Adventurers

A Haunting We Will Go…31167 Creator 3in1 Haunted Mansion Review and a Brief History of Spooky Sets

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An animated image featuring a LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Haunted Mansion set, showcasing its structure and five minifigures including a vampire bride and Frankenstein's monster, along with spooky text elements referencing other LEGO themes.

I have a theory: Creator 3in1 sets and Collectable minifigures are the last bastion of the classic themes that we would love to see the LEGO Group bring back. Some of the August release Creator 3in1 sets – 31167 Haunted Mansion and 31168 The Medieval Horse Knight Castle – both seem to serve my point to a certain extent, calling back to Monster Fighters and Classic Castle, respectively.

In this review, we will look at the new Creator 3in1 31167 Haunted Mansion. This was released on August 1, and comes with 736 pieces and five unique minifigures. It is priced at $AUD149.99/ $USD89.99 / €89.99 / £79.99.

As I set out to review this set, I may have become distracted and started looking at other ‘Haunted Themes’ that we have seen across the years…

LEGO Creator 3in1 Haunted Mansion set 31167 featuring a spooky green house with ghostly elements, five unique minifigures, and the option to build alternate models like a ghost ship and ghost train.
LEGO Creator 3in1 set 31167 featuring a haunted mansion, ghost train, and ghost ship, showcasing the spooky theme.

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In search of Bill and Mary II:

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Evidence for character development within and between LEGO Themes.

In which I go in search of changes that occur to characters within LEGO themes, and in search of characters moving between themes – as we continue to look out for evidence that the central characters in the 6000 Ideas Book: Bill and Mary to some, Indigo and Polkadot to others, can be seen to continue their life in LEGO City today.

The LEGO Ideas Book 6000 was released in time for Christmas, 1979. As such, I am celebrating its 40th birthday throughout the year. I have been particularly curious to see whether the main characters of this delightful childhood memory could possibly exist in LEGO City today. I would expect to find them much older than they were 40 years ago, to say nothing of a possible variation in how they dressed. However, LEGO City is not quite the same as LEGO Town. SO: I have been looking for evidence of specific characters appearing over multiple years within a theme, or potentially changing themes. If a character has been around for years, I have been looking for evidence of development – physical, or chronological. Do they look older? Have they changed in any way – sporting evidence of long term injury and so forth.

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