LEGO Historian

Well thanks for all the feedback folks... I was also testing out a low price E-Book version of the LEGO DVD, to see the reactions... and get some feedback. In a few days the special E-Book price will go back up to its' normal level... and the specials will be at an end... fair warning....

People can call it anything they want... but when I hear someone say Legos (or any similar plural)... I tend to think... "Hmmmm, a brick building/collecting newbie...." There's that adage about "first impressions"....

Clone bricks do not bother with producing molds with "Pat. Pend." and "Pat. Pend. obscured".... Read the last 4 paragraphs here.... http://news.lugnet.com/parts/?n=139

Thanks for all the comments folks... the tile/wedge idea sounds nice... but it loses something when I try to implement it in translation. I don't think it'll have the same effect as the 800 year old North Rose Window of Chartres Cathedral in France. But putting a frame around the boxes is not a bad idea at all.... Those of you who ordered the DVD downloads... the instructions will be going out tonight. You will enjoy them!

Well, I'm in the process of getting an ISBN number (required for Amazon and Barnes & Nobles sales)... and have been reading up on selling E-Books and DVDs. One piece of advice I was given "about E-Books" was DO NOT PRICE YOUR PRODUCT ABOVE $5.99, for maximum sales potential. So I am going to try this out as a test.... anyone who was a runner up and want a "similar" copy of my download... at that price, please EMAIL me at: istokg@earthlink.net Also, here are 2 E-Book images that I like (one non-LEGO related)... which do you like better?? The E-Book experts said that the cover MUST be eye catching.... OR..... this LEGO related image.... ????

One of the chapters (Chapter 71) of my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide (1949-90s) is devoted to LEGO TV commercials (actual online links from the LEGO DVD or download) of the last 54 years. This was put together by an American AFOL (he gets full credits). The oldest commercial? A 1958 German commercial about the 1950s style Town Plan... (including a Masonite building board)... "Wir bauen eine Stadt".... We're building a city... When the man at the end steps on a (#310) Esso Service Station a voice says "watch out".... to which another voice replies "no problem, LEGO is made of Cellidor (Cellulose Acetate) by the Bayer Corporation and won't get broken". Also interestingly enough (as seen at the end of the video)... TLG actually shows HO Scale Trains used with the Town Plan system. This is seen in 1956-58 Ideas booklets, as well as commercials.

Since we're on the topic of refurbishing... I find that built sets over long periods of time collect a lot of dust (when not covered obviously)... and sometimes even the dust gets a little bit of mildew (not a big deal for ABS). So you go out and buy a used set off of someone and it looks quite "used".... I sometimes take the top exposed bricks and mainly large plates, immerse them in water, take some liquid hand soap, and an old very used soft tooth brush... and scrub gently horizontally back and forth in both directions over the plates or bricks. Then I do it diagonally. After rinsing them off, I towel dry them, and if necessary use a fan on them afterwards (in case you have a lot of parts). Sometimes cruddy old parts look almost brand new after this process. It's amazing sometimes to find what you think are grungy old used parts, and by just cleaning one roof (or part that would collect dust) and finding that what you bought as used... is in much better condition than you originally thought!

Yea... some times it annoys me, cuz I get an effect I don't like when I use a mixture of old and new slopes... and other times I think wow... this looks rustic... like an old Cotswold Cottage effect with an irregular stone roof. There's mainly 3 colors that this effect is found on... red, blue and black.... back in the 1970s, you were hard pressed to find a lot of slopes in other colors....

Sorry but I have to respectfully disagree.... I have dozens of these, all purchased back in the 1980s from Germany (different toy stores)... the texture of sloped bricks HAS changed over the decades. And no one is going to forge a "Pat. Pend. removed" type brick.... The brick in question has all the right features to make it genuine...

When you look at the LEGO 80th Anniversary video.... Fast forward to 11:20... the box with Godtfred's 3 children on the box top (with a yellow background).... well here's the oriiginal (from my LEGO DVD/download)..... Although they got Hanne and Gunhild's outfits right... they didn't get Kjeld's white shirt and bow tie....

When the computer generated 80h Anniversary of LEGO video was produced, the folks who put it together did their homework.... however... when you look at the 11 minute mark of that video, they show Godtfred Kirk Christiansen's 3 children playing with a Town Plan set... which incidentally was a 1960s version of the set, and not 1955 as they mentioned. But what really caught my eye was the gas station in the corner of the computer generated image. It shows 2 red stripes along the top of the Esso Service Station (which was produced from 1956-65). But what was ironic is that the first station of 1956 had a box top made of artwork (not a photograph). And the artist didn't get it quite right. There was a red painted edge (hand work) to the white plates along the top... and this paint looks very much like red finger nail polish. However above that edge, there appears to be another red painted edge to the curving row of bricks. This was NEVER the case... just artwork that didn't match the reality of the final product. So the folks who put this 80th anniversary video together... they got the lower red painted edge correctly.... but because they were looking at a copy of the box (from the LEGO Vault) the upper edge was error artwork.... Check out 11:00 into the video to see... This image is from Chapter 7 (LEGO Model Sets 1955-72) from my LEGO DVD/download.

LOL.... don't plan your retirement around them..... One other thing about the early sloped bricks... the ones that look like someone took a bite out of the (called 2x1 double inverted)... but I like to call "gable connectors"... the earliest ones of those not only have part of the tube underneath missing (later the tubes were replaced by a partition)... but they have very sharp tips. At some point someone at TLG decided that these were too sharp for children to play with, and so until they redesigned the mold... some of these very old parts have the tips ground down.... Ironically... here are the 2 types... left one is the sharp one, right one has the non-pointy tip: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=3049a

Drow Master Builder.... I love your creative spirit in buildings... it's like a combination of Medieval and Disney all in one... KUDOS!!!! One thing I've noticed about old Polycarbonate trans-clear parts is that they sometimes show a crack in them. This is especially noticeable in old 1x1 round bricks. They apparently don't have the flexibility of ABS.

A couple of things about sloped bricks first off... Yes from the time of the first sloped bricks were introduced in 1958 in red, and 1960 in blue... the texture of the bricks has been variable over the years. During the 1970s the texture did seem much more textured than before or since. Those are real LEGO bricks. 45 degree slopes first appeared in the later 1950s, and 33 degree slopes first appeared around 1971. Also when TLG invented the tube bottom brick in 1958 (without which we could have no 45 degree sloped bricks)... many (but not all) LEGO elements had "Pat. Pend" on the underside. You will often find it on regular bricks (not 1x1 of course, and rarely on 2x2 macaroni bricks)... but often on bricks, slopes, plates and other parts. On LEGO plates it is very interesting... sometimes the "Pat. Pend." shows up along one edge next to the circle bottoms... on other plates you will see it in very tiny letters within a single circle on the underside of the plate. Then in the early 1970s TLGs patent was finally universally (or as universal as could be expected) approved, and they no longer created molds with "Pat. Pend." on them. However... since TLG never threw anything away... there is a type of mid 1970s LEGO element known as "Pat. Pend. removed". That is where TLG took the Pat. Pend. mold, and ground out the words... so that all you see is what looks like "lumps" where the writing used to be. Once those molds were finally retired, no more "Pat. Pend." or "Pat. Pend. removed" parts were found in LEGO sets (by the later 1970s).

Legobrandon.... it works... everyone just goes to my Spamblocker... which I do check and move to my regular mail box.

Although there are only a few winners of the DVD downloads... To all you runners up... drop me an EMAIL (I checked the Site Guidelines and I couldn't find a no-no to EMAILs)... send me an EMAIL, you may be glad you did..... istokg AT earthlink DOT net Here's a collage of images from the the DVD/download of 50 years of LEGO figures....

Well I''m very impressed with the list of the runners-up (as well as the winning sets).... some of those sets truly are great sets (and some are very rare... here's some random thoughts... 1) Thatcher Perksins 396 - I have always loved that model of the 1863 Western American train... it just seems right in every way... colors, function, "curb appeal".... you name it. It is IMHO the best of all the Hobby sets, and is the only set that I display publicly in my house. 2) the 698 12 Car 1:87 Multi-Pack.... WOW.... some of my old LEGO CDs must have sunk in on some of you!! That set is sooooo valuable and collectible (and had such a short production period from 1965-66), that a shrinkwrapped set with all the cars inside in their rarest color combinations... could probably fetch up to $6000-$8000! 3) 7740 Intercity Train.... I've never been a LEGO train collector... but back in the 1980s when I was in a toy store in Germany, I saw a stack of 20 of those... and seriously studied buying one. So many rare parts... such a beauty!! 4) 810 Town Plan set. Interestingly enough that picture of the brown haired girl and boy.... that was the last LEGO set image that Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen ever graced the cover of. He was already in his early teens, and getting to old for the box top.... But the set... the 810 Town Plan set is a real beauty, absolutely crammed full of rare specialty parts... especially of the UK unique type (road signs, street lights, Esso pumps and freestanding sign). Plus the Town Plan board was a nice touch. The thing about this set, (and the 725... the USA/Canada counterpart)... was that that (unlike many of today's models)... building was only half the fun... once you finished the Town Plan... then it was time to start playing with it... for hours on end. 5) 1592 Town Square Set.... whether it's the British Weetabix version of 1980, or the Dutch (Unilever) UNOX Soup version of 1983... this set is the European version of the 6390 Main Street Set... and should have been a regular set... not a promotional set.... but it's a classic beauty! 6) ... and speaking of Weetabix (a British/Irish/Australian Cream-of-Wheat like cereal unknown to Americans) that un-numbered castle set of 1970 is a classic, using all the colors of the era and all those cool small classic windows that were unfortunately discontinued in 1986. 7) You folks are definitely more sophisticated about early LEGO that I imagined... that #2 Italy-Japan (only) Minitalia set of 1977-80) was the precursor to modern LEGO windows and doors... only in black!! It took so long for black to come out in either windows or doors.... 8) the 310 Esso Service Station... this 1956-65 set is the ultimate Art Deco Moderne LEGO set of all time. Macaroni bricks were likely made so this set could look so cool! And the Esso pumps, sign and tanker truck make it look more realistic than almost any LEGO set ever! 9) The 215 Indian Set... those sets with "big people" were an interesting addition to 1980s sets, especially the Homemaker sets. But none was more unique than the 215 set... not only a group of Indians in a canoe... but the only use of a solid stud red minifig head used as a head! A very impressive group of votes!!!!!!!!!! KUDOS!!

Whenever I want to brush up on my Danish... I watch this short Norwegian translation video.....

SHACKLETON.... One other thing... since TLG is celebrating 80 years now... it's ironic that for USA LEGO they date the start to 1973... and not to 1961 (when the first Samsonite sets were produced for USA, followed by the first sets for Canada in 1962). So because the USA LEGO license was revoked (after litigation) in 1973, due to underperforming LEGO sales... that part of the Loveland plant... would not be officially sanctioned LEGO!!

Would that be from the front of the plant that opened in 1965 (model of LEGO)..... Or taken recently from the back of the plant (now no longer owned by Samsonite..... They're both located in the DVD/download!!! :-D

Interestingly enough.... one of the things haven't mentioned in my discussions about the LEGO DVD/download... is the evolution of the LEGO Minifigs, Maxifigs, Microfigs... and all sizes in between... since 1956.... Here's just a sample of what's in the LEGO DVD/download related to the history of LEGO figures....

The answer is NO... the color is a very common color (I list colors/rare colors in my DVD download chapter on 1:87 vehicles)... also the auto is used. Perhaps if the Mercedes were new, it wouldn't be too bad of a price, but it's not a new vehicle. Also... these are notorious for having their headlights fall out. The headlights are trans-clear, and no larger than the head of a pin... but it does detract from their value when one or both headlights is missing. And the garage by itself, depending on condition is worth about $5 (for very used) to about $20 for relatively new. I would pass on that auction...

Only 2 things about the video that I can really criticize..... 1) they don't mention Karl-Georg, Johannes and Gerhardt.... the other 3 sons of Ole Kirk... who... until the wooden toy factory burned down in 1960... were an integral part of TLG. After Godtfred decided in 1960 to just stay with plastic toys, the other 3 brothers disapproved, and Godtfred bought them out.... (Ole Kirk is in the middle, Godtfred Kirk is on the right... in this 1957 image....) The 2nd thing that I think deserves criticizing is that at 11:00 into the movie they talk about the start of the Town Plan in 1955. Well the images they show are how far the Town Plan evolved by 1961. The 1955 version of the Town Plan was much more primitive, as seen here in this 1955-57 image.... They even had a different Town Plan board in the 1950s than they did in the 1960s.... but they show the 1960s board as what was used starting in 1955. This error is not just shown here.... even THE ULTIMATE LEGO BOOK has this same error.

Here's one I would love to have... On USA Samsonite retailer reorder forms it's known as "470472"... with 472 being the set number. What this is, is a box of 72 LEGO Town Plan era 1:87 cars that come in their own small clear plastic garage, and sealed with a paper wrapper (much like USA 100 $1 bills are sealed with a band when coming from the bank). These are called "banderoles". A 1:87 car with garage and sealed with a banderole is worth about $150-$200 each (or more, depending on the rarity of the color of the vehicle). So a sealed box of 72 of these would be worth in excess of $10,000!!!! (NOTE: This individual image is from a 1964 USA Sears catalog, and lists they type of cars that could be found in the garages.)

I think I'll add a few replies now and then so that folks who win, will get to see and know some of the REALLY valuable LEGO items that they never knew about before.... I would choose this item.... a 1957-58 Opel Kapitän 1:87 scale LEGO car (for the Town Plan system).... worth in excess of $4000, there are only about 8-10 known. Seen on the box top of EVERY 1958-60 LEGO Basic set... I questioned the Billund Archives about it... and found out it was only produced in yellow, red and orange... in very few numbers... most getting out of the company, after the decision was made NOT to put them into production. Just one of many items in the "LEGO Sets/Parts Never Put Into Production" chapter......