Random set of the day: Car Stunt Studio
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 1353 Car Stunt Studio, released during 2001. It's one of 46 Studios sets produced that year. It contains 166 pieces and 2 minifigs, and its retail price was US$20/£14.99.
It's owned by 723 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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33 comments on this article
Of the initial Studios wave available in January 2001, this set was the one I gravitated to the most. However, I weirdly had doubts as to whether or not the car had four wheels. I didn't want a car missing a wheel, even if it was supposed to be a stunt car on a movie set. In the end, I played it safe and didn't ask for this set. Besides, I was too focused on Life on Mars at the time.
That ramp is one of the the most obscure pieces I have. I got about three of them in a 2009 racers set don't know the name. The stunt they are doing there is pretty extreme!
Just looked through the instructions, and the mechanism for the exploding road is pretty clever. It's simple, but I imagine it's really effective. Or it's downright awful, I don't know, I don't own most of the sets from RSotD, I usually just make fun of them.
Err-- I mean, look at that awful setup. Post-production's going to be annoying because 2001 techs are going to have to rotoscope that light that was captured on film out of the shot, and it ain't gonna be easy with all those things blowing up around it.
Huh. I never saw this one in the stores. I did get the one with the plane and the dinosaur, though.
That’s a fun one.
Pretty cool but my minifigs didn't have the budget for a scene like this so I never got it.
One of my first Studios sets, this was great fun, even if the car is a bit goofy. In fact, they all were great fun.
“It doesn’t have to actually look like a real car. We’re just going to blow it up two seconds into the movie.”
@MCLegoboy:
I remember watching a documentary on the production of Roger Rabbit, and there was a bit where the late Bob Hoskins was talking about rotoscoping. I remember he said he learned very quickly that when he posed like he was holding Roger by the neck, he needed to keep his fingers pressed tightly against each other. If he didn’t, and there were visible gaps between them, some poor schlub had to paint Roger _between_ his fingers, on 35mm film, for every frame in that scene. I’m not sure that’s quite how it worked, but it certainly doesn’t sound very fun.
I have this. I like the way the chassis piece (part 4106468) is incorporated into the car.
I really want some sort of theme, or city sub theme like this again. It would be great to get all sorts of camera equipment and backstage builds. And lego could easily incorporate a digital element with making brick films.
@luvendraw That would be a great idea!
They could also do scenes from classic Lego themes, like that Brickwest Studios set. Give us some Western, castle, pirates etc. facades and then all the camera equipment like you say and you've got an instant winner with AFOLs and kids alike.
Plus, as you say, it could easily incorporate digital elements for video making (after all, Lego is obsessed with putting mobile phones and digital stuff into every Lego theme, even if it is not needed).
Personally I'd love to see a traditional movie making series of sets, so like movies of the 1930s-1950s with old cars and proper 'film' (which would also work well with 'Western' sets, maybe some Errol Flynn inspired Castle (i.e Forestmen) and/or Pirates sets). They could also do look-a-likes of real famous actors too.
I was never a fan of this series. I thought the models were so bad, they looked rubbish.
To be fair, that stop sign looks pretty small. It could easily be missed.
Star car stunt. Star car stunt. Star car stunt.
And remember: "It's all about family..." (Irony being: TF&TF series is pretty well this...IN REAL LIFE...:))
@Lego_mini_fan said:
"That ramp is one of the the most obscure pieces I have. I got about three of them in a 2009 racers set don't know the name. The stunt they are doing there is pretty extreme! "
The set you are probably refering to is 8147 Bullet Run. That set is actually from 2007, though.
@brick_r said:
"And remember: "It's all about family..." (Irony being: TF&TF series is pretty well this...IN REAL LIFE...:))"
The Brick and the Belligerent
@LegoDavid said:
" @Lego_mini_fan said:
"That ramp is one of the the most obscure pieces I have. I got about three of them in a 2009 racers set don't know the name. The stunt they are doing there is pretty extreme! "
The set you are probably refering to is 8147 Bullet Run. That set is actually from 2007, though. "
I believe 8147 has the smaller size. I have one of that size, from 8350; the two sizes are exactly the same shape, with all the same molded impressions.
I just checked on BrickLink. This ramp came in 8237, 8238, and 4579, making this the only set that didn't have a slammer accompanying it.
The smaller size came in 8350, 4858, 8135, 8147, and 8182.
@luvendraw said:
"I really want some sort of theme, or city sub theme like this again. It would be great to get all sorts of camera equipment and backstage builds. And lego could easily incorporate a digital element with making brick films. "
They did with 70820. It kinda flopped. I feel like they could do much better than that, though!
Worth checking out the 2nd youtube video review at 1353 by Bricktrains as he sets up a camera to film the action as directed by the instructions, but the film is not as dramatic as the box art, maybe in slow motion?
Ashamed to say that I used to own this.
Gives me Lego Stunt Rally vibes, despite the car not being in the game. Looks cool.
I learned some things today:
1. I had no idea there were two sizes of that ramp!
2. I never noticed by looking at the instructions that the road will give way if you hit the barricades. I miss old sets and their simple but clever action functions.
@LegoDavid said:
" @Lego_mini_fan said:
"That ramp is one of the the most obscure pieces I have. I got about three of them in a 2009 racers set don't know the name. The stunt they are doing there is pretty extreme! "
The set you are probably refering to is 8147 Bullet Run. That set is actually from 2007, though. "
Nope that is not the one!
@phi13 said:
"I just checked on BrickLink. This ramp came in 8237, 8238, and 4579, making this the only set that didn't have a slammer accompanying it.
The smaller size came in 8350, 4858, 8135, 8147, and 8182."
8182 was the set I had thank you
That Ramp makes me think of the Cardboard ramps that were included in 5600.
The book "Brick by Brick" cited the Studios line as a prime example of Lego's early-2000s floundering. Apparently this whole line of accessories was a real flop. Their tie-in set, the Spielberg Movie Maker kit, was expensive (read: not widely-owned) and not very successful outside North America, and the accessories weren't compelling by themselves. Lego's rush to merchandise a middling success saturated the market with wares nobody wanted to buy.
Ramp-and-pit baseplates were emblematic of some of the greatest 80s-90s Lego sets, like 6086 . Here, we just have a ramp. Now, since plastic is (kind of) cheap and molds are expensive, one would have thought Lego would have just used one of two existing ramp baseplates like part 2552 or 2642, but they went out of their way to make a new shitty baseplate with no studs or antistuds. How can a Lego element have no studs or antistuds? What were they thinking?
@AllenSmith said:
"Their tie-in set, the Spielberg Movie Maker kit, was expensive (read: not widely-owned) and not very successful outside North America"
I can believe that... I got that set, 1349, maybe three years after the fact when we found it severely reduced at Legoland Windsor on one of our family's annual visits. It made a fantastic Christmas present when it was on such a steep reduction, so I thought little more of it at the time; but in hindsight, that there were so many hanging around even with the price slashed that much is definitely an indication that the theme was in a bad place.
It also didn't help that the software just wasn't very reliable - it wouldn't run on a modern computer, and even running it on the older machine that I kept around for just that purpose, the program would frequently crash out and lose unsaved progress, and I couldn't get any quality image out of the included camera... which, though I loved the concept, was endlessly frustrating to me.
I do feel like the concept had potential; and I still had heaps of fun with the software, despite its flaws. But it also doesn't really surprise me that it didn't take off like they were hoping.
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"Of the initial Studios wave available in January 2001, this set was the one I gravitated to the most. However, I weirdly had doubts as to whether or not the car had four wheels. I didn't want a car missing a wheel, even if it was supposed to be a stunt car on a movie set. In the end, I played it safe and didn't ask for this set. Besides, I was too focused on Life on Mars at the time."
You were worried that this particular car only had three wheels?
@CopperTablet said:
"Ramp-and-pit baseplates were emblematic of some of the greatest 80s-90s Lego sets, like 6086 . Here, we just have a ramp. Now, since plastic is (kind of) cheap and molds are expensive, one would have thought Lego would have just used one of two existing ramp baseplates like part 2552 or 2642, but they went out of their way to make a new shitty baseplate with no studs or antistuds. How can a Lego element have no studs or antistuds? What were they thinking?"
6047 Was sold, in some regions, with a pastic cave, that was an even weirder ad
@CopperTablet:
I would list all of the official LEGO parts that have no studs or anti-studs, but even with just a list of design ID numbers, I think I would max out the size of a post before I ran out. Also, I don’t know if 5.5 hours is long enough to compile it. So I’ll just point out that window glass and most minifig accessories don’t meet your criteria.
@watcher21 said:
" @CopperTablet said:
"Ramp-and-pit baseplates were emblematic of some of the greatest 80s-90s Lego sets, like 6086 . Here, we just have a ramp. Now, since plastic is (kind of) cheap and molds are expensive, one would have thought Lego would have just used one of two existing ramp baseplates like part 2552 or 2642, but they went out of their way to make a new shitty baseplate with no studs or antistuds. How can a Lego element have no studs or antistuds? What were they thinking?"
6047 Was sold, in some regions, with a pastic cave, that was an even weirder ad"
And then there is set 4258 with a part having anti-plates.