Subject:
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Re: Help with part ? from 540, also FOTW
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Mon, 30 Oct 2000 16:15:10 GMT
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Viewed:
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788 times
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r2 wrote:
> I found a pristine, 100% complete 570 (fire station, flag stickers were
> unapplied except the American flag which is on the flag), 540 (Swiss villa)
> and 386 (basic set) at a garage sale this weekend. The boxes and pieces
> looked like I just bought the set from TRU and they even had the original
> stickers and catalogs.
>
> Now my question is, with the sets in this condition, the 540 shows the old
> "funky" tree on the box, however the set came with a large pine tree. I
> can't believe that this is not the way the set came originally. The pine
> tree is made with a different plastic and the tree is very "stiff" compared
> to the pine trees we get today.
>
> The bricks were very different in 1973 and the plates and tiles are hard to
> release from the studs. One way to tell the old bricks from the current ones
> are the mold marks. The old bricks have them on the sides of the bricks and
> the new ones have them on one of the studs. Some pieces also have text in
> the mold stating that the patent is pending (i.e. the 2x4 clear slope).
>
> Mixed in with the basic set were a complete 420 (police car) and 460 (rescue
> units). The 420 contained a 1x1 tile that is thicker than the tiles that we
> have today. When did Lego start to make 1x1 tiles and plates?
>
> I never cared for these sets very much, however, finding an old set in this
> condition allows you to really see the difference in the way the bricks were
> made in the early 70's.
>
> Rose
Rose,
Funny you should mention that tree in the Swiss Villa. A few months ago, I saw
in EBAY a complete Swiss Villa that had that same tree pine tree you described.
I don't know why, but it appears that TLC changed tree styles at this time and
replaced the "granular cube" tree with the pine tree. But they never changed
the picture.
The Tiles you described are not thicker than the ones today, they just don't
have that missing ridge of plastic that give the sides an "overhang" appearance,
which makes them easier to pry off of other LEGO. If you look at new 1x1, 1x2
and 2x2 tiles today, and compare them to the 1x2 tile with central (hollow)
stud, you will see that the one with the central stud is of the type you are
describing. They are very difficult to remove from other LEGO. When tiles
first came out in 1965, they were all of the type that the 1x2 (with central
stud). This continued on into the 1970's. Sometime in the mid 1970's, they
switched to the style we have today. But for some unknown reason the 1x2 (with
central stud) never made the transformation.
Also the "umbilical cord" where the plastic was injected into the mold, has
changed over the years. Back in the 1950's-1970's it was in the side of
bricks. Today it is on top on one of the studs. Since I have a large quantity
of LEGO from the 1970's (and earlier) I am always checking my buildings so that
those unsightly notches are not visible from the exterior of my buildings.
Gary Istok
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Help with part ? from 540, also FOTW
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| (...) And thank goodness it didn't. It's very useful to be able to embed them in buildings, etc., but they would no longer be "invisible" if they had the bottom edge filleted like modern tiles. I wonder if the corporate model builders have any say (...) (24 years ago, 31-Oct-00, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Help with part ? from 540, also FOTW
|
| I found a pristine, 100% complete 570 (fire station, flag stickers were unapplied except the American flag which is on the flag), 540 (Swiss villa) and 386 (basic set) at a garage sale this weekend. The boxes and pieces looked like I just bought the (...) (24 years ago, 30-Oct-00, to lugnet.general)
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