Random set of the day: Surf Shack
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6595 Surf Shack, released in 1993. It's one of 23 Town sets produced that year. It contains 93 pieces and 3 minifigs.
It's owned by 1899 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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24 comments on this article
You know, the vacuum of space would suck the board riders right off their vehicles, there ... sorry, what?
Loved this set. Miss that basic female face with the lips (and red ponytails for that matter).
Classic town at its best!
A set that would still look wonderful on today's city/town layouts.
It's hard to believe that this set is 27 years old...
@chrisaw I actually found the classic female face creepy. Something about the eyelashes and print quality makes their faces look smeared.
Red ponytails on the other hand, I'd give my liver to see more of.
aww come on, it's not a small vehicle set. huwbot, you've betrayed us
This set being 27 years old makes me feel ancient.
As opposed to the usual "they don't make 'em like this anymore" reaction that these articles often tend to evoke, my first thought upon seeing this selected was curiosity about how it was similar to and different than a more recent counterpart, 41315-1 Heartlake Surf Shop! Not in terms of value, since they're far removed from one another in pretty much all metrics, but more in terms of subject matter and how they approach it.
It interests me that the Friends approach is more specifically focused on the outdoor sports-and-recreation side of things, whereas the earlier one seemed to do double-duty as a surfboard rental kiosk and refreshment stand. But thinking about it further, that's probably because the Heartlake Surf Shop was part of a bigger wave of seaside-themed sets, such as 41316-1 and 41317-1, while most of the other seaside-themed Town sets in 1993 were much more vehicle-centric.
I do feel like in general, curved plates and slopes sell the seaside feeling a little better than the rectangular plates and bricks that were so ubiquitous in the 90s. Back then, in my own childhood, I often felt like the only convincing way to make a beach was with a printed baseplate like the ones in a lot of Paradisa or Pirates sets. But nowadays a custom-built base can go a long way, regardless of theme! 70411-1 is another set that illustrates this quite nicely!
Amusingly, re: @GSR_Matanui's comment, this comparison also gives the impression the union of red ponytails and surfing transcends both theme and decade!
I definitely appreciate that more recent minifigs and mini-dolls have a wider range of summer swimwear to choose from! As much as some of us reminisce about the creative spirit of 80s and 90s themes, swimsuits like the surfer in this set are wearing don't leave very much to the imagination at all! :P
"Let's go surfin' now, everybody's learnin' how, come on a safari with me!"
~The Beach Boys, 1962
HuwBot, did you snoop into my recent eBay purchase?
I missed out on this delightful set back in the day, but I was all about my minifigures getting their surf on back in 1994 and 1995! But the name of this set evokes a different kind of shack...
Surf Shack, yeah-uh-yeahh!
I'm heading down the Bilund highway,
Looking for the brick getaway!
Heading for the surfing getaway!
I've got me a car, it's four studs wide,
and we're heading on down to the Surf Shack!
I've got me a Hot Rod, it seats about one,
so hurry up! It's gonna be beach-side fun!
Well, the Surf Shack is a little ol' place where,
we can build togetherrrrrrr...
Friday night, everybody! Time to party!
I fee l like grumpy old man when I see these sets, saying "They don't make 'em like this anymore" to myself.
Guess someone rattled Huwbot then lol.
This is the set that raises the strongest feelings I cannot describe.
Thank you Huwbot!
I was born and raised in Florida so any vaguely tropical sets always got my attention as a kid. Boats, Paradisa, Divers, all excellent lines. I’d kill for Paradisa-style modular hotel.
So are we just not going to mention the guy is basically in a tiny speedo? Not creepy enough? He is mooning the poor girl in the city pack LMAO 6314
@bue_car said: "So are we just not going to mention the guy is basically in a tiny speedo? Not creepy enough? He is mooning the poor girl in the city pack LMAO 6314 "
Or, she's checking him out. Maybe that black speedo/black sleeveless-shirt combo is the height of Lego fashion.
What's with the ladder? It doesn't go anywhere.
Baywatch vibe. Love it.
This set is not for me.
A small set with a LOT of playability. Sets like this really helped bring life to Lego towns.
I am not quite sure if Lego will be able to bring nostalgia to the current kids in their adult life. See this set, it is simple yet complete but more importantly build from primary colours. Current sets are too realistic, there is no red anymore - it's all dark red same for blue it's all dark blue/sand blue. The most used colour by Lego now is blueish grey/dark blueish grey. There is tan, nougat and sand green everywhere - of course these colours make for more realistic models but it removes that little innocence of a kid's toy. The beauty of classic space/town/pirates/castle is often a case where a clear representation of a vehicle/scene could be made with just basic colours. (remember the Legoland logo? it had the primary colours plus black and white). Don't get me wrong, as an adult, I love the colour variety we now have but I am just wondering if kids will remember their very realistic current sets as something as whimsical as the sets in the 80s and 90s. (I realise that police sets and fire station sets are still using the traditional colours).
Beautiful set. Another one that creates the impression of offering a lot for under 100 pieces.
I do remember the limited colors from my childhood. Regular parts were only available in yellow, red, blue, black, white and light gray. Green was in limited use for plants, trees, baseplates and window shutters. Dark gray was used for shovels and pickaxes and maybe also a few other tools. In addition to that there were some parts in transparant and metallic colors.
During my first dark age green and dark gray started to be used for more parts and some new transparant colors were introduced. New solid colors were only introduced during my second dark age.
Surf Shack (not Serf Shack, that's more 6040) is a Classic Town set from my KFOL years. It includes a lady who wears long pants to the beach, a windsurfer dude in a Speedo, and a burnout stoner clerk whose food stand serves only ketchup and mustard. To a child, it was a picture-perfect ABS casting of the sort of life you'd find on the beach in 1992, and any kid with imagination could create a narrative to have fun with it. Today, the build is a bit too primitive to fit into your Modular display, and if it's there, nostalgia is the reason.