Random set of the day: Airline Promotional Set
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 4778 Airline Promotional Set, released during 2005. It's one of 46 City sets produced that year. It contains 108 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 372 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $61.80, or eBay.
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35 comments on this article
One of the first City sets! And this set was released on the 1st of February 2005, making it JUST over 20 years old.
So which company is it promoting? There's no advertising anywhere on this thing.
@MCLegoboy said:
"So which company is it promoting? There's no advertising anywhere on this thing."
I'm guessing it was promoting air travel to kids, as well as promoting the then new City theme.
This looks very similar to 7420. Which is a great design.
There should have been a reference to this set in 76453. This is I believe the only time a licensed minifigure has been in a non-licensed set. He may have the minimal changes of a pilot hat and the 2003 suit jacket with his 2002 trousers, but this is Lucius Malfoy through and through.
@Norikins said:
"There should have been a reference to this set in 76453. This is I believe the only time a licensed minifigure has been in a non-licensed set. He may have the minimal changes of a pilot hat and the 2003 suit jacket with his 2002 trousers, but this is Lucius Malfoy through and through."
You can't expect a reference to this set just because it shares Lucius Malfoy's head piece. Many sets use the same head pieces.
@Norikins said:
"There should have been a reference to this set in 76453 . This is I believe the only time a licensed minifigure has been in a non-licensed set. He may have the minimal changes of a pilot hat and the 2003 suit jacket with his 2002 trousers, but this is Lucius Malfoy through and through."
Bro doesnt understand reusing head prints
@MCLegoboy said:
"So which company is it promoting? There's no advertising anywhere on this thing."
Take your pick of all the airlines that fly single-seater bi-planes.
@Maxbricks14
@Sandinista
He shares the head AND torso. Old licensed yellow heads such as Vernon Dursley and, depending on your definition, the Studios director that looks like Spielberg, were indeed reused prominently in CITY sets after the change to flesh skintones. Old torsos did use to come with the head pre-attached, but 2005 was around the very end of this era.
This is a singular occasion AFAIK where both the head and torso of a specific character were reused out of context. There were plenty of jokes about Professor X being Lex Luthor due to a reuse in head print (which had been used on non-lex minifigures multiple times before Xavier.) This figure uses the head, torso, and arguably the legs from a different Lucius figure.
You’d think if they were trying to promote it they’d have picked a minifig who looked happy to be there
This is a set that I got from a parts lot. It was a nice surprise. The pilot was missing but thankfully pilot in the cmf series 3 saved the day, he was age appropriate, too.
@Norikins said:
" @Maxbricks14
@Sandinista
He shares the head AND torso. Old licensed yellow heads such as Vernon Dursley and, depending on your definition, the Studios director that looks like Spielberg, were indeed reused prominently in CITY sets after the change to flesh skintones. Old torsos did use to come with the head pre-attached, but 2005 was around the very end of this era.
This is a singular occasion AFAIK where both the head and torso of a specific character were reused out of context. There were plenty of jokes about Professor X being Lex Luthor due to a reuse in head print (which had been used on non-lex minifigures multiple times before Xavier.) This figure uses the head, torso, and arguably the legs from a different Lucius figure. "
You are grasping at straws
I wish this had been wide release.
Love the torso print.
If only we could get an updated version of this, same style of aircraft and similar minifigure but overall new pieces/prints etc.
@Brickalili said:
"You’d think if they were trying to promote it they’d have picked a minifig who looked happy to be there"
"Are we done yet? How long do I have to fly this thing?"
This might actually be one of lego's very best minifig-scale Bi-planes! It even has a cargo hold on the back! Look up the instructions!
@Sandinista said:
" @Norikins said:
" @Maxbricks14
@Sandinista
He shares the head AND torso. Old licensed yellow heads such as Vernon Dursley and, depending on your definition, the Studios director that looks like Spielberg, were indeed reused prominently in CITY sets after the change to flesh skintones. Old torsos did use to come with the head pre-attached, but 2005 was around the very end of this era.
This is a singular occasion AFAIK where both the head and torso of a specific character were reused out of context. There were plenty of jokes about Professor X being Lex Luthor due to a reuse in head print (which had been used on non-lex minifigures multiple times before Xavier.) This figure uses the head, torso, and arguably the legs from a different Lucius figure. "
You are grasping at straws"
Regardless, he definitely does NOT look like he's having a good time flying that plane. Maybe a nut is loose. Perhaps that plane isn't the only one.
They could do an improved version for the Fornite theme with smaller wheels and less bath like, but the turbine for the engine is a clever parts use.
I have this one ! I was barely 7yo back then so my memories aren't that clear, but I think I got this one during an Air France flight between France and Greece in 2005. It wasn't long after Air France and KLM merged, and KLM is mentioned as one of the companies that distributed this set. But I distinctily remember building this plane in my hotel room after landing in Crete.
It was such a great set especially with how much storage room it had for the accessories behind the pilot's seat, hidden in the fuselage.
@Maxbricks14 said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
"So which company is it promoting? There's no advertising anywhere on this thing."
I'm guessing it was promoting air travel to kids, as well as promoting the then new City theme."
Generic airline exclusive sets were common in the early 90s. I guess it was better to produce generic ones, rather than making specialized ones foe each company (like they did with that really messy set from 2003).
Why there were almost annually airline promo sets is another thing...
Yesterday I built the missing 7643 for the collection. I know it's not a biplane but a bit similar to this one.
If Harry Cane was the pilot instead of Lucious Malfoy, it'd be an awesome Adventurers set.
Didn't know Malfoy had a pilot's licence.
@Brickchap said:
"I wish this had been wide release."
You and me both. I've seen so many cool airline promotional sets get picked for RSotD. And I've never been on an airline flight in my life, so never even knew about these sets until seeing them here!
Plane go wee
@Atuin:
In the US, we have airlines that put shopping catalogs at every seat (I know one is called Skymall). They’re usually filled with expensive non-essentials, figuring anyone with their butt in a seat is above average income. Special LEGO sets seems perfectly logical. In fact, the last time I flew, I encountered a slimmed-down LEGO Store inside the airport (no PaB, no VIP, limited selection vs a normal LBR store). Besides, if the airlines ask for it…
@Sandinista said:
" @Norikins said:
" @Maxbricks14
@Sandinista
He shares the head AND torso. Old licensed yellow heads such as Vernon Dursley and, depending on your definition, the Studios director that looks like Spielberg, were indeed reused prominently in CITY sets after the change to flesh skintones. Old torsos did use to come with the head pre-attached, but 2005 was around the very end of this era.
This is a singular occasion AFAIK where both the head and torso of a specific character were reused out of context. There were plenty of jokes about Professor X being Lex Luthor due to a reuse in head print (which had been used on non-lex minifigures multiple times before Xavier.) This figure uses the head, torso, and arguably the legs from a different Lucius figure. "
You are grasping at straws"
Yeah bro, give it up.
Fitting we have an airplane today. Today is the 66th Anniversary of the 'Day the Music Died' - the 1959 plane crash at Clear Lake, Iowa that killed early Rock-N-Roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (AKA the Big Bopper), along with the plane's pilot Roger Peterson.
Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died
Like the design; as biplanes are sorely underrated today, but time always moves 'forward'...anywho
It is 'funny' though that the set's billed as "Airline Promotional", yet it's a single-seater...maybe that's why the guy's so grumpy; he's got no passengers, thus he's not really getting paid (unless he's crop dusting).
@Murdoch17 said:
"Fitting we have an airplane today. Today is the 66th Anniversary of the 'Day the Music Died' - the 1959 plane crash at Clear Lake, Iowa that killed early Rock-N-Roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (AKA the Big Bopper), along with the plane's pilot Roger Peterson.
Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died "
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3gHufmLBDnQ&pp=ygUMQW1lcmljYW4gcGll
@brick_r:
If I learned anything from Flying Wild Alaska, it’s that pilots get paid for flying. Doesn’t matter if the plane is empty (sometimes you have to move them around, even without paying fares, or they might need to go to a specific location for maintenance or recertification).
@PurpleDave said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
"Fitting we have an airplane today. Today is the 66th Anniversary of the 'Day the Music Died' - the 1959 plane crash at Clear Lake, Iowa that killed early Rock-N-Roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (AKA the Big Bopper), along with the plane's pilot Roger Peterson.
Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_the_Music_Died "
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3gHufmLBDnQ&pp=ygUMQW1lcmljYW4gcGll
After listening to that, I feel the need to listen to a certain Weird Al song to cheer me up. Fun fact: McLean's kids listened to Running With Scissors (the album with The Saga Begins) so much that he's been known to make sure he sings the right lyrics when performing "American Pie.""
@Oeuf0platieN said:
"I have this one ! I was barely 7yo back then so my memories aren't that clear, but I think I got this one during an Air France flight between France and Greece in 2005. It wasn't long after Air France and KLM merged, and KLM is mentioned as one of the companies that distributed this set. But I distinctily remember building this plane in my hotel room after landing in Crete.
It was such a great set especially with how much storage room it had for the accessories behind the pilot's seat, hidden in the fuselage."
It was available for purchase IN FLIGHT? That's the most Meta thing I've ever heard
@Rimefang said:
" @Oeuf0platieN said:
"I have this one ! I was barely 7yo back then so my memories aren't that clear, but I think I got this one during an Air France flight between France and Greece in 2005. It wasn't long after Air France and KLM merged, and KLM is mentioned as one of the companies that distributed this set. But I distinctily remember building this plane in my hotel room after landing in Crete.
It was such a great set especially with how much storage room it had for the accessories behind the pilot's seat, hidden in the fuselage."
It was available for purchase IN FLIGHT? That's the most Meta thing I've ever heard "
People with money, chained to a comfy seat for hours on end, and plied with hard spirits...yeah. If you ever thumb through a copy of Skymall, buying a LEGO plane on a plane is a pretty pedestrian move compared to all the other ways you can waste your money. Er, um...I mean all the other ways you can find meaning in physical objects that you'd otherwise never buy.
Man all the reddish brown. I wonder how it held up after 20 years? I do miss that wheel piece though. Made many a truck when I was a kid in the 80s using similar pieces.
@Japanbuilder said:
"Man all the reddish brown. I wonder how it held up after 20 years? I do miss that wheel piece though. Made many a truck when I was a kid in the 80s using similar pieces. "
reddish brown started having issues around 2009, so this is safe. :-)
VERY early City set, doesn't even have the City theme logo anywhere in the box or instructions. Similar thing happens with 7244