Vintage set of the week: Air Ambulance
Posted by Huwbot,
This week's vintage set is 386 Air Ambulance, released during 1976. It's one of 28 LEGOLAND sets produced that year. It contains 151 pieces.
It's owned by 816 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at Brick Owl, BrickLink or eBay.
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27 comments on this article
A faceless person has fallen into the river at LEGOLAND! Start the new Air Ambulance!
...
[muffled] HEY!!
...
Build the Air Ambulance! And off to the rescue!
Split your bodies in two, become the stretcher, and make the rescue!
The new emergency collection from LEGOLAND!
I mean, you'll need to find a large enough catapult, but *both* those vehicles could become air ambulances.
I have this one - or rather 770. This is a seriously good looking helicopter for 1976. IMO it still looks good to this day (maybe changing the windscreen would help). Some new/recent Lego helicopters are not as good (IMO again) and they have tons of specialized parts.
The body splitting is certainly concerning but minifigs evolved rather fast and 2 years later we got the "minifig erectus" or maybe "minifig crus flexuram".
@MCLegoboy said:
"A faceless person has fallen into the river at LEGOLAND! Start the new Air Ambulance!
...
[muffled] HEY!!
...
Build the Air Ambulance! And off to the rescue!
Split your bodies in two, become the stretcher, and make the rescue!
The new emergency collection from LEGOLAND!"
So the 'a man has fallen into the river in Lego City' we all know and love was a reboot of this?
They are either cool paramedics going into the helicopter or regular paramedics going to the ambulance.
@HOBBES said:
"I have this one - or rather 770. This is a seriously good looking helicopter for 1976. IMO it still looks good to this day (maybe changing the windscreen would help). Some new/recent Lego helicopters are not as good (IMO again) and they have tons of specialized parts."
Yeah, when one of the figures in this set was RFotD (https://brickset.com/article/130083/random-figure-of-the-day-old021), I noted that this wasn't a bad-looking set
"The body splitting is certainly concerning but minifigs evolved rather fast and 2 years later we got the "minifig erectus" or maybe "minifig crus flexuram"."
According to the plaque in 21320, Lego sapiens.
It may be simple and boxy, but that is one chonky helicopter.
Objectively a banger.
I was given the next one with modern minifigs, 6691, by my cousin when he grew out of Lego. It's a classic in itself. But I sitll don't have a hospital. I guess I have to work on that.
@HOBBES said:
"I have this one - or rather 770 . This is a seriously good looking helicopter for 1976. IMO it still looks good to this day (maybe changing the windscreen would help). Some new/recent Lego helicopters are not as good (IMO again) and they have tons of specialized parts.
The body splitting is certainly concerning but minifigs evolved rather fast and 2 years later we got the "minifig erectus" or maybe "minifig crus flexuram"."
I just came here to post essentially the same thing: I too had 770 as a kid, still have it, and also think the helicopter still stands up as one of the best-looking ones that Lego has ever made. The proportions and overall form just feel right and look good. And I did change the windscreen on mine - there's a modern 3x6x2 windscreen, 92583, that's still in production and is a perfect drop-in replacement and looks great.
This was my very first proper Lego set as a kid! I'd had just boxes of bricks before but this was the first proper model. Those rotors went on to feature on all sorts of Airwolf clones as I was growing up.
A few years ago I dug out my childhood Lego and rebuilt some of my favourites for display - Galaxy Explorer, Yellow Castle etc - and this one made the cut for its significance in my Lego journey. It's sitting on a shelf in my garage right now.
@HOBBES said:
"The body splitting is certainly concerning but minifigs evolved rather fast and 2 years later we got the "minifig erectus" or maybe "minifig crus flexuram"."
Minifigis articulatus.
Looks good. The color blocking certainly helps a lot. And the size too, especially compared to 80s and 90s helicopters.
Huh, entities that are a single block colour apart from a rudimentary ‘face’, with vestigial-looking limbs but an ability to open up like a maw in the middle to grab things…
…are we sure these guys aren’t Imposters from Among Us?
@Lego_lord said:
"I was given the next one with modern minifigs, 6691, by my cousin when he grew out of Lego. It's a classic in itself. But I sitll don't have a hospital. I guess I have to work on that. "
That's the nice thing about 4429. It has the helicopter, the hospital, *and* an ambulance!
Great looking helicopter! The set unfortunately had a lot of STAMPs, but is to this day still the only set ever to come with the smooth, small aircraft engines in red!
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=3475a&colorID=5&in=A
The 770 version was one of my first sets and I loved it, well the helicopter at least. It was a fun, simple build that I could put together from memory, and I did it often. I didn’t have much use for the ambulance or figs. Still have the set but the stickers are long gone. It will always be one of my favorites.
If this is vintage and I had it back in the day, does that make me vintage?
Behold, the four (or two?)-legged, two-headed, armless stretcher beast!
Also, the days before the Red Cross trademark enforcement - they would freak out over this today.
Such a simple but clever way to have the figurines carry the stretcher. I really loved, as a kid, to add a 2x2 plate and make them sit too. Very nice set.
Had the 770 when I was a kid, lots of fun with the hospital and police station. It still looks just as good as the other helicopters that followed.
Great set. One year older than me. Then again, I was made that year (and born in January '77), so actually the set is kind of as old as me.
Which means I can also call myself "vintage" ;-)
What a great vintage set.
Since this set includes an ambulance, I have no choice but to share this gem from Top Gear again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deubQ5SlKYA
I'm sure James May would have been more efficient with a Lego ambulance (to go with his Lego house) than with his 'hearsebulance'…
@essel said:
"Since this set includes an ambulance, I have no choice but to share this gem from Top Gear again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deubQ5SlKYA
I'm sure James May would have been more efficient with a Lego ambulance (to go with his Lego house) than with his 'hearsebulance'…"
You linked to that on 6691's RSotD article, too. Are you going to do so in every RSotD or VSotW article that features a set that has an ambulance? ...Because I would be completely okay with that.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @essel said:
"Since this set includes an ambulance, I have no choice but to share this gem from Top Gear again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deubQ5SlKYA
I'm sure James May would have been more efficient with a Lego ambulance (to go with his Lego house) than with his 'hearsebulance'…"
You linked to that on 6691's RSotD article, too. Are you going to do so in every RSotD or VSotW article that features a set that has an ambulance? ...Because I would be completely okay with that."
It is my duty to share the gospel of the Jeremy 'the Orang Utan' Clarkson, Richard 'the Blithering Idiot' Hamster Hammond and James 'Captain Slow' May, so that we all know what to do if we come across a Peugeot driver ;)
Miss: those props and connecters, those jets, the doors on the copter, and the wheels on said-same.
@brick_r said:
"Miss: those props and connecters, those jets, the doors on the copter, and the wheels on said-same."
The engines are still in production, or at least a variant of the mold is.
@TheOtherMike: While this is true, seldom does TLG put those in colors other than grey...and the last last 'other' color I remember seeing them in was vibrant yellow...*SHUDDERS*