Tag Archives: norlego

Revisiting the Oasis Ambush

I am such a fan of all the tributes coming out right now to LEGO sets of the past! And this remake of 5938: Oasis Ambush by norlego takes me right back to 1998. I love the detailed sculpting of the creature atop the sarcophagus. The Anubis head is expertly utilized, and the sculpting along its back and paws is genius! But my favorite part has to be the inclusion of an actual oasis in the background, trimmed with some beautiful dark green tile and two modern-style palm trees. Some printed pieces from the original set make their triumphant return, like the hieroglyphics on the sides of the tomb and the map held by an updated Lord Sam Sinister. Hopefully, this new Johnny Thunder can wrest the treasure from his evil clutches!

Set 5938 Oasis Ambush – Adventurers redux

Man, all this nostalgia makes me want to build my own revamped LEGO set for the upcoming MOCing Memories BrickCon collab sponsored by The Brothers Brick.

The brick is mightier than the sword

Everyone knows LEGO’s late-90s Adventurers theme was based loosely on Indiana Jones, and this fantastic diorama by norlego drives home the point by doing some character swapping, putting Johnny Thunder and Baron von Baron into the iconic tank scene from The Last Crusade. The build is magnificent, with the massive Hatay Heavy Tank looking straight out of the movie (which, as norlego points out, was a custom design for the film, not a real-world tank). Let’s hope Johnny doesn’t get raked over the treads!

A Sinister Tank Chase

norlego has been revisiting the Adventurers theme and giving it some much-needed love, starting with the splendid Adventurers Camp we featured last year. Check out more of norlego’s builds in TBB’s archives.

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.

Ride like the wind, Gandalf!

We featured norlego‘s stunning LEGO Meduseld Hall last year, but now he’s followed it up with another impressive slice of architecture from Edoras, the capital of the nation of Rohan in Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings. Here we see Gandalf and Pippin leaving the city at the start of their ride to Minas Tirith. The gated wall behind them is an impressive structure, with a lovely depth of detail and texture within both stone and wooden sections. The arrow slits in the main gate structure are nicely done, and the surrounding landscaping is excellent — all the green broken up with clumps of dark tan grass and boulders. Don’t miss the edge of the diorama — the undulating strata of earth and stone add immensely to the natural feel of the scene.

LEGO Lord of the Rings Rohan

If you’re a Tolkien fan and just can’t get enough Rohirrim action, then be sure to check in on this wonderful microscale LEGO version of Edoras from a while back.