Best Adventurers subtheme

[Robert8]

We've got some amazing Adventurers MOC's recently here. So, I have a couple of questions

1. Which subtheme was the best one? (poll) and why?

2. If Adventurers gets a fifth subtheme, what would you like to see?

Edited February 25, 2016 by Robert8

[Murdoch17]

1. Orient Expedition, because it was my first Adventurers theme that I remember (and gave us consistent names for the characters!), even though I never got the bigger sets as Secret of the Tomb (7409), Red Eagle (7422) and Jungle River (7410) were all I ever got from this sub-theme. I later got my most-wanted set: Island Racer, (5920) which I first fell in love with in the video game LEGO Island 2.

2. I would like a Jules Verne theme, with a steam-punk "Nautilus". I think they could journey to the the Mysterious Island in said submarine (like the 1954 Disney one in styling) and fall to the Center of the Earth. it could even be split into three parts / years!

OR

A prequel, like how Sinister got his hook and how he & Johnny first fought each other!

[gamejutzu]

Orient Expedition. It looked really nice.

I'd like to see either a steampunk area next, or a fantsy island in general (not European fantasy with elves, knights, etc.)

[Megagan]

Its really hard for me to pick one since they were all pretty good and had some fantastic sets. But I may have to go with the first theme of Egypt, with it being the start to the theme and more memorable sets to me.

As far as another theme maybe I might have to say head more east further into China or Japan could be fun options.

[Robert8]

For me, it's almost a tie between the Egypt and the Orient subthemes, but I'll go with Egypt

Egypt was amazing and Orient was a very good closure for the theme. The Scorpion Palace is one my favorite Adventures sets ever.

Amazon was kinda downplayed with a lot of wasted potential.... and the Dino theme was like wft?!

For another subtheme, I'd like to see Adventurers: Atlantis, similar to the Disney film

(Adventurers: Greece and Adventurers: South Pacific Islands would be nice options as well)

Edited February 25, 2016 by Robert8

[Actor Builder]

1) Orient expedition, all the way. Why: Because I made a choice and chose it.

2) I really like Murdoch17's idea. Jules Verne inspired stuff would be amazing.

[geezerman402]

Egypt, because right when the sets came out I was studying ancient Egypt in school, so it was a perfect match!

[Jellyeater]

The best is orient. 3 magic locations. My favourite set is Mountain Temple.

Second one is desert. This cars and planes are awsome. Sphinx is one of the most beautiful LEGO sets.

Next is Amazon. I really like the ship. But the main Temple, and baloon was poor.

And the Dino Island. Base and the ship are very cool. I'm looking for them.

[Ardelon]

1.

Its a tough choice between Egypt and OE, but Im handing first place to OE as I think it had the most "epic" storyline and the most diversity, even though nostalgia would have me vote for the Egypt subtheme.

Amazon is a close third, and then Dino Island is way back. It just doesnt fit in for me.

2. I had several ideas, but the most fleshed-out ones would be:

- An arctic subtheme, with the gang searching for an artifact like the hammer of Thor. Norse mythologicla mosnters and/or zombie Vikings could be the supernatural antagonists, allong with Baron von Barron / Sam Sininster / Mr. Hates. And an Inuit as a native friend the gang alsways makes.

- An undersea subtheme using the old-fashioned cmf diving suits, searching for treasure in a shipwreck or in the ruins of Atlantis. Seamonsters as the supernatural antagonists, along with some kind of undead conquistador or greek-style hero protecting the treasure. Maybe an Islander as a native friend?

I know, both ideas have been done, in a way. But still, I would love to see a period take on them.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Ardelon

[Peppermint_M]

Ok, so I must be quite old in comparison to a few here, Adventurers was my second ever favourite LEGO theme (Aquazone was my first) and Egypt was my fascination at the time. I think I was one of the few eight year olds who wanted to be an Archaeologist!

The Sphinx was the largest set I had for quite a while and Johnny Thunder was Sam Grant first.

As for another Adventure? I would love a visit to Greece and the mythology there. Or perhaps to the jungles of Cambodia. Maybe something searching for the tomb of Alexander the Great. I don't want it to turn into a steampunk pastiche, Johnny Thunder is based in the era of the interbellum, (post WWI, pre WWII) so it is firmly pulp or Dieselpunk. Perhaps a next generation sort of effort set in the 50s could bring in some Ancient Alien adventure. Maybe even an adventure amongst the settings of Castles and tombs in Europe.

[lifeinplastic]

1) Tough to say which was the best - Egypt was the original and a wonderful choice by Lego to choose a tomb-raiding theme, especially at the time when new themes were quite rare (with Town, Castle, Space and Pirates dictating the releases every year), so it was nice to have new parts and a new setting.

As one of my favourite areas of the planet to study, I always felt the Amazon should have been explored further and the sets would no doubt have been much better with today's colour palette available. However, I always remember seeing the magazine cover with the monkeys in the ruins and loved the introduction of minor characters like Max Villano & Gabarro, making the theme feel more like the Tintin books. It was a shame that more animal moulds were not created to provide more appeal for people to buy sets.

I didn't really like Dino Island as this seemed like just a means of introducing dinosaur moulds and wasn't really in keeping with the world exploration theme. I understand why it was done, as Lego must have felt a Jurassic Park concept would be popular in the same way that Indiana Jones was no doubt the inspiration behind the original Adventurers line (back in the days before licensed themes dominated Lego releases). I was therefore really pleased when the Orient theme was launched, signifying a return to the spirit of the original sets. I didn't particularly think the Chinese sets were particularly great but the Himalayan and Indian products were excellent.

2) I don't think Adventurers should get a fifth subtheme but rather a reboot (albeit using the same main characters), as it has been absent for too long. As is the tradition for today's Action Themes, this would be accompanied by a television show to increase popularity and awareness with kids. Sets should not focus on specific areas of the planet for each wave but become more random, as I always feel that once an area has been explored, it won't be revisited as technically Lego would consider the area explored as 'done with'.

I also wouldn't like to see anything that doesn't stick to the core ideas of world exploration (so turning Adventurers into a Steampunk or Atlantis/mythology line for me just wouldn't work - if these themes need to be explored, I don't feel the Adventurers line needs to be compromised and turned into more of a fantasy theme but should be kept in line with the Indiana Jones/Tintin concepts although kept as a non-licensed product. I would love to see a range of sets providing us with great new parts and locations - polar exploration with dog sleds and large boats, Andean mountain trains, Lawrence of Arabia style camels & Petra-style rock buildings, Mayan temples like Tikal and Chichen Itza, Easter Island, David Livingstone's search for the source of the Nile (crocodiles & hippos galore) and re-use of the CMF diver suit. Certainly plenty to choose from...

Edited February 25, 2016 by lifeinplastic

[Tezclatipoca]

For me it's definitively Egypt.

Great choice from TLG to begin with adventurers, it was also near the time we had the first Tomb Raider video games !

It was in the way of time and the sets were really well designed !

The first adventurers theme is also the best for me because there were some of my last LEGO before I entered in my dark age !

A new theme I would like to see for the Adventurers would be some kind of Greek or Roman influenced theme. So, perhaps some Atlantis theme but more oriented in archeology than diving into the ocean.

I would also like to see a more African theme (like Tarzan, Livingstone...), but it could be difficult to deal with, as this colonial era was not the best part of human history...

Edited February 25, 2016 by Faladrin

[Sigolf Brimabane]

My brother and I only had the Egypt sets and just one or two of the smallest sets from Amazon, Dinon Island and Orient. So nostalgia says Egypt. But I always loved the colours of the Amazon sets and the dinosaurs of the Dino Island, so it was a difficult choice. I loved the Dino Island world in LEGO Racers 2. :)

[Blitzismydog]

1.) Egypt, because my brothers and I had nearly the entire line, and I've always been a huge fan of all things Egypt

2.) Maybe something South East Asian, like centered around Angkor Wat if it has to be new. I, too, am more keen on a reboot. I think I'd prefer they make a little of each, though, because I can't pick just one.

[geezerman402]

Also the logo for dino island quite indicative of the sets, I feel. Bleh.

[Dreamweb]

My vote goes to Orient Expedition. It was the theme that got me back into buying new LEGO sets. The Imperor's Ship was the first brand new set that I had bought in a loooong time, and soon after that I bought some more sets like the Yeti Hideout and the Elephant Caravan. Of all the Adventurers subthemes, it still remains the one from which I have the highest number of sets, although I eventually bought a few used sets from the other subthemes later on.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Dreamweb

[Forresto]

Absolutely Orient Expedition. I remember that being the first theme that wasn't Star Wars I super excited about. It's also the first one I started buying figures for off of eBay!

[DuckBricks]

Grew up with Dino Island sets... I will always have a soft spot for the Dino molds. They were in my very first stop action movie, I brought dinosaurs everywhere I went, I just loved those dinos... Maybe the sets weren't the best, but I'm choosing between this for pure nostalgic factor.

[x105Black]

Orient Expedition. Lots of diversity and variation. I also love the elephants.

As for another one, I'd love to see Adventurers go beyond Egypt into other parts of Africa.

[BrickJagger]

1. Orient, great story and three different fleshed-out locations

2. Amazon, eye-catching color scheme and Achu, too bad the temple was horrible.

3. Egypt, found it a little boring and repetitive, but it was good for its time.

4. Dino Island, nothing more needs to be said about this one.

[catwrangler]

1. Orient Expedition, because of the range of sets and the fact that Lego doesn't seem to have produced anything like them before or since. I missed that theme completely and I'm gutted about it!

2. Hmmm, tricky. As was pointed out earlier, it's hard to come up with new pulp adventure themes without running into colonialist settings/issues that don't square well with making a children's toy for a worldwide market. Between that and the sheer visual impact, I'm tempted by the Jules Verne/Nautilus idea from upthread...

[benderisgreat]

While I was introduced to Advantures through Egypt theme, the sub theme I remember the most is Dino island. I had almost all sets from this theme and it was really good. The Orient Expedition is another good sub theme I remember seeing it in catalogue a lot.

[Still Raindrop]

Although I was 9 when the Egypt sets came out, so the nostalgia factor is strong, I have to go with Orient Expedition. The sets were incredible, the story was great, and they used people other than the adventurers and their adversaries for the first time (unless you count Gabarro--but his role was never clear); you got a sense that they were traveling to actual places and interacting with real people.

The sets were certainly iconic, and for good reason. I only had sets from the Everest subtheme (though I've been searching for a Dragon Fortress), but I really enjoyed them. In fact, I made a retooled version of the temple a few months back and decided not to change it too much--I wanted it to look more authentically Tibetan, but I also wanted to keep the general look because of how impressive the original set was.

I suppose the theme itself was something of an adventure; I don't think something like that had been done before.

As far as where I'd want them to go next...hmmm. I agree steampunk would be a huge mistake. There are lots of pulpy adventures they could have. The South Pacific has been mentioned before--maybe they could search for Redbeard's treasure, which he left on Enchanted Island. Or they could go to the Pacific Northwest in America to search for Bigfoot before a hunter gets him. OK, so these are all MOC ideas I'm planning on making, but it could still work! The point is, there are still so many adventures to be had....

Edited February 29, 2016 by Tea Weevil

[CamelBoy68]

The Egyptian sets were the ones that got me out of the "dark ages", so I would have to vote for those. I have been a fan of Ancient Egypt for quite a while, travelling around the world to view the artifacts, so when I was casually skimming through eBay I came across these sets, purely by accident. From there my forgotten love of all things brick reignited....

[HoganPrime]

My first adventures set was the 5978 secret of the sphinx. I loved that so much when I was a kid and I have fond memories of playing with it. I never had any of the other adventures waves. I voted Egypt because of those childhood memories, it is also the reason why I decided to collect the pharaoh's quest series, which I love.

If they continued adventures I'd like it to be joint adventures characters and Pharaohs quest characters, with the adventures team being aged up to suit the change in times. For a theme I would like a Greek mythology encounter with the teams tracking down ancient relics and facing the wrath of Gods and monsters and a contemporary enemy

Edited February 29, 2016 by HoganPrime