Random set of the day: Fire Truck
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 620 Fire Truck, released in 1978. It's one of 34 Town sets produced that year. It contains 37 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 762 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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20 comments on this article
Awww. It's like a baby fire truck, it's so cute and little!
Consarn it! There's a fire abrewing and I have to ax my way into the truck again!
People need to start paying them taxes so I can get me a better set of wheels or else this here whole town's gonna burn to the ground!
Despite today's version, 60231 being almost 8X more pieces, and twice the minifigs, it doesn't have quite the charm this set has. Except for one problem. 60231 fits two minifigs--620, zilch. That was common way back when it seems.
While most of my firefighters use modern heads, the Chief (I use the silver helmet for that) still uses the classic smiley print. In fact, he's unchanged from the Community Minifigures Pack he came in ages ago. I view it as he started his career back in the late '70s when the first sets with minifigs came out, and has yet to retire.
Does anyone know if this was the very first Fireman minifig Lego produced? I think set 600, the Police car, had the very first modern minifig, the policeman, so was thinking this was the first set to contain a fireman minifig. I know they started in 1978.
As much as like (and prefer) the classic sets, if a minifig doesn't fit in the vehicle, it's just pointless.
@Lego_lord said:
"As much as like (and prefer) the classic sets, if a minifig doesn't fit in the vehicle, it's just pointless."
You're looking at this wrong: it's not a truck that the figure can't fit in... it's a LEGO truck with the brand-new, poseable minifigure!
What I sometimes call a "stickerbelly" fig, was the standard until they started printing on the torsos
Kill it. Kill it with fire.
The fire helmet on the packaging of this set (and 602) is actually some sort of pre-production mold. It has a tilt to it that is not present in the actual headpiece. Just like the male hairpiece which first came out a year later (in 1979) is the pigtail hairpiece without the pigtails on the packaging of 379, 381 (588), 383 and 675.
For those who said in the early days everything was better..... 37 pieces, 3 stickers.... Nearly 10%.... Not everything was better than
Ah, sweet childhood memories. I have 12 of the Town sets from this year...
That car is axing for it!
Maybe TLG had a vision of the future with self driving vehicles and the mini-fig just needed to sit in the back and think about how to put out a fire with an axe? The 3D view at https://brickset.com/sets/620-1 is cool.
Things Lego got away with in the past...oh wait!
This set only really came out in 1978 (and possibly early 1979) and in Europe. It makes it a very rare set. For another example of pre-production photography, check out 643 Flatbed truck (also limited to about 1 year of release and only in Europe), the minifigs have either painted or drawn on faces - or at least the one on the back of the truck does. Pretty hilarious looking.
And I am 6 years old again - the fact the figure didn't fit in the vehicle wasn't an issue; it just meant there were 2 things to play with...
I still have him here now in my town layout - his face is a bit rubbed off and the sticker has a nibble at the top but he has been working for 42 years...
Bee-doo Bee-doo Bee-dooo!
Still more interesting then the current 4+ models, as you can adjust this into a different length truck instead of the huge chassis piece found in 4+.
I know Town had premade chassis length parts as well, but that was a plate, and not a huge brick with fenders already attached.
I know someone who would say that sets like this are not true representations of reality... ;-)
And if one is pedantic enough one would have to agree. But if one is honest, what this set is conveying is far more true to reality than for example some current power drill on wheels. Or perhaps the latter are far more common in everyday traffic in Down Under than in Europe :-P
The fireman fits in the back though! Maybe i should try to reassemble these old sets again. Those red wheels are also nice