• Daniele Combatti told us about the myriad of interesting parts that made Bionicle so interesting and peculiar: (presentation)
• Tom Loftus helped us understand how to connect Bionicle parts to System parts. (presentation)
• Mansur (Waffles) Soeleman gave us the story behind Bionicle, how it came about and some interesting theme trivia. (presentation coming soon)

We spent the rest of the meet-up socialising, building with the Bionicle people were mailed out the week prior and finishing with a show-and-tell of our weird and whacky builds.

Our Instagram covered some of those crazy Bionicle builds:

With the recent release of 10273 Haunted House and its plentiful references to the Adventurers theme, I thought it was a good moment to take a look at the theme and its enduring appeal amongst Lego fans and Lego designers.

The Adventurers theme has, in recent months, seen something of a resurgence. In CMF 19, we saw an updated Johnny Thunder and Mummy and this month 10273 Haunted House, home to the series’ main antagonist Baron von Barron, went on sale. More on these later but let's have a look at why fans remember this theme so fondly.

In 1998, before Lego had IP lines (lines where Lego don't own the underlying intellectual property such as Harry Potter or Star Wars), they released Adventurers. This followed the series’ hero, Johnny Thunder, and his friends battling their sworn enemies in various scenes across the world. The sets spanned four waves between 1998 and 2003:

• The Egyptian Desert
• The Amazon Jungle
• Dino Island
• Orient Expedition

Here are some fun facts about this theme you may not know:

• It’s one of the only Lego themes where the locations were largely real-world locations: Africa, The Amazon, India and China (sadly Dino Island hasn't yet been discovered!)
• It was one of the first themes to use the tan colour (which also debuted in 1998) and to great effect. Without tan pieces many of the sets, particularly the desert sets, would not look as appealing or realistic (and the beautiful printed pieces look great in this colour!)
• Most sets gave you both a hero and villain - perfect for instant playability. Thanks to Brickset’s recent catalogue updates, I found this was surprisingly rare until the Adventurers theme!
• All characters in the series had names - another rarity for Lego.

In today's blog post I’m going to focus on just the first wave, The Egyptian Desert, and I hope to revisit the other themes in a later post. This sub-theme was set in 1920-30s Egypt and saw the heroes embark on a quest to find the legendary Re Gou Ruby, the prized possession of the Pharaoh Hotep. The sub-theme played to the myths and legends of ancient Egypt by way of various Egyptian archeological and other desert scenes, and through play features that tapped into popular tropes of the genre such as heroes entering tombs and navigating ancient booby traps. As you can imagine, this sub-theme clearly draws much inspiration from the Indiana Jones films well before they became a licensed Lego theme!

The Minifigures

In the first wave we were introduced to seven characters: four heroes and three villains. The launch heroes were:

• Johnny Thunder/Sam Grant an ex-Army Australian Adventurer and Explorer.
• Professor Kilroy/Dr Charles Lightning - A renowned archaeologist and expert on ancient cultures.
• Pippin Reed/Gail Storm - A journalist charting Johnny and the Professor’s expedition in search of the Re-Gou Ruby.
• Harry Cane - The team's aviator. If it flies, he knows how to pilot it!

You will notice the first three heroes each had two names. The names used for these characters depended on the region the sets were sold in. The launch villains were:

• Baron Von Barron - Johnny Thunder's arch enemy who is always seeking to steal the Adventurers' finds.
• Lord Sam Sinister - Von Barron’s partner in crime. Together they plot to steal the Re-Gou Ruby from the Adventurers.
• Pharaoh Hotep - An ancient pharaoh entombed for thousands of years with his treasure. He is brought back to life when his prized jewel, the Re-Gou Ruby, is disturbed. This minifig was rare for its time as it had both a printed nose and printed toes!

The Sets

In the first wave there were seventeen individual sets although many sets had multiple releases so this number can vary depending on how you count them (most duplicates were region-dependant, promotional items or bundles). I'm going to take a look at a few of my favourites from this wave.

5988 The Temple of Anubis

I remember looking at the 1998 Lego Catalogue and falling head over heels with this it. I never did get this set as a child, but I’ve since made up for that and now have it proudly sitting in my living room.

At 710 pieces this was the largest of the launch sets and contains everything you could need from an Adventurers set. It features all the characters from the range with vehicles that hold them all too. The temple splits in two to allow for varied play with hidden traps such as trap doors and revolving walls.

This set also served as the climax to the Desert line story as the set's location was where the characters uncover the Re-Gou Ruby after following all the clues from the four maps in the other sets.

If you only have room for the one Adventurers set, this should be it... although the next one comes a very close second!

5978 Sphinx Secret Surprise

A raised baseplate! A collapsing obelisk! Hidden snake pit and a booby trapped Sphinx! This set had plenty to entertain. A good mix of heroes and villains in this set means you have just as much playability here as in the biggest set of the theme. We also see an updated car for our explorer from the smaller set 5918 Scorpion Tracker. An equally fun, yet smaller set.

What I particularly love about this set is that archaeology takes centre stage - the base camp, the fabric tent, the campfire, the desk with a microscope, the artifacts in glass cases.

2879 Desert Expedition

This is my personal favourite from the line. I love its bi-plane and spent many hours with the engine panels open while Harry Cane ‘modified’ the engine. The stickers in this set are also fantastic - from the shark face on the engine cowling to the patched bullet holes on the tail and rear. The removable storage also clips into the landing gear remarkably well.

I’m a big fan of the car too - from its open cylinder engine to its side mounted gun rack. This vehicle was the perfect ‘bad guy’ vehicle that could seat both villains!

This set is also known for the included Lego storage jar that came with some releases (mine, sadly, no longer has a base/lid anymore).

The Parts

The Adventurers theme was one of the first themes to use a number of special parts that were quickly incorporated into other themes. Examples include the Bat, Glass Case, Scorpion and a Wheel Hub. The theme also contained a large number of printed pieces - from the four printed treasure map tiles (one in each set) to the walls decorated in lavish hieroglyphics and Egyptian wall art. A few parts that particularly defined the theme are worth a closer look:

30163 Coffin Base and 30164 Coffin Lid

This is the obvious part to mention for a sub-theme with so many Egyptian references and Lego included a number of these sarcophagi, in various colours and prints, in a number of sets. It’s a fantastic piece to own! As you slowly slide the lid from the base, what will you find inside?

30149 Waggon Cabin w. Seats

This is one of my favourite pieces as it allows minifigs to sit next to each other and whenever I've built vehiclular MOCs it makes a strong central cabin. For the Adventurers theme it meant you could have a navigator sat alongside a driver, or a handy spot for a solo driver to store their map. It works just as well in a lorry as a car. This piece went on to be used in the Indiana Jones line and Pharaoh’s Quest too. I was overjoyed to see this piece recently return with 70422 Shrimp Side Attack in blue no less.

Honorable Mentions

It would seem that Adventurers is still held in high regard with Lego designers. A number of sets feature references to the theme, and I’ve included a few below. Let me know of any you happen to find!

70657 Ninjago City Docks

What could be more enjoyable than a trip on the Adventurers 5935 Island Hopper around Ninjago City? It's far from the only Adventurers reference in Ninjago.

75900 Mummy Museum Mystery

Zoinks, Scoob! It looks like the Pharaoh is still after the Re-Gou Ruby!

60267 Safari Off-Roader

Very recently we also see a likely reference in set 60267 with an adventurer dressed strikingly similarly to how Miss Pippin Reed dressed on her adventures in the Amazon.

Collectible Minifigures Series 19

With CMF series 19 we see Johnny Thunder and a Mummy make cameo appearances!

10273 Haunted House

This newly-released Creator Expert/Fairground set is a take on Baron Von Barron’s mansion, Manor Von Barron. Throughout the build there are several references to the Adventurers theme - from a cursed portrait to antiquities dotted throughout to the spooky reveal of the final fate of Sam Sinister!

Thematic Legacy

Aside from direct references in sets released long after the Adventurers line ended (not to mention a cameo in The Lego Movie), the theme has gone on to inspire other Lego themes. From the obvious lineage of Pharaoh's Quest to the more subtle influences found in the Dino theme.

If you make the journey to Legoland, Windsor there are still several Adventurers rides there you can enjoy more than two decades after the theme was first launched.

In Conclusion

To me, Adventurers is one of Lego's most significant lines. Before entering my dark ages this was the last line I was really interested in. I really like that each set has a strong individual narrative - be it uncovering a tomb or keeping precious artifacts out of the hands of the villains. Each had plenty of play features, and they all look fantastic on display with lots of detail to study. It’s a shame I never retained the boxes for these sets as the box artwork is display-worthy and contains plenty of play ideas and alternative build.

Coming out of my dark ages, this (and Batman, of course) has been a line I’ve come back to with great interest at a time when I was forced to learn to become left-handed and practice dexterity (a story for another time). Adventurers was even the subject of my first MOC too, although, I like to think my building has improved since then!

Here Matt interviews Richard and asks, among other questions, what makes a great Lego meetup.

Matt's video was originally published on his blog.

Our local leader of the habitat movement, Caz Mockett, kicked things off by showing her extensive collection of habitats. We spent the rest of the meet-up socialising, building our own habitats and finishing with a show-and-tell.

An example of the fantastic creativity this format allows is evident in these three habitats built by Ryan Harkin:

The meetup was covered in more depth on our Instagram:

The 1970s was the decade following the Moon landing - an achievement commemorated in plastic on many occasions, even to this day. My visit to the Vault (where the company has an original copy of almost every set released) allowed me to hold some of the early sets connected with the Moon landing and it also heavily influenced my personal picks. Every time I look at these they transport me back to that day.

A small aside on the Vault: the Lego Group is a company seriously committed to preserving the history of the company and how it all came about. Not a lot people are aware but they actually have an entire team tasked with archiving their products and history.

I don't really get when people complain about the lack of originality in modern Lego sets and feel originality was a thing of the past. If we look more carefully we can see that themes have used and reused ideas, sets and vehicles in almost every single decade and there is nothing wrong with that - sets evolve, designs are upgraded but Lego always stay true to the original.

Compare set Space Module with the Lunar Lander released recently.

Both of them depict the same historical event, both are deeply charming, yet their designs differ widely and both can happily coexist on a proud collector's shelf.

1970-74

The period 1970-74 gave us Minitalia, suburban baseplates (078), 12V trains coexisting with 4.5V trains, vehicles widths that were variously 4, 6 and 8 studs wide and of course... fully moulded vehicles.

Jumbo bricks and the Homemaker theme were things. Who can forget those maxifigs?

We also had semi-neat storage boxes (791-794). I'm semi-excited by the Lego-IKEA collaboration but at the time of writing we still have no idea what form it will take.

Floating hulls were first introduced in this period so my pick for this period must certainly be the Maersk Line Container Ship

It was a hard choice because so many amazing Town sets came to life in this period but overall I feel that this Maersk set is more collectible... oh and the hue of that blue! While technically you could take all your (non-electric) Lego sets to the bathtub, the Maersk Line Container Ship was an ocean of fun...

1975-77

This may seem like a very specific time frame to focus on but there is a good reason for that. These three years featured a real boom in the number of new sets produced by Lego. Particularly noteable were the Hobby Set vehicles featuring brands such as Norton, Harley Davidson, Renault and Cadillac.

Maxifigs still reigned supreme but a new hero was on the horizon, slowly closing in... without legs or arms at least initially!

The highlight for me from this period was the 1977 debut of Technic and so my pick must be the Car Chassis

Lego Super cars are still a thing - the Lamborghini Sián was released just this week. These days, however, they are much more about the chassis than the tech underneath. It's impressive that the Technic theme is still, to this day, coming up with some fascinating pieces of machinery.

1978

Major milestone reached! It's the dawn of the minifigure and who would've known that they would go on to conquer the planet and outnumber humanity?

Sadly 2020 marks the passing of the father of them all, Jens Nygaard Knudsen. A touching collection of thoughts and farewells by fellow Lego designers were collected on the Brick Blogger and is worth more than a moment of your time to read and reflect on. Don't forget you can share your commemorative builds with the #NygaardMemorialFleet on Instagram.

My pick for this year could easily have been one that featured the minifig - how about that castle or something in yummy Classic Space?

No, instead I'm going to go with this. It's the swansong of the Hobby Set line and is an early predecessor of Creator Expert. It's the USS Constellation

The high part count for this set comes from it being entirely brick built (actually mostly plate built!) It's also one of the first sets meant for display rather than focusing on play. Some trivia on this set: Lego re-released it in 2003 as set 10021.

1979

There is so much low hanging Lego fruit in 1979 but this little set captured my interest the most as it resonates with one of my most recent Lego experiences! Can you make the connection? Behold the Scala Bracelet and Pendant or should we call it DOTS beta?

Many of my good friends from London AFOLs were instrumental in building the House of Dots in London for the launch (or re-launch?) of the jewellry line. The experimental showroom designed by French artist Camille Walala was the perfect setting and the team did an awesome job in building this dream house. Our very own Michael Studman wrote a great review on New Elementary about the experience!

Here Stuart Harris, Master Builder of the Lego House, interviews Caz.

Another of our members, Matt Elder, also interviewed Caz recently about being chosen for the Lego House Masterpiece Gallery.

Well done Caz!

1960-69 Starter Train Set with Motor

Another day, another decade gone - worry not I will slow down eventually, unlike this beauty which has just began moving! It was not an easy pick with the dawn of amazing buildings and bigger sets like 080, imagine the pricing of that one today...

This photo I took from the Lego Ideas House features set 116 and is how my ideal playroom would've looked like in 1969.

The story continues next time... but we aren't quite at the Ideas Saturn V yet!

1950-59 Gift Package

My inspiration for this series obviously came from the joy that is brought to us by Brickset's Random set of the day and Featured set of the day. To keep myself sane and taking it to another level I decided to revisit the history of the Lego Group and highlight one set from a given time period.

I was lucky enough to participate in the Lego Inside Tour back in 2018 - one of my favourite parts was visiting the Lego Ideas House (usually not open to the public) which has an extended version of the history exhibition found in the basement of the Lego House.

Brick history started in 1949 with the Automatic Binding Bricks but I have started my timeline a year later with the Gift Package set.

It is my favourite set from the first decade of Lego, it has absolutely everything you need and way too many flags :) The magnificent garage door, the lights. Those trees. Old school windows. Printed bricks. The Town Plan hosted non-brick vehicles however there was a certain charm in those, a sort of transition from the past. And very familiar looking child models! (one of whom ended up being the CEO of TLG...)

Who are we?

London AFOLs is a group of Adult Fans of Lego who live in or near London. We meet once a month in a pub in Euston (or on Zoom at present) and play with, chat about and generally geek out about our common interest - Lego. Membership is free and everyone is welcome. You can join and find more information about us on Meetup.com.

What's all this about then?

Many of our members are prolific Lego MOC builders. Some have encyclopaedic knowledge of particular Lego themes. Others are technical wizards when it comes to Lego building techniques. So we thought a blog to promote their MOCs, ideas, research and knowledge would be a useful thing.

We hope you enjoy all the exciting content we plan to bring you!