One of my big goals this summer is to completely overhaul my custom LEGO City table - and in doing so, I'd like to incorporate some of my other sets that I have sitting around in boxes. As part of my preparation work, I went through one of my boxes of LEGO and discovered a true gem:
A 1992 LEGO Magazine from my childhood.
As you can tell by the cover, this little magazine is well-worn by 9-year-old me thumbing through the pages day after day. Heck, even the cover of the little magazine is great! I miss LEGO doing fun little dioramas that this. There's actually quite a bit to unpack in this simple image (including Pirates, Space Police, and a knight blocking a City train). Good stuff, and certainly enough to capture my attention as a kid.
Flipping to the next page, we find Jack, the LEGO Maniac.
I think I would have made a good "LEGO Maniac." I wonder how Jack got that job. I actually don't recall seeing Jack before - my hunch is that 9-year-old me always skipped this page and went straight for the "good stuff."
Speaking of good stuff, this magazine starts right away with my favorite line of sets: Castle.
I loved Castle back as a kid - and I still love Castle today. In fact, I recently bought an old Castle set that I never owned as a kid (more on that later). For now though, let's look at those factions and my thoughts on them from when I was a kid.
The Crusaders were more or less on their way out of LEGO's set rotation by the time I started playing with LEGO. I know that I owned at least one Crusader figure, but I don't think I had any true Crusader sets. On the other hand, the Black Knights were in full force in 1992 - just look at the various Black Knight sets featured on the page. I actually owned multiple copies of the Sea Serpent and the Black Knight. I always wanted the big castle (because what kid didn't?) but I also remember thinking that the Black Monarch's Ghost set was pretty cool looking. Looking that the sets today, I notice that the Black Monarch's Ghost set actually has a peg sticking out of it - which makes me think it was designed to connect to other sets (the Knight's Stronghold perhaps)?
The other two factions of the era were actually the two that I liked best. The Wolfpack were clearly the "bad guys" of the land - and they happened to have one of the biggest sets in my collection at the time. Finally, the Forestmen were my all-time favorite...and while I didn't own many of their sets, I still love 'em!
Speaking of the Forestmen and Wolfpack, the next page of the magazine shows them in action.
I distinctly recall loving the Forestmen's Crossing set - another set that I never owned (and still don't) though I think I may rectify that someday soon. I did own, however, the Wolfpack Tower - my biggest Castle set at the time (and the subject of hours and hours of fun for me as a kid)! My brother owned the Wolfpack Renegades set - though neither of us owned any of the featured Forestmen stuff.
Moving on to page 5, we find more Castle goodies including sets labeled "Crusaders."
Out of the mix, I owned the Castle Mini Figures set (which is where my lone Crusaders figure came from). I also always loved the peasant figure with the pitchfork. For years and years, I owned exactly one pitchfork and it came from that little set!
I also have to point out, once again, how awesome the dioramas are. There's so much that is interesting to look at (and drool over) in that picture (especially for a kid). I was certainly fortunate to have owned a ghost (from the Wolfpack Tower set)...and that ghost certainly gets some prime real estate on the pages of this magazine!
I hope you enjoyed a look through the first portion of the magazine. Next up, the Pirates - which I'll cover in a later post (the magazine includes a Pirate set that I always wanted and eventually tracked down not all that long ago)! More on that in the near future!
A 1992 LEGO Magazine from my childhood.
As you can tell by the cover, this little magazine is well-worn by 9-year-old me thumbing through the pages day after day. Heck, even the cover of the little magazine is great! I miss LEGO doing fun little dioramas that this. There's actually quite a bit to unpack in this simple image (including Pirates, Space Police, and a knight blocking a City train). Good stuff, and certainly enough to capture my attention as a kid.
Flipping to the next page, we find Jack, the LEGO Maniac.
I think I would have made a good "LEGO Maniac." I wonder how Jack got that job. I actually don't recall seeing Jack before - my hunch is that 9-year-old me always skipped this page and went straight for the "good stuff."
Speaking of good stuff, this magazine starts right away with my favorite line of sets: Castle.
I loved Castle back as a kid - and I still love Castle today. In fact, I recently bought an old Castle set that I never owned as a kid (more on that later). For now though, let's look at those factions and my thoughts on them from when I was a kid.
The Crusaders were more or less on their way out of LEGO's set rotation by the time I started playing with LEGO. I know that I owned at least one Crusader figure, but I don't think I had any true Crusader sets. On the other hand, the Black Knights were in full force in 1992 - just look at the various Black Knight sets featured on the page. I actually owned multiple copies of the Sea Serpent and the Black Knight. I always wanted the big castle (because what kid didn't?) but I also remember thinking that the Black Monarch's Ghost set was pretty cool looking. Looking that the sets today, I notice that the Black Monarch's Ghost set actually has a peg sticking out of it - which makes me think it was designed to connect to other sets (the Knight's Stronghold perhaps)?
The other two factions of the era were actually the two that I liked best. The Wolfpack were clearly the "bad guys" of the land - and they happened to have one of the biggest sets in my collection at the time. Finally, the Forestmen were my all-time favorite...and while I didn't own many of their sets, I still love 'em!
Speaking of the Forestmen and Wolfpack, the next page of the magazine shows them in action.
I distinctly recall loving the Forestmen's Crossing set - another set that I never owned (and still don't) though I think I may rectify that someday soon. I did own, however, the Wolfpack Tower - my biggest Castle set at the time (and the subject of hours and hours of fun for me as a kid)! My brother owned the Wolfpack Renegades set - though neither of us owned any of the featured Forestmen stuff.
Moving on to page 5, we find more Castle goodies including sets labeled "Crusaders."
Out of the mix, I owned the Castle Mini Figures set (which is where my lone Crusaders figure came from). I also always loved the peasant figure with the pitchfork. For years and years, I owned exactly one pitchfork and it came from that little set!
I also have to point out, once again, how awesome the dioramas are. There's so much that is interesting to look at (and drool over) in that picture (especially for a kid). I was certainly fortunate to have owned a ghost (from the Wolfpack Tower set)...and that ghost certainly gets some prime real estate on the pages of this magazine!
I hope you enjoyed a look through the first portion of the magazine. Next up, the Pirates - which I'll cover in a later post (the magazine includes a Pirate set that I always wanted and eventually tracked down not all that long ago)! More on that in the near future!
I was all about the Wolfpack and the Pirates. We had a few good Pirate sets and the always battled the Wolfpack in any set I made.
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