I was working on the Lego CD, and I decided to count the different spare parts
packs that were available in the 1957-65 era, when spare parts packs were king.
The count includes the different packs (under the same pack numbers) used in
continental Europe, Britain, USA and Canada, as well as the different colors the
packs were available in.
For example for #218 (2x4 bricks), the number of individual pieces in the spare
parts packs for continental Europe was 13 from 1957-62, and 12 from 1963-65. In
Britain the count was 13, in the USA the count was 20, and in Canada it was 18.
Including all colors available (red, white, blue, yellow, clear and black) the
total different parts packs available for 2x4 bricks was 42 different packs
under the #218 banner. The pack with the most variations was #214 (classic
windows), where there were 72 different packs.
For all the 1957-65 spare parts packs (#214-235, 237, 242, 245, 250-268, 270,
271, 280-283, 400-402, 409, 510, 518-521, 670 and 671) the total number of
different packs is........ 819!!! And this is during a time when there were
only about 150 different Lego elements, including the different colors!
Gary Istok
Purveyor of good Architecture.
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