Blondie-Wan

Indiana Jones spans pretty much the entire 20th century, though we've seen his adventures only from certain eras. None of the movies take place in the 1940s, though, although the last one (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, set mostly in 1957, with the last scene taking place the following spring) does give us a little information about his activity in the '40s, and some of the books, comics and games do take place in the '40s. The three original movies, the TV series and the overwhelming majority of other materials (books, comics, games, etc.) take place in the '30s or earlier, though. ____________ I've sometimes thought it'd be neat if LEGO were to release official Indiana Jones / Adventurers crossover sets, with Indy and Johnny Thunder teaming up for various adventures. I wonder whether Lucasfilm would go for it...

Yes, it's one of the five most recently-released sets (the others being The Temple of Doom, Ambush in Cairo, Fighter Plane Attack and Chauchilla Cemetery Battle; these five sets make up the August 2009 wave). Venice Canal Chase is indeed still available; in fact, the last few times I was at the Toys R Us here, it was the set they had the most of - they actually probably had more copies of Venice Canal Chase than the other four sets combined. If your local store doesn't have it in at the moment, they may simply be between restockings. Just to add an update and some detail... I went back to my local TRU again yesterday and counted all the Indy sets, and they had more copies of Venice Canal Chase on the shelves than all other sets combined: The Temple of Doom - 4 copies Ambush in Cairo - 12 copies Venice Canal Chase - 45 copies Fighter Plane Attack - 6 copies Chauchilla Cemetery Battle - 2 copies I also know a couple other stores in town that have Venice Canal Chase right now (for one of them, it was the only Indy set they had left the last time I was there, in fact).

Well... he can die, and we know that he does eventually get at least one serious, lasting injury sometime before he does (the loss of an eye), but we also know he lives until at least his early 90s.

Does no one else think they should revisit the one character for whom chrome treatment actually makes sense? I really think we need a chromed Threepio as part of the regular complement of a set, as opposed to a randomly distributed, highly limited edition bonus...

I was wondering a bit lately not so much about LEGO's own MSRPs, but about retailer prices. Up until six or eight months ago, Toys R Us was outrageously expensive (I'm talking about US stores), frequently charging several dollars above MSRP, while other retailers were considerably more reasonable, seldom going above MSRP and frequently pricing below it. In just the last month or two, though, I've seen more Toys R Us stuff fall back down a bit to slightly less insane levels, and even a greater number of items actually priced normally. At the same time, in recent months I've seen prices at other stores - not so much big, major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, but smaller, operator-owned franchise stores like Learning Express and Hobbytown USA - have their prices creep up a bit, more frequently coming above MSRP. Does anyone else in the US perceive the same thing?

As it happens, I was actually thinking of posting something along this line of inquiry soon myself. I don't have a particular need to know at the moment (that is, I haven't recently acquired any supposedly vintage LEGO of suspect quality from some secondhand source, nor am I about to that I know of), but I was really concerned about whether this issue might arise at some point in the future. If at some point I buy or trade for some rare old set or piece(s), how can I be sure the part(s) is/are genuine LEGO? Years ago I don't know that the possibility of counterfeit elements would even occur to me, but these days, when small groups of fans-turned entrepreneurs like BrickForge and BrickArms and so on are apparently able to easily produce high-quality, perfectly LEGO-compatible custom pieces in quantity, I can't help but wonder. If they can make their own custom elements out of materials like those LEGO uses, and do so affordably despite the vastly reduced scales of production, what's to stop some unscrupulous individual or outfit from recreating older, discontinued elements (or even entire sets) and offering them up as the genuine articles?

Is anybody paying attention. Hey, give us time! ;) It does indeed appear to be true there won't be any more Indiana Jones sets released in 2010, though from the way you asked the question I imagine you're really getting at whether or not there'll be more sets after that. For that question, we don't know the answer yet. I think it's possible the theme will resume in 2011 (and it would be a good time to do so, since it'll be the 30th anniversary of Indiana Jones), but it's by no means certain. Yes, it's one of the five most recently-released sets (the others being The Temple of Doom, Ambush in Cairo, Fighter Plane Attack and Chauchilla Cemetery Battle; these five sets make up the August 2009 wave). Venice Canal Chase is indeed still available; in fact, the last few times I was at the Toys R Us here, it was the set they had the most of - they actually probably had more copies of Venice Canal Chase than the other four sets combined. If your local store doesn't have it in at the moment, they may simply be between restockings.

I'd be interested in all of those and more, though some of those vehicles (the sub, the zeppelin) would be a bit large in minifigure scale - perhaps Indy UCS sets? indy13, I see that was your first post. Welcome aboard!

Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park III, to be specific) is a subtheme of Studios, but more importantly it's its own distinct license. Spider-Man originally started as a licensed subtheme of Studios as well, but it's a different licensed property from Jurassic Park. "Studios" overall isn't a licensed theme, even though it includes (or overlaps with) some licensed themes, so it doesn't belong on the poll. ___________________________________________ As for me, Indiana Jones is my favorite licensed theme, except possibly for Star Wars. I grew up on Indiana Jones and love the franchise, and the sets are terrific - pretty much a dream come true for me.

Gotcha. Well, as it happens, internet petitions don't actually carry much weight, but they're perhaps at least marginally better than no display of fan interest at all. A better way, though, would be to engage TLC more directly - writing to express interest in the theme, perhaps, and our continued interest in it and our hopes it returns from the hiatus, though we shouldn't write them with actual ideas for specific sets, characters, etc. we'd like to see; they probably won't even read those, for legal reasons. But I do intend to at least write to let them know I want more Indiana Jones sets. And of course the absolute best way to guarantee more sets is to ensure good sales of the ones they've already done. ;) It'd probably mean more when the sets first come out (so, for example, buying a bunch of the sets back in August would probably carry more weight in influencing their thinking than buying a bunch of the sets now), but now's better than never. Ah, Ok. Well, anyway, I for one am definitely interested in more sets - from all four movies, I should note (I might be slightly less interested in ones for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull than for the other three, but simply because the fourth movie already has more sets than any of the others, particularly Temple of Doom and Last Crusade), and more than that, I also want sets from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles / The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. I'd even be into sets based on some of the novels, comics and games (particularly Fate of Atlantis)...

Really, I just would like to see a chromed Threepio in a regular set, as opposed to some tightly limited, randomly-distributed thing. I've wanted one since before I actually even started getting Star Wars LEGO sets several years ago, and when they finally did one it was for just 10,000 copies. I need one I can actually find and afford!

Nice work on the reviews. I personally like the speeder in the Clone Trooper BP just fine, though, I must say. I'm more than a bit dismayed to learn (only now!) that (some of?) the Battle Droid BPs came with just two blasters, even though the box clearly indicates four. I'd say it was dishonest, but it's easier to think it was just an error that slipped through (like the missing parts on the box art, or occasional parts missing from construction on other sets). I have such a tough time keeping up with Star Wars sets that I never did get one of the droid BPs, even though it was only $10 (US). I actually did manage to get three of the clone one, though, and I've opened and assembled two but the third is still MISB; I'll probably try to trade it for a droid BP out of a desire for completeness, though truth be told I'm really more interested in the OT SW era anyway (I did manage to get 7 Stormtrooper BPs and 12 Rebel Trooper ones). Perhaps I should try to combine it with a few other older duplicate sets I have MISB, to get something larger that I missed getting new...

In fairness, KOTCS (assuming you mean "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," as in "Indiana Jones and the...," and not something I'm not aware of ) isn't a whole license unto itself, but part of the larger Indiana Jones theme, and I actually did see some of those sets on shelves for upwards of a year - all of the second wave (the KotCS release wave) except Jungle Duel, in fact. I could even still find Jungle Cutters on shelves in stores in my area until less than a month ago. I do doubt Prince of Persia will have much staying power, though. It's hard to see it outperforming either Indiana Jones or Batman as a licensed theme, and that's even if the movie is successful; if not, I expect the theme to last about as long as the Speed Racer one did. (To be honest, I hope this is the case, since what I really want is for the Indy theme to return, and if the reason for the hiatus is to make room in the lineup for Prince of Persia, well... ) As I understand it, Indiana Jones wasn't permanently canceled outright but put on hiatus, specifically to make room for Prince of Persia. I don't know if they will bring the theme back, but I'm confident they could indeed get quite a bit more out of the theme if they so choose. I'm currently hoping they bring Indy back next year. There's no new movie due then, but there is the 30th anniversary, at least, and that'd give them another potential marketing hook around which to stage the theme's relaunch... Feh!

I know the Naboo fighter pilot torso was used in the Custom Car Garage, and was even available in Pick-A-Brick for a while; I meant to order several, but didn't get around to it before they removed it from the PAB inventory, alas. Additionally, the torso for Luke in his fatigues, originally created for the Cloud City set, has been reused in a number of non-cloud City sets, and the shuttle pilot torso from the original Imperial Shuttle set has been reused for a skateboarder (!) in a couple different polybagged promo sets.

I absolutely want more Indy sets, but I do have to ask... If you don't mind my asking, how do you know they'll consider doing a final set if they get 500+ votes in a forum thread, and how did you decide upon those three as the choices? That said, I'll play along and say I want those, too. If I absolutely had to pick one, I'd say probably the tank (and the rest of that scene), since that should mean getting not only a cool vehicle with lots of functionality and detail, but also three or four important characters who don't have any minifigs at all (at least outside the videogames) - Marcus, Sallah, Vogel and Donovan. But I very much want the other set ideas here, as well - and Kha's tomb, the safari in British East Africa, the tour along the Great Wall of China, the Dunn & Duffy circus train, the Model T / Bugatti chase, the attack on Ciudad Guerrero, the "Phantom Train," the balloon, the riverboat on the Belgian army's mission to get arms from Port Gentil, a Lafayette Escadrille flier or two, the elephant trek to Pankot Palace, part of Pankot Palace itself, the showdown on the rope bridge, the Pan-Am seaplane, the map room, the staff car from the truck chase, the Coronado, the tombs under Venice, the Grail temple, the car chase and/or cabin confrontation in 1950 Wyoming, the rocket sled, the chase around the Marshall campus - you name it! There's tons more that could be done from this theme (and which would make for great sets), and with the 30th anniversary of the series in 2011, it would be the ideal time to relaunch the theme after its hopefully brief hiatus.

Alas, my collection is one set smaller now; I returned one of my Fighter Plane Attacks for a refund today, as my finances are really really tight at the moment and I decided I needed the extra money to make it through the week. I'll try to pick up another copy when circumstances permit.

I just have to add my own appreciation. In particular I like how you managed to get around what I've always thought to be the main obstacle to an official set of this scene getting done, the seeming lack of obvious action play features. An official set wouldn't be just minifigs and furniture; there would have to be some sort of moving parts (aside from those on the figs) or other functionality. The little "spreading flames" mechanism is great. I think the bar and fireplace are a little more solidly built than we might see in an official set, unless it were a larger, more expensive one than I think the "box art" image suggests. I think this would more likely be a $15 or even $20 set than a $10 or $11 one. But it would still be doable, I think. I just wonder now what TLC will do about this scene if/when they bring back the theme. They undoubtedly would want to do something different from what's been seen in a fan MOC, but they'd also want to take advantage of as many good ideas for play functionality as possible. And you also have the perfect name for it! That so sounds like an official set title. It'd be my first choice (my second would probably be "Misbehavin' in the Raven" )...

Believe me, I'd like to see my collection layout, too! I did make a point of explaining the current non-displayed status of my set inventory, and how I'd like to change it. I'm currently subject to certain display limitations dictated by my living space. But I really do plan to post pics of my Indy sets eventually (and MOCs, too)!

In more-or-less story order (in the internal chronology of the series, as opposed to film release order, and in as close to story order as the sets themselves allow), I have: 2x Shanghai Chase 1x Temple Escape 3x Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb 2x Fight on the Flying Wing 7x Race for the Stolen Treasure 3x Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase 2x Fighter Plane Attack 2x Peril in Peru 2x Jungle Duel 2x Jungle Cutter 2x River Chase 2x Temple of the Crystal Skull ... plus the Brickmaster exclusive (officially "Indy's Jungle Cruiser," AFAIK), and the first three minifig keychains (Indy, Henry Sr. and the German biker), if one counts them. I'm glad to have been able to get lots of duplicates, though I do always want more (for "army building," parts packs, etc.); in particular I really wish I'd been able to get at least a couple more apiece of both Jungle Duel and Temple of the Crystal Skull. I'm still hopeful I can perhaps find one or two more of the latter somewhere other than eBay or Bricklink, but Jungle Duel was the first set to be discontinued (well, apart from the Brickmaster one, of course), and I just didn't realize how quickly it would go. I actually still have a shot at getting another Temple Escape (I'm glad that set stuck around so long; I guess it was just widely recognized as a great set, and it continued to sell for quite a while), so I'm hopeful about that, and I also anticipate getting more Jungle Cutters, though I don't know how many my funds will permit. I still have to catch up on most of the sets from the last wave; Fighter Plane Attack is the only one I've gotten (even though Ambush in Cairo is so affordable). I'm always in something of a state of set acquisition triage, where I'm buying the sets I most need to get right now while putting others off as long as I dare, since I can't afford to get everything all at once. I'm going to have a very hard time getting as many copies of The Temple of Doom as I want, but we'll see... As for display, a lot of mine aren't even opened yet, though I've put together at least one of each of most of the '08 sets. Those are mostly still together, but stored in storage drawers and tubs. I have a tiny studio apartment without nearly as much space as LEGO demands. I currently hope to move to a larger place near the end of summer, and then I should have a lot more room to indulge in LEGO building (and display, and play...). In the meantime, the majority of my Indy sets are still in their boxes (in fact, four of the copies of Race for the Stolen Treasure are still cased, though the seal on the case has been broken). Temple Escape was the one I most enjoyed putting together (and subsequently playing with), I think. It's such a great set. The Brickmaster set is a subset of the Comic-Con set; the Comic-Con set has the whole Brickmaster set, plus additional elements. As I understand it, the box of the Comic-Con set actually contains a regular, full, polybagged copy of the Brickmaster set, just as you'd get it via a Brickmaster membership, along with a hand-sealed ordinary zip-loc baggie containing additional pieces (and instructions, I presume) to make the little jungle-covered monument thingie and the Ugha warriors. I don't think the set had a "real" factory production line since it was such a limited-edition thing (only 500 copies), after all. Since the large slope "ramp" elements in the set use the same decal as the one at the entryway into the Chachapoyan temple in Temple Escape, it apparently just comes with two copies of the whole Temple Escape sticker sheet, complete with the markings for Jock's plane and all.

Where'd you read that it wasn't profitable? Everything I've read indicated quite the opposite (and you think the prices are ridiculous? I actually think the Indy line has had some of the better LEGO values, even if not the very best)... I know LEGO Indy sets have been clearanced. So have LEGO Star Wars sets, and LEGO City, and LEGO Darn Near Everything Else. That doesn't mean the whole line is a money loser; it just means the individual sets from the existing waves have been out a while, and are no longer considered some retailers' main attractions for the LEGO aisle. The most recently-released Indy sets are still selling at full price in a number of outlets. That said, I certainly don't think it's a given that the line will be back in 2011; it really could go either way. My understanding is that it's been put on hiatus to make room for Prince of Persia in the line-up, as the two licenses are considered to cover similar thematic territory. In wild speculation mode, I'd guess the Indy line has probably been one of the more profitable licensed themes, and I kind of doubt PoP will be anything more than one of the more fleeting, ephemeral licensed themes (

Indyd; I'd love to see it happen. I think if we did get one last big surprise set as a send-off, the ideal thing would be the circus train. It's large enough that it would really call for a large expensive set anyway, and would have lots of crossover appeal (to Trains fans, perhaps Wild West fans, etc.) to ensure its viability in the market, and represents a memorable, classic sequence from the series. But of course, I'd like any additional sets, and I really hope the theme stays around a while (with or without a one-year hiatus).

I obviously don't have any insider information about whether it actually is ending or not; I just want to reiterate my position that there is indeed still a lot of stuff they could do from the movies, and tons of stuff they could do from the TV show if they wanted to go that way. The only thing limiting the theme is the extent of the company's interest - there are more than enough characters, vehicles and locations from the series that still haven't been represented in LEGO sets at all to keep the line going for at least a few years.

Oh, how I want these myself. OTOH, here in the US we do generally get LEGO cheaper than anywhere else, and we have our own exclusives. I just wish everything was available everywhere. And for longer periods of availability! And for free!

I hear you on your concerns over quality of the plastics used in LEGO, but to be honest this doesn't seem like an issue to me. All this is is the torso element being turned around the other way before the arms are put in and the print applied, right? That's very interesting, and may serve as a useful way of distinguishing the origin of a minifig "at a glance," but I don't know if I'd consider it a quality issue in and of itself, though I might if I understood what the purpose of the prints on the front of minifig neck stubs/pins was. (Perhaps it's an optical guide to help the factory know which side of the figure is the front when putting the arms in and the torso printing on in order to have the logo "line up" the "right" way, and its absence is connected to the alternate orientation of the logo as seen in the first pic?) Now, this is a more significant difference, to me (re: the plastic, not the number marked on the arm). I very much want LEGO to use plastic of a certain high standard; I want my bricks to endure for decades and fit well and all that. I'd also prefer opaque pieces to actually be opaque, though I have to acknowledge I have noticed the slight opacity difference in the plastics in sets of recent years and it hasn't been a huge issue for me, but then it also hasn't been as prominent in my sets so far as in the examples here.

Ah, hm. Thanks for that. To be honest, I don't know if I'd have characterized that as the huge difference in quality many others are doing, but I do notice the difference. I think it's something more subtle than some characterize it as being, but more perfect consistency would be desirable, and I certainly don't want these things to become huge problems with time. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing here; I see only differences in the helmet color and the prints, not quality issues with the plastic. Are the torso prints really the issue? I'd have thought that was intentional, desirable variation. The plastic quality is the main concern of mine, but differences in the molds honestly don't concern me, unless it affects functionality (clutch power in construction, movement of posable parts like minifig arms and hands, etc.). The tiny rectangular engraved cutouts on the insides of the arms don't strike me as being any kind of "quality" issue, only one of the many slight variations LEGO has introduced into its parts over the years (like the various other engraving differences one might see on the interiors / undersides of bricks, or whether the pins in the bottoms of 1-wide bricks might or might not be hollowed out) - I just don't see an issue with stuff like that. I do very much want bricks to fit together properly, though, and to last for decades, and it'd be nice if opaque elements were all indeed opaque.