Vintage LEGO – 11 Times LEGO Revisited the Past

Join us as we take a look back at the vintage LEGO rebuilds that are giving us nostalgic tingles.

Following the release of 10355: Blacktron Renegade, we look back at the nostalgic remakes created by the LEGO Group in recent years.

Editors Note: I have not included any Star Wars or Ninjago sets because there are so many remakes. Also, because I am old, I have excluded remakes of originals that came out after 2000.

Vintage LEGO Rebuilds

01/01/2010 – 10210: Imperial Flagship

This vintage LEGO rebuild set nearly didn’t make the list because, in my opinion, it isn’t just a remake of the 1992 Imperial Flagship but an entire overhaul, leaving nothing of the original behind. However, it is such a fantastic build that it is high up on my wish list, even if the price is over my budget!

01/04/2020 – 21322: Pirates of Barracuda Bay

The LEGO Pirates theme was by far my favourite as a kid. I would have given my left peg-leg for the Black Seas Barracuda but, unfortunately, that set has been in the darkest depths of my vintage LEGO wish list since 1989.

21322: Pirates of Barracuda Bay is a fantastic reimagining, creating a new set from the Barracuda’s wreckage. The set includes 2,545 parts and boasts 10 Minifigures (although two of these are skeletons), 10.5 Minifigures if you count the figurehead! Pirates of Barracuda Bay is one of my favourite nostalgia sets, offering a fun building experience, brilliant story elements and Easter eggs, plus the possibility to rebuild the Black Sea Barracuda itself and set sail on the shark-infested seas!

15/07/22 – 40567: Forest Hideout

The Forest Hideout was offered as a GWP (Gift with Purchase) and a bit of a teaser for the LEGO Icons Lion Knights’ Castle set, 10305, released in August 2022. Forest Hideout is a fun remake of vintage LEGO set 6054:  Forestman’s Hideout and is a pretty similar build to to the 1988 original, albeit taking advantage of newer LEGO parts designed since then.

I missed this GWP in 2022, but I was lucky enough to have the original when I was a kid, so it is likely to appear in my display in future.

01/08/2022 – 10497: Galaxy Explorer 

The Galaxy Explorer is a re-imagined version of the classic Galaxy Explorer set released in 1979. The original set has had various updates since then, each having a different ship number on the side – LL918 (86 parts), LL924 (170 parts) and LL928 (338 parts). The 2022 variant, which reuses the LL928 ship number, has a significant increase in part count, up to 1,254, resulting in a much slicker spaceship.

03/08/2022 – 10305: Lion Knights Castle

This set is more of a nostalgic revisit than a remake, but the hugely popular vintage LEGO Castle theme, first introduced in the late 1970s, was voted by LEGO fans to be commemorated in a special 90th anniversary set. Spoiler alert, I love this theme too and this won’t be the only medieval theme build in this list!

Lion Knights’ Castle is packed with 22 fantastic Minifigures, 21 of which are unique to this set, and I was especially pleased to see how many knights, both Falcon and Lion, are included. With a broad range of building techniques, nice part usage and plenty of fun Easter eggs to discover, the Lion Knights’ Castle is a fantastic, albeit expensive, nostalgic experience.

04/07/2023 – 10320: Eldorado Fortress

I had hours and hours of fun with 6276: Eldorado Fortress, one of my favourite vintage LEGO sets from childhood, so this is a nostalgic remake that really appeals to me. Unfortunately, I missed out on buying this set before it was retired but I have recreated it on Bricklink Stud.io and was thrilled with the building experience. The part count increased from 506 parts in the original to 2,509 in the 2023 remake, with the removal of the moulded base and addition of the sailboat (I refuse to believe that anything at that scale is a ship!).

Despite having five times the part count, 10320: Eldorado Fortress feels like a true representation of the original and a great display piece for fans of the 1980s original.

01/01/2023 – 40580: Blacktron Cruiser

The Blacktron Cruiser is the first of two revisits to the vintage LEGO Blacktron faction of the classic LEGO Space theme, first seen in 1987. I would prefer for LEGO to have taken at least one of these sets down the route of ‘Future Generation’ or, as it is unofficially known, Blacktron II, because I find this series much more aesthetically pleasing. However, 40580 is still a pretty cool Gift with Purchase set and a nice upgrade to the original.

18/11/2023 – 40601: Majisto’s Magical Workshop

Another of 2023’s Gift with Purchase offerings took us back to the vintage LEGO Castle theme, with a remake of 6048: Majisto’s Magical Workshop from 1993. The designer has really tried to stay true to the original design, even where new parts and techniques could have resulted in some design improvements. Majisto’s Magical Workshop is a cute play set and a nice GWP, but it feels like it could have been made a bit more special. LEGO missed a trick with this one (pun intended!)

16/02/2024 – 40712 – Micro Rocket Launchpad

The nostalgic Gift with Purchase of 2024 shows that when LEGO get it right, they really get it right! The Micro Rocket Launchpad is a revisit to the vintage LEGO Space theme that had not one but two releases in 2024 due to its popularity. This micro scale set combines elements from three classic space sets; 483 Alpha-1 Rocket Base, 6905 Mobile Rocket Transport and 6803 Space Patrol, into a single set that also includes micro versions of the classic space Minifigures. This was one of my favourite builds of 2024, it made me smile so much!

01/03/2024 – 10332: Medieval Town Square

One of 2024’s most highly anticipated sets, 10332 Medieval Town Square is another masterclass from LEGO in delivering a nostalgic hit. Although many LEGO fans and reviewers agree that the set is in need of some improvements, as a remake of vintage LEGO 10193 Medieval Market Village, it is full of Easter eggs and references and a fantastic homage to the Castle theme, not to mention a fun play set.

01/01/2025 – 10355: Blacktron Renegade

The final set in this list is the second of the vintage LEGO Blacktron space sub-theme. As a throwback to set 6854 Renegade, LEGO stayed true to the original build and I can appreciate the nostalgic feel, despite being a bigger fan of other space themes. The aspect that draws me to this set is the modular elements, not only is there flexibility in the build itself (something that designer Jae Won Lee specifically wanted builders to play around with) but there is also the possibility to add a second set or custom modules to create your own epic Blacktron mothership or satellite! It makes me want to recreate my ship from Bethesda’s Starfield game.

Did I miss any of your favourite nostalgic throwbacks from this list? Which vintage LEGO sets would you like the LEGO Group to remake and in what style? Let us know in the comments!

The Blacktron Renegade was a popular January 2025 LEGO release, but what was our favourite of the year so far?