Build the Micro Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine
Posted by HearItWow,
The LEGO Group seldom engages in saturation media promotion for its mall tours. One could argue that there is no need for it. Show up at a mall on a Saturday with free LEGO and you will draw a crowd. Promote the event excessively and you may trigger a stampede.
So you can forgive yourself for not knowing about the LEGO Scooby-Doo Mystery Tour, which was promoted on scoobydoo.com rather than lego.com. They tried to keep a lower profile with this, as they did with their Americana Roadshow. They would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling AFOLs.
This event was aimed primarily at kids and timed to coincide with Halloween, but it offered a few treats for AFOLs as well. The highlight for all ages was a make-and-take Micro Mystery Machine. In a change from past events, LEGO provided printouts of instructions rather than forcing visitors to build on the spot. This kept everything moving quickly at the Natick Mall event which I attended. The instructions are presented below, for those who would like to build their own version.
This one may be a bit of a challenge, as Dark Azur and Medium Yellowish Green are not the most common colors, and you'll need to provide your own stickers, but there are still a couple of interesting build details here, such as the use of 1 x 2 plates with slides as the front and rear bumpers, and the use of Technic connector pins with knob and black studs to make wheels that turn. The Technic double bearing that these connect to is sadly almost the same height as the stud wheels, so the Mystery Machine will not roll freely.
Another highlight was a set of life-size Scooby-Doo characters, including Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, Scooby and the Mystery Machine built from LEGO.
AFOL included for scale.
Each of these display pieces was built using 2x6 bricks, and the Mystery Machine included a platform in the back so that people could take pictures through the open side window.
Specifically for the kids, LEGO offered punch-out Halloween masks of the minifigure versions of the Scooby-Doo characters, as well as a treat bag to color.
Overall this was a very fun event, and those on the West Coast have one more chance to attend. After a one-week hiatus, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Tour will make its final stop at the Glendale Galeria, just outside of Los Angeles, California, this Saturday from 11AM to 3PM.
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18 comments on this article
On the one hand, I hate missing out on free Lego. I have a thing going on at the same time as next month's X-Wing giveaway, and it'll kill me if I can't do both.
On the other, that is an ugly looking Mystery Machine, and I'm surprised they didn't try to use the Dimensions version, cost notwithstanding.
@ResIpsaLoquitur: Yeah, they probably should have used the Dimensions one, or one in a similar style, because that mystery machine is not great...
Argh, wrong West Coast city! Though I do feel a bit better that I didn't miss out on one right in my back yard.
That Mystery Machine is shaped weird! Always nice to get free LEGO, though (I love the Mini Jek-14 Fighter I got at TRU a few years ago).
HearItWow, this is a very informative article. Thank you for covering this event! We're grateful Huw added more contributors, especially to discuss events in the States.
I'm loving those life-size brick-built characters!
It's shaped weird because the front is flat instead of angular. If they used a single 1x2 handlebar (think of what they used for the windows on the Dimensions model) and set the curved slopes back by 1 stud, it'd look better.
They don't even sell the regular Scooby Doo sets in my country. :(
I can't believe the US contingent are complaining (here and elsewhere). They get cheaper Lego than the rest of us anyway, and then even when it's free they moan about it being ugly! Jeez, people, show a little bit of gratitude! It's free stuff. If you don't like it, don't take it. What's so difficult about that?!
Not sure why they don't just do something like this at every mall- how hard would it be to distribute the mystery machine to a few more stores? Seems like the publicity would be worth it...
Yet again, complaints about something that is free. That is like having the mentality that you don't want to win the lottery, because you would have to pay taxes.
I've never been to a Lego group build and take (in Australia here) but I have been to some run by Toys R Us at their stores, and they have always provided printed instructions. However the TRU ones are by bookings through the TRU VIP club, so they know in advance how much Lego and instructions they will need.
Several parts of this article made me laugh: "They would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling AFOLs." "AFOL included for scale." Sneaky monsters. :P
But the model is ugly. If I had attended, I wouldn't have built it. I'd have asked for a bag, placed the parts inside, and tip them into my parts boxes as soon as I got home. They should have done the Biplane, Dimensions-style.
That is AWFUL!
I think it's cute and on par with a lot of the other mini models of this scale, like the vehicles in the recent Bricktober sets. No, it's not as great as the Dimensions version, but I like the parts. No complaints here, except that I wish it was available to all the Lego Stores.
Neat. I'll be building a mini A-Team van with those instructions.
it's so logical that they did not used the Dimensions version
of the Mystery Machine , they want to sell those models of cause
Wait, do you have to provide your own stickers? How?
http://mocpages.com/moc.php/421250
A-Team van with this design.