New to the forum and looks like a nice place. I am a collector of fire fighter legos since I am a volunteer fire fighter here in Wisconsin.
Ive purchased set # 347-1 twice now trying to complete it without spending a ton on some parts from bricklink. Now both sets were incomplete and came with a box... Here is where I am confused on.
Left side pic set has all pat pending bricks. Base plate has the dots on it and has rounded corners.
Set on the right also all pat pending bricks, but the lego on top goes in a different direction on the plates. Now the yellow 1x6 and 1x8 are all without bottom tubes. And most of the bricks have a totally diff feel to them. Perhaps CA plastic bricks. Next the base plate does not have round corners, the drive ways are smooth (other one is textured), no dots and the lego pattern goes the opposite direction.
Which one is correct? Or are they both correct? One just being a older version?
Question regaurding an old set 347-1
-
Bill_Krueger
- I'm New !
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 11:09 am
- Location: Adell, WI
Question regaurding an old set 347-1
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: Question regaurding an old set 347-1
They're probably both correct. It's my understanding that older sets like this tended to have a lot of variation like that. The guy to ask is named Gary Istok and goes by "Lego Historian" on some forums. He has a Lego history book that might have a special section on this set.
Re: Question regaurding an old set 347-1
Sorry to take so long... I had to get a new account...
This is an easy one....
The 347 Fire Station set on the left is the one sold in continental Europe/Britain/Australia. It came with a granulated tree, and textured surface driveways. The one on the right is the USA/Canada Samsonite LEGO (licensee) set of the same number, but just a bit different.
When this set was introduced to USA/Canada in 1970, the baseplate was different than that sold on other continents. Ditto for the sharper corners, versus the rounded edges. The real tell tale difference was the 1x6 and 1x8 bricks with the old style hollow bottom beams (with cross-supports). These were replaced by the stud bottom beams in continental Europe/Britain/Australia in late 1964. But in USA/Canada these older molds continued use until 1972. I have an image of a 1972 Samsonite LEGO retailer catalog that shows these older mold parts in use... also the red and yellow bricks are different for a reason... you are correct... it is Cellulose Acetate.
Here's my theory on old USA/Canada Samsonite LEGO of the 1963-72 era... TLG switched from Cellulose Acetate to ABS in 1963... CA was not a stable plastic, and warped easily, so TLG switche over to the new stable ABS. But they had a LOT of red and especially yellow Cellulose Acetate pellets left over in inventory. What to do... the decided to ship their remaining red and yellow CA to Samsonite to use (maybe an cargo container full?).
Also, TLG switched from waffle bottom plates to circle bottom plates in 1962 (it uses 1/3 less plastic), and switched to tube bottom 1x2, 1x6 and 1x8 bricks in late 1964. Well TLG still had some perfectly good molds for the old parts left in inventory... and so they shipped them to Samsonite as well. So Samsonite used the old molds for these (and other parts)... and often re-tooled the worn molds, so you would find some bricks with more than 1 font on the studs (and not always pointing in the same direction).
Now as for the LEGO plates... Samsonite LEGO also had an odd habit of rotating the LEGO logo on the studs so that it is facing sideways... this is most common with 4x6 plates, but also other sizes. And many times the font itself is "non-italics".
And as for the tree in the left (European) set... this is the granulated Pine tree. These were rarely found in USA sets, and the USA 347 set did NOT come with a tree!
One last thing... The USA/Canada version of the 347 box had (under the LEGO logo)... "Building Toy", on Canadian versions it had "Building Toy" and "Jeu de Construction". In continental Europe the box had just "LEGO System"... and in Britain/Australia the box had "True Building".
This is an easy one....
The 347 Fire Station set on the left is the one sold in continental Europe/Britain/Australia. It came with a granulated tree, and textured surface driveways. The one on the right is the USA/Canada Samsonite LEGO (licensee) set of the same number, but just a bit different.
When this set was introduced to USA/Canada in 1970, the baseplate was different than that sold on other continents. Ditto for the sharper corners, versus the rounded edges. The real tell tale difference was the 1x6 and 1x8 bricks with the old style hollow bottom beams (with cross-supports). These were replaced by the stud bottom beams in continental Europe/Britain/Australia in late 1964. But in USA/Canada these older molds continued use until 1972. I have an image of a 1972 Samsonite LEGO retailer catalog that shows these older mold parts in use... also the red and yellow bricks are different for a reason... you are correct... it is Cellulose Acetate.
Here's my theory on old USA/Canada Samsonite LEGO of the 1963-72 era... TLG switched from Cellulose Acetate to ABS in 1963... CA was not a stable plastic, and warped easily, so TLG switche over to the new stable ABS. But they had a LOT of red and especially yellow Cellulose Acetate pellets left over in inventory. What to do... the decided to ship their remaining red and yellow CA to Samsonite to use (maybe an cargo container full?).
Also, TLG switched from waffle bottom plates to circle bottom plates in 1962 (it uses 1/3 less plastic), and switched to tube bottom 1x2, 1x6 and 1x8 bricks in late 1964. Well TLG still had some perfectly good molds for the old parts left in inventory... and so they shipped them to Samsonite as well. So Samsonite used the old molds for these (and other parts)... and often re-tooled the worn molds, so you would find some bricks with more than 1 font on the studs (and not always pointing in the same direction).
Now as for the LEGO plates... Samsonite LEGO also had an odd habit of rotating the LEGO logo on the studs so that it is facing sideways... this is most common with 4x6 plates, but also other sizes. And many times the font itself is "non-italics".
And as for the tree in the left (European) set... this is the granulated Pine tree. These were rarely found in USA sets, and the USA 347 set did NOT come with a tree!
One last thing... The USA/Canada version of the 347 box had (under the LEGO logo)... "Building Toy", on Canadian versions it had "Building Toy" and "Jeu de Construction". In continental Europe the box had just "LEGO System"... and in Britain/Australia the box had "True Building".
-
Bill_Krueger
- I'm New !
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 11:09 am
- Location: Adell, WI
Re: Question regaurding an old set 347-1
Wow! that is a ton of info! I have noticed all the differences you mentioned in the two sets.... I think I will try completing both with the info you mentioned and keep them true. So no tree for the US version...
Under the Lego logo on the box, mine says "Model Maker". Below that it says it is a quality product of Samsonite Corporation. If needed I can get a picture....
Under the Lego logo on the box, mine says "Model Maker". Below that it says it is a quality product of Samsonite Corporation. If needed I can get a picture....
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest