Random set of the day: Wild Collection
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 4101 Wild Collection, released in 2003. It's one of 38 Creator sets produced that year. It contains 492 pieces, and its retail price was US$30/£24.99.
It's owned by 1181 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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35 comments on this article
When your stoner friend walks into your LEGO room
63 creations?! I'm sure the instructions didn't show you how to build all of them, but I remember when Creator sets showed you more than just the three primary models. The great thing about these types of Creator sets is that you were able to have multiple builds at the same time. Creator 3-in-1 is still a good theme, great sets for parts with lovely builds to practice their uses, but I do miss the variety that was showcased within just a single set even if you didn't get instructions for each build.
Why does the crocodile appear to have ears
@MCLegoboy said:
"63 creations?! I'm sure the instructions didn't show you how to build all of them, but I remember when Creator sets showed you more than just the three primary models. The great thing about these types of Creator sets is that you were able to have multiple builds at the same time. Creator 3-in-1 is still a good theme, great sets for parts with lovely builds to practice their uses, but I do miss the variety that was showcased within just a single set even if you didn't get instructions for each build."
No, but still shows 20 of them, so close to 1/3rd. Link: https://lego.brickinstructions.com/en/lego_instructions/set/4101/Wild_Collection
...and the crowd goes wild.
"Yay."
@MCLegoboy:
Of the 43 that do not have any instructions, the vast majority of them are very simple designs that aren't too hard to figure out from a single image. There are a few that are quite a bit more complex, which might be a challenge, but some of them are shown from multiple angles if you flip through the instructions a bit, which should really help. This group includes a snail, a scorpion, a large parrot, a large beetle, and an alligator/crocodile. There's a core group of four models which, I know from personal experience, can be built at the same time, use most of the pieces, and which are featured on the box cover. This includes a red crab, a green chameleon, a blue dragonfly, and a brown large ant.
I never did a full build of every model back when I got my first copy (and my second got raided for parts), but I doubt the set is optimized around any other group of models. Make any changes and you might end up with a larger pile of leftover parts that won't build any other models, and less combined models when you're done.
@Mr__Thrawn said:
"Why does the crocodile appear to have ears"
You mean the crocs where you are don’t have ears...?
From the look in that Crocodile's eyes he's seen how wild the collection can truly get, and fears what horrors it could wrought if spread further
Some creator sets are 2 in 1 or 3 in 1.
Well this one’s 63 in one.
One of my favorite first-wave Designer Sets, though 4099 Robobots and 4100 Maximum Wheels edge it out for me. I built nearly all of the models for which instructions were provided, including all four main models at once, and reverse-engineered some of the rest. I especially loved the spider. Interesting that they picked that for the instructions cover considering it's not one of the main builds. Ultimately, though, I did rebuild the crab and chameleon, and they remain built to this day 18 years later (cc @MCLegoboy, @PurpleDave): https://twitter.com/NOVALISTIC/status/1377601217094803457
I was always tickled by the presence of that lone dark pink 1x3 brick in this set. It was the first time I ever saw a pink brick in real life (I knew Belville and Scala existed), and it wasn't even used in any of the models with instructions. These days I now understand it to be a thing in Creator and Designer Sets of the time that would include random-looking (i.e. not actually random) bricks that were, correct me if I'm wrong, overproduced. I would not encounter another dark pink brick in my lifetime until after my Dark Ages in 10703 and 10404, the former of which also contained dark pink 1x3 bricks, and dark pink being the main color of the latter's octopus chef (which I have on display alongside 4506, my all-time favorite Designer Set).
Excellent Playset!
Those models actually look pretty cool. I like them.
@LegoSonicBoy:
Yup, that chameleon is the only reason I even bought the set in the first place (the second copy was a door prize, I believe). A pet shop near where I lived when I was running MaskofDestiny stocked Veiled Chameleons, and I really wanted one. Then I found out how hard they are to take care of, and I figured I wouldn't be doing either of us a favor by dropping the kind of cash it would have required to get started (just the chameleon was $50, I believe).
Regarding random pieces, I don't know if Creator sets included them in regular inventory, but there were several instances of a "bonus parts" box being strapped to the top of another set, which may be what you're thinking of. Designer was its own theme, though, and highly tailored to a theme compared to Creator. This is one of the few that had a really wide range of colors, and that was only because it was designed to build four models with different base colors at the same time. Look at 4508 Titan XP, and the vast majority of the parts come in black, dark-bley, light-bley, orange, and sand-blue. There are only four other parts that don't fit this color scheme, which are 1x1 round plates in TNO and silver (I believe chrome?), a color-locked non-friction axle-pin, and a 1x1 brick w/ studs on opposite sides that had just been introduced that same year (though black and dark-bley were both introduced at the same time, so I don't know why they didn't pick either of those).
In this case, there still is a legitimate reason why that dark-pink 1x3 brick is included. I just skimmed through the entire instruction booklet (a physical copy, not those tiny little thumbnails that you get when you pull up the digital version). I can't spot a single instance of one of the "concept" models using that brick, though it's always possible that it's buried inside somewhere. However, on the last two pages (80-81) you get instructions to build a small macaw, and it just so happens to have dark-pink cheeks behind its eyes, on a head that's three studs wide. As far as I can tell, that is the _ONLY_ reason that brick was included. It's also possible the main set designer slipped that in there as an easter egg. Many designers like to include their homeland's national flag colors. I, of course, try to slip a part in some shade of purple into my MOCs (but it has to either be part of the aesthetic design, or it has to be completely hidden from any viewing angle).
This set was my childhood. The spider especially
@PurpleDave: Thanks, I was just looking through my physical instructions too. Must have missed that. The macaw was not one of those I built, either. Indeed, the silver pieces in 4508 were chrome. The ones in my MOC of that set, I'm not sure if the chrome has flaked or if they've just picked up some grime, but the ones left in the box are good as new.
My easter egg part color is coral. Specifically, I use hidden coral 1x2 plates wherever a 1x2 plate is required. Thankfully, they're really cheap on BrickLink. I hear they show up on PAB walls in some places. I also sneak in some sand green and/or medium lavender parts from time to time depending on what I have on hand.
@LegoSonicBoy said:
"I was always tickled by the presence of that lone dark pink 1x3 brick in this set. It was the first time I ever saw a pink brick in real life (I knew Belville and Scala existed), and it wasn't even used in any of the models with instructions. These days I now understand it to be a thing in Creator and Designer Sets of the time that would include random-looking (i.e. not actually random) bricks that were, correct me if I'm wrong, overproduced. I would not encounter another dark pink brick in my lifetime until after my Dark Ages in 10703 and 10404, the former of which also contained dark pink 1x3 bricks, and dark pink being the main color of the latter's octopus chef (which I have on display alongside 4506, my all-time favorite Designer Set)."
Was that brick not used in the parrot?
^ Yeah, PurpleDave has now pointed that out above.
I like the trans blue wings on the dragonfly.
So... this set has a special place in my heart and memory. In 2002-2003, my dad came to my sister and I with information about a LEGO competition, something like "Send LEGO a picture of your own creation and tell them why you like playing with LEGO bricks". So off we go, building a small something with whatever sets we had, snap a pic, write about how cool it can be to build whatever crosses your mind... and we sent that to LEGO.
An eternity later came the reply "Hi moviuro, sorry but your entry wasn't selected as the best. We got tons of replies, so it took a long time to answer each and every one of the participants. However, we wanted to thank you for participating! So we're sending you a consolation prize, keep your eyes on the mail!"
And a few weeks later came in, not only 4101, but also 4099, 4095, 4094 and 8455. And because two children had participated, we *both* got all of them. It was insane.
Whoever organized that competition, if you're reading me right now, thanks, you rock!
Kind of a Lego Ideas book which included all the pieces, whereas nowadays most parents just put the book on the shelve as they don't have pieces or the time to sort through the Lego detritus to find that they only have half of them. Great to get toddlers and pre-school on the way to their own independent builds, rather than everybody staring at a creator bucket of double width bricks and roof slopes that nobody knows what to do with? For moc designers this is a great parts inventory, with lots of plates and single width bricks, including 14 useful hinge plates (which are expensive to buy individually) all at around 5p a piece.
@ClassicDragon said:
"I like the trans blue wings on the dragonfly. "
They're actually trans-clear!
I loved the "Desinger Set" subtheme of Creator, they gave you so many models to build with the bonus of reverse engineering some of the builds without the instruction. These actually really helped me out as a kid, as I became pretty good at reverse engineering mocs, I found on the internet.
My word, it’s that rarest of things, a Lego spider that actually has eight legs!
This is one from my Dark Ages, so I've not seen it before, but I downloaded the instructions from the Lego website: wow! There are some really nice models in there and a great selection of parts. This is just like the old Basic sets used to be, too. Wish the current range of Classic or Creator did more like this.
Gotta say while this doesn't look like a bad set , I think despite being color locked, the current mixel joints still look better then those thick click-hinge bricks, also there are more bar/clip connectors available these days in many colors.
Still, this looks like a great set as far as building multiple models at the same time.
Current Creator animals sometimes have a 4th option with downloadable instruction but apart from the recent 24-in-1 christmas boxes, (which are very small builds), there haven't been sets like these really.
@Your_Future_President said:
" @Mr__Thrawn said:
"Why does the crocodile appear to have ears"
You mean the crocs where you are don’t have ears...?"
There are no crocs - eared or not - where I am. They all perished after engaging in a staring competition with My Dad 3220.
I had a lot of fun playing with this set, it was nice to have more variety since most of my sets were City and similar vehicle and building based themes.
Interesting note is that the set included some one off brick and flat pieces in weird unusual colors for that period, like the Medium Reddish Violet 1x3 brick.
Another thing to note is that it was made very apparent that the classic hinges aren't ideal and that after months of play they weakened and could barely support any weight at all. Very quickly, the big spider could not use its legs to stand on, and its torso had to be placed on the ground to support its weight. Glad that mixel joints are starting to replace them.
I also once managed to get four 2x1 green bricks with hinges stuck together, and it was very difficult separating them.
Overall, really nice set for its time.
@Moviuro:
They were really pushing the Designer theme to make sure people didn’t just assume it was more Creator. My LUG keeps a tub of play-brick to let kids build with at shows, and they offered us a pile of free Designer sets to use as play-brick on the condition that we keep it separate from any non-Designer play-brick. The idea was they wanted people to see exactly what the theme had to offer in terms of parts and colors, without mixing in stuff that wasn’t in the Designer sets. I think we got five copies of everything in the launch wave. Eventually the theme ended, and our Designer tub got depleted, so we just combined it with our other tub.
@Brickalili:
I once built a giant spider, and it also has eight legs. And it shoots missiles out of its butt.
for 2003, that crocodile has a ton of personality
but that spider will haunt my dreams
@andthenwhat:
The click hinges have gone through at least three generations so far. The first version was, as you say, a bit wimpy. I remember building Anakin’s Ep2 starfighter, and the front landing gear would collapse under its weight if you posed it at an angle as shown. If I posed it fully vertical, it’s fine.
The second gen, they overcompensated, and trying to adjust the angle would often rip the parts loose from the model, especially if they weren’t sandwiched between two other parts.
The third gen finally got it right. Somewhere along the way, as noted on New E a few months back, they deleted a couple teeth from the click-hinge design, which allows easier movement at specific points in the rotation. This may have been how they corrected the Gen2 stiffness to get it back to Gen1 ease of movement without significantly reducing the Gen2 load-bearing capacity.
@Brickalili:
https://www.maskofdestiny.com/news/step-into-my-parlor/
There you go. An 8-legged spider that shoots 12 missiles out of its butt.
@PurpleDave: Yeah, it's incredibly annoying seeing Designer Sets being referred to as Creator both by the database (due to how it categorizes themes and subthemes, and due in small part to how LEGO themselves do it) and colloquially. The unused parts of my Designer Sets remain sorted by set. Sadly the 4508 box was the only one I had the foresight to keep.
This set was one of my daughter's favourites when she was 5. We have 3.
In the Designer Set, we have also 4401, 4506, 4507 and 4884.
These were the sets that told me Lego was figuring out what had gone wrong over the last few years. They were so creative and colorful. The crab from this set has been my I-am-into-Lego desk ornament at work for my whole career.
I miss that 6–99 branding too.
This one's gotten well over a decade of pretty continual building time, and for my daughters (I hope) established a long-running love for building and the creative process; experimentation, iteration, challenge, celebration. Of all the Lego in the house it's this one that still gets the most play time (we've got the Little Creations fish/birds set from around the same time mixed in, along with the poly-bag Frog from the Magorium's Emporium box). What a gem of set...