Childhood Layouts! (Meanwhile, back in 1980-something...)

[Jetflap]

I posted a photo of a Town/Train layout from my childhood in another thread, but have more photos and decided it would make an interesting thread! Does any one else have photos from 1980-something (or 1990-something, or even older)?

Here are some of mine, in order from oldest to newest- please forgive the photo quality, these were shot with a cheap film camera, clutched in the sweaty hands of a small boy! It may seem like a large amount of sets for a kid to acquire, but from age 6 and on Lego was the ONLY thing I wanted for years and years of birthdays and Christmases. The shine of Lego never wore off for me. Plus a few of these sets were my older brother's...

This is the oldest layout I have- the year is 1988, we had just moved to a new house which had a finished basement that doubled as my bedroom. Finally, I had the room to have a permanent layout!

Layout 1 (1) by jet_flap, on Flickr

Probably not much later, I built this second layout. Most sets are the same, but notice how I put my new train cross to use- however pointless it was in this application!

Layout 2 by jet_flap, on Flickr

I soon found it challenge to create efficient layouts with trial and error. I had a limited amount of road plates, and a lot of buildings to fit in. As my town continued to grow, it became very time consuming trying to fit everything in. Therefore, I started to design my layouts using little one inch squares cut out of paperboard. Each square had the road drawn on it (straight, curve, T, or Cross). I also had I piece for each set I owned that was on a base plate. This made it very easy to plan a layout before assembling the real thing!

Layout 3

Layout 3 (1) by jet_flap, on Flickr

Layout 4

Layout 4 (1) by jet_flap, on Flickr

Layout 5- This was my last layout. At this point we moved again and I no longer had the space for a permanent layout. I was also 17, and had lost interested in having it set up anyway! (You can find these and a few more photos of these layouts from different angles on my Flickr page.)

Layout 5 by jet_flap, on Flickr

At this point you might be asking yourself, what did he do with all his Lego after that? Is there a sad ending? Did he give them all away? Sell them at a garage sale? No indeed! I kept them! Every. Single. One. In fact, not only did I keep every set, but ever since the first set I kept every instruction sheet and every box too! I still have them all, and now many more, and I continue to add to my collection to this day! I hope you have enjoyed these photos!

 

IMG_20170701_163412675 by jet_flap, on Flickr

IMG_20170701_163346494 by jet_flap, on Flickr

IMG_20170701_163335389 by jet_flap, on Flickr

IMG_20170701_163316543 by jet_flap, on Flickr

IMG_20170701_163252854 by jet_flap, on Flickr

IMG_20170701_163238473 by jet_flap, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ColletArrow]

...  The child in me is very, very, jealous... wait, what am I saying, the current me is too ! My layout was only ever 3 by 2.5 baseplates, barely enough for a straight length of track. And that was when it was big... this is a dream.

The slightly-blurry photo of Layout 5 makes it look even more enticing for some reason, especially as the airport shuttle (definitely the highlight) is the only thing properly in focus. The scene looks so bright, colourful and full of life, exactly like an advert. I can't stop looking at it.
And those shelves of endless, perfect boxes... are you sure that's your home, not The Vault in Billund? 

[splatman]

You also had your own sliding glass door to the outside? You had it made for a white! Shame it all ended. At least, you kept your entire LEGO collection, and have continued to add to it.

[kieran]

Nice collection

[Grrr]

I always love seeing 80's/90's layouts (mainly because it's what I collect). Sadly we see less layouts in this era/scale since many have moved to being more City/Modular scale/style.

You were one lucky kid - you must've got near on the entire catalog. My collection is approaching this level of completeness; though I don't have a box for every set yet (I'll get there though :) )

Sadly, I don't have photos of my childhood layouts; but am working on a new 80's/90's layout at the moment. Should be done in a few months.

[Jetflap]

Thanks for the nice comments all!

ColletArrow- I see what you mean about that last photo, it's as if the town is so big, the mass of buildings gets lost in the distance! Purely unintentional I assure you!

Splatman- Yes it was a walk out basement- an easy escape. I dream of someday once again having a town layout, only bigger!

Grrr- Just to be clear, the layouts were all of my sets when I was little. The boxes on the shelves are my current collection. But yes, I was a very fortunate child! As I child I only collected the town sets, but now I collect everything from the era. My collections is complete in some areas, I have all the pirates/western/12v&4.5v train/castle sets. (Missing boxes from some of the small castle sets still.) I have most of the major town sets but am missing hundreds of smalls. Missing a lot of space, especially classic and futron. Working on 9v trains. Also working on model team and a long way to go on techinic. Of course, I am always trying to improve what I already have, part-wise just about everything is mint or close to it, but some boxes are missing inserts, things like that.

[Grrr]

1 hour ago, Jetflap said:

Grrr- Just to be clear, the layouts were all of my sets when I was little. The boxes on the shelves are my current collection. But yes, I was a very fortunate child! As I child I only collected the town sets, but now I collect everything from the era. My collections is complete in some areas, I have all the pirates/western/12v&4.5v train/castle sets. (Missing boxes from some of the small castle sets still.) I have most of the major town sets but am missing hundreds of smalls. Missing a lot of space, especially classic and futron. Working on 9v trains. Also working on model team and a long way to go on techinic. Of course, I am always trying to improve what I already have, part-wise just about everything is mint or close to it, but some boxes are missing inserts, things like that.

You and I sound like we're in a very similar position with our collections. My core aim is to collect all minifigure sets from 1978 through 1998 (with a few exceptions - I don't do Town Jr for example, nor the 1978 sets with vehicles with no headlights and which don't fit a figure inside). After excluding those and sets which are the same (eg 1731 = 1711 = 3014), I wind up with a completionist list of around 850 sets, of which I own about 60%, with 40% being in mint-in-box condition. Those figures are skewy because like you; I own the majority of large sets, but am missing many small sets (especially bonus packs etc which weren't sold in this part of the world). I'm hoping within the next 12-18 months to have everything that I really want; and then it just becomes completionism from there; which is a lower priority.

As it stands, I have 3 Western sets to go; 9 Pirates and 19 Castle, with Space, Town and Trains requiring a fair bit more.

Model Team I'm almost done, and Technic I don't aspire to own all sets; only flagships and interesting sets. Once I'm done with those; then the aim is to go completionist on Fabuland, but that's going to be tricky and expensive, so not starting that just yet.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Grrr

[dr_spock]

Nice layout and collection.  I still have my 7710 Push Train and original box from the 1980s.  My layout was a circle of track in a bachelor sized apartment, just enough room to place a fire station set and a house MOC in the middle of the circle.

[3797]

I wish I had pictures like those. As far as I know there's only one from christmas in 1991. Otherwise my parents didn't take many pictures since getting them developed was fairly expensive back then. At least to us it was.

However, I too kept all of my boxes and instructions. I don't have quite as many as you do, though. My goal was to get all the train sets from 1980 up until 1991. I'm only missing 7710, as far as I remember.

[Jetflap]

8 hours ago, Grrr said:

You and I sound like we're in a very similar position with our collections. My core aim is to collect all minifigure sets from 1978 through 1998 (with a few exceptions - I don't do Town Jr for example, nor the 1978 sets with vehicles with no headlights and which don't fit a figure inside). After excluding those and sets which are the same (eg 1731 = 1711 = 3014), I wind up with a completionist list of around 850 sets, of which I own about 60%, with 40% being in mint-in-box condition. Those figures are skewy because like you; I own the majority of large sets, but am missing many small sets (especially bonus packs etc which weren't sold in this part of the world). I'm hoping within the next 12-18 months to have everything that I really want; and then it just becomes completionism from there; which is a lower priority.

As it stands, I have 3 Western sets to go; 9 Pirates and 19 Castle, with Space, Town and Trains requiring a fair bit more.

Model Team I'm almost done, and Technic I don't aspire to own all sets; only flagships and interesting sets. Once I'm done with those; then the aim is to go completionist on Fabuland, but that's going to be tricky and expensive, so not starting that just yet.

Whoa! We do collect almost exactly the same. I also start with 1978 and exclude early non-headlight/minifig inside sets. I also end around 1998, although this date is a little fuzzy for me, depending on the line. For example, I stop collecting space sets at Unitron, I don't care for fantasy/alien sets so I don't collect Explorien and later (Exploriens start in 1996). For this reason I also don't care for or collect Aquazone. Like you, I don't collect Town Jr. either. I don't think I will ever get into Fabuland, but will probably get Paradisa, although I don't have any yet. Technic is a low priority line for me as well. I think my complete list is just under 1000, very much like your 850 but it does have 120 Technic on it.

I also don't consider multiple set numbers for the same set necessary. When the difference is polybag vs. box I try to get the box version which is the non-USA version just because I like the boxes better, but if I end up with one of each I will keep both.

It sounds like we own about the same number of different sets. You should post some photos! I have about 750 total, but that includes a lot of duplicates of accessory sets like track and base-plate packs. It will probably take a lifetime for me to get them all! I try not to overpay or get in a hurry to buy something. Also Space and Technic are low priority for me so who knows on those...

The value packs are hard to find in the US as well, maybe that's why I find them so cool! Here is a photo of what I have so far.

IMG_20180129_064620857 by jet_flap, on Flickr

Edited January 29, 2018 by Jetflap

[Grrr]

5 hours ago, Jetflap said:

Whoa! We do collect almost exactly the same. I also start with 1978 and exclude early non-headlight/minifig inside sets. I also end around 1998, although this date is a little fuzzy for me, depending on the line. For example, I stop collecting space sets at Unitron, I don't care for fantasy/alien sets so I don't collect Explorien and later (Exploriens start in 1996). For this reason I also don't care for or collect Aquazone. Like you, I don't collect Town Jr. either. I don't think I will ever get into Fabuland, but will probably get Paradisa, although I don't have any yet. Technic is a low priority line for me as well. I think my complete list is just under 1000, very much like your 850 but it does have 120 Technic on it.

I also don't consider multiple set numbers for the same set necessary. When the difference is polybag vs. box I try to get the box version which is the non-USA version just because I like the boxes better, but if I end up with one of each I will keep both.

It sounds like we own about the same number of different sets. You should post some photos! I have about 750 total, but that includes a lot of duplicates of accessory sets like track and base-plate packs. It will probably take a lifetime for me to get them all! I try not to overpay or get in a hurry to buy something. Also Space and Technic are low priority for me so who knows on those...

The value packs are hard to find in the US as well, maybe that's why I find them so cool! Here is a photo of what I have so far.

Yes, very very similar. I technically regard some of those items (UFO, Insectoids, Aquazone) as part of my completionism list, they have almost zero priority - will probably take years for me to get to them, the same goes for little sets like 1560.

I'd love to post photos, but I'm in the middle of a project involving re-arranging all my Lego storage and my Lego room - as such, nothing is in a good display state. Maybe in a couple of months.

[Man with a hat]

Oh. Nice to see your classic lay-outs. I am wondering if I got any photo's of my lay-outs. I had a ''big'' table of I guess it was 1.2 x 1.2 m on which I could put almost all my sets. I had to choose between my train and the airport though because both didn't fit at the samen time. But if I have any photo's they must be in storage. I need to check.

[Reza]

Nice collection. I will ask you some questions later.
I am focusing on collecting all 4.5V and 12v trains (gray era). For 12v trains, I want to collect all language-types boxes. For 7730 there are 3, for 7750 there is one, for 7715 there are maybe 4.
Currently I have 5 boxed 7760, 3 boxed 7730, 3 boxed 7745, 3 boxed 7755,... but mostly are D/F/NL. I need to switch them with a different variation of boxes.
How did you find 12v trains? From bricklink?
I have a hard time to find a boxed 7727 in good condition and reasonable condition. I have no idea why this one from 1983-4 is so rare? So are 7755 and 7838 from the same time.

[Grrr]

3 hours ago, Reza said:

Nice collection. I will ask you some questions later.
I am focusing on collecting all 4.5V and 12v trains (gray era). For 12v trains, I want to collect all language-types boxes. For 7730 there are 3, for 7750 there is one, for 7715 there are maybe 4.
Currently I have 5 boxed 7760, 3 boxed 7730, 3 boxed 7745, 3 boxed 7755,... but mostly are D/F/NL. I need to switch them with a different variation of boxes.
How did you find 12v trains? From bricklink?
I have a hard time to find a boxed 7727 in good condition and reasonable condition. I have no idea why this one from 1983-4 is so rare? So are 7755 and 7838 from the same time.

It seems that the majority of 12v Train sets at the time sold in the D/F/NL markets; the UK and US and many other markets had lessers selections, or no 12v at all due to limitations on electrical chidren's toys. Combine this with the very high prices at the time, and it makes the sets all the more rare. For these sorts of sets, they do come up on Bricklink in low volumes at high prices, but I've had more luck with various local sites internationally buying from people who don't quite realise how special the things they've got are.

[Carrera124]

That's funny. In many cases, I had trouble to find good D/F/NL box versions in collectors's condition. I found more good boxes with other language versions, but only kept them as a placeholder until I found a good D/F/NL version.

Meanwhile, my collection is complete so far, including the facelift boxes from 1989 for many sets. 7864 even exists in 3 different D versions, two of them with different contents.

[Jetflap]

12 hours ago, Reza said:

Nice collection. I will ask you some questions later.
I am focusing on collecting all 4.5V and 12v trains (gray era). For 12v trains, I want to collect all language-types boxes. For 7730 there are 3, for 7750 there is one, for 7715 there are maybe 4.
Currently I have 5 boxed 7760, 3 boxed 7730, 3 boxed 7745, 3 boxed 7755,... but mostly are D/F/NL. I need to switch them with a different variation of boxes.
How did you find 12v trains? From bricklink?
I have a hard time to find a boxed 7727 in good condition and reasonable condition. I have no idea why this one from 1983-4 is so rare? So are 7755 and 7838 from the same time.

Yes, I got most of them on Bricklink and a few on Ebay. It takes a while, but they come along! 7727 had the shortest production time, 2 years I believe, hence it's rarity and high cost. I only collected one of each set without regard to variation, but I know there are collectors out there that are experts in these variations.

[Reza]

3 hours ago, Jetflap said:

Yes, I got most of them on Bricklink and a few on Ebay. It takes a while, but they come along! 7727 had the shortest production time, 2 years I believe, hence it's rarity and high cost. I only collected one of each set without regard to variation, but I know there are collectors out there that are experts in these variations.

2 years is short but this doesn't explain it. The sets 7730, 7760 were released for 3 years. The set 7750 also sold for 3 years but only in Germany, Netherland and Belgium (not in UK, France, Italy!). Having watched all markets, I can say that 

I have seen
- 8 boxes 7727

- about 50 boxes 7750
- more than  100 boxes 7730
- more than 50 boxes 7760

The ratio of 3 years over 2 years is 3/2=1.5 but the difference I am experienting is kind of 10, i.e. for 10 boxes 7730 there is only one box 7727! There should be a better explaination.
Already one can wonder why the trains 7727 and 7755 were released only for 2 years? They were not sold well in market? I don't know but I find the train 7727 as nice and attractive as 7730 and much better than 7735. I consider 7735 the worst 12v train! I find the locomotive 7755 cute.

[Grrr]

46 minutes ago, Reza said:

2 years is short but this doesn't explain it. The sets 7730, 7760 were released for 3 years. The set 7750 also sold for 3 years but only in Germany, Netherland and Belgium (not in UK, France, Italy!). Having watched all markets, I can say that 

I have seen
- 8 boxes 7727

- about 50 boxes 7750
- more than  100 boxes 7730
- more than 50 boxes 7760

The ratio of 3 years over 2 years is 3/2=1.5 but the difference I am experienting is kind of 10, i.e. for 10 boxes 7730 there is only one box 7727! There should be a better explaination.
Already one can wonder why the trains 7727 and 7755 were released only for 2 years? They were not sold well in market? I don't know but I find the train 7727 as nice and attractive as 7730 and much better than 7735. I consider 7735 the worst 12v train! I find the locomotive 7755 cute.

I strongly suspect 7727 didn't sell at all well as it's very similar to 7730. It's much the same as AFOL's not buying new City Police stations which are similar to prior versions, and would've been exaggerated given the premium 12v price point. People who were into steam trains at the time probably had already picked up 7727 and 7750, so wouldn't need another similar train. Moving the Steam Trains to 4.5v made a lot of sense as it reduced their price point, and secondly, opened the Steam Train possibility up to a new range of fans.

As for 7755, I suspect it may have stuggled with the removal of the 7862 remote decoupler set, given that these two make a nice match for a playability.

[Reza]

1 minute ago, Grrr said:

I strongly suspect 7727 didn't sell at all well as it's very similar to 7730. It's much the same as AFOL's not buying new City Police stations which are similar to prior versions, and would've been exaggerated given the premium 12v price point. People who were into steam trains at the time probably had already picked up 7727 and 7750, so wouldn't need another similar train. Moving the Steam Trains to 4.5v made a lot of sense as it reduced their price point, and secondly, opened the Steam Train possibility up to a new range of fans.

As for 7755, I suspect it may have stuggled with the removal of the 7862 remote decoupler set, given that these two make a nice match for a playability.

Some people had already 7730 but don't forget that between 1983-4 the only trains in market were 7740, 7725, 7727 and 7727. For certain reasons, I know that 7725 were sold very well in France (it is the only train I see in market of France, then 7740). 7740 was popular. But still 7727 should had been sold well.
Another factor I can think about is that the box 7727 is fragile comparing to 7740, 7730, 7760, 7750. But this doesn't explain everything. The boxes 7725, 7735 and 7745 are not rare at all.
By the way, who agrees with me that train 7735 is the less attractive 12V train?

[Carrera124]

1 hour ago, Reza said:

Already one can wonder why the trains 7727 and 7755 were released only for 2 years? They were not sold well in market?

When you look at the 1985 lineup, you will notify that the range was simplified and cleared. There were still 4 starter sets, but only 2 single waggons 7817 and 7821. No decoupler, no upgrade set 7863. In total, only 10 model sets, which is the lowest number during the whole grey era.

For me, it looks as if the company wanted to arrange things more clearly, maybe they just wanted to get rid of the need to produce two different 12v motor colors.

 

 

[Brickviller V2]

Cool, those pictures of your childhood layout look really nice. Wish I had that much space as a kid  Hopefully you'll have enough room in the future to build all those boxes (once again)!

[Reza]

10 hours ago, Jetflap said:

Yes, I got most of them on Bricklink and a few on Ebay. It takes a while, but they come along! 7727 had the shortest production time, 2 years I believe, hence it's rarity and high cost. I only collected one of each set without regard to variation, but I know there are collectors out there that are experts in these variations.

Do you know any of those collectors?

[Jetflap]

42 minutes ago, Reza said:

Do you know any of those collectors?

Unfortunately, I do not. I've always been more of a lurker on these boards and online in general. There is a lot of information on this forum however, if you search the old posts you will find some good information, and might be able to make a contact.

 

A far as what I think about 7735, since it's purely a matter of opinion, that I can answer! I've always liked it, maybe because it is a little odd, but I love the color scheme of the engine. I think its better than 7720 or 7745 anyway.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Jetflap

[HoMa]

Here are some old pictures of my childhood 12v layout (must be mid 1980s, Light & Sound was available as you can see in the left corner of the first picture)

All from my old brickshelf folder http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=2144

On an extended layout of the cool 7777 layout with the yellow bridge (I added a third ramp and a switch up in the air) you can spot sets like 7740 (passenger train)+7819 (mail wagon), 7745 (passenger train), 7735 (freight train) + 7817 (crane wagon), 7823 (container depot), 7824 (train station), 7866 (road crossing) and many LEGOLAND city sets, MODs and MOCs.

These days I also try to complete my 12v train collection with a reasonable box at least. Here are some of my boxes, some in terrible condition like the 7727 box:

A while ago I wrote a little review about 7777 which you might know allready: https://brickset.com/article/25119/7777-the-1981-trains-ideas-book

And all sets from the grey are are summarized as Bricklist over at brickset https://brickset.com/sets/list-15314

12v is still alive
Holger

 

 

[James Mathis]

Your pictures of your childhood town and train are fantastic. I, too, like many of you who have replied, grew up with the late-70s to early-90s town and trains. I have a couple of pictures somewhere-- need to look for them-- to post. Will do as I can find them...

So cool that you have the town bank and the train cargo crane. In the USA, I remember seeing those available only via the S@H mail order catalog.  If memory serves, it took a fair few weeks to order, process, and receive the S@H sets in the 80s. I see on your shelf boxes, a blue and yellow crane, as well, that I only ever saw in the S@H mail order. I'm wondering if those sets in the USA market were only available via the S@H mail order service, or did some brick-and-mortar toy shops offer these sets?

I also recall that some of the train accessory/trackside sets offered in the USA S@H catalog such as that trackside crane (and auto carrier?) each included two 12-volt gray conducting rails. In response to whether 12v trains were offered for sale in the USA, I like to cheekily say, "yes-- kind of." Learning of the 12-volt train system, and that it never made its way fully "across the pond" was exasperating for this child of the 80s. Luckily, my dad had a business trip to England in 1982 and returned with the glorious 7740. I drooled longingly over the 12-volt trains pictured in the in-box catalog for years, eventually securing additional track and a few train cars from friendly contacts in England.

I've kept all the instruction books, but the boxes were tossed years ago by a misgivings of the teenage hormones. Today, my collection resides in storage or as train MOC remnants in an aged brickyard.

My town and train layout from the 1980s.

 

My set list:

https://brickset.com/sets/ownedby-jmathis

My town and trains (and pirates, forestmen, too) in the storage condition:

Thanks for posting about your historic layout and collection to remember these wonderful good times.

I found some more pictures of my town layout and updated the Flickr album:

https://flickr.com/photos/127775060@N04/sets/72157663327007377

https://flickr.com/photos/127775060@N04/sets/72157652018570650

 

Edited February 4, 2018 by James Mathis
added more pics of my town layout to Flickr album.