The 4842 Treasure Temple ($70 at TRU) is an updated version of the classic 3015 Jungle Temple, with a similar footprint and total height, though the 4842 base is much thicker, for reasons that are soon to become apparent.
The set contains three human klickies and two "Temple Guardians". It is left to the imagination what these guardians are: "converted" humans, living statues, robots, stranded aliens, or whatever you desire. They do have human heads, but their masks conceal their features.
After removal of the bagged pieces, there are five chunks that comprise the temple, and one big rock for the base. They are loose in the box, so a certain degree of rubbing and damage may occur. I really wish Playmobil would provide better internal packaging.
My first thought on opening the box was "oh, no, system X connectors", but there were not too many, and the temple was quickly completed. The plants for stage dressing the temple are nice, with two trees growing their roots over the stones. This reminds me the Cambodian temple in the first Lara Croft movie.
There is a generous helping of fauna included to keep our treasure hunters on their toes; four snakes, four scorpions, three huge spiders and a giant horned Chameleon (?).
From the back of the temple you can see three buttons that operate traps. The first trap is a gate that pops up in the doorway, the second a rockfall over the doorway (with five rocks to fall on the unwary), and the third is a huge trapdoor over an enclosed pit. A rope with three handgrips and two hooks is included, but the rope is twice as long as the illustration suggests. At first I was puzzled, but it seems this is to allow extra rope to hang outside the temple.
pop-up gate
trapdoor over the (snake or scorpion infested?) pit
In the base there is also a clip panel which hides another secret area, where one of the crystals can be stored.
Two further crystals are hidden under loose stones in the temple floor. The stones are irregular pentagons, so they only fit into their sockets one way round, which I found a little awkward.
The central pair of guardians come with the temple, and the outer pair are the 4848 and 4849 sets. If the originals are lost, the 4848 and 4849 ones could be used to replace them.
There are two wall niches to house the guardians, shaped to fit so they cannot be interchanged, One niche inside and this one is outside the temple. In my imagination these are docking and charging stations for the animated statue Guardians.
The three
victims adventurers ready to explore. All three have a diamond logo on their left sleeve, and there is the same logo on the baseball cap. There is a human skull, half an animal skeleton, and a couple of unidentified bones to demonstrate the foolishness of violating the temple.
I immediately switched kits around, giving the lady the map and radio so she can co-ordinate the hunt, while the men with muscles for brains enter the temple with torches and weapons at the ready.
Cynthia: This must be the place! Get in there boys and recover the crystals!
Eric: I wonder what happens if I pull this rope?
Ginger: Augh! Snakes in the pit! I hate snakes!
Cynthia: Everything going all right boys?
Eric and Ginger (in Chorus): Just a slight hitch...
I was hesitant at first to spend $70 on this set, especially as I already have a couple of the Jungle treasure sets, but there's a lot in it and a lot of play value with the traps, creepy crawlies and Temple Guardians. The hidey hole at the back of the base and the pit trap can be used to store all the loose pieces when not in use, so it is quick to put away.
The system X connectors hold the temple together securely and it can be picked up and moved with one hand, but unlike the clip system sets, it can also be broken down and put in the box again without fear of breaking anything.
I'm sure these Treasure Hunter sets have been inspired by the likes of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft movies and games, but there's still plenty of scope for a child's imagination to roam within this genre.
I'm not quite so keen on the odd-looking vehicles from the other sets in this theme, but having seen the quality of this set I'm feeling more inclined to add them to my collection.
