdict: The future of sets focused on Indians seems pretty bleak. I've been lead to believe that this subtheme wasn't terribly popular when it was first released, and it seems as though there might be too much controversy for TLC to be able to do something similar again. It's hard to imagine Indian based sets being done much differently or better than these, so we'd best be grateful for what we got. I am extremely pleased with my purchase of the Rapid River Village and think that it's a wonderful set.

As always, comments and questions are more than welcome. Cheers!

[WhiteFang]

To be honest, the whole LEGO Western theme is stranger to me, so these valuable reviews like yours help to revive those dark age memories which I had missed back then. Those Indian warriors who reside near the river stream for their water source, set up a base camp with their fortified areas of totems, standing high. I also never thought that TLG was so generous with their minifigures assortments. Your review also helps me to see areas which general images can't allow, like the raised river stream and its playability features.

Thank you ZO6. This is just lovely.

By the way, how come this set is classified under the "Legend" series? I am clueless.

[The Cobra]

There are so many pros about this set, yet I can't call it perfect.

7 native Americnas (2nd from the left comes with one of my fav head pieces ever), horses, shields, teepees, stump, printed baseplate, play features.

I guess there's too much gray, probably to give a rock-y feeling, while brown would have meant wood and was used in cowboys buildings.

Still, I wish Lego coult give us back Wild west instead of themes like Agents, World racers and alike.

Thanks for such a great review.

[Masked Builder]

This really is a fun set. I must admit, that the way LEGO has designed sets has changes so much over the years. But the simplicity here, it's not a bad thing, really makes this set fun. Great review.

[22kane]

Thanks for the awesome review! I missed this entire theme when it was out and wished I didn't. I would love it if Lego brought back something like this. I've lost a couple bidding wars on eBay for some of this theme. Reading this review makes me want it that much more! What a great set!

[RumPunchDrunk]

Thanks for the very thorough review. With the cancellation of Disney's Lone Ranger movie, I doubt we'll see any Wild West sets for a long time, in which case I wish Lego would do another round of the Legends. I missed them the first time and I particularly would like to see the Western or Islanders sets again, if only for the canoes.

[IAmWillGibson]

This is a really attractive set. Were older LEGO not so prohibitively expensive, I'd probably add this to the list to buy. Aw well!

[ZO6]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I too would love to see a Wild West theme return. I'd personally prefer for it to be an unlicensed theme, but at this point I'll pretty much take whatever I can get. The presence of any Indians would be a huge bonus.

[Rumble Strike]

A great review ZO6, very detailed!

I have to say, I love the prints on the two horses, they look incredible

[Solitary Dark]

A fantastic review for a set I was very unfamiliar with - My favourite feature is the river made of the 3 large slopes. And those minifigs look amazing. Thanks for bringing this marvellous set such attention.

I really want some of those treestumps!

[jd5775]

Fantastic job on the review!

I really enjoyed reading it.

As far as the set goes. I really didn't know too much about the set before this review, but the sheer vastness of the set impresses me.

Also has some great unique pieces. Wild West was one of the last great subthemes Lego did IMO!

[streifen]

This was the set that got me out of my lego dark ages!

Seeing a review here brings back the memories!

Thanks for the review!

[The Blue Brick]

I love this set. I own it myself and got it back when I was younger. I would play with it after school all the time. My favorite thing about this set was the river and especially the figs.

[prateek]

Oh, baby, this is what I call a scene set. This set is amazing. It has two distinct sides, with a nice middle too

If you don't mind me asking, how much was this beauty?

[ZO6]

I have to say, I love the prints on the two horses, they look incredible

Yup, the printed horses are wonderful. They really stand out from the standard ones!

My favorite thing about this set was the river and especially the figs.

There is so much to love about the minifigures, but they simply look amazing. It's pretty neat that this theme featured noses on the figs, it really makes them unique.

If you don't mind me asking, how much was this beauty?

Got this for something like $175 + S&H (seller was within Canada which helped to save a little bit) off Bricklink. I personally think that's pretty expensive for this set, but it had finally become a must have for me so I caved in.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Wow... I kinda love it. Is this the same one that was re-released as part of the Legends line a few years ago? Man, I'd totally contemplate grabbing one if they re-released it again. THanks for the review...

[GhostFan]

What an excellent set and review

I'm very sad that this set came out at a time when I wasn't interested in Lego; have kept an eye out for it ever since I've been back into it but it has always sold above what I've been able to pay on eBay unfortunately. This review has made me covet it even more!

[Clone OPatra]

Is this the same one that was re-released as part of the Legends line a few years ago?

The copy being reviewed is in fact the Legends re-release; ZO6 says so in the review

Very lovely review! I have the other set with a tepee (Chief's Tepee, or something like that), and I know what you mean about the greatness of the material.

About this whole set, though, I think I would differ in opinion. Not just from an AFOL perspective, but even as a kid I don't think I would find this set terribly exciting. It looks very plain (as I guess the Great West should) for one and the rock structures look somewhat ugly. The minifigures are highly detailed, but I always found the faces to also be ugly and creepy with those incongruous noses. Perhaps it's just because I was never much into the Indians side of Cowboys and Indians, but the content of this set doesn't thrill me at all. Compared to some of the Islanders stuff that also makes use of BURPs and LURPs and lookouts and the like, the set seems ugly and poor. I felt the same way about the one of these that I do have (plus a small one as well).