Lego Wild West (or Western) was a Lego theme based on the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

period of the United States. It was in production for only two years, from 1996 to 1997.

Background

Inspired by the Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s, the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

theme was one of the first themes to appear in Lego sets. Toy sets such as Wild West Scene (365), released in 1975, and Western Train (726), released in 1976 were early examples of this experimentation. However, it was not until 1996 that a complete Lego product range emerged based on a Western theme.

Release

The Wild West sets were introduced in the late summer of 1996. In Europe, the theme was released in August 1996 and in North America it was released in September 1996. The Indians sets came out in 1997. After that, the Wild West sets were discontinued. In 2002, three Wild West sets (Sheriff's Lock-up, Fort Legoredo, and Rapid River Village) were rereleased.

Construction sets

A total of 16 toy sets were released from 1996 to 1997 as part of the Wild West theme. Various

minifigure A Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Danish toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced worldwide a ...

s were introduced, including wranglers, sheriffs,

US Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one r ...

, bandits and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

1996 sets

The first wave of sets centred on a battle between cowboys, bandits and the US Cavalry at Legoredo Town. Several toy sets focused on the town sheriff, including Sheriff's Lock-up and Sheriff's Showdown. The larger sets of the series were Bandits' Secret Hideout and Fort Legoredo.

1997 sets

In 1997, the theme released toy sets that centred on the First Nations people living in Rapid River Village, which featured a river, two

tipi A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟó ...

, a

totem pole Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually ...

, a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

and horses.

Attractions

In 1973, LEGOREDO Town was introduced to

Legoland Billund Resort Legoland Billund Resort, the original Legoland park, opened on 7 June 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, Denmark's second-busiest airport. Over 1.9 million guests visited the par ...

. The themed area of the park was expanded from an Indian camp that had existed since the opening of the park in 1968. LEGOREDO Town featured a variety of Wild West themed Lego constructions, including a figure of Sitting Bull and the heads of four US presidents at

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakot ...

. The attractions of the themed land include LEGOLDMINE, where visitors pan for gold, ''Lego Canoe'' and a rollercoaster named the ''Flying Eagle''.

Legacy

The Wild West sets were the first to include toy revolvers and rifles, which were later used in the Adventurers sets. Although the Castle,

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

and

Pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

themes had included a variety of weaponry, such as

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...

s, lasers and swords, handguns in contemporary themes had never been featured. The Wild West theme was also the first theme to include plastic snakes. The sets also marked the first instance where the perpetual smile on the minifigure heads was replaced with various other facial expressions.

Reception

In 2018, Bandit's Wheelgun (set number: 6791), Gold City Junction (set number: 6765), Covered Wagon (set number: 6716) and Fort Legoredo (set number: 6769) were listed in the "Top 10 Western LEGO Sets" by Lego fansite ''BricksFanz''.

References

{{Lego

Products introduced in 1996 Products and services discontinued in 2002