The 80’s spawned lots of movie classics, but can you recreate them in everyone’s favourite plastic brick? I’ve scoured the web for some of the best creations I could find that represent some of my favourite movies of the decade. The toy from your childhood and the movies from your childhood, what’s not to love?
1. Back to the Future
This has to be first, since it’s my favourite movie of all time, the Back to the Future Delorean. Lego did an official version of this a few years ago that was terrible, it was just far too small to show off any detail. It’s an iconic movie car that deserves a proper sized set (Porsche 911 size!). In the meantime, Angelo_s has created this 1:13 scale version that looks great.
2. Johnny 5
Short Circuit is one of those movies that isn’t just an 80’s movie, it’s an incredibly 80’s movie. Robots, technology that’s going to kill us all, racist stereotypes played for laughs, Ally Sheedy – who could ask for more. A full version has been submitted to Lego Ideas, but this Johnny 5 head by Shannon Sproule is wonderfully expressive. I’d love to see it motorised and for the eyebrows to move.
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones was one of the first 80’s movies I thought of when putting this together. I found lots of people who have produced Lego versions, but I liked this one by LWCGuy because it actually attempts to reproduce the action, rather than just the look of the opening scenes. Having a spring loaded floor so that Indy can dive out of the cave before the boulder hits him is a fabulous additional touch.
4. Ghostbusters
I mean, holy crap. You really need to go look at all of OliveSeon’s Ghostbusters in the City photos just to get a proper sense of how awesome, and how large, it is. If you want a bit of a sense of scale, you can fit a minifig inside the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man’s mouth! A great collection of original MOC’s and modified official sets.
5. WarGames
I love WarGames. It’s another 80’s movie with computers, the threat that technology was going to kill us all, and Ally Sheedy. I didn’t really think I’d find anything Lego related until I stumbled upon this recreation of the WOPR (War Operations Plan Response) by CamelBoy68 that runs the Joshua software that causes all the problems in the film. It’s a very small model, but it shows what can be done with just some basic parts in a single colour.
6. Gremlins
It would be fair to call Gremlins a strange movie. Is it a family film? Is it a Christmas movie? It’s definitely part horror, but the PG rating (before it’s influence in creating PG-13) meant it was seen by more families and children than it probably should have been (myself included). And even if they were terrified by the later parts, kids just love the cute and cuddly Gizmo. Cuddly is difficult in Lego, but I think car_mp pulls it off.
7. Terminator
Another thing that’s difficult to pull off in Lego is scary, but Martin Letta comes pretty close with his T-800. If you look closely, you’ll recognise the parts in use, but pull back and it’s a mechanical nightmare. This is another one that’s crying out to be motorised, with some light bricks for the eyes, and the ability for the mouth to move – but even without it, this is a fantastic bit of work.
What other 80’s classics deserve the Lego treatment?
