Jetflap

@HoMaThat is correct 7777 was not available in the US. LEGO obviously went to some effort to make sure images of 12v sets, except for the previously mention ones with power rails, did not make it into any US available publication. It must have worked, because as a child I would never have even considered that Lego produced sets that weren't available in the huge S@H catalog!

@Reker1000000 I've meant to mention when you responded to my video post that I have been enjoying your channel's videos also! Always nice to see 12v kept alive and running.

@HoMaMy knowledge of box variations is limited, but I’ll try to provide what information I have. I suspect none of this is new information to you, but there is a chance, and some of this might be of interest to others. 7824 Train Station- Yes, this is a European box with stickers. There is a second white sticker also on the bottom edge. The box size is the same as 7822, 7866, and 7823 only a little longer. I have had this particular box since new (Childhood) and it was probably purchased from shop-at-home around 1990. I base this on photos of my childhood town layouts. Accessories- Here are all the US variants I have. All are European boxes with US stickers. They all have 2 separate stickers usually on the front, but sometimes on the bottom edge or even split one on the top edge and one on the bottom edge like the pictured large box 7852. The stickers I assume were to comply with US requirements at the time, for example displaying the part count for toys. These were the only accessory sets released in the US except for 7857 electric crossing. 7853 was discontinued early I suspect because it was fragile and prone to breaking. I do not have an example of a 7857 box with stickers, however none of mine are still plastic wrapped and it’s possible the stickers were on the plastic. The pictured 7853 however has the stickers on the box under the plastic. I had two 7857s as a child and along with the electric rails that came with 7823 and 7839, until the internet was invented and Bricklink came along I had no idea 12v trains existed. No photos appeared in US catalogs, magazines, etc. I remember as a child thinking that the electric rails were for a power system Lego decided not to make, never suspecting that my European counterparts were running them in all their glory! Other notes of interest- The aforementioned 7823 and 7839 which I had since childhood are European boxes but have no US stickers. Were they on the plastic wrap perhaps? My 7822 (Also from around 1990) on the other hand has US markings on the cover that is not a sticker, but still has European printing on the side. Let me know if there is any other information you might need and feel free to us PM if desired!

Thanks for the comments all. @Reker1000000 The sets have all certainly been built and ran as part of their induction into my collection, but normally I have duplicates of ones I like to run (like 7740 in the layout) and my boxed collection is 'retired.' I would love to have a massive layout with all the Town sets, but it would be a huge undertaking and then there's the space issue, and the dust issue, and the little kid issue...

Thank you! Yes, all are in excellent condition with complete inserts, plastic lids and trays, etc. I even have an unused sticker sheet for each one. I feel very fortunate to have been able to find all of these over the last 15 years or so. A while back I did another collaboration video showing my entire 80's/90's collection on their storage shelves. I posted in the general forum, but here it is again if anyone is interested.

This past weekend I pulled out my 7777 idea book builds and got to work. A friend of mine filmed this video of the layout which also features a brief review of my complete 12v/4.5v collection plus 9v and other trains. Hope you all enjoy!

Thank you, I've been at it since Bricklink first came on the scene in 2000 when I discovered I could still buy the Western sets I'd missed in my brief dark ages. I usually just build them once when I first get them, and add sets usually on a weekly basis as I find ones I'm missing. I also have a large want list on BL of boxes and a few instructions I still need to bring everything up to as close to new as possible. It can be hard to find all the proper box inserts for example.

Thanks, about 10% are unopened but these are usually small sets, polybags, value packs, etc. Everything else I have built as part of my process to confirm completeness and make sure the parts are all in excellent condition.

It's been quite a few years since I posted photos of my Lego collection so I thought I'd post an update. I focus on sets from 1978- mid 90's and have ALL the Space, Train, Pirate, Castle,and other smaller theme sets from that time period; Technic and Town I still need about 50 of each. A young collector friend of mine was kind enough to make a video of the collection in which I give a brief overview and review a few special sets. He's willing to do more in depth videos if anyone wants to see more, let him know in the comments on his video! Enjoy the trip down memory lane...

Nice work finding the additional photo of the prototype, and catching the extra 1x1 rounds under the bars. I think you are absolutely correct on both and will update my copy with the 1x1s the next time I get it out. What I find most interesting however is your example of 7722 setting a precedent of overlapping windows. I had dismissed that solution as something LEGO wouldn't do as I couldn't think of case but you proved me wrong. Your model is an elegant solution all around!

Sorry it didn't go well, I have had good success where I live. With our intense sun and high altitude, I can turn significantly yellowed parts to like new in just a couple hours! I have never had an issue with fading of colored parts. Never heard or thought of doing it in an oven, I can't imagine a light bulb in an oven being enough to cause much effect and obviously as you found out 2 days in H2O2 is much too long! Also curious why the oven? not sure that heat would help? I do mine outside in the dead of winter (below freezing) and it only takes slightly longer although I attribute that to the sun not getting as high in the sky.

So funny to read your post, just 2 days ago I successfully treated the red boat hull from 4020, also a stepped up design. I simply used a piece of duck (duct) tape around the inside rim of the hull, trimming it slightly at the stepped-up part to fit. Then filled the boat like you did with 4010, duck tape is water tight at least long enough for this process, it worked like a charm. Peroxide did not affect the red hull at all, it came out perfect, i wished I'd snapped some photos. Also, I thought the tape might leave some reside I'd have to clean off, but it pealed off clean. Whatever you do, do not try to remove the gray parts from the hull, they will be damaged in the process!

Thanks for sharing the photos of the oil depot! I tried to build this one myself, but never finished it and actually just recently took what I had built apart. I was going for accuracy and just could not see enough, especially of the platform for the yellow tanks. I like your solution though.

Glad to hear you are making progress! A couple other things to try: With the 3 position switch in the position the motor is now running, try flipping the 2x2 wire connection 180 degrees. This will make the motor (as witnessed by the metal gear) spin in the opposite direction. See photos for clarity. If it does, I would say the problem is most likely the switch. Perhaps you live near the ocean and dampness or salty air has corroded some of the metal in the switch. This seems plausible as with some cleaning you have restored some function to the motor. You could try sliding the switch back and forth a bunch of times quickly to wear through the corroded film on the metal and try it again. If that doesn't work I would still try the battery directly to the contacts on the motor as mentioned in my previous post if you haven't already. Just to 100% easily eliminate the wire as the problem. It's still possible there is a wire issue even though the light works on the wire. The light uses 2 upper contacts, the motor uses all 4 of the lower. Could be a short or corrosion in there affecting it. It's unlikely but it would be nice to be sure. IMG_20190501_100124196 by jet_flap, on Flickr IMG_20190501_100140979 by jet_flap, on Flickr

If the motor is truly dead, the easiest option is to buy a replacement on Bricklink or eBay, but these motors are very tough and i have never had one fail yet so I have personally not tried to open one. The wire between the battery box and motor can fail quite easily however. Have you checked the continuity of the wire? You can easily touch a battery directly to the motor to take the wire out of the loop. See photo below. Also, can you easily turn the metal gear on the bottom with your finger? IMG_20190429_194529025 by jet_flap, on Flickr

Very interesting find! I really don't know much about Samsonite Canada, does anyone know what years they operated? During that time period were all sets sold in Canada produced by Samsonite? The paper inserts are interesting to me as well, and quite a few sets from the period had extra white paper inserts for various reasons, usually to make a correction to the instruction book, but the reason for their use in this 7710 is unique to my knowledge, although various other sets have them to show how batteries or add on motors work with a set.

Hey Reza, I'm having trouble following your question exactly, but before I dig too deep, the only oddball variation with 80s train wheels I can think of is the the black wheel sets with red pins variation, I believe they are only in some 7735 sets. Mine has them anyway. Is that it?

Thanks all, I thought it unlikely the older version of the track came with instructions but just wanted to make sure. The back of the box serves as the instructions, showing how to attach the track pieces together, that and the lack of any instructions for sale even though they made many thousands of these was almost proof enough for me. Does anyone have any thoughts on the boxed My Own Train 9v motor (10153)? This one I find it more likely that it had the small instruction sheet in all of them, even if it was purchased by itself. The back of the box shows set 10205, which is also shown in the instructions. The bagged 9v (5300) I believe did not come with an instruction sheet.

I have never opened a new box of 9v straight (4515) or curved (4520) track. My question is, did the old style "System" version of the set come with an instruction sheet? It appears the newer version "World City" sets did, as Bricklink has photos of this in the catalog, but I can't find any reference or photos of an instruction sheet for the older version. A second similar question applies to the the My Own Train boxed version of the 9v motor (10153). Did this set always come with instructions? The instruction sheet listed on Bricklink, looks like it applies to a specific set (10205), and I'm wondering if this sheet only came along with the motor in copies of that MOT set.

I am not sure how many sets I could build from memory, but this reminded me of when I was a child and had a large classic town layout. My older brothers used to challenge me by removing or moving a single LEGO piece from anywhere in the layout. I was always able to locate the problem in short order, no matter how small the part! Here's a link to a thread I started about childhood layouts that has some old photos of it.

How about another type of hint? Is the variation a minor a major change? Is it due to a part change? 7740 was made for quite a few years, do they show a different type of wire for example? Maybe it was the graphic on the back page, this changed on various instructions in the late 80's for example, so maybe 7715 or 7722. Without any detail about the change, it is impossible to figure out unless someone happens to have multiple copies of the sets to scan through, or if they just happen to know the answer off the top of their head!

They are both the same, 120405 Here is another error from the same instructions, the red cap was drawn twice, overlapping at different angles, a "spacial error." The was not corrected in either of my copies.

Reza, here is the example of a color error in an early printing of 6392 instructions. Keep in mind, the instructions are identical otherwise, and have the same printing year (1985) The first photo has the error. In step 9 the 1x1 plate is colored red but it should be white. Notice in step 12 the correct white color is shown for the same part. In this photo, step 9 has been corrected and appears in white. I call this error a "color error" which can be found occasionally in sets from this time period. There other types of errors too, one I call a "spacial error." This error has the piece drawn in an impossible way, either floating unattached or occupying part of the same space as another part. I.E. it was drawn wrong as opposed to colored wrong. I have only seen this a couple times, but never made a note of which sets so I don't have a ready example. I know it reminded me of some of M.C. Escher's drawings with people climbing steps in multiple directions!

I don't know off the top of my head which one it is, but if I had to guess, one of them had an error in one of the instruction's steps which was corrected in a second printing. This happened occasionally with Lego instructions of this era.

Ahhh yes, it really does look better! There is something about the new gray with the old, they just don't go well together!.