Gatthekid Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 Of course, I don't have this, but look at this thing. It's... it's at an OUTRAGEOUS price. It's a red Darth Vader prototype helment. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lego-Red-PROTOTYPE-Darth-Vader-Helmet-EXTREMELY-RARE-Minifigure-Star-Wars-Fig-/271172721731?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item3f23275c43 Quote
62Bricks Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 Of course, I don't have this, but look at this thing. It's... it's at an OUTRAGEOUS price. It's a red Darth Vader prototype helment. http://www.ebay.com/...=item3f23275c43 What - no free shipping? Those red Vader helmets are currently offered on Bricklink for around $400 and the most recent ones that sold on eBay went for about $110 Euro (about $150 USD). Expensive for a single piece, yes, but not worth $9000! Quote
LEGO Historian Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 What - no free shipping? Those red Vader helmets are currently offered on Bricklink for around $400 and the most recent ones that sold on eBay went for about $110 Euro (about $150 USD). Expensive for a single piece, yes, but not worth $9000! Hehehe... I saw that too... and that the guy had 95 offers!! (I'm sure they were lowball, but some had to have been well over the $400). But this brings out the "Greater Fool Theory"... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_fool_theory Quote
62Bricks Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 I have a bin of unremarkable old Pat Pend bricks from the Samsonite era in the US that are difficult to date precisely. Perhaps the oldest parts I can verify dates for (thanks to LEGO Historian's excellent guide) are these windows that were produced between 1958 (when the hollow studs arrived) and 1963 (when LEGO switched from cellulose acetate to ABS plastic). These are CA windows. I think the 1x2x2's would have had glass originally. You can see the tell-tale warpage that was a problem with the CA plastic in the window on the right. One of the side walls has warped and split from the front along the corner. The warpage is one clue to the plastic type, but also when you put these windows next to the more common ABS versions they stand out. The plastic has a different shine and feel to it. Quote
Desmondjg Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 http://www.bricklink...gItem.asp?P=650 Quite old piece you have Thank you! Welcome to Eurobricks Desmondjg!! Your USA/Canada only Samsonite LEGO 205 Basic Set was produced from fall 1965 until 1971 in the USA, and until 1974 in Canada. This was just one of the basic sets that Samsonite produced that had the set number equal the parts count. ... Thank you so much for the awesome write up. Much appreciated! @Desmondjg You asked what your rare piece is. I have or had it myself. It is a tow bar for connecting a trailer to a car. You stick it on the underside of the rear end of a car you've built, then stick the other end on the underside of the front of the trailer you've built. I don't remember if it was part of a set. It doesn't appear to have come with the 205 set that I have, so i'm not real sure where it came from. Thanks for the info. Quote
LEGO Historian Posted February 22, 2014 Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) I have a bin of unremarkable old Pat Pend bricks from the Samsonite era in the US that are difficult to date precisely. Perhaps the oldest parts I can verify dates for (thanks to LEGO Historian's excellent guide) are these windows that were produced between 1958 (when the hollow studs arrived) and 1963 (when LEGO switched from cellulose acetate to ABS plastic). These are CA windows. I think the 1x2x2's would have had glass originally. You can see the tell-tale warpage that was a problem with the CA plastic in the window on the right. One of the side walls has warped and split from the front along the corner. The warpage is one clue to the plastic type, but also when you put these windows next to the more common ABS versions they stand out. The plastic has a different shine and feel to it. Sigh.... the USA had such a boring selection of old LEGO windows and doors... The CA versions in the early 1960s, and then the dark red ones (with Cadmium to make a darker red plastic until Cadmium was removed in 1973)... the folks in Denmark, Norway and Sweden had a much better selection of old LEGO windows/doors in odd colors. Why just blue alone comes in 5 shades during the slotted brick era of 1954-56 (no studs on top of windows/doors). Why TLG ever stopped production in so many colors is a sad tale... Even today they have a long way to go in coming anywhere near the number of colors that bricks are now found in... Image from my collector friend Richard (used in my collectors guide).. on the 5 shades of blue available in 1950s Scandinavia... I especially like the dark blue ones on the far left.... P.S. Thanks 62Bricks on the complement to my collectors guide! I the next upgrade (free to current owners) will be a real stunner, with an addional 500 images! Edited February 22, 2014 by LEGO Historian Quote
62Bricks Posted February 23, 2014 Posted February 23, 2014 I was just admiring those medium shades of blue on the classic European doors and windows. I'd love to have some modern ones in that color. They'd really look nice in a yellow wall. Quote
Maniac4Legos Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I'm not sure which piece is the oldest, but here are a select few that I recognize from the far past. I have an Imperial Soldier, blue outfit from pirates, which dates back to about 1985 if I am correct. I have a 2x4 white brick (slightly discolored) that has an old design of knobs and the studs have an odd printing of the word "LEGO", a similar style to the company's logo. can anyone pinpoint the years? Thank you. I have an old pirates flag which relates again to the late 80's. I have a 2x2 support beam which appears in old sets but again, I do not know the year. They have a shape similar to construction support beams like in the game Donkey Kong (1984). Sorry I cannot accurately describe it now. Thanks for the dates! Quote
antp Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I have a 2x2 support beam which appears in old sets but again, I do not know the year. They have a shape similar to construction support beams like in the game Donkey Kong (1984). Sorry I cannot accurately describe it now. one of these: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=30517 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=57893 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=58827 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=95347 ? Quote
Maniac4Legos Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 one of these: http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=30517 http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=57893 http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=58827 http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=95347 ? Sorry, it was none of those. Thanks for helping! I found the piece again and checked uit over. It's actually 2x2x5! Official name: "Lego 2580 Rouge Support 2 x 2 x 5 Lattice Pillar " http://images-00.delcampe-static.net/img_large/auction/000/077/348/762_001.jpg Also, the 2x4 white piece might be this: "Vintage 2x4 Cellulose Acetate Brick". I'm not sure, I'll try tp upload photos of each vintage item. This brick is very nuique and through my research I could not find out when it's from. Quote
antp Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=2580c01 seems indeed already less common (which is sad, as it looks nice) Quote
Cara Posted April 25, 2014 Posted April 25, 2014 Before now I had a few old pieces but nothing that did not exist in a set. I recently picked up a few 1x3 and 1x1 plates in dark orange and nougat and then a 1x2 plate in flesh. Nothing that looks fabulous in its strangeness but nice and useful for variety in tile walls. Quote
stevkir Posted April 25, 2014 Posted April 25, 2014 My first set as a child was Christmas of 84 and it was one of the Fabuland sets. I still have the goat minifig, few parts of the car and some of the plates from the 1 level home. the plates for the home over the years have taken a beating and some were chewed on by a dog and were thrown away. But still nice to sift through my bins of parts that my kids now play with and still point out to them that this was part of my original set I received when I was 4 years old. Quote
McDuder Posted April 25, 2014 Posted April 25, 2014 The oldest set i would have is the Fright Knight castle but I threw out a long time ago. :( Quote
Commander Smith Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I'm not sure which piece is the oldest, but here are a select few that I recognize from the far past. I have an Imperial Soldier, blue outfit from pirates, which dates back to about 1985 if I am correct. I have a 2x4 white brick (slightly discolored) that has an old design of knobs and the studs have an odd printing of the word "LEGO", a similar style to the company's logo. can anyone pinpoint the years? Thank you. I have an old pirates flag which relates again to the late 80's. I have a 2x2 support beam which appears in old sets but again, I do not know the year. They have a shape similar to construction support beams like in the game Donkey Kong (1984). Sorry I cannot accurately describe it now. Thanks for the dates! I have that same 2X4. It might say "patent pend." on it somewhere. Quote
mpfirnhaber Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Oldest would be this lovely slotted brick from the early 1950s Denmark. Actually have a few slotted bricks with no logo, those are a couple years older. But the trans-clear brick is prettier. No bakelite GEAS bricks yet, but I'll find one eventually :) Rarest is probably this Grangemouth test brick: Quote
LEGO Historian Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 RIght now I'm trying to dig up more information on USA/Canada prototype/test bricks. Now that the Grangemouth Scotland test bricks have been discovered... more interest is in all of these different and unique bricks. Quote
mpfirnhaber Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 I've read a couple of anecdotal reports of test bricks and other oddities coming out of the Samsonite factory in Loveland. Here's my favorite from someone who grew up there: "My childhood was filled with disappointment because no matter how many LEGO kits I managed to get, some of my friends, whose parents worked at the plant, had trash-bags full of floor sweepings and could make playhouses we could crawl into with their bricks. (Including a lot of weird off-colors and bricks that weren't shaped quite right.)" I just live a few hours away from Loveland, but haven't come up with anything yet. I put out some Craigslist ads a few weeks ago looking for people with connections to the factory. I'll let you know if anyone bites :) Quote
ReplicaOfLife Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 RIght now I'm trying to dig up more information on USA/Canada prototype/test bricks. Now that the Grangemouth Scotland test bricks have been discovered... more interest is in all of these different and unique bricks. Nice to read from you again. Your excursions into Lego history and trivia have always been a pleasure to read :) Quote
Saberwing40k Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 I got me a prototype BIONICLE piece or two. Can we maybe see some pics? I'm not sure about actual rarity, but I have a 9v micro motor, that still works, and they go for $40 on BrickLink. I also have 4 5292 buggy motors, which only appeared in 3 sets, and are highly sought after, at least by Technic builders. I also have a purple kraata, of uncertain type. Are those actually rare? My oldest part is probably some old pre-minifigure buildable figure parts. Quote
mpfirnhaber Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 I want one of those micro motors for my old Light & Sound space sets, but they only come in red :( Quote
Breakdown Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 The wheels on this mess in the foreground of this pic. The front ones notable because of the plastic peg design. One (two) rare pieces that I'm after are 1X1X1 windows in yellow. Front of 182 train . . . I'd assume that they are rare. Quote
emilstorm Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 About a week ago i got one of these axes http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3835 in old dark grey. That would be my rarest part. Quote
Liege Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 My rarest part, in good condition, only used in 1 set, 6273, Rock island Refuge (1991). got the whole set in a jumble sale apart from the main base. Sailbb27 My oldest is late 80's 6693 - Refuse Collection Truck (1987) Quote
LEGO Historian Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Nice to read from you again. Your excursions into Lego history and trivia have always been a pleasure to read :) Thanks Roger... I've been very busy researching LEGO in Iceland, Norway, Canada and Scotland/Wales. Some new things discovered!! I've read a couple of anecdotal reports of test bricks and other oddities coming out of the Samsonite factory in Loveland. Here's my favorite from someone who grew up there: "My childhood was filled with disappointment because no matter how many LEGO kits I managed to get, some of my friends, whose parents worked at the plant, had trash-bags full of floor sweepings and could make playhouses we could crawl into with their bricks. (Including a lot of weird off-colors and bricks that weren't shaped quite right.)" I just live a few hours away from Loveland, but haven't come up with anything yet. I put out some Craigslist ads a few weeks ago looking for people with connections to the factory. I'll let you know if anyone bites :) AHA!! That's you with the Craigslist ad.... someone made me aware of it, and I thought.... smart way to approach it!! If you do find any rare or unusual parts, please let me know.... also interested in stories and anecdotes! I just got an interesting anecdote about those newly discovered Grangemouth bricks from Scotland. Seems that when a LEGO rep found out about a pair of Borg Warner guys using the LEGO mold to make marbled bricks at their Grangemouth plastics plant... not only did TLG demand the return of the mold, but Borg Warner lost the account for making LEGO pellets for British LEGO Ltd.... at their Wrexham Wales LEGO plant (British LEGO Ltd. was owned by Courtauld's Corp., the LEGO licensee for Britain, Ireland and Australia). Quote
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