Vintage set of the week: Family
Posted by Huwbot,
This week's vintage set is 254 Family, released during 1975. It's one of 6 Building Set with People sets produced that year. It contains 103 pieces.
It's owned by 268 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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30 comments on this article
Is that a full-grown adult in a gigantic pram?
What is ... what?
I have 194, the U.S. version of this set. I got it for Christmas 1976. I remember building it on my grandparents' kitchen table.
But Mum, you really shouldn't have pinched the wheels off that Cadillac for my pram.
Where's My Dad?
I used to make dogs exactly like that as a kid. Now they look like poodles to me.
I was expecting FnF jokes but not a single one. I will represent though; unlike others, I don't turn my back on family.
@TheBrickPal said:
"Where's My Dad?"
Working.
Ah...'spaghetti-armed kids' before minifigs...and before the minifig oveth...er, 'revolution'; yeah, that's the ticket...:D
I still have some of my original maxi-figs. They were good fun as you could make really long arms and legs. They had the big advantage over minifigs of being more customisable when it came to body heights and shapes but the downside of being too rigid.
@TheBrickPal said:
"Where's My Dad?"
In 268 Family Room with the rest of the family.
The dog is just an empty void.
The mum’s head is definitely the same piece that all the others are using so how does it seem so much smaller? Is it just because it’s on a bigger body or is it just the relative lack of printing?
So this is why my deliveries are always late. The postman's in a baby carriage!
@TheBrickPal said:
"Where's My Dad?"
Serving 15 years.
@TransNeonOrangeSpaceman said:
"The dog is just an empty void."
Meet our two dogs; matter and anti-matter.
Ah god no, more Homemakers. The Elder Horrors of Lego.
I love those wheels, but this set may only be built on consecrated ground.
@TheBrickPal said:
"Where's My Dad?"
He’s just gone out for smokes, he’ll be back in 15 he says.
I love how this is a set for kids to play a mother with a baby carriage who has a kid who has a baby carriage playing with a doll.
This seems so on point on how small children actually play. Amazing!
@TheBrickPal said:
"Where's My Dad?"
Your daddy ain't your daddy,
But your daddy don't know
Woe, is me, shame and scandal in the family
Why does the girl have seven nostrils?
@brick_r: I , for one, welcome our new plastic overlords.
@ChazTheMinifig: She has freckles. Nobody her has any nostrils at all.
Those arms were quite nice if the parts were new (as seen how they were continued to be used in themes like Space or Aquazone) but over time, they could become loose or even break off , and I can see why LEGO eventually retired them (click-hinge arms are the closest current part)
@TeriXeri said:
"Those arms were quite nice if the parts were new (as seen how they were continued to be used in themes like Space or Aquazone) but over time, they could become loose or even break off , and I can see why LEGO eventually retired them (click-hinge arms are the closest current part)"
This is true, they were very useful - and very fragile. I don't think I've seen any other Lego-part be as susceptible to damage over time caused by trapped dirt or sand (or just regular play).
Fun fact*: the dimensions for the socket and ball-joint of the hand-part are identical to the small ball-and-socket connections we still use to this day. We had Mixel-joints long before they were Mixel-joints.
*Fact may not be fun
@Zordboy said:
"Is that a full-grown adult in a gigantic pram?
What is ... what?"
Dr. Google says that by 2 years, children have reached about half of their adult height and 90% of adult head size.
So I'm going to call this set scientifically accurate.
I wanted this set because I thought it came with an actual car. After getting it, I was pretty disheartened when I learned the truth. I sure feel silly now looking back on it. But the wheels were still very useful parts.
@NotProfessorWhymzi said:
"a few years back, at least one person at Disneyland (i think) saw people using (rental?) strollers to cart around their seemingly healthy preteen kids. maybe it's something similar going on here. doesn't make it any less weird."
A bigger problem they've had at Disney parks is people borrowing wheelchairs or "renting" actual disabled people so they could cut to the front of the line at rides (Disney had a very lax policy where any family with someone in a wheelchair would be able to bypass the entire line, but they've since started to crack down on the abuse).
A number of years ago, I sprained my ankle right before Christmas, and at a time when I had pretty much run down my food supply at home. I therefore needed to go shopping while I was still very dependent on crutches to get around. When I showed up, late at night, there was only one motorized scooter by the door, and it appeared to have been completely discharged. While I was still trying to get it working, a group of shoppers arrived at the door, and one of them (who was riding a motorized scooter) said, "Oh, I guess you can have this one," before strolling out the door with a very normal gait.
I know you can't always tell when someone is legitimately handicapped, but I've started paying attention since then. I notice that during the day, everyone who uses the scooters looks like they'd have a hard time getting around on their own. And if I'm there closer to midnight, I often notice people just lazily cruising the store on the scooters (often in pairs). They definitely don't look like they need them, or like they're all that focused on shopping for groceries.
I also noticed that, if you part nose-first into perpendicular handicap spaces, you can clearly see the rear license plate, and you can look through the side windows to see if there's a handicap placard hanging from the mirror (either of which is legally required to park in those spaces). And I've noticed that sometimes people will back into the spaces. In a few cases, they'll still have the placard, which is now easier to see, but a lot of times it really just makes it harder to see that they don't have a handicap plate (my state doesn't require front license plates). If the police in this area were really desperate to raise some money, all they'd have to do is start cruising the local big box stores late in the evening. It'd be a lot easier than trying to chase down all the people who do 20+ over the limit, and the fines would probably be comparable.
Very interestingly I have the instructions for this set - but not the bricks! And no matter how much I think on that I can't recall where the set went... Or how the instructions got to me.
@brick_r said:
"Ah...'spaghetti-armed kids' before minifigs...and before the minifig oveth...er, 'revolution'; yeah, that's the ticket...:D"
The maxifigs put up a fight, sometimes it got brutal. The heads of executed minifigs were used for furniture, as seen in 277.
@TheBrickPal said:
"Where's My Dad?"
He joined a cult.
@michaels_afol: No, no, no...those we're 'manikinfigs'. I know, I know: confusing; but a minifigs have faces...even after 'death' one would assume...:)