Random set of the day: Exxon Tow Truck
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6679 Exxon Tow Truck, released in 1980. It's one of 17 Town sets produced that year. It contains 79 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 564 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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11 comments on this article
Wow, 1980. Definitely a bit before my time. Still, I can see the appeal. It's functional but cute.
Any chance we can do a Throwback Thursday featuring tow-trucks? I mean, it'd be interesting and comprehensive, there's been a few, over the years. Including the Ideas books (I'll be honest. One of my favourite four-wide tow trucks was the blue truck in 250. That truck's had a home in my Lego city for many years now).
This is absolutely my time period, I have 8 city sets from 1980, allthough I do not believe that we got any of the Exxon sets in Australia.
I still have this set and with the original stickers I applied when I was 8 years old. Absolutely love this little set, even though I am not a fan of Exxon. It really is a classic Town set and it's a happy surprise to see it randomly featured here today!
It used to be, the majority of tow trucks ran out of service stations and often carried the logo of the fuel brand. Locally, all I can think of that still does this is a BP station that is adjacent to I-77 that also runs tow trucks, but that's it.
Crude, especially compared with some of Lego's modern wreckers, but it does the job.
The Exxon station released this same year was top notch, and still looks pretty good even today.
I recently rebuilt 6656: Tow Truck from a few years later, though it's similar to this one, and was struck by how very specialist the tow hook\crane part was.
Certainly not a modern phenomenon!
I think in Europe we got Shell sets (like 6628) instead because there is no Exxon over here. Still, these old City sets were great, and actually that was just the time I got my first LEGO sets, albeit more Classic Space than City, because I was such a great space fan (and still am).
It is nice to see something from when I was a kid. I received this set when I was 8 and still have it to this day, stickers and all in the original box. I also had the Exxon service station from the same time, because it was the coolest thing out there. I also believe the only other two Exxon related products released were two fuel trucks, and I still have both of them. Good times and good memories. Thanks!
From Wikipedia: In most of the world, the Esso brand and the Mobil brand are the primary brand names of ExxonMobil, with the Exxon brand name still in use only in the United States alongside Mobil.
Correspondingly 6679 is US only.
In the late 50s there were Esso branded Lego sets, however, in Europe this then shifted to Shell which together with Octan in general are the fuel companies of Lego Town/City.
6679 is one of the earliest Classic Town sets. In the early 80s, minifigure-sized vehicles often lacked roofs, and this set is no exception. Note that Lego was making licensed sets with both Shell and Exxon at the time- although I guess today they're making licensed sets with both Marvel and DC, so the company has a long history of working with competing businesses.
I had this one as a kid. I think this is one of the first sets I ever got.