LEGO Historian

I have to agree with you 100%... in most American small towns... the City Hall is usually on a prominent block by its' self with a small park or village green in front of it. I always imagined my Victorian Gazebo MOC... would have looked good in such a setting...

Selling at full retail so as not to undercut the prices of their customer retailers is a common practice of not just LEGO, but of most ALL consumer items. It may result in their profit being much higher than that gotten by the retailers selling their products, but that's a benefit to them of keeping their retailers happy.

I sent the LEGO Archives folks these images of the MISB 1300 Set, and they sent me this image of their opened version of the set that they purchased on the secondary market. As you can see... not many parts to build with, which likely was the reason for it being so very unpopular... This blue background type image is how they store all the LEGO Archive sets... and in my LEGO Collectors Guide on DVD download, you are able to spot their Archival images in my document when this background color is present!

I just posted some red and yellow windows on EBAY... mainly 1x4x5. It's amazing that a mint 1x4x5 red window plus the glass in mint on Bricklink sells for an average of $3.18 for the frame and $3.18 for the trans clear glass!!! WOW!!! I'm selling them together for $1.00 each. Buy multiple items and I'll throw in some freebies (buy enough and you'll get a free LEGO DVD/download).... http://www.ebay.com/sch/istokg/m.html?item=150990861846&pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item2327c1b616&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

I will chime in and add that I have never seen a LEGO mold in an image with that much detail. They do show one in THE WORLD OF LEGO TOYS, but it wasn't that clear of an image, possibly purposefully so. There are no known molds in private collectors hands, and TLG plans on keeping it that way. I'm assuming this was a display item at a LEGO fair (hence the display tag). Parts of the LEGO molds are sprayed with MRA (mold release agent)... so they may not always look so nice and shiny like this one. I'm betting it was cleaned up first before display use. Now if someone can please provide me with the buried location of the Cypress Tree mold, as well as a hammer and chisel, I'd appreciate it!

A disconnected refrigerator.... no light, no humidity! Wonder if they smelled stale?

I knew of one Wisconsin man, who was a grandson of a 1960s toy store owner. He had 8 sets like the one with the checkerboard pattern locked away in his deceased grandfathers basement refrigerator for 40 years. When he came across them he was amazed that they were all still in pristine condition, and sold them off for a mighty hefty sum.

Hi Stinky, I just tried to use the Eurobricks private message system, but it says you cannot use it (not enough posts?)... anyway, send me an EMAIL at istokg@earthlink.net.... previous owners of the CD can get special discounts! DVD owners get new updates free. As for the Dutch collector who owns this set... he has stated that he will not part with it for any amount of money. Gary Istok

In the 1950s and 1960s, the spare parts pack boxes, wooden box sets, and Town Plan (810) sets came as loose parts. But the model sets, and basic sets came shrink wrapped in the lower box, with the box top coming off easy to show what was held in place inside. Most of the basic sets had a "checkerboard" design for the LEGO bricks, such as this circa 1960 700/0 LEGO set (from Europe)...

Well this will make you even more upset.... (and maybe now we know why it's called "The Villa of Insanity"!)... the black, yellow and blue tower each has 96 windows in NEW condition... ..... http://www.bricklink...7026&colorID=11 http://www.bricklink...=7026&colorID=3 http://www.bricklink...=7026&colorID=7

I agree... also, one of the designs (resembling a Space Assembly Building)... has a bazillion very rare 2x2 windows in gray!!! Only ever found in the 7740 Intercity Train Set!!!

The first non-building LEGO sets ever produced came out in 1955. They were known as the LEGO MOSAIK sets number 1300 (smaller) and 1301 (larger). This set was probably so unpopular, that most of them were probably sent back to TLG, who may have used the parts in other sets and threw the boxes away. The reason for this possibility is that until this past week, I knew of no other existing set outside of the Billund LEGO Collections. But a Dutch collector has one of the 1300 Mosaik sets in MISB condition (the TLG example is in used condition, and was purchased on the secondary market). So my Dutch collector friend Henk Van Zanten finally got his acquaintance to photograph this "museum quality" set. So here it is.... The set consisted of a 10x20 thick baseplate... and some round and square small bricks, as well as 2x2 and (rare) 2x4 macaroni bricks. The number of parts in this set are so pathetically few, that it was likely one of the reasons it was not popular. The girl on the brochure was KKK's younger (late) sister Hanne. Now I finally have an inside image of this box for my next version of my LEGO DVD download (along with about 50 other historic set images, and 1/2 dozen new chapters) which will be coming out in a few months... free to current DVD download owners.... If this set ever came up for auction... I could see it fetch well over 1500 Euros.

Thanks for merging my threads... that's the beauty of LEGO Alzheimers... you see new models every day! I post on so many sites... I sort of forget where I left off! ??? As to the question about a Belgian exhibit.... yes there was a smaller one a year or two before the Paris exhibition for Architects... and that became the inspiration for the Pompidou Center exhibition. What I would love to know is this... since these designs were never put in the outdoors (where they would eventually be weathered and UV ray damaged)... what became of them today?

For any of you that have the 1987 book THE WORLD OF LEGO TOYS... there are 6 very unique models shown in that book that were first seen in a 1985 Paris exhibition in the "artsy" Pompidou Center cultural center. The center coordinated with TLG to have a display from 30 up and coming architects from Europe. Each of these young architectural groups provided TLG with a set of architectural designs for a LEGO house or villa, and TLG built these in their own model shop, and shipped them off to Paris for a 3 month exhibition in the summer of 1985. Some of the designs were very unique (to put it mildly)... and others were so abstract that they defied being labeled as a "dwelling". These 30 images I've had in my possession for about 10 years, and am going to include them in my next 2,800 page Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide - DVD/download... version... which is a free upgrade as a download to current DVD or download owners. I just finished the chapter (74), and am working on a few other new chapters to add to the next version of the E-Book. I just posted some of these on 1000steine, and can be seen here... (some one else posted a few images from another show mixed in)... http://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=26238#id26238 Cheers, Gary Istok I'm also working on other additional chapters, such as on on the evolution of LEGO Figures (Chapter title picture).... And adding additional chapters on LEGO Space, Pirates, Castle, Town and Basic Sets chapters. Also I've gotten a lot of old items never before seen... (even by the LEGO Archives). Just more and more historic and modern rare items show up at my doorstep (well "inbox" to be exact)... and that's why I'm going to a download only in the future... with free upgrades to current owners...

Missing Brick...... BRILLIANT SOLUTION to a rather bland interior design!!!! I especially like the fact that you made it much more like a real old 1920s/1930s movie palace/cinema, which had main floor and balcony seating!! I love how you put the projection booth and theatre managers office between the main floor and balcony level to a mezzanine level, and added not only main floor/balcony seating... but you also added a balcony foyer at the front of the building... a brilliant stroke, since no movie theatre auditorium has "real" windows. I love how you did your main floor and balcony seating, with the ceiling chandelier... very true to the original concept of the times. Also you added curtains... which all movie palaces would have had back then. The dark red curtains are a great addition. The ONLY thing that you are missing in your design is a Procenium arch to frame the stage/screen. Perhaps around the outer edges of your dark curtain you could add tiles... perhaps an edging of these modified tiles around the 2 sides and top.... http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=2412b And in the upper left and upper right corners of the Procenium you could have one of these in the same color.... http://www.bricklink...Item.asp?P=2460 ... and stick a trans-clear minifig head on the end of each of the 2 posts on these modified tiles to make it look like Procenium lights. But your design has taken a flat screen viewing room, and turned it into a Movie Palace with Balcony Foyer... that matches the facade and the old movie palaces of the 1920s..... BRAVO!!!!!!!

I recently disassembled a LEGO MOC of about 3,000 pieces that I had put together 30 years ago... with parts from the 1970s and 1980s.... they were subjected to some heat, some humidity and some light (although not a lot) over the years... and NOT A SINGLE CRACKED PIECE!!!

You make for a very valid point about making it a 26 seat auditorium. As a historian (of more than just LEGO ) of old Movie Palaces, TLG wasted too much space inside this theatre with the concession stand on the first floor, and ONLY (!!!) 3 seats on the 2nd floor. Real movie theatres of the 1920s and 1930s didn't even have concession stands until the early 1940s. So TLG could have left that out of their design. They could have had main floor (known as the Orchestra Level) theatre seats instead, and have the 2nd floor be a small balcony... but without the projection equipment. That was a very awkward move on the part of the designers. Real projection booths and their equipment are NEVER seen in old movie houses... just the square small windows in the back of the balcony where the projector is hidden. They could have followed suit and just put a few small headlight bricks into a flat wall at the back of the steeply pitched balcony. Also old movie palaces and cinemas had Proceniums... the fancy arches around the stage. This cinema design only has a flat screen wall with little in the way to even suggest that there is even a Procenium. And the procenium should have been 2 stories high (had there been a 2 story auditorium). By eliminating the concession stand and projector area... this theatre could ACTUALLY have had a decent quantity of seating. 3 seats is almost absurd. P.S. Anyone who has been to old cinemas and movie palaces, will notice that there is a shortage of restrooms. That was because in the early years there were no concession stands to order your popcorn and big gulp beverages that require potty breaks.

I second that!!! It's finally here!! I built my first Gothic Cathedral back in the 1990s muttering about how there are no Gothic arches... and I had to satisfy myself with Romanesque ones!! But now the problem is this... will it be available in at least a few colors?? White is a good start. But I was disappointed that with the new 3x3 low slope inside corner that was built for the Robie House Architectural set... it's still only available in dark red! Here was my Gothic Cathedral... had to be red... before Bricklink and internet... didn't have much of a choice.... But I captured the essence of Gothic, even though I didn't have pointed arches....

Yes... there have actually been several variations of that font... but I was showing "generally" the modern italics font. I can look at a 1960s to the present LEGO brick and usually tell which period it's from.... I spent way too much time looking at LEGO bricks!

Here's an image of Continental European LEGO parts pack boxes. 3 of the 4 of these are normal... the 4th one seems to be a big mystery... but it's typical LEGO Mayhem... 1) The upper left box is the parts pack box style of 1966-67 and has a 4xx pack number, with a square cellophane window. 2) The upper right box is the parts pack box style of 1968-69 and has the same 4xx pack number, with a round cellophane window. 3) The lower right box is the parts pack box style of 1969-72, and has a new 9xx pack number, also with a round cellophane window. Now... the 4th box type (lower left) is a big mystery... it has the set number of the #2 set above... but the box type of the #3 set above. Where was this set sold? Why is it different? We don't know... neither do the folks at the LEGO Archives. the LEGO flags sets were discontinued in 1969 (with box type #2).... but some must have been left over to continue production... so they did with the same number but the new box design. We don't know where this box originated from. But instead of a specific 8 flags a found in the 492 and 493 sets of 1966-69.... this set came with 9 random flags. A mystery yet to be solved... This rare and unknown box type will find its' way into my next version of the LEGO DVD download... still available... and the updates free to download owners. If you have the physical DVD... you too will be able to get the new download for free, as found in the Eurobricks bazaar....

Now offering a copy (via email) images of the 30 Centre Pompidou LEGO Architectural Exhibition images from the 30 European architects that participated in the exhibition. Here are some of the entries... http://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=26238#id26238 http://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=26362#id26362 This offer is retroactive to folks who already got their DVD/downloads.... For more info on the DVD download... see my EBAY page for all the chapter info... as well as sample chapters... http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEGO-Sets-Parts-Collectors-Guide-1949-1990-Download-2-800-pages-/150990861846?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item2327c1b616

As the famous French architect Le Corbusier once said "Architecture... est un jeu magnifique"... (architecture is a magnificent toy)... That became the slogan for a 1985 exhibition in LEGO by 30 European architects at Paris's famed Centre Pompadour.... that modern Tinker Toy abomination that is in the heart of Paris... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Georges_Pompidou TLG gave an unlimited supply of LEGO to the 30 architects... to build their dream project with (must be nice!!). About 1/2 dozen of these entries are displayed in the 1987 THE WORLD OF LEGO TOYS book by Henry Wiencek... http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?B=204 I got a phone call by Mr. Wiencek in 1986, and we talked for about an hour... (I'm the only AFOL mentioned in the book, on page 30).... so I was thrilled to help out with questions he had about LEGO. Back in 1986 there was no Internet.... and discussions with collectors was nearly impossible to have. But many years later I got a copy of a set of all 30 images from the Paris show (as boxed post cards), and produced high level scans of them. Unfortunately I never got a reply from the Belgian company that printed them, so I have been unable to include them in my 2,800 page Collectors Guide (DVD/download) due to potential Copyright sales issues. But I came across them again in my 10,000 image LEGO archives... and want to let anyone who has purchased my DVD/download to know that I'll give these out free to those folks. I just posted 12 of the 30 of them on 1000steine... and they can be viewed here.... http://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=26238#id26238 http://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=26362#id26362 These are some really wonderful models... I wonder where they are today?? Anyway... I'm still selling my download in Bazaar... and the 30 images will be sent free as EMAIL attachments. (These are retroactive for folks who already bought the download).

... and sometimes (smaller sets) it's 24x24...

Ironically both the continental and British versions of the 810 Town Plan set had the same instructions... (along with 2 secondary building instructions). And neither box top exactly matches the instructions (although the British version is closer). Yes... this WAS the instructions... no layer by layer steps like we're used to today... but this was all you got to work with for building instructions back in the 1960s.... Images from Chapter 3 - Town Plan Sets and Boards... from my 2,800 page LEGO DVD/download collectors guide.

The 810 Town Plan set (1961-67) came in 2 box variations... but generally had the same parts. Some of the specialty parts were different, such as Esso, road sign and street light accessores. And later (1964-67) sets had Mercedes trucks instead of Bedford, and hollow bottom trees/bushes instead of earlier flat bottom varieties. According to the LEGO Archives in Billund, the 810 Town Plan set was sold in 12 countries. The box image on the left is the continental Europe style 810 set... and was sold in Denmark, Norway, Finland, Portugal, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Japan. Strange as it may seem... no 810 sets were ever sold in Germany, Austria, Netherlands or Sweden. The box image on the right is the British style 810 set... and was sold in Britain, Ireland and Australia. Now here's the really strange part... the continental European 810 version is at least 20 times rarer than the British version! Not really sure why that is, apart from the quantity produced was likely much less in continental Europe. But the continental 810 did have a tendency to show up in continental European catalogs as little more that "810 Town Plan" with no image of the set or layout. At least in Britain/Ireland/Australia... the set shows an image in LEGO catalogs. So the continental 810 is very very rare. I know of 2 examples of the continental 810 in private hands... while I know of dozens of examples of the British version. Even the Vault in Denmark is missing a continental 810 set. Each of these sets came with a 200 Town Plan board that matches the box top image, and box image layout. The boards that came in the Japanese 810 sets came with a left driving board. Since Sweden didn't sell the 810, there was no continental 810 set in Europe with a left driving board.