def Posted January 19, 2010 Times have changed. They always do, there's not much you can do about it, especially in the last century or so. All you can guarantee is the stuff that was around when you were a kid won't be the same as when you're an adult, so enjoy it while you can, and don't be in any rush to throw it away as evidenced that you've "grown up". For me, selling my Star Wars figure collection at a garage sale was a particularly regrettable move, far more than simply tossing my Transformers in the trash. Anyway... When I was a kid, at Christmas, the Eaton Centre was the place to go in Toronto. The seven or so floors of Eaton's, bought out by Sears in the 90's, but then the main department store in Canada, reinvented itself, and its piddly 3rd floor toy department expanded to a large chunk of the 7th floor, with fantastic displays to captivate the kids. Across the road was the competitor, Simpsons, bought out by The Bay in the 90's <research the Hudson Bay company, a fascinating and bizarre part of Canadian-British history still in business today>. Simpsons had some sort of deal with Lego at this time, and scored a touring Lego show for the whole of the Christmas season at least twice that I went to. It was quite unbelievable to me at the time. The show generally featured 'Inventions', but the showcase was near a life-size Castle creation, and a massive mini-figure scale Space set. This program features all the creations on display that I remember. I pored over this book as a kid, and around this time I joined the Canadian Lego club. Visiting the Eaton Centre this year, without Eatons or Simpsons existing, those stores probably a vague memory for some younger members here, I think that a lot of the magic spectacle that companies used to try to create at Christmas. Lord knows, Toys R Us doesn't bother with anything other than a catalog. The Christmas spectacle seems to have gone the way of the dodo, and the young kids out there are all the poorer for it. Christmas shifts from amazement to checklists. I'll let the program pics speak for themselves. Mods, if the pics are too big, let me know and I'll resize them and link to an outside folder. And to make this thread more worth your time, here is a stitched pic of the Castle, which was the most intimidating for me. It felt as if my toys had come to life. Either this pic delights you, or it doesn't. The Space scene also was amazing. I recall the trains moving, but that could be my imagination playing tricks on me. Bottom line, it was fantastic, and it made the somewhat weird Space Lego sets I had seem absolutely realistic. When looking back at this build, I try to imagine that the builders are now in their 50s or 60s. How do they look back on their involvement on such a project? Did they think they were making magic, or was it just a paycheck? Thanks for reading my ramblings about my childhood memories. There's no Legoland in Canada, much less in 1984, so this stuff was a head trip. Hopefully you can find it just as fun as I do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prateek Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) Wow! I swear I saw a motorcycle made of Lego just like that at someone's house I really like that space thingy I agree that the Christmas spirit has gone down a lot the past few years, but at least the Bay still has their Queen St. window displays and the Eaton Centre still has a huge Christmas tree. Edited January 19, 2010 by prateek Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CopMike Posted January 19, 2010 Thanks def for the in-depth coverage of the LWS84 ! It´s great to see those 25+ year old pictures, it really bring back memories of my childhood stuff . So many great models! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick Posted January 19, 2010 Thanks def for bringing this up. I had seen most of the pictures somewhere already. Those large knights are great! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FiletOFish Posted January 19, 2010 cool i'm really liking the transparent light bulb. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mariann Asanuma Posted January 19, 2010 Nice pictures! That looks like it was an amazing show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snefroe Posted January 19, 2010 we used to have a lego show as well in the early 80's. think it must have been 1981 or 1982, in any case, the white-grey spaceship had already arrived in the shop, but no grey castle just yet... I belief our show was at the center of Antwerp, in this stylish shop called "Innovation" or "Grand Bazaar", compare it if you will with "Kaufhof" in Germany. They had this big exhibition on lego models and i remember the big space scene, which was quite similar to the 1984 one in this topic. it was made up of those trans dark blue space windscreens (of the white-grey spaceship)... as a spacefreak... that was... simply amazing. I remember the grammophone, even though i may have seen that in a brochure on the net or something. Still, most other parts of the exhibition were similar to the 1984 show, unfortunately, i can't remember it all very well. I must have been 8 or 9 and nobody carried a cell phone with a camera back then... I went there with the sister and mom twice, but we never took pictures ... yes, lego was very primitive... i guess it's like a car of the 50s... many old people would love to have one of those classics, but the younger generations would probably go like "g... this thing doesn't have an mp3 player and where the heck is the airco?" oh well... it's still a great memory... I was thinking of going to the archives of the antwerp newspaper to see if they had any photo or article, but it's still on my 'to do list', i'm affraid... btw, did you guys read the space story? engineers dealing with meteors destroying buildings... no weird aliens killing space cops, no trucks in space... no shooting mechanisms... ahhh... the world was so simple back then... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Cam Posted January 19, 2010 Excellent pictures, I love vintage things like this, especially when LEGO related. I'm going to save these pics when I get home! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
samurai-turtle Posted January 19, 2010 I know they are old pictures but I still want to say dam (as in cool). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
avoidz Posted January 20, 2010 I would have done just about anything as a 10-year-old back in 1984 to have that space setting in my house. I still dream about putting actual illuminated lights on my landing pads... Great pics, thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RileyC Posted January 20, 2010 They are awesome pics! I just love what you can do with basic bricks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mariann Asanuma Posted January 20, 2010 So cool I just had to post it on my Model Building Secrets blog. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ricecracker Posted January 20, 2010 So that's why you wanted to go to the Eaton centre . I really wish they still did this, it would be amazing to see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
def Posted January 20, 2010 So cool I just had to post it on my Model Building Secrets blog. That's awesome. I agree with all you wrote on your blog. Going into my twenties, I worked at Toys R Us, and I really thought all the stuff there was inhibitive for kids... Fighting toys for boys and housework toys for girls (ie EZ Bake ovens). Let's not bring up Paradiso But, I always said, Lego's okay. An experience like this was part of the reason I felt that way. Of course, now my room is overflowing with Lego twice over... I have a second, all space themed program, I'll try to scan soon. I'm a bit under the weather today Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
def Posted January 20, 2010 So that's why you wanted to go to the Eaton centre . I really wish they still did this, it would be amazing to see. The Eaton Centre is a very different place today, a lot less "family". But when I was a kid, going there was a family Christmas time tradition of sorts, and something I always looked forward to. It was a safe place to spend your day and see a lot of fantastic displays. You can't go home again Que cera cera... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewDB Posted January 20, 2010 It'd be impressive if they released that Bike as a real set. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Steve Posted January 20, 2010 Awesome Pics, Thanks for posting them, I really enjoyed this post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted January 20, 2010 Ah, good trip down memory lane. I remember Simpsons. We used to shop there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blueandwhite Posted January 21, 2010 This show really got me hooked on LEGO as a kid! Honestly, seeing that space station in motion was absolutely incredible. No matter what I built, I always looked to the LEGO World Show models as a source of inspiration as a child. I remember trying to duplicate that Space train as a child (a precursor to the monorail perhaps). It's funny looking back at this though. The colour and parts selection in 1984 was so limited. Dark grey bricks were a rarity outside of Legoland so it was no surprise that many of the knights were stuck with light grey helmets. In fact, I was absolutely in awe of the Legoland photos because of the light and dark grey mottling on the rooftops and the castle in the background. Even today these models are quite impressive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brick & Mortimer Posted February 9, 2010 I never saw this exhibition, but I can remember seeing that Lego factory in the Toy museum in Mechelen, Belgium. It was one of the first displays in the museum, was incredibly large AND was motorized! . Or... it was a MOC done by the people from the museum instead of this particular exhibition. Anyways, it looked great Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
