Way_Moby

Alrighty, so here's my first review. It's a review of Set 5978 "Sphinx Secret Surprise" from the Egyptian Adventurers theme! Enjoy! Set Name: Sphinx Secret Surprise Set No: 5978 Number of pieces: 342 Number of minifigs: 7 Year of release: 1998 Overview: It is the late 20's... A team of archeologists have recently un-earthed a new Sphinx in the Egyptian desert. Johnny Thunder, fearless archeologist has set out to investigate this new ruin... But be warned. Baron von Baron and the sinister Lord Sinister are determined to arrive first and steal the treasure... This is probably the biggest of the medium sets from the Egypt line, and is one of my personally favorites, because of the amount of playablitiy, pieces, minifigs, and fun accessories, in addition to an awesome base with many secret compartments! Let's start with the box. Here's the cover: Let's open the cover flap, and here's some fun alt. angles of the set! I always loved this feature of the old boxes, but alas, I think they are a thing of the past: And here's the back with some fun alt. models. So interesting... I used to try and make them when I was a kid. I never succeeded... Here a random page from the instructions: Voila! The complete set! Here are the minifigs that come with the set. It includes 7 (Which is astounding!!!)... Here are the good guys: Johnny Thunder, Dr. Charles Lightning, and Gail Storm: Here are the bad guys: Baron von Baron and Sam Sinister: And here are the mummies! Pharaoh Hotep and Pharaoh Skeleton: Here are some of the fun pieces. I always loved the obelisk tops, and this set gets two of 'em! Also, with this set you get FOUR maps! That's awesome! I also love the sextant, the headdresses and the camera film. Let's start with the campsite! This nifty little tent is perfect for having your adventurers spend the night out in the Egyptian desert. What's that? Oh, it's just a skeleton! For a random wooden box, this box is awesome! It's got a sextant and a mag. glass, in addition to a map and a gun! Dr. Lightning approves: The car is pretty awesome; One of the more interesting cars in the line is included in this set. A Four-Cylinder engine will keep you running even in the harshest of sand storms and the handy door-camera can capture anything on tape that you can't film your self! Despite being a relatively small car, it holds a surprising amout of stuff! Next we'll move onto the bad guys camp. It's a bit smaller, but features a fun fire and spit roaster! During the dig, Johnny Thunder and Dr. Lightning discovered a sarcophagus: The face of adventure: The face of science: The face of fear! Mummy and Co: Closed! Open! Now, we'll move on to the actual set. It's pretty big for a medium sized set, but that's certainly not a bad thing! In front of the sphinx is a grey slab of solid rock... or is it? Pulling it back reveals a hidden compartment, complete with riches, critters, and bones galore! Next to the sphinx is an ancient obelisk. Baron von Baron and Sam Sinister are acting on a hunch that said obelisk is hallow: They were right! Darn! Before... After... And here we have the main attraction the Sphinx!! Here's the Sphinx's head! And in front of the sphinx is a magnificant ruby! But be warned! Try and take it, and you might get more than you wanted - the mummy's curse! The mechanism that flings the mummy out is a simple pivoting block. When the block is pulled back, the mummy remains inside... But when it is pushed, it shoots the mummy out!! Muhahaha! And finally, here's a quaint little statue of Anubis. I wish it would've had a secret compartment with coins, similar to the one in the Amazon ruins set released a few years after this! And now, with the ruins explored... the rudy secured... And the bad guys vanquished... The Secret Surprise of the Sphinx has been discovered... Or so we think! Verdict: I remember getting this set as a child. I slowly saved up my money until I had enough! Unfortunately, when I got to the store, they were all sold out! But my mother and I found it on the clearance isle for cheaper! Close call! I subsequently saved it until I had to spend the day at my grandmothers, and there I built it! For $50, this set wasn't overpriced in my book. You got an awesome assortment of characters, a ruby, four maps, a much-coveted sarcophagus (at least in my mind), a cool car, some fun traps, and a unique base! As far as playability goes, this set is PERFECT! With the mentioned 7 minifigs and secrets galore, this set is awesome to play with. Even if you're a collector, you can't help from looking into the sand pit in front fo the Sphinx to see what treasures you might find. The only tiny criticism I'm gonna say is that I would've wished that this set had included Harry Cane, but I realize that that meant they probably would've had to put a plane in the set, increasing the price. Oh well! Final Verdict: 10/10 It's one of my favorite sets, and one of the best sets I own!

Good idea.

One of my all-time favorite set themes was that of the Adventurers, specifically the Egyptian theme. The first set I ever got was the Scorpion Tracker, and luckily, I can say that I own several of the larger sets, including the Sphinx's Surprise and the Mummy's Tomb. I really loved the realistic nature of it, but also the inane side, such as a walking, talking mummy, etc. I really wish this theme would've continued. They could've done so much with it! Personally, I wished that they had made some sort of Egyptian Tomb (Kind of like the real Valley of the Kings), a Big pyramid, or some sort of Temple, like Abu Simbel. Those would've been awesome. What sets (in any of the themes!) do you wish that TLC had made?

Ahh, I miss the Adventurer's... Those were fun, and really were a catalyst for my interest in History. This was the smallest set (minus the Shell promotionals, etc.) and I never got it... Fun review!

Sorry for bumping an ancient topic, but I just wanted to ask, was I the only person who was sad that the Divers theme never had any fun shipwrecks to explore (minus the brown arcs that came with a couple sets...). I mean, with the pirates theme near that time, I thought they could've stuck a cool wreck hull, complete with a skeleton or two, in a set for a sub to explore. Oh well...

Awesome! It sounds like there is an interest! I'll get to work on that, but most likely, they'll be released in the summer, as I have some stuff to do.

Would anyone be interested in some LEGO comics that are more geared for teaching and educating... I have some ideas about mashing-up some Pirate Ships and the old Diver sets to create a comic series on exploring shipwrecks, and another involving the Adventurer theme about exploring Egyptian ruins. Any interest?