The Millenium Falcon is The Set_

uberfu

ridiculous that you could call that one of the best sets ever...Having grown up with the space sets of the late 70s/early 80s even I could tell at the time they were running out of solid ideas. Its ramshackle, nonsensical, and not even cool looking - looks like they were just slapping pieces together. Anyway fun to see a lot of those sets again.

pete

I bought the Galaxy Explorer, then an unheard-of $45, with my own money, earned babysitting. I remember the Lego Technic sets when they were still called "Expert Builder"--I stripped all of my smallest gears demonstrating a rubber-band-powered car in class because I had lost half the gears shown in the instructions.

I kept all of my sets and all of my instructions until I was thirty, then the movers left them behind when I moved apartments in Sydney. I still regret that. I calculated once and there were over $4,000 (pre-1985) invested in those blocks.

I agree on the "specialized pieces"... that's why I never got into the Castle or Pirate sets.

Now, my son collects Lego Star Wars sets and I am ever more excited with what he builds. His dream is to visit Legoland in California. I think he might make it there this year, making up for my never getting to the original in Denmark.

dnewlander

DSLPWR

Margatron

LastVigilante

Seriously though, why hasn't LDRAW been mentioned yet. It's like the synergy of legos and CAD! go check it out at LDRAW.org. Ok, so maybe it's not as fun as actually building legos, but you do get a palette of unlimited pieces. - when I can build due to space restrictions (like the slot car track taking up the dining room table), I model ;-)

checksumdigit

CHO

riskybusiness

Worst set ever? The UCS Star Destroyer. Man oh man, what a redundant and boring set to build.

These days I'm busting out shit in Belville scale that nobody else is even thinking of. I haven't even shared much of my recent work with the AFOL community at large because I don't want them to start driving up the prices of the elements that I need on bricklink.

Allright, back to being obnoxious on Gawker.

Play well.

riskybusiness

The kits referenced are - to me anyway - recent sets. I didn't see any love for the first sets I bought in the mid-70s (there was a brickyard with a conveyor belt, a semi-trailer, and all kinds of cars and trucks).

But what I usually bought or got for Christmas were just buckets of bricks. I usually built spaceships. I did build a 5-foot tower once, and I still have the picture.

My son and I just built two versions of the Arc de Triomphe for his school project over the weekend. The fun will never end...

txmadman

hotaspiss

The only complaint I have about the Star Wars ones is: Why didn't they do that in 1980 when I could have used it! I had tons of lego, tons of starwars and would have been all over combining them! To me, they are just a directed evolution of the space sets. They still have to use a lot of the angle wing pieces that first showed up in the space sets. Just different colors.

My nephew got my legos from me years ago and now that he has grown out of them I wanr them back! He never got my Star Wars though!

samspock

mdmadph

pmpsta

jaymorris

JasonBartholme

spgass

kendra68

cybergrunt

If I ever have kids I know what toy they're going to get hooked on at an (appropriately) early age :D

ry_ry

animagnum

Thank You

bastek.buddha

[users.erols.com]
one example.

[users.erols.com]
another example.

[users.erols.com]
the whole story.

provocative, and chilling.

aliceinthecities

whakojacko

[guide.lugnet.com]

lawnmowerdeth

Robert Isbell

Ephilei

moonphrogg

LEGOS KICK ASS!! :-)

OmBass

Nintenboy01

woolie

woolie

Unfortunately, my brother wrecked it before I could snap a photo of it. (geez, 30+ years ago and I remember it well).

A friend of mine and I built a replica of the local Safeway store.

thebear91

SecretAZNMan

Based on the ratings, it looks like it should have been there?

ars.gaijin

Technic sets rule.

MaxRC

But the fact is that LEGO masters (and kids everywhere) use these specialized pieces in any way they see can fit. Did you check the steampunk star wars? You will find a lot of specialized parts here:

[gizmodo.com]

All of them put to a new, unexpected use. The pieces are not faulty because they have non-brick shapes. It's the brain which makes them fit.

That say, Bionicle is just horrible to me, custom or no custom. I just hate the design.

Jesus Diaz

My wife began buying them before we even started having kids, and now we're on number four. They'll all be Lego-heads.

One of the all-time best toys ever created--whether you want something educational or just plain "time-wasting" fun.

My favorite was building houses out of them, starting with one of those big green sheets, laying a floor plan, and building upward. Sweet.

Twp3pf2

RAREBREED

analogs

Atlantys

Panhandler

*MEMORIES*

Out2gtcha

Silenthillnight

low_dirt

(M-Tron was weak!)

Crominator56

So I built it in an upside down staircase pattern, from regular pieces. Just the way it should be :)

And I remember really lusting over the pirate ship, but I never got to have it.

Spaceboy

masser

clearbox

The best part about leggos though was building your own cool versions of things, mechs, starships, rovers, without the directions, and with way more detail.

I had no idea Lego was so enduring; 50, gosh, Ive only been around for half that.

Thanks Gizmodo for the awsome nastalga party you threw for Lego!

miticis

Kaiser-Machead

Szin

Anyway, I still have fond memories of the Christmases where I got the huge yellow brick castle, and the Galaxy Explorer. I still use parts from the Galaxy Explorer when my kid and I build stuff together. Man am I glad that my mom never got rid of any of my legos.

Seriously - has there ever been a more perfect "toy" for boys ?

elvindeath

I had the 8042 blue Technic set with the pneumatics, 6396 international airport, 6354 police truck/boat/heli/cycle, 6356 medical plane, 6398 police station (one of my favs), and 6378 Shell station (although I really wanted the 6394 big Shell station with parking garage).

So much fun. I think I might go treat myself to a new set.

fsusmithc2

It's up there. That thing rocked. I and two of my cousins all got monorails for Christmas. We hooked them all together and totally took over the living room. Monorail Space City FTW!

Marcus

I remember my dad secretly building my Castle set (the one that swung open)overnight while I slept. I played with that thing nonstop.

@Lastvigilante - I had that same mighty ship, and am impressed you managed to recreate it! Even with the treasure chest in the captain's room?

Yifkong

Zan

clipseGTS

jrbd90

lmulaire

I really wish they would rerelease some of these older kits for my kids to enjoy.

xrikazen

spinch

avconsumer

warf0x0r

Galaxy Explorer was like Kiddie porn to me growing up. I didn't finally get one (new in the box) until I was 30.

I have an entire bedroom you can't get into that is full of boxes of LEGO sets. I've been disappointed with the boxes/kits over the last few years but the Episode 4-6 Star Wars sets were certainly nice, and them finally releasing 'stormtrooper' sets that are built for the explicit purposes of buying a ton of them to create your own massive armies recently was a nice touch.

trekkie

As well as the ORIGINAL lego castle. Not that grey one you disply, but the set that came out BEFORE that that was all in yellow. It looked ridiclous but I loved it.

Pope John Peeps II

Time to go raid my parents basement.

Confuzius

AmishJohn

Plus, wasn't there a black and red truck that carried a helicopter on the back? I still got that and it still looks cool as funk! I mean you can steer the truck's wheels with the actual steering wheel!

JesusDeSaad

The wife yelled at me for the noise the pieces were making when I was going through them, but I explained to her that it isn't noise but the voices of millions of potential projects all singing to be heard and realized at once.

Then she understood and turned up the TV. :)

strider_mt2k

Cucmbr

Jesus is spot on - it does bring a tear to the eye to remember all that happy, geeky play time.

Happy Birthday, Lego!

shoegazer

Wonderful stuff Jesus!

strider_mt2k

Thx giz, you rock!

Soxter

Jesus Diaz

iForgot_my_iName

I've got the original space manuals, the light and sound, the red colored whatever they call them, the black series... legos shut me up for hours at a time.. like 7 hours.

I did write into lego headquarters one year asking for instructions on how to make the (sometimes) cooler alternate builds on the back of the box to which they wrote me back saying "we put those there to inspire your creativity, not to tell you how to create it", paraphrased. lego bastards.

gte217e

www.castlesteps.com

two_ocelots

nixarn

Duncam

cheesebubble

sprice82

no shit! i have so many of the sets shown here. they have spoiled me. if i had kids it would be hard for me to plunk down all the hard earned cash for toys!

then again if my future kid would love lego i'm sure i'd be getting 2 sets of each, one for him/her, and one for myself. lol

diablofreak

hobobobo

flynboarder07

thomasora

whootowl

Shockage

I never realized how much the individual play-sets and models were part of the over-all Lego plan, but I always thought of it as a unimaginative alternative to raiding a big box of random blocks.

I still get little (and not so little) sets for X-mas; and as far afield as the Bionicle sets are, the little robot I got is rather cute.
I also have some Limited Edition sets Shell Gas stations sold for a while just a couple of years ago.

AdmNaismith

Szin

Melenor

sumosamkawasaki

The scary thing is just how many of those sets I DID have. (And I still have every piece, all in one big bin in my basement!)

Hands down, Legos are the best toy in history. Happy Birthday!

jwardell

Never has anything influenced my life like Legos have. Being the only easy way to turn my thoughts into real creations, I was addicted.

My future kids will definitely be getting Legos.

I really hope they bring back the old style Pirates and Knights sets.

Tolgak

It's three and a half feet tall, and at about 3,500 pieces it's the second largest LEGO set ever made (second only to the $500, 5,000-piece behemoth Millenium Falcon, natch). But that's not why it's my favorite set. Its tall stature probably makes it the most impressive set to display, and it uses mostly "regular" LEGO bricks. And it still looks real. Plus, I just love the Eiffel Tower, and $200 really isn't a bad deal for 3,500 bricks (in LEGO terms, that is) - if you like grey.

Gizmog

HOWEVER, if you collected them all, they would all form this large ship thing (I never saw it fully assembled myself, I was missing a couple of the sets). If anyone else remembers, you'll agree this was BEYOND awesome, back when McDonald's had heart and gave out the good stuff :'(...

eduardjm

LastVigilante

GuitarHero07

WEGGLES90

in other news....thanks for this post. it really is amazing. it prompted me to register and make my first comment on giz. good work.

noroadtrippin

eatmonkeygood

sshrum

God knows I do.

Aside: I can still see the teeth marks from my youth in some of the pieces from me trying to pry them apart with the only Lego dismantling tool any child needs.

sshrum

i don't actually have one favorite set, because we could never really afford the nice big ones, and i preferred making something using all the bricks i accumulated over a decade anyway...

smokyburnout

Useless1998

RastaSega

Quadrophenia

Thanks for the pics and story!

madchinaman

tleehane

klew

I remember that one. I had that one and I think it was a white looking spaceship. It also had lights that would blink. It was kind of like the 6986 ship but all white and grey.

jayomatic

GhostofCharlesBronson

Agreed. I learned a few things putting that one together.

It wasn't just designed to look pretty, but to give an accurate Lego interpretation of the mechanics of an actual car. Great set.

someToast

I remember when they brought out the floating boats it seemed like a whole revolution in Lego at the time.

Also does anyone remember the Lego Newsletter they used to mail out with all those pictures of what kids had made at home? When i was a kid I felt like I was famous because I got my picture in there after making a huge town center.

jayomatic

Of course she hasyet to inherit dad's set. Yes, 25 years later I still have mine. Safely hidden from kids hands. Sad isn't it.

freakshow1

scarbrtj

freakshow1

Kaiser-Machead

DeadWriter

thechansen

Rectangle

mrrobotanger

halfkorean

DelosWorld

I had the car, the Helicopter and this kit which turned itself into a giant 6 wheeled grader with rotating antenna (not pictured).

I still have it all (along with various other lego kits from the 80's) in a large container in storage.

NZRUSS

[gizmodo.com]

Holy smokes, I mean it had a functional V8, all-wheel drive system with three differentials, a 4-speed functional gearbox, 4-wheel steering, 4-wheel independent double wishbone suspension, and the list goes on. The really amazing thing is that it had almost no custom pieces, which I've noticed seem to be all the rage lately.

I burned out a wheel hub running that thing on a treadmill to see how fast I could get the engine to spin up to... called Lego and they sent me replacement pieces for free. I still have the car completely put together somewhere in a box in my closet, it's pretty much my ultimate nerd trophy.

Somewhere in the basement of my parents' house is a large box with all of my old Legos, sitting next to a box full of Brio and a bunch of Construx. I'm saving them for my eventual future kid and they'll probably be the best things I'll ever give him.

Man this really did bring a flood of old memories back. Thanks.

FullFlava

Silvadeus

[guide.lugnet.com]

[guide.lugnet.com]

I had both of these and adored them.

Crimson (PS3 ID Black--Tiger)

What dreams may come

Simpsons-Movie-ruled

Oneon1isto

Justin D

jollygoodlad

May you be blessed.

Oneon1isto

thisbeatisbadass

Ricky