Random set of the day: Ice Cream Seller
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 2885 Ice Cream Seller, released in 1997. It's one of 47 Town sets produced that year. It contains 27 pieces and 1 minifig.
It's owned by 739 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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41 comments on this article
Note: contains no ice cream, just some odd transparent pieces
This was another in a line of pre-polybag polybag sets, and I collected most of them. I thought they were all adorable.
Lex Luthor subcontracting "Ice Cream Seller" to distribute "ice cream" aka kryptonite to the inhabitants of LEGO City may be his most dastardly scheme yet!
Green transparent plastic. My favorite flavor!
Yeah, I'll pass on the Ice Cream, but it looks nice!
“Ice Cream”
uh huh sure
It's worse than not having ice cream everybody. This lady is asking for $100 for whatever it is she's selling that she has labeled as ice cream. Capitalism... You gotta love it!
Note this set is called “Ice Cream Seller”, signifying that it focuses on the minifig specifically, a mere four pieces in the 27 - piece product. The sheer amount of pressure on the minifig, who has to hold up to that grand title.
Apparently the ice cream is 1x1 trans red and trans green tiles inside the cooler? Or is it the trans green cones outside?
@PixelTheDragon said:
"Green transparent plastic. My favorite flavor!
"
Of all colors at the time, what flavor does trans-green represent? Pistachio, mint chocolate chip? Pretty sure white, old brown, red were available...
Strong nostalgia for the classic little impulse boxes here. I miss them.
Funnels, huh? I can’t help but think any attempt to shotgun ice cream will end catastrophically.
Gotta love the pink shirt!
That looks more like popsicles or gelatin than ice cream to me, but what do I know?
@MCLegoboy said:
"It's worse than not having ice cream everybody. This lady is asking for $100 for whatever it is she's selling that she has labeled as ice cream. Capitalism... You gotta love it!"
And back in 1997 $100 was the equivalent to $167.72 today!
The faces on this era of minifigs always make me think they’re in pain. Or in a very sour mood. This ice cream seller looks like she’s ready to ruin some kid’s day…
Ice cream? Sure, that’s what she’s selling.
The first one is free.
Ice cream in July? Yes, please. A+ set.
Could this be the best ice cream related set of the 20th century? On account of at least attempting to include some tasty cool stock to sell, unlike some predecessors:
675 - no ice cream
7824 - no ice cream
6601 - no ice cream
(Other sets purporting to sell ice cream may also have been available)
I don’t remember that sloped register piece. Did that come in other sets from that time?
How bold of her to keep all the money in simple drawers.
I'm going to assume those green cones are some sort of fancy glasses. Wouldn't have ice creams just sat by the register like that
@MCLegoboy said:
"It's worse than not having ice cream everybody. This lady is asking for $100 for whatever it is she's selling that she has labeled as ice cream. Capitalism... You gotta love it!"
It's Danish kroner... so more likely around USD16. That's the price level of starbucks...
Mmmm, Gamma radiation flavored ice cream.
Looks like very crunchy ice cream - obviously too much ice, and not enough cream...
@SFMuscle73 said:
"I don’t remember that sloped register piece. Did that come in other sets from that time?"
It's a '88 model by Blacktron Corp.
Want this set, would fit nicely inside a mall or fairground MOC.
You guys are missing the point. She's an Ice Cream Seller, but she's not at work in this set. She's at home, drinking beer and counting her money.
@cm5878 said:
"Could this be the best ice cream related set of the 20th century? On account of at least attempting to include some tasty cool stock to sell, unlike some predecessors:
675 - no ice cream
7824 - no ice cream
6601 - no ice cream
(Other sets purporting to sell ice cream may also have been available)"
Ummm...
6601 (Ice Cream Cart) has no ice cream? That makes zero sense.
Imagine being outside and seeing an ice cream cart, only to be told that he doesn't sell ice cream.
And this set sells radioactive ice cream. Shouldn't it be like, "Radioactive Ice Cream Seller With SWAT Team?"
@chrisaw said:
"Strong nostalgia for the classic little impulse boxes here. I miss them. "
This this THIIIIIIS! They were always so simple, but they were also a fun little addition to a Lego world without paying a lot for it. I'd love for some of the old ones of them to still be available now.
On another note, does that... does that cooler have a 2 x 4 plate on top attached by opposite hinges *on each end*? How does it actually open?
(I guess it could be two 2 x 2 plates instead; but it *looks* like a single 2 x 4 at first glance.)
@cm5878 said:
"Could this be the best ice cream related set of the 20th century? On account of at least attempting to include some tasty cool stock to sell, unlike some predecessors:
675 - no ice cream
7824 - no ice cream
6601 - no ice cream
(Other sets purporting to sell ice cream may also have been available)"
It's because in the respective sets, the ice cream is supposed to have already been sold out.
That's Heineken, actually.
@cm5878 said:
"Could this be the best ice cream related set of the 20th century? On account of at least attempting to include some tasty cool stock to sell, unlike some predecessors:
675 - no ice cream
7824 - no ice cream
6601 - no ice cream
(Other sets purporting to sell ice cream may also have been available)"
The Fabuland set from 1980, Ice Cream Shoppe (set 3665 ) comes to mind.
Each of those sets, BTW, came before Lego had dedicated food pieces resembling ice cream, popsicles/fudge-ice cream bars, etc. (Or any food, for that matter). Using 1x1 plate pieces and mugs (despite the lack of tap pieces until the mid-1980s) usually compensated for the lack of "real food" pieces and for most Lego builders of the day that was good enough. (Same went with the restaurant in the 6000 Lego Idea Book from 1980, I suppose.)
I guess on the surface this seems like a nice little set, especially if you were a kid on an allowance-type budget. If you had other Lego Town sets, this has some play value potential (i.e., a police officer or firefighter or construction worker coming over for some refreshment).
As I stated in an earlier post, the 1x1 pieces – tiles and cones – to resemble the food were probably good enough for its time, as I'm sure AFOLs and others who simply built model railroad-type towns as a hobby were not nearly as prevalent as they are now. Most were kids and looking to play, and combined with other sets this one might be a nice little addition.
@LegoTiger72376 said:
"Ummm...
6601 (Ice Cream Cart) has no ice cream? That makes zero sense.
Imagine being outside and seeing an ice cream cart, only to be told that he doesn't sell ice cream. "
Sounds like going into "Ye National Cheese Emporium" only to find out that they don't have any cheese... ;-)
I have this (from when I was 7 or so) And i never knew that it was an ice cream vendor :")
That black roof tile is actually quite uncommon, appearing in only 8 sets so far, although Blacktron sets 6954 and 6987 came with multiples of them. It was first seen in 1987/88 depending on whether you look at NA or EU (they had different release years for Blacktron I) and was last seen in the UCS TIE Interceptor from 2000.
What's even more special is the vendor's shirt though - it only ever appeared in 3 sets of which one is a Dacta set...
Wholst Bricklink claims there are more sets out there, it is because Bricklink does not differentiate between the 2 shades of dark pink that replaced each other back in the infamous Color Change of 2004. This figure here (as well as it's counterpart from Free Style set 4161) uses the original 'Belville Dark Pink' officially called 22 - Medium Reddish Violet, while the newer sets included torsoes in 221 Bright Purple.
This makes me wonder if any of the older colored torsoes even exist in the modern moulding type. The change to the reinforced torso insides we have today was around that set's release.
This is another entry in the Bizarrely Named Sets List--take the words "ice cream" out and this set leaves no gripes. Popsicles, having a hint of translucency, probably work better--but "Ice Pop Seller" just doesn't have the zip of "Ice Cream Seller."
I like the old school, printless pink torso, and as an assortment of parts, this isn't bad for its era.
@ThatBionicleGuy said:
" ...does that cooler have a 2 x 4 plate on top attached by opposite hinges *on each end*? How does it actually open?
(I guess it could be two 2 x 2 plates instead; but it *looks* like a single 2 x 4 at first glance.)"
It's a problem with the resolution of the image. If you stare at it really hard you can just make out the line between the two 2 x 2 plates.
(And frankly, I wouldn't touch that neon-green stuff with a 20-foot pole, let alone eat any of it! But other than that it is a rather cute set.)
@PurpleDave said:
"Funnels, huh? I can’t help but think any attempt to shotgun ice cream will end catastrophically."
"shotgun ice cream" is now going to be my battle cry.
oh no, kids would have to use their imaginations to make believe those cones are popsicles or ice cream.. Ohh LEGO you devious @$%
What is nice is that for a tiny set, you get a cabinet and drawers which I think are great parts to furnishings, plus you get the money tile as well as the control pad and a female figure, which even back then, were sometimes hard to come by without have to pay a lot for a set.
It's very 1990s isn't it: rather than ice cream, the emphasis of the set is clearly on getting money into the cash drawer : )