Following the instructions in the Ideas Books from the 80s and 90s

[Martin_B]

I know that the old "ideas books" from the 80s and 90s have been discussed on here before, but I didn't want to resurrect a years-old thread. Besides, I think I have stumbled on a potentially fun exercise that I'd invite anyone to join in on if they want to.

For those of you who aren't old enough to remember them: the "ideas books" contained alternate builds and accompanying photos that differed from the "official" sets or B-builds that were suggested on the backs of the boxes. These books were a roughly 50:50 mix of dioramas that looked a lot like the promotional photos used in the catalogues, and step-by-step instructions that showed you how to build some of the vehicles and buildings from those photos.

The dioramas themselves were the best and the worst thing about these books for me. They looked spectacular, and the people who made them clearly had a lot of fun. They were also frustrating, because they required more pieces than most people were likely to have in their collections at home. The #200 book from 1985 for instance was one of my most prized possessions as a kid: the bustling town and the double-page castle siege scene were my favourites. Because my own collection consisted of sets from the late 80s to the mid 90s, I couldn't build much from it. That is, until now.

Thanks to Bricklink and the advantages of being a working adult, I think it's possible - with a bit of detective work - to recreate some of those builds that my younger self never could. To start things off, I looked back at #200's Black Falcons castle gate/wall on pages 40-42. I recently treated myself to the old 6073 castle set, and the general look of the thing seemed familiar when it arrived. Sure enough, this "Ideas Book" makes use of pieces from that very set! You can build it exactly as shown without needing pieces from anywhere else. It's pretty much an extra "B-build" for 6073!

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After over thirty years: mission accomplished!

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Which led me to think: how many others in that book are like this? Could I build another one of them from just one set that was on sale during the first half of the 80s? I flicked through to the "Town" section, specifically the hairdresser/cafe on page 18. This build uses a distinctive 2x2 blue roof slope decorated with the number "73". A quick look on BL indicates that this brick was exclusive to set 6374. Sadly, I don't own this set, but the inventory suggests to me that the pieces can be used to finish most, if not all, of the build from the Ideas Book. So, at this point I'm seriously thinking about tracking down a second-hand 6374 and seeing whether I can build that hairdresser's shop afterwards.

Who else owns, or has scans of, one of these ideas books? Have you tried to build anything from them? I'm not the only AFOL on here with a nostalgic streak, right?

[TeriXeri]

The only build I remember building is the excavator from book 8888, I did recreate it once, but definately not possible from 1 set.

And if you try to be authentic and keep the same color, it's not even possible to make that from pure Technic sets from 1980 or before, as the 8x4 blue plate shown, only released in Technic in 1981, but it was in other sets since 1971.

I'm sure the build is doable from  sets up to 1980,  if all themes are taken into account, but you need a few key sets like 856/951 bulldozer for threads as it was the only place to get them.

 

As for this castle build being possible from 1 set, that's a nice find to see it's an alternative build instead of just an idea.

As for actual alternate builds from back of box, I made one from 6078: Royal Drawbridge not too long ago as I found the actual back of box cardboard cutout still in my collection (I keep my old LEGO seperate, and most paper instructions are stored in an old lid box from a train set) , but this website has them too : https://www.backoftheboxbuilds.com/set-6078/

For that set, the back of box builds are actually some more castles compared to the main build being a gate/bridge they kind of remind me of simpler Wolfpack Tower styled builds (never had wolfpack sets myself but similar parts are used)

Edited January 22 by TeriXeri

[JesseNight]

I totally know what you mean!
I had some idea books in the mid to late 80s myself and some sceneries in them blew me away, while realizing I couldn't ever built something like that. Not just that I didn't have enough raw bricks, but I couldn't dedicate myself to a single theme so ended up with some Castle, some Town, some Space, some Technic, a bit of everything.

I should still have some of these idea books like 250, 260, and trains idea book 7777 (those sceneries were amazing too and waaaaay beyond me). Though I cannot reach them now, since most of my old Lego instructions and books were safely stored away long ago... and by now behind a lot of other stuff.

[SpacePolice89]

On 1/22/2024 at 8:51 PM, Martin_B said:

Have you tried to build anything from them?

I posted this a couple of months ago, it's the SP1 builds from 260

 

[EamonnMR]

I loved the idea books. They kept 697 available long after all of the themes in the book were gone, if I remember right, and it was a rare early window into the types of parts available before my time.

I swear someone had scans up, if not I have a copy and can scan it myself.

[JesseNight]

Oh if it's up somewhere, I'd love to take a peek.
I missed the 697, it was just a few years after my childhood Lego phase, when my priorities had shifted towards... other things 

[CP5670]

On 1/22/2024 at 2:02 PM, TeriXeri said:

The only build I remember building is the excavator from book 8888, I did recreate it once, but definately not possible from 1 set.

And if you try to be authentic and keep the same color, it's not even possible to make that from pure Technic sets from 1980 or before, as the 8x4 blue plate shown, only released in Technic in 1981, but it was in other sets since 1971.

I'm sure the build is doable from  sets up to 1980,  if all themes are taken into account, but you need a few key sets like 856/951 bulldozer for threads as it was the only place to get them.

This is by far the best of the Technic ones, especially since there were very few Technic parts available back then. I have kept that excavator built long term: https://www.flickr.com/photos/141514326@N04/47262266881/in/photolist-24oYb4t-24oYb5k-2f1ptmn

The 6000 Bill/Mary book is also really nice. I especially like the space sections. There are scans of all of them here: https://brickset.com/library/ideasbooks