Childhood Collection Unboxing

[Zeya]

I recently got my old childhood collection back. I unboxed it yesterday and took some photos to share, if anybody is interested. If you have any advice or comments, feel free to post here.

I have yet to sift through pieces. Everything seems to be packed up into these Ziploc bags and sorted surprisingly well. I think my mother must have done this.

I have to say, it's so strange because my memories of my Lego collection are different from what is actually here. I remember us having repurposed paint buckets for our toys and the Lego was just kind of jumbled up in there, but what I unboxed here... it almost seems to be sorted by set, or at least theme. Who sorted this? I don't want to ramble on too long and bore you all, though.

Anyway on with the photos. Here is a shot of everything together as it came out of the bin. Don't squint too hard, because I have other better photos with things grouped.

DSC_0044 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

I must admit, I had feared the worst. I was expecting everything to be a hopeless jumble, scratched up, abused. But I think we were pretty tame kids and my mom made sure we took care of our things. Rarely would we leave toys out overnight, and it would all go back in the bucket for storage. Sure, there are a couple plates and things here and there that are snapped. But by and large, this is in pretty good condition.

Of particular note are the instructions. I would have bet these were long gone! I'm going to have to go through this over time, but these instructions are in good shape. A couple of the ones from way back that we inherited from our cousins are a little torn, but still usable.

Again, don't squint too much/long at this photo, but here are all the instructions together in one shot:

DSC_0030 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And here are the instructions laid out by theme.

Pirates! My favorite theme, especially as an adult.

DSC_0033 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And castle! Wow. There's quite a few large sets here. These were some really nice Christmas presents. I remember my big Christmas present at the bottom of my stack was almost always a big Lego set. Well one year it was an Erector set.

DSC_0037 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

Space! I'm fairly sure the classic space sets were my older cousin's, originally. I definitely remember the parts, such as the technic pieces that make a bendy thing and the brackets with side-facing studs, and the little rocket-like things that face down (usually used as missile cannons or something, hehe). The couple of Blacktron sets were mine though.

DSC_0039 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And here are the other instructions for what Brickset terms "Basic", "Legoland", a Town racer set, and a McDonald's promo thing. Also 3 advertisement inserts that probably came from some of these sets.

DSC_0041 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And two random Technic sets.

DSC_0032 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And last item for the paper goods, the Lego Idea book. Inside, I found a sticker sheet, and one pristine sail from a Castle set. I think I got this when I was getting on the older side, maybe 12 years old, and I don't think I used this book too much. Hardcore video game phase. Spoiled brat. :/

DSC_0010 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0011 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

Anyone know if those stickers came with the book? Edit: L@go confirmed that these stickers are in fact from the idea book.

Okay, on to the gratuitous shots of bricks and elements. Keep in mind I'm just sharing photos at this point for anyone interested. I also want to say, this is going to be a long project for me to get these all washed and parted together. I'm thinking that 2013 and into 2014 are going to be light on the Lego purchasing for me.

First up, here are all the baseplates (except maybe some very small ones):

DSC_0042 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

Those are 48x48 light gray baseplates. Do those even get made anymore? They're huge! Also, I'm not sure what the broken plate is on the far right, but it's got to be older, probably from my cousins. I have a dim recollection of snapping it in two as a kid. Lessons learned.

On to bags of mostly Pirate stuff:

DSC_0013 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0014 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0015 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0016 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0017 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0018 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And now onto Castle, which probably makes up 1/3 of all the bricks. So much gray.

DSC_0019 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0020 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0021 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0022 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0023 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0024 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0025 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

This is some of that Blacktron and other space stuff:

DSC_0027 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And onto some more miscellaneous bags. This is mostly that Basic theme stuff, and I'm hoping the classic space is mixed in there too.

DSC_0026 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0027 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0028 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

DSC_0029 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

And that's all the photos I took. Like I said, I have my work cut out for me. My mom liked to use moth balls, and that stuff stinks pretty bad. It's all going to have to get washed. I know there's a thread here somewhere on how to clean Lego, which I'll read up on again. I plan to wash everything (gonna have to be a dishwasher or clothes washer), and then try and put together every set. I figure some of the really old ones like the Sea Plane and Classic Space sets might be lacking some parts, for which I might turn to Bricklink if it's not too painful. I might also try my hand at writing some reviews for these sets, if that would be welcome.

But overall, I'm pretty excited. It's going to be a lot of work, but it should be fun.

So what do you guys think? Please share any advice or thoughts.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Zeya

[smellsgood]

That does look like it's in great condition, and so many pieces! You even still have clips on the saddles and barding. I'm jealous :)

I've inherited a few different childhood collections in recent years. From my tiny collection, not missing a single piece, I actually reconstructed all those old sets. From the others, I managed to put together the Black Knight's Castle -- minus the barding clips ;) -- and just sorted the other pieces into bins (based on size; I have a hard time picking out different pieces when sorted by color). Then I have a lot of pieces left to build more stuff whenever I want..!

Edited January 28, 2013 by smellsgood

[Andy D]

Wow! Put them together! Write the reviews!

You are one lucky stiif!

Thanks for sharing all those photos.

Andy D

[badgogo]

Lucky you!!

Will be a pleasure to rebuild those beautiful sets.

[Hey Joe]

Thanks for sharing. You were well taken care of in the Lego department.

Joe

[cortman]

Awesome haul- you lucky guy. :)

Since it's so well organized/divided up I would be tempted to see if I could pick up original boxes for cheap somewhere to complete the set.

Regardless, those are some great sets.

[L@go]

That does indeed look like a very nice collection with some great sets in very good condition.

Anyone know if those stickers came with the book?

Yes, they did. I had that idea book, and recently bought an unused sticker sheet to use in MOCs. There are some very handy ones on it. Let me know if you're very eager to part with it :)

[Zeya]

Yes, they did. I had that idea book, and recently bought an unused sticker sheet to use in MOCs. There are some very handy ones on it. Let me know if you're very eager to part with it :)

Thank you for clearing that up!

[Vindicare]

This is both awesome and saddening. I had so much of that same stuff as a kid, which I stupidly sold. Great photos.

[Grimmbeard]

That is very cool! I still have my childhood collection, but sadly most of it is random pieces. I have the best sets together still

[Brickington]

Lucky ducky! You are so lucky that you managed to get hat many sets! You must be happy that the mini-figs kept in great shape!

[Zeya]

Lucky ducky! You are so lucky that you managed to get hat many sets! You must be happy that the mini-figs kept in great shape!

For sure! I can't wait to get to it and start going through everything. I really have my mom to thank. She kept essentially all of our childhood toys binned up "in the attic" (more like a crawl space by the stairs). No light exposure and good enough heating/cooling. Of course my parents fronted the Lego premium for all this brick, too - yikes. I am kind of overwhelmed at how much was there. It's a medium sized "rubbermaid" bin, but that's a lot to me. I also don't remember having so many sets. Funny how my memory is different from what is actually there.

[hush]

Nice collection, i have just come back to lego and have my childhood collection still boxed up in storage my son and i will need to go get it and maybe do an unboxing as well

[TheWarden]

Be very careful when you do your research on washing. I know dishwashers can be too hot with some settings and washing machines... well, I think that is bad because it scratches transparent bricks and can break them with the agitator.

I wash mine in a big bucket of warm soapy dishwasher with a toothbrush, but that does take a while, but it's not too bad to do it while watching TV...

[slovakiasteph]

How exciting and fun! You really don't know who did the sorting? Looks like that took some time... almost looks like it's sorted by set.

That's around the same time we were buying LEGO for my brothers, so we had some of the smaller castle and pirate sets.

[Sid Sidious]

Wow, it's cool to see so many classic sets together, especially the instructions. Being a TFOL, my childhood collection has basically just grown and moved across the country with me over the years. If you only need to get the mothball smell out of the bricks, try airing them out for a few days. That way they get clean, but no risk of being damaged. I bought some bricks off of ebay from a person who must have had a three pack a day habit. After about two days, I couldn't smell them at all.

[KingSlayer33]

That is great Zeya. Love the memories and what a great job by your mother.

I am a recent returnee from my dark ages and thankfully my mother kept all my childhood lego too. I only had a few original instructions but so far have been able to complete several sets including the original yellow castle and a few early space ones too. Hopefully my nearly 5 year old also enjoys them as much as I did in my first lego incarnation.

[HawkLord]

A trip down memory lane. Very wise of you to keep those old Legos - I wish I had thought of that with my old stuff.

[Peppermint_M]

That's a fantastic collection there and kept so well! You were and are very lucky to have all that. I remember the Helicopter set as one my Uncle's friend had and that Basic is really nice.

I second the warm soapy water and hand-wash, you've got to treat old LEGO like a vintage car; care, attention and non-mechanical methods when cleaning.

[Dazmundo]

I reclaimed my childhood collection from my parents when I came out of my dark age a couple of years ago, I spent a very enjoyable few evenings sat on the livingroom floor surrounded by boxes sorting it all out ...

D

[legomaniac83]

Wow great collection! Never seen the 712 Seaplane before. And it looks like the sail from 6274 could use some TLC

6085 is one of my personal favorites - So much playability! I wanted that idea book so bad when I was a kid. Update us on what is complete once you dig through it all

[Zeya]

Wow great collection! Never seen the 712 Seaplane before. And it looks like the sail from 6274 could use some TLC

6085 is one of my personal favorites - So much playability!

It'll be interesting to see if the Seaplane stuff is still there, particularly the non-articulating minifigs shown on the cover. I have already found one blank minifig head and little white hat, and I suspect those go with that set. Of course, the really interesting elements are the torsos and legs of those old style figs. Hopefully those will turn up for me.

Yeah the sails are all kind of nasty and folded, especially the Caribbean Clipper and the ones form the Imperial Trading Port. (Forgive me, I'm bad with the set numbers. Even had to google the ones you quoted!) I'll have to look up again the best method to clean and flatten sails. Relatedly, I've found some string too. Some is from Pirates for sails and cranes, and another was from a big yellow claw thing that must be from one of the Basic sets. I had to clip off and throw that one out (all tangled and frayed), which I even felt bad about. I'm so neurotic about even throwing out old nasty string. Probably wasn't even the original string anyway, and I felt bad. Lol.

I wanted that idea book so bad when I was a kid. Update us on what is complete once you dig through it all

The book is pretty cool! It'll be a kick leafing through it and drooling over all the classics.

I suppose I could keep updates here if the mods/admins don't mind. Starting now. :)

A couple nights ago, I did a trial run at cleaning a batch of the primary colored 2x4,2x2 etc bricks. I figured if they got mangled, oh well. At any rate I felt fairly confident they would come out fine, and sure enough, they did. And then last night I went to town on a bunch more, basically cleaning all of the primary colored stuff that is probably most of the Basic and miscellaneous stuff (i.e. not Pirates or Castle or Space).

Basically I've been setting aside certain special stuff (with prints or any special material that isn't ABS, also certain transparent stuff) and I wash that all by hand, and everything else I put into thin mesh bags and put through the dishwasher (no heated dry, no "extra hot", etc).

I'm still waiting for most of that to dry. It was amazing how some of the stuff came clean, especially the trans-clear bricks, like 2x4 and 2x2x1 slopes.

But interesting stuff I found so far? Nothing really earth shattering. About 4-5 minifigs without any torso prints, although the one blank head I mentioned earlier. A bunch of 2x2 yellow bricks with the eye on the side, 1x2 bricks with a face like 2 black dots for eyes and a bigger red dot like a mouth. A trans-yellow plate from one of the space sets (8x8 I think, didn't count). Those two white slopes with the classic space logo. Older style windows. 3-4 pine trees and 2 fruit trees. There was also this spring-loaded claw on that string and on the other end a crank. That was interesting because it has metal parts! I have to clean that specially...

So I guess I'll let that all dry and start sorting it. Anyway that's where I'm at.

[Zzz]

Hey - you have (or had) the Pirate comic! ( I spotted the Willy minifig )

I simply loved that, most of my made-up stories centered around Willy and the other guy that came with the comic. Unfortunately I found out a couple years ago when reading the comic again as a scan that it's pretty much rubbish and badly drawn. But at the age of 11 it was marvelous!

[Zeya]

I did some more washing last night. I discovered the torsos and legs of those old style non-articulating minifigs. Also some other cool parts. One is another spring-loaded contraption that looks like the front of a forklift. Probably from the same era as the spring-loaded crane claw I found. I also found some space minifigs, but their torsos are very faded. I found one red one where the print is all but gone. :(

Hey - you have (or had) the Pirate comic! ( I spotted the Willy minifig )

I had to look up what you were talking about. 6255 is a comic that came with two minifigs and a couple of accessories. But looking on Bricklink, those figs came in sets too, so they're not unique. I think the ones you see are from regular sets I had/have.

[TheLegoDr]

That is really neat to see. I unboxed my childhood collection when I came out of my dark ages in fall of 2010, but I didn't think to take pictures of it all! We had two large rubbermaid totes full of my childhood bricks, including pretty much everything you have there. It looks like we had very similar interests as children!

It was amazing to see the old redcoats/bluecoats/castle figures again after so long.

Enjoy that moment. It will be yours for all time.