Karto

Let's hope they have corrected the large amount of errors from the first edition, so I can actually use it. This time I'll wait for some feedback before buying another duster.

That's a really impressive layout. The 12V era is definitely the best one imo. One of the very few themes suited for AFOLs at the time... It is also one of the few themes that is loved by many people who didn't even witness the 80s and that says a lot. Note: I don't know why, but almost every time a see pictures or movie clips of someone's home, I see atleast of these Ikea LACK side tables. I guess for each brick the danish put in a western home, the swedish add a cardboard table (I have three of them btw)

Not really. By the mid 90s, TLG faced bankruptcy mainly because of the theme parks, but also because of the 'strange' direction they took in their core business (lots of small themes, ugly designs, disappearing of main themes, etc.) as well as the introduction of other construction toys (K'Nex, clone brands). From 1998 to 2004, TLG lost money almost every year and had to fire more than 1.000 employees with 2004 being the worst of all. Unfortunately, I didn't found any numbers, but I won't be surprised that TLG's actual share on the toy market (3,5%) is nowhere near the one they had back in their Golden Years of the 80s. Since 2005, the quality of design improved, the attention to AFOLs increased and the company concentrated on its main themes (City, Star Wars, Mindstorms, etc.). Also, the people who were lucky enough to witness the Golden Years - like me - are becomming parents. In the end, the most important is that the group is doing well today, even if it's more because they came back from their own 'dark ages' rather than being a well managed company with constant growth over the past 40 years.

Personnaly I don't hide it (I don't yell it out either). The good thing to let people know, is that some might give you their own collection, usually for free. I've got dozens of collections from relatives, friends, friend's friends, colleagues, etc. The weird side, is when being over 30 and getting Lego as present from people you barely know

Parts that are made of lower quality ABS are the result of TLG's choices, and not because they are made in a Chinese factory... I've seen such parts in all type of sets, including licensed ones. The latest I encountered were the minifigs and other specialty parts from the Toy Story theme sets.

I think most people know the purpose of a sale The complains are about the fact that some sets like the Green Grocer were put on sale while being marked as sold out. Over the last two years I witnessed two times the sales going live (by refreshing the page). So basically, I should have been by the very first ones, and yet, the few interesting sets were already sold out (but were still available when being at the regular price) - it's magic...

It's just a bad joke from TLG over the past few years to put some interesting sets 50% off, but marked as 'sold out', even if they were still available the day before. I've checked the sales last night and unless someone buys everything in 5 minutes, it's done on purpose. Untill three years back, there were some real sales... I can be wrong, but then I would like to hear from anyone in Europe that could grab a Green Grocer, a Taj Mahal, a Grand Carousel or a Motorized AT-AT for half the price - other sets don't matter.

From my experience: My collection remained in an uninsulated ceiling for about 15 years. During summer, the environment used to be a sauna: over 80% humidity and temperatures exceeding 50°C. During the winter, it was freezing but not lower than -5°C. These conditions haven't altered any piece at all: No cracks, no broken parts, no discoloration (there wasn't direct sun light), no altered shapes, still shiny pieces, stickers remained perfect, etc. There was only some dust on the most exposed parts - which is easy to remove and doesn't affect parts either. Also, I wanted to keep my Black Seas Barracuda built, so I left it on top of a box, without any cover. I cleaned it carefully in 2007 and it's now in mint condition (even the sails). The only thing that did slightly change, was the shape of some boxes. So I would say, avoid direct sun light, strong indirect sun light, water and smoke and you should be fine. Note: This is about pieces from the late 70s up to the early 90s. I'm not sure if the cheaper and lighter ABS they use these days would withstand the same conditions, but I guess it should be similar (I hope they do have some Quality Assurance comparing ranges over the years...). One thing seems clear from what I heard lately: stickers don't. Even in a moderate environment, they might peel off.

It would be really interesting to have an accurate database on the evolution of the parts. Unfortunately, TLG didn't keep one up until a few years ago. I try to take a particular attention to this matter with my sets. I think I've gathered quite some experience over the years and I certainly would like to contribute if some people starts such a tremendous project. Most of my town sets have never been taken apart or mixed up with other sets. Regarding the period you're looking for, I would say your problem is between 1990 and 1995. At the time, TLG changed a lot of molds for basic bricks and plates (I guess!), some of the newer 1xN plates for example had the hollow inner stud - which is still in use now. When I opened my Black Seas Barracuda back in 1989, I was intrigued by the presence of both old and new style 1x2 black plates. On the other side, the 1x8, 1x6 and 1x4 white plates remained unchanged for years. Another problem is the fact that lots of sets are packed on several occasions and may contain parts produced with different molds. The 6389 Fire Control Center is a good example of this (produced between 1990 and 1993). Regarding the inner markings of the parts 'LEGO' and part numbers, I think that not much has been changed during the 90s. The end of the 70s and the 80s have seen way more: - From 'Pat Pend.' inner marking and mold mark on the side of plates, - Followed by two or three basic numbers as inner marking, with horizontal flat support bars. Larger plates had two mold marks on the side instead of three before. - Next, the mold marks moved to the top of a stud. - Next, lots of plate types had no longer inner markings at all (smaller plates, 2xN and 4xN). - After this, we've got the serial number and shortly after it was accompanied with the brand name. etc. This is only an 'inaccurate' example. There were more changes like the location of the serial number which moved around over the years. I'm quite curious to know if there are a lot of people out there interested by this, but I seriously doubt it

The 8880 Super Car is not an easy one to build, but I find it harder to unbuild... especially the wheel-suspension structures.

I wasn't speaking of 100%, but 30%. A 100-volume H2O2 means a concentration of 30% of oxygen . A 40-volume is only 12%. The concentration of oxygen actually does make the difference, the oxidative factor aswell as the corrosive factor depend on it. Put your finger in a 100-volume solution and it will get instantly white (actually don't do this, it causes irritations). Concentrations above 80% are highly unstable, difficult to make (organic process I believe) and restricted for military purposes. An example from my experience: The first printed part I cleaned was a pirate flag, the big one. The print is black, the flag should be white. Mine was dark brown. It remained in my ceiling for 15 years in front of a small window. The shape however was excellent, not a scratch. So I took a bottle of 100-volume H2O2 in my lab. This is indeed hard to find in general stores, but it should be easy to get from a pharmacist. At this concentration, you can leave the liquid in a strong, closed box. Higher concentrations (>40%) may create too much presure due to vaporization. The box I used - and which I still use after 5 years - is from Tupperware. After being 24 hours in the box, the flag went back to white - as new. One thing for sure, you have to take some basic precautions when using 30% concentrations: handle with gloves; use a towel to dry the parts and don't use it for anything other than that; don't drop H2O2 on your cloths; don't breath; don't drink and certainly avoid mixing it with other cleaning stuff.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) alone is enough to get this kind of result. Altleast, that's what I use for some years now, on all type of ABS bricks, printed or not. The concentration required is a 100-volume (or 30%). The bleaching process will first remove the thin particle layer, created by sunlight or smoke. From my experience, the shape of the brick is visibly not altered before 48h. Note: It may be hard to find this kind of industrial concentrations. If you find your way to an academic lab or you know a comprehensive pharmacist, you should be able to grab some. Higher concentrations are not usable because of being unstable.

It would be nice to make some decent pictural reviews of the older sets you open. That could help to enhance Bricklink's invetories - which are great but not perfect. Pictures showing also the bottom-side of the parts would be great! Now I can provide you mint parts - by mint parts I mean: no visible scratches, no discoloration, no dust, shining as new and perfect shape - in exchange for the MISB sets - with a warranty of satisfaction of corse

Several items were sold out before they put them 'on sale'. I've seen this several times on lego.com and I'm still wondering why. At least, I hope it's not to motivate people to check the site more frequently, it would be a pity... On the other side, I guess some people (including Bricklink resellers) have good connections at TLC to be warned once the sales are put online.

From my experience on eBay (400+ buys), you'll get way more mint parts sold as being used than getting MISB sets (I mean 20+ old ones) for the same money. It's all about how to look for the great deals. It's a shame but lots of people just never played with their Lego - and they are quite easy to track on auction sites . I'm into collecting sets and I have about 1200 of them now (500 boxed, 300 sealed). There are some pictures in the Storage topic of the general forum. I try to keep only mint / unused sets, which is why I'm exclusively looking for mint parts. In my opinion, it is even easier and cheaper to find mint parts on eBay than on Bricklink! Note: I'm speaking about older parts which are no longer produced or have slight structural differences like closed inner-studs, side mold marks, different internal markings, etc. I sell sometimes bulk lots of used parts which are in every possible condition besides 'mint'. Last year I got rid of 75kg, in a few weeks I'll put a lot of 100kg trash

It is 'needed' by the set collectors, like in any other type of collection. Some prefer to build and unbuild, others like to build once and then display, some like to play the theme with actual sets (hot cop persuit in Lego City...), there are even some people who like to destroy their bricks 'just for fun'. So what is the 'good way', yours? If you find an old MISB set (20+ years), I would rather recommend to sell it instead of opening it. With 10% of the money you made out of it, buy a used (mint) one. So, you'll be happy to buy much more sets with the money and the collector will be happy with his new unopened box full of plastic pieces. It's time to build Noe's Arch.

If the sets are kept away from the sunlight and cigarette smoke, you shouldn't have any problems with discoloration (even if the place is hot and humid). Even the old, extremely sensible cellulose bricks from 1952 are still perfect now, if they were stored correctly. Maybe you should try to cover the containers to avoid any light (also indirect sunlight). From my experience, the best result is to store the set in its original box.

Back in 2005, I bought a 6349 Vacation House (1988) and two 7864 12V Speed Regulators (1980) in a local toy store. They were just lying there on shelves for all those years...

I have almost never seen the point used as decimal separator in Belgium, France, Germany or The Netherlands during my studies or on my work. If I remember right, the only time I encountered this was within an American book of thermodynamics. The comma (and not the point) as decimal separator is part of the larger standardized metric system (SI) - which is still the standard in science (and ISO printing btw). The use of the point is only 'tolerated'. Another issue is that the point is commonly used as multiplication symbol in mathematics instead of '*' or 'x'. I would like to know in which European countries, besides the English-speaking ones, you've seen the use of the point in science!? The only ones using it are from the Commonwealth, former colonies or nations that have been 'industrialized' by the Brit (ok, that's with China, India and the US about half of the world's population...).

We European people use the coma to separate the decimals and the point to separate the 10³ - which is the correct standard, used in science. The Americans and the British do it their way: The exact opposite. One million is written as 1,000,000.00. That's also how it works on eBay. I had the misfortune to bid on ebay.co.uk when I was an unexperienced member. I made a bid of 70,10 £ and it came out as 7010... The seller was very kind, thank god. I pointed this out on the forum of ebay.com, asking if it would be a problem to accept both dot and coma as decimal separators or to link the use of it to the profile of a member. The only answer I got was 'you should have known', 'pay! you bastard' and 'I like belgian waffels'. It was quite funny because I knew exactly I would get this kind of short-minded answers This German guy probably made the same mistake. Both Maersk trucks are quite easy to find in MISB / MIB. I have seen several of them on eBay and Brickling over the years (especially from the UK). They are still very rare and worthy sets. I have however not yet seen the 1525 Container Lorry for sale in MISB. Even crazy Pier from Milano doesn't have it (He probably has the most impressive Lego collection of sets from the 80s in the world, even better than the Lego vault in Billund from what I can see). I have the 1525 truck twice and the only place I have seen it for sale was on ebay.be (atleast 4 times over the past 5 years) and by some Belgian sellers on Bricklink. I got one when I was about 10. I'm wondering if it was sold only in Belgium.

You've done some pretty amazing sales on eBay.de lately. 2 vintage 6374, several rare US-Only sets, 6380, 6372, 6399 (US), etc all MISB. Do you have some pictures of your hidden vault with all that stuff? I have seen a used 1525 container lorry (with box) being sold for 1300$ on bricklink lately. I'm wondering what these people would give for a MISB one.

I'm pretty sure they don't have an archive besides this one (with the older sets). A lot of the sets that are present in the actual VIP vault were bought back from customers and dealers. Something you wouldn't do if you were keeping a real archive. The VIP vault has a lot of boxes with heavy shelfwear or even opened! Mostly older and rare boxes. This also tends to prove the 'foreign' origin of those boxes. I had once a discussion with one of the guys who worked on the Collector's Catalog (and it was going about the enormous lack of information and the errors in that 'ultimate' book). It appeared clearly that even if they worked closely together with TLC, the company was just unable to give enough information. Why? Well because until the late 90s, they didn't keep an archive at all. No sets, no molds, no part inventories, no instruction originals, no piece evolution history, nothing. So it seems that it is just about 'guessing', 'remembering' and 'analyzing old catalogs'. Now - if - they have a secret batcave guarded by a squadron of Templar Knights with atleast one version of every single set, I would be glad if they hired someone to make a decent pictural inventory of the boxes, an inventory of all produced sets and maybe even a correct inventory of release years... I could be wrong of course, but I can't beleave TLC would prevent collectors from this kind of precious information.

I've several smaller sets like vehicles from the late 80s which I have never disassembled. An example would be the 6693 Refuse Collection Truck from 1987. For the larger sets, most of them are disassembled. I still have the two first 9V trains which I have never disassembled since 1991: the 4558 Metroliner and the 4563 Cargo train.

He probably gets his parts from larger stores (Toys Я Us alike). I've seen it once, here in Belgium with a local toy store chain which has quite a large amount of returned and defect goods to manage. In fact, it is too large to start processing every single item because of the nature of the possible failure (missing parts, damaged box, delivery incident, etc.) and because of the amount of administration to return it to TLG. So instead of losing time and money, they drop the 'trash' somewhere in a warehouse and sell the whole thing as bulk every year or so. That's usually a foreseen cost by large companies, something like the cost caused by theft. The lot I saw was probably over 1 ton and there was one set in particular (from the Racers theme) which was present in a large amount. All the boxes were crushed and it looked like it was caused by some forklift truck accident. I guess that's the kind of sets you'll sell without the damaged boxes and instructions and just leave the bags. This can also explain the amount of damaged - but yet new - parts. On the other hand, I've seen several times here on EB, topics about bulk purchases of 1m³ (1,000 litres) parts. The last picture I remember had lots of those horrible lime green parts. Another thing: It also happens that people having a large Bricklink store sell there worthless parts in bulk on eBay. You can find some pictures on Brickshelf from such stores buying thousands of boxes (especially the ones that are on sale) and sorting all the pieces out, one by one...

Most of the boxes are sealed. The others are opened but usually in mint condition.