Do you yearn for the good ol’ days in LEGOLAND? No, I don’t mean the amusement park in Denmark. I’m talking about the real deal. The Town sets that LEGO released between ’78 and about ’96 when everything started to get “juniorized”.

If you’ve fallen into your second Dark Ages because of a lack of interesting sets, do yourself a favor and check out LEGO again these days. Aside from a skiff-load of super-cool Star Wars-related sets and now Indiana Jones plasticky joy, LEGO’s traditional-style sets have gotten a lot better in the last 18-24 months or so.

More after the clicky thingie…

The Creator theme has some very, very nice sets these days, such as the Transport Ferry, Cool Convertible, Volkswagen Beetle and Cargo Copter. These sets aren’t a consistent scale and don’t include mini-figs. They’re just good, old fashioned, LEGO building fun.

Meanwhile, the Factory and LEGO Exclusives themes are also impressive these days, with sets like the Golden Anniversary set, Town Plan and Market Street. And I haven’t even talked about City, Castle, Agents, Mars Mission, Trains or Technic yet, all of which you can find more info and pictures for on LEGO’s web site.

So if these sets remind you of the days of Bill and Mary, you may want to check out this just-spotted 4999 Vestas Windmill limited-edition set. At over two feet tall and with motorized functions, this picture found on Brothers Brick shows a set that would look perfect in a modern, green-minded LEGOLAND setup. And it seems to include green BURPS! How cool is that?! I also love that it’s not JUST the windmill and the van, but that there’s the little “control building” with the fence and landscaping…great stuff from LEGO! No word yet on pricing or availability.

I’m still hoping to one day again see 6xxx sets in yellow boxes with a front flap and sets that feature hinged roof plates on all the vehicles, but I gotta give LEGO props for inching back, slowly but surely, to the kinds of sets that made so many of us fall in love with them in the first place.

The Brothers Brick