REVIEW: 7327 Scorpion Pyramid

[ZO6]

Thanks for the review Hinckley!

I picked up this set yesterday and built it, but I'm finding that I have pretty mixed feelings towards it.

Everything in the set looks a lot better than anticipated - the half-track looks awesome, the scorpion has good poseability and the printed parts are beautiful, and finally the pyramid looks pretty sharp and the colour scheme is surprisingly nice.

The half-track, while nicely detailed and well designed upon first glance has a glaring flaw when you go to push it around. There is no clearance between the top of the tracks and the doors of the cockpit piece so the treads gets caught when you try to push the vehicle.

The mechanism to simulate the exploding wall is simple and effective, but when I was building it I couldn't help but think back to the Wild West theme where the sticks of dynamite and shock absorbers were used to create explosions. I think it would have been simple enough to employ such a method in this set, and would have made the play feature more interactive and rewarding.

While building the front stairs of the pyramid, I was expecting an exact remake of the collapsing mechanism from the IJ Temple of the Crystal Skull. While I'm glad such a trap was not repeated, the hidden chamber is almost unusable due to the base of the stairs being made on a 4x6 plate and therefore taking up most of the chamber.

The brick dropping trap door inside the temple is unfortunately also nearly useless. If you place a minifigure under the trap and pull the pin to release it, the door swings down slightly and then smacks the fig in the head - the rocks are not even dumped from the trap. The only way the trap works is if no minifigure is present .

While there isn't a huge amount of room inside the pyramid, there is still enough space that I would have liked to have seen more details - some torches would have even sufficed.

An obvious set to compare the Scorpion Pyramid against would be the Adventurers Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins. Despite having less piece, the Adventurers temple has more minifigures (7 + 3 skeletons vs. 7), significantly more accessories of all kinds, and more traps (they are also more elaborate and function better than the ones in the Scorpion Pyramid). The Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins also has all those lovely printed parts which have been replaced by stickers in this modern age.

I'm sure at this point it sounds like I really dislike the Scorpion Pyramid. I think the set is fantastic, it looks incredible and despite the lackluster traps it still offers a ton of playability. As others have said, it is also a wonderful parts pack. The minifigures are easily the best to come along in a long time.

[Darth Jar Jar]

Great review you have now convinced me too buy this set I love all the play functions yes I play with my Lego

Well, there's Professor Hale...

[Algernon]

This set is just fantastic. Awesome figs and great shape. The only downside is that it is quite expensive, which means I won't be getting it for some time. Great review!

[Flare]

Beautiful review! If I only had an extra $100 I would snatch it up as soon as I found it

[CommanderFox]

Thanks for the excellent review Hinckley!

I really like the giant scorpion alot, to bad they couldn't do such a good job on the Aragog in the HP wave.

The build looks decent, and the new molds and pieces look incredible!

Thanks again!

CF

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Great review as always Hinckley.

I am blown away by the Anubis fig... MINIFIG OF THE YEAR? Even over the Collectibles? Even over the new Boba?

[tomie satoshi]

it is ULTRA GOOD

[Captain Becker]

Your lucky. I havet seen any of these sets in stores yet :( Anyway, im gonna buy this, I have to, so many cool and awesome parts

thanks for the great Rewier once again Hinckley

Captain Becker

EDIT: Cant write today

Edited November 19, 2010 by Captain Becker

[Mrlegoninja]

This is an absoulotely stunning set. So many new pieces! I just wish the price was lower.

[Arigomi]

I think the 2 x 2 corner panel piece is a new piece, I have not seen it before in any sets (and its not listed in the Bricklink database).

It is used in the board game 3862 Harry Potter™ Hogwarts™ in the same color.

The high prices seem to be a direct result of TLG deciding to use a lot of gold printing and new molds in this theme. The mummy wings, Horus headdress, Anubis heads, khopesh swords, scarab shields, and raised baseplate definitely affected the prices.

[Angeli]

It's oficial: I am in love with thes set :)

[The Soup Nazi]

Thanks for the review! I love the parts, not so much the price. I got the Motorcycle set today, and I can confirm that the 'stain' on the mechanic's shirt is blood...

[Hinckley]

Thanks for the review! I love the parts, not so much the price. I got the Motorcycle set today, and I can confirm that the 'stain' on the mechanic's shirt is blood...

I'm pretty sure it's reddish-brown oil, but you can pretend whatever you want.

[Princess Muttonchops]

Thanks for review Hinckley, what an awesome set. Great use of the tan base plate, I didn't pick it until Seiggy highlighted it to me. And the mechanic torso is hot hot hot. I think I could be in love...

[Rick]

I'm pretty sure it's reddish-brown oil, but you can pretend whatever you want.

I foresee mafia death scenes.

[Zorbas]

Amazing and very detailed review Hinckley! Your pictures are stunning and wonderful.

I think that this set looks very nice. Lots of useful and beautiful pieces and great minifigs. The Anubis minifig is brilliant!

I really like that TLG included many elements from the actual Egypt's history and mythology such as the wings from goddess Isis, the Horus' head (the bird headgear), the dead Pharao's golden mask and the Anubis head of course.

The printing on the Pharao and Anubis looks exceptional!

I have to disagree though on the point you've made about the Jake Raines minifig. I think that the head with the side burns is great and the overall impression is very suitable for a "protagonist" minifig. Perhaps TLG wanted a more Brendan Fraser approach.

One small question. Is the Horus' headgear made of hard plastic or is it soft like the Manta Ray Warrior from the Atlantis theme?

Thanks for the fantastic review!

[Captain Flint]

Excellent review! Thanks Hinckley.

After the first impression of the Pharaoh's Quest I said, okay, another series, which probably I will not buy. But after this review and close up images I think this series promises. The Scorpion Pyramid is awesome. A lot of nice new parts. Minifigs look really nice. I really like this new torsos and new wings. The car is also great.

I do not like a scorpion. I think it is ugly. But I know that children will like play with them. I never liked raised base plate too, but here looks good.

However, I like the set.

[Pellaeon]

Great review! I ran out and bought one myself.

One small question. Is the Horus' headgear made of hard plastic or is it soft like the Manta Ray Warrior from the Atlantis theme?

Hard plastic.

[smittyfan]

I'm pretty sure it's reddish-brown oil, but you can pretend whatever you want.

it seriously looks like the guy got shot up... i didn't even realize it was sposed to be oil stains at first...

[alex54]

This is a new mold. Look closely. Not sure why they made the change, but we'll see what kind of difference it makes.

I didn’t' see why TLC made such a change until today...

I've got the illumination when I woke up this morning, with this new arch piece in mind.

So, the first thing I made was to try… And I was right! I discover why this change!

It’s not to save some plastics or to make the piece stronger, but to maximize the compatibility between pieces. Don’t you see now? So I will tell you…

Now, you can complete the hole, just have a look here :

You can’t make the same with the old arch, there were no pieces that can complete the hole :

That part aside, thanks for this review Hinkley! Great pictures, as always, from you!

This set is really great, with all those nice Egyptian minifigs!

I just hope that we will see the Anubis headpiece in a smaller set… I need to save some money in 2011!

I’m really pleased to see a set with a decent pyramid looking building!

[captain crossbricks]

This is probaly 1 of my favorite sets ever!

There is so many new and interesting peices and great detailed minifigures.

I am definetely gonna buy this amazing set!

Captain Crossbricks

[Zorbas]

Hard plastic.

Thanks for the feedback buddy.

[Ravenclaw2010]

An excellent review of an excellent set! I love all the new figures, especially those new Anubis warriors. Thanks for the review!

[Pellaeon]

Here's something interesting I noticed, as I've been sloooooowly building this set: the pharaoh figure is not in the first bag, and isn't built up-front with all the other minifigs. The pharaoh shows up in bag 4 with his sarcophagus, and his headdress is in bag 6. The evening I bought the set, I opened the first bag and built all the minifigs... it wasn't until the next day that I realized I hadn't built the pharoah. This is the first time I've seen a minifig show up anywhere other than the first page of the instruction book -- has this been done before?

[Sandy]

This is the first time I've seen a minifig show up anywhere other than the first page of the instruction book -- has this been done before?

I'm sure I've seen this phenomenon before, but another recent example is the knight statue in the new Hogwarts set. It isn't included in the first bag or the first page of the instructions with the other minifigs either.