Random set of the day: Steam Shovel
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6631 Steam Shovel, released during 1985. It's one of 24 Town sets produced that year. It contains 47 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 2,394 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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45 comments on this article
Dude, this is rad. The last few days of oddities were worth it.
Some very, very happy memories for me with this little fellow.
This dude is so happy to be operating this thing one handed. Might even be showing off a bit.
All while scooping up a few blocks of unobtainium someone left lying around.
Found that set for sale on a local e-commerce and I've been thinking of buying. Always wanted to have a classic set in my collection.
And the whole thing rotates on a 2x2 turntable.
I just got this set in a random haul last week. Missing the minifig, but a cool little set.
Awww!!! This is perfect!
@CarolinaOnMyMind said:
"This dude is so happy to be operating this thing one handed. Might even be showing off a bit.
All while scooping up a few blocks of unobtainium someone left lying around. "
Looks more like antimatter than unobtainium to me.
1980’s reimagining of the classic 643. Nice.
Guess you could say those bricks are in a "Bad" place then!
@brickengineeringdude
It might even be Nibbler poop.
That’s how I build models too.
Interestingly, the Steamshovel (one word) from the World Builder browser game was, as far as I could tell, a yellow recolor of the forklift from 4100 with an articulated bucket instead of a fork mechanism.
@CarolinaOnMyMind said:
"This dude is so happy to be operating this thing one handed. Might even be showing off a bit.
All while scooping up a few blocks of unobtainium someone left lying around. "
This is what the operators of the mechanical bull look like right as you are flung off 8 seconds in, realizing your cowboy dreams will not come to fruition.
This guy looks a little overconfident. At least hes wearing his hard hat.
Love these little construction 'pre polybag' sets like this like 6606, so much play value for such a small set IMO
Steam shovel? I think we all know this thing runs on a car battery.
I wish we still got construction sets. Speaking of a steam shovel, Id love to see a minifig scale traditional steam shovel (eg 1920s style) with a working bucket and winch system.
Maybe if we ever got a modular construction site they could do that to keep within the time period, along with a 1949 International bulldozer and/or a steam roller.
Cute little thing.
Love them classics...
I love these cute 4-wide vehicles. Little dude is just so happy to scoop up his 1x2 brick.
Definite 'A' grade set.
I feel like this is an ancestor of Town Junior set 6474.
I prefer 6581, which became one of my most played sets as a kid, for some unknown reasons. I never particularly liked "construction", but damn did that set get played.
Very happy memories of this set, one of my first with the lever part, new the same year I think? Went very well with 6652 and 6686, I loved the regular additions to the construction sub theme back in those days.
Had this as a kid. Unfortunately only the instructions survived so I wound up piecing this one back together on Bricklink. It was definitely worth the investment.
Think 'Caterpillar' gonna have some lawsuits, that 'cab' is just not safe...:)
Ah, the early 80's were weird with Lego: Space was awesome, Castle was fantastic, 'Town' was...confusing...Minifigs with vehicle they can't fit into (their Lego-brick version of 'Hot Wheels'...which is ironic, given the company's history...). And some of the ones they could, looked like 'moving violations'...
One of the five sets that started my collection (i.e. I must have been about 4 years old, I can't remember getting it). The loose bricks are supposed to be attached in the rear to lock the turntable mechanism. A six-wheeled truck and even a snow plow were alternate builds! Much beloved!
@PurpleDave
My bet is on a diesel engine. It has an exhaust pipe.
I think I had this one... Hard to remember now! I got so many little Town sets as a child. Loved the turntables these machines came with
Radical update on 730 for the modern generation. I've never come across a digger with 6 wheels, possibly trying to give the impression of tracks. There are some Technic versions on Lego ideas but no official sets which seems strange, with the closest on the cover of ideas book 8888.
My first set. :)
@jkb:
It’s clearly just for show. This is a Fisher Price Power Wheels vehicle. Kids don’t get toys that run on flammable fuels.
One of the first sets I had back then <3
One of my first sets, and still so glad I've got it! Also, still needs a decent heir to be put in my modular city. Never really found a decent one (might be due to blindness for the period of my Dark Ages, tbh).
I had this one! One of my favorites as a kid. It just had so much play value in such a tiny package.
I loved it!
@PurpleDave said:
" @jkb:
It’s clearly just for show. This is a Fisher Price Power Wheels vehicle. Kids don’t get toys that run on flammable fuels."
You mean they don't get them TODAY. Back then, toy makers and parents weren't that concerned about safety hazards. they even shipped uranium to kids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeyoJGqKbOQ
Man I miss finger hinges... I dont think I've ever owned a set that had them, but I buy them whenever I come across them on bricklink.
Didn't have this as a kid, but a few of its contemporaries. Lovely little sets. So many fond memories.
One of my favorite lego sets from my childhood!
@Brickchap said:
"I wish we still got construction sets. Speaking of a steam shovel, Id love to see a minifig scale traditional steam shovel (eg 1920s style) with a working bucket and winch system.
Maybe if we ever got a modular construction site they could do that to keep within the time period, along with a 1949 International bulldozer and/or a steam roller."
I'm hoping for a "Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel" type set someday. It's got a great vintage looking steam shovel in it, not to mention it's from a classic kids book!
Super cute, still would fit nicely into any City now.
Would love another City excavator set ,last one was in 2017 but I started collecting City after it already retired
(I got back into LEGO in 2016, collected exclusively Nexo Knights until that ended at the second half of 2018)
Aside from the bucket piece, this should be able to be recreated in modern times using clip/bar plates, but a bucket might even be possible with some smart use of brackets/tiles/panels.
I loved this set as a kid. I still have the pieces and instructions for it!
As with all similar models I had as a kid, mine was built so it was right-hand drive!!
@jkb:
Pish tosh, it says right on the box that it’s completely harmless!
But seriously, people didn’t really think this stuff was harmful back in the day. They used to paint clock and watch dials with GitD paint containing trace amounts of radium, as the decaying particles would constantly recharged the glow in the paint. Famously, the women who painted these dials are known as the Radium Girls, because (radium being “safe” back then), they would pull their brushes into a point by licking them.
@PurpleDave said:
" @jkb:
Pish tosh, it says right on the box that it’s completely harmless!
But seriously, people didn’t really think this stuff was harmful back in the day. They used to paint clock and watch dials with GitD paint containing trace amounts of radium, as the decaying particles would constantly recharged the glow in the paint. Famously, the women who painted these dials are known as the Radium Girls, because (radium being “safe” back then), they would pull their brushes into a point by licking them."
Yes, saw documentaries about them. Their condition wasn't recognised afterwards and they didn't get any compensation =(
Good that glow in the dark bricks aren't radioactive... or are they?