LEGO has produced many themes over the years and some have been obscured by time. They have held many strange and unusual licences. Some had odd releases that led to this obscurity. No line was affected more than LEGO Avatar: The Last Airbender.
For those who do not know, Avatar: The Last Airbender was an animated television series published by Nickelodeon. The show is set in a world where people can "bend" the four elements, water, earth fire and air. It is centered on the Avatar, Aang, who is the last of the Airbenders. He is able to master all four elements and is supposed to use his powers to keep peace in the world. The antagonist of the story is Firelord Ozai, who is using the forces of the Fire Nation to take over the planet. I would highly suggest you watch the show, it has a believable cast of characters, beautiful artwork, and a well rounded narrative. The show is set in a world with many creative vehicles, creatures and settings and this could make for an amazing array of products. Despite the array of vehicles, creatures and characters, LEGO only produced two sets.
The theme was started when LEGO was testing out the Nickelodeon licence. LEGO released the theme alongside sets based on the popular kid's show Spongebob Squarepants. They were testing the waters with the new themes. The LEGO developers chose to focus their efforts on Spongebob Squarepants because this show was more popular with children. Avatar, unlike Spongebob, had a set end date. The writers of Avatar took three seasons to tell the story of the Avatar and his allies. This led to the theme being cancelled after two sets.
The set 3828 Air Temple was one of the two sets. It consisted of 400 pieces and had 4 Minifiures. The original retail price was around $30. It consisted of an Airbender temple and a tank. The set included Aang's air glider and a small catapult. The main build is the Air Temple itself, which has a small action feature in the front where you pretend to use Aang's Airbending to spin the shells on the door. This leads to the door opening. It is an accurate feature to the show, since the Air temples did actually use a lock system like this. Inside the temple is a small weapons cache. There is a small catapult that shoots 1x1 cylinder pieces. The tank has a disk shooter that is supposed to represent blasts from the Firebenders.
This set was a good set to get in LEGO form, but I think LEGO could have chosen a more frequently seen item from the Avatar series.
(Image from Brickset.com)
The second set was 3829 Fire Nation Ship This is based on the frequently seen ironclad ships. The set originally cost $50 and had 722 pieces. That would create a Price Per Part Ratio of 5.5, which is a ridiculously low number. The set came with five Minifigs and was the largest out of the two sets. The boat has a catapult and a prison cell on the deck. The large tower has a ladder that would allow you to climb to the top and not much else. There is a little speedboat that can be deployed.
(Image from Brickset.com)
(Images from Bricklink.com)
The entire theme consisted of only 6 new Minfigures. These figures are heavily stylized so that they match the appearance of the TV show. Avatar Aang came in both sets. His head has printing on the back that shows his master Airbender tattoo.
(Image from Brickipedia)
Katara and Sokka are the two members of the Water Tribe that find Aang frozen in ice. Sokka comes only in 3828 Air Temple. His backside shows printing for his boomerang as well as continues the hair printing. Sokka's younger sister Katara is exclusive to the 3829 Fire Nation Ship. Her figure isn't correctly colored, since Katara wore clothes that are similar in color to Sokka's. I also think that Katara's Minifigure is creepy!
(Images from Brickipedia)
Each set comes with two nameless Fire Nation goons. The Firebender is on the left and the Fire Nation soldier right.
(Images from Brickipedia)
Zuko is the former Fire Nation prince who has been banished and is hunting for the Avatar. He comes in 3829 Fire Nation Ship. One side of his face is scarred from a duel he had with his father, Fire Lord Ozai. The back of his head has his ponytail printed on it.
(Image from Brickipedia)
Momo is the flying Lemur that travels with Aang. He is one specialized mold and only comes in the set 3828 Air Temple. His color is incrdibly inaccurate as in the show he has white fur.
(Image from Brickipedia)
I wish the Avatar theme could have continued. Even though the sets were only based on the first season, there are still major characters missing. Appa, Aang's flying bison was never included in a set. General Iroh, Zuko's wise uncle, was never made as well. The main antagonist of the first season, Admiral Zhao, would also have been nice to get. Other characters, landmarks and vehicles from the second and third seasons of the show would have been great to get as well.
I understand the reasons as to why LEGO never developed Avatar: The Last Airbender into a larger theme. But as an Avatar fan, I would have loved to seen more done with the theme. Anyways that's all that there is for LEGO Avatar.
As always, thanks for reading.
(Image from Brickset.com)
(Images from Bricklink.com)
The entire theme consisted of only 6 new Minfigures. These figures are heavily stylized so that they match the appearance of the TV show. Avatar Aang came in both sets. His head has printing on the back that shows his master Airbender tattoo.
(Image from Brickipedia)
Katara and Sokka are the two members of the Water Tribe that find Aang frozen in ice. Sokka comes only in 3828 Air Temple. His backside shows printing for his boomerang as well as continues the hair printing. Sokka's younger sister Katara is exclusive to the 3829 Fire Nation Ship. Her figure isn't correctly colored, since Katara wore clothes that are similar in color to Sokka's. I also think that Katara's Minifigure is creepy!
(Images from Brickipedia)
Each set comes with two nameless Fire Nation goons. The Firebender is on the left and the Fire Nation soldier right.
(Images from Brickipedia)
Zuko is the former Fire Nation prince who has been banished and is hunting for the Avatar. He comes in 3829 Fire Nation Ship. One side of his face is scarred from a duel he had with his father, Fire Lord Ozai. The back of his head has his ponytail printed on it.
(Image from Brickipedia)
Momo is the flying Lemur that travels with Aang. He is one specialized mold and only comes in the set 3828 Air Temple. His color is incrdibly inaccurate as in the show he has white fur.
(Image from Brickipedia)
I wish the Avatar theme could have continued. Even though the sets were only based on the first season, there are still major characters missing. Appa, Aang's flying bison was never included in a set. General Iroh, Zuko's wise uncle, was never made as well. The main antagonist of the first season, Admiral Zhao, would also have been nice to get. Other characters, landmarks and vehicles from the second and third seasons of the show would have been great to get as well.
I understand the reasons as to why LEGO never developed Avatar: The Last Airbender into a larger theme. But as an Avatar fan, I would have loved to seen more done with the theme. Anyways that's all that there is for LEGO Avatar.
As always, thanks for reading.
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