Subject:
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Re: 10x20 green baseplates
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Tue, 24 Aug 1999 15:00:10 GMT
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Viewed:
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1124 times
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Hmmm, Let's see, I have sets 148 (Central Train Station) and 149 (Shell
Refinery). They both came out in 1975, and both have the green baseplates with
the tubes underneath. That would place the conversion date prior to 1975. I
also have a 1970 US Samsonite Dealer Catalog, which still shows the old style
10x20 plates. So sometime between 1971-74 that conversion took place. I'm not
really sure right now. I'll have to go home tonight and check some of my old
US & German catalogs from the early 1970's.
The 10x20 plate has a long history in Lego. It actually had 3 different (or
more?) variations.
Type 1 - The oldest version from the 1950's to the early 1960's had no tubes on
the bottom, and no "indentations" on the underside of where the studs are
located. The bottom was relatively smooth and had the word LEGO in italics
along with "700e". The underside was divided into 4 quadrants with a ridge
(the same height as the edge ridge) that separated it into 5x10 stud quarters.
My oldest 10x20 baseplate, a grey one from circa 1959-60 (I got it as a 6 year
old in 1960), is one of these. Also, an interesting thing about this large
plate is that the world LEGO does not appear on any of the studs. Also, I am
not sure what colors this early plate was available in. So far, I can only
confirm grey and red.
Type 2.- I believe that these came on the scene circa 1961. The colors that
were available were grey, red, white, yellow, blue and green. A 10x20
baseplate was never made in black! This type should be familiar to anyone that
has some old 1960's LEGO. The top looks the same (with "LEGO" on the studs)
but on the underside there is a slight change. The bottom is still divided
into quadrants, but no large "LEGO", and no smooth surface. The bottom has a
lot of little craters that conform to the underside of the studs on top (sort
of like the underside of a vacuum formed part). These were made circa 1961 to
the early 1970's. Samsonite had these as well as TLG Europe.
Type 3 - This type was available from the early 1970's to sometime in the late
1980's or early 1990's (it's hard to pinpoint because they were sold as parts
packs, and therefore were still in stock long after they were no longer
produced - not to be confused with the 8x16 baseplates produced later). These
are the 10x20 baseplates that have the row of tubes around the perimiter of the
bottom of the plate. The use of these tubes made buildings that utilized these
plates (on top or within a structure) much more stable than the type 1 or 2
baseplates. These were produced in the same color as variety 2 (no black!).
As mentioned earlier, these were sold in twin packs of grey/white, red/blue,
and yellow/green. The grey/white ones, for whatever reason, were discontinued
sometime in the early 1980's, and the other pairs were sold long afterwards.
An interesting side note about the Type 2 baseplates is that Samsonite made
some 10x10 sized baseplates without any ridges within the underside. These
were used primarily for box tops! The early Samsonite sets 702 and 703, which
were in tall square boxes (similar dimentions as a USA quart size milk
carton). The top of these sets consisted of one of these 10x10 plates (always
in red!). When I browse eBay, I often notify sellers of the 702 and 703 sets
that the "missing" box top is actually one of these 10x10 baseplates. They
usually find it, and include it as part of the set. In the late 1960's and
early 1970's the Samsonite service packs were square boxes that had one of
these baseplates as the bottom of the box. Unlike the earlier 702 and 703 sets
(which only had the red baseplate), these service packs seemed to have these
plates in many different colors. I have examples in grey, yellow and yes -
even in black. But I have not been able to locate them in white or blue.
A German collector friend of mine wants to trade for some of these 10x10
baseplates. I think (and I could be wrong here) that these 10x10 were never
available in Europe.
Other "thick" baseplates were produced in recent years. 4x12 and 8x16
baseplates in various colors have been found. Other sizes may be available as
well.
But the old "700e" 10x20 baseplate has the longest history of any LEGO
baseplate.
Gary Istok
Allan Bedford wrote:
> Gary,
>
> I was reading your post today in RTL about the history of LEGO plates, and
> thinking about this thread. I thought to myself, "I'll be Gary has the
> real scoop on the 10x20 plates." :)
>
> Do you know when exactly the tubes were added to the inner edge of the
> baseplates? I have 2 without and 1 with, and yet all 3 would have been
> purchased around the same time. My guess would be that the tubes were
> added around 1977.
>
> My own info is coming from memory (having gotten the #2 and #7 sets) and
> also a 1976 product catalog. It clearly shows the baseplates in set #'s:
>
> 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 190. All on the same page no less. How's that for
> set numbering? :)
>
> Regards,
> Allan
> --
> Expert Builder Website - The Megaproject Showcase
> http://www.execulink.com/~apotome/expert.htm
>
> Gary Istok <gistok@umich.edu> wrote in article
> <37C15F34.CFCEF184@umich.edu>...
> > Well, there were a lot of sets in the 1970's that had those 10x20 green • (1 brick
> > thick) baseplates with the tubes around the bottom inside edge. Several • sets come
> > to mind immediately - 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 148, • 149. Back
> > in the 1960's the grey 10x20 was the most prevalent baseplate. In the • 1970's it
> > was the green 10x20. The green ones were also available (as item 700E) • in several
> > different service pack packages of baseplates. Back in the 70's (I think) • they
> > were packaged 2 (different colors) to a pack. Grey & White, Blue & Red, • and Green
> > & Yellow were the colors packaged together.
> >
> > There are a few other sets from the 1970's (or later) that had these • green
> > baseplates.
> >
> > Gary Istok
> >
> > chris wrote:
> >
> > > Allan thanks for the info,
> > > Mine have the tubes around the edges, so 2 must be from #7, don't know • where I
> > > picked up the third one.
> > >
> > > Chris Hill
> > >
> > > Allan Bedford wrote:
> > >
> > > > I know that I got mine in a #7 Universal Set back in mid-seventies. • I also
> > > > got one in a #2 Universal Set, for which I still have the box, • showing the
> > > > base plate as one of the parts.
> > > >
> > > > These weren't buckets though, they were boxes. In the case of the #7 • set,
> > > > it was a large flip-lid style box. The base plates were right on top • when
> > > > you opened the box.
> >
> >
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: 10x20 green baseplates
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| (...) Gary, when I read this I went and checked out my small collection of these 10x20 baseplates. All 5 are your type 2, but there are three different variations! a) Lego in medium size letters on the top studs, a textured underside (similar to the (...) (25 years ago, 24-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: 10x20 green baseplates
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| Gary Istok (gistok@umich.edu) wrote: : Hmmm, Let's see, I have sets 148 (Central Train Station) and 149 (Shell : Refinery). They both came out in 1975, and both have the green baseplates with : the tubes underneath. That would place the conversion (...) (25 years ago, 25-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: 10x20 green baseplates
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| Hello, Gary Istok <gistok@umich.edu> wrote in article <37C2B37A.EF723928@u...ch.edu>... (...) baseplates with (...) 1975. I (...) style (...) I'm not (...) old (...) (or (...) My hat's off to you Gary. You've answered my question and then some. I (...) (25 years ago, 25-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: 10x20 green baseplates
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| (...) Black! Wow -- that is wild indeed! So they were as boxtops! Ahh, now that explains the goofy mold shape. I think the gray one (10x10) with the super-thin perimeter on the bottom is the exact type I cut my foot on as a child: the edge just (...) (25 years ago, 30-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: 10x20 green baseplates
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| Gary, I was reading your post today in RTL about the history of LEGO plates, and thinking about this thread. I thought to myself, "I'll be Gary has the real scoop on the 10x20 plates." :) Do you know when exactly the tubes were added to the inner (...) (25 years ago, 23-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
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