Waffle bottomed Plates - anyone use them? Were they a different system?

Lo1sJess

Working on Winter Village and have had to improvise doing some MILS  as I am short and don’t have anymore 16x16 plates so I dug through the bins and pulled the white plates in all sizes.  I was having difficulty getting some the press down then discovered a few had a square, waffle type bottom.  Did these come from a different building system?  Anybody use them - you’d have to have a lot or use them only the bottom?  

Thanks

karrit

I'm pretty sure I have some Waffle Bottom ones form my brother's old Lego that he didn't want anymore.  It's really old stuff since his was from the 1960's.  He asked for his stuff back a few years ago but I refused since his wife had banned Lego & wouldn't allow it in their house when my nieces were little.  Plus it was all mixed in with some of my older stuff. I gave one of of my nieces Duplo when they were really little and we had to keep it at our house for them to play with on the rare occasions when they actually visited us.

Istokg

I won't go into too much detail... but the first waffle bottom plates were introduced in 1955, and until 1956 they had no holes within the waffle bottom.  Then starting in 1956 the waffle bottom plates started having holes in the bottom, to use up less plastic.



Both types of these plates had no LEGO logo on the studs, but did have it on the underside in the middle.

Then in 1957 new molds came out with the LEGO logo on the studs.  There were only 5 plate sizes until the early 1960s...



Then in 1962 TLG came out with new LEGO molds that used 1/3 less plastic by having circle bottoms (which continues to today)... here are both types together...



Although by 1963 most plates in Europe and Australia switched to circle bottoms, it appears that TLG sent the remainder of their older waffle bottom plates to Samsonite (USA/Canada).  There they kept being used (along with circle bottom plates) until 1972, when the last waffle bottom plates were retired.

All known waffle bottom plates only came in these 5 sizes.

Images from the Early LEGO Plates chapter of my digital Unofficial LEGO Sets/Part Collectors Guide.

Lo1sJess

Thanks! @Istokg. Don’t know where I picked them up as I used to buy bulk lots years ago off eBay to build up pieces to build with for my son and the cub scouts and of course myself.  Only good for bottoms as they don’t even stack well with themselves.  No yellowing though.

can you please repost or message me on how I can get your book?  Have you looked into doing a printing run?  Thanks again, Lois

Lo1sJess

@karrit thanks, I think I must of gotten some from the Samsonite era in a bulk purchase.  I vaguely remember getting some Lego with those old suitcase type cases that I think were from the same era.  I can see why it wasn’t kept or used for many pieces - more expensive as @Istokg stated but you can’t do much with them they don’t even stack well with each other.  

pxchris

Lo1sJess said:

can you please repost or message me on how I can get your book?  Have you looked into doing a printing run?  Thanks again, Lois

You can buy the PDF version of his book here:
http://legocollectorsguide.weebly.com/

Those of us who own the currently published version are eagerly awaiting the long-promised revised edition!

Astrobricks

pxchris said:

Those of us who own the currently published version are eagerly awaiting the long-promised revised edition!

There is a theory that @Istokg is really George R. R. Martin ;-)