Random set of the day: Bank
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6566 Bank, released during 1997. It's one of 47 Town sets produced that year. It contains 96 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$15.
It's owned by 1,971 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 $137.80, or eBay.
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37 comments on this article
Juniorised Town was not the most interesting.
"Gee it sure is easy stealing from the bank when you work there!"
Who knew that LEGO would make a set depicting embezzlement?
Clink-clink clank-clank give your money to the bank!
Yeah, it's Town Jr. But it does have the old chrome coins and some nice printed parts. One of whic (https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3004px4&idColor=1T=S&C=1&O={%22color%22:1,%22iconly%22:0}) was used in the original Tee Vee minifigure (https://brickset.com/minifigs/alp007) so, from a certain point of view, that's twice he's shown up today!
Oh, I loved this set as a kid! Yeah, it was Town Jr, but it was a bank, the first one in a while. The armoured truck was cool too.
Is that a legal 1x1 clip connection on the truck door?
@MCLegoboy said:
""Gee it sure is easy stealing from the bank when you work there!"
Who knew that LEGO would make a set depicting embezzlement?"
Even easier when the building only has three walls
This was only the second modern-day bank Lego made, and the last one in the Town theme
Set 1490 was 1000% better even though it's 9 years older.
Must be the Keystone Security Armored Truck division, with how badly they've packed that money.
@SearchlightRG said:
"Clink-clink clank-clank give your money to the bank!"
I understood that reference!
They didn't even bother with the background, even Lego didn't have faith in these sets...
@JavaBrix said:
"Set 1490 was 1000% better even though it's 9 years older."
It's just sticks and windows! I'm not applauding this set, but take the dollar signs off the windows, and get rid of the armored truck, and you can't tell if 1490 is supposed to be a hospital or a fire station. I certainly wouldn't expect it to be a bank.
Chrome Gold coins is just pure 90s superiority. I really like how Town had many sets depicting day to day life, not just Police, Firefighters and Medics.
This set was featured in the Lego Creator video game. I distinctly remember blowing it up with dynamite, however the disappointing limitation of the contemporary hardware and programming was that sets planted as a whole, exploded as a whole, so if I wanted it to explode into many pieces I had to build it piece by piece.
I can only assume that if you actually built this set you’d become enormously wealthy since you’d be making Bank like that
This was a dark time.
The Bank isn't nearly as bad as the armoured vehicle.
I loved this set when I was little! Loads of interesting parts and prints.
Whilst surely not the most complex, it picked up a rather unique topic for it's time.
This has only been the third time Lego made a Bank set ever (and one of those is a Western set!).
All decals are prints, and they are easily re-used, should you prefer a more complex build. Also aside from it being comparatively small, the building doesn't look too off next to regular Town sets of 1995-1997.
Side note: The promotional poster included in 6554 showed this Bank being robbed by the Recycle Truck driver (6564), who tried to hide the money in trash bins...
An "armored" vehicle where the the poor security guards are sitting and driving around in an open-top cockpit without even as so much as side windows.
Interesting concept.
Grytpype-Thynne: Tell me, where are you taking that gold?
Seagoon: I had to think of a good excuse.
Grytpype-Thynne: You're stealing it, aren't you, Neddie?
Seagoon: Blast! Why didn't I think of that?
Grytpype-Thynne: We'll have to give you a week's notice.
Seagoon: Why? What have I done?
Grytpype-Thynne: Nothing, but we're having to cut down on staff. You see, there's been a robbery. Um, would you get that van started while I get my hat and coat?
Seagoon: You coming too?
Grytpype-Thynne: There's no point in staying. There's more money in the van than there is in the bank.
Arguably the BEST town junior set plainly because of the unusual subject matter, the exclusive minifigs, the complete scene (not just the vehicle or dozens of unneeded vehicles) and chrome gold parts! And prints!
If you look at it as something like today's 4+ sets and for a moment don't think about the context of how there was not much else going for Town at the time and Lego was going bankrupt in the ensuing years... not a bad little set I guess.
Except the open truck cab. That thing's just a bad call.
@Lego_lord said:
"They didn't even bother with the background, even Lego didn't have faith in these sets..."
This is a photo of the instructions. There's fold lines plainly visible.
This is what the box looked like:
https://www.toysperiod.com/lego-set-reference/town/town-jr/traffic/lego-6566-bank/
Images here rarely use the main box image! Usually it's either scans of the instructions or an official product image or render.
@Binnekamp said:
"Except the open truck cab. That thing's just a bad call.."
Fortunately, it's a brick built toy. Here's how I repaired it:
https://www.bricklink.com/v3/studio/design.page?idModel=160181
Loved this set back in the day, although obviously very Town Jr.
@BabuBrick said:
" @SearchlightRG said:
"Clink-clink clank-clank give your money to the bank!"
I understood that reference!"
Blast from the past. Not many media companies would sanction those ideas anymore- most especially Disney.
Town Jr. had just one thing going for it: Stickers were few and far between!
Every time I think I've already seen the worst looking 1990s LEGO vehicle ...
A bank, and the only side build is the armored car and crew. These days, a say $40-50 bank set would balloon up to $70-100 because they had to add one or more police vehicles, one or more criminal vehicles, plus several cop and crook minifigs.
Despite it being from the juniorized '90s, I have to admit, it gets good marks in my books for being on-topic. Oh, and plenty of GOLD coins! Not pearl or drum-lacquered, but plated!
Seriously, the LOTR One Ring seems to be the only "gold" parts these days.
@Zordboy said:
"Oh, I loved this set as a kid! Yeah, it was Town Jr, but it was a bank, the first one in a while. The armoured truck was cool too. "
Same! I honestly loved these sets as a kid… they were iconic and I liked their modularity and consistency. This one in particular was a blast to role-play with. Great times!
It just makes you appreciate 1490 more. Heck, makes you appreciate 3661 more.
That being said I have one of these in box.
Something's wrong...something's off...there's a perfectly good 'Bank', with a delivery of money...AND NOT A CROOK IN SIGHT...Wooow, Lego's slippin'...:D
@brick_r said:
"Something's wrong...something's off...there's a perfectly good 'Bank', with a delivery of money...AND NOT A CROOK IN SIGHT...Wooow, Lego's slippin'...:D "
Can't you see this set is for impressionable 4-year-olds who shouldn't be exposed to bad role models (other than the aforementioned embezzlers, I guess...)
Almost my least favourite era of watered down designs, I like practically nothing from these years.
Wait, did someone mention THE chrome coins?!
Yes. I must put real money in to ebay and get fake in return.
(I’m imagining chrome on Bricklink costs more like silver?)
@Binnekamp said:
"Arguably the BEST town junior set plainly because of the unusual subject matter, the exclusive minifigs, the complete scene (not just the vehicle or dozens of unneeded vehicles) and chrome gold parts! And prints!
If you look at it as something like today's 4+ sets and for a moment don't think about the context of how there was not much else going for Town at the time and Lego was going bankrupt in the ensuing years... not a bad little set I guess.
Except the open truck cab. That thing's just a bad call.
@Lego_lord said:
"They didn't even bother with the background, even Lego didn't have faith in these sets..."
This is a photo of the instructions. There's fold lines plainly visible.
This is what the box looked like:
https://www.toysperiod.com/lego-set-reference/town/town-jr/traffic/lego-6566-bank/
Images here rarely use the main box image! Usually it's either scans of the instructions or an official product image or render."
Funnily enough, all of these had the pre-sorted polybags inside printed with a colorful photo of the finished model.
one of my first sets :)
Apart from that gross vehicle base, this doesn’t look very juniorised to me, in comparison to that era of town. Kind of want those bank torsos now I’ve seen them, maybe they could staff my brick bank modular
@Galaktek said:
"Every time I think I've already seen the worst looking 1990s LEGO vehicle ..."
You should make that "late 1990s" because the early to mid 1990s saw some pretty awesome LEGO vehicles. My dark ages started in 1997 and I think that's about the time when designs went down the drain.