Cleaning my parents' attic...

[twonha]

I came out of the dark ages a little over a year ago, and I focus on the Technic motorcycles and cars. All the Lego from my childhood are at my parents, including the legendary(?) 8880 supercar. Planning to bring it over to my place to join the Technic Collection of Awesomeness, I was saddened to find out that my younger nephews and nieces probably got to it before I did: it's in shambles! And, so is the rest of the Lego I used to play with as a kid. For years, the parents' attic has been a Lego graveyard. I think it's time to change that, so I got started today:

See that odd "car"? That's the ghost of the 6484 F1 hauler. 

That's the current state of Enchanted Island... 

The Lego Technic collection from back then, including a decimated 8880 Supercar, an 8022 starter set, and the ugly B-model of the 8250 Search Sub. 

Big boxes of random Lego! Lots of sorting to be done here...

Boats, trucks, cars, helicopters: everything a young boy needs to get around in Legoland. The Western fort and city have seen better days. The 6274 Caribbean Clipper is mostly intact but not exactly in sailing conditions. The 6082 Fire Breathing Fortress is mostly intact. The same goes for 6081 King's Mountain Fortress, although apparently the US Army got their hands on it. The 6277 Imperial Trading Post has been abandoned, and there's not much paradise to be found at the 6416 Poolside Paradise. 

 

The plan is to at least bring the 8880 back to life, and bring over most of the Technic collection. In time, I might get to rebuilding more older Lego sets. In six months, we're expecting our first-born. If I take my time, maybe we'll get to play with my old Legos again, together... 

Edited March 10, 2017 by Captain Nemo
Pictures are way too HUGE! Per site guidelines, post pictures no larger than 800x600

[BrickCurve]

There are some great sets in there!  Its a pity the enchanted island base is so yellowed.  I hope you find all the parts!  

[Capparezza]

Impressive collection. Too bad it didn't get any love these last two decades

[twonha]

4 hours ago, BrickCurve said:

There are some great sets in there!  Its a pity the enchanted island base is so yellowed.  I hope you find all the parts!  

Much of the Lego has discolored, yeah. However, I noticed that much of the current color comes from the layer of dust that covers every brick, so a bit of cleaning might sort out some of the mess! Today's project will be putting together the new BMW R 1200 GS though. 

[ctx1769]

Good find

[antp]

for de-yellowing parts, there are solutions: there is a huge thread about that here on eurobricks ;)

edit: e.g. here for tests: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/7167-brick-de-yellowing-techniques/&do=findComment&comment=800639

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by antp

[ReplicaOfLife]

Some nice sets in there, but it looks like you'd be best advised to disassemble it all for a cleansing trip through the washing machine. The light gray and white parts might benefit from a de-yellowing aswell, though I'm no expert on that

[BrickCurve]

13 hours ago, twonha said:

Much of the Lego has discolored, yeah. However, I noticed that much of the current color comes from the layer of dust that covers every brick, so a bit of cleaning might sort out some of the mess! Today's project will be putting together the new BMW R 1200 GS though. 

That's very good news!  For dusting of large parts, I have found that a "Giottos Rocket Blower" (available from most decent camera stores) is really effective for removing dust from tricky to access parts.  It doesn't get as much dust off as using a brush, but it is certainly a lot quicker!

Edited January 3, 2017 by BrickCurve
Added link.

[Fabulandlover]

Nice find! And I spy some Fabuland if I am not mistaken ;)

[RetroInferno]

Simply dusting won't do it though, the dust seems to have litterally formed a ''solid'' crust on some of these models.

Doesn't the clanking of the pieces in the washer too loud though? I can imagine the insane amount of noise it would make! 

[twonha]

3 hours ago, Fabulandlover said:

Nice find! And I spy some Fabuland if I am not mistaken ;)

Ah so that's what that is! I never realised. I was born in 1985 and Fabuland lasted until 1989, so it must've been from my first few sets. 

 

-edit-

I have the carroussel, the big window, and I remember those figures too although I don't think we still have them. I guess I found my first big set! 

 

Edited January 5, 2017 by twonha

[skaako]

I spotted the awkward out of place Playmobile guy in there!! Now it would be cool to see some before and after shots :) 

[DarkShark6679]

That's a very dusty Dark Shark I spy there! Good job.

[twonha]

Tadaa! My parents spent a few weeks of their free time playing with my old Legos. They used to do this periodically when my brother and I were kids, and with their first grandchild on the way, this is how they've expressed their anticipation. 

They put just about every set back together in the living room, and my dad took pictures with his cellphone. The sets are back up in the attic now, but I took home the one that started all this: the 8880 Supercar now stands on display with my post-Dark Ages collection. TO THE PICTURES!!

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the 4564 freight rail runner hasn't survived the test of time. Some parts were found, but most of it is gone, possibly to my nephew. Luckily that's the only big set we haven't rebuilt. Some sets are missing minor parts, but everything has been put together nicely! (Also, after these shockingly bad photos, I got my dad a new phone.)

 

The 8880 was taken apart entirely, and my dad and I rebuilt it from scratch. Technic manuals have come a long way in the last twenty years... We made one crucial mistake in the build that we didn't catch in time: the front differential is put in backwards. This causes the engine to malfunction entirely when all four wheels are turning, and you can't get to that differential without taking most of the build apart again. Instead, we chose to turn the four wheel drive car into a rear wheel drive car by disconnecting the front wheel differential from the system. 

And so it ends, for now! 

 

 

 

[Criosphynx]

ha! you had a bit of every theme I see! Its good to see them all  put back together. I'm guessing we're about the same age as I had alot of those myself as a kiddo.

 

I'll admit when I saw that first post I didn't know how well that cleanup would go, I've reassembled whole dusty collections like that before, and its a TON of work... 

 

they seem to have cleaned up pretty well and seem mostly complete.

Congrats

 

Edited March 4, 2017 by Criosphynx

[twonha]

Thanks! The compliments go to my parents, they really put a lot of effort into it. I'm 31 by the way, so basically anything from the '90s might show up in the collection. Going through it, I'm amazed at how many sets I actually got. Multiple big sets per year, I may have been spoiled back then without even knowing it...

[koalayummies]

The white is almost Brick Yellow!  Those are some great sets and bring back some fond memories, the super car, enchanted island, paradisa poolside paradise, and those classic palm tree pieces. Lots of good stuff there. 

[ColletArrow]

Reading your first post, I was trying to figure out what you meant by the 6484 reference before I realised that the mass of tan-coloured parts was actually supposed to be white, and that is what you were referring too... oh dear. Never mind. I personally would try to de-yellow at least some of the sets.
How well have the electric components, like the micro motor from 6484 held up over the years?
Great find with the 8880 by the way, good to see it's in a better place now!

[twonha]

On 8-3-2017 at 8:22 PM, ColletArrow said:

How well have the electric components, like the micro motor from 6484 held up over the years?
 

I haven't put a new battery in, but I suspect I know the answer: they probably haven't survived. That's alright though, I'm just glad all of it can be played with and/or put on display in the attic!