Smaller sets are less appealing to me as an adult builder, but they do offer a simpler building experience for younger builders. (Whether the subject matter of the original films is appropriate for 8 years old kids is another question entirely.) In reviewing these sets, I am hoping to share both an adult and child’s perspective.

#77012 Fighter Plane Chase & #77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb.

Because these are pretty small sets, I have broken this article into two mini-reviews. The analysis is a bit lighter than most of our articles to match the lighter difficulty of these sets. Nonetheless, I will hold them to the same high standards of any LEGO set — with expectations adjusted to match the cost and part count.

LEGO Indiana Jones – The Original Adventures (2008)

I think that I’m most excited to build these sets because of the 2008 LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures game, which is one of the most fun LEGO games in the TT series. In particular, I remember the chase scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade which was particularly iconic in LEGO form.

#77012 Fighter Plane Chase

#77012 Fighter Plane Chase offers a very small set based on the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) where Indiana Jones and is father Professor Henry Jones Sr are being chased by a low-wing Nazi fighter plane (Pilatus P-2) which they try to escape by driving into a tunnel.

#77012 Fighter Plane Chase – Box front and back.

Box Impressions

These sets come in smaller boxes with more playful packaging design than those sets with the 18+ / ‘Adults Welcome’ packaging. It makes sense that a toy designed for kids has fun packaging!

• Box Size: 26 x 22 x 7.5 cm (10 1/4” × 8 5/8” × 3”)
• Box Weight: 521.0 grams (1.1 lbs)
• Box Density: 121 g/L
• LEGO Parts Weight: 284.8 g (0.63 lbs)
• Weight-per-piece: 0.73 g/piece
• Price per piece: $0.090 per piece
• Price per gram: $0.123 per gram

Contents

This set comes in a small box which doesn’t feel especially full. The overall value of this set is already looking a bit suspicious, especially compared to the other set in this article.

#77012 Fighter Plane Chase contains three numbered stages.

Box contents:

• Bag 1: 1x large bag (marked 303S3).
• Bag 2: 1x large bag (marked 303S3).
• Bag 3: 1x medium bag (marked 303S3).
• 1x medium Sticker Sheet (marked 10069879/6318594).
• 1x small bound 132-page instruction booklet.

Build Process

As noted earlier, this small set is built over just three stages. I allowed my 4-year old son to do most of the building, since it entertains him for a lot longer than it would have taken me to build it, and I get the chance to see which parts of the build process will be trickiest for younger builders. (He is a very experienced builder, so an age 8+ set is not unreasonable for him when an adult is nearby to help if something is confusing or difficult to attach.)

Building the car without much help from his dad.

Bag 1: Car and Street Sign

In the first bag, we start by building a signpost with two signs which is attached to 5Brick YellowTan base with a scraggly plant growing on it. We quickly shift gears to the car itself. It has a more complex 2-plate thick base than I expected which uses some uncommon parts to achieve a nice shape. The wheel-covers use the same new arch element that was introduced in the Pizza Oven in this year’s Jazz Club modular.

Great looking vintage car, street sign, and minifigures at the end of Bag 1.

It is a really nice vintage car with an especially attractive front grille and rear tire cover. It is cool to see a car that is 8-studs wide at the base but leverages some clever offset techniques to make the two minifigures fit side-by-side in a 6-stud wide section with black trim on the sides to help minifigures step down.

Bags 2-3: Plane

The second bag begins the aircraft assembly and focuses on the fuselage. It is completely brick-built, with a small section near the cockpit built using SNOT techniques for additional detail. On the front, we see the eight air intakes for the engine which look good, but simply involve attaching four 1×1 Round w/ 45° Bar (part 65578) in 194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray on both sides. It looks like the wings will attach using two Towball connections on each side.

Progress end of Bag 2.

The third bag completes the model. The plan has a really nice finished shape, with upward-sloping wings, a four blade propeller made out of oar heads, and nicely shaped supports for the front wheels. The cockpit would look better with the sticker attached which adds a grid of supports, but it still looks ok as-is. We were a bit surprised that the windscreen is not attached with a hinge, but rather connected with two studs that can be removed fairly easily.

Airplane with wings attached.

Parts and Minifigs

I did not see any brand-new parts (moulds) in this set, but there are some interesting parts that are rare and/or relatively new that I wanted to highlight.

A few of the more interesting parts found in the car alone…

I also wanted to share photos of the minifigs which are pretty nice. Indiana Jones appears to be the same as in other sets in the 2023 series, but we also get a pilot and a minfig based on his father. I like the figure of this father, but the clutch power on the hat element is really bad and it falls off easily. The pilot figure is not fancy but looks good enough.

The three figures found in this set.

#77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb

#77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb focuses on a single scene near the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood are locked in the tomb and need to find a way to navigate a room filled with snakes to escape the Well of Souls.

#77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb – Box front and back.

Box Impressions

This box is both taller and thicker than the first set, which is surprising given how similar they are in price. While it is likely a better value from a parts perspective, it is much more static looking than the other set which includes a car and swooshable plane. I am hopeful that the interactive play features make this more fun than it looks based on the box art alone.

• Box Size: 26 x 28 x 9.5 cm (10 1/4” × 11” × 3 3/4”)
• Box Weight: 912.0 grams (2.0 lbs)
• Box Density: 132 g/L
• LEGO Parts Weight: 529.9 g (1.17 lbs)
• Weight-per-piece: 0.88 g/piece.
• Price per piece: $0.067 per piece.
• Price per gram: $0.075 per gram.

Contents

This set comes in a larger and heavier box than the previous one. This is a good sign when it comes to parts value.

#77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb contains four numbered stages.

Box contents:

• Bag 1: 1x extra-large bag (marked 151S2).
• Bag 2: 1x extra-large bag (marked 151S2).
• Bag 3: 1x large bag (marked 151S2).
• Bag 4: 1x large bag (marked 151S2).
• 1x 16×16 plate and 1x 8×16 plate, both in 138Sand YellowDark Tan.
• 1x large Sticker Sheet with 14 stickers (marked 10075764/6332993).
• 1x 124-page instruction booklet. 19.6 x 25.9 cm (7 3/4 x 10 1/4”).

Build Process

The first bag begins like many LEGO sets by assembling a large and substantial base. The front section totals 16×24 studs, and an additional section extends another 8 studs off of the back. A central platform rises 1 1/3 brick higher than the base, which is covered in the middle by 5Brick YellowTan plates. We wrap things up by adding rotating platform on the two front corners and flames near the center.

In the first bag we build a sturdy base.

The second bag continues right where we left off by building up the left side of the back wall. After that, we create the small room in the back of the model which features a trap door play function. Fnally, we finish the back wall and add two coffins in 191Flame Yellowish OrangeBright Light Orange and 140Earth BlueDark Blue that flank the central platform.

In the second bag we build up the back wall and play feature in the hidden corridor.

The third bag begins by assembling the Ark of the Covenant using a mix of 191Flame Yellowish OrangeBright Light Orange and 297Warm GoldPearl Gold elements. A central arch frames the location where the Ark is placed. We finish this stage by building the first of two statues of Anubis, whose animal form is that of a Jackal (A wild dog found in Egypt that is similar to a Coyote.)

The third bag adds the arch and first statue.

In the fourth and final bag we assemble the second jackal statue, and complete the mission section of wall on the right side of the model. This is cleverly built to look like a single wall until you push the statue over and it goes crashing through the wall.

The final bag adds the breakaway wall and second statue.

Parts and Minifigs

I suspect that there are some parts in rare or new colors in this set, but I didn’t see any particularly exciting new parts. What this set does give you is a lot of basic parts for a lower price than we usually see, especially in a licensed set.

There are four minifigs in this set.

As for the minifigures, we have Indiana Jones which comes in every set in this wave – although this version has a different torso and a sachel strapped across his bag. Marion Ravenwood is unique to this set and featues dual-molded and printed legs. Sallah has a a nice torso with printing on the back and front that could be used in other scenarios. Lastly, we have a fairly generic mummy figure, but it has both front and back printing on the torso and printing on the front of the legs.

Value

I always want to be clear that value is subjective, taking into account a variety of factors including play value, new and unique parts, desirable minifigures, and personal preference. That said, there are objective measures we can look at as well such as price-per-part or price-per-gram.

As you can see in the table below (which is sorted by price-per-gram), #77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb offers an unusually good value in a licensed set, and #77012 Fighter Plane Chase offers a below average value compared to non-licensed sets (but I suspect it is pretty typical of licensed sets).

Note: Prices based on date of initial release. (The LEGO Group increased the price of many older sets in late 2022.)

Conclusion

Co-authoring a review with a four-year-old can be challenging. I tried to notice his moments of focus and frustration while building the models, and his fleeting moments of joy or ambivalence while playing with the finished models. His interest in building the car and especially the plane was greater than building the tomb, but his interest in the completed models was completely opposite.

The plane is my favorite because of the spinning propeller.

Henry

Of the two sets, #77012 Fighter Plane Chase has a more interesting build experience and really nice detailing on the car in particular — but is not as good of a value, earning Good (3/5 Star) rating overall.

#77012 Fighter Plane Chase features a nice-looking car and a plane.

After I showed him the four play features in #77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb he re-created the main plot points from the movie with enough fidelity to trick someone into thinking he had actually seen the movie before. He carefully put a snake in the dumping mechanism then dropped it onto Indy and Marion. Then they climb up the statue on the right, which knocks down part of the wall when it falls. Finally, pulling a pin causes a mummy to swing down and scare the heroes as they try to escape.

I like making [the statue] fall down!

Henry

#77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb isn’t as fun to build, but it gets the higher Recommended (4/5 Star) rating because it represents an extremely good value in a licensed set and has a lot of well-designed play features in a set that’s just $40. To be clear, these both represent good value in licensed sets aimed at younger builders.

#77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb is a single scene with several interactive play features.

Ultimately, #77012 Fighter Plane Chase offers a swooshable play experience, good parts selection, a really sharp looking car, but just a ‘typical’ value. If forced to pick the better set, I would choose #77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb because it offers a really good parts value (albeit relatively common parts), more minifigures, but a less engaging build experience.