Bucket List

It seems that many AFOLs have taken a leave of absence from LEGO between childhood and adulthood - their so-called Dark Ages - and I'm no exception. On returning to the fray, my delight at rediscovering the joys of LEGO was perhaps slightly tempered by the realisation that a lot of wonderful sets had come and gone while I'd been away. While "wonderful" is clearly a subjective term, and my definition of a wonderful set isn't necessarily the same as yours, it's a sad fact of life that many of the retired sets that I look upon with wonderment and desire seem to be coveted by many other people as well. At least if the cost of getting hold of them now is anything to go by....

So below, in no particular order, are five of the sets on my LEGO bucket list - sets that came and went while I was away and which I made it my business to track down and add to my collection before I expire. Five this week, and another 5 next week, some of which I've now managed to get hold of, and others which still elude me.

1. Set 10019 Rebel Blockade Runner

There are certainly sleeker, more beautiful ships in the Star Wars universe than the Rebel Blockade Runner. And yet, from the first moment I saw pictures of this set I just loved it - a big, beefy, uncompromising brute of a model in the best "take no prisoners" UCS tradition. Unfortunately, it's been out of production for almost 10 years, and a decision to buy it nowadays really cannot be taken lightly. I managed to source a complete, boxed example from eBay in February 2009 for £260. It seemed very expensive at the time, but I suspect I'd have to pay even more now for a boxed one in similar condition. Sure, you can take the easy way out and content yourself with the newer version, Set 10198 Tantive IV, but per my comments in a previous blog post, the newer version is puny in comparison and just doesn't cut the mustard. IMHO, of course....

2. Set 10020 Santa Fe Super Chief

Having been a fan of LEGO trains in my youth, I was astonished to see how far they had evolved when I spied this one for the first time. Even now, when we have a variety of excellent trains currently available at retail, this locomotive still looks beautiful to me, and I can only guess at the wonderment that train fans must have felt when this one first appeared in 2002. You can read more about the set and see more pictures of it here in a previous blog post.

I'm pleased to report that unlike the expensive Rebel Blockade Runner above, this beautiful locomotive isn't (yet) out of reach of the average collector; while it's likely to cost more to secure one now than the £39.99 I paid in June 2009 for a complete, boxed example, you should be able to get one from eBay for between £50 and £100 depending on condition.

3. Set 3450 Statue of Liberty

For some the appeal of this set is the mountain of uber-rare sand green bricks you get with it; for me it's just a love of LEGO sculptures and the interesting subject matter. I've lost count of the number of eBay auctions for this set that I've lost on account of not bidding high enough, and I'm not optimistic of ever finding a boxed example for what I'd consider to be a 'reasonable' amount. Still, we live in hope.....


4. Set 918 One Man Space Ship

Anybody who regularly visits this blog must be sick and tired of reading about how much I love the classic space sets of the late 70's and early 80's - I'm always going on about them. Set 928 Galaxy Explorer was one of my most cherished sets when I was a child, and I still have it to this day. I never owned its baby brother, however - Set 918 One Man Space Ship - and few LEGO purchases on eBay have given me more pleasure than the immaculate boxed example I snagged in January 2009 for a little under £30.  They aren't too hard to find on eBay, although if you're looking for one in good condition with box and instructions you might have to be patient. Alternatively, head over to Bricklink where you can get one with a box for not much more than £50 right now.

5. Set 4558 Metroliner

Released in 1991, the Metroliner has become one of the most coveted of all the LEGO trains, so much so that it was re-released in 2001 under the 'Legends' banner. It's a classic - one of the earliest LEGO trains to actually look reasonably realistic, and with livery highly reminiscent of the Amtrak trains I've seen during trips to the US. In addition to the train itself, the set comes with a 9 volt motor and track to run it on as well as a station platform and 11 minifigures, although strangely no voltage regulator or transformer.

I'm delighted to report that thanks to eBay, my quest for Set 4558 Metroliner finally ended just last week with the arrival of a pristine, boxed example for a little over £100. Now to try and find a club car (below) to go with it......

I'll share 5 more sets from my bucket list next time.  In the meanwhile, I'd be interested to know which sets you missed when you were off doing something else and now just have to find at all costs - feel free to post a comment below.

And if anyone's got a boxed Statue of Liberty going cheap, you know where to come.....

:-)

                                                                                          Bucket List sets 6 - 10 -->

Favourite Sets #5 : Emerald Night

When I was a boy, LEGO trains were a simple affair, barely resembling 'real' trains at all other than for the fact that they (usually) came with flanged wheels and ran on rails. Not that I cared - my first LEGO train was Set 171 Train Set without Motor and I adored it, particularly when my parents subsequently bought me the accessories that I needed to motorise it. It's probably worth mentioning that my childhood was during a simpler age when the ability to propel a LEGO train around a circle of blue railway track using a battery-driven motor still carried with it a genuine 'wow' factor.....

My first LEGO train......

I emerged from my almost-obligatory LEGO Dark Ages a few years ago, and it quickly became clear that things had moved forward on the train front in terms of realism. Set 7989 Cargo Train Deluxe and Set 7897 Passenger Train were available at retail at that time. Both these sets made a better fist of looking like 'real' trains, and the Cargo Train in particular came with some interesting rolling stock, trackside vehicles and extra track including a set of points. Also, both came with motors and could be remote-controlled to move forwards or backwards at various speeds, in stark contast to the system of my youth when you had to flick a switch on the battery box to get the train moving and then run after the thing and flick the switch again to make it stop..... All that having been said, neither the Cargo Train nor Passenger Train had enough to entice me back into the train fold at that time. For me they lacked that all-important 'wow' factor, so my re-introduction to LEGO trains was further delayed even as I immersed myself in the delights of the LEGO Modular Buildings, Star Wars sets and other goodies.

All that changed in early 2009 when I stumbled across some early publicity shots and a video of Set 10194 Emerald Night. I initially couldn't quite believe that this beautiful steam train was even made from LEGO, such was its aesthetic beauty. I wanted it so badly that I made a special trip to my nearest LEGO brand store (which by UK standards really isn't that near.....) on the day of launch to get one.

Beautiful !

Usually I build sets, enjoy them for a few weeks or months, and then disassemble them and return them to their boxes. I've had Emerald Night built and on display in my house since the day I bought it, however. The only other sets I've kept and cherished in that way are my Modular Buildings. In my eyes Emerald Night is absolutely beautiful - perfect. Admittedly I'm no train-spotter, but to me it looks like a 'real' train, and it manages to do so without a bucketload of brand-new custom-designed parts made specifically for the set. There are a couple, certainly - the large train wheels were made specifically for this set, for instance - but by and large this set consists of 'real' LEGO pieces magically combined into a work of genius. I just love it - I love the overall design, the colour scheme, the splendid coach that comes with the set, even the grumpy-looking train driver with his red necktie. And not only that, but it can be motorised with minimal effect on the aesthetics, it runs well, and it even has a couple of lights at the front which are cleverly integrated into the design. Gorgeous !

Mr. Grumpy the Train Driver

Even the Passengers and Conductor love Emerald Night.....

My love-affair with Emerald Night is largely a harmonious one, but there are a couple of bittersweet elements to it. Firstly, I remain frustrated that the LEGO company don't sell standalone coaches for Emerald Night. Watching this magnificent locomotive pulling just one coach looks a bit pathetic to be honest. The only ways round this are either to buy multiple copies of the set and try to sell the spare locomotives to make it financially viable, or to source the parts needed to build additional coaches from the likes of Bricklink or LEGO's own Pick A Brick service. The problem is that some of the parts such as the tan window frames and light blue-gray curved coach roof pieces are quite rare and hence extremely expensive in the numbers required. I've personally already spent a fortune trying to aquire the parts for an additional 5 coaches, and some of those parts are still on order.....

The other main problem is the effect that my discovery of Emerald Night has had on me, and more specifically my bank balance. My newly rekindled love-affair with LEGO trains encouraged me to explore LEGO's back catalogue of retired trains, and in this way I've discovered a number of other superb trains and accessories from the past which have cost me a small fortune to source. These include Set 10020 Santa Fe Super Chief plus its unique coaches, which I eulogised about in a previous blog posting, and Set 10133 Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) to name just a couple. Then there's the fact that I've been inspired to plan and construct a sizeable layout for my LEGO trains which will require substantial space and cash for the 10,000+ pieces that it will take to build. After all, my Emerald Night plus 6 coaches (once completed) will need somewhere fitting to run.....

Mine, all mine !

So buy Emerald Night at your peril. It's beautiful, but it can take you down a slippery slope from which you may never return.....

Favourite Sets #2 : Santa Fe Super Chief

Today's star set is 10020 Santa Fe Super Chief, released in 2002.

There's no two ways about it - I absolutely love this set. Stunning attention to detail, a lovely colour scheme, and it's functional as well as beautiful, running on both the old 9V rail track and the newer non-electrified rails.

While the locomotive isn't motorised out of the box, it will accomodate an old 9V motor. It also appears that it'll accomodate the newer Power Functions battery box, motor and infra-red receiver, so it's forwards-compatible !

The year 2002 also saw the release of two further sets which meant you could add coaches to your Santa Fe loco - 10025 Santa Fe Cars Set 1 and 10022 Santa Fe Cars Set 2. These two sets, which are now highly prized and hence rather expensive (I'd love a whole train's worth but can't really justify buying more than one of each set right now) contained parts and instructions for making a mail car or a baggage car (Set 1) and a sleeping car, observation car or dining car (Set 2), but unfortunately only one car from each set could be built at any one time. Below you can see a photo of my Super Chief pulling an observation car :

The Santa Fe Super Chief set also includes 2 minifigs, who I assume are the train driver and his mechanic, and here they are posing proudly in front of their locomotive :

A gorgeous set, and a worthy addition to my favourites list.