False Memories and the Mandela Effect - Lego Edition

[TheAbsoluteSt81]

For those unaware, the Mandela Effect is the concept of false memories of the past - it takes its name from the most famous example of this, which is that many remember Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 80s when he actually died in 2013. Usually the Mandela Effect refers to a shared false memory across a group of people.

Do you have any false memories involving Lego? Maybe you remember a set or part being released which doesn't exist, a set or figures having different features or you remember a set being released in a different year? Post your examples below, there are bound to be some given that most of us discover Lego at a young age when our memory is just developing.

I have 1 example of this: I'm sure I remember a small adventurers set (https://letsbuilditagain.com/instructions/5938/) having a feature where the skeleton pops up when the tomb is opened - I've never owned this set but I'm sure I can remember a picture of a box like this one where the skeleton is popping up from the trap door. This feature was in a studios set I think and also a Harry Potter set a few years later so maybe that's why.

[krimimimi]

Well the "lid" does pop up off the sarcophagus in 5938 Oasis Ambush revealing the skeleton, it's just not the skeleton itself popping up. There's also a lid lifting to reveal a mummy in the Scooby-doo 75900 if you're thinking more recent stuff. As for the old stuff, not sure how old a set you'd be likely to recall, 3722 Treasure Tomb combined a bunch of those elements (you lift the skeleton with Egyptian headdress in his sarcophagus to get to a jewel hidden beneath him, and also rotate the door to the side to reveal a trap door with snakes and... maybe more jewels... That bit is a little fuzzy, it's been too long.) 5958 Mummy's Tomb had a mummy that rotated to face you bearing treasure, with an alternative build pictured in which something gets lowered and he suddenly appears behind it... (Half of those alt builds were pretty out there, makes me sort of wish I built less literally these days.) 

Almost every second one of those old Egyptian archeology sets had a feature like that, if you have a nose around. They were pretty great. (Adventurers ran from 1998 to 2003 and covered a bunch of localities (Dino Island, Egypt, Jungle, and Orient Expedition; Johnny Thunder! Gail Storm! Harry Cane! Dr. Kilroy! and Lord Sam Sinister / Baron von Barron!), Pharaoh's Quest - a more recent update on the Egyptian theme - was released in 2011 and covered some of the same ground, although I think with a little less charm and humour.) 2996 Adventurer's Car had the sarcophagus, mummy and double doors that could swing open to reveal whatever... Man, I have a bunch of these in storage I really need to dust off... lol I loved that series. 

[Classic_Spaceman]

15 hours ago, TheAbsoluteSt81 said:

I'm sure I remember a small adventurers set (https://letsbuilditagain.com/instructions/5938/) having a feature where the skeleton pops up when the tomb is opened - I've never owned this set but I'm sure I can remember a picture of a box like this one where the skeleton is popping up from the trap door. 

Is this what you are remembering? 


 

[TheAbsoluteSt81]

On 10/12/2020 at 2:02 PM, krimimimi said:

Well the "lid" does pop up off the sarcophagus in 5938 Oasis Ambush revealing the skeleton, it's just not the skeleton itself popping up. There's also a lid lifting to reveal a mummy in the Scooby-doo 75900 if you're thinking more recent stuff. As for the old stuff, not sure how old a set you'd be likely to recall, 3722 Treasure Tomb combined a bunch of those elements (you lift the skeleton with Egyptian headdress in his sarcophagus to get to a jewel hidden beneath him, and also rotate the door to the side to reveal a trap door with snakes and... maybe more jewels... That bit is a little fuzzy, it's been too long.) 5958 Mummy's Tomb had a mummy that rotated to face you bearing treasure, with an alternative build pictured in which something gets lowered and he suddenly appears behind it... (Half of those alt builds were pretty out there, makes me sort of wish I built less literally these days.) 

Almost every second one of those old Egyptian archeology sets had a feature like that, if you have a nose around. They were pretty great. (Adventurers ran from 1998 to 2003 and covered a bunch of localities (Dino Island, Egypt, Jungle, and Orient Expedition; Johnny Thunder! Gail Storm! Harry Cane! Dr. Kilroy! and Lord Sam Sinister / Baron von Barron!), Pharaoh's Quest - a more recent update on the Egyptian theme - was released in 2011 and covered some of the same ground, although I think with a little less charm and humour.) 2996 Adventurer's Car had the sarcophagus, mummy and double doors that could swing open to reveal whatever... Man, I have a bunch of these in storage I really need to dust off... lol I loved that series. 

I'm a bit too young to remember Adventurers, those sets do look cool though. However I am old enough to remember Pharaoh's Quest and a few of those sets were fantastic - I had the biplane which had some rare dark red parts, great figures and was an absolute steal at only £15, and the largest set (was on sale in TK Maxx for £50 so my mum got it for me for christmas) which was easily one of the best sets of the time imo. That theme had a lot of potential and I'd love to see another theme like it following the adventurers format of having different locations each year

[krimimimi]

On 10/21/2020 at 2:59 PM, TheAbsoluteSt81 said:

That theme had a lot of potential and I'd love to see another theme like it following the adventurers format of having different locations each year

As far as potential goes, I think you might like this...

 

It's an MOC series of vignettes from BetWBricks using parts from the Orient Adventurers series, and I think they did a bang up job.

[AmperZand]

I have a false memory of short, metal axel pieces in LEGO sets about 45 years ago but now think they may have been from another toy system that had axels that happened to fit LEGO.

[Lira_Bricks]

On 11/6/2020 at 6:02 PM, AmperZand said:

I have a false memory of short, metal axel pieces in LEGO sets about 45 years ago but now think they may have been from another toy system that had axels that happened to fit LEGO.

If it was this one, it did exist. It was used for those old wheelbricks: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7049a&name=Brick, Modified 2 x 4 with Wheels Holder, Opaque Bottom&category=[Brick, Modified]#T=C

They are from the 1960's

[Dreamweb]

Here's something from me.

Back in the early 1990s, I swear I saw in my LEGO catalogues some minifigs with short legs, meant to represent children. They were in some town sets. Granted, I didn't have any such figs myself, but I wasn't much of a town person back then.

The memory was so vivid that when the Star Wars sets first came out a few years later and I saw the Yoda fig, I immediately thought "Oh yeah, they reused those short legs from the Town series to make him".

Fast forward to maybe two years ago, when on some website they were showing something like 'The history of the LEGO minifig'. It presented the evolution of the minifigs of course, from the version without articulated legs and arms, etc. But when I saw a picture of Yoda in there, and an explanation that the short legs were first introduced with Star Wars, I was like 'Come on, this is obviously a mistake. Town sets used short legs a lot earlier'.

Then I did some searching on sites like Bricklink and Brickset and, what do you know, it turned out they were right, the short legs were indeed first introduced with Star Wars. I was shocked.

I still remember reading those old catalogues and seeing short legs in them!

Edited April 23, 2021 by Dreamweb

[jimmynick]

2 hours ago, Dreamweb said:

Back in the early 1990s, I swear I saw in my LEGO catalogues some minifigs with short legs, meant to represent children.

Is it possible that you remembered looking at the idea books, the models in which may have contained unreleased parts? From seeing scans of these books on the web, it's evident that the builds sometimes get wacky and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that prototype legs managed to sneak their way in.

[Dreamweb]

Impossible.  I've never had an idea book in my entire life; I only saw scans of some of them here on Eurobricks and on other sites, but that was much, much later. Back in those times, I only had standard catalogues and the smaller leaflets they were adding to most sets.

[Johnny1360]

Not sure if this qualifies or not but I remember from my childhood, late sixties. The grey tires on the wheels would split and come off the rims, rather quickly and the wheels also had non-removable metal pins that inserted in holes in bricks that also wore out rather quickly too. So the wheels would constantly fall off of vehicles. I have yet to come across any of these in the wild and now question whether they actually existed or not.

[jimmynick]

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=7039bc02#T=C

Like this? My grandparents held on to my dad's and aunt's LEGO from that period (including early homemaker!) and I got the chance to play with it when I was younger. Maybe they even still have it?

[Johnny1360]

Yes exactly, thanks, man how I hated those wheels. I suppose it is possible I just played with them to much. It did cause me to discover studs forward building though and I remember building some rather good helicopters with those wheels, kind of even impressed old people, parents. As it was the only way I could use the wheels, after the rubber broke off and the axles wouldn't stay in the hole, unless it was pointed straight up. Turned them into rotors. Bringing back some damn fond memories.

I can still remember my dad asking why I built them that way, studs forward, when clearly that is not how the box showed other models.

I gave my standard answer, I dunno.

[1974]

On 4/23/2021 at 1:17 PM, jimmynick said:

Is it possible that you remembered looking at the idea books, the models in which may have contained unreleased parts? From seeing scans of these books on the web, it's evident that the builds sometimes get wacky and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that prototype legs managed to sneak their way in.

I don't remeber any prototype parts in those books, 'cept some roadplates and a few parts not available in particlaur colours at the time. I get the feeling those books were made with a bunch of current sets all dumped into one pile and then the designers build from that

There some oddities though. The 250 IDEA Book, released in 1987 show no signs of 6074 (no models with the yellow Tudor wall) and feels like it's been made in early 1986. It does have 6062 (a 1987 set) on the back cover though

[Stuartn]

There are two microphone pieces that I have that I just realised were actual Lego, having come from a city advent calendar set some years ago. I had thought they were from a custom musical instruments set I had bought from a third party vendor some years ago and had never been able to bring myself to use them, thankfully I just sat them in a box of odd pieces and never disposed of them.