MrTjips it is.

MrTjips

Hi,

50 years old and not tired of "playing" with Lego. Well that's normal here I guess? I live in a sleepy old town in The Netherlands with my two cats, loads of books, and a spare room filled with Lego.

I only collect Lego sets from the ancient times until 1980 (roughly) and also like to build the Technic models of later years. Recently I bought the biggest model I ever had: the Mercedes Benz Unimog (set 8110). A great model to build. Also in my collection is the mighty mobile crane MK II (set 42006). I'm not keeping all these models, a few years ago I sold almost every "modern" Technic model just to start again. It never stops I think.

Collecting the old sets is more fun then you might think. First it is the joy to find a box, a model, or even some bricks which you need. To complete the box with the original bricks and to search for those parts is always an adventure. And when I have all original parts, the box, instructions etc. of a particular set complete, I sit back with a good glas of beer and just enjoy it.


This is set 700/0 which I restored yesterday. The inserts were missing so I made new ones and with the inventory of Bricklink I filled it with all the original parts from 1956


Here a look of my oldest parts with the church of set 309 of 1958-1964 (and when ever I could find an, very rare, original box?), and some old trees and a "Lego Mursten" box filled with original bricks


Another set I recently completed: 700/6 (1961-1965). A few months ago I bought two original boxes with one original white insert. I made the black inserts and one white one and now I have two complete sets! Next step: to find an original black insert...

So, this is what I do when I'm not working, reading, enjoying my cats, etc.

TarDomo

Welcome, @MrTjips. I have a cat as well :) .

ColoradoBricks

Welcome to the forum, be sure to read @Istokg posts for early LEGO sets, he is the local "historian" :)

Istokg

Hello Mr. Tjips!!   Nice 700/0 and 700/6 set you have there.  Yes, those inserts for the 700/x sets always are the first thing that go missing, unfortunately.  But you did a nice job of restoring your set.  Does the 700/0 have 7 printed 1x6 & 1x8 beams?  

Based on your picture with the 309 Church set, I would guess that the box with the "System i leg" on the side is a 1248 box for the 1950s style LEGO trees!  ;-)  



Your 309 Church set, would come in one of these 2 box types with the same layout... depending on if your tree is from the 1248 set or is original to the 309 set!!  :-)



And that little box with the word "LEGO" with the "dog bone" font" with black background is one of the sets that TLG used to give away to visitors at the factory in Denmark, and also possibly at retailer stores, although that has not been confirmed.

That set came in several box styles, but the contents and sliding inner drawer were always the same....






I wrote a 2800 page collectors guide going all the way back to 1949.  It is now only available as a computer desktop download (668MB), and takes 10 minutes to download.   Here is a sample chapter if you might me interested (especially since you have 2 of the very rare 309 Church set bricks (worth at least 50 Euros each).... there are 6 known different bricks in that church set series... as seen in my chapter on LEGO Printed and Painted parts....

http://www.1000steine.de/brickset/miscellaneous/Lego Chapter 48 Vol2.pdf

My collectors guide will be going from 2800 pages to 3700 pages in a few months  (the upgrades are free to current owners).  I have been collecting LEGO for 55 years and spent 8 years researching LEGO sets and parts (with the help of the LEGO Billund Archives)...

I'm selling my 2800 page download here, in case you are interested, and will also help you connect with nearly 100 old time collectors, if you wish....
http://legocollectorsguide.weebly.com/

Also you would get my 70 page "Unofficial LEGO 1:43 Chevrolet Trucks/Wagons Guide (1952-57) as a free item, on the 110 old LEGO Chevrolet trucks that were produced for the Denmark, Norway and Iceland markets (not Sweden) in the 1950s.

Glad to meet your acquaintance!

Cheers,
Gary Istok
Detroit USA

P.S. I also do what you yourself did.... help people restore old sets to their original condition... such as this 1954 700/1 set for another Dutch collector.  I can pretty much help restore ANY old set....

He had this (fortunately with the inserts, but they were upside down)....



And I helped him (via the internet) restore it to close to it's original beautiful look....

Istokg

Ops.... I have to apologize... when ColoradoBricks sent me a notify to @istokg I clicked on the message at the top of my Brickset screen, and thought I was in a message area of Brickset....  Now I realize I was in the INTRODUCING YOURSELF Forum area.... my bad.  That is not an appropriate place to do my solicitation for my Collectors Guide.  However, unlike Eurobricks... I cannot undo what I have done (except within 6 minutes of posting).

But as you can see Mr. Tjips.... when it comes to old and new LEGO ... I know my stuff!   ;-)

P.S.  I would like to know how you ended up with two ANNO 1762 bricks.... they were only ever sold in the 309 set.... and were never part of a 226 Printed Bricks Parts Pack!  

MrTjips

Thank you for this lot of helpfull information.

"Does the 700/0 have 7 printed 1x6 & 1x8 beams?"
No, this set came with 4 beams, 2 1x6 and 2 1x8 according to the inventory of Bricklink. My set comes with "Hotel", "Posterijen", "Grand Theater", and "Esso Services"

"Based on your picture with the 309 Church set, I would guess that the box with the "System i leg" on the side is a 1248 box for the 1950s style LEGO trees!"
No, it is set 1210, small shop.

"I wrote a 2800 page collectors guide going all the way back to 1949."
Very interesting, I think I will buy the download version.

"P.S.  I would like to know how you ended up with two ANNO 1762 bricks.... they were only ever sold in the 309 set.... and were never part of a 226 Printed Bricks Parts Pack! "
Well, I once bought one on Bricklink to build the church, and later I bought a large box filled with old bricks and with the second ANNO 1762 brick.

snowhitie

Welcome Mr. Tjips!

bricksbystfn

Hey MrTjips! I'm looking for measurements for an insert to the 700/6 - are you willing to share? 

Astrobricks

bricksbystfn said:

Hey MrTjips! I'm looking for measurements for an insert to the 700/6 - are you willing to share? 

Given OP’s absence since 2016, I would suggest pinging @Istokg instead :)

Istokg

Well I don't keep measurements information (except for 50s and 60s Town Plan boards).  But if you fill the left side of the box with appropriate brick... the size of the insert on the right side should not be hard to figure out...