6940: Alien Moon Stalker

Classic Space was one of the first major themes to appear in the late 1970s, and continued for over a decade after that, eventually evolving into other space themes.  It featured no enemy, but rather astronauts in different uniforms who generally worked together.  The focus was exploration, not fighting or resource collecting, which is a significant difference from some of the space sets of today.  It seems in many ways to bridge the gap between the City and Town space sets (focusing on shuttles and training on earth) and the more fanciful space sets (Space Police, Mars sets, etc.)

An interesting looking set!  It features the moveable claw that is seen in other space sets, as well as the neon transparents screens that appeared in many space sets over the years.  While it looks like a base, the legs actually move (though I'm not exactly sure how) making it more of a large exploratory base, perhaps scientific in origin.  As I mentioned earlier, we see a blue and red space man (there are also yellow and white (more common) and the rare black) working together.  Not sure why they have different colors to be honest.

There are also rockets in the middle of the ship, which would fire upwards.  While many Classic Space ships feature weaponry, it's never really explained why they even need it.  Perhaps there is conflict, but further investigation will be required.

6666: Ambulance

6 is an evil number, and 6666 is a super evil number, so why was this set, an ambulance, given such a number?

Interesting torso they chose for the woman, one of the more revealing outfits that she has.  Perhaps she is a young college student who got alcohol poisoning after using her fake ID to get into the bar?  Something of note are the incredibly small wheels on this vehicle, not something you see very much today.  Additionally, this set marks a shift in how medical sets were designed.  If you look at the 1981 ambulance...

...a red cross is used instead of the Star of Life.  The Star of Life was designed in the United States 1970s, after the Red Cross organization complained that the current United States medical symbol was too similar to theirs.  6666 was only released in the United States, while 6680 was an international release.  So, we can see that by the 1990s The Lego Group was changing their models or at least designing models specifically for certain countries, rather than using the ubiquitous and universal Red Cross symbol.

It's also interesting to look at the designs of these two ambulances.  Both are very similar in many ways, both in terms of construction and how they can be interacted with.  The main difference is how the back opens, as you can see in the photos.

1790: Shark Fisherman

There comes a time in every boy's life, when he realizes that to become a man, he must catch a goddam shark.

Today is that day.  This set comes with a small dock, a protective gate so that one does not fall into the ocean, and a simple fisherman.  The guy appeared in a lot of sets in this era.  Aviators, Five O'Clock shaodw, green fisherman torso and a blue cap.  He appears in a lot of Leisure subtheme sets.  The subtheme itself is pretty odd to be honest.  Similar to the Paradisa subtheme, both emerged in the 1990s and were primarily luxury sets.  Indicative of the economic prosperity of the 1990s, such sets reflected the general feeling of luxury during this era.  It does seem odd though that he would be catching a shark, probably left over from the Pirates theme from several years earlier.

Lastly, what kind of a fisherman wears a lifejacket if he's on a pier?  How odd.

1492: Battle Cove

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as a manor of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. 

The famous John Donne poem (above) seems to have no bearing on The Lego Group.  Rather, they've created a set where a single pirate is stranded on a small 6x10 stud island.  It's an odd set because there is a considerable amount of infrastructure on this island, despite it being so small.  A brick wall and a cannon signify that the pirate may not be all alone, as this could be a small archipelago, one of several islands in the nearby vicinity.  It may just be a defensive outpost.  The oddly black brick and pirate flag indicate that the island may serve as a warning to nearby ships to stay away, else suffer the wrath of the pirates.

The shark, however, is interesting, as it exemplifies the aloneness of the pirate.  He cannot merely swim to shore of course, so it's clear that he is relying on others for transportation.  Regardless, the shark gives the user the feeling that he is cut off from the rest of the world.

Lastly, why was he given two guns?  In most sets the pirates are generally only given one weapon, and someone a sword and a gun if they are lucky, but two guns is rare indeed.  Perhaps there was another pirate on the island to save him from boredom, but at some point he died.  Perhaps the shark ate him.  Or maybe this pirate shot him in a delirious fury.

4073: Tree 1

4073:  Tree 1 was released as a part of the 2000 Studios theme.  4073 represents the tendency for capitalism to commodify natural goods, going as far as to sell a tree.  The tree is not an actual tree, but rather merely a prop for Hollywood.  The ubiquitous tree has been transformed into a mere prop.  

4793: Ogel Shark Sub

4793:  Ogel Shark Sub comes from the Mission Deep Sea subtheme, which falls under the larger Alpha Team theme.  The submarine, unlike most, has two arms, one with a claw and one with spinning blades.  This is interesting because several of the Aquazone submarines also came with arms attached to the subs, so I wonder if they were designed by the same people, or possibly paying homage?

As you can see it has a very sleek design and is pretty awesome looking, but we can't ignore the fact that a submarine with arms is just absurd.  It's generally much too dark underwater to see anything, rendering such weapons useless.  Additionally, submarines are generally used for long-range combat against boats, which would make arms pretty useless.  But who cares, this is a really fucking cool submarine.

Shit, look at the dude it comes with (three of them!).  He has a fucking skull for a head and a trans green helmet.  Intense guy.  Anyway, overall it's a really cool set, but not very practical.

7477: T-1 Typhoon vs. T-Rex

This 2005 set came from the Dino Attack theme.  A very sophisticated helicopter is attacking a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  I have no idea why.  It just seems kinda rude (but this helicopter is fucking awesome).

According to Brickpedia, the dinosaurs are mutants and are in the future and therefore must be stopped.  These dinosaurs appeared in the year 2010 (which just ended!!!).

What's really interesting about this theme though is that it was only released in the United States.  Elsewhere it was released as Dino 2010.

7298:  Dino Air Tracker is more or less the same set but with a large cage instead of large guns.  The US versions were military themed, while the European versions were much more peaceful.  Very interesting!  This is the only theme that I know of where there were major differences in how it was released and marketed for different regions.

The Evolution of the Castle: The 1990s

This is part three of a four part series on the evolution of the Lego castle.

6081:  King's Mountain Fortress

The King's Mountain Fortress was released in 1990, and is the first Lego castle to feature a raised baseplate, a dramatic shift from the flat baseplates and regular flat plates that housed previous castles.  As a result, this set has significantly fewer pieces than some other castles, especially castles for the Lions faction.  Other than 6059:  Knight's Stronghold (released in the same year) this is the first set with molded wooden doors, as opposed to earlier sets that only had a drawbridge or makeshift grate to block the entrance.

Like many sets, this one includes towers, a drawbridge, flags, and knights.  Two interesting inclusions are that of the maiden and of the ghost minifig, which began appearing in sets around this time.  Compared to a lot of castles it is a bit lacking, but it does have a small courtyard which is rare among castle sets.

6086:  Black Knight's Castle

The Black Knight's Castle from 1992 also features a raised baseplate, the same baseplate from 6081, but the castle itself is much more impressive.  This Dragon Knight castle features the first molded gate piece along with the requisite drawbridge.  Take a look at the color scheme compared to past sets.  While there is an overwhelming amount of black, there is now a fair amount of grey to offset it, along with a beautiful red roof that really catches the eye.  Not only is this castle large, it is also much more aesthetically pleasing than past castles, and is a much more complex build compared to the square castles of the 1980s.  Lastly, check out all the horsemen!  Very much like the original yellow castle, having so many horsemen.

6090:  Royal Knight's Castle

The Royal Knight's Castle, released in 1995, features a new and very large baseplate and is one of the most impressive castles that Lego has ever released.  This castle features several very tall towers and some new play features like a catapult.  Additionally, it is one of the first (maybe the first??) castles to not have a drawbridge, opting instead to have doors and a grate.  This Lions faction set makes me nostalgia hard and is one of my favorites of all time.  It also features a king with chrome sword and crown, which will become more popular in the 2000s.  Lastly, there is a cloth flag and a cloth cape, two items which became popular in the 1990s.

Next will be the final installment, focusing on the 2000s.

4950: The Loader-Dozer

Moria.  You fear to go into those mines.  The Dwarves dug too greedily and too deep.  You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dum...shadow and flame.

The Rock Raiders theme, released in 1999, contains a series of sets wherein members of the LMS Explorer dig for energy crystals.  According to Rock Raider mythos, the LMS Explorer was on its way home when it ran into an asteroid field and was badly damaged.  After being flung towards the Planet U, members of the ship dropped down to the planet to extract ore and Energy Crystals.  The series has the same goal of many themes, collecting crystals.  Rock Raiders, however, has a much greater backstory, with comic books and a game that explain why they need the resources.

Of course the Rock Raider crew also ran into their own troubles, namely the Rock Monsters.  They feast on crystals, just as the Rock Raiders need the crystals to power their ships, and are only aggressive when their crystals are in jeopardy.  While the Rock Monsters are seen as brutish enemies, they are really only protecting what is rightfully theirs.  However, the crew of the LMS Explorer is not merely mining crystals for profit, exploiting the Planet U, but rather need to in order to successfully escape and return home.

So, unlike many crystal-collecting themes, the Rock Raiders may be disturbing the natural habitat but are only doing so in order to survive.  A stark contrast to the Aquanauts and Aquasharks who are disturbing the natural ocean environment for their own gain.

Regardless, the vehicle here is clearly used as a bulldozer of sorts for moving around ore.  The crew member appears to not be deliberately attempting to hurt the Rock Monster, but rather is attempting to escape and leave the monster alone.  While he could easily use the dynamite on top of the vehicle to destroy the Rock Monster, he decides instead to merely flee the otherwise peaceful creature.

The rich mythos of the Rock Raiders gives us more to work with and allows us to see them not as capitalistic exploiters of the resources of a distant planet, but as shipwrecked explorers.

The Evolution of the Castle: The Late 1980s

This is part two of a series on the evolution of the Lego castle.

6074:  Black Falcon's Fortress

This set, released in 1986, is another mid-sized castle which can open up.  One interesting aspect to this castle (which I only know about because I own the 2002 re-release) is that the outer walls of the castle have holes for pegs, meaning that you can connect other sets to it in order to create larger castles.  Otherwise, this set is a fairly standard design.  The front entire front of the castle is raised up which is something different, but not something significant.  One oddity, however, is the lack of any swords.

6085:  Black Monarch's Castle

Released in 1988 (the year of my birth!) 6085:  Black Monarch's Castle is a dark monolith among other Lego castles.  It's an enormous set, with two towers in the back and a two-story gate tower in the front.  This set also uses a flat baseplate (the last major castle to do so) and has hinges so that it can open up for play.  The attached army is the first iteration of the Dragon Knights, another faction among many.  There's not much else to note, except again the lack of swords, which I do not understand.

6059:  Knight's Stronghold

A simple expansion to 6085:  Black Monarch's Castle, this set is the epitome of the "Battle in a Box," with both Black Falcons and Dragon Knights.  Fairly basic design, but the ability to add it to an already existing set and the inclusion of two warring factions makes this an interesting set.  Additionally, it calls me to question which of these factions are to considered good and evil.  More than likely it is futile and immature to label these factions as being good or evil, when really they may just exist as opposing factions fighting for land and glory.  It may not be until 2000 with Knight's Kingdom I that we can with certainty assume that one faction is good and the other evil.

Part three of this four part series will be on Castle sets in the 1990s.