What Puts the CLASS in Classic Town?

[Ricecracker]

ok i agree that i like certain sets over newer "versions"

That's only half of what I said; you're mis-quoting me. It all depends on the set(s) in question. I even gave an example where I like the "newer" version better than it's classic counterpart.

[tedbeard]

Use/combination of the traditional Lego color palette

How did I forget that?

"Classic" sets use(d) predominantly the "basic" colours: red, blue, yellow, black, white for buildings and vehicles.

I remember being almost shocked the first time I saw a green brick. It just seemed wrong somehow.

[WesternOutlaw]

In addition to the basic color palette, the overall design was much simpler (esp. sets from the late 70s to early 80s). You could almost look at a picture and build from a single image. This made building and MOCing very fun. It was that "minimalist design" combined with simple, yet very effective design. Sure, 4-stud wide cars were not as detailed as the 6-8 stud vehicles now, but the design was smart. The same thing goes for buildings.

In regard to European design, I'm thinking of the late 70s/early 80s sets that had the steep roof tops, tudor design, and castles; in addition to the old DB train sets. These sets were strongly influenced by a European look about them. While these design elements didn't exactly continue in the mid to late 80s and 90s, the charm of the sets continued, like Main Street. So "old-world" charm is what I'm getting at, and it was fantastic.

Sure, the sets weren't as detailed as modern city with the use of SNOT techniques and numerous tiles, but that's what made these sets extra special in my opinion. Lego didn't need to design highly complex creations. 4-stud wide vehicles and open back buildings were able to capture a great design with much less, an excellent attribute of Classic Town.

But don't get me wrong, just because I love Classic Town, that's not to say that I don't like modern City. The trains, buildings, and vehicles have been fantastic, esp. in the last few years. But as sets are so much larger, creating nice simple town displays is much more difficult, requiring larger space and more room for displaying, plus a lot more time to build the set. I enjoyed the simplicity of Classic Town, and until trying to build my 1979 Classic Town Contest entry, I had forgotten how enjoyable building a town scene was.

Great comments everyone! Certainly interesting thoughts re. CLASS in Classic Town.

[DJ Force]

I´d go for Nostalgia.

To be honest, I´m not a big "classic" fan. From my AFOLs point of view the sets lack detail and realism and cannot stand a comparison to nowadays sets. While even nowadays sets that are highly detailed and in more realistic proportions still cannot stand a comparison to the CC, GG and MS style. That´s for buildings. When speaking of cars, in my oppinion the 10200 Custom Garage set a new standard for detail, size and proportions that I´m trying to achieve in my MOCs and for my tabletown.

Still, I´ve got one classic set that I keep in honour. A complete 6363 garage in original box. The first Lego set I got as a child and I like building it from time to time. But there´s no chance I could add that set to my tabletown layout. Maybe I´ll MOC an update of it sometime.

[Hobbes]

Today's AFOL are the children of Classic Town.

They grew up with the Classic themes like Town, Space, Castle and 12V, the best ever train system. These themes are what made them stick with LEGO as their prime hobby. They are what today's adults remember from their childhood when they think of LEGO and maybe come out of their darkages.

Someone said "It's too simple to inspire me to build anything like it" or something along those lines. Maybe. But without those simple sets from yore they wouldn't be an AFOL and we wouldn't have the sets we have today.

So, IMHO the "class" in Classic Town is that it stayed and evolved for 30 years and is the foundation for what LEGO is today.

[Rick]

I guess there's something to say for most of the options in the poll and I largely agree with all the opinions expressed here. Personally, even though I have very good memories of the 80s town sets, I wouldn't like LEGO to go back to the 'simplicity' of the 80s or 90s. I like the 6-wide trucks, greater amount of detail, etc. in the current sets, although I am still a sucker for the classic smiley face (they should have kept that as a basis for every minifig head), the variety and originality of the classic town sets, and the 'width' (number of sets) and 'duration' (the number of years a set was produced/sold) of the town product line back then. I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say that LEGO is definitely back on the right track the last couple of years after the $%#% Town Jr. years (seeing the 1997 catalog was not a pleasant way to start stepping out of my dark age).

Wouldn't it be a nice idea to - in due time - hold a second classic town contest where the aim is to 'modernize' a classic town set? You would really have to capture the spirit of the original (same color scheme, number of minifigs, included accessories, etc.) and you wouldn't be allowed to use discontinued parts, so that it could be realistically released by LEGO in 2011 There could be several categories (small and large vehicles, small and large buildings, etc.)... you could even be required to build an alternative model for the back of the imaginary box; another characteristic that made the classic town sets so great.

[DJ Force]

Wouldn't it be a nice idea to - in due time - hold a second classic town contest where the aim is to 'modernize' a classic town set? You would really have to capture the spirit of the original (same color scheme, number of minifigs, included accessories, etc.) and you wouldn't be allowed to use discontinued parts, so that it could be realistically released by LEGO in 2011 There could be several categories (small and large vehicles, small and large buildings, etc.)... you could even be required to build an alternative model for the back of the imaginary box; another characteristic that made the classic town sets so great.

I´d be SO game for this!

[AwesomeStar]

I opened a topic about how to build in that Classic Town style, but Hinckley directed me here, as its pretty much the same thing.

I'm trying to make some sort of Swedish/European classic street with a tram route down it.

Ideas?

~A.S.

[Alice]

I may be the oddest AFOL of all, since I never played with Lego as a child. Town is actually my favorite theme. I do not currently have a town set up but would like to at some point in the future. I think for me, the appeal is being able to create an idealistic place where everyone has a simple smile on their face. I visited a town once in North Carolina with very basic houses and shops, along with locally owned restaurants and coffee shop. There was no mall or Walmart, just the simple things. This is the image that I think of when I think of classic town. I can use the sets that Lego created along with MOCs and create a place that is simple and just absolutely lovely. I also believe there is a lot of opportunity to MOC in a classic town due to the minimalist design. It is even possible for the inexperienced builder with minimal parts selection. I had to vote for minimalist.

[Stauder]

Rather than Simple Boxart, I would say the sheer simplicty of the sets themselves, and well the nostalgia helps too.

Stauder.

[Davey]

I voted for the 'European Design' option...but I think my love of Classic Town is due to a number of things. One of them is certainly that Classic Town is what I grew up on. As a kid, I never had much Classic Space or Pirates stuff (a little here and there...but overall my stuff was Town). So for me there is some nostalgia factor there in addition to loving the design.

I also like the minimalist design aspect. You can build a large town with a smaller collection. Don't get me wrong...I love layouts like SCLTC and NILTC and GMLTC. But seriously...the average person does not have enough brick to compete with them on their scale. This is one of the reasons that ToT-LUG (Stacy and I) build in a neo-Classic Town scale (4-wide cars and 6-wide trains). Our creations may be smaller....but they cost a lot less too. I think this is one reason microscale cities are catching on so much.

I'm wandering a little here...

I also have always loved the color scheme of Classic Town. Using those bring primary colors gives it a fantasy town look while still maintaining a sense of realism. It's the perfect medium for developing imaginative short stories from life experiences.

There are so many reasons to love Classic Town...and LEGO in general.

-Dave

[tedbeard]

I opened a topic about how to build in that Classic Town style, but Hinckley directed me here, as its pretty much the same thing.

Say what?

Two very different discussions and a shame that other thread was closed. "How to build in X style" is different from "what I like about X style". They clearly share some underlying information but how to build a tram in "classic-town" style is not part of this discussion.

[Brick & Mortimer]

Just replying to some of the arguments put forward in this topic.

European design: as a kid, I never wondered "where" the building might have come from. They all looked very "Lego" to me

About the simplicity/minimalistic: imho classic town sets capture the design of real-life buildings very well, even the 4-studs cars can sometimes capture a "real" vehicle.

So, saying that these sets are "too simple to inspire a building" is a bit too easy to say. I think it's quite a challenge to capture the essence of a building without adding too much architectural details.

This also means alot of opportunity for creativity, yet I voted for the minimalistic design .