Retro Brick Reviews

It's not perfect, but I think the Mantis/Bellatrix Lestrange/Madam Rosmerta face is a better fit in my opinion.

Seeing the Temple Escape diorama and looking again at the other sets... I think my main issue is how these sets (the two larger ones especially) feel less like new sets based on the movies and more like remakes of the original 2008-9 line. And the issue with that is that LEGO in 2023 is fundamentally different than they were in 2008, and trying to remake a 2008 set with 2023 sensibilities didn't work out super well in my opinion. They're clearly trying to go for an approach that's smaller and more detailed, but that doesn't really work when the base designs they're working off of prioritized a larger-than-life play experience over accuracy. The Temple of Doom is the biggest offender, with the set feeling undercooked and the higher level of detail barely being felt when the temple is so small, but the Temple Escape also feels the same with the same structure as the original set but more squished and (seemingly) without the boulder track. The exception to this is the Escape from the Lost Tomb, but that set has it's own problems (it's just a f#cking wall).

Agreed. The scene feels really squished together with no room to breathe, but then again I'm not sure how they could have rectified that without cutting out some of the sequence. My big issue is that the colors are too vibrant. I like the usage of sand green but pairing it with turquoise is too overpowering for the source material, and I absolutely don't understand why they went with bright green for the foliage.

...Wiped clean by the wrath of God.

Yeah, I'm going with "blurry leak with bad AI sharpening" as my hypothesis, but all I know for sure is that staring at that leak gave me the heebie-jeebies. I'm honestly not too fussed over it. Assuming it is real, it's clearly a prototype model (like the 2018 Great Hall at NYTF, but potentially even earlier in production than that was), and the picture quality is too disturbingly inconsistent to make out significant detail. Boulder looks small tho :(

Oh gee, I didn't even notice that! The new Rollercoaster track is still compatible with the old minecart wheels, I don't get why they wouldn't use them here.

Looking at the leaked picture it seems incredibly likely. The wings get thicker on the top and bottom where they meet with the body, (basically confirming they connect via pins or axles), which would be an unnecessary overcomplication if they didn't detach.

First time I take a nap in 2023, and the Indy sets leak. Of course. And they are... meh? The Fighter Plane Chase definitely has the best builds of this new wave - the car looks fantastic, and the plane is (unfortunately) the only remake that I think is 100% an improvement over the original version. Indy's minifig looks fantastic - though I am admittedly weirded out by the face expression he has in the top right corner of the box arts - but it's really disappointing how Sean Connery has that same awful hat piece. I would've gladly paid another $5 (even $10) to get a new hat for him, but even if that wasn't going to happen the Scarecrow hat from series 11 in dark bluish-gray would look better than this. That said, looking at the pictures and the PPP ratios I get the vibe all of these sets were going well over budget, so I sympathize with the designers in this instance. And no seagulls is an L. Even then, objectively the best set of the wave hands down, even if it's not my favorite. Escape from the Lost Wall is... pretty bad, actually? It's really bland, has too little dimension, and honestly this is one of those rare cases where I think a set needed to be smaller in size so they could use their pieces in a denser, more satisfying way. Like, maybe another wall? Or a roof? Some pillars? I dunno exactly, but this just feels like such a nothing set, which is a shame because the old version was half the cost but just felt so much more complete. Minifigs are nice, but unless there's some big extra to this build around the back I'll probably skip this one. Lastly is the Temple of Doom, which... hmm. This one feels like the designer was stuck between remaking the 2009 set and doing something new and exciting, and imo going fully into either approach would've made for a better set. With that said, I'm gonna say something controversial: They should've cut the minecarts. I know it's a super iconic sequence from the movie, but I feel forcing them into the Temple set just makes both parts feel underwhelming. It worked better in the 2009 set, when the minecarts were the clear focus and they were much less focused on accuracy, but here the main Temple platform feels super squished and the minecart track is a lot less interesting than before. Really wish we could've gotten an $80 build of just that main platform at a larger scale, with a more complete Kali statue. (Then again, the original set is one I've pined after since I was a kid and there's a good chance I'd have been scandalized if they diverged too far from it. Not sure what the right answer was here.) That said, the figures are ACE and I'll still pick it up, but not as excitedly as I'd hoped. I miss the desert. I miss the sea. I miss walking into ToysRUs, wondering what wonderful adventures the LEGO aisle will bring to us. But, perhaps... those days have come and gone.

Neither seem super likely unless LEGO Indy goes on for quite a few years, but imo the Coronado makes more sense and would just be a cooler set. A more memorable scene, better and more unique minifigs, great opportunity for cool play features, AND a unique artifact? Sign me up!

While there are tons of sets LEGO could and should make for Temple and Crusade, imo most of what's left of Raiders either wouldn't make for very good sets (Map Room has no real play opportunities and would just be a tan room with a city microbuild [could be a neat GWP tho], Bantu Wind is a massive ship from an uninteresting scene and isn't very iconic) or would go against LEGO's standards (The Raven blatantly depicts alcohol, they would never make a realistic Nazi U-Boat, Opening the Ark scene is way too violent). Imo they could satisfy me on Raiders by doing a remake of the truck scene that includes the staff car with Belloq (in his white suit), Toht, and Dietrich. Other sets would be nice of course, but after the two Raiders sets we're getting this year that's the only other Raiders scene I'd want more than new sets from Temple or Crusade.

Not sure of I'd agree with that. While KotCS got the most sets overall in the original run, they were mostly all focused on the jungle scenes. We never got anything from the first act of the movie (Area 51, rocket car, college chase, the fridge), and most people would agree the first act is the best part of Crystal Skull. Imo the Area 51 opener could make for a really great larger set, with a nice Area 51 playset and one of the Russian trucks from the chase scene.

While obviously there are some people who legitimately hate the idea of aliens in IJ, I've always thought the majority of distaste for that particular beat was mostly just leftover hate for the Star Wars prequels.

Agreed. I definitely understand why it's the black sheep, but to be perfectly honest I'd rather watch the entirety of KotCS than one scene featuring Willie Scott. Hopefully we'll get a Crystal Skull set in 2024 (because I'd bet money this theme continues into next year at least unless these sets completely bomb).

Interesting. Iirc the same was the case for the first wave of the Harry Potter reboot in 2018 (which was also a wave of all remakes that shortly preceded a wave of sets for a new franchise addition). I imagine it could be like that line, where it was a timed exclusive for the first several months until it was clear the sets were a success, at which point they became more available.

So I was just thinking about some of the other LEGO 2023 sets to see if there was anything that could be applicable to LEGO Indy or vice-versa, and I recalled that the upcoming LEGO Sonic sets will apparantly feature a new large ball element to represent the spindash from that series, along with (presumably based from the description) new pieces to allow the ball to stay on and roll through a course. Is it possible we could see this system (or at least the ball) make an early appearance in 77105 for the Boulder chase section of the diorama?

Right now it goes for about $20 in good condition. I know because earlier today I went on Bricklink to see if it'd be worth it to sell mine

Honestly, I think a new piece for Mola Ram's headdress is likely. The sides of the headdress don't come over his face in the movie like they do on the 2009 minifig, and the existing cattle horns are the completely wrong shape and length. They'll likely do a new piece with built-in, accurate horns. As for the Idol, they probably will keep the same piece, but since this is 2023 I fully expect them to cheap out and just put it in pearl gold rather than the painted metallic gold of the original.

Interesting that the rumor states the diorama will have "3 sections": maybe they'll be set at 45⁰ angles like in the 2008 set? That could also explain why this one apparently includes two quote tiles, have the LEGO Indy logo tile on the center section and one quote each for the left and right sections.

Good point. At least Kingnono managed to string people along for a couple months.

I heavily doubt it'll be this or the DH2 scene. Up to now every set that features any Hogwarts expansion has had "Hogwarts" in the set name, it'd be really strange to change that now. My money's on a diorama of the lake scene from PoA, that's the only scene where the actual phrase "Expecto Patronum" is iconic enough to the scene to be the title of the set.

With such a high price I could see the Expecto Patronum being our first HP diorama. Otherwise, I don't see how it could reach $65 regardless of which film it's based on.

Yeah, you're probably right. LEGO hasn't made any steel skeletons since 2014, and even then they were actually just light bluish-gray.

As much as I'd love a new Temple Escape, to me it really doesn't seem likely. The original was only 550 pieces, and, while a new version would undoubtedly have more detail, I don't really see how they could TRIPLE the piece count, especially since there isn't really an iconic exterior. Not to mention there's only a handful of characters in the opening sequence to include as minifigures. Personally, I think the scene would work better as an 18+ diorama at around $100 (which is also the max cost I could see them pushing for a playset version), but that's just me. As for our $160 mystery set, I see only 3 sequences that could really fill that cost: Castle Brunwald, the Temple of the Holy Grail, and the Akator Temple. (I'm excluding the Circus Train, as I imagine that if we're getting an Indy train this year it's more likely to be the Indy 5 train.)

It's especially annoying that they didn't do it right, since all of the pre-Diagon Alley robed students were based on 3-6, and so far all from DA on (excluding Moments) have been based on 1-2. Really, when they made all those new robe designs for DA and the summer 2021 sets they should've just based them all on the Columbus-era designs.

That's absolutely correct, and this inconsistency is probably my biggest nitpick with this theme. They put so much effort into making everything else match the specific movie it's based upon, it's really unfortunate they haven't done the same with the student uniforms up to now. It's what annoyed me about the Moments jumpers - they could've used those as an oppurtunity to give us the Columbus-era uniforms, but instead they just added an inaccurate patch.