WesternOutlaw Posted May 16, 2007 Posted May 16, 2007 In the late 90s, prior to the beginning of my WW set collection, I had stumbled upon reviews of some of the Lego WW sets on www.Adequate.com. One review really peeked my interest, Bandit's Secret Hideout (6761) reviewed by Joseph Gonzalez in 1996. Joseph shares the following story as a prelude to his set review: Old Crandall Mine sits just outside the limits of town near the fading and silent foundations of the previous settlement Peerless. Built a good decade before the gold rush was even heard of, the mine was begun by millionaire-eccentric Morris "Old Moe" Crandall and ended up closing six years later because nearly every shaft started would collapse, trapping too many unfortunate miners below. Three years after its closing, a twister passed through the area and wiped every building out but the foreman's shack over the main entrance. I reckon all that bad luck is where everybody got the idea the place is either haunted or cursed. Some folks say you can see the ghosts of those lost miners pass through the invisible streets as wind rushes through the still-intact main shaft causing a ghostly whistle. Now, with the rush for gold on in every part of the country, some fools talk about opening the mine again, others talk about sending in government troops to unearth the lost bodies and put the souls of those men to rest, while still others are saying somebody ought to blow the entrance once and for all and cave the whole miserable operation in. Out of all that talk I do know one thing, the army would be out there lickety-split if they knew that Flatfoot Thomsen and his gang were holing up there with last week's robbery loot and a stolen war cannon. Complete Review. I wanted to share this review with the WW fans before it is no longer available. It has been there since 1996. I love this story and it had me chasing all over town for this great little set. Joseph reviewed other sets but this is among my favorites. This is truly a great little set and I was able to pick up a 2nd MISB last year on Ebay. One additional review I particularly enjoyed was for the Classic Train (3225) by Larry Pieniazek: Classic Train 3225 Review. Hope you take a moment to check these out as reviews with great stories really add interest to sets. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 16, 2007 Governor Posted May 16, 2007 Adequate have some interesting reviews. I wonder why Joseph Gonzalez put so much effort into writing those stories. Who was the audience for LEGO back in 1996? Were the reviews published elsewhere? Quote
snefroe Posted May 16, 2007 Posted May 16, 2007 Adequate have some interesting reviews. I wonder why Joseph Gonzalez put so much effort into writing those stories. Who was the audience for LEGO back in 1996? Were the reviews published elsewhere? good question! the site must be one of the oldest dedicated lego sites in our galaxy... it's kinda funny to see his creations, built with bricks that are completely out of date these days. it's a bit like going back in time really... 8-| Quote
Brick Miner Posted May 16, 2007 Posted May 16, 2007 hmmm... that does make it sounds really good !!! BTW B... you two have a similar writing style. - BrickMiner Quote
WesternOutlaw Posted May 16, 2007 Author Posted May 16, 2007 BTW B... you two have a similar writing style.- BrickMiner Perhaps this provided me with an early inspiration for Ghost Town - or recalled my fascination with ghost towns from childhood memories. I can think of other things that sparked my interest. What was your inspiration for Shiversdale BM? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adequate has been around a long time and the reviews are a very good quaility. I use to write reviews on Brickset when they had real-time posting. After this was changed, I would spend a lot of time writing a review before submitting, then never saw it posted. It happened a few times, and I gave up. I think set reviews with a good story really add interest. I for one enjoy reading the story component. Quote
Brick Miner Posted May 17, 2007 Posted May 17, 2007 Perhaps this provided me with an early inspiration for Ghost Town - or recalled my fascination with ghost towns from childhood memories. I can think of other things that sparked my interest.yes, i noticed this quote from the article...I dig this extra skeleton head and I'm real tempted to put it on one of my bandits so he can be a real "ghost rider"!and couldn't help but think, this guy might have been the first to come up with the idea of a LEGOized ghost town... congrats to him, its a great idea !!!though, currently im not very happy with my interpretation... im hoping these new skeleton horses from castle 2007 can breath some life back into the theme for me ;-) ------------------------------------------------ What was your inspiration for Shiversdale BM?two past EB thread come to mind here...Ghost Town inspiration thread. and this one... Historic MOCs/Themes Inspired by Movies, Share your inspirations for historic MOCs and themes. i remember we talked about being inspired by movie posters and not the actual movie... and my first encounter with a really scary ghost town was this movie poster. ------------------------------------------------ though, ghost towns aside... i also think you two write very similarly... maybe it's just the qualities of a well written piece that im noticing X-D - BrickMiner Quote
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