WesternOutlaw

Exciting news! A new pirate theme would be awesome. I just hope it's not part of Pirates 4+ or Duplo. I can't wait to see the official line-up. A big thank you to Badger.

Interesting topic. I say YES, perhaps just a little better. Catalogues from this era depicted both themes as the cowboy sets were still available when the Indian sets came out one year later. What I would like to have seen is the sets and figs mixed a little more - I think this would have made the Indian sets sell better. Here's some more info on the Indian theme and why some members of EB feel that it was not unpopular: American Indian Theme Popularity, Islanders of the Wild West

Originally shared in the History & Adventure Forum for its adventure attributes, here's my favorite of the Outback collection: First, let me say that this little set is one of my all-time favorites because it can be used to sumplement a number of different themes. 1) the set makes a great little adventure airstrip for Adventurers and more recent, the Indiana Jones theme (see also German Headquarters and Port Adventure). I've also used the set as an addition to my Wild West town. The tan baseplate and windmill works great, just subtract the plane, modern equipment, and figs. And lastly, as the set was intended, as an Outback/desert airstrip. Set Description: Outback Airstrip Set # 6444 Pieces: 157 Minifigs: 3 Release Date: 1997 Original Price: $20 (USD) Starting with the box: And the backside. Notice the alternate models. I love the swamp boat: The building is my favorite part of the set. It is simple, has a little detail, two great roof pieces, and a single green window (great piece!): Check out the great windmill piece. It's my only one and makes a great part for Wild West and that farm you always wanted to build. I used it for the Barnhouse of Barnabas Higgens and Spring Valley Ranch On the side of the building is a great radio and a clear glass: Unfortunately, no furniture can be found within the building: And now the airplane: Front view; I love the twin propellors: Side view: And the rear section: The back has a small cargo hold for some boxes/freight or some gear needed in the Outback: The set includes three figs, two with cool shades: And some great equipment. I love the boom box: A shot of the whole set: And another: Summary: As I mentioned above, this set is very versatile and can suplement a few different themes. It's my personal favorite of the Outback collection and I'm really glad I was able to find the set in the late 90s (I almost didn't buy). Sets like this are timeless and so much fun to build and display. Hope you enjoy the review. EDIT: Additional reviews: Review by AgentRick57 (December 24, 2007) Outback Airstrip Review in History & Adventure Forum (February 10, 2008)

Nice review. I always wanted this set. The speed boat makes the set. Thanks for sharing.

It's a hot day on the train tracks during this mid-summer day. Three engines are rolling down the tracks at full speed. Wait! A train whistle is heard loudly. The engines eventually come to a stop. Wow! These are some real beauties, some of Lego's finest 9V engines. I spy the Sante Fe Super Chief with an exclusive numbered brick. What a nice front-end with her studs-not-on-top design. But wait, the Burlington Norther Santa Fe has some wonderful new colors, dark green and orange, never used in a Lego train design before. But don't rule out the Europeans just yet! There's a lovely Swiss Federal Railways Crocodile Locomotive complete with three sections and red train doors. What great detail. This triple engine face-off is certainly challenging for all the competitors. It will take the critical skills of the EB community to decide which of these engines is truly Lego's best 9V engine. Will you help decide?

Thanks Metalandi. This and the Emergency Evac set are the only Re-Q sets I have. I would encourage you to share a review as you have done some very nice reviews.

Aerial Recovery Set #: 6462 Theme: Town Res-Q Year Released: 1998 Piece Count: 201 Minifigs: 3 List Price: $25 (USD) My personal favorite of the Res-Q theme released in 1998 was this helicopter, 6462 Aerial Recovery. The set offered a pretty modern helicopter, raft, three-wheeler, rescue gurney and net, and three figs including a diver. The set is action-packed and offers a high degree of play value. Starting with the box, front side and back: Front Back I always liked the rough ocean/sea water pictured in the boxart. The same image from the front of the box appears on the cover of the instructions: But the back of the instructions picture a plain view of the copter: One sticker sheet with a few "Res-Q" stickers is included, mainly for the tail section of the helicopter: Interestingly, the set includes three figures, one being a diver. What I always found strange is the inclusion of an "X-Treme Team" Diver who has the logo on his torso (although it's a very nice fig): Back shot: I think this was my first set with a Lego three-wheeler. I always liked it a lot: The set includes a yellow raft (also found in the Divers sets) and some scuba gear: NOTE: the raft has a black piece in it's center for lifting up by the helicopter For sea and emergent rescue, a gurney can also be lifted by the helicopter: The set also includes a net with hook to lift the three-wheeler and other items. An extra string pulls the net closed: Here's a shot of the helicopter: The front section has a large trans. blue piece enclosing the cockpit: Inside is a printed radar slope: A smaller trans. blue piece appears a bit higher for access to the middle section of the helicopter and/or a small storage area: In the middle section is an place for the gurney and a box for storing some of the adventure gear: Here's a picture showing the gurney: On the side is a pulley mechanism that swings to the right when not in use: On the opposite side is the winch to raise and lower the grappling hook: Here's a picture of an open storage box: I like the tail section with propeller: Decal is not shown Here's another shot of the copter from a different angle: And the final image, the entire set: Final Thoughts Personally, I think this is pretty nice set. I like the thought of using the helicopter to rescue people at sea using the working winch. Extras like the trike/three-wheeler and the rescue net make the set even more fun. Hope you enjoy this Res-Q review.

(performing the sign of the cross) I shall pray for guidance...

Trains & Town Article Index Articles Building a Classic Lego Town: 7 Tips for a Terrific Tabletown Preserving Your Lego: How to keep your sets looking new for years to come Dino Attack, The Forgotten City Theme: Died Off Like the Dinosaurs or Formed the Foundation of Post-Apoc? What Ever Happened to the Single Train Car? Rolling Stock Reluctance Big Lego Brother is Watching: They Call it Police Surveillance Classic Castle Towns: What Ever Happened to the Town/Castle Combination? Set Design, Playability, and Other Considerations: What Do You Value More? LEGO Health Care in Tabletown, Universal Health Care Option. Minifigs demand healthcare reform! Tale of Two Lighthouses: Old Sailor's Yarn Sizzling Summer Fun: Six Sensational Scenes Aircraft Transport: Aviation & Adventure in Your Town Fall Fascination: "Autumnize" Your Tabletown Interesting Topics & Discussions Floating Lego Boats: Move Over Rubber Duckie! (Discussion re. floatable hulls vs. brick-built hulls) Classic Chocolate Factory: #1620 Promotional Set (Discussion) Town and Train Displays: Do you prefer to display MOCs or Official Sets? (Poll) What Classic Town Set Did You Always Want? The set you never got (aka. Lost Legends) - (Discussion) Modular Town Buildings Vs. Classic Style, Do the sets fit well together? Seasonal Influence, How does the weather impact your Tabletowns? Lego Farms: Western or City?, Is Farm really a City sub-theme? What puts the CLASS in Classic Town? What's Next for Lego Trains?, Speculation, Rumors, & Wishes TRAINS or Towns: Which Theme Do You Prefer? Green or Grey?, Which color roadplates do you prefer? (Poll) Town Plan 10184 Favorite Building, What's your favorite structure? (Poll) Combining City with Other Themes, What themes have you mixed with City? Real Water in Your City, Brick Built vs. Sparkletts Modular Madness: Which Modular Set is Your Favorite, Cafe Corner, Green Grocer, or Fire Brigade? Your Modular Collection 28 Days Later, What do you do after the build? Future of Farm, Top Choice or Pork Sausage? City-Sizing Creator Sets: How to blend Creator homes into your Tabletowns

Thank you B&W. That's very nice of you to say. I don't necessarily agree with you on this. We're all expendable on any site, and although everyone likes to feel that they greatly contribute to the success of a board, when one of us leaves, it only makes a "brief ripple" in the bigger theme of things. At the same time B&W, you are a valued member of EB as well and you have contributed greatly to EB. Just your comments here demonstrate your ability to add quality to any post with your thoughts on a subject. I thank you for that and I'm sure other members of EB appreciate you to. Oh, I'm sorry if I implied that CC is not a friendly site. This was not my intent. No one has ever been "unfriendly" to me. It's just that even when I was a brand new member of EB and shared my first MOC, as well as other new member posts, I was immediately accepted and don't recall ever having a post go without at least one response. This is not true of Classic Castle as I've encountered it a few times there (if I recall correctly). Perhaps it was the nature/subject of my posts. In any case, EB seems to get a lot of traffic in all themes: Castle, Adventure, Space, City, Star Wars, etc. One can be diverse and share thoughts on many different themes and topics. I still miss the days when the Pirate theme was part of the History/Adventure forum. Having to go to a separate forum detracts me from checking it more often. This is how I view the new FC site, even further from easily checking new posts. I'm not knocking Classic Castle as they do have some great references, contests, and other good quality material; and I'm sure FC will have equally good material. I suppose you could just call me a man set in my ways, and I like the EB community.

Have you tried Peeron.com. They have inventories of most sets. 10025 Set 1 10022 Set 2

Hi BM. It's nice to see you posting on EB. I take offense to this though (not against you). The only joke, in my opinion, is that other sites aren't as good as EB. EB was my first Lego community fan site. While I'm VERY bias towards EB, I still think it kicks @$$ over other sites. I've posted to sites like Classic Castle, some of which have received ZERO responses. In fact, after a few, I don't even bother posting there anymore. I'm not saying that Classic Castle is not a quality site, but if the Forbidden Cove is anything like Classic Castle, I think Classic-Pirates will be better. It seems that EB does draw a lot of younger participants, but at the same time, messages are read and there's a lot of discussion/participation on most threads. That does not seem the case with other sites. I enjoy the activity. I have not spent much time in Classic-Pirates.com, but I love the references, like the image reviews, the set references, and the numerous topics of discussion. I'd be real curious to see what kind of format the Forbidden Cove will have. The on-line Lego community is starting to become more saturated. This will probably decrease activity on a few sites. I prefer 1-2 good quality sites, spending most of my time at these (EB being the first). I don't know if I have the time or energy to visit numerous others, esp. another Pirate site. I wish them luck, but Classic-Pirates is still my 1st choice.

These are both very impressive Librarian. I really like the way you designed the wings and included the yellow and black stripes from Classic Space. I'm really a "stud-on-top" builder, so when I see this kind of construction, I'm amazed and the design. As both ships are excellent, I'm not sure which one I like better. Your figs are equally nice. Overall, outstanding!

Emergency Evac Set #: 6445 Theme: Town Res-Q Year Released: 1998 Piece Count: 97 Minifigs: 1 List Price: $8 (USD) In 1998, Lego introduced a new theme called Res-Q. The theme was really a quasi-Coast Guard sub-theme of Classic Town. The theme included boats, helicopters, emergency vehicles, and even a water hovercraft. Most notable was the black and yellow color combination that predominated the sets. I only picked up a couple of sets from the theme including this Emergency Evacuation vehicle that I consider a van. I never got into the theme, but looking back at these sets, I have gained a better appreciation for their value in Classic Town. Let's take a look at 6445 in greater detail. Starting with the box: The back of the box providing a few alternate models: And similar imagery on the instructions: The set includes one small sheet of decals for the van: 6445 has one Res-Q minifig that I find pretty nice. I like the neon orange reflectors: He has a nice printed backside with the word RES-Q prominently displayed: This little set includes an abundance of tools: A black walkie-talkie is not pictured Here's the emergency van: I like the back section that has a nice winch with turning wheel and a few hooks for tools: Here's the minifig pulling the grappling hook for some Res-Q action. This is my favorite part of this set: The van isn't too fancy but has some neat features: While I like the blue windshield piece for maybe space sets, I'm not really fond of its use for the van: The van has no steering wheel, but rather two levers for steering: On the top of the vehicle are two emergency alarms and some extra lights: The back of the van has a large opening piece that allows wide access to the back section: It comfortably fits a long gurney/stretcher: Here's the driver resting on the gurney: He should never have tried to pick up the gurney without a 2nd Res-Q minifig. And a shot of the back section without the gurney: Lastly, a picture of the complete set: Final Thoughts Res-Q is really a neat theme that has great play value for kids. While it's not one of my more favorite town sub-themes, it does offer some nice pieces and an abundance of black and yellow pieces. I think a few of the Res-Q sets go nicely with the Divers theme released one year earlier in 1997. I had a chance to purchase the largest set of the theme, 6479 Emergency Response Center, at half the price, but passed back in the late 90s. I'd be interested in finding out what other EB members think of this set and the Res-Q theme.

White Fang: You always provide good thoughts on any set review. Definately very "playable" with lots of construction activity on two nice baseplates. Yes, I agree. Although in some of the more recent City sets (Fire Station, Police Station, and Town Plan), we have seen the return of the roll-down garage door. I think they really bring back a nice quality of "Classic Town". It is a lot of fun to put the bricks in, slide the black piece out, and watch/hear them drop into the awaiting dump truck. FUN! Excellent point! The set makes for a great classic.

I have mixed feelings about this set. It's definately neat to see Lego offering a mini-fig scale Hot Rod set with a garage. This reminds me a bit of classic town style. At the same time, take a look at this set released in 1994: Hot Rod Club Here we are 14 years later, and the overall quality isn't as good (at least in my opinion). I'd rather see Lego re-release the classic as a Legend. As far as the pros, the red car looks pretty nice. I don't know about the others. I'm not sure if I like the garage at all. This set is marginal in my opinion, esp. compared to the Classic set pictured above.

I think I'm one of a few around these parts that collect Lego and Playmobil, but I have to agree with CopMike. I don't like to mix the two, although I do draw some inspiration from Playmobil when it comes to Lego MOCing. In fact, I don't like to mix any non-Lego elements with Lego (that includes Mega-Blocks and other construction blocks). I have some of those bottles from the Playmobil (PM) Golden Nugget Saloon (I think), but I prefer to keep them with other PM. Definately an interesting topic though. I'd be curious to read what others feel about mixing.

Nice review Cobra. Thanks for sharing. I think Arctic was one of those neat themes that never really took off. I like these little poly-bag sets as they make great starters/introduction sets for themes (or) serve as a nice supplement or add/on to an existing collection. I've always liked the thick green hood piece used in the Arctic theme and have thought about using it in a SW Hoth scene. In any case, nice review! I've got an Arctic set that I built recently and will share a review soon.

Oh, I wish I had it. I don't recall seeing 6487 in the stores back when I purchased the other Outback sets. I'd love to see a review.

Nice job Holodoc. That's pretty close. Yes - I definately agree with you. I wish I had purchased the Airport Legend when released, but I never did.My airport is merely the Outback Airstrip. Good questions. The plane is esp. large. That's why I like the little planes from the 80s and 90s. The new Police Helicopter (7741) is pretty nice though and not so large that it dwarfs an airport or police station.

You can always count on 007 to create an outstanding MOC, this being no exception. I'm really impressed. I love the colors and the design of the building. In addition, the wagon with its use of the tarp/cover is outstanding. I find wagons to be difficult to create in that sometimes they come out too high, too boxy, or too long. This design works very well. You've outdone yourself once again 007 in a style and design that shows your creative ability to turn out a quality MOC. Excellent!

You bet, and thank you! It's always cool to hear someone tell you that "You Rock". I'm really glad to see that you can value these vintage sets. I have a few pieces like that, but I still don't know what sets they come from. They come from VERY Early Lego - like a grey tire and a white steeing piece.

Just remember, it's not the quantity, but rather the quality.

What a nicely designed small Wild West MOC. I love the simple yet effective use of the white arch and combined white decorative piece on top (is that the printed piece from Tygurah's Roar? - if so, excellent use of the part!). The use of the brown tiles and round 1x1s also add a perfect element of design. The 4/5 figs included are equally nice, esp. the one on top. I like the combination of his face and hair piece. This little Spanish-style structure is really well done and would make an excellent official Wild West set! Overall, outstanding! EDIT: This makes me want to expand the Spanish Fort sub-theme:

Great story. I enjoy hearing people reminisce about the fun they had with certain sets. I always wanted Rocky River Retreat but never picked it up. That's a great adventure set as well. I had never thought about mixing the two sets, but they do have components that would compliment one another nicely. If you still have the pieces, you should try restoring the sets - it's a lot of fun. I think I may like the Outback Airstrip a little better, but it's close. I agree with you about the bridge. The moving pieces are a nice feature, and makes it harder for the jeep to cross. The bridge does make a nice addition to Adventurers. I added it to my Jungle Adventure Diorama a few months ago: At leat you were able to pick up two of the sets. Do you still have them and/or the pieces? You're right - I don't remember them being very popular, yet they were really nice sets. Perhaps they drifted too far from the "normal" Town/City theme with Fire and Police Stations? This would be a good thought for a future City/Town sub-theme.