The LEGO Movie, and some Flea Market LEGO!

I didn't expect to be that interested The LEGO Movie, but it looks pretty fun. I love that it resembles stop-motion, rather than having the blatant CGI look they usually use in LEGO movies. It's charming and actually has a LEGO feel. I also love that the "1980's-something space guy" has a cracked helmet and partially worn-off Classic Space logo. As probably anyone who ever owned those figures as a child knows, those details are so true to life. It would be pretty meta if they made sets based on the movie and had the space guy with a cracked helmet and partially worn-off logo. I don't know if that would be possible though. And the main character has a cowlick! As someone with a pretty unruly cowlick, if that piece exists, I want it! Anyway, this trailer really got through to this big old grump, and now I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

I got some cool retro LEGO stuff from a flea market, including some very old minifigures that are in surprisingly good shape. I actually got these a while back, but hadn't gotten around to posting them. Seeing the trailer for The LEGO Movie motivated me to finally do so.

The first two of them are examples of the original minifigures, which were a precursor to the modern minifigures. I believe they were in sets from 1975 to 1978. They have arms and legs that don't move and a yellow head without a printed face. I never had any of these as a kid, probably because I wasn't born until the mid 80's. I was always aware of them, and found them appealing, so I thought it would be cool to own them now. And I was right! It is!

The other two figures are astronauts from the Classic Space line, which was sold from 1978 to 1987. They feature movable arms and legs, and they each have a simple smiley face. They're missing their air tanks, but that's fine. Other than that, and of course being in better condition, they're just like the space guy figure that's in The LEGO Movie. Also, the astronaut in white is just like the one on the shirt of LEGO Daniel!

I'm shocked by the condition these figures are in. Whereas my old LEGO toys were played with for over two decades, I'm guessing these figures were played with only a short time before being put away for maybe thirty years. The spacemen don't even have cracked chin straps! What kind of freak child owned these!?

I also bought a LEGO Idea Book, but from another vendor. It's pretty interesting that it's from around the same era as the figures I got. It was published in 1977, and it's also in pretty great condition. I have a LEGO Idea Book from 1990 and it is beat the hell up. So either this was also barely used, or it was owned by some other freak of a child who took ridiculously good care of his belongings. I bought it for $1, which is of course one penny more than it cost back in 1977.

I love LEGO Idea Books! They have so many fun little things to look at and make, and this one features those original minifigures. Here are a couple of examples of the things in this book:

This ferocious monster! That's how people unfairly see him anyway. But he's not hurting anyone. All he wants to do is dance!

There are also instructions to build what I can only assume is a man pushing a wheelbarrow filled with rolls of toilet paper.

Dancing monsters, toilet paper wheelbarrows... These scenarios could fuel a child's imagination for years!