LEGO advertisement - launch of the Pirates theme in NL

[CvS]

On 10/10/2025 at 4:44 PM, Mister Phes said:

Thanks for sharing these more of this great finds! 

Also, apologies for derailing your topic with non-Dutch catlogue images.

You're welcome and no problem  

All the LEGO Pirates ads are nice to see and know, from all kinds of different countries!
Or is there already a separate topic for LEGO Pirate ads in general?

I also love Kelceycoe's research. I can relate to that kind of niche information ;).
I just have to find the time to read/keep up with it all 
For example the North-America exclusive sets. For an European, they're  interesting and hard (expensive) to find, especially with instructions.

(This applies to more sets, like 1680 for example. Not a Pirate set, but there is hardly any information available about where it was released etc.)

[edit: Ah my hundredth post! ]

Edited Sunday at 09:24 PM by CvS

[kelceycoe]

On 10/12/2025 at 5:23 PM, CvS said:

You're welcome and no problem  

All the LEGO Pirates ads are nice to see and know, from all kinds of different countries!
Or is there already a separate topic for LEGO Pirate ads in general?

I also love Kelceycoe's research. I can relate to that kind of niche information ;).
I just have to find the time to read/keep up with it all 
For example the North-America exclusive sets. For an European, they're  interesting and hard (expensive) to find, especially with instructions.

(This applies to more sets, like 1680 for example. Not a Pirate set, but there is hardly any information available about where it was released etc.)

[edit: Ah my hundredth post! ]

For 1680, I just bought the 1877 set and bought a separate extra minifigure because it was way cheaper than buying 1680 outright. That sold was sold in stores here in the United States.

 

UPDATE; Photos removed because I linked to the 1989 Value pack set with the cart with the black fences. I cannot find any instance of 1680 in any UK catalog but 1877 does appear in the US Medium catalog on the Futuron page.

 

 

Edited Monday at 11:14 PM by kelceycoe

[Mister Phes]

38 minutes ago, kelceycoe said:

 

How are your digitizing these catalog pages?

I think I might need to buy a flatbed scanner to get the job done properly.

7 hours ago, CvS said:

[edit: Ah my hundredth post! ]

Here's to the next 100! 

Thank ye for all yer valuable contributions! 

[kelceycoe]

47 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

How are your digitizing these catalog pages?

I think I might need to buy a flatbed scanner to get the job done properly.

 

Those were both done by a flat bed scanner. Some of mine were done using a phone because my flat bed scanner has issues.

[CvS]

17 hours ago, kelceycoe said:

For 1680, I just bought the 1877 set and bought a separate extra minifigure because it was way cheaper than buying 1680 outright. That sold was sold in stores here in the United States.

 

 

The Value Pack appears again on another page in the 1989 Parent's Guide for the US market:

 

It was NOT available for sale in the 1989 Shop at Home catalog: https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c89sah

 

 

Yeah, so 1877 was (only) sold in the US/North America.

Do you also know where 1680 was sold? Only in the UK? 
That's what my (limited) research indicates so far.
Brickset: ''Discovered' in the UK.'
Or also in the US/NA?
It seems to be very (véry) rare...

In my opinion a set is only really complete if you have the instructions...  (and maybe even the box)
That's the biggest issue with 1680.
I could build the set a couple of times, if it was just about the bricks (even with 'period approriate' bricks) 

16 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

How are your digitizing these catalog pages?

I think I might need to buy a flatbed scanner to get the job done properly.

Here's to the next 100! 

Thank ye for all yer valuable contributions! 

[kelceycoe]

46 minutes ago, CvS said:

In my opinion a set is only really complete if you have the instructions...  (and maybe even the box)

Under normal circumstances I'd agree but I cannot when the price is wrong lol.

As for 1680... The ONLY evidence in existence that hints it was sold in the UK is the UK box found for this set on Bricklink:

 

And this older listing on facebook complete with a woolworth price sticker:

It was sold recently in E-bay from a seller in Bulgaria for over $300 USD - ONLY the parts and instructions and that person did list the full instructions, confirming that version of the set was made in 1990.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/277008332939?_skw=lego+1680&epid=9053424680&itmmeta=01K7FWCDEESQ0GC90V68XMYTHS&hash=item407efbb88b:g:9GkAAOSwMKFn8SCn&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eNLZvw3DrfpGhZiHaFxIsDua%2BZNLlntY2fTGU75LBj%2BJlwsqkypWea4WOVws2cBbgqOCD52bvbMx8SPWERJZJ0TZ340CVMi%2BDPQ%2B5YeM7tI7yYcEpOs8AGL92eS%2BI5x6FppPSOD%2FIZldIs6259OyPwImUrizd33UyJA5tSQ1T4AI3XrWWvX3%2Fi3z0cdjkq0M3lUeylKbScrWb5TOH3lbxO9DR57szMjgw9WUVsv9GAe39%2BQLmvWyhR2zZ%2B18R51MTnBaDBgMXssqQunhPm00e0HpcvI6%2B4w8NmSMs%2FC4HOLg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7DXsfy7Zg

Also, in reference to 1877... pretty much any Value Pack I have found back then was only sold in the USA. I did not see it or 1680 in the 1990 UK catalog so

[kelceycoe]

After doing some more research, a user on Facebook gave some brief info about the set, saying it was a promotional limited set and gave box pics:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DFo2zNeSg/

And the guy who supplied the info for this post talked bout it possibly being a Woolworth exclusive:

Quote: 

My original info is still what I have and had it kind of confirmed by some more online research.

The set was only sold during a brief period in 1990 in Woolworths UK. I also heard it got handed out as part of a promo, but that would be contradicted by the price label (so at least no free promo). Maybe it was a set you could get for a low price as a store bonus or something like that.

Information is still VERY scarce. If you have any more info (or even photos of other sold sets with price stickers), please let me know!"

[SBCMayor]

3 hours ago, kelceycoe said:

Under normal circumstances I'd agree but I cannot when the price is wrong lol.

As for 1680... The ONLY evidence in existence that hints it was sold in the UK is the UK box found for this set on Bricklink:

 

And this older listing on facebook complete with a woolworth price sticker:

It was sold recently in E-bay from a seller in Bulgaria for over $300 USD - ONLY the parts and instructions and that person did list the full instructions, confirming that version of the set was made in 1990.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/277008332939?_skw=lego+1680&epid=9053424680&itmmeta=01K7FWCDEESQ0GC90V68XMYTHS&hash=item407efbb88b:g:9GkAAOSwMKFn8SCn&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eNLZvw3DrfpGhZiHaFxIsDua%2BZNLlntY2fTGU75LBj%2BJlwsqkypWea4WOVws2cBbgqOCD52bvbMx8SPWERJZJ0TZ340CVMi%2BDPQ%2B5YeM7tI7yYcEpOs8AGL92eS%2BI5x6FppPSOD%2FIZldIs6259OyPwImUrizd33UyJA5tSQ1T4AI3XrWWvX3%2Fi3z0cdjkq0M3lUeylKbScrWb5TOH3lbxO9DR57szMjgw9WUVsv9GAe39%2BQLmvWyhR2zZ%2B18R51MTnBaDBgMXssqQunhPm00e0HpcvI6%2B4w8NmSMs%2FC4HOLg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7DXsfy7Zg

Also, in reference to 1877... pretty much any Value Pack I have found back then was only sold in the USA. I did not see it or 1680 in the 1990 UK catalog so

Not related to the discussion on where sets were sold, this is just a pure nostalgia comment. I didnt' have a lot of Castle sets but this was one of them. I'd all but forgotten about it until seeing these pics! 

[CvS]

On 10/14/2025 at 1:42 AM, kelceycoe said:

After doing some more research, a user on Facebook gave some brief info about the set, saying it was a promotional limited set and gave box pics:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DFo2zNeSg/

And the guy who supplied the info for this post talked bout it possibly being a Woolworth exclusive:

Quote: 

My original info is still what I have and had it kind of confirmed by some more online research.

The set was only sold during a brief period in 1990 in Woolworths UK. I also heard it got handed out as part of a promo, but that would be contradicted by the price label (so at least no free promo). Maybe it was a set you could get for a low price as a store bonus or something like that.

Information is still VERY scarce. If you have any more info (or even photos of other sold sets with price stickers), please let me know!"

Thanks for the info! Interesting.
 

On 10/14/2025 at 1:06 AM, kelceycoe said:

Under normal circumstances I'd agree but I cannot when the price is wrong lol.

As for 1680... The ONLY evidence in existence that hints it was sold in the UK is the UK box found for this set on Bricklink:

 

And this older listing on facebook complete with a woolworth price sticker:

It was sold recently in E-bay from a seller in Bulgaria for over $300 USD - ONLY the parts and instructions and that person did list the full instructions, confirming that version of the set was made in 1990.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/277008332939?_skw=lego+1680&epid=9053424680&itmmeta=01K7FWCDEESQ0GC90V68XMYTHS&hash=item407efbb88b:g:9GkAAOSwMKFn8SCn&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eNLZvw3DrfpGhZiHaFxIsDua%2BZNLlntY2fTGU75LBj%2BJlwsqkypWea4WOVws2cBbgqOCD52bvbMx8SPWERJZJ0TZ340CVMi%2BDPQ%2B5YeM7tI7yYcEpOs8AGL92eS%2BI5x6FppPSOD%2FIZldIs6259OyPwImUrizd33UyJA5tSQ1T4AI3XrWWvX3%2Fi3z0cdjkq0M3lUeylKbScrWb5TOH3lbxO9DR57szMjgw9WUVsv9GAe39%2BQLmvWyhR2zZ%2B18R51MTnBaDBgMXssqQunhPm00e0HpcvI6%2B4w8NmSMs%2FC4HOLg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7DXsfy7Zg

Also, in reference to 1877... pretty much any Value Pack I have found back then was only sold in the USA. I did not see it or 1680 in the 1990 UK catalog so

How can you tell that box is a 'UK box'?