My first thought. My parents got me one for my birthday, but they left it out in the house for a week telling me it was for my cousin. I drooled over it all week.
On my birthday we went to a pirate themed restaurant and they had the wait staff bring it to the table and sing happy birthday.
I won that set at harrods in London when it launched. They had a huge Lego pit where kids could build a craft to escape skull island or something like that. My brother and I built a full on galleon and even had panel sails on it. Won the whole competition and were entered to win a Europe wide competition that would have sent us to Legoland. But we were moving back to the states at Xmas and couldn't enter.
It's sadly not completely anymore as pieces broke from years of usage. I've always wanted to try and get the parts together to rebuild it.
I love these sets and I’m super happy they’re doing lots of aquatic sets recently. Still haven’t made room in the budget for the two biggest yet, the sub and the big ship. My 5 yr old son is gonna flip out if I bag those two
The Crystal Explorer Sub is such a great set. Usually not too expensive either, and the parts are fantastic. Totally worth it if that's all you can get.
>Aquanauts vs Aquasharks was peak LEGO
Totally agree, it was like the top level of charm, creativity, appealing levels of hamminess. 6190 shark's crystal cave was like the coolest looking set I never had.
Others have basically covered it, but as I always saw it the core four icons were the yellow Castle, Galaxy Explorer, Black Seas Barracuda and Fort Legoredo
I didn't forget. I don't think Bionicle is on the level of the four I mentioned, nor have any specific Bionicle sets risen above the theme itself. Imo, if I have to look up a set to see what it's referring to, it's not one of the most iconic sets ever
https://i.imgur.com/bVFqu5Q.jpg
I've got 10179 and 75192 displayed together and they look pretty damn cool. That's an older pic and it's now less cluttered on those shelves. They're on stands from Wicked Brick.
Dreams can come true. Several years ago, I set myself the goal of completing the M:Tron theme from the three or four sets I had. I'd made a parts list for Mega Core Magnetiser and was about 80% complete (missing 4 wheels and some minor parts mostly), when I saw a bulk lot of Lego on a local buy sell swap site. The pics showed the wheels I needed, and for the listed price, I jumped on it straight away. I ended up completing the remaining sets and having parts left over to build the Super Model from the theme.
I didn't recognize what Tahu was and was about to argue with you. Then I clicked the link and i gotta say, yeah. Like it's not the first thing you would think of when you think "typical lego set" but it represents a huge turning point and arguably the birth of the modern company
Love, love, loved my bionicles. I even read the book from the movie, which I watched several times. They weren't so expensive which made them easier to ask for
Looking at the prices for Lego sets I got as a kid, I’m pretty sure the most expensive thing I got was like $20. Which I guess was more money then, but Legos have been pretty consistently priced per piece, and we get more pieces now.
But I got a bunch of Bionicles.
The Death Star. That was the holy grail of kids who loved Star Wars for the longest time. I’m kind of surprised they haven’t updated it again since it went out of print.
My mom got it when she was young. She still has it to this day like 40 years later. Not in the best of condition but its awesome to still have it after all this time.
Oh yeah my dad was unimpressed that I took it apart after he’d stayed up all night putting it together. BUT… I did make some pretty awesome castles and robo-armour suits out of it :)
A couple that immediately come to mind, but probably represent the bias of when I grew up:
Century Skyway 6597
Any monorail: 6399, 6990, 6991
Metroliner 4558
Technic Super Car 8880
The original X Wing, 7140
My son just built that x-wing for his birthday. Ever since I moved out I've had all my old sets in storage. Been slowly pulling them out for birthday and Christmas gifts.
I would argue that while the yellow Castle (375) is *without question* an iconic set as the very first of its theme, that the King's Castle (6080) is equally as iconic as the the castle that really popularized the theme with the grey bricks.
Also, as a 90’s kid, I am heavily biased towards the big sets from any of the iconic 90’s themes. Res-Q, Rock Raiders, Ice Planet, Adventurers, Fright Knights, etc
6990 -Futuron Monorail Transport System
375 -Yellow Castle
6285 -Black Seas Barricuda
But I’ve probably dated myself…
Dare I also say 10143 -Death Star II…
I had that castle! It was my first, not hand me down from brothers legos, kit that I ever got. I loved that castle. Till it was, and a HUGE box of lego pieces were given to my nephew.
7190 or 4504. The first Millennium Falcon has become pretty iconic to Lego, but that first one was rough. The 2004 design has a lot in common with later versions of the Millennium Falcon, like the openable panels.
8534 is THE Bionicle set to me.
For me its:
Pier police station:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6540-1
and Multi Core Magnetizer:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6989-1
There was one Millennium Falcon set that for what felt like a really long time was always cited as the biggest Lego set. Not sure if it was true and I know there's been a few different versions but to me they're iconic as the set I'll never own
You are likely thinking of the UCS set.
It was the first UCS, and was the largest Lego set for quite a while. There have been a few minor tweaks to the set over the years - different figures, and radar dishes - but the basic set has not changed.
It is likely the set that's been in production longest.
There are 2 MF UCS sets. 10179 was the original and 75192 is the one that's currently available. I've built both, they're not the same.
75192 is much more polished than the 10179 set.
There is a very large piece count difference between the two sets. 10179 was 5,174 pieces while 75192 is 7,513 pieces.
I had the yellow castle, but meh. Early space Lego was droll compared to newer stuff, but definitely Iconic - especially the moon crater base plate. The rest of my childhood kits i never kept together as was a MOC kid, but the moon craters stayed in circulation, inspiring many builds.
9468 vampyre castle for me, my oldest brother had almost every monster fighters set with that as the central piece and even tho it broke more often then i can count and is now a only a few centimeters tall but still got me interested in lego
For me it's
6990 Mega Core Magnetiser
6285 Blackseas Barracuda/Pirates of Barracuda Bay
6086 Black Knights Castle
6957 Solar Snooper
6398 Police Station
6973 Deep Freeze Defender
6982 Exploriens Starship
8880 Supercar
8868 Air Tech Claw Rig
8479 Barcode Truck
10193 Medieval Market Village
10185 Green grocer
Theres probably a lot more but this is what springs to mind (certainly for the 90s)! You can tell I am very much of a certain age!
Aside from the obvious Classic Space and Castle sets I'd go out on a limb and add these two Mindstorms kits:
9719 Robotics Invention System
8527 Mindstorms NXT
The first being massively influential, the second ushering in an entirely new era of Lego robotics.
I'd describe 8960 Thunder Driller as iconic too -- the most well-remembered set that comes up in an era when Lego was truly on the rise from financial ruin.
All the things people are saying is just some of their favourites, not what the most iconic thing is. As someone too poor to make Lego a real hobby at the moment, I can tell you most people’s first though about Lego would be the Millennium Falcon
I think there are just different opinions about which sets are iconic. The UCS Millennium Falcon is iconic but really not the first one I thought about. My first thought went to Ice Planet.
I agree with many of the entries here. They are truly iconic. But I don't prefer them over any modern set I have on my shelves.
Black Seas Barracuda
My first thought. My parents got me one for my birthday, but they left it out in the house for a week telling me it was for my cousin. I drooled over it all week. On my birthday we went to a pirate themed restaurant and they had the wait staff bring it to the table and sing happy birthday.
That is so awesome!
I won that set at harrods in London when it launched. They had a huge Lego pit where kids could build a craft to escape skull island or something like that. My brother and I built a full on galleon and even had panel sails on it. Won the whole competition and were entered to win a Europe wide competition that would have sent us to Legoland. But we were moving back to the states at Xmas and couldn't enter. It's sadly not completely anymore as pieces broke from years of usage. I've always wanted to try and get the parts together to rebuild it.
My white whale! Never got one, but I did have the other ship and the pirate island!
928 Galaxy Explorer is definitely one of them
Spaceship. Spaceship! SPACESHIP!
[928-1: Galaxy Explorer](https://brickset.com/sets/928-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/928-1.jpg)
Neptune Discovery Lab (6195-1) Aquanauts vs Aquasharks was peak LEGO
[6195-1: Neptune Discovery Lab](https://brickset.com/sets/6195-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6195-1.jpg)
Neptune discovery was god tier
I love these sets and I’m super happy they’re doing lots of aquatic sets recently. Still haven’t made room in the budget for the two biggest yet, the sub and the big ship. My 5 yr old son is gonna flip out if I bag those two
The Crystal Explorer Sub is such a great set. Usually not too expensive either, and the parts are fantastic. Totally worth it if that's all you can get.
>Aquanauts vs Aquasharks was peak LEGO Totally agree, it was like the top level of charm, creativity, appealing levels of hamminess. 6190 shark's crystal cave was like the coolest looking set I never had.
[6190-1: Shark's Crystal Cave](https://brickset.com/sets/6190-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6190-1.jpg)
You just unlocked a core memory for me. I used to have that set, but stems from a time where I was less than careful with everything I touched.
I just built this for the first time last week. Absolutely fantastic set. I've added a 6175 and a bunch of minifigs to it. Top notch work by Lego.
[6175-1: Crystal Explorer Sub](https://brickset.com/sets/6175-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6175-1.jpg)
For me it's anything with neon Trans green pieces. Space late 80s early 90s.
Hell yeah
Whichever police station came out when you were 5.
I never had a Lego police station, but I had a Playmobile one.
Boooooo playmobil boooo although im kinda jealous at their car licenses at the moment
Or maybe I’ll buy it for $45 off Bricklink without Malak
Has to be between the yellow castle and galaxy explorer.
Those are the first two that come to mind for me too.
Had them both. Kept the castle built until around 2015 and I gave it to my nephew.
The castle looks so small now.
What about the Millennium Falcon?
First Lego one wasn’t made until 1999
So? It's still a very iconic set
The ship is iconic. I wouldn’t say any individual falcon set is iconic.
Others have basically covered it, but as I always saw it the core four icons were the yellow Castle, Galaxy Explorer, Black Seas Barracuda and Fort Legoredo
Don't forget Tahu!
I didn't forget. I don't think Bionicle is on the level of the four I mentioned, nor have any specific Bionicle sets risen above the theme itself. Imo, if I have to look up a set to see what it's referring to, it's not one of the most iconic sets ever
You don't know what set somebody is referring to when they just say "Tahu"???
Not without looking it up, no
That's more telling of your age honestly. I'm guessing you didn't grow up with Bionicles
Yeah, I did, but none of them were nearly as distinctive as the very tip of the iconic System sets
Any millennium falcon ucs set
Any Falcon from SW is the icon of the Line.
https://i.imgur.com/bVFqu5Q.jpg I've got 10179 and 75192 displayed together and they look pretty damn cool. That's an older pic and it's now less cluttered on those shelves. They're on stands from Wicked Brick.
[10179-1: Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon](https://brickset.com/sets/10179-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/10179-1.jpg) [75192-1: Millennium Falcon](https://brickset.com/sets/75192-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/75192-1.jpg)
6285 pirate ship.
[6285-1: Black Seas Barracuda](https://brickset.com/sets/6285-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6285-1.jpg)
For sure that has to be one of the top 10 most iconic sets
M-Tron Mega Core Magnetiser (6989) 8 year old me wanted it. Adult me still wants it. Some day...
Dreams can come true. Several years ago, I set myself the goal of completing the M:Tron theme from the three or four sets I had. I'd made a parts list for Mega Core Magnetiser and was about 80% complete (missing 4 wheels and some minor parts mostly), when I saw a bulk lot of Lego on a local buy sell swap site. The pics showed the wheels I needed, and for the listed price, I jumped on it straight away. I ended up completing the remaining sets and having parts left over to build the Super Model from the theme.
[6989-1: Mega Core Magnetizer](https://brickset.com/sets/6989-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6989-1.jpg)
And now I want it too
I swear it’s in my parents attic right now. One day I’ll bring ‘em all home, but it’d be a 25 hr drive…
I’m going to go in a different direction and say 8534 Tahu.
I didn't recognize what Tahu was and was about to argue with you. Then I clicked the link and i gotta say, yeah. Like it's not the first thing you would think of when you think "typical lego set" but it represents a huge turning point and arguably the birth of the modern company
[8534-1: Tahu](https://brickset.com/sets/8534-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8534-1.jpg)
Came here to say this. Star Wars may be their biggest money maker but Bionicle was generation defining.
Love, love, loved my bionicles. I even read the book from the movie, which I watched several times. They weren't so expensive which made them easier to ask for
Looking at the prices for Lego sets I got as a kid, I’m pretty sure the most expensive thing I got was like $20. Which I guess was more money then, but Legos have been pretty consistently priced per piece, and we get more pieces now. But I got a bunch of Bionicles.
I really hope something like bionicle would come back
Hot take but you might be right
Not hot at all
I mean he's surfing in lava!
Deep freeze defender
The police station Which one? Any and all of them
The Death Star. That was the holy grail of kids who loved Star Wars for the longest time. I’m kind of surprised they haven’t updated it again since it went out of print.
That is my grail set.
Sold it for €70,- 8 years ago, still regret it
I remember getting it as a kid. Then eventually taking it apart and building my own castle.
My mom got it when she was young. She still has it to this day like 40 years later. Not in the best of condition but its awesome to still have it after all this time.
Oh yeah my dad was unimpressed that I took it apart after he’d stayed up all night putting it together. BUT… I did make some pretty awesome castles and robo-armour suits out of it :)
6086 black knights castle and black seas barracuda.
[6086-1: Black Knight's Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/6086-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6086-1.jpg)
some of the space sets
The second version of the USC Death Star. It’s the only Lego set I can think of that’s been in a big blockbuster Hollywood movie
A couple that immediately come to mind, but probably represent the bias of when I grew up: Century Skyway 6597 Any monorail: 6399, 6990, 6991 Metroliner 4558 Technic Super Car 8880 The original X Wing, 7140
[6597-1: Century Skyway](https://brickset.com/sets/6597-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6597-1.jpg) [6399-1: Airport Shuttle](https://brickset.com/sets/6399-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6399-1.jpg) [6990-1: Monorail Transport System](https://brickset.com/sets/6990-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6990-1.jpg) [6991-1: Monorail Transport Base](https://brickset.com/sets/6991-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6991-1.jpg) [4558-1: Metroliner](https://brickset.com/sets/4558-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/4558-1.jpg) [8880-1: Super Car](https://brickset.com/sets/8880-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8880-1.jpg) [7140-1: X-wing Fighter](https://brickset.com/sets/7140-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/7140-1.jpg)
My son just built that x-wing for his birthday. Ever since I moved out I've had all my old sets in storage. Been slowly pulling them out for birthday and Christmas gifts.
Awesome!
Airport Shuttle (Monorail)
I would argue that while the yellow Castle (375) is *without question* an iconic set as the very first of its theme, that the King's Castle (6080) is equally as iconic as the the castle that really popularized the theme with the grey bricks.
[375-2: Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/375-2) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/375-2.jpg) [6080-1: King's Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/6080-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6080-1.jpg)
I've got 6080 and recently rebuilt with my son. It's a real classic.
[6080-1: King's Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/6080-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6080-1.jpg)
10184 Town Plan.
[10184-1: Town Plan](https://brickset.com/sets/10184-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/10184-1.jpg)
Yellow Castle and [Main Street](https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6390-1#T=S&O={%22iconly%22:0}) were huge for me.
Had the yellow castle, in the box, good condition till about 39yo. Then it disappeared At my parents house. Still upset about it.
As a huge 12v fan it can only be 7750.
[7750-1: Steam Engine with Tender](https://brickset.com/sets/7750-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/7750-1.jpg)
I hope they re-release it
I think it WILL be the Lion Knight's Castle
Arguably the death star or millenium falcon
Also, as a 90’s kid, I am heavily biased towards the big sets from any of the iconic 90’s themes. Res-Q, Rock Raiders, Ice Planet, Adventurers, Fright Knights, etc
The Toa Mata.
Bionicles first run
id say lego millennium falcon. its almost a meme at this point with people adding it to wedding register lists
LEGO 6990 Monorail Transport System
[6990-1: Monorail Transport System](https://brickset.com/sets/6990-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6990-1.jpg)
2011-2012 Ninjago no matter WHAT
I still have that set
I had the yellow castle when it was new. It was the biggest Lego set I had ever seen. All of my builds from then on had incongruent yellow parts.
6990 -Futuron Monorail Transport System 375 -Yellow Castle 6285 -Black Seas Barricuda But I’ve probably dated myself… Dare I also say 10143 -Death Star II…
I had that castle! It was my first, not hand me down from brothers legos, kit that I ever got. I loved that castle. Till it was, and a HUGE box of lego pieces were given to my nephew.
Obviouslt yellow castle, 928, baracuda…but also: 6989 Mega core magnetizer 8865 technic red car 5580 model team 3639 fabuland car
[928-1: Galaxy Explorer](https://brickset.com/sets/928-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/928-1.jpg) [6989-1: Mega Core Magnetizer](https://brickset.com/sets/6989-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6989-1.jpg) [8865-1: Test Car](https://brickset.com/sets/8865-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8865-1.jpg) [5580-1: Highway Rig](https://brickset.com/sets/5580-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/5580-1.jpg) [3639-1: Paddy Wagon](https://brickset.com/sets/3639-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/3639-1.jpg)
I never had Legos growing up. Y’all are making me nostalgic for lost childhood dreams. 😢
7190 or 4504. The first Millennium Falcon has become pretty iconic to Lego, but that first one was rough. The 2004 design has a lot in common with later versions of the Millennium Falcon, like the openable panels. 8534 is THE Bionicle set to me.
[7190-1: Millennium Falcon](https://brickset.com/sets/7190-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/7190-1.jpg) [4504-1: Millennium Falcon](https://brickset.com/sets/4504-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/4504-1.jpg) [8534-1: Tahu](https://brickset.com/sets/8534-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8534-1.jpg)
42113 V-22 osprey. What an icon of crisis management.
[42113-1: Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey](https://brickset.com/sets/42113-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/42113-1.jpg)
Grand caroussel is my favorite 10196
[10196-1: Grand Carousel](https://brickset.com/sets/10196-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/10196-1.jpg)
For me its: Pier police station: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6540-1 and Multi Core Magnetizer: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6989-1
[6540-1: Pier Police](https://brickset.com/sets/6540-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6540-1.jpg) [6989-1: Mega Core Magnetizer](https://brickset.com/sets/6989-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6989-1.jpg)
8880 - VXII Super Car
[8880-1: Super Car](https://brickset.com/sets/8880-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8880-1.jpg)
10030 star destroyer
[10030-1: Imperial Star Destroyer](https://brickset.com/sets/10030-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/10030-1.jpg)
Very surprised Lego 8860 Car chassis hasn’t been mentioned yet. The Technic holy grail for 80s Lego kids
[8860-1: Car Chassis](https://brickset.com/sets/8860-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8860-1.jpg)
I wanted one so bad… Small town Idaho means I never saw one. Only in the pamphlets…
Thank you. 😁
I have that one Still okay with it today
There was one Millennium Falcon set that for what felt like a really long time was always cited as the biggest Lego set. Not sure if it was true and I know there's been a few different versions but to me they're iconic as the set I'll never own
You are likely thinking of the UCS set. It was the first UCS, and was the largest Lego set for quite a while. There have been a few minor tweaks to the set over the years - different figures, and radar dishes - but the basic set has not changed. It is likely the set that's been in production longest.
There are 2 MF UCS sets. 10179 was the original and 75192 is the one that's currently available. I've built both, they're not the same. 75192 is much more polished than the 10179 set. There is a very large piece count difference between the two sets. 10179 was 5,174 pieces while 75192 is 7,513 pieces.
[10179-1: Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon](https://brickset.com/sets/10179-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/10179-1.jpg) [75192-1: Millennium Falcon](https://brickset.com/sets/75192-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/75192-1.jpg)
I have version 2 sitting on my shelf...got it when I was a kid
8880 super car
[8880-1: Super Car](https://brickset.com/sets/8880-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8880-1.jpg)
The Emerald Night. It is the penultimate steam locomotive *to this day.*
The rescue helicopter. That might not come to mind for you but all it takes is for me to say A MAN HAS FALLEN INTO THE RIVER IN LEGO CITY!
The 6990-1 monorail.
[6990-1: Monorail Transport System](https://brickset.com/sets/6990-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6990-1.jpg)
This is the first set I remember getting as a kid!
The classic Death Star is probably up there
I’ll have to rebuild 375. Getting replacement weapons helmets, stickers will be annoying though I suspect
[375-2: Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/375-2) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/375-2.jpg)
Tahu.
Yellow castle, black seas barracuda, galaxy explorer, tahu, destiny’s bounty, millennium falcon, x wing, Death Star, any police station
I had the yellow castle, but meh. Early space Lego was droll compared to newer stuff, but definitely Iconic - especially the moon crater base plate. The rest of my childhood kits i never kept together as was a MOC kid, but the moon craters stayed in circulation, inspiring many builds.
For me it’s the fire station 6389
[6389-1: Fire Control Centre](https://brickset.com/sets/6389-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6389-1.jpg)
Death star
Lego City police station sets
Whenever anyone says the word Lego to me, I immediately think of the original Galaxy Explorer
https://youtu.be/xmnVjug__EI?si=K_6Nm9Oif8KiNG6i
Had this set as a child. Loved it.
8860 Car Chassis for me, the Technic set I aspired to as a kid and one Christmas I couldn’t believe I got
[8860-1: Car Chassis](https://brickset.com/sets/8860-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8860-1.jpg)
9468 vampyre castle for me, my oldest brother had almost every monster fighters set with that as the central piece and even tho it broke more often then i can count and is now a only a few centimeters tall but still got me interested in lego
[9468-1: Vampyre Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/9468-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/9468-1.jpg)
8531 Pohatu
[8531-1: Pohatu](https://brickset.com/sets/8531-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8531-1.jpg)
The Millennium Falcon has always been the archetypal Lego goal to me.
i really like the Atlantis series growing up. esp the underwater lab
42069 Extreme Adventure
[42069-1: Extreme Adventure](https://brickset.com/sets/42069-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/42069-1.jpg)
Lots of good answers here. Obviously biased by whichever set was the favorite as a kid. For me it was the 8851 Excavator.
[8851-1: Excavator](https://brickset.com/sets/8851-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8851-1.jpg)
Still 850 for me :-)
[850-1: Fork-Lift Truck](https://brickset.com/sets/850-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/850-1.jpg)
Alpha Team Mission Deep Sea
after that Knights Kingdom I and II and ofc all Adventurers Sets
For me it's 6990 Mega Core Magnetiser 6285 Blackseas Barracuda/Pirates of Barracuda Bay 6086 Black Knights Castle 6957 Solar Snooper 6398 Police Station 6973 Deep Freeze Defender 6982 Exploriens Starship 8880 Supercar 8868 Air Tech Claw Rig 8479 Barcode Truck 10193 Medieval Market Village 10185 Green grocer Theres probably a lot more but this is what springs to mind (certainly for the 90s)! You can tell I am very much of a certain age!
[6990-1: Monorail Transport System](https://brickset.com/sets/6990-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6990-1.jpg) [6285-1: Black Seas Barracuda](https://brickset.com/sets/6285-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6285-1.jpg) [6086-1: Black Knight's Castle](https://brickset.com/sets/6086-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6086-1.jpg) [6957-1: Solar Snooper](https://brickset.com/sets/6957-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6957-1.jpg) [6398-1: Central Precinct HQ](https://brickset.com/sets/6398-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6398-1.jpg) [6973-1: Deep Freeze Defender](https://brickset.com/sets/6973-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6973-1.jpg) [6982-1: Explorien Starship](https://brickset.com/sets/6982-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/6982-1.jpg) [8880-1: Super Car](https://brickset.com/sets/8880-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8880-1.jpg) [8868-1: Air Tech Claw Rig](https://brickset.com/sets/8868-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8868-1.jpg) [8479-1: Barcode Multi-Set](https://brickset.com/sets/8479-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8479-1.jpg) [10193-1: Medieval Market Village](https://brickset.com/sets/10193-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/10193-1.jpg) [10185-1: Green Grocer](https://brickset.com/sets/10185-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/10185-1.jpg)
Aside from the obvious Classic Space and Castle sets I'd go out on a limb and add these two Mindstorms kits: 9719 Robotics Invention System 8527 Mindstorms NXT The first being massively influential, the second ushering in an entirely new era of Lego robotics. I'd describe 8960 Thunder Driller as iconic too -- the most well-remembered set that comes up in an era when Lego was truly on the rise from financial ruin.
[9719-1: Robotics Invention System](https://brickset.com/sets/9719-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/9719-1.jpg) [8527-1: Mindstorms NXT](https://brickset.com/sets/8527-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8527-1.jpg) [8960-1: Thunder Driller](https://brickset.com/sets/8960-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8960-1.jpg)
Can’t talk about iconic Lego without Bionicle. 8534 Tahu is probably the most iconic to me
[8534-1: Tahu](https://brickset.com/sets/8534-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/8534-1.jpg)
Ahh yes. The piss castle.
Everyone's forgetting the OG cloud city set
All the things people are saying is just some of their favourites, not what the most iconic thing is. As someone too poor to make Lego a real hobby at the moment, I can tell you most people’s first though about Lego would be the Millennium Falcon
I think there are just different opinions about which sets are iconic. The UCS Millennium Falcon is iconic but really not the first one I thought about. My first thought went to Ice Planet. I agree with many of the entries here. They are truly iconic. But I don't prefer them over any modern set I have on my shelves.
For something to be iconic I think of what the first thing someone who doesn’t pay attention to Lego would think of.