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.

Carry on adventuring, Johnny Thunder!

There’s a great love across the LEGO community of the old Adventurers theme, and Jellyeater‘s latest build shows there’ll be no sign of that stopping. In this build, Johnny Thunder finds himself exploring caverns that were once home to the lost Toltec Empire. As he traverses down through the foliage above, his faithful companions Dr. Charles Lightning and Pippin Reed are already busy, documenting the site — from creepy crawlies to signs of past tomb raiders.

At the centre of the build, the underside of roller skate pieces is used to great effect adding detail to the altar. Towering over this, are giant statues that look suitably imposing with individual detail and all with different Hockey masks, sourced from an old Sports range suggestive of the long forgotten gods.

I’m excited to see where Jellyeater takes the Adventurers next!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

First rule of being an adventurer: remember where you parked your off-roader

If you take a look at 1saac W. photostream, you’ll notice a lot of brick build cars. They specialize in building brick vehicles. Building LEGO vehicles is something you either hate or love to do. I am not a big fan of cars; therefore, I do not navigate towards building cars out of LEGO. However, I can really appreciate it when someone else manages to do it so well as 1saac W. does. They made a Toyota FJ40, and it looks just like the real deal. There are a lot of small parts incorporated in this build to get the level of detail just right. As far as I can tell, there have to be at least 7 minifigure hands used in the car. The actual number may, however, be higher. To display the lovely FJ40 1saac W. made a jungle-themed base. They even added a driver, and it is no one other than Johnny Thunder. And although we are used to seeing Johnny in vintage cars, The FJ40 suits him very well.

Johnny Thunder takes on the highest peak

I’m a 90’s kid. Early 2000s LEGO shaped my childhood, with Bionicle, Racers, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. However, one theme was grounded enough to offer a haven from all the crazy. Orient Expedition was the short-lived sequel/reboot to the popular Adventurers theme from the late 1990s. The theme follows Johnny Thunder and his team of explorers in seeking the lost treasure of Marco Polo. Similarly, Lord Sam Sinister also sought the treasure, but chose to try and steal it instead finding it on his own. GunnBuilding reimagines the 7417 Temple of Mount Everest playset, where the heroes and villains have a showdown on top of the world’s tallest peak.

Click to see more of this homage to Orient Expedition

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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?

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.

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.

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!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!