Lego Wild West (or Western and stylized as LEGO Wild West) is a discontinued Lego theme based on the Old West 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 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 re-released.
Construction sets A total of 16 toy sets were released from 1996 to 1997 as part of the Wild West theme. Various minifigures were introduced, including wranglers, sheriffs, US Cavalry, bandits and Indians.
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. Reference Name Released Minifigures Notes 6712 Sheriff's Showdown 1996 Sheriff, Black Bart 1997 in North America 6716 Weapons Wagon 1996 Soldier 1997 in North America 6755/6764 Sheriff's Lock-up 1996 Wrangler, Sheriff, Flatfoot Thompson, Dewey Cheatum Re-released in 2001 6761 Bandits' Secret Hideout 1996 Flatfoot Thompson, Black Bart, Dewey Cheatum, Soldiers (Two) 6762/6769 Fort Legoredo 1996 Soldiers (Six), Flatfoot Thompson, Black Bart, Dewey Cheatum, Wrangler Re-released in 2001 6765 Gold City Junction 1996 Banker, Soldier, Black Bart, Wrangler, Sheriff, Saloon Chief
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 totem pole, a canoe and horses. Reference Name Released Minifigures Notes 6706 Frontier Patrol 1997 Soldiers (Three) 6790/6791 Bandit's Wheel Gun 1997 Black Bart 6799 Showdown Canyon 1997 Wrangler, Sheriff, Flatfoot Thompson, Black Bart 2845 Indian Chief 1997 Indian Mystic 2846 Indian Kayak 1997 Indian Warrior 6709 Tribal Chief 1997 Indian Chief 6718 Rain Dance Ridge 1997 Indian Mystic, Indian Warrior 6746 Chief's Tepee 1997 Indian Warriors (Two), Indian Chief 6748 Boulder Cliff Canyon 1997 Indian Warriors (Five), Indian Mystic 6763/6766 Rapid River Village 1997 Indian Warrior (Five), Indian Chief, Wrangler Re-released in 2001
Attractions In 1973, LEGOREDO Town was introduced to Legoland Billund Resort. 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. 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 and Pirate themes had included a variety of weaponry, such as crossbows, 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.
See also The Lego Movie (Lego theme) Lego The Lone Ranger Lego Toy Story Lego Brawls
References