Random set of the day: Director's Copter
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 1360 Director's Copter, released during 2001. It's one of 46 Studios sets produced that year. It contains 22 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$3.
It's owned by 661 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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31 comments on this article
There's helicopter parents, and now helicopter bosses, too.
This looks like a perfect set for a $550 UCS remake.
Ah yes, the classic *not* Steven Spielberg movie director fig.
Even though he had has name on the box and supported the Studios main set, I always thought it was weird they had a generic figure that looked exactly like him but was just called ‘Director’.
@chrisaw said:
"Ah yes, the classic *not* Steven Spielberg movie director fig.
Even though he had has name on the box and supported the Studios main set, I always thought it was weird they had a generic figure that looked exactly like him but was just called ‘Director’."
It's his evil twin brother Stephan.
Ah, those classic Lego mini-copters. I find it interesting that the wheels don't have tires, presumably so the copter can sit level when landed.
If the camera can’t point down, it must be an absolute pain to film with that thing.
@MCLegoboy said:
" @chrisaw said:
"Ah yes, the classic *not* Steven Spielberg movie director fig.
Even though he had has name on the box and supported the Studios main set, I always thought it was weird they had a generic figure that looked exactly like him but was just called ‘Director’."
It's his evil twin brother Stephan."
I thought it was Conductor Charlie moonlighting as a amateur director on his days off. Maybe he's making a fan documentary about the last days of 9v trains using this auto-gyro for a chase shot. If he is, he might want to watch out for any upcoming tunnels!
True story. Steven Spielberg actually flies around in one of these, on all his movie shoots. The man's a visionary.
Please remain seated until the rotors above your head come to a complete stop.
Director's copter? LOL. I agree that Steven Spielberg's films are on another level of greatness but I don't think we needs a helicopter. It also just looks terrible. Even those prefabricated Juniors helicopters look better.
Studios was such an awesome line. We got cool sets based on actual movies (either officially like Jurassic Park, Spiderman, or unofficially like the 1931 'Dracula' and Indiana Jones) plus some great play features and models/minifigs depicting how movies are made.
Although the technology used to create brick films at the time is now long outdated, I have never understood why Lego didn't just remake Studios but have kids use their phone instead.
The Lego Movie Maker app (for ipads) worked pretty well, and you could have a set called Drive In Theatre where kids iphones or ipads become the screen and you have all these cool vintage cars and minifigs 'watching' your film. (a drive in set would also include speakers and a snack bar). There's heaps of classic films that could be represented in Lego (officially or unofficially), it would bring new licences (like Dimensions) and also encourage kids to be creative (as well as being an original Lego theme where having an app/interaction with phones would actually make sense).
Just so long as it’s not John Landis’ helicopter. We REALLY don’t want that…
@Brickchap:
70820, 853650, 853702, and as if those weren’t bad enough, 5004394. It’s not that they didn’t try that, but that they did such a terrible job of it that nobody cared.
@PurpleDave True, but if Lego actually invested in a proper Studios theme (called Studios), with full sets (movie sets I mean), minifigs depicting real life actors, actresses and directors, play features capturing key moments from famous films etc. I reckon it would be very popular.
It's one of these 2D-Game final bosses; the first phase when the boss is in his 'copter and bounces from screen corner to screen corner. You need three hits to move to phase 2.
Hopefully not a Twilight Zone Movie set
I don’t think this is standard issue on film sets…
Little Nelly, from You only Live Twice?
@Brickchap said:
" @PurpleDave True, but if Lego actually invested in a proper Studios theme (called Studios), with full sets (movie sets I mean), minifigs depicting real life actors, actresses and directors, play features capturing key moments from famous films etc. I reckon it would be very popular. "
It takes a lot of patience to create stop motion movies. And most kids don't have that patience. It seems unthinkable that lego didn't pursue what you have described. But it seems their focus group test yielded unprofitable results for such theme.
@MCLegoboy said:
" @chrisaw said:
"Ah yes, the classic *not* Steven Spielberg movie director fig.
Even though he had has name on the box and supported the Studios main set, I always thought it was weird they had a generic figure that looked exactly like him but was just called ‘Director’."
It's his evil twin brother Stephan."
Or it's his non-union Mexican equivalent Señor Spielbergo
I was a TV director and I never had a helicopter. Mind you, the BBC always were cheapskates!
Oddly they made a printed baseball cap (with white 'DIRECTOR' on it) that was exclusive to the keychain version of this guy.
As far as I know, this was also the only minifig keychain with a gold-tinted chain and key ring. He might as well be the first to include an accessory on a second chain.
I own this one! One of my childhood sets! Cute little set!
The rotors go juuust over his head. They're actually built interestingly with a dark grey wand an technic half pin securing the rotor part. There's a boat stud slider under the nose so it can drive with the wheels.
@PupleDave The set came with a full comic that detailed the set being used to follow a moving vehicle. I think it was a train? Or maybe a boat? I'm not sure what it was anymore. But I guess it could be for that? The noise, and the director piloting it though... let's not overanalyze this thing too much.
@PurpleDave said:
"If the camera can’t point down, it must be an absolute pain to film with that thing."
Maybe it's for an air-to-air shot
@MCLegoboy said:
" @chrisaw said:
"Ah yes, the classic *not* Steven Spielberg movie director fig.
Even though he had has name on the box and supported the Studios main set, I always thought it was weird they had a generic figure that looked exactly like him but was just called ‘Director’."
It's his evil twin brother Stephan."
I thought his evil twin was Michael Bay.
The Director has taken to rather extreme measures to get the perfect shot.
@CliveyB said:
"I was a TV director and I never had a helicopter. Mind you, the BBC always were cheapskates!"
Ooh! What TV show did you direct?
Reminds me a lot Little Nellie from 'You Only Live Twice' James Bond film.
Irate 'Director' stands up yelling: "CUUUUT!!!!!"
Chopper blades do what, well, blades do: *CHOP*
Cast and crew stare in disbelief, 'til someone says: "Did he forget where he was..?"
Give a whole new definition of the term 'CUT' if that Director gets up too quick.
@CCC Those are licensed sets for a specific movie. I'm thinking like minifig versions of Michael Caine, David Niven, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Clint Eastwood, Basil Rathbone, Richard Attenborough, Gregory Peck, etc. etc. (just some names that popped into my head) representing them as actors, not as a specific character (say Harrison Ford as himself, not specifically as Indiana Jones or Han Solo).
Alfred Hitchblock and Steven Spielbrick would be cool minifigs...
@thor96:
Kids didn’t have that kind of patience back when the Studios line came out, but at least those sets gave you an actual set to play with. Three of the four I listed only gave you a blank stage, something to mount your phone like a movie camera, and paper backdrops. For $20, you got one common minifig and about $10 of random basic parts. The fourth one didn’t even give you that much. @CCC has it right. Kids want to act out the scenes from movies more than they want to create their own films. Their eyes are the movie camera.