Monday, December 27, 2010

Pharaoh's Quest: 1 of 2


A couple of Lego Pharaoh's Quest sets made their way into my stocking this year. The adults of the family all draw names, and I'm terribly easy to shop for, just imagine whatever a ten year old kid would want, and this thirty six year old kid will be content!

These new sets are great, just great, and really put the Johnny Thunder sets that came out over a decade ago to shame in a lot of ways. This says a lot, 'cause SeƱor Thunder was the bomb, and he got say things like, "Bring the THUNDER!" Okay, he didn't actually say that, but he could've if he wanted to.

Johnny Thunder started out very pulpy, tomb raiding in the Egyptian deserts. He moved on to South American jungles, and eventually found himself in the Himalayan Mountains. It wasn't until near the end when Johnny and friends started to fight unexplained and supernatural foes. This sounds cool huh? It's all Lego!

These new sets have a named hero in every one, and there's an even grittier / pulpier vibe going on. Plus, right off the bat this newest incarnation goes more of the style of the Mummy movie franchise, and less of a classic Indiana Jones route.


First up we have set #7306 Golden Staff Guardians. For a ten dollar set you get a very nice collection of mini-figs and accessories, and let's be honest, it's the mini-figs we do this for, right? Essentially all this set really boils down to is a mini-fig collection builder.


The Guardians themselves are awesome, and very menacing. New accessories include the wicked-looking khopesh swords, and very nice looking scarab shields too. Of course there is also the Golden Staff itself, another new piece. The head-dresses aren't new, but this the first time I've seen them in black. Then there's the figs themselves, with printed torsos (front and back), double-sided heads, and printed legs too. The red glowing eyes tell it all, these aren't husks lying around in a sarcophagus, but undead (sentient?) guardians wielding weapons they know how to put to good use!

Two different faces on the same head, and two sides to the torso are a nice touch


Mac McCloud is pure pulp hero. He's got the five o'clock shadow, oil stained tank top, suspenders, cocky smirk, and even a bit of an injury on his face. Another nice touch is that his torso is also double-sided. His motorcycle is awesome as well, it's two separate frames and comes equipped with a rifle and a bundle of dynamite. The rifle has been around, as has the helmet and goggles he wears. The dynamite isn't new, but unless you picked up the right Power Miner sets, you probably don't have it.

I like the dynamite, but a shovel would've made more sense...maybe both


There you have it, just ten bucks and it's loaded to the wrappings with pulp fighting horror goodness. The little altar you build with the set is pretty solid too, it's a small terrain piece, but it's not just slapped together. The human could pull off many different roles in many genres, and the mummies are pretty versatile too. Of course a lot of the equipment works just as well on a starship or in the 1930's, ancients, or whatever in between.

11 comments:

  1. Love it! One of my fave memories from the holiday was helping my sons to put together their Lego sets. Always a good time for adults and groms alike!

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  2. Man, legos are so cool these days.

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  3. WOW Legos sure have come a long way since I collected them!

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  4. Love the Legos!
    I haven't seen those sets around here, but they are now definately on my list!

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  5. I got a Tantive IV from my Mom for Christmas. Been working on it during NFL games with my daughter. About half way through.

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  6. It would be very interesting if LEGO could release table top rules. It would be sweet to build terrain/city fights with LEGO blocks and use the bumps as a unit of measurement. I was very big on LEGOs as a kid. It was some very awesome stuff. If I ever have a kid, that kid will get LEGO:)

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  7. I now know how to get everyone's attention...Legos! Legos and I go way back, way back. There was never a 'dark age' with me and Legos, I just never stopped buying them. When my wife and I married she was also stuck with two dogs and about two hundred pounds of plastic bricks.

    @Christian: My daughter and I have a deal, she collects the city themed sets and I get the castle sets, we both kind of split the space stuff. Legos are such a great way to bond with your wee ones.

    @Steven: Get out there and get some! I was talking to the Legos the other day and they were saying how cool YOU were these days!

    @Meatball: There was a real slump a while back but they've really hit their stride these last few years. They're so expensive though, trying to squeeze in Legos with miniatures and RPG's is a tough balancing act.

    @Double B: They're pretty new, many of the sets on the website aren't for sale yet. Check out the big pyramid, it is pretty cool too.

    @Brad: Good to hear from you! I am so jealous, that ship is HUGE! Sometimes life is just awesome; Legos, Star Wars, father-daughter time, football on in the background...

    @Flekkzo: They are so on the verge. They've now got their MMORPG up and running and they're boardgame selection is pretty huge as well. I always end up plugging these, but check out the tabletop Lego rules a buddy and I whipped up about a dozen or so years back. We used regular inches for movement, and based vehicle cost on the square area of studs!

    http://personalpages.tds.net/~jjbrandt/

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  8. Once again ... your imagination and legos are going full form ! Nice grab my friend. What else did those Legos say to you the other day ?

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  9. Been pretty busy with work. I got to be in Louisville for that ice storm a few weeks back.

    My daughter also got a lego castle advent calendar which we did together. It came with a queen and a princess which are not very common in the castle sets. Then she wanted the Tower Rescue set since it had a princess locked in a tower. The tower while it has a very nice construction does not have much through the gate so I am thinking of liberating some of my old castle legos from my mom's house to build a keep.

    I might also get my daughter the medieval marketplace later in the year since it has all sorts of little things she would like to add to her set.

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  10. There have been Lego wargaming rules around for a while

    http://www.brikwars.com/

    Brian

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  11. Well sure, but obviously I'd rather plug my own rules than theirs!

    Actually here's what the BrikWars guy said about our rules. "Since the first moment I saw the battle figures Mik had illustrated for Lego Omniverse, I knew that I had to do the same thing for BrikWars."

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