Cult_Of_Skaro Posted March 26, 2014 Posted March 26, 2014 The number of different LEGO color bricks really took off since 2000. This is after a period of 45 years since TLG produced a lot of different brick colors. From 1949-56 TLG made a very large number of brick colors... however most of these were only 2x2 and 2x4 slotted bricks. Then from 1956 until the 1990s there only about 8 LEGO brick colors. In recent years the number of old slotted brick colors discovered has increased by quite a bit. However that number has stabilized at approximately 24 colors. Here they are... Interestingly enough, although most of these 60 year old bricks are made of Cellulose Acetate, some have been shown to be made of Bakelite... a shiny hard plastic used in electrical applications such as light bulb socket fixtures, electrical switches and outlet attachments. No. 15 looks like Sand Green! Quote
LEGO Historian Posted March 30, 2014 Author Posted March 30, 2014 No. 15 looks like Sand Green! OK... I spend a few days trying to analyze how you got to #15... I know which one you are talking about (second column, 3rd down), but there is now way I can logically come up with the number "15"?? Quote
Blondie-Wan Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 OK... I spend a few days trying to analyze how you got to #15... I know which one you are talking about (second column, 3rd down), but there is now way I can logically come up with the number "15"?? I think Cult_Of_Skaro was talking about the one in the third column, 5th down, actually. Quote
LEGO Historian Posted March 30, 2014 Author Posted March 30, 2014 I think Cult_Of_Skaro was talking about the one in the third column, 5th down, actually. Thanks Blondie-Wan.... but now I'm really lost! http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?v=2&colorID=48 Quote
LEGO Historian Posted April 13, 2014 Author Posted April 13, 2014 I had seen a catalog entry in an old 1956 Norway catalog, but I wasn't sure if was (common in old LEGO catalogs) an error, or a real set, since one had never been seen before, and no other country had this set listing. But 2 days ago my Norwegian friend Arild found a set not yet seen online... a rare 1309 ESSO GARAGE set (not to be confused with the 1310/310 ESSO SERVICE STATION set)... and here it is for the first time.... This set is not to be confused with the 1309 CHURCH SET, which was ironically first produced in 1957, at the same time. The 1957 Norway catalog shows the ONLY time in LEGO history where 2 sets are shown in the same catalog under the same number!! This 1309 ESSO GARAGE SET was found in a 700/4 regular basic set box, but with a paper banderole that mentions 1309 "ESSO GARASJE" in Norwegian.... The contents of this box are unfortunately not original for the most part, but do contain 3 very important pieces to give us an indication of what the built set looked like. Those pieces are a 1x8 white printed brick with a (unique to Norway) ESSO SERVICE decal, a large (part 820 in Bricklink) garage plate, and a tall freestanding ESSO sign. Also, the box insert is missing... Here is what a 1236/236 GARAGE SET (flat box version) insert would look (image mocked for this 1309 set).... And here is what a 1309 built model would likely look like... This built model is virtually identical to a 126/236 GARAGE SET, except for a ESSO SERVICE sign (instead of GARAGE), and the addition of the freestanding Esso sign. This would help explain why this set was only produced (by A/S Norske LEGIO of Oslo Norway) for the Norway market for just 1956-57 before being discontinued. The regular GARAGE SET however continued production for many years afterwards. Also, here is the back of the 1 page 1956 Norway catalog (bottom half) that shows the 1309 ESSO GARAGE SET, and the larger 1310 ESSO SERVICE STATION SET.... This set was not produced in Billund Denmark by TLG, only in Oslo Norway. So the folks at the Billund Archives have no records of this set! The latest addition to my LEGO Collectors Guide! (NOTE: ADMINS, please merge this thread into my "Digging thru the history about LEGO" thread in about a week!) Quote
Dorayaki Posted April 14, 2014 Posted April 14, 2014 Wow, an exellent finding. There must be many unfound mysteries in northern Europe. Quote
WhiteFang Posted April 14, 2014 Posted April 14, 2014 (NOTE: ADMINS, please merge this thread into my "Digging thru the history about LEGO" thread in about a week!) Topics merged. Quote
LEGO Historian Posted April 14, 2014 Author Posted April 14, 2014 (edited) Well that was a short week... Dorayaki... there is one other Norwegian (and Swedish) set yet to be discovered. But this time at least he have an exact idea of what the model looks like.... That would be the 1237 "Garage Side Building Set".... This set is shown in 1956-57 Norwegian and Swedish catalogs... and nowhere else. This set box/model would look like this.... The 1236 Garage Set does exist, and is known in Denmark, Norway and Sweden... but the 1237 has not been found in either Norway and Sweden... and the Danish Archives have no record of this set having been produced in Denmark. Unlike the flat box 1309 set, which originally had a partition to hold all the parts nicely in place, the 1237 set would have been a loose parts box set, like the early 1236 Garage Set. If one was discovered and came up for auction... it would easily top 1000 Euros!! Edited April 14, 2014 by LEGO Historian Quote
LEGO Historian Posted May 7, 2014 Author Posted May 7, 2014 I finally was able to locate a LEGO Set from the first years of Iceland. These sets were made starting in 1955 in the old Automatic Binding Bricks style using the old slotted bricks, and the windows/doors that were used along with them. These sets were put together by Tuberculosis patients at a Sanitarium called Reykjalundur. In 1960 the sets started with the LEGO name, but continued having the Tuberculosis patients assemble them... Quote
WoutR Posted May 21, 2014 Posted May 21, 2014 (edited) I finally was able to locate a LEGO Set from the first years of Iceland. (...) Very nice find! Are the original bricks still inside? I was wondering if there are any characteristics that can be used to identify the origin of these bricks. I would like to collect bricks (preferably 2x4) from all known production locations one day, but that is difficult because I do not yet know how to distinguish them :) Complete sets must be rare, but probably lots of bricks survived. Finding them is the first challenge. Knowing what you have got is the second. Edited May 21, 2014 by WoutR Quote
LEGO Historian Posted May 21, 2014 Author Posted May 21, 2014 Hey WoutR!! Unfortunately the fellow who had the image and the set owner are no longer in contact! But that set would have had the slotted LEGO bricks that were used in Denmark/Norway/Sweden in the early-to-mid 1950s... so they would not have been different from those sold in the other countries. Quote
WoutR Posted May 22, 2014 Posted May 22, 2014 Hey WoutR!! Unfortunately the fellow who had the image and the set owner are no longer in contact! But that set would have had the slotted LEGO bricks that were used in Denmark/Norway/Sweden in the early-to-mid 1950s... so they would not have been different from those sold in the other countries. Hey Gary! Thank you for your quick reply I would expect there are some very small differences, such as mold numbering type/style/position/... or something like that. There are some very interesting parts out there... Quote
LEGO Historian Posted May 27, 2014 Author Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Hey WoutR, the slotted bricks from Norway and Sweden are different from those of Denmark, since the slotted bricks of both those countries were made in Oslo Norway by LEGO licensee Sven Strømberg & Co. (A/S Norske LEGIO). The bricks of Iceland would also likely be different in color variations and mold numbers... but the basic bricks would be the same. Here's an image from my Swedish LEGO collector friend Vonboden... these are some very nice pleasing colors that he got from bricks found in Sweden... Edited May 27, 2014 by LEGO Historian Quote
WoutR Posted May 30, 2014 Posted May 30, 2014 (edited) Very nice. I tried to buy some of those bricks online, but the prices are going through the roof at the moment. Someone out there really, really wants them. If you can teach me to tell the difference between bricks from these countries please do The bricks I posted are suspected (but not confirmed) Norwegian. Note the odd slot position. I was trying to find out more about the past and current LEGO production locations and what was made there. Your guide contains a lot of information, but it is difficult to get a complete overview. Maybe for a next edition it would be great if you could add an overview similar to http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=81324 Edited May 30, 2014 by WoutR Quote
LEGO Historian Posted June 3, 2014 Author Posted June 3, 2014 Thanks for the feedback WoutR.... I do plan on getting a better description of the 2x2 and 2x4 brick varieties. There's just such an overwhelming variety of molds that were used in producing all the old bricks... that coming up with a comprehensive list becomes difficult. I'm working on expanding my collectors guide (no worry... future additions and upgrades are a free download to current owners) and have added about 200 pages (5 additional chapters) so far... with another 5 chapters to go for a later 2014 release. The nice thing is that with a desktop download... no future purchase will ever be necessary! Quote
LEGO Historian Posted June 27, 2014 Author Posted June 27, 2014 Before (and during) the time that LEGO bricks were first produced in the 1950s, TLG was producing a large number of toys. One day I'll create a separate collectors guide just for those, but now I'm happy to just bring my existing 3000 guide into the 20th century. Here are some of the LEGO items produced in the 1940s and 1950s... Quote
WoutR Posted July 6, 2014 Posted July 6, 2014 I loved to see how some of the early sets were brick built versions of products that were made in wood before. Quote
LEGO Historian Posted July 7, 2014 Author Posted July 7, 2014 Very astute WoutR.... The early wooden LEGO trucks were later produced as 1:43 scale Chevrolet Trucks (1952-57). Those were mostly made of plastic... but the trucks with tankers had the tanker portions made of wood. And in 1955, with the introduction of the Town Plan, the 1:87 (HO Scale) trucks were introduced that were totally made of plastic. So yes, there was a steady evolution of LEGO items that started out in wood, and evolved into plastic, although at a diminutive scale! Quote
WoutR Posted July 7, 2014 Posted July 7, 2014 I also noticed this in the garage sets. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?G=garage2 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=236-1 Quote
Fabulandlover Posted July 8, 2014 Posted July 8, 2014 Hi Lego Historian! I hope it is OK to ask you something in this topic: what do you know about the history of Fabuland? Are there any nice stories/anecdotes about the idea of Fabuland coming to fruiton? Is it known why the theme got discontinued? Quote
LEGO Historian Posted July 11, 2014 Author Posted July 11, 2014 Hi Lego Historian! I hope it is OK to ask you something in this topic: what do you know about the history of Fabuland? Are there any nice stories/anecdotes about the idea of Fabuland coming to fruiton? Is it known why the theme got discontinued? Hi Fabulandlover! Unfortunately I don't have any anecdotes about Fabuland... although the decade long series (1979-89) does seem to have a following. It must not have been real popular, what it being between Duplo and LEGO early ages. But I do have a Fabuland mystery that I've never been able to solve... this Fabuland tree. No one has been able to shed any light on it, so it was likely just a prototype that was never put into production.... Quote
DPrime Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 Learn something new every day... Even though I never had any sets, there's something about Fabuland I've always liked, even as a kid. I would love to pick up a bunch at a garage sale or something one day... While we're on the subject of that decade, any Classic Space mysteries? :) Quote
LEGO Historian Posted July 15, 2014 Author Posted July 15, 2014 Yes.... I don't have much time today... but tomorrow I'll post some info on Classic Space in Canada.... they created items not found anywhere else for early classic Space. Also have a few other items about space sets never put into production.... Quote
LEGO Historian Posted July 15, 2014 Author Posted July 15, 2014 (edited) Learn something new every day... Even though I never had any sets, there's something about Fabuland I've always liked, even as a kid. I would love to pick up a bunch at a garage sale or something one day... While we're on the subject of that decade, any Classic Space mysteries? :) Yes.... one Space System set that has always intrigued me was the 1985 set 1968 (Space Express). This very rare set was a promotional exclusive set that had a very limited production... and yet was sold in quite a few countries. It was sold in France (at least the Vault image of it is in French), and also in Germany (as shown here in this German trade association advertisement).... And it was also sold in Canada, as seen in this Bricklink advertisement.... I am still trying to uncover more info on this mysterious set.. Edited July 15, 2014 by LEGO Historian Quote
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