Let’s take a look at some of the best sets from my childhood in the ’80s/’90s.
To some people, the ’80s/’90s represent a Golden Age for LEGO. Now I’m sure a part of this is nostalgia. If you’re of a certain age, like I am, this was the bulk of your LEGO playing childhood, when a ripe imagination combined with free time and LEGO to build whole worlds. A beautiful time. But I think there is more to it than that. In a lot of ways, this really was a high point for LEGO. This was really before you had all the big licenses moving into LEGO (Star Wars was really the first in 1999).
So, at this point, for the most part, LEGO was still LEGO. At the same time, it had developed beyond its early and basic beginnings and was branching out. You saw a lot of new pieces and new themes, with the company trying a lot of new stuff. This was an age of experimentation and originality that has left a real mark. So today, let’s take a look at a few of my favorite sets from that period.
#6 – LEGO Pirates Black Seas Barracuda (6285-1) (1989)
Coming out in 1989 with the first wave of LEGO pirates, this was a super cool ship. There was a lot going on here, from some fairly complex (for 1980s LEGO) rigging to a lot of great play features and mini-figs. This was the first big LEGO set that I built as a kid, so I’ve got a real soft spot for it. (Sadly, it didn’t last long; my baby sister wrecked it, and I’m not still bitter about it.)
Even today, this ship holds up pretty well, with some nice details and the old ship base plates doing much of the work. It’s a cool build and really does sell itself as a pirate ship. It was reissued in 2002, which is pretty rare. The Barracuda remains, for me and many others, the gold standard of LEGO ships.
#5 – Black Knight’s Castle/Dungeon Master’s Castle (6086-1) (1992)
Next, we jump over to the castle theme and the Black Knights Castle. This was a set I had as a kid, and it was a lot of fun. Compared to the original castles, this was a lot more advanced and shows what the ’90s were moving towards. It’s also the first castle to use the big raised base plate.
It’s a great cheat to give this set a lot more height and bulk without a ton of other bits. This castle also looks really striking, with the black walls offset by the yellow Tudor building. I love the big banner; you still get a decent amount of figs with it.
#4 Deep Freeze Defender (6973-1) (1993)
Let’s jump over to the Space theme now – in particular, the Ice Planet 2002 sub-theme. Now, this whole theme was amazing, but the Deep Freeze Defender really shows off a ton of what made the ’90s so great for LEGO. First off, this thing looks slick as heck. It’s got a great design and awesome colors. This is LEGO really trying different things and being original in its sci-fi.
The build also just has a lot going on. There are a ton of play features, from working bay and cockpit doors to large launchable missiles. The whole build is also very modular, being able to be split apart into several sub-builds. These can act as their own ships/bases, or combine in other configurations. The box/instructions also showed you how to make several alternate builds using both this set and/or combining it with others in the theme. This was just such a cool set that really pushed things and was one you could play with endlessly and get ideas from to build your own ships.
#3 Fort Legoredo- 6769-1 (1996)
From Space to the Wild West. LEGO really was moving in a lot of directions. Fort Legoredo was the real prize of the Western theme. At 638 pieces, it was by far the biggest set in the theme. While not a huge part count by today’s standards (looking at you LEGO Death Star), this was a pretty big set in 1996. It shows off a whole Old West style cavalry fort. Unlike many other sets that just showed a front or one face of a building, the Fort showed the entire thing. It could also, with a bit of tweaking, be arranged in different ways.
And man, this thing was cool back in the day. The use of tons of the wood-looking bricks (Log Profile officially) really sold this set and gave it a pretty authentic look. It’s by the best-looking set in them and has a ton of play features and useful parts.
This set also just came with a ton of things. You got a whopping 10 minifigs, mostly various Cavalry soldiers, but also a gang of Bandits. You got horses and cannons galore. The set also came with 10 rifles, a ton of pistols, swords, coins, and other loot.
If you were a kid and wanted to play army with your LEGOs, this was a gold mine (though not a literal one, that would be the Secret Hide-Out). I somehow pooled my allowance (and birthday money) as a kid to get like 3 of these sets over a year, and I never once regretted that. Like Deep Freeze Defender and many sets of the period, it also came with alternate build ideas.
#3 – LEGO Night Lord’s Castle (6097-1) (1997)
1997 brings us yet another cool build. Castles, of course, are always cool and we looked at an early ’90s castle already. That castles, and those before it, were somewhat grounded and realistic. The Knight Lord’s Castle, on the other hand, leans hard into fantasy. Much like the Ice Planet 2002 theme, LEGO went all out here. You’ve got a dragon, a witch, skeletons, bats, and the awesome-looking Knight Lord himself. The castle isn’t maybe the best – it’s a little fragile. But it makes up for it with a lot of height and looking like some airy fantasy fortress. This castle is pure vibes and I was there for it.
TIE Fighter & Y-Wing (7150-1) (1999)
This TIE Fighter & Y-Wing set came out during the first wave of Star Wars sets back in 1999. It’s proved popular enough to get remade at least two times since then. There have been better versions of both the TIE Advanced and Y-Wing, but this was in the early days, and this simple set was a great preview of what was to come.
Its blocky fighters filled old-timers like me with nostalgia. Plus, it was one of the few sets to give you two ships in one set, meaning you didn’t need anything else to get going. Pop the box, build the set, and space battles were right there for a kid. This was an amazing set even among the first launch of the Star Wars line, as it really brought the battles to life.
On the other hand, you could see this set as the death knell of that golden age of LEGO, or at least LEGO originality. Since then, for better or worse, LEGO has been more and more devoted to bringing other IPs to life and less on it’s own original ideas. Some of the magic and inventiveness has gone out of the system. On the other hand, as a child in 1999 getting Star Wars and LEGO together was like nothing else.
Get Your Own Bit of ’80s LEGO Nostalgia
The LEGO Icons Blacktron Renegade is a recent set that is a throw back to one of the classic 1980s space sets. An homage to the Blacktron Renegade 6954 -1 (1987), the new set is a combo; you can build the Renegade spaceship and and Alienator walker. So if you want to own a bit of the classic age of LEGO space, you can! But act fast, this one is on the ICONS retirement list.
Please note that BoLS may earn a commission when you purchase through links on our site.
Don’t Miss:
Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers Warhammer: The Old World, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe mourned over loss of WFB for its entire hiatus, but has been reborn like a gaming phoenix with Warhammer: The Old World.
Read more at this site