[MOC] Upscaling classic LEGO Town models

[Xynthymr]

I have always been fascinated with taking something that aready exists and reimagining it either as something slightly different, or in a new way - ie, larger or smaller. Inspired by the various Star Wars sets which have been miniaturised for various reasons over the years, and the few UCS sets which have enlarged popular sets from the Star Wars universe, I wondered whether the same could be done with other iconic sets from LEGO's history... I could have chosen any theme from classic Space to classic Castle, but I decided to go with some easy builds to start off, hence why I chose some classic Town sets from my childhood. I still intend to visit other themes in the near future, so watch this space!

Some of the first sets I was given at a young age in the early 80's are shown below, alongside my upscaled reimagining of the same vehicle to a ratio of 2:1. I have had to make several compromises along the way to achieve the final look and / or functionality, but overall I believe that the upscaled models retain the look and feel of the classic sets that they are based on. I was also limited to the availability of certain parts in certain colours, so have had to make suitable substitutes where necessary

The first set I upscaled is one of my favourites! 6655 - Auto And Tyre Repair (minus the accessories):

I struggled to achieve an accurate look for the windscreens and the functionality of the doors, and had to get creative when attempting to recreate the wheel arches in a larger scale. The steering wheel and yellow seat were also fabricated to resemble the classic LEGO elements that they are based on. A few other compromises had to be made for rigidity, but overall I am pleased with the end result

This set forms the basis of the next two, which are very similar in design. It's clear that the original LEGO designers went with a design that was quick and easy to modify, as several sets from this era share the same basic shape and structure

The second set I upscaled was 6623 - Police Car:

I chose to upscale this set as it was essentially a colour swap of the 6655 set I had previously created, so required minimal effort. A few extra pieces were added where necessary, and several others swapped out to make it more accurate to the original set design

The third set I upscaled was 6634 - Stock Car:

Although lacking the Shell branding, I feel that this model still closely resembles the classic set design. Very few areas needed to be modified from the previous build, so this one took me less than half an hour as it was almost identical to the previous two models

I then decided to try my hand at something a bit different, mainly because I felt I was being lazy by sticking to the same style of build. I chose 6604 - Formula 1 Racer:

I chose this set namely due to its simplicity and relatively low piece count. Even lacking the printing on the front slope, the car closely resembles the model it was based on, and can still be easily identified as 6604!

The most recent set I upscaled is 6688 - Ambulance:

A crude vehicle by today's standards, I chose this set as I wanted to tackle something larger, but while still keeping it simple. I was able to recycle a lot of the upscaled "pieces" I used for the earlier projects and incorporate them here. A few design liberties were taken on the inside for structural reasons, but these were minor alterations to increase the rigidity of the larger model. Ideally the model would have Red Cross stickers where applicable, but I think the model still resembles the original set design without them

Edited August 5, 2015 by Xynthymr