Escaping from this lost tomb would be one slithering affair, and an adventure I love watching on screen, but would not enjoy experiencing in person. LEGO Indiana Jones: Escape from the Lost Tomb™ #77013 was one of three Indiana Jones sets released on April 1, 2023. Was I excited when they were announced? Absolutely. Was I at the door of our local LEGO Store before the doors opened on April 1st waiting to grab boxes? Shhhh, that was supposed to be a secret!
Set #77013 is a great set for a great price. It was priced at $39.99 USD on its release date, and includes 600 pieces which makes for a deal with price per piece count. It is rated for 8+ and that is fair. It is not a complicated build, but for the collector it packs a big visual punch. It includes four numbered bags, a sticker sheet, and instruction booklet.
This build has action on either side of the tall tan wall. The larger room holds two Anubis that can rotate on their platforms in a circular motion, and one of them looks a little unstable. I wonder if any of the minifigures had anything to do with that? They are tall black structures with gold markings and stickers that help create detail. My favorite parts are the little red tongues. According to the directions the two Anubis face away from the center of the build. This feels inaccurate when you consider the film, but thankfully a slight spin will place them in any position you feel best represents your viewpoint.
A golden archway lies in the center of the build and hieroglyphics run down each side. Look closely here, because two droids from a galaxy far far away lie carved into the sticker.
The sandy ground around the ruins are covered in, you guessed it, snakes! Thankfully for us there are torches still burning which helps keep a path clear.
Beyond the archway flanked on either side by large sarcophaguses, lies the Ark. It rests upon a stand that enables our figures to carry it out safely, and stickers on either side create the illusion of carvings. Two bucket handles represent the winged cherubim on top of the ark, which I must say works surprisingly well.
The large tan wall behind the Ark is created with layers of colors, piece styles, cracks from aging, and stickers full of hieroglyphics also cover portions of it. Beware of the lower right hand corner as glowing eyes usually points to something sinister.
Let’s face it though no one would want to stay down here for long, and an Anubis is our ticket out. A little handle on the Anubis located on the right side can be flipped and this will send the jackal crashing down into the wall. Here is where things get cool. The wall is built in two portions, and about a third on the right side is extraordinarily unstable. This makes it a bit of a pain when moving the set around, but so much fun when it comes time to crash the jackal. A rubber Technic ™ axle is built into the top of the small wall and protects the surface the set lies on when the wall comes crashing down. It also softens the sound.
Moving to the backside of the build we find two more interactive features. A rectangular structure of sage green and light grey looks innocent at first glance, but that changes quickly if you pull the dark grey connector piece. In a flash a mummy, looking well past his prime, drops down ready to scare anyone trying to enter the backside of this build. If you make it past him, two more sets of glowing eyes will make you run for cover. The last feature is the slightly rotating chute that is perfect for sliding additional snakes into the main room.
All in all this is a rather terrifying build, but perfect in every way.
Four minifigures come with this set. Indiana Jones™, Marion Ravenwood™, Sallah™, and the scary mummy.
Indiana Jones is ready for action in his classic brown apparel. His print job is very good. He has a rumpled shirt beneath his leather jacket, and wears a belt with a gun holster riding on the front of his pants. He has dark grey tan gloves on, but the best part is his hat which has an added feature of hair attached to it. He has two sides to his face. One a sly grin, the other a scowl. He also comes wearing a cross body bag and he goes nowhere without his brown whip.
Marion is a lot of fun. She wears a long white dress that has been torn in a rather jagged line around the knees. The print job creates a cinched in waist and a large rosette with ribbons lies at the bottom of her neckline. Her hair piece is dark brown, long and wavy. She also has two sides to her face; a smug smile and one of fear, no doubt because of that mummy lurking around. Thankfully she carries a torch that helps light her way.
Sallah is one of my favorite characters within the movie, and they did a great job with his minifigure. He wears simple light tan pants, a bright orange belt, and a white and grey striped jacket. He has just one face print in which he wears a smile beneath his dark beard, and a white turban covers his head.
Now for the mummy. He is a mixture of light and dark tan and wrapped in layers front and back of cloth that don’t quite cover his aging body or bright blue eyes
This is a great set, great price, and a lot of great fun.
