Tag Archives: Adventurers

LEGO Adventurers was a theme that LEGO first released in 1999 and discontinued in 2003. Starring explorers and archaeologists in far-flung locations like Egypt and Tibet, the theme had many similarities to the later licensed LEGO Indiana Jones theme. Thanks to its unique characters and comparative longevity for an original LEGO theme, the theme remains popular with LEGO builders to this day.

Johnny Thunder gets colorized

Norlego takes us on an LEGO Adventure with everyone’s favorite non-licensed LEGO adventurer Johnny Thunder! In some creations, the minifigures are the last things that get added to bring the scene to life. My guess is that in this creation, the minifigures were created first and inspired the rest of the build. All the usual suspects are there. We have Johnny, Pippin Reed, Dr. Kilroy, and wherever Johnny goes his nemesis Sam Sinister follows. Also, there are Slyboots, Mike and Harry Cane. This time they are portrayed in a more realistic skin tone rather than yellow.

Adventurers - Oasis campsite

Norlego built an irregularly shaped base with lots of angles and exposed studs, perfectly mimicking the desert lands of Egypt. What would an oasis be without some lush palm trees? These are made beautifully. The use of the prickly bush for the dead leaves at the base of the palm tree is a really nice touch. The colour of the swordleaf indicates whether a leaf is dead, doing fine or a baby leaf. Or maybe I am just looking into it too much? Last but not least I think the table deserves some love. It is made out of triangle road signs. The seams between the road signs make the table look fold-able which would really be handy when going on an adventure.

Want see more Johnny Thunder creations? Check out these articles.

The real treasure was the LEGO pieces we collected along the way

Caleb Saw digs deep into LEGO lore with Johnny Thunder’s mansion which is filled with more treasure than you can believe. The complete scene is a roomy, comfortable construction filled with custom warm lighting and a literal treasure trove of LEGO mementos and easter eggs from the old Adventurers line and beyond.

Thunder's Mansion

Click through to see a list of all Johnny Thunder’s treasures. Can you spot them all?

The contrast of water and sandstone

I love it when builders follow a story through their LEGO creations over the course of years. One such story is the adventure of Jimmy and Bill, by Eli Willsea. Each build has a similar style and atmosphere, but works perfectly well as a standalone scene. The most recent one was featured here in 2017, but the first scene was built way back in 2015! Now that is dedication!

Deeper

The builder has titled this scene “Deeper” and his description only states; “further than ever before”. Indeed, Eli has gone further with his textures, details, composition and lighting. Notice the dark tan Bucket handles stuck into the bottoms of 1×2 bricks and the bars slotted in between two 1×2 bricks with center grooves, in particular. The composition really pops with the circular hole and with the waterfall flowing cleanly into it. This water was a topic of discussion between friends and me; they said it was much simpler than the surrounding textures, while I thought the smooth surface makes a nice contrast, complimenting the drab colours already present. To end the debate, I decided to ask the builder personally. Eli stated; “The water is also one of the main elements that is progressing the story of this series, that is why it stands out so much. The explorers are following the water, but the reason is so far a mystery. So yes it was a conscious decision.”

A TARDIS console room fit for an adventurer

The ever popular television series Doctor Who has inspired many a LEGO TARDIS, including an official LEGO Ideas set. Wanting to go for something a little different, GunnBuilding has taken the TARDIS console room and re-imagined it in the LEGO Adventurers theme. As such, it is filled with plenty of historic artifacts collected on many an…adventure. This, coupled with the tiled floor and arch-laden tan wall, makes this model feel like IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM! The camera and piles of books suggest someone has been busy and, if the hat hanging off the railing is any indication, that person is the one-and-only Johnny Thunder.

The Adventurer's Console Room

This model is a digital render and, as such, may include some pieces in non-production colors.

Float away from Sam Sinister in this adventurously colorful hot air balloon.

From 1998 through 2003, the LEGO Group’s Adventurer’s theme offered kids an exciting play-theme that also introduced some great new colors and parts. Orient Expedition was the final subtheme in the series, and it gave us a yeti, elephants, and even an anthropomorphic tiger. German fan site Rogue Bricks recently ran a contest based on re-imagining the Orient Expedition subtheme, which resulted in this excellent collaboration between builders Markus Rollbühler and Grant Davis. Markus built the colorful hot air balloon, while Grant created the biplane piloted by none other than the villainous Sam Sinister!

The Race to Mount Everest

Markus’ hot air balloon pays homage to set 7415, Aero Nomad, right down to its inclusion of Johnny Thunder and Dr. Kilroy. It is downright gorgeous to look at, and I especially love the way Markus used a mixture of curved slopes, dishes, tiles, and Technic parts to create the rounded shape of the balloon. The use of hot dog and turban pin elements for the balloon’s ornamentation is also particularly inspiring. To finish things off, the rendered background does a great job of bringing the entire scene to life!

TBB Cover Photo for July 2018: Adventurer’s Truck–“Snap!”

The Brothers Brick cover photo for July 2018 is this amazing Adventurer’s truck by Travis Brickle. Visiting our social media pages this month will take you on an adventure back to the 1990s, when Johnny Thunder and crew explored the remote reaches of the planet, pursued by dastardly Lord Sinister, who will stop at nothing to see the Adventurers fail. Will the brave explorers cross the rickety bridge before Lord Sinister can employ his most dangerous weapon: scissors?

Read more about Travis’ truck below

A 4×4 fit for an adventurer...and a puppy

Johnny Thunder would be proud of this epic ride from iamkritch. Named the Black Crow 4×4 (thanks to its special hood ornament), this off-road vehicle has just about everything you might need in traveling through the desert to an archaeological dig-site. The roof is covered in crates filled with useful tools, and there is even a fold-out awning to beat the heat on sunny summer days.

The Black Crow 4x4 02

See more of this off-roader packed with fun details

Smell the adventure in the jungle air!

There are many LEGO fans who grew up in the late nineties and at the start of the new millenium, a time marked by one very unique LEGO theme: Adventurers. To me (and I believe many share this opinion), Adventurers seemed like one of those broad themes like space, castle or pirates, that just seems natural and should be present in one way or another. With this in mind, there seems to be a strange lack of Adventurers creations online. Recently, this silence was momentarily broken by Joshua Brooks with his Diamond Falls diorama.

Diamond Falls

I was drawn to the diorama’s theme and the official Adventurers logo in the top right corner of the picture. More experienced builders will notice that the waterfall and the cliffs, which represents a large portion of the build, are somewhat simple in their design, but that is more than made up for by the boat, the overgrowth and the ruins hidden beneath it. The build has a story written in the description, which more curious and adventurous readers might be interested in.

I, Anubis come for your soul, mortal grave robber!

LEGO themes vary across time and this is one that probably deserves a revisit. The Egyptian-themed release under the banner of Adventurers in 1998 featured exploration of iconic structures in ancient Egypt, and the treasures they contained. Builder Zed reimagines what could have been a set release with a build of a towering Anubis, the god of mummification and afterlife, chasing after an explorer! Unlucky fellow, for I can’t see anything of worth that he’s got to run for except his life!

Adventurers - Egypt expedition - Anubis 2

Marching along we’re Adventurers, singing the song of Adventurers

The Annual Meeting of the International Adventurer’ Club from The Knit Knight is a genuine old-school treat. The meeting room is stuffed full of interesting artefacts and curios from around the world — statues, idols, hieroglyphic panels, and at the center of it all, a Pegasus skeleton. There’s a nice collection of adventurer characters in attendance too — a mix of classic and newer minifigs which works surprisingly well.

LEGO Adventurers' Club

I like the model, but it also makes me sad, reminding me how much I loved the now-defunct Adventurers’ Club at Pleasure Island in DisneyWorld.

The most dangerous hunt: Cretaceous trophies

When building a LEGO collection, one often accumulates many special pieces – unique trinkets destined for greatness, or the closest special parts bin. What you may not know however is that these pieces are special to your minifigures too – special enough to hang in some short of ghoulish trophy room to be stared at with smokey-depressed-retirement eyes:

Adventures End

TBB mainstay Paddy Bricksplitter knows this, as does ‘Old Johnny’; together they created one viciously intriguing trophy room overflowing with story potential. And oh what a story it was! Clearly this time, it was the T-Rex who should have run!

Island hopping redux

It’s hard to imagine that one of the most beloved LEGO themes, Adventurers, is already seventeen years old. Time flies quickly, apparently. But luckily with LEGO, there’s always the possibility to literally rebuild the past – but better! That’s what Joshua has done – rebuilt the Adventurers set 5935 ‘Island Hopper’ with new modern parts and building techniques.

Island Hopper by Joshua

Not only does Joshua’s build provide the classic Adventurers nostalgic feel, but it also greatly improves upon the original. This new Island Hopper really goes to show how much LEGO itself has evolved over the years too.

5935 Island Hopper