While this Lego set was provided free of charge to me for review, the opinions are my own and not in any way influenced by The Lego Group (TLG).

When I was offered the Indiana Jones Escape From The Lost Tomb set for review, I jumped at the chance. I have always been a fan of Harrison Ford and the Indiana Jones franchise.  The set itself is 600 pieces, has four bags of parts, an instruction booklet, and includes four CMF; Marion Ravenwood, Sallah, Mummy, and of course Indiana Jones. I always want more CMF but four seems to be an appropriate amount for this build and an excellent price point of $39.99 US. 

The Build

The instructions are the standard Lego picture instruction booklet. The build itself was easy to complete, as one would expect a set containing 600 pieces to be. While I found the build to be simple and enjoyable I was a tad disappointed with the 16 stickers the build requires. Like most Lego creators I would prefer the bricks to be imprinted and not require stickers. I find I often end up putting the stickers on crooked or they have creases. I suppose it’s mainly due to my fat fingers and old man eyeballs. I do understand why Lego provides stickers and not individually imprinted bricks, but the excess trash from the stickers and the stickers themselves seem counterintuitive to a more environmentally friendly approach by Lego. I did like the easter eggs found within the stickers that were a nod to the original Indiana Jones films, C-3PO and R2D2. The rest of the stickers are well thought out and fit in very nicely with the Indiana Jones/Lego franchises.

The Tomb

The tomb is similar to a previous set (7621) from 2008 and pays homage to the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. It has two massive statues of Anubis, the god of the underworld. Both statues can rotate 360 degrees and one can fall backwards knocking down part of the wall of the tomb. Both are easily removable for play or photography. The Ark of the Covenant is, of course, included in the set and sits on a pedestal behind a yellow arch. Various hieroglyphics are visible on the sides of the gateway arch courtesy of some of the 16 stickers included in the set. I particularly liked TLG including a nod to the original movie and Star Wars franchise with the sticker showing C-3PO and R2D2. The arch supports are a tad bulky and it somewhat takes away from the ark being the central focal point both from a playability and photography standpoint. I’m not sure how this could have been rectified beyond extending the size of the arch, although that would present its own issues. Behind the ark of the Covenant are two sarcophagi, one on either side. These are, again, stickers but they do have that Lego flair of CMF. The sarcophagus is flanked by more sticker hieroglyphics.

The Minifigures

The four minifigures that come with this set are wonderful. I do wish Sallah had an alternate facial expression like Indiana Jones and Marion have. I always enjoy the ability to have my CMF with different expressions depending on the story I’m trying to tell in my photos. Mummy doesn’t really need an alternate facial expression but it would have been fun to see what they could come up with. I do wish Mummy had printing on his arms to complete the look of a genuine mummy wrapped in bandages. Nonetheless, the four CMF are well done and look close to the original movie in styling and dress.

Photography Potential

As is always the case with LEGO sets some disassembly and reassembly is necessary to capture a photograph suitable for social media. In this case, however, the need is minimal as the set is fairly simple in nature and only has a single wall to the rear of the set. Both of the Anubis statues are easily removed making camera or lighting access that much easier. The Ark of the Covenant is simple to remove as well and this makes using it as a prop in photography much easier. I do wish the gateway entry to the ark was more easily removed as it required more disassembling and reassembling than I like. I also had some trouble getting the CMF to grasp the Ark. This is partially due to the CMF and their inherent lack of articulation as well as the small handles on the Ark itself. Still, this was just a minor issue.

Play Potential

This set has massive ability for play, both by kids and adults alike, There are several “traps” and “triggers” found within the set to stimulate the imagination and make the play experience more fun. This includes a trap to the rear of the set in which snakes can be placed and then with a simple lifting of the container, the snakes fall from the walls onto an unsuspecting Indie. Additionally, both idols are capable of turning 360 degrees and one of them can fall backward onto the wall and the wall will tumble down. There is also a trap door on the rear of the diorama. Lots of potential for definitely exists and I know I will have many hours of fun with this set.

Who is this set for?

This set is really for just about anyone. The casual collector can pick this up for a very reasonable price. Toy photographers will love this set, if not just for the 4 CMF it comes with. The Lego builder will also enjoy this set for the pieces or the diorama. Since it is such an easy set to build kids 8 years of age and older will definitely enjoy this set. The investor may enjoy this as well, although I don’t collect my Lego sets as investments, I collect them for photography and play. As such I won’t comment on the investment potential, I will leave that for someone who is much better schooled in that end of the Lego Universe.