Fisher-Price Little People: Uncelebrated Transportation Toys Deserving Recognition Through An Autopian Playset

Lego has long been a giant in the toy industry, often overshadowing equally deserving contenders. As a lifelong Lego enthusiast, I fondly recall the excitement of opening those color-coded, wordless instructions as a child, bringing to life a miniature Shell gas tanker.

Over the years, my Lego collection grew, eventually ending up in a large plastic tub where creativity knew no bounds. I vividly remember constructing a scale model of Boss Hogg's 1970 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, complete with a beam axle held together by rubber bands and an independent front suspension crafted from springs salvaged from a broken Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robot.

While Lego's toy system is undeniably impressive, it didn't capture my imagination as a preschooler. The chunky Duplo blocks, although designed for younger children, lacked the engaging playability I craved. Instead, I found joy in another modular toy system from Fisher-Price that was far more enjoyable at that age, a true counterpart to Lego.

In 1950, just a year after Lego's debut, Fisher-Price introduced the Looky Fire Truck, featuring round-headed firemen permanently affixed to the vehicle. These simplified, modernist figures laid the groundwork for a line of toys that predated Lego Minifigures, which wouldn't emerge until 1978.

Subsequent releases, such as the 1959 Safety School Bus and the 1960 Nifty Station Wagon, allowed children to remove the peg-like figures, which were originally crafted from wood. I appreciated how these figurines reflected a realistic multicultural representation, complete with faces that often appeared disgruntled—perfect preparation for future encounters with irritable coworkers or DMV employees.

However, it was the plastic playsets introduced in 1968 that truly ignited our imaginations. The Play Family Barn, which mooed when opened, was a favorite, but it was the transportation-themed sets that captivated us young Autopians. In a church playroom, dressed in our Sunday best, the sight of these toys promised hours of fun.

The Parking Ramp Service Center, released around 1970, was a standout. It featured a remarkably realistic multi-story parking structure, complete with an elevator and ramp. The sound of a bell dinging as the elevator moved between floors and a hand-cranked turntable to pivot cars at the top added to the excitement. These toys were built to last, eliminating the need for frequent battery replacements.

Every aspect of these playsets showcased perfect modernist design. Durable, injection-molded plastic made assembly easy, while the minimalist forms were charming without being overly cute. The uniformity of the figurines' bases allowed them to fit seamlessly into the expansive "Little People World."

Little People vehicles featured designated sockets for figurines, with a prominent GAS label for use with the included pumps. Standardized sockets were also present in other Little People sets, like the 1979 House, a Tudor-style model reminiscent of my own home. While my Tudor lacks blue doors, it shares the same non-structural visible beams as the Fisher-Price version.

These toys created an ecosystem that helped preschoolers grasp essential concepts:

• The interplay of various transportation modes
• The importance of standardization in the world
• The need to question non-standardized elements (looking at you, EV manufacturers with differing chargers)

Lego undoubtedly played a significant role in our later childhood, but Fisher-Price's contributions in establishing these foundational concepts were invaluable.

The ultimate Little People set must be the Airport, complete with a FunJet airliner, where a pilot humorously appears to have backed over a bald passenger.

These playsets were ingeniously designed to maximize fun within a compact space, featuring sturdy components that could withstand the test of time. The entire structure folded neatly for storage, although our imaginary runway system often sprawled across the family room floor. The jetway aligned perfectly with the aircraft's open door, enhancing the play experience.

A luggage carousel allowed bags to be fed in from the aircraft side, emerging on the ARRIVALS side of the terminal. The little helicopter could even fit onto a socket on the roof, making its propeller spin.

Despite the intended age limit of kindergarten, we continued to play with these sets, reenacting scenarios we had witnessed, shouting phrases like "WHERE'S MY BAG GODDAMMIT" or "YOU SCRATCHED MY CAR, I'M NEVER PARKING AT THIS RAMP AGAIN!" Our parents often questioned where we learned such language, to which we would respond, "You’re kidding, right?"

The variety of Little People transportation toys, from campers to houseboats, played a crucial role in introducing children like me to different vehicles, ultimately fostering a love for all things automotive.

Unlike Lego, these sets were ready for action, offering far more interactivity than their completed counterparts and truly igniting our imaginations. Recently, I've come to appreciate the brilliance of their designs, inspiring me to create an Autopian playset that encourages young minds to explore transportation as we did with Little People toys.

Of course, using Autopian editors as figurines might impart a different lesson to children.

Little People playsets revolved around hubs of activity, and there’s no busier hub than the collective talent of The Autopian. While other playsets teach kids about airports or parking garages, we need something that imparts skills like:

• How to hoard parts for three cars in a two-bedroom space
• Spending countless hours disassembling a car that will never be rebuilt, worth less than five thousand dollars when reassembled in concours condition
• Crafting humorous content, passing it off as “automotive journalism,” and getting paid for it

I don't know about you, but that sounds fantastic. I dreamed of creating my own playset as a child, and it took me forty years to see that dream come to fruition. Here it is.

The ability of Little People playsets to transform from compact, easy-to-store structures into impressively large setups has always amazed me, and The Autopian Headquarters Playset will be no different. I envision a four-level structure that opens into a cross-shaped floorplan, complete with a central crank-operated elevator to transport figurines and their vehicles to their respective floors. The end result resembles the Paw Patrol headquarters, but instead of talking dogs, it would be manned by a quirky crew of journalists.

The playset includes a hand-cranked lift and a gas pump that may double as an electric charging station (with wall chargers in each room). Each floor reflects the personality of the writer, and additional floors could be added for more staff members. I won’t specify which floor belongs to which writer, as it should be quite obvious.

Of course, we’ll have custom Little People cars for the figurines. The four-passenger RTS bus and a white four-passenger YJ Jeep Wrangler for the David Tracy figurine to take staffers to the best Taco Bell in town are just the beginning.

We even need a Little People raccoon to inhabit David’s non-functional cars.

Smaller single-passenger toys like a Changli, a Smart car, and an i3 can ride the elevator to each floor.

Imagine the hours of fun this playset could provide. You could position the Jason figurine at a monitor, trying to figure out a post, while the David toy examines a wheel cylinder on the white Jeep. Mercedes’s avatar could be at a monitor, writing posts, and … maybe this wouldn’t be as entertaining as I initially thought.

A lid sealing the top floor transforms into an entrance platform on the ground, and a convenient handle on top allows for easy transport and storage alongside other Little People playsets that may have lost their appeal.

Your parents might have claimed that adults don’t engage in such activities, but the Autopian playset would awaken your senses to the truth, serving as a molded plastic middle finger to their dreams of you becoming a CPA or systems analyst. Absolutely.

Little People remain popular today, with over two billion figurines sold in more than 60 countries. Interestingly, they weren’t officially named “Little People” until 1985 when Fisher-Price trademarked the name that everyone had already adopted.

As any nostalgic adult might lament, I must express the familiar sentiment that “they aren’t what they used to be.” In 1991, the figurines received more detailed, cutesy faces and chunkier forms following a lawsuit in 1987 when a family sued Fisher-Price after their child reportedly choked on an earlier figurine. While I understand the necessity for change, I still miss the minimalist, compact designs of the originals.

Fortunately, Fisher-Price capitalizes on the GenX connection by creating celebrity playsets for former Little People enthusiasts. The most notable might be the KISS band set, featuring a tongue-extended Gene Simmons, who seems to have taken more of your money yet again. Figurines from The Office and other popular media are also available.

Seventy-five years later, Little People still resonate with the same audience that made them popular long ago. I can only hope they continue to inspire today’s children to become transportation enthusiasts, just as they did for us Autopians.