Are those bricks printed? If the set is released today, it would comes with stickers instead.Are those bricks printed? If the set is released today, it would comes with stickers instead.

Ah, Amurica!

@Pekingduckman said:
"Are those bricks printed? If the set is released today, it would comes with stickers instead.Are those bricks printed? If the set is released today, it would comes with stickers instead."

Down Under, everything is oughtta to be flipped, not duplicated. You don't sound very patriotic.

It's classic by era only. I've always thought this was built by pieces lying around... Definetly one of the weakest desgins of the Town theme.

@TheOtherMike said:
"I had this as a kid, and since I didn't know that Lego was a Danish company, I never questioned it. Now, though, I find it interesting that Lego would have produced such an obviously American car in that era, given how much of their catalog back then had a much more European vibe. And by "American" I don't just mean the coloring and deco; this is obviously based on a late Seventies-early Eighties American car."

Considering the size of American toy market I’m not surprised that Lego did thoroughly US-inspired set

Did they lose the Super Bowl again?

Could this figure be an unofficial (and premonitory) minifig of President Thomas Whitmore?

"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"

I like the goblets used as part of the engine, but should be chrome, which reminds me I've always wanted that twin exhaust in chrome after seeing it in 6561-1 and 6584-1.

The set name Screaming Patriot is quite ironic now, isn't it? I bet he's blaring Ted Nugent and Kid Rock on his car stereo.

@myth said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"I had this as a kid, and since I didn't know that Lego was a Danish company, I never questioned it. Now, though, I find it interesting that Lego would have produced such an obviously American car in that era, given how much of their catalog back then had a much more European vibe. And by "American" I don't just mean the coloring and deco; this is obviously based on a late Seventies-early Eighties American car."

Considering the size of American toy market I’m not surprised that Lego did thoroughly US-inspired set
"

You have never looked up how many US-only/NA-only items there are in the database.

When I picked this up it was because it gave Evel Knievel stunt man vibes. Never knew the title which might be a good drag name as it goes (for a drag racer of course...)

Such a classic set!

@Crux said:
"It dawns on me that a lot of people get upset about burning a piece of cloth with the stars and stripes on it, yet nobody seems to care that those same stars and/or stripes get slathered on just about anything. Your aging rockstars(?) are allowed to make unflattering onesies out of them. Wonder Woman has worn that flag as her underwear for eight decades and barely ever bothered to change it in all that time, yet nobody really seems to mind. Anyway, just a thought."

No, there's a difference between a stars and stripes motif and an actual depiction of the US flag. The former is fine for use as bunting and other forms of decoration. The latter should never be draped over anything except coffins at funerals for military and the like. US flag code is incredibly complex, and there's the added issue that the 1st Amendment guarantees the right to disobey flag code. Besides, most US citizens have never been within ten feet of an official US flag, which has a 1.9:1 fly to hoist ratio. Most commercial US flags have ratios that range between 3:2 and 5:3, as the shorter fly allows them to unfurl in a lighter breeze.

@essel said:
"Could this figure be an unofficial (and premonitory) minifig of President Thomas Whitmore?

"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!""

"Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!" Wait, wrong movie.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Crux said:
"It dawns on me that a lot of people get upset about burning a piece of cloth with the stars and stripes on it, yet nobody seems to care that those same stars and/or stripes get slathered on just about anything. Your aging rockstars(?) are allowed to make unflattering onesies out of them. Wonder Woman has worn that flag as her underwear for eight decades and barely ever bothered to change it in all that time, yet nobody really seems to mind. Anyway, just a thought."

No, there's a difference between a stars and stripes motif and an actual depiction of the US flag. The former is fine for use as bunting and other forms of decoration. The latter should never be draped over anything except coffins at funerals for military and the like. US flag code is incredibly complex, and there's the added issue that the 1st Amendment guarantees the right to disobey flag code. Besides, most US citizens have never been within ten feet of an official US flag, which has a 1.9:1 fly to hoist ratio. Most commercial US flags have ratios that range between 3:2 and 5:3, as the shorter fly allows them to unfurl in a lighter breeze."

And some countries are even more strict with their national flags, outright forbidding them from being used in commercial works or to sell products. The Mexican flag for instance, is not used in any sets depicting Mexico due to such restrictions, and some video games I've played uses historical flags instead.

@jkb said:
" @myth said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"I had this as a kid, and since I didn't know that Lego was a Danish company, I never questioned it. Now, though, I find it interesting that Lego would have produced such an obviously American car in that era, given how much of their catalog back then had a much more European vibe. And by "American" I don't just mean the coloring and deco; this is obviously based on a late Seventies-early Eighties American car."

Considering the size of American toy market I’m not surprised that Lego did thoroughly US-inspired set
"

You have never looked up how many US-only/NA-only items there are in the database."

I’m well aware of that, especially since I had to pay import duties on couple of them when buying from US :-)

HuwBot should have saved this for July 4th.

@Pekingduckman said:
"And some countries are even more strict with their national flags, outright forbidding them from being used in commercial works or to sell products. The Mexican flag for instance, is not used in any sets depicting Mexico due to such restrictions, and some video games I've played uses historical flags instead."

First image that came up when I searched for “Mexican Flag toy” is a Bearbrick in Mexican Flag deco. Second was a yo-yo with the flag emblazoned on the side. If it’s not made in Mexico, and it’s not sold in Mexico, and it doesn’t travel through Mexico, they can’t regulate the way people use their flag. I know there are a few dictatorships that have tried people in absentia for speaking out against their governments when those people have never been to that country, and have never been citizens of that country, but it’s all just posturing if there’s no actual jurisdictional grounds to file the case.

@Crux
The cauldron is still around: it's in two Star Wars sets this year, 75422 and 75443.

@560heliport said:
" @Crux
The cauldron is still around: it's in two Star Wars sets this year, 75422 and 75443 ."

Ah, excellent. That is a remould though - I'm not sure which version we're up to now, but over the years we've lost the "Fabuland"-printing that was stamped into the original mould.

I have a soft spot for Fabuland-parts, although they can be difficult to work with. They weren't always specifically meant to work in System, and they're all too happy to let you know that.

Whenever I think of American patriotism I am reminded of the scene in the Naked Gun when Leslie Nielsen/Frank Drebin posing as Enrico Palazzo butchers the national anthem.
Always has me rolling on the floor laughing.

@Crux said:
" @560heliport said:
" @Crux
The cauldron is still around: it's in two Star Wars sets this year, 75422 and 75443 ."

Ah, excellent. That is a remould though - I'm not sure which version we're up to now, but over the years we've lost the "Fabuland"-printing that was stamped into the original mould.

I have a soft spot for Fabuland-parts, although they can be difficult to work with. They weren't always specifically meant to work in System, and they're all too happy to let you know that."

The two cauldrons from my 80028 have the blobs where the "Fabuland" was ground out. I can still see "Fabuland", just barely, like they didn't grind quite deep enough.

@TheOtherMike said:
"I had this as a kid, and since I didn't know that Lego was a Danish company, I never questioned it. Now, though, I find it interesting that Lego would have produced such an obviously American car in that era, given how much of their catalog back then had a much more European vibe. And by "American" I don't just mean the coloring and deco; this is obviously based on a late Seventies-early Eighties American car."

Actually, Lego Town was shifting towards a more American vibe starting around 1989/1990. Especially a California/Florida coastal setting (this set's German name is "California Fun Car" btw) with all the palm trees suddenly appearing and shifting away from the slightly Northern Europe inspired architecture of the 80s. So it felt rather fitting.

The use of the large arches for mudguards was kinda interesting. Also it marked a beginning for TLG recycling old Fabuland parts for other themes :D

My sister had that fantastic exhaust pipe piece (2 of them) in one of their Fabuland set. No use to say that I too often (in their opinion) "borrowed" them to custom my cars or space vehicles.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Crux said:
"It dawns on me that a lot of people get upset about burning a piece of cloth with the stars and stripes on it, yet nobody seems to care that those same stars and/or stripes get slathered on just about anything. Your aging rockstars(?) are allowed to make unflattering onesies out of them. Wonder Woman has worn that flag as her underwear for eight decades and barely ever bothered to change it in all that time, yet nobody really seems to mind. Anyway, just a thought."

No, there's a difference between a stars and stripes motif and an actual depiction of the US flag. The former is fine for use as bunting and other forms of decoration. The latter should never be draped over anything except coffins at funerals for military and the like. US flag code is incredibly complex, and there's the added issue that the 1st Amendment guarantees the right to disobey flag code. Besides, most US citizens have never been within ten feet of an official US flag, which has a 1.9:1 fly to hoist ratio. Most commercial US flags have ratios that range between 3:2 and 5:3, as the shorter fly allows them to unfurl in a lighter breeze."

The flag that flew over Fort McHenry during its bombardment in 1814 measured 30 x 42 feet. It's now revered as *the* Star-Spangled Banner.

Take that, Flag Code!

@Binnekamp said:
"I always did wonder about those headlights being regular yellow tiles instead of transparant ones. Does this type of vehicle not have actual headlights? Are these LED-like opaque headlights that light up as a whole at night?
Details like these don't really bother me much but I just wonder what the designer had in mind with this."

The similar 1991 (most likely a coincidence that it's numbered the same as the Screaming Patriot's year) also has solid yellow headlights.

@AllenSmith said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @Crux said:
"It dawns on me that a lot of people get upset about burning a piece of cloth with the stars and stripes on it, yet nobody seems to care that those same stars and/or stripes get slathered on just about anything. Your aging rockstars(?) are allowed to make unflattering onesies out of them. Wonder Woman has worn that flag as her underwear for eight decades and barely ever bothered to change it in all that time, yet nobody really seems to mind. Anyway, just a thought."

No, there's a difference between a stars and stripes motif and an actual depiction of the US flag. The former is fine for use as bunting and other forms of decoration. The latter should never be draped over anything except coffins at funerals for military and the like. US flag code is incredibly complex, and there's the added issue that the 1st Amendment guarantees the right to disobey flag code. Besides, most US citizens have never been within ten feet of an official US flag, which has a 1.9:1 fly to hoist ratio. Most commercial US flags have ratios that range between 3:2 and 5:3, as the shorter fly allows them to unfurl in a lighter breeze."

The flag that flew over Fort McHenry during its bombardment in 1814 measured 30 x 42 feet. It's now revered as *the* Star-Spangled Banner.

Take that, Flag Code!"

We visited Fort McHenry a year and a half ago, when I accompanied my dad on his Honor Flight. They did a flag ceremony there. Anyways, the US Flag Code wasn’t established until 1942, and it’s written in non-binding language (“should”, not “must”). It can’t be legally enforced. However, all branches of the military and government buildings are supposed to adhere to “G-spec” flag code. Sorta. If you buy a flag through your Congressman, it will be a civilian flag that has been flown for a minute over the US Capitol building.

From personal history, my two weirdest experiences came from serving on the Governor’s Honor Guard through Boy Scouts. You pay a bunch of money to go work for a week on Mackinac Island, living in barracks that were built as President Gerald R. Ford’s Eagle Scout project. I did one flag raising at a Civil War cemetery (it’s very small), which, at the time, was the only cemetery in the US besides Arlington where the US flag flies at half-staff every day of the year. And the other experience was recovering the flag at Fort Mackinac when they flew the “holiday flag”, which took three troops of Boy Scouts to lower and fold without letting it touch the ground. It’s about the size of a basketball court, and hangs almost all the way to the ground when raised to full-staff at the fort.

WHAT THE HECK IS A KILOMETER?! *insert eagle screeching noises*

@TuxDoesLegoStuff said:
"WHAT THE HECK IS A KILOMETER?! *insert eagle screeching noises*"

Did you go to school?

@560heliport said:
" @TuxDoesLegoStuff said:
"WHAT THE HECK IS A KILOMETER?! *insert eagle screeching noises*"

Did you go to school?"

A kilometer is a unit of measurement which owes its early success to chopping off the head of anyone who doubted its excellence. True story.

Otherwise, it's another way of referring to a distance of 3280 ft 10.07874016 inches. Why exactly one would need a unit for that particular distance has never been exactly clear to me, but I understand it to be popular elsewhere in the world.

@PurpleDave said:
"We visited Fort McHenry a year and a half ago, when I accompanied my dad on his Honor Flight. They did a flag ceremony there."

We visited Fort McHenry last year and got to help fold up the flag, because the weather was about to get quite nasty and they needed to fly a much smaller one. It was a neat experience.

@Atuin said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"I had this as a kid, and since I didn't know that Lego was a Danish company, I never questioned it. Now, though, I find it interesting that Lego would have produced such an obviously American car in that era, given how much of their catalog back then had a much more European vibe. And by "American" I don't just mean the coloring and deco; this is obviously based on a late Seventies-early Eighties American car."

Actually, Lego Town was shifting towards a more American vibe starting around 1989/1990. Especially a California/Florida coastal setting (this set's German name is "California Fun Car" btw) with all the palm trees suddenly appearing and shifting away from the slightly Northern Europe inspired architecture of the 80s. So it felt rather fitting."

Come to think of it, yeah, Lego's aesthetic *was* shifting around that time.

"The use of the large arches for mudguards was kinda interesting. Also it marked a beginning for TLG recycling old Fabuland parts for other themes :D"

6345 not only used the pipes, but a Fabuland plane nose.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @Atuin said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"I had this as a kid, and since I didn't know that Lego was a Danish company, I never questioned it. Now, though, I find it interesting that Lego would have produced such an obviously American car in that era, given how much of their catalog back then had a much more European vibe. And by "American" I don't just mean the coloring and deco; this is obviously based on a late Seventies-early Eighties American car."

Actually, Lego Town was shifting towards a more American vibe starting around 1989/1990. Especially a California/Florida coastal setting (this set's German name is "California Fun Car" btw) with all the palm trees suddenly appearing and shifting away from the slightly Northern Europe inspired architecture of the 80s. So it felt rather fitting."

Come to think of it, yeah, Lego's aesthetic *was* shifting around that time.

"The use of the large arches for mudguards was kinda interesting. Also it marked a beginning for TLG recycling old Fabuland parts for other themes :D"

6345 not only used the pipes, but a Fabuland plane nose."

Also included four each of the stars and stripes tiles!

@AllenSmith said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"We visited Fort McHenry a year and a half ago, when I accompanied my dad on his Honor Flight. They did a flag ceremony there."

We visited Fort McHenry last year and got to help fold up the flag, because the weather was about to get quite nasty and they needed to fly a much smaller one. It was a neat experience."

Smaller? At Fort Mackinac, they fly the holiday flag on Sundays, federal holidays, and on days when it’s windy enough to unfurl the flag, as it looks weird when it’s just hanging straight down, due to how large it is compared to the flagpole itself. I found a video that shows what might be the holiday flag as they’re starting to fold it up (skip to the end), or it might be a “smaller” flag (seriously, we had members from three troops that week, and I remember it taking all of us to fold that monster). I would think that anything short of a tornado, they’d want to go bigger as the wind grew stronger.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vPGbsyXHr5c&pp=ygUaRm9ydCBtYWNraW5hYyBob2xpZGF5IGZsYWc%3D&ra=m