Western Themed LEGO Sets: Gold Rush or Badlands Mirage?

For over a century the cowboy has been the iconic American image recognized around the world, and the American “Old West” has been celebrated in art, music, literature, and of course movies and television programs. Long after the short-lived era of open range and long cattle drives came to an end, we still continue to admire and celebrate the stories and characters born out of that time. Popular representations may be more romantic than realistic, but they never seem to lose their appeal.

I grew up watching Westerns on TV. The Rifleman, Wagon Train, High Chaparral, Rawhide and The Virginian were among my favorite shows. I liked the independent, self-reliant spirit of the pioneers, and the fact that you could always tell the good guys from the bad guys, and the bad guys always got what was coming to them in the end.

I loved Westerns then, and I still love them today. So I suppose it’s only natural that I find myself drawn to the LEGO Western theme. I missed out on the Western sets of 1996-97 because I was, sadly, still in my Dark Ages. But with the recent release of the Lone Ranger movie tie-in sets, it seemed like a good time to revisit the history of the Western theme. Perhaps knowing more about this theme in general will help us judge the potential returns of these new sets. Since I didn’t have the opportunity to own these sets myself, I’ve based my opinions about them on research. I think this has given me a pretty good feel for what each set is like.
Overview

Western wasn’t the first Wild West-styled LEGO theme, but it was the first to use the new minifigures. The earlier sets such as 620 Wild West Scene (1975) and 617 Cowboys (1975) both included the old LEGOLAND Minifigures.

The storyline of the sets from 1996 focused on sheriffs battling against outlaws, as well as the presence of the cavalry. The town, called Gold City, consisted of a sheriff’s office, a bank, and a general store. The town served mainly as a target for the bandits, rather than to portray civilian life of the period. There was also an abandoned mine outside the city which the bandits used as a hideout. The cavalry was based in a fort cleverly named Fort LEGOREDO.

In the theme’s second (and last) year, the Indians became a major part of the theme. Their home was Rapid River Village. They are apparently intended to portray a tribe of Plains Indians, however the inclusion of a totem pole in a couple of the sets is an indication that stereotypes took precedence over accuracy in that portrayal.

You may have noticed that there is a definite similarity between the Western theme and the new Lone Ranger theme. Like the Western theme, the Lone Ranger theme focuses on good guys versus bandits, and the town, with it’s only buildings being a Sheriff’s Office and a Bank, serves only as a backdrop for the activities of the bandits rather than including any ordinary townspeople. Also note the commonality of the mines, and the presence of cavalry and Indians. The chief differences that I see are the lack of a large fort among the Lone Ranger sets, and the inclusion of a very nice train set instead. (As a side note, all things considered I think I prefer the train, which is very authentic-looking. I can always build a moc fort if I want the cavalry soldiers to have a more respectable base of operations.)

Now let’s look at the main Western sets individually.

6706 – Frontier Patrol

DESCRIPTION:
Frontier Patrol, released in 1997, contains 26 pieces. It is made up of 3 minifigures: a Cavalry Colonel riding a black horse, a Cavalry Lieutenant, and a Cavalry Soldier. Accessories include two rifles, one pistol, a flag, a bugle, and a saber. It also includes a green bush. One of the more interesting pieces in this set is the dynamite, which is represented by a picture printed on a 1x2 white tile. There are no structures includes in this set.

For purposes of comparison, I would consider it to be comparable to the current Lone Ranger Cavalry Builder set.

ANALYSIS:
This is one of the better-performing sets of this series, with ROI of 463% and a CAGR of 11.4%. However, with an original price of $5.99, one would need to have stockpiled quite a few of these sets to make a sizable profit on them.

6709 – Tribal Chief

DESCRIPTION:
Tribal Chief is an Indians set released in 1997. This is another very small set, which consists only of one minifigure (the Tribal Chief), his horse, a green bush, and a black snake, for a total of 14 pieces. The horse is unique in that it is a pinto rather than the plain brown, black or white horses in most other sets, decorated with a colorful blanket under the saddle and a feather on the bridle.

ANALYSIS:
This set hasn’t done too badly, with an ROI of 377% and a 10.26% CAGR. Again, however, because it is a very small set with an MSRP of only $3.99, an investor would need to have purchased a large number of them to realize a meaningful actual return.

6712 - Sheriff’s Showdown

DESCRIPTION:
Sheriff’s Showdown was released in 1996 (although one source noted that it wasn’t released until 1997 in North America). Another small set focused on characters rather than setting, it contained 26 pieces, including 2 minifigures, the Sheriff and outlaw Black Bart. It also includes one black horse, a campfire with a frying pan, a large brown barrel, a green bush, a rifle, a pistol, and one of the printed dynamite tiles.

ANALYSIS:
This set is another mid-range performer, with an ROI of 409% and a CAGR of 10%. It is also one of the smallest sets, with an MSRP of $3.99, which means that its high ROI doesn’t translate into a large dollar return unless the investor happened to stock up on a lot of these sets.

6716 – Weapons Wagon

DESCRIPTION:
The Weapons Wagon, released in 1996, contains 63 pieces and includes one minifigure, a generic Cavalry Soldier in the standard blue uniform, kepi, and white kerchief. It boasts a nice Conestoga wagon, unique to this set, with the cavalry emblem of crossed sabers printed on the cloth cover. It also has one brown horse (pulling the wagon) and a cannon (non-shooting).

ANALYSIS:
Like most of the sets in this theme, this one has show a modest increase in value, with ROI of 300% and a CAGR of 8.58%.

6718 – Raindance Ridge

DESCRIPTION:
Raindance Ridge, released in 1996, is another of the Indian-themed sets. It’s one of the smaller sets at 74 pieces. It contains 2 minifigures: a generic tan-shirted Indian and a Medicine Man. It also has one of the special printed Indian horses and a tree stump. Other pieces of note are the tomahawk and colorful shield, a gray bird, a green plant, a spring, and 2 black snakes. It also features a totem pole, which is out of place considering that these figures are clearly intended to represent Plains Indians.

ANALYSIS:
This set has more than tripled in value since its release. Over time, however, it has a CAGR of just over 9%, which places it in the category of moderate return.

6746 – Chief’s Tepee

DESCRIPTION:
Chief’s Tepee, which was released in 1997, is a medium-size Indian-themed set with 134 pieces and 3 minifigures. The minifigures in this set are a Chief, a red-shirted Indian, and a female Indian. It also includes one of the specially painted horses, and 2 tepees, each made of a decorated cloth outer covering wrapped around 2 poles. Other pieces of interest include bows and arrows, snakes, painted shields, plants, and a tree stump. Also present is an anachronistic totem pole.

ANALYSIS:
This set has more than doubled in value. With a CAGR of 8.45%, it has been a moderate performer.

6748 – Boulder Cliff Canyon

DESCRIPTION:
Boulder Cliff Canyon is another Indian set released in 1997. In contains 250 pieces with 6 Indian minifigures, one of whom is a Medicine Man. It features a structure which represents the cliff referred to in the name of the set, which features a large boulder, lots of plants, a ladder, black snakes, and a bird (which is shaped, rather incongruously, like a parrot, but is molded in grey). It also has a teepee, a canoe, a hollow tree stump, a campfire, two of the decorated pinto Indian ponies, and a totem pole (also rather incongruous given that these appear to be Plains Indians). All in all a nice set with a lot going on and good playability.

ANALYSIS:
This set has tripled in value compared to it’s original retail price of $39.99, which doesn’t sound too bad until you look at the CAGR, which is a modest 8.58%. Certainly not a loss, but not one of the top performers in this theme.

6755 & 6764 – Sheriff’s Lock-Up

DESCRIPTION:
The Sheriff’s Lock-up was released in 1996 and contains 170 parts and 4 minifigures. The minifigures are the Sheriff, a Red-Shirted Cowboy, a bad guy named Flatfoot Thompson, and a gambler named Dewey Cheatum. It features a sheriff’s office containing a safe and a desk, and a stand-alone jail cell. It also has one white horse, 3 rifles, 4 pistols, a barrel, a green bush, a dynamite printed tile, a wanted poster printed tile, a tile printed with a hand of cards, and gold coins. Perhaps the most interesting and unique feature of this set is the blow-away wall of the jail cell, which is triggered by inserting the dynamite tile into a slot, where it releases a tensioned Technic Shock Absorber.

ANALYSIS:
This set’s ROI of 342% is impressive, but because it was released way back in 1996, the CAGR is only a modest 9.14%. Not a shabby performance, but not outstanding compared to other LEGO sets.

The 2002 re-release of this set has done only slightly better than the original in terms of annual returns, with a CAGR of 9.62%. The price for a new set has gone up just over 170%. This is less than the original, but over a shorter time-frame. Hence the comparable CAGR. It’s also possible that the re-release of the set hurt the returns on the original by diluting the demand.

6761 – Bandits’ Secret Hideout

DESCRIPTION:
Bandits’ Secret Hideout, released in 1996, contains 238 pieces, including 5 minifigures. The minifigures, none of which are unique to this set, are bag guys Black Bart and Flatfoot Thompson, gambler Dewey Cheatum, a Cavalry Soldier, and a Cavalry Lieutenant. The Hideout is an abandoned gold mine, which is built on a baseplate with a curved road printed on it. There are also a separate rock formation, and a water barrel on a stand. Other accessories include 3 horses (1 white, 1 brown, 1 black), a cannon (non-shooting), a chrome gold bugle, 3 green bushes, a safe, gold coins, a printed playing cards tile, a “Keep Out” sign, a grey bird, a cavalry flag, a miner’s pick, 4 pistols, 8 rifles, and 2 sabers.

ANALYSIS:
This set hasn’t broken any records in terms of returns, with it’s value growing to an ROI of 236%, for a CAGR of 7.39%. Again, an investor could have done worse, but he also could have done a lot better.

6765 – Gold City Junction

DESCRIPTION:
Gold City Junction, released in 1996, contains 337 pieces and 6 minifigures. The minifigures are Black Bart, Red-Shirted Cowboy (aka Zack), the Banker, the Sheriff, a Cavalry Soldier, and Flatnose Curry. It features 2 buildings, a bank and a general store. Both buildings have the same kind of blow-out wall as the jail cell in the Sheriff’s Lock-up, which operate by sliding the dynamite tile into a slot to release tension from a Technic Shock Absorber. It also includes an open wagon drawn by 2 brown horses. Notable accessories include 2 fence sections, a barrel, an axe, a frying pan, 2 green bushes, a pick, a shovel, a grey bird, 6 pistols, 8 rifles, a black horse, and a canon that can be hooked to the back of the wagon.

I would say this set is comparable to the Lone Ranger’s Colby City Showdown set.

ANALYSIS:
As an investment this mid-priced set has performed modestly, with ROI of 180% and a CAGR of only 6.24%. An investor who bought this set has made money, but he could have made a lot more elsewhere.

6766 & 6763 – Rapid River Village

DESCRIPTION:
Rapid River Village was the first set to contain minifigures which represented racial characteristics. It contains 7 Indian minifigures: 1 Medicine Man, 1 Chief, and 5 generic Indians including 1 female.

Here’s the official LEGO description (from the 2002 version 6763):

You're the chief of Rapid River Village!
You control the secret cave, the watchtower, and tree trunks that fall at your command. Push one gray brick to the right and a trapdoor drops intruders into the secret cave! Push another gray brick back and drop logs through a second trap door. Includes two tepees, a canoe, campfires, totem pole, two horses, seven figures, and two hollow tree trunks to hide in.

ANALYSIS:
Despite being such a nice set and introducing the Indian characters to the theme, this set has been a relatively poor performer. With an ROI of only 165% and a CAGR of 6.29%, the returns aren’t anything to write home about.

Of the three sets re-released in 2002, this one has turned in the worst performance. The ROI of the remake is just under 40%, for a CAGR of a paultry 3.09%. This is also the only set of the three that has performed worse than the original. (Perhaps it was considered to be not “politically correct”?)

6769 & 6762 – Fort LEGOREDO

DESCRIPTION:
Fort LEGOREDO, released in 1996, consists of 668 pieces which include 10 minifigures. The re-release in 2002 has 673 pieces. The main feature of this set is the fort itself, which is built in four individual sections that can be rearranged. These sections are the front gate, a side wall, a second side wall with a gate, and the General’s office, which serves as the back section. The front gate is flanked by 2 guard towers, while the side gate has only 1. The General’s office is furnished with a fireplace which hides a secret hiding place and 2 armchairs which are each on a trap door. One trap door leads into the jail cell, and the other into another room. They are designed in such a way that only one can be operated at a time. The minifigures are: a Cavalry Colonel, 2 Cavalry Lieutenants, 2 Cavalry Soldiers, Red-Shirted Cowboy, Black Bart, Flatfoot Thompson, and Dewey Cheatum. Notable accessories include: a (black) horse-drawn limber with detachable gun, 2 mounted cow horns, 4 red birds, 5 green bushes, 1 set of stairs, 2 barrels, a dynamite printed tile, a playing cards printed tile, 5 pistols, 10 rifles, 3 sabers, 1 cavalry flag, gold coins, a brown horse, a white horse, and a chrome gold bugle.

ANALYSIS:
This set has more than doubled in value, but since this return is spread over 17 years, the CAGR is only 7.44%. As an investment, it’s better than leaving money sit in a savings account, but it isn’t a big winner when compared to the outstanding returns of other LEGO sets.

The 2002 re-release of this set (#6762) has done slightly better than the original in terms of its CAGR of 8.78%, but in real terms it has appreciated only by slightly more than 150%. This still puts it in the mid-range as far as performance.

6790 – Bandit’s Wheel Gun

DESCRIPTION:
The Bandit’s Wheel Gun is a small 21-piece set with 1 minifigure. The contents are identical to set 6791, with the only difference being that 6790 came packaged in a box, and 6791 came in a polybag. The set features a wheel gun built by fastening 2 rifles onto a carriage base, and minifigure Black Bart. It also comes with 2 pistols, a “Keep Out” sign, and a dynamite printed tile.

ANALYSIS:
This small set has shown very respectable gains, with a price that’s increased by more than 700% for a CAGR of 14.17%. In real terms, we’re only looking at a profit of $14.59, which puts things in a different perspective. Still, if you’d bought a hundred of them, you’d be sitting on a nice chunk of change. The downside: a hundred separate transactions. The upside: the small size makes them much easier to store and ship than the larger sets.

6791 – Bandit’s Wheel Gun

DESCRIPTION:
See Set 6790. (I don’t know why this same set was released with two different numbers.)

ANALYSIS:
This set hasn’t appreciated quite as much as it’s twin #6790, but it still offers respectable numbers, with ROI of over 500% and a CAGR of 12.09%.

6799 – Showdown Canyon

DESCRIPTION:
Showdown Canyon is a Bonus Pack released in 1997. It contains 2 small boxed sets packaged together in a larger box which could be converted into a playscape. Both these small sets were available only in this bonus pack.

The first set, a wagon carrying a safe, comes with 1 horse and 2 minifigures, a sheriff and another figure who could be either the driver or a deputy. Also included were 2 printed money tiles, a whip, a rifle and a revolver.

The second set is a small gun cart (made by attaching 2 rifles) and 2 minifigures, outlaws Black Bart and Flatfoot Thompson. They come with 3 pistols and a dynamite printed tile.

Once source notes that although the box was labeled as containing 69 pieces, there are in fact 75.

ANALYSIS:
With ROI of over 350% and a CAGR of 9.90%, this set falls somewhere in the middle range of return. Not great, but not bad, either.

CHART AND ANALYTICS

Summary and Conclusion

I don’t see the original Western sets as being a great investment at this point, as they’ve already seen significant gains. However, it will be interesting to see what happens with the new Lone Ranger sets. (At the time of this writing, the Lone Ranger movie upon which these new sets are based hasn’t been released yet, so it is still unknown what effect its popularity or lack thereof will have on the performance of the sets.) If they really take off, the older sets might benefit from renewed interest in the Western theme as a whole. Time will tell.

I think these sets are certainly worth looking at as far as adding them to one’s personal collection. They would be great fun to play with, and would make a nice display. For this use I would recommend looking for used sets to purchase to save money. Despite some differences in style, I think they would be suitable to combine with Lone Ranger sets to build a more elaborate Western scene. The Fort especially lends itself to this since, as mentioned above, the Lone Ranger sets do not include a fort, and it is uncertain at this time whether there will ever be a second wave of Lone Ranger sets with which to expand one’s collection.