The Kitchen Mantle: Year 2, Episode 2: Goin' Vintage

My first kitchen mantle set-up of the year was an arctic scene that my son loved.  I knew I had to try and mix things up for the next month so I went into the "way back machine" and busted out a trio of older, truly vintage LEGO sets that filled up the mantle in one swoop.


Here, we have a truck stop, a small race track, and a larger race track.  I bought all three sets off of eBay (from two different sellers) and while none of the sets are 100% complete, they are all super close to being complete.  In fact, the missing pieces on each don't affect much of anything (though my son did ask repeatedly about a missing pair of tires on the one trailer).


Looking at the truck stop, this is LEGO set #6393 and is properly called Big Rig Truck Stop.  The set contains a pair of (you guessed it) big rigs along with a heavy-duty tow truck.  There is also a building that houses a little office space and what I think is supposed to be a restaurant (what there isn't supposed to be is a red flower on the roof of the building but I didn't notice what my son had done the day I took these photos)!  

I like the Big Rig Truck Stop set for how truly vintage it feels (and is)!  My original plan, however, was to sell this set to recoup some of my funds that I spent on the two raceway tracks - but given that my son loved the big rig set so much I think I'll probably end up holding on to all three sets instead.  What can I say, I'm a sucker for my kid!


The smallest set on the mantle for the month was set #6381:  Motor Speedway.  This is another vintage set (released back in 1987) but it's super cool with its two race cars and single base plate.  I guess I'm a sucker for older sets with base plates since LEGO is extremely reticent to include such things in modern sets (and with the release of the new brick-built road plates, I'm guessing it won't be long before base plates are phased out for everything other than maybe the modular buildings).  

The third and final set is the largest, most impressive set of the three:  #6395 Victory Lap Raceway.  


This was one of those sets that I always wanted as a kid - so much so that when I finally saw one listed on eBay that wasn't too outrageously priced, I pounced and simply sat on the set for a couple of years.  After my son was born and I started this kitchen mantle idea, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I could bust out the big raceway!


The set comes with four cars, two more base plates, and a large grandstand that sits overtop two different pit areas.  

Overall, this month might have been as much fun for dad as it was for son.  Lots of vintage love here.  That being said, I do have to give modern LEGO sets (and their designers) some credit - modern sets are much more study for play.  My son is quite amazing with LEGO for someone who isn't quite yet three-years-old but had a fair bit of difficulty simply not breaking stuff as he was trying to play.  Of course, some of the weakness in the sets is probably related to age (decreased clutch power between the bricks, etc.).  Even with that one negative, this was still a fun month.  



What's next for March?  Well, I'm incredibly sick of cold and snow so I'm thinking we'll escape to an island paradise...or at least someplace warmer than what is actually outside our door!

Comments

  1. Your son has good taste. I like the big rig too. It's pretty amazing just how far Lego has gone over the years, but it just makes me appreciate vintage sets like these just a little more.

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