Behold, The Prehistoric Pteranodon
Written: Jun 29 '01 (Updated May 24 '08)
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Pros: Awesome addition to the Adventurers series.
Cons: The glider wings are a bit hard to assemble.
The Bottom Line: In keeping with the Adventurers series, Lego re-released the Research glider with a larger flying Pteranodon.
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO - Research Glider |
Well, yesterday marked a landmark in my ongoing "toy collection obsession"; I not only managed to find seven sets I had been looking for but acquired a set of 12 Pez dispensers from an overseas friend. All in all, it was a great day at my house! If you haven’t seen my other Lego reviews you might not know the extent of my [or my brood] addiction. Sure I say my kids love them, which they do, but it provides me with a great excuse to spend hours at the toy store
The Adventurers series wasn’t a huge success for Lego. So far there are 22 mini sets, some that can be combined to create larger scenes [providing you buy the book and have the correct sets]. I do have to say this, the Lego Adventurer series that are featured on Epinions contain inaccurate information; the set numbers are wrong, the names are incomplete and the prices are all about $3.00 off.
Adventurers is a combination of Indiana Jones and a prehistoric version of Animal Planet. In several sets you get to reenact the famous Indiana Jones tomb scene complete with huge rolling rock and falling pillars [set # 2995]. The entire series is great but there were never any bonus packs or larger sets released. Several, including the Research Glider, were re-released after some minor changes.
Research Glider
This set comes packaged in two separate bags with a small 8x8 freestanding base plate. You also get an invitation to join the Lego Kids club [for free] and receive special offers and a free gift on your birthday. The instruction booklet is ten pages long and the last two pages give you examples of how to mix different sets to create new animals and scene. The instructions are a little better than average but I did have a little trouble assembling the wings for the glider. You get two wings but the booklet only shows one being used – however the other wing can be used to build a raft [shown on the box but no instructions are provided to build it]. The back mast where the wing assembly attaches to the glider is moveable however it does pop off if it’s pushed too far backwards – it can also get in the way of the propeller if tipped too far back.
The glider itself is pretty small – but extremely cool. The back propeller is a working version and takes only a little bit of air to get it moving. The body of the glider is small – and sometimes it is a fight to get the pilot into the seat without loosening the two-sided windshield. A nice little extra is the plastic link chain; this can be connected to the pilots hand or the prod stick – it’s only about three inches long and has no connectors on the end – meaning that if you bought multiple sets, the chains can not be connected to one another.
The Island
While the instructions show you one way to make the small island, don’t limit yourself. Add pieces from other sets to create a volcano [you can find the simple instructions on the Lego website] or even a island with a landing strip for the glider. There isn’t much vegetation on the island – only four small pathetic leaves but if you have other sets you can make a small rainforest if you let your imagination run free. You can buy an Adventurers Accessories packs [set 5381] for some additional animals and equipment. I was a little disappointed with the island as a whole – it’s small and doesn’t have many pieces to it so unless you have other sets to pull pieces from it’s basically useless.
The Pteranodon
Labeled as a “dinosaur” in the Epinions section, the Pteranodon was a newly added piece when the research Glider was re-released. The original set had a flying creature that slightly resembled a prehistoric creature but was nowhere close to being factually correct. It was also a choking hazard since the wings were extremely thin and often broke – leaving the edges jagged. The Pteranodon is pretty cute even though it was considered a true scavenger by historians. It has two small connectors on it’s back that your could seat the glider pilot on or attach part of the chain to.
The Bottom Line
If you have a child that is interested in dinosaurs this is a great set to use as an introduction to the Adventurers series. While the series has 22 small sets and offers no larger sets at the present time – it allows the child to pick and choose different aspects of the series. Some are geared more to planes and automobiles while others focus on dinosaurs. For the price you get some nice pieces; the chain, the Pteranodon, plastic wings and the glider pilot, complete with safari hat.
The instructions are good and any child over the age of five should be able to build this with no assistance. Being the complicated adult that I am, I had trouble with the wings – while my kids breezed through their set in about five minutes. The wings are prone to ripping easily so if you anticipate heavy use you can apply some clear tape on the underside of the wings or a nice thin coat of clear nail polish.
In any event, this set contains small pieces so extreme care is needed around smaller children. The two poles / prods can also present a potential risk of injury if a child falls on it. Sure, it’s only plastic but it is sturdy plastic.
I am really glad I picked up several sets of the Research Glider, my kids built a huge island and added a landing strip with a small road design base plate. They had a ball putting this together and then expanding the island and adding pieces to the glider – and after all, isn’t that what Lego’s are for? Expanding the imagination and providing hours of fun!
Thanks for the read! ^V^ Freak ^V^
The Stats
Set Name: Research Glider
Family Set: Adventurers
Lego Set: 5921
Number of Pieces: 56
Age Recommendation: 6 㪤
Ease Of Assembly: A little hard
Time Of Assembly: 20 minutes
Cost: $5.99 on sale
[Regular Price: $6.99]
As always … thanks for the visit!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Johnny Thunder
Johnny Thunder and Baby Dino
River Raft
Sam Sinister And Baby T
Dr. Lightning's Car
Adventurers Pen
Jungle Surprise
Island Racer
Research Glider
Egyptian Mummy
Oasis Ambush
Scorpion Tracker
Sphinx Secret Surprise
Amazon Ancient Ruins
The Lost Tomb
Treasure Raiders
Spider's Secret
Adventurer Accessories
Mini Copter
T Rex Transport
Mike's Swamp Boat
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $5.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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