LEGO Historian

When it comes to me... I turn into one of the Marx brothers with LEGO... so having someone doing something very eccentric... for me is a nice diversion from our normal routine existence... and when it comes to LEGO.... I thrive on Mayhem... I would have suggested to the fellow that we count the studs and divide by 4 or something equally absurd!

Not really surprised! Early classic LEGO has been sizzling hot as of late... I've seen a group of 1950s LEGO from Norway sell for over $4000, and a single 1957 retailer price list the $1000 mark for a 4 page piece of literature! Modern LEGO has been going thru the roof for especially desireable sets, and much of it was produced in large quantities. But the classic LEGO exists (that that survives) in much more limited quantities. As people become more aware of the old LEGO items (I'll take my bow now... ) the limited amount of old LEGO means that more people are bidding on a limited number of items. As for those parts... the half circle macaroni bricks are likely the most desirable....

Very nice layouts there... wow!! I grew up during the blue track era (well the beginning at least)... and I have always liked those tracks. The 2x8 white sleepers during that era were not made of ABS plastic. They were made of another composite plastic that had a dull matte finish to it. In fact some of those sleepers were used in regular model sets that required 2x8 white plates, such as the 455 Lear Jet (USA/Canada only). For those of you who have a lot of blue track, but use other tracks for your large layouts... the 1967-68 LEGO catalogs had a very interesting use for these blue ones. They built a tresle bridge out of them. Here is an image from a 1967 Finnish LEGO catalog (from my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide) showing a blue tresle bridge. I've got a decent number of extra blue track pieces for such a future project... although I was thinking of something on a larger scale! I've always found the circa 1968 #343 Train Ferry Set a very unique and interesting set for building, although the scale is off. But it was an ingenious build for LEGO.... (from a 1968 Swedish LEGO ad)... I really regret not getting into LEGO trains... When I got out of my Dark Ages in 1979, I remember visiting relatives in Germany, and used to marvel at all of the cool train items that you coudl buy from the German LEGO retailers... individual spare parts (later in service packs) that were found in LEGO Train retailer boxes under the retailers counter. They had all that you needed for your railroading needs.... The items were shown at the back of LEGO catalogs... Earlier in the 1970's, the spare parts were found in large boxes directly from TLG... under the 707 number... And also in large wooden LEGO retailer boxes such as this 1972 box.... Contents...... Inside boxtop list.... LEGO Train accessories were really very interesting in the 1970s!! (Images from my collectors guide on DVD/download - Chapter 18 - Blue Train Track Era - (1966-79), and Chapter 34 - LEGO Individual Part Sales & Service Packs (1950-99) )

Welll well well.... you can now meld Facebook with LEGO.... From my LEGO Collectors Guide, to my travels... to my grandfather, who got me started with LEGO... and to my late mother... this video, which Facebook generated randomly via all my Facebook pictures, is a testimonial to LEGO and architecture, that actually brought tears to my eyes.... (be sure to scroll up to PLAY)... https://www.facebook...t=video_comment Enjoy! Gary Istok

Of all the old LEGO parts, among the rarest of all are the red 820 garage baseplates (1955-70). These were produced mainly in white (1955-70) and Gray (1966-70), and are common enough in those colors. However, a few of these were produced red and released in the 1235 Garage parts pack and 1236 Garage set, only sold in Denmark, Norway, Sweden from 1955-57. These red ones are so very rare, that I am only aware of 3 collectors (in Europe) that have them. These came without LEGO on the studs (it was printed on the underside). One of the 3 I know of isn't even a 1950s version... it's a 1960s red mold test strike, with "LEGO" on the studs... making this one even rarer.... (From my Collectors Guide - Chapter 17 - LEGO Sets/Parts Prototypes.)

Well this post is a timely addition to the previous one of 6 weeks ago! There were 4 different LEGO 700 wooden box sets that were produced for the German market. And there were German language non-wooden box LEGO sets produced back in the 1956-59 era, but I was never able to confirm with any Austrians whether or not German language sets were also sold in Austria, or whether Austria, along with Belgium and Portugal (all of which started LEGO sales in the fall of 1957)... all had only "LEGO System" univeral box tops to their LEGO sets. ??? Well I just recently FINALLY got the undisputed confirmation that I was looking for. it seems that with Germany having German language box tops since they went online to LEGO sales in 1956.... that Austria just used the same box top designs in German that they used in Germany. While in late 1957 and 1958 Belgium and Portugal had "LEGO System" on the box tops... Austria did have "LEGO System im Spiel" (System of Play in German). A German LEGO collector sent me this image of a 1958 box type with an Austrian (thin wood frame) box, which differs from the thicker wood frame painted German box (previous post image). So I finally got the confirmation that I hypothesized.... Austria/Germany both used German language boxes before they switched over to the international "LEGO System" in 1959. Here is the "smoking gun"... 1958 Austrian 700 wooden box set (with contents)... which still had hollow bottom bricks (the tube bottom ones came out later in 1958).... (Ugh...I see an hour of Photoshop work cleaning this box up for before I put it into the Collectors Guide.... ) Here is the 1959-60 version of the Austrian 700 set box... I've had this image for some time, and up until now thought it was the first 700 set for Austria.... And just yesterday I received an image of a 1961-65 version of the Austrian 700 set... from an Austrian museum.... That brings the grand total number of different LEGO wooden box sets to 87!

I thought I would revive this old thread after nearly a year.... I was doing some research on the old (and getting more pricely all the time) 1:87 LEGO cars and trucks of the 1955-70 era. First of all I want to appologize Hrw-Amen for not answering your question from last year... The 1;87 cast plastic vehicles are and have been made for a long time. Unfortunately the time for LEGO ended in 1970... but other companies, such as WIKING and HERPA still make these high quality detailed vehicles. To answer your question Hrw-Amen, no... every company made their own dies and created slightly different albeit very similar looking cars and trucks. The identification has always been on the underside, as is the case with the LEGO cars in previous posts here. The reason I wanted to resurrect this thread however, has to do with real vs. fake LEGO truck promotional items. The LEGO 1:87 cars and trucks are in and of themselves very valuable, especially in rare colors (a 601 Fiat 1800 in very rare black can sell for over 3000 Euros!). The Bedford trucks (1955-64) sometimes came with promotional ads on the sides, a rare and highly collectible subcategory. These can command hundreds and thousands of Euros. One of the nicest is the 257 Bedford Deliver Van. It came with just the "LEGO TRANSPORT" lettering in gold and black on the side of the truck, and also with other promotional writing. One newly discovered truck was for "LIBBY'S MILCH"... or milk for a German Libby's food subsidiary... This appears to be a water decal, and the date for the Libby's milk in Germany matches the date for this Bedford truck... namely the early 1960s. However there are some of these 257 Bedford Deliver Trucks that are not as genuine. One is listed in BL as a "SPEDITION MEIER" truck. What gives it away as a likely later addition to the van, is the use of stickers. TLG did not use stickers on any product until 1971. None of the 1955-70 1:87 vehicles appear to genuinely have stickers... only printing and water decals.... The lower truck is one of the other model railroad trucks of the 60s that had this sticker. However since TLG did not use stickers for their 1:87 trucks, it appears that the Bedford truck (top) may have had a sticker applied that was from another source. There was another old 257 Bedford 1:87 Delivery Van that I had an image of for a long time, and was questioning the genuine nature of the promotion. It was for a "SINACOLA" truck.... Sinacola was a non-alcoholic beverage sold in Europe, and the appearance of a Martini type glass in the logo was just a coincidence. Just recently I found some other model railroad trucks from that era that had a sticker with the identical SINACOLA sticker. Since the application to the LEGO truck was way overscale, and overlapped the sides and to of the vehicle, it shows that this too is not original. TLG would never produce such a sloppy arrangement on their 1:87 vehicles. Had these trucks been original, they could have had a value of over 1000 Euros, like the first truck in this discussion. However, these are later "mock-ups"... made to look like the real thing. And that is a problem for all collectors of rare 1:87 LEGO vehicles... differentiating between the real thing and a fake... especially when the Billund LEGO Archives are so sparse on the subject!

Lake Otaku (my fellow Michigan native WILYKAT on BL).... that was very very well said!! I really enjoyed your narrative, and you hit on all the right points! Job well done! P.S. Carrer124 also hit on one additional point... "willingness".... which sometimes seems to be an intangible that TLG adds to parts production.... we sometimes "don't get why TLG does a particular thing... it may not always make sense... but it's somehow based on a "willingness" for TLG to do some things that may not otherwise seem to make business sense.... something that many of us can find examples of! Good job folks!!

Just adding some additional vehicles to the 1:43 Collectors Guide... I had always thought that Shell LEGO items were first introduced starting in 1966 with the 325 Shell Service Station, and continuing on until the OCTAN station replaced Shell for non-USA gas station sets (in the USA it was always Exxon). However I was startled to find that the 1952-57 1:43 Chevrolet trucks, which were only ESSO for gas/oil, and BP for natural/propane gas trucks.... well in Norway there were a few promotional Shell trucks as well... althouth these are very very rare. So I added them to the guide... new updates going out to current owners... (as will be the case going forward)... The Danish 908 Shell Tanker Truck... The Danish 918 Shell Long Tanker Truck.... As is always the case with the 1:43 Chevrolet trucks with tanker attachments... the truck is made of plastic, but the tanker portion is made of wood. Ironically, unlike the small Town Plan era (HO scale) 1:87 trucks, the larger (O scale) 1:43 trucks are all compatible with LEGO minifigs... basically the same scale!

TLG as a company buys a lot more LEGO items than you would think likely. This can be (as has already been mentioned) for the purpose of building a prototype or new model, or other reasons as well. Another thing that TLG does is to buy rare LEGO items at auction. When TLG was growing over the last 80+ years, they didn't always have the foresight to keep a copy of everything that they ever made in their archives/collections. This is especially true of LEGO items that were produced by licensees, such as Samsonite (USA/Canada), Courtauld's (UK/Ireland/Australia), A/S Norske LEGIO (Norway), Boris Strømholm (Finland), and A/S Lundby (Sweden). Here are some items that TLG has bought at auction (and likely bid against others!).... 1954 - 700/3 Basic Set (Sweden)... This Swedish set was purchased by TLG mainly to get examples of the very rare yellow classic tall windows/doors for their collections. TLG Archives contacted me about this set wondering about the blue/yello road signs, which I identified for them as model railroad parts not related to LEGO. Here is another set that TLG purchased on the secondary market... a 1955-56 Mosaik Set... only 2 sets known... The only other one of these 1300 Mosaik sets is in a Dutch museum... Also, several TLG employees have purchased from me a copy of my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guides... most notably American LEGO designer Jamie Berard.... Another thing I sometimes wonder about is if TLG employees sometimes see some very rare LEGO items for sale on Bricklink at great prices. I can no longer keep count at how many LEGO items I've told friends about, mentioning that they were very reasonably priced at specific LEGO BL stores....

One of the most valuable LEGO sets of all time was sold in Denmark, Norway and Sweden only. The 2 LEGO Mosaik sets of 1955-56 are so rare, that only 2 are known in private hands of the smaller set (1300), and none are known of the larger set (1301). Here is the Billund Archive copy of the 1300 set. They actually had to buy this used set on the secondary market, since TLG never kept one in their collections.... The only other known copy is a MISB example in a Dutch museum. Here is a 1955 Swedish department store LEGO display in Göteburg Sweden. The 1300 and 1301 Mosaik sets are seen stacked up on the far left side.... $$$$$ Why are these sets so very very rare and valuable (worth probably $2000-$5000)??? Well what happened was that TLG wanted to sell their spare parts packs series of sets. So the 1300 and 1301 sets NEVER had enough parts to actually build what was on the box top or in the instructions!! So they thought that customers who bought this set woudl buy the additional spare parts packs to make a larger number of mosaic designs. However, when purchasers of this set got home, and saw that they could NOT build what was promised... they got mad and returned the set to the retailer. And the retailers returned the unpurchased sets back to TLG... (Note: that blank cardboard insert in the 1300 box could be flipped upside down and spare parts pack purchases could be stored in that former dead space!) This story and more are talke about in Chapter 4 of my Collectors Guide...

Thanks Neonic! I love the history of the UK and Dutch version of the 1592. Here (from my LEGO Collectors Guide chapter on promotional sets) is a copy of the UNOX soup ad for the 1592 in the Netherlands... I have a Dutch friend who has 2 brothers. While they were growing up his parents would always have to buy 3 of everything for them. So when the 1592 UNOX promotion came out in 1983, they bought more soup and sent in for 3 of the 1592 sets. Well as it turned out... what came in the mail were 2 of the Dutch 1592 sets, and 1 (older) UK 1592 set! I love hearing stories like this. It shows that TLG still had extra inventory of the 1980 era UK version of the 1592 set, as seen here.... From my Collectors guide... some of the other Dutch LEGO promotions...

Like I said before... Sands gaming corp. chairman and owner billionaire Sheldon Adelson probably picked up the phone, called Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen in Billund, and told him I want 10K of these sets to sell one at a time to my hotel patrons in Singapore. I could actually see them limiting the sales of these to hotel guests... to keep them in stock, away from the speculators...

Thanks 62bricks... I sent my Samsonite collector friends on the scent of that auction.... As for set part counts... those old 1960s sets were all hand packed... so counts are just an official number.... not an absolute! Also based on the Champagne color of the trans-clear bricks... those are likely (warped) Cellulose Acetate bricks... rather than the newer Polycarbonate... which dating to circa 1968-70 is rather late for CA in trans-clear.

Since she's in a service industry job... does she accept tips? Also, how exactly does one pronounce Gizmodo?

Speaking of low release numbers... this set seems like an Architectural candidate... even though the set number doesn't say so....

Eilif, I have been MOC'ing for 30 years in the classic LEGO scale (1:87 scale, 1 door = 3 bricks high). Here's a build of the 310 Esso Service Station (mine is from parts, but the set was produced from 1956-65).... Using one of the old 1960s cardboard bi-fold Town Plan boards is an awesome way to build in the classic scale... as this early 1960s town shows... Here's my take on a Town Plan layout... but more bult up! The trees, bushes and road signs aren't too expensive... but the very collectible 1:87 scale cars and trucks can get very pricey! But most sizes (except for the 1x1x1, 1x2x1 and 1x1x2) of the classic windows and the classic doors are downright cheap!

My German LEGO collector friend Olaf has a very nice collection of these very old 1955-65 printed bricks on Flickr (which appear to be for sale?).... 1x8: http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/ 1x6: http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

I was a bit uncomfortable earlier today... but I passed that kidney stone... That was the reason for my previous post... same link... I personally think that trying to itemize each and every color for the printed bricks is going to be much more difficult than anyone imaged... there probably are 1000 different ones... many yet to be discovered. Here are 2 Danish (Grocery) bricks... dark green and light green... is there a medium green?

Stuart9, I'm waiting to hear back from my Canadian friend. But on a different topic.... http://www.bricklink...4587&nID=788717 You really do need to get my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide.... Wouldn't you know it... just the right chapter you need is available on 1000steine as a sample chapter to answer your inquiries... "Chapter 48 - Printed and Painted LEGO Elements"..... http://www.1000stein...ter 48 Vol2.pdf Bricklink seller Brasletty is more than happy to buy any "junk" that anyone has... he has a copy of my Guide! All the printed bricks from 1955-57 come without LEGO logo on the studs, some of the earliest (1955 Mursten era) may come without a logo completely... ... and the lettering often come in many more colors that are listed on Bricklink... Also... those 1x6 and 1x8 beams with cross supports underneath.... The 1x6 beams always have 2 cross supports. The 1x8 beams usually have 3 cross supports, such as these... http://www.bricklink...asp?P=crssprt01 But for the 1955-57 early beams... the 1x8 bricks only have 2 cross supports! But you won't find those listed over there either....

For those of you that have my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide... in Chapter 17 - Prototype LEGO Sets/Parts, there is this beauty.... the 1237 1/2 Esso Service Station set... Well the TLG Archives in Billund have no information on this 1237 set, and I thought that it was never produced. But it was found in the 1956 LEGO catalogs of both Sweden and Norway. And since there have been some sets in those countries that have still not been found, but have been seen in old LEGO b/w photographs... I'm having 2nd thoughts on this 1237 set. The reason I thought it was never produced, is because the 1310 Esso Service Station (similar to the 310) was introduced also in 1956. So I thought a 1/2 service station was likely never produced. The set next door in the image, the 1236 has been found a few times in both Sweden and Norway.... but since these sets were introduced to both countries likely from Norway... it's still possible that the 1237 may actually exist out there in both countries... in small quantities.... but just not found yet. Also when you put a 1236 and a 1236 together (buildings touching)... you get a 1310/310 Esso Service Station. Here is a 1236 box for Sweden... the 1237 would looke very similar (based on the previous image, from a catalog).... A 1237 set that came on the market, would likely fetch in the 2000-3000 Euros figure. As would some of the other sets shown in my LEGO DVD/download prototype chapter....

A historic Danish 1954 LEGO brochure that mentions both LEGO bricks and the LEGO Chevrolet 1:43 Trucks/Wagons.... (from the collectors guide)...

I just remembered something about those 2x8 white rail ties with the very matte finish (non-ABS) plastic... it was strange that some sets had those as well... such as the 455 Jear Jet set of the mid 1970s... each set came with 7 of those 2x8 white plates... along with many smaller white plates which were ABS. It was the combination of the two that looks kind of odd.... since ABS white plate are shiny when new, and these 2x8 plates had a very dull finish to them. I talk about this non-shiny LEGO plate plastic in my LEGO DVD download guide, in the chapter about LEGO plates. Samsonite made a few sets in the late 1960s early 1970s that had these matte plates... but in other colors. I've had a few of these strange plates in red (4x8 waffle bottom) and black (4x8 waffle bottom and 4x6 circle bottom). In black and red these plates have a "pearly" finish to them... almost transluscent.

Well the many months of research and documentation are finished.... The 50 page 70 color image... Unofficial LEGO Chevrolet Truck/Wagon Collectors Guide is now finished and available as a download (no shipping/no customs)... http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=91101

Hi, for those of you who remember my 3000 page Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide as a DVD download, I have another guide for sale starting today.... The LEGO Chevrolet 1:43 Trucks and Wagons Guide (1952-57). This covers all 109 LEGO trucks, wagons, and related accessories that TLG produced during those early years. These were sold only in Denmark (1952-57), Norway (1954-57), and Iceland (1955-57), and are very rare today. Some of the rarer items can range for many hundreds of dollars. This 50 page collectors guide, the only online guide for this rare series, is available for only $6.95. Just Paypal me @ istokg@earthlink.net You can contact me at this same ID, if you have any questions. You will get a huge PDF file with 50 pages, 115 pictured LEGO items, and 70 additional photos (68 color, 2 historic black/white ones), and each item described and shown individually. Here is the guides Banner Page shows the "gift box" of the series... Also, here is a historic image from a 1952 LEGO Company photograph showing LEGO employees putting the spring motors into the Chevrolet Wagons.... The Danish #903 BP Flatbed Truck with Gas Canisters, with its' original box... The image of part of a 1956 Norwegian LEGO catalog showing just some of the 1:43 Chevrolet Trucks sold by LEGO.... The very rare and valuable Esso Oil Barrels (made of wood with decals)... that were sold with some of the 1:43 Chevrolet Esso Barrel Trucks.... The 1:43 Chevrolet Wagons came in a box like this... (960-978)... The Chevrolet Truck cabs came in an endless set of colors and color combinations. This image shows some of them without the matching trailers... either long, short, or tanker... And the Chevrolet Wagons came in many variations as well.. in different colors, and different decals... such as this Danish Bakery Wagon... The 1:43 Chevrolet Trucks were made of plastic. Many of these models had their origins in earlier wooden trucks.... and sometimes they were produced simultaneously by TLG. Such as the Coke/Coal Dump Trucks...