Some movies really tug on your heartstrings, getting you deep in the feels. For nerds out there like me, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom might tug on some heartstrings, too–or at least Mola Ram does. Ha. When I look at this LEGO model built by Henry Tilney, I certainly get the feels. What’s not to like? There is a great representation of some mining carts going down a roller coaster (clearly placed in the film for that amusement park tie-in), and there is Indiana himself, the eminent archaeologist/grave robber Henry Jones, Jr., perched beside a pit of lava. Hopefully he doesn’t end up burning up! Topping it all off is a camel, which doesn’t feature in The Temple of Doom that I recall, but certainly can be found in the final installment of the Indiana Jones trilogy, The Last Crusade.
Tag Archives: Indiana Jones
Awesome 8-foot-long LEGO Indiana Jones diorama recreates Raiders of the Lost Ark intro [Video]
After wowing us with an amazing collaborative diorama of Cloud City, builder Caleb Watson has turned his skills to another classic Harrison Ford franchise, Indiana Jones. In this huge diorama, Indy runs through all the perils from the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark as he escapes the temple with the idol. But this diorama holds a secret: it’s completely motorized, with minifigure Indy actually dodging each of the traps.
Check out this video of the action as Indy makes his way through the temple, and then read about the details of how it works below.
Learn more about this model below
Indiana Jones and the brick-built tank of brilliance
It’s one of the most famous action scenes in cinema — Indiana Jones taking on a fearsome tank, armed with little more than a rock. This unforgettable moment in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade is recreated brilliantly in LEGO by Joshua Brooks. The tank is wonderfully detailed, bedecked with equipment and cargo, and features nicely-sculpted gun sponsons. Also, don’t miss the added touch of brick-built clouds of dust kicked up at the rear of the tracks…
As Joshua puts it: “SPOILER ALERT — rock beats cannon”…
You can’t do this to me, I’m an American!
Even more than 35 years after its first screening, Raiders of the Lost Ark still remains a perfect adventure movie. Lego Fjotten masterfully recreates the iconic Cairo scene capturing all the characters including that bad little monkey! Bonus points are for the minifigures right from the 7195 Ambush in Cairo set, and with all the accessories around you can easily re-enact that action-packed passage.
Indiana Jones and the collection of LEGO vignettes
If there’s one thing I love more than a beautiful LEGO model, it’s a collection of beautiful LEGO models. Inspired by the Harry Potter vignettes we featured earlier in the year, John Klapheke wanted to build a series of something he was fairly knowledgeable about. The mission John set for himself was to create six vignettes for each of the Indiana Jones movies, each set on a 12×12-stud base.
At first, he was pretty adamant about keeping the entire scene confined to those dimensions. Later, with the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull creations, he relented and let some detail spill over (and sometimes through) the sides of the base. John says “aiming for consistency” was the unique challenge of a project of two dozen separate, yet interconnected creations.
Click to keep up with the Jones’s
What treasure lies within?
Here’s a LEGO temple to stir the soul of an explorer. W. Navarre has covered his pyramid temple with just enough foliage and texture to create an Indiana Jones adventure spirit in me. I want to scout out these ruins for anything that glitters and sparkles. The mix of greys, and the tumbledown rockwork makes for a real sense of age and decay, whilst the shaping of the structure creates the unmistakable feel of Central or South American antiquity.
LEGO Indiana Jones does the temple run
You must remember that famous scene in Indiana Jones: The Raiders of The Lost Ark when Indy is chased by a giant boulder and has to run through the temple as the boulder rolls closer and closer? Well back in 2008, LEGO released 7623 Temple Escape with the rolling boulder as a play feature. Australian builder Forgotten Days has taken that set and expanded it – adding style, accuracy and details along the way – resulting in a much better scene.
The surface terrain is nicely built up with gaps to highlight the underground activities taking place. Using an Indiana Jones minifigure at the start standing with the idol, and another at end of the run, is a nice touch. I love that Indy at the end is in the seated position just like in the movie!
Oh rats!
The tomb of Sir Richard, one of the Knights of the First Crusade, is buried deep under the streets of Venice, and the shield that marks his tomb can help you discover the location of the Holy Grail. Well, at least according to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Legophthalmos has cleverly recreated the iconic catacomb scene from the film, complete with Richard’s tomb, ossuaries, and of course, piles and piles of rats.
Just looking at this build makes me feel like I walked face-first through a cobweb. *Shudder*
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Kings
Michał Kaźmierczak (migalart) recently posted a large-scale diorama that illustrates an original Indiana Jones adventure, complete with cliff-hanging, rope bridges, spiders, snakes, mummies, and buried treasure. The diorama may be about Indiana Jones, but the real star is Michał’s landscaping.
This photo of the builder with his model shows just how big his diorama is:
See more photos on Flickr, Brickshelf, and Michał’s blog.
Action at Hangar 51
Brian Williams delivers a stunning rendition of the warehouse scene from Indiana Jones. It took me a while to realize there were mirrors used to create the illusion of depth, for the actual diorama is much smaller. If you spend more time taking a closer look, you might find some good laughs in the crate labels.
Petra’s Al Khazneh in LEGO
One of my dearest memories of the summer in 1994 that I spent working on an archaeological dig in Jordan was a weekend trip to Petra. We arrived from Amman late in the evening, but several of my fellow archaeology students couldn’t wait until morning to see the amazing structures carved from the sandstone 2000 years ago, so we snuck across wadi after wadi, avoiding the main paths. Once past the guard posts, we walked through the narrow gorge known as al-Siq — pitch black at night — until the passage opened in front of us to reveal Al Kazhneh, lit only by starlight.
ArzLan built his LEGO version of the Treasury for the Hong Kong Animation Festival, and features Indiana Jones in his Last Crusade visit to this UNESCO Heritage site.
Defeat at Gaza from DareDevils of the Desert
There’s no better builder than Brian Williams (BMW_Indy) when it comes to recreating scenes from Indiana Jones with Lego. This vignette depicts the failed British assault on Gaza in 1917 from The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. The smoke effect is the best I’ve seen at this scale.