LEGO Historian

The "golden era" of LEGO parts sales were the 1960s.... In continental Europe not only did you have 138 spare parts packs to choose from... but you also had retailer boxes for classic LEGO windows and doors. You could go to your LEGO retailers, where they would have a retailer box for red and one for white windows/doors. Pick as many of whatever size window/door that you wanted directly from the retailer. I purchased a pair of these 375 piece boxes languashing on the shelves for 20 years of a bookstore in Germany in 1979 (brought me out of my dark ages)... From my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide... chapter on LEGO retailer individual part sales.

Back in the 1980s TYCO made a few very interesting pieces that produces a slightly different angle than the 45 degrees needed for this usage. These are 3 parts that would have been awesome had LEGO come out with these... they are a equilateral triangle with each side the width of a 2 stud brick. Also produced were these triangle bricks with a 1x2 attached to 1 and 2 sides of this part.... now granted these produce 60 degree angles, which would not work in a 45 degree world... but these parts would be so awesome for producing castle walls that go off at odd angles (baseplates are literally not useful with these), as well as castle towers and other structures that are 6 sided. A really cool group of parts that go very much against the 90 degree grid of LEGO elements... Tyco also made some red and gray castle sets with these parts, that really were cool to build with.

Hi rollerbones, You can find Modulex parts available in Bricklink... under 4 Modulex headings... Modulex, Modulex - Bricks, Modulex - TIles, Decorated, and Modulex Windows.... http://www.bricklink.com/catalogTree.asp?itemType=P Also, in my 2800 page, 73 chapter Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide... as DVD download... I have an appendix that explains the history of Modulex... http://www.youblisher.com/p/734257-MODULEX-Architectural-System-Appendix-D/ Gary Istok

TLG has had a presence in Asia going as far back as 1962 (sales started in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong). Granted things were slow for several decades, but eventually the LEGO presence was more prevalent there. I think that questioning why there aren't LEGO stores in a particular country is sort of premature. When you look at the worldwide list of LEGO stores outside of the USA, Canada, Germany and Britain... there are only 7 stores!! Even Denmark only has 1 store. http://stores.lego.com/en-us/stores I think that TLG is doing this slowly and methodically. Granted it's much slower than most here would like, and anying for many (especially the most LEGO intensive country in the world... Netherlands!). But eventually LEGO stores will get to many more countries... it's just a matter of WHEN....

Not to mention all those Bricklink stores in the Netherlands... even though neighboring Germany is much larger... the Netherlands (at 437) has more than 50 BL stores more than all of Germany. So you may be onto something there Legogal... the Netherlands is the most LEGO intensive country in the world...

For whatever it's worth in the greater scheme of things... all those minifigs that you folks pay $10 for (3 of)... our good Danish LEGO friend and owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is RAKING IN THE KRONER... He bought out his sister's share of Kirkbi/AG (owner of TLG) back in 2007... and so owns the LEGO brand alone. In March 2013 Forbes Magazine listed him as one of the richest men in the world... at $7.3 Billion. Keep buying those minifigs!!

Hehehe... thanks guys! Since I'm on a roll for modern LEGO.... One of my all time favorite LEGO themes are the Maersk sets. The first Maersk set was a 1959 glued retailer display model (none known to have survived.... yet!) called the Regina Maersk... followed by the very collectible 1974 era 1650 Maersk Line Ship... a few Maersk trucks, and then the 4 variations on the Maersk Sealand/Maersk Line Ships of 2004-2010. The modern Maersk ship was first released in 2004 as the 10152 MAERSK SEALAND... This ship set was really the first LEGO set to give us a nice quantity of Maersk blue LEGO parts. Prior to this, all the Maersk promotional sets only gave us a select few Maersk blue parts. The 2004 Maersk set was very popular (it was sold by LEGO Shop-At-Home), and in 2005 it was followed by a new edition that only differentiates from the 2004 version by mentioning "2005 Edition" on the box top.... By 2006 the name of the Maersk company changed (after earlier merging with the Sealand Shipping Corp.), and this ship changed from Maersk Sealand to Maersk Line. So the 2006 version of the set had the box labeling now changed to "MAERSK LINE". And inside, the stickers (which were unchanged from the 2004 and 2005 versions of 10152), now had just "MAERSK" or "MAERSK LINE" on the stickers.... One last thing about the 2006 version of the 10152 set. The four 2x4 Maersk blue bricks in the 2004 and 2005 versions of this set were modern 3001 bricks (with cross supports underneath). When the 2006 version came out, TLG was running very low on Maersk blue 2x4 bricks, so they asked the LEGO model shops for some inventory, rather than do another production run of Maersk blue 2x4 bricks. So many of the 2006 10152 sets had 4 of the older 3001old Maersk blue 2x4 bricks without cross supports. Since Maersk blue 2x4 bricks were first produced in 2004 for the earliest version of the 10152 set, these old mold 2x4 Maersk blue bricks are something of an anomaly... since that brick type was finally discontinued by 1990. These old (model shop only) Maersk blue 2x4 bricks are however available individually on Bricklink... at a premium... http://www.bricklink...1old&colorID=72 In 2010 another run of the MAERSK LINE ships was ordered... but TLG came out with an entire new set number... 10155. This MAERSK ship has only "MAERSK" on the side of the box. And TLG made another production run of the 2x4 Maersk blue 2x4 bricks (with cross supports) for this set (and the later Maersk Train). All 4 versions of this Maersk ship have the USA/Canada style printing on the boxes... with the part count and writing in English/French/Spanish. Even those sold in Europe had this printing. The 2011 introduced 10219 Maersk Container Train also had Maersk blue parts in that very nice train set. However, that appears to be the last Maersk set with actual Maersk blue colored parts. In 2014 TLG will introduce the 10241 MAERSK LINE TRIPLE-E SHIP with the color "medium azure"... as the new LEGO color for Maersk models. This is a sad farewell for Maersk blue, a (until 2004) very rare to come by LEGO color.. which appears to have been retired as a color in 2011 (with the end of production of the Maersk train). Sadly, since Maersk blue is a color owned by the Moller-Maersk Corporation, it is doubtful that new production of Maersk blue will be re-introduced, unless a new Maersk LEGO model switches back from medium azure back to Maersk blue. One last thing... American LEGO designer Jamie Berard... in his video about the new 10241 super ship pronounces the word "Maersk" in the correct manner... with the sound as "mayor-sk"... I've been acquainted with Jamie for some time, since he first bought one of my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide 3 years ago...

Wish I knew Splatman... that's a deep link to a 6271 box image from Brlcklink... at first I thought it was Zellers, which is Canadian... but I can't tell.

Thanks SheepEater... point taken.... Here's a 1992 era Pirate set called 1592 Imperial Flagship. This very popular set was sold in all locations... but in the USA (only) it was sold either standalone in a box, or wrapped together with a lavender colored storage case. Here is the standalone set 1592 set (USA/Canada version)... And here is the USA version with the lavender plastic storage box included... These plastic storage cases of the late 1980s and 1990s are common in red, scarce in blue, and rare in black and in lavender. From my Unofficial Sets/Parts Collectors Guide - Chapter 16 - LEGO Buckets and Storage Cases (1984-2000).

Thanks 62bricks... in the 1966-72 era USA and Canada (Samsonite LEGO) sold basic sets that were different from those sold in the rest of the world... the set numbers mirrored the part counts. So you had basic set numbers 99, 120, 205, 285, 375, 450, and 615 that mirrored the part counts. One of the sets that didn't follow this nomenclature was the #004 Master Builder Set... which had 671 pieces. Soon after this set came out in 1965, a special version of this set came out called the #704 Master Discovery Set. A #004 with 33 extra pieces. So 671 + 33 = 704 pieces, which translates to a #704 set! From my Unofficial Sets/Parts Collectors Guide - Chapter 12 - USA/Canada Department Store Catalog Sets (1962-75).

Other new items added to the Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide are a new chapter on trying to get adults interested in LEGO. Unfortunately... this idea was 50 years ahead of its' time... but it is an interesting essay in getting parents interested in LEGO alongside their kids! This chapter has lots of stunning LEGO advertising and box images.... http://www.youblisher.com/p/781819-Chapter-74-Adult-Children-LEGO-Displays/

Although LEGO wooden toys go back to 1932, the first LEGO plastic bricks sets go back only as far as 1949, with the introduction of the very first AUTOMATIC BINDING BRICKS sets of LEGO. TLG (and all old time LEGO collectors) had always thought that the oldest LEGO sets were found in colorful cardboard boxes without the word LEGO on the box. However, this (pictured) extremely rare and previously unknow (to even TLG) wooden box set dates back to 1949... Day 1 of LEGO bricks. The white catalog confirms the legitimacy (and date) of this set. This very rare box would be a proud addition to almost any museum collection... and the Billund TLG Collections are on the lookout for one of these.... If it were in my collection, I would insure it for $10,000!! The crown jewel of my recent updates to my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide....

Yes... this is not only bricks from the 1990s, but also from the 1980s as well... which is when most of my yellowed white ABS bricks are from. Mine were kept in a dark basement for decades, and they still yellowed. I had built a LEGO skyscraper with white bricks back then... and the bricks still yellowed... however in the places where bricks were touching other bricks (sort of away from oxygen)... they remained white.

Continuing to add content to future free upgrades to the DVD download (no longer available as a DVD... now only a renewable download. Always improving on set images... new items....

Still available for $29.95... no shipping, no customs... You can download it to your PC or MAC, or your iPad or SmartPhone... or all 3! Dowload on your device in just hours (only takes 6-15 min. to download). Plus get free annual upgrades for new and old LEGO items discovered and uncovered... http://legocollectorsguide.weebly.com/ Or if you wish to give this as a last minute gift... it can get to it's destination ASAP... no holiday rush! Happy Holidays! Gary Istok

A more recent vintage set was this, the 6090 Royal Knights Castle Set of 1995. The upper set is the European version without writing on the box top, except the LEGO logo and the set number. The lower set is a USA/Canada set made in Enfield Connecticut, which has English/French writing "Building Toy / Jeu de Construction", as well as the ages recommended for this set, and the parts count. all things which one finds in sets specific to the North American market.

OK... I mentioned earlier that the USA had different set numbers than the rest of the world did, back in the 1970s. TLG has never given us a reason for that. However there is likely a good answer for this... Starting in 1961/1962 USA/Canada started selling LEGO via a license to the suitcase maker Samsonite. These sets all bore the name "Samsonite" or "Shwayder Bros.". Shywayder Bros. was the corporate name (since 1910) of the family that first produced the luggage. They started using the Samsonite name in the 1950s for their line of plastic luggage... and by 1965 it became so engrained, that the corporate name of the Denver Colorado changed to Samsonite Corp. in early 1965. Anyway... Samsonite knew how to sell luggage very well... they sold a lot of it over the years, and much of their sales was thru department store catalogs (a whole other can 'o worms that for those that have my DVD download guide, is explained in the chapters on Department Store Catalog LEGO Sets and Department Store Catalog). Anyway... LEGO sales in the USA were underperforming by the late 1960s, partly because... in the words of a 4th generation Shwayder family member "we were selling LEGO like we were selling suitcases". So by 1970 USA LEGO sales were only about $5 million per year, much less than the sales of smaller West Germany at that time. So TLG decided to go to court to get the USA LEGO license back from Samsonite (the Canadian license seemed to be safe at the time). So 1970 was the year that TLG started litigation to geti their license back. This they achieved by 1972... the last year for Samsonite LEGO sales in the USA. So what likely happened was that with TLG LEGO sales in the USA... TLG may have feared that Samsonite LEGO sets from Canada could find their way to USA customers. So TLG decided to have unique set numbers for their USA sets... even though the same exact sets were sold in all countries. Here is a list of all large model LEGO sets sold in the 1971-79 era... and where they were sold under which number. (from Chapter 9 of my collectors guide - LEGO Model Sets 1971-79)... As we can see, in the 1970s there were not a lot of different LEGO sets sold in the USA. This was because TLG was getting their new USA HQ established in Connecticut, and preparing for LEGO production by the mid 1970s. So in 1973... there were 125 different LEGO sets and parts packs sold in Germany... but only 19 in the USA. By the late 1970s the USA was playing catch-up. While USA and Canada had different set number, and the USA was under TLG and Canada was still licensed to Samsonite of Canada, there were a select few sets that both countries shared. One was the Coast Guard set. This coast guard set was sold under the 369 number starting in 1976 in Europe and Australia, and under the 575 set number in 1978 in USA and Canada. Interestingly enough... the 369 and 575 sets are easy enough to tell apart... the older 369 had the minifig "stiffs", and the 575 set had the (1978 introduced) regular minifigs. Also some of the construction models, and the sticker sheets were different. One interesting difference between the USA and Canada sets was that the Canadian set came with rare Canadian flag stickers.

I've got an entire 3000 page LEGO Epic Miniseries..... hehehe.... check it out... the 73 chapter Table Of Contents... is 11 pages long!! http://www.youblishe...LE-OF-CONTENTS/ HI Cult_Of_Skaro.... You can order the DVD download from my personal comment field at the bottom of this post... I'm now only doing downloads (no physical DVDs)... since each yearly upgrade is free, and since it gets to you when I get a notify that it's been purchased. Plus no mailing or customs to deal with... just a 688MB download that takes 6-15 minutes to get to your desktop (MAC or PC or iPad or SmartPhone or multiples).

Here is one of the strangest LEGO sets ever produced. From 1970-75 Minitalia sets were produced for the Italian market. These sets were produced because in 1970 the Italian Parliament forbade the importation of construction toys, for some strange reason. TLG reacted quickly to set up production in Italy using some different LEGO brick molds (my Unofficial Sets/Parts Collectors Guide has an entire chapter about the 20+ Minitalia sets and their history)... and different sets, under the Minitalia name, but with the LEGO logo on the box. These Minitalia elements were made of some inferior plastic (not ABS), and TLG had molds made for this production in Italy. However, by the time the Mintalia subsidiary was up and running, the Italian Parliament reversed itself, and allowed LEGO sales once again in Italy. Well with the Minitalia sets and marketing already in place.. for 4 years TLG produced both LEGO sets and Minitalia sets for the Italian market. There is no interruption of Italian LEGO catalogs for 1970-74, and there are also Minitalia catalogs for 1970-74. So anyway... by 1975 Minitalia sets were discontinued. However TLG had a bunch of the strange Minitalia plastic left over, and also had some unused LEGO molds for Minitalia windows/doors. So in 1977 TLG came out with very unique basic sets #1 and #2 that had LEGO bricks, but Minitalia windows/doors made of the Minitalia plastic, but in black. These 2 sets were produced for only 1 year in Italy... but the #2 set was also produced for Japan, and continued production for about 4 years (1977-80)... thus using up the remaining supply of Minitalia plastic, and using the Minitalia window/door molds. Here are the 2 very rare #2 sets... top one with Italian writing and with a sticker in Italian. The bottom set is in Japanese, and has a sticker that changes the set number to #1902 (although both boxes have the number "2" in very large letters on the sides of the box, and a smaller "3" (for ages 3 and up) on the front side of the box. Note: many of these set images are from my Japanese LEGO collector friend Yodoba.... Here's a 1980 Japanese catalog image showing the #2 set (as seen on the side of the box), but mentioned as #1902 in the catalog (and on the sticker on the box top). These 2 very strange and very unique sets were produced just to have a set for these unique Minitalia molds... using the unique Minitalia plastic... in black.... The entire story of the unique Minitalia sets and parts and the history of these unique #2 LEGO sets that followed them can be found in my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide... Chapter 34 - Minitalia LEGO Sets & Parts (1970-1980).

One of the more interesting sets was the 340 Train Control Tower Set of 1968. This set came in several box types, 2 of which are shown here. The box on the left shows the box for continental Europe, without writing on the box top. The box on the right shows the USA Samsonite LEGO box, with "Model Maker" on the box top. The Samsonite version of this set had a very odd anomaly, which was repeated in many of the Samsonite LEGO model sets of this era. Namely the box top image came from Europe (TLG), but what was in the box did not match the box top. The contents of the USA and Canada sets had a plain 16x16 green baseplate totally full of studs, rather than a custom baseplate found in Europe and Australia. So if you were a kid in the USA back then... you might be disappointed to find that what was in the box didn't match what was on top of the box.... Another set from 1968 was the 343 Train Ferry Set. This too came in several versions, the upper box is the continental European version, the lower box is the USA Samsonite version. Like the 340 Train Control Tower set, the Train Ferry Set had a different baseplate for Europe and Australia, than it did for USA/Canada Samsonite. The Samsonite baseplate has far more studs, and is much less complicated.

Not just the boxes for different regions around the world are different, but so are instructions. The 1971 688 Shell Double Tanker Truck was sold in continental Europe with the 688 instructions shown on the left. The 688 instructions for Canada (Samsonite) are shown on the right. This truck was never sold in the USA (Shell sets were never sold there).

Here's one of my all time favorite sets... the 325 Shell Station set of 1966-70. This set came in 2 different box designs... the older 1966-67 box (top image), and the later 1968-70 box image (middle and bottom image). The top image is older because it shows prototype gas pumps, which are unknown in any collection. The top and middle image show "LEGO System", which is standard for TLG production for continental Europe. The bottom image shows the British LEGO Ltd. version of the box with "The Building Toy", and this version was sold in Britain, Ireland and Australia. Also, the British LEGO Ltd. version (licensed to Courtauld's Corp.) has solid yellow glass garage doors in the set, even though the same trans-clear with yellow edging garage doors always shows on the box tops. The TLG continental European version of 325 always has the trans-clear garage doors with yellow edging. This Shell Station was NEVER sold in USA/Canada... so no "Model Makers" or "Samsonite" will ever appear on any box top.

Many of the LEGO model sets of the 1964-71 era had 3 main box types... TLG (continental Europe), Samsonite (USA and Canada), and British LEGO Ltd. (Britain, Ireland and Australia). The small 315 Taxi set was produced from 1964 until about 1970. This set underwent several box remodelings, as well as the 3 regions box types...

At no time were LEGO box varieties at their most prolific, as they were from 1957-58. Back then the spare parts packs had an inner sliding drawer box that was generic for all countries... but not so the outer sleeve. Here is an image of the 8 different sleeve styles, by language for the LEGO countries in continental Europe (LEGO wasn't sold elsewhere as of yet)... Upper row, left to right... 1) Italy, 2) Belgium, 3) Switzerland, 4) Germany/Austria. Lower row, left to right... 1) Denmark, 2) Portugal (generic LEGO System), 3) Netherlands, 4) Sweden/Norway. This LEGO mayhem changed in late 1958, when all countries switched to the international words "LEGO System"... which were used as well in 1959 when France and Finland came online to LEGO... thus giving us this one box type....

One of the more unusual box variations I've seen is the 190 Farm Set, a 1975 USA/Canada exclusive set. What is unusual about this set is that it comes in more than one box coloring. In this image below (from a 1975 USA Toy Trade publication LEGO ad) the 190 sets can be seen on the right side. Notice the big difference in the brownish-green background box on the right, and the blue background boxes to the left of that one. I've never noticed such a big variation on LEGO boxes before. Since these boxes shown are all USA sets, we cannot blame the color variation on multiple production plants! I believe it has to do with consumer protection laws.