Random set of the day: Amazon Crossing
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 6490 Amazon Crossing, released during 1997. It's one of 47 Town sets produced that year. It contains 117 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$15.
It's owned by 2247 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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39 comments on this article
Oh yes, Amazon Crossing in the Outback with the good ol’ 4 - wide car, complete with suspension and winch.
For a split second, I thought I read Animal Crossing and almost lost my mind!
A LEGO Nook's Cranny would be so good!
Also, really neat suspension/bearing parts on this one! Nice!
Anyone else imagine the crocodile/alligator has a mustache? No, just me
I love this set!
Is this perhaps the most overt depiction of death in a LEGO set? There's been skeletons, but have we actually seen what killed the person and, in a way, their death still in the process?
@Train_of_Thought_Creations said:
"For a split second, I thought I read Animal Crossing and almost lost my mind!
A LEGO Nook's Cranny would be so good!
Also, really neat suspension/bearing parts on this one! Nice!
"
Bit early, since the 1st game came out in 2001 in Japan for the N64 and GCN, and 2002 for the USA on GCN.
This set is awesome in so many ways! For 97, the off road vehicle actually looks great, the color stands out, it has a winch, suspension, and a cool supply rack on the back. You get an alligator, a parrot, and some terrain to drive on. Not bad at all for 15 dollars!
One of my favorite sets as a kid. The truck was one of the best little vehicles I had.
Seems like it would be much safer to just get out of the vehicle and carry it over that rickety bridge. Worst case scenario, you throw it at the crocogator to distract it if you still manage to fall in.
@Spidermanager:
Tribal lip piercing.
Remind me again why the one would cross the Amazon while exploring the Outback?
Ooooooh, man, Blacktron needs to step aside for this set.
I got this set on my 5th birthday, so it stand as one of the earliest sets in my collection. I had the set memorized by the end of the day, and can still build that pick up truck without instructions 24 years later. The rock/bridge I sometimes misplace a slope. It is one of my all time favorite Lego sets. So much fun to be had here!
The only thing I can say against this set, is that grey brick spanning the 'river' It just doesn't make sense. It's obviously there to connect the two sides of the river more solidly, but it still just looks... off.
Good thing I have the set committed to memory, as the state of my instructions are almost more tape than instructions at this point (And missing some parts of some pages.
And yeah, Amazon in the Outback? Very strange. Though I can maybe trace back my bit of a fascination to Australia to this set.
The car probably hasn't aged well, but the crossing is decent enough.
An all time great set imo
I think I've said everything there is to be said about Outback in previous RSOTDs... maybe I'll track down one or more of those comments.
@MCLegoboy: If they're a skull and scattered bones, I don't think their death can be described as "still in the process."
@AllenSmith: Maybe the "Amazon" in the title doesn't refer to the river. Maybe that's Jeff Bezos doing the crossing.
Crossing the Amazon in the outback with snow capped mountains in the background. No inconsistency here ;)
This is one of the only "Outback" themed sets that was actually released in Australia. Ironically enough, it's the only one that I never did buy.
@TheWackyWookiee said:
"The car probably hasn't aged well, but the crossing is decent enough."
Actually, I reckon the car is really nice and quite detailed for the time. Opening doors! A winch! Suspension! Spare tyre!
Found my comment from when 6444 was RSOTD on February 8th:
"Here it is, the largest set of the Outback subtheme. Five sets, none more than $20, and not a whole lot of unifying features (what does 6553 have in common with any of the others?)."
First he crosses the bridge on foot to attach the winch to the bridge itself — rather than something more solid on the other side — then leans out the same side the vehicle tilts to watch how he’s doing. Yep, harbinger of LEGO’s near future, there!
I especially like the way the top left and bottom right corners of the vehicle have those curved lines to convey a sense of dangerous wavering. But it is a great way to show off the numerous play features so, of course it is a great set.
And I have to wonder: is that gear the driver’s just in case he topples over, or does it belong to the guy who didn’t make it going the other way? Does the alligator represent copycat brands waiting to feast on the bones of a soon to be precarious LEGO company? So many existential questions.
Yeah, that croc is wearing a mustache. Lol. This is a cool set w fun details.
A great childhood memory. As a kid, I loved the moving suspension and the springs.
Hmmm...thought the "Amazon" would be...wider...NatGeo is fulla'...
Also (does his best Marlin Perkins): "We've made an incredible find: the extremely-rare Sabretooth Crocodile....Jim will attempt an approach; while covered head-to-toe in honey, hence his coloration...":D
That alternate build -> fishing for crocks... -> SPLENDID!!
I love how dynamic and weighty the photography is in some of these 90s lines. That truck really feels like it's in a dangerous situation and the driver is about to get eaten.
A good one, though I never expected to see Amazon so narrowly going through the sandy regions of Nevada.
Maybe Lego tried to warn us. Maybe this set is set in a dystopian future, where whole Brazil has turned into a desert and is occupied by the US. Clearly it's meant to be still Brazil (notice the parrot) but somehow it ends up all sandy. I think that Lego might be onto something.
This explains why so many of my Amazon deliveries turn up damaged!
@Train_of_Thought_Creations said:
"For a split second, I thought I read Animal Crossing and almost lost my mind!
A LEGO Nook's Cranny would be so good!"
I'd prefer a Town Hall with exclusive Isabelle.
I remember this set.
Ha! This one! Epic set, back in 1997 brought me and my brother kinda back from our dark ages, although we were still kids then, and started a true LEGO-revival for us. Buying sets from themes like Adventure (the sphynx) and Aquanauts. We called the green jacket man Dennis Jones and he's up till today still one of our most beloved and respected LEGO figures ever. Like we're grateful to him or something. :)
Wonderful set. Great crocodile! (the ultimate factor for playability!)
Ah yes that well known desert in the heart of the Amazonian rainforest
This might be a bit controversial, but I thought most of the sets in the 1990's were rubbish.
It felt like Lego lost their way somewhat. Just my opinion.
@xhrisaw: Opening doors were pretty much standard at the time; you're the other stuff.
@SolidState:
Well, it certainly does look like it has a less stable wheel base than a unicycle, so...
I love this thing, so little money, so much fun!
That guy had more adventures than me.
I like Outback^^
Awkwardly elusive Town Subtheme, this and 6550 being the only ones from the 5 sets to be shown in every catalogue around the world (however at least 6553 was available in a few stores in Europe in mid 1997). It kind of was Town's equivalent to Dark Forest, Aquaraiders I and Unitron...
There even were new Minifigures introduced by the theme in form of the 2 TV crew members. One of them bearing a nice resemblence to the cameraman from 6661 (the second Lego set I ever got).
Notice that this is among the first sets to feature tan regular plates after the color was reintroduced in 1996 after a 6 year hiatus. The (old) brown ladders with 4 clips were also exclusive to this set.
Other than that, this must be the only set that actually made use of the tiny hole in the 30082 clip with towball. And it was the cheapest set to include a light grey BURP.
And finally - unpopular opinion - I REALLY like 1997 (as a Lego year) :P
Love those 6 wide grey "ramps" in this context.
Now it seems regular to see cheese slopes, or the 2 wide variant in sets, but back then those didn't exist.
Also, note there's a Rifle on the roof, Western/Pirates/Adventurers had guns, but seeing a rifle in Town must be a very rare case.
@TeriXeri said:
"Love those 6 wide grey "ramps" in this context.
Now it seems regular to see cheese slopes, or the 2 wide variant in sets, but back then those didn't exist.
Also, note there's a Rifle on the roof, Western/Pirates/Adventurers had guns, but seeing a rifle in Town must be a very rare case."
It indeed was very rare. In fact, it was the ONLY non Adventure/Wild West set to contain a rifle. It was one reason why this minifig, in my childhood, was the toughest minifig in town.
This set always reminds me of the William Friedkin movie Sorcerer (starring Roy Scheider): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076740/mediaviewer/rm937169152/
@MCLegoboy, I'm reminded of Queens of the Stone Age - Mosquito Song:
Swallow and chew
Eat you alive
All of us food that hasn't died