mind games

[snefroe]

i was walking around in town when my eye caught this small shop with toys. "i haven't seen this one", i thought, so i got in, and immediately saw these rather olds lego sets. that happens from time to time in belgium. we still have these small shops that used to sell lego, like newspaper shops, close to international roads. i once saw a galaxy explorer, i guess in 1994-1995 in such a small shop. i didn't buy it, tho, after all, i was going thru the dark ages in 1994-1995. the worst mistake of my life... :( :() *sing*

anyway, i went to the shelves with the old sets and i couldn't believe my eyes. i saw the classic space robot ( http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6951 ). behind that one there were two futuron space sets: the lego space train and one of the white starbases... then there were several classic space sets i'd never seen in my life, like a "gray helicopter kind of thing" and another gray set... i recognised it, but i couldn't put my finger on it... there were also these old legoland sets, the sets with the different color stripes on the cover ( http://guide.lugnet.com/set/112_2 )

i was going to buy those, no doubt, but i urgently needed to go to the bathroom , so i asked the guy if i could use theirs. "no problem", he said... by the time i got back those two gray sets were gone, so i started checking out all the others. one set i really wanted was this huge gray gate... it looked very old, and i turned the box around to see the back side; the gate was basically a huge gray plate that could be lifted upwards, like a traditional garage lego door ( http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6369).

i turned my head and i saw these tan sets, they represented all sorts of figures and statuetes. i'd never seen those before either, but i'm not really into memorising the entire lego catalogue, so i wasn't surprised... then i picked one up and there was this sticker on it: "free set for any pre 1988-1989 lego set you buy". i should have known at that point there was something wrong with this picture. after all, only real lego fans have any clue on release dates of sets, the general public on the other hand, doesn"t know anything about that. obviously, my enthusiasm was blinding me, i got every set i could find and went straight to the counter, ready to get my wallet...

the next thing i remember was that i was standing in the living room of my home... empty handed... then i woke up... damn!

[xwingyoda]

Oh boy, Sne you do have weird dreams you know :D

btw I edited your links.

[Norro]

Been there, done that... with castles.

God Bless,

Nathan

[SuvieD]

I never remember my dreams. But a funny thing happened a while ago. I was looking at the boards here on EB and came across this thread here. I thought it was odd so I looked at the ebay listing and thought it looked okay.

I contacted the seller and tried to help them out by giving them some tips on how to make the items seem more inviting and how to get the most money out of it. I mentioned at the end my message that if it didn't sell after fixing it to let me know and I will make an offer without ebay fees and all that junk.

A month ago the person asked how much I was willing to pay including shipping (because it didn't sell as it was and they didn't want to relist) and I gave them a number. Well they said alright. So we worked out the payment and delivery and they sent it to me via UPS. It arrived in a large box with a weight of 44.1 lbs. I have spent what spare time I have had for sorting this last weekend and now more so what was in it.

Sadly, there was near 2 lbs of clone bricks. But I suppose that isn't much out of 44. I have it sorted into five piles right now, bricks, plates, slopes, minifigures/accessories, and everything else. Funny thing is that this person (who must be old) said the bricks were their childs. I found some 15 or so castle figures and the majority of the Black Monach's castle. At least enough to rebuild it. I also found most of the pieces to a few pirates/imperial sets. But that wasn't were they treasure lay.

For truly at least 1/3 of the 44 lbs was all pre 1980's stuff. Old baseplates and bricks with PAT PEND on them. The old acetate bricks are there. I found classic space sets (or at least 90% of them) 924 and 926. Other possible sets in there are 358, 575 (is there for sure), 656, 654, 640, 425, 611 and 659. They may be others. I had never seen in person sets or pieces this old before. The best part about it is that they are all in good used condition. They have obviously been played with but not destroyed or damaged. They have love soaked into them. Countless hours of construction and exploration are found within the little molded plastic parts I am now the owner of.

I am happy to own a piece of LEGO history and I am sorry that others only attain such things in their dreams. I never expected to get LEGO that was made before I was. If you ever find some in real life keep a few parts for yourself. Just thought I would share.

Thanks Lost Viking for sharing the ebay auction.

Thanks LEGO for having a beginning to build upon.

Thanks to the person who's children are old and didn't want these treasures any more.

Thanks EB for having a place where we can share our wishes and dreams about silly little plastic bricks.

Thanks Sne for starting a topic about it all.

Thanks to you the reader for reading this far.

Have a nice day. May your next purchase hold something wonderful inside it.

-Dan

[languages]

Extrememly wierd........ *wacko*

[miktor]

I think i can join this club with "visions" :-D

[Lost Viking]

Oh boy, Sne you do have weird dreams you know :D

btw I edited your links.

Yoda, you still gotta edit the last link ;)