Featured set of the day: Car with camper
Posted by Huw,
Today' set has been selected by TheOriginalSimonB:
Picture the scene – the end of the summer term at an average secondary school in Welwyn Garden City, July 1984. A group of thirteen year-olds are sitting around waiting for lunch to end so that they can get back to classes for the last lessons of the year.
Inevitably the conversation turns to plans for the holidays that will be starting in a few hours. Many are off to France or Spain at some point in the next six weeks while others will be staying in Britain but there is one oddity in the group: me. We are heading to Denmark this year. This will be my second visit to the land of my Grandmother and despite presenting an outwardly cool exterior talking about beaches, vikings and family visits, my head is full of a single day planned for the end of the holiday: a return to LEGOLAND!
Yes, back when there was only the one LEGOLAND park to visit, in a country nobody I knew was interested in, I had been thinking of little else since the holiday had been booked. It had been four years since our previous visit and I really wanted to see all the amazing models again. And of course to have another go in the Traffic School as I was pretty certain I would be too old on any future visits.
Naturally we were allowed to buy something while we were there, and my eye fell on 6694 Car with Camper. Much of my time back then was dedicated to building cars and trucks, and the two squared off windscreens would be perfect in truck cabs if none of our minifigures were off camping. Plus the car itself was pretty cute and suitable for replicating in different colours. And of course we were seriously lacking in lady minifigs, so having one here was a real bonus.
Looking back through my collection from the time shows a preponderance of vehicle and space sets so this was a natural fit for me. If we were playing town/city then the set worked fine as intended. But when heading in to space those blue window frames were perfect for integrating into spaceship or moonbase MOCs. OK, so they had clear rather than yellow glazing, but that was fine.
It meant I was able to reserve the yellow ones from 6927 All-Terrain Vehicle for ships and have these on the ground, or to distinguish between “command” and “quarters” areas in the bigger ships I liked to build. And build I still did, even though this was my penultimate set before the dark ages hit.
That is one advantage of being the oldest child of course, despite being too old to play with LEGO, I was never too old to keep my brother entertained and if he wanted to do things with bricks I was always happy to help. It was only when we moved house in 1989 that everything was finally dismantled and put into the loft.
Fast-forward to 2015 and you find me firmly out of my dark ages and revisiting childhood sets. 6694 is one of the first to be rebuilt from the heap, and is still together today.
It has also triggered a mini-theme in my collecting. Despite only sleeping under canvas at cubs and school, and in caravans only on a college field trip and once when overflow was needed at a relative's house I've got a hankering to build a big campsite MOC one of these days.
Seeing the opportunity to do an old/new comparison I snapped up 60117 Van & Caravan when it came out in 2016 and since then have also accumulated 31079 Sunshine Surfer Van, 60185 Mining Power Splitter, 31052 Vacation Getaways, 60202 People Pack - Outdoor Adventures, 10769 RV Vacation, 40177 City Jungle Explorer Kit and of course 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van even though that one won't fit the scale.
I'm now eyeing up the Friends glamping set...
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20 comments on this article
I love how cute and innocent-looking old LEGO sets are! Almost makes me nostalgic for the '80s and '90s, even though I never was a part of them. A quick Google search reveals that there is a word for that: anemoia. Although, let's be honest, Netflix is very nice. Especially now.
For a German, this has to be the dutchest LEGO set of all time - so I bought it on bricklink, from the Netherlands! If you're into LEGO campers and caravans, this first one in minifig scale is a must!
Still love those old corrugated wheels
So jealous. I'm about the same age but grew up in the US so visiting LEGOLAND was just a distant dream back then.
That is exactly the style I'm nostalgic about. There's something so friendly about that vehicle scale and style... it's not terribly realistic (one of the people will have to ride in the caravan), but that doesn't seem to matter.
I loved this set so much. My nanna bought it for me when I was staying with her on school holidays in Melbourne. I think I might need to put this one back together too!
Personnally, I believe 8-wide car is a bit too wide to fit in a city(big truck might work) but if you are only into collecting a theme, I would suggest 7639 and 60057 - you might still be able to get them at a decent price. Lego of the 80s are the best, be it town, space, castle, pirates they have just that soft innocence and simplicity and yet no ambiguity in the design or purpose.
@catwrangler said:
"That is exactly the style I'm nostalgic about. There's something so friendly about that vehicle scale and style... it's not terribly realistic (one of the people will have to ride in the caravan), but that doesn't seem to matter. "
Reminds me of the 'I Love Lucy' 1953 movie 'The Long , Long Trailer'.
Creator 3-in-1 will have a Caravan / Camper / Lighthouse set this summer so that'll fit with the theme.
The 2016 3-in-1 Camper set was fantastic as well with it's House/Boat alternate builds.
While recent 3-in-1 vehicles tend to be 8-wide, and could look huge, for camping vehicles I don't mind it as much as they need more interior then a simple car.
That said, I still love the 4-wide Town style very much.
Loved this set when I got it, so many great parts, and such a nice aesthetic. Still have a pang of nostalgia for this set every time I see one of those square windscreen pieces.
Loved that - I still have this set and it’s still together . . . mostly. Some of the white bits are yellowed, some pieces have bite or deep scuff marks on them, some pieces are entirely missing, probably still part of a spaceship in the childhood Lego box. I remember rigging the caravan to break apart when it was repeatedly hit on a level crossing by a speeding 7740 (which might account for some of the damaged bricks) and building a garage for it next to the 1987 Weetabix houses... Top set!
I love these campers. They are so lively and colorful. Having been a space theme fan, I didn't have the chance to gather much town sets at the time but I managed to grab some second hands in later years. Here is a moc I've built in classic style if you're intereseted:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=576959
@HOBBES said:
"... but if you are only into collecting a theme, I would suggest 7639 and 60057 - you might still be able to get them at a decent price. Lego of the 80s are the best, be it town, space, castle, pirates they have just that soft innocence and simplicity and yet no ambiguity in the design or purpose."
And then there’s 3680 Caravan and Rowboat. It’s Fabuland, but fits the theme
https://brickset.com/sets/3680-1/Caravan-and-Rowboat
I totally agree with the author this is a great set. The caravan was used by my minifigs for camping but also as, after some adjustments, a cash register for my carnavalrides I used to build.
I own the other caravans too and I am thinking of putting this set back together to join the others in my bookcase.
Very timely, as pictures of the Creator Car & Camper have leaked today!
I loved this set, it was one of the first I had when was a child. Sadly my mom throwed it away without telling me... I've made the promise, i will eventually buy all my lost sets, and let my sons play with, letting them to live the same fantastic experience I had when was a child.
Nice books.
Thanks for the nice comments everyone.
I was hoping for a mention about how you used the clear 2X2 tile. :(
Gift from my grandparents back in the day. Spent lots of hours with it.