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New or previously unknown set? Dong Oil Rig

JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
edited January 2012 in Collecting
I managed to not win this Ebay item yesterday... I've never seen or read about it anywhere. (Hopefully the link works below)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140679626975

The pictures frustratingly don't show that much - including a Lego logo on the box (i.e there is none to be seen). However, Dong is the Danish government's oil and gas exploration company and the language on the box is Danish (not Dutch as the seller suggests) so they are likely to use Lego for a promotional set rather than a generic copy. The words on the box basically say, "You can build an oil drilling platform." In the second photo of the contents you can make out a minifig with a white construction helmet and an orange jumpsuit/ overalls -unique?

Anyway I'd be interested to know more about it (including whether I missed out on a very rare set!). Maybe the buyer reads this forum?

BTW I "won" another previously unseen set recently on Ebay - this time it wasn't so exotic - a Canadian/Samsonite unnamed value pack:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260909426064?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

I'm not sure how this would be cataloged on Brickset, however.

Comments

  • sidersddsidersdd Member Posts: 2,432
    http://www.brickset.com/news/article/?ID=167
  • JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
    ^ No, I meant to say it wasn't that one. That's for another Danish company Ramboll and is definitely a Lego model, albeit a simplistic one (with no minifigs).
  • HuwHuw Administrator Posts: 7,087
    @jpeg, assuming it has an identifiable set number, send me a nice image and I'll add it.
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,789
    edited January 2012
    I dunno, but that figure kinda looks like a SW X Wing pilot torso... neat looking set though
  • JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
    @madforlegos It is a Star Wars torso I think. It may not be part of the official set but who knows?
    @huw I would send you a pic of the rig but I didn't win the auction! As for the Samsonite 1980 -83? Value pack (includes 6609, 6624 and 6628), unfortunately the top of the cardboard is missing but it's very similar to this one (also not in your inventory): http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1973498
    It has no number either. Are you able to catalogue these kinds of sets Huw or do they need a number (I have a UK purchased 1999 Football World Cup starter set similar to 880002 sponsored by Merlin that also has no number on it)? Will send a good pic if you can add it.
  • herbertdsherbertherbertdsherbert Member Posts: 8
    I have a set currently listed on ebay if anyone is interested

    Item number: 150820958113

    Thank You
  • SpaceCakeSpaceCake Member Posts: 291
    ^ Well I'll be damned...

    How utterly cool!
  • herbertdsherbertherbertdsherbert Member Posts: 8
    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150820958113

    Think this should be the link to it , ta
  • CapnRex101CapnRex101 Administrator Posts: 2,364
    The figure seems to have X-Wing pilot torso and legs, that could even be a Luke Skywalker face, cannot quite tell from the photo.
  • herbertdsherbertherbertdsherbert Member Posts: 8
    Have uploaded a close up pic on my listing this might answer a few questions about the minifig
  • ChompersChompers Member Posts: 658
    ^^ I think your watch counter may see a rise on the back of that post :)
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,789
    I'm guessing that the fig normally does not come with it maybe?
    It appears this is a mini model and not really to minifig scale, but that is just my guess
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    Unfortunately, I think that the top of the Canadian value pack is missing (torn off perhaps?). It may contain the multi-pack set number, as well as the hole for hanging it from a rack. Most of this type of 2 or 3 set multi-packs have a hole for hanging.
  • JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
    Well it looks to be exactly as the earlier eBay listing was - with a Luke(?) figure (assuming it's not the same set?). Maybe they figured (excuse the pun) that a pilot's orange suit looked like an oil rigger's one? It comes with a white hard hat if the previous set was anything to go by.
    @herbertdsherbert are you able to get a good quality, front on pic for Huw to add the set to the inventory?
  • SpaceCakeSpaceCake Member Posts: 291
    Wow, this is almost like digging up a new species of dinosaur!
  • JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
    @istokg Well my value pack's top is torn off but it looked to be very similar to the one in the Bricklink photo. In which case it appears to have no number. Samsonite doing their own thing and not bothering to number it?
  • princedravenprincedraven Member Posts: 3,764
    @herbertdsherbert Any chance you can provide any more information on this Dong Oil Rig? Where you got it from etc?

    Seems really strange:
    Never seen anything without Lego logo on box.
    Never seen anything without Lego logo on instructions.
    Never seen a Lego set that didn't come in sealed bags, this looks like the bag is sealed with a Lego sticker??
    The image of the set on the box looks very little like the photo of the Rig.
    The image of the set does not look like something Lego would come up with.
    The instructions don't seem to show the same as the set on the box (at least a different colour).
    The set appears to be a minimodel so the inclusion of a minifig doesnt make sense.
    The fig does indeed appear to be of an X-Wing pilot which is licensed and therefore certainly not allowed in anything other than SW sets.

    Not saying its not legit, stranger things have happened, but would like to find some background details.
  • herbertdsherbertherbertdsherbert Member Posts: 8
    If anyone wants a set of close up photos please email me [email protected] - I believe the set has been produced for Dong at some point a promotional set of some sort, if you google Dong and lego they are financially linked as companys I believe, this is probably a set produced solely for Dong execs therefor by passing any shops, just of to take some close up pics
  • herbertdsherbertherbertdsherbert Member Posts: 8
    Just uploaded 2 new pics to the listing 1 of which is a close up of the model as shown on pic on the top right of the box and should make things easier to work out.
  • herbertdsherbertherbertdsherbert Member Posts: 8
    The link below explains a bit about the connection between lego and Dong if this helps (interesting read)

    http://tchecossais.blogspot.co.uk/
  • peterlinddkpeterlinddk Member Posts: 170
    I don't know anything about the DONG oil rig, but the Rambøll oil rig was created back in 2008 as a give-away to visitors to an OffShore convention, where Rambøll and LEGO showed a software-package they had co-developed, helping engineers build oil platforms out of virtual "LEGO-like bricks".

    Read more here (in danish): http://ing.dk/artikel/90439-lego-og-ramboell-suger-olie-sammen or here (in english) http://www.ramboll-oilgas.com/news/viewnews.aspx?newsid=C844EC45-9718-40A9-A912-50B47D99A841


    The DONG-model however looks like it is more intended for children, so my guess would be that it was part of an educational package from DONG to danish schools, and not a LEGO-model you would be able to buy directly.
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    TLG has long made some very odd sets, and some that were not made for Children. One was this early 1970s Philips Medical Equipment promotion (Chapter 17 - LEGO Promotional Sets of my LEGO DVD). I have never found much information on it, other than it was produced in the early 1970s. The 4x4 corner bricks (discontinued in 1972) give it away. It just doesn't seem like some thing that children would want to play with.

    So there are other non-numbered LEGO promotional sets.
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    @Jpeg Thanks, missed the Brickshelf comments....

    Samsonite of Canada did some pretty strange things at times... like numbering 2 sets with the same number at the same time (the #6002 Town Minifigs and #6002 Castle Minifigs sets) during those same early 1980s years.

    But what really has me loopy is this image below from a 1975 Eaton's Department Store Catalog. It shows the (new to 1973) basic sets... here it only shows the #3, #5, #7 and #8 sets. These sets were introduced in 1973 in continental Europe, Britain and Australia in 1973, and they had the new (in 1973) LEGO logo.

    However, I've seen the 1973 Canadian Samsonite catalog... and it still shows the older #120, #205, #285, #375, #450 and #615 sets introduced in 1965 (and also sold by USA Samsonite). So these new #3, #5, #7 and #8 sets were not introduced in Canada until a year later (1974).

    So why do the #7 and #8 sets in this Eaton's image show these new sets with the (discontinued in 1972) old "open O" LEGO logo??

    LEGO Mayhem!
  • JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
    @herbertdsherbert Thanks for the close up of the rig which confirms that the minifig is indeed a Luke with a hard hat designed to be an oil rigger. Kind of works but the set itself isn't that great IMHO. It almost certainly is an executive gift designed, no doubt, to be displayed on a desk rather than played with. If the company wasn't Danish and possibly with some links to TLG (?), then I wouldn't be so sure.
  • Russell844Russell844 Member Posts: 2,420
    I just got this in my LEGO news alert feed:

    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-25/dong-completes-790-million-sale-of-offshore-wind-stake
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    ^ Very interesting... TLG has been interested in windmill power since 1953....
  • coachiecoachie Member Posts: 476
    I picked up the Dong Oil Rig from the post office this morning :-)

    The sticker sealing the bag inside is dated 2004, and the light greys are a random mixture of old grey and bley.

    Instructions are not typical Lego, just one double sided full colour A4 sheet, and seem tricky to follow.

    There is a white 1x6 brick with a Dong sticker badly applied inside the box.

    I have scanned the instructions to pdf and will post up a full inventory up later. Bear with me, as I haven't done one since 2002!

    Mark
    KungFuKenny
  • drdavewatforddrdavewatford Administrator Posts: 6,755
    edited May 2012
    ^ Cheers, Mark - thanks for enabling us to enjoy the set vicariously at your expense !
  • coachiecoachie Member Posts: 476
    Wouldn't have it any other way!

    ^BTW I have a recycling set with your name on it stashed away somewhere. Do you still want it?
  • drdavewatforddrdavewatford Administrator Posts: 6,755
    ^ Sure - who could resist a cheap-as-chips ASDA bargain !

    :-)

    You gonna be at NSC, STEAM etc. ?
  • MatthewMatthew Administrator Posts: 3,714
    ^^ You got one for me? Think you did have at one point...
  • coachiecoachie Member Posts: 476
    ^Yep, have had a few personal issues over the last month, one of which involved getting a 4206 wet! Needless to say, I won't send you that box.

    ^^ not planning on going to any other shows atm. Was planning on going to the last day of AFOLCON, but aforementioned incident happened the day before.

  • JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
    Back to the Dong set... that's fantastic. Can't wait to see what it's like. Hopefully not underwhelming!
  • coachiecoachie Member Posts: 476
    It is actually a model based on the Siri oil platform in the North Sea.

    This is the closest picture I can find to the completed model that seem to match the essential features

    http://www.ac-cess.com/Assets/Images/Siri Oil Platform.jpg

    The box photo looks nothing like the completed model.

    From a Lego point of view, there is one part in a unique colour, and several parts that will be difficult to get hold of.

    Good old fashioned hinge plates have been used to make the cranes, and there are 2x white 1x6 hinge plates with fingers at both ends. I can't find these in any other sets, and the only sets that used these around 2004 seem to come from exclusive sets. I'm guessing these are favoured parts for park modelmakers.

    Another unusual part is the orange sprung minifig legs from basketball figs.

    I have put some pictures up on the link below and attached a pdf of the instructions

    https://plus.google.com/photos/110900030972342705144/albums/5749763812939361713


    Mark
    prevere
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    Thanks for all the images and PDF! I sent out a link of this thread to some of the biggest collectors out in Cyberspace... and this set, while very fascinating and to many desirable... to some serious collectors it lacks a certain "LEGO official-ness" (for lack of a better term)... no LEGO logo or set number on the box... like the Philips medical scanner I've shown above.

    In fact the color scheme of the instructions exactly matches the much older Philips device... dark and light blue... with red as an accent color.

    It's as though TLG has 2 types of promotional sets... those with a set number and official looking boxes (such as the Maersk and Scandinavian Ferry Line sets)... and these type of off-brand sets such as the Dong and Philips set.

    But this is still a LEGO set! :-)
  • JpegJpeg Member Posts: 22
    Thanks for the pics! It seems to be a set created outside the usual protocol that Lego uses. Given that they are both Danish companies it may not be so surprising that this sort thing has happened (Although Philips is Dutch...). It's certainly looking like more of an executive novelty / promotional gift rather than a set designed for kids. The basketball legs are just weird.
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    I thought rather than start a new thread... I would add this to the Unknown Set thread....

    I'm not sure this has been discussed or not... but here is an unnumbered LEGO set that TLG produced for a San Francisco software company called Autodesk.

    Here's the Autodesk website... and they developed the software to create a 8 1/2 ft. tall LEGO dinosaur (in green and blue) on display in their lobby...
    http://www.autodesk.com/gallery/exhibits/currently-on-display/lego

    http://www.batw.org/more-news/futuristic-autodesk-gallery-hosts-batw-meeting-by-sandy-sims/

    Anyway, Darrin, a LEGO acquaintance, got a copy of a set that TLG made just for Autodesk... a small dinosaur set... from a relative of his. I'm not sure of the year, since the copyright date is "200X".... perhaps in the last 7 years or so.

    Here's the front, back, and bottom of the unnumbered (sealed) box....

    image

    image

    image

    The image on the back of the box matches the 8 1/2 ft. tall image of the dinosaur in their lobby.

    So is this set familiar to anyone.... or in an online database? It's going into my collectors guide chapter on Non-Traditional LEGO Sets.

    Thanks!
  • Lind_WhispererLind_Whisperer Member Posts: 65
    edited February 2015
    Istokg said:


    So is this set familiar to anyone.... or in an online database? It's going into my collectors guide chapter on Non-Traditional LEGO Sets.

    Thanks!

    I've never seen this particular set before, but the dinosaur is a recolor of the main model in #4418.
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    edited February 2015
    Thanks for heads up Lind_Whisperer !!

    The 4418 dates to 2007, so this set could likely date to about 2008 or 2009??

    The 4418 Dino Pod Set comes in totally different packaging as well. Interesting how they put different "ages to play with" on the two sets....

    image
  • TLGTLG Member Posts: 125
    Interesting Istokg, if it was for the employees at autodesk, why include the age range when it is surely not going to apply to them(I think all the employees are older than 12). It looks like they even put more more thought into it as it's counterpart, 4418, has a different range, thus they modified it. Maybe it was given out to"kids" at an autodesk sponsored event?

    Just a thought
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    I love finding obscure LEGO sets that were never released to the public. But to me it's not just about bricks and a box or polybag... it's about WHY? Why something was produced, and fortunately for the Autodesk set that information is recent enough that with a little bit of digging I'll get answers for why something was produced.

    Farther up this thread I mentioned and showed a diagram for some sort of medical scanner from the Phillips Corporation... an electronics multinational company founded in Eindhoven Netherlands (today based in Amsterdam). That little set for the medical scanner is still a mystery, and we may never find an answer to who the intended recipients for that set was for, although we can guess it was for some sort of medical gathering, as a souvenir.

    Here's one of my LEGO anecdotes that I'm saving up for my next LEGO computer desktop collectors guide updates (future updates free to current owners!).

    It's about the Phillips story and LEGO. Not all the answers have been found yet... but it makes an interesting read....

    http://www.youblisher.com/p/664745-PHILIPS-Corporation-Promotional-LEGO-Items/

    Well since everyone likes images... here's one of the 1964-67 #657 Mercedes Delivery Truck... known in 18 different "flavors". Phillips was one of these trucks... but it was not produced as a promotional item, but as a regular variation of the 657 truck that TLG sold as a boxed accessory. It's far from the rarest. That honor goes to the red "beef-poultry-fish" truck, with only about 10 known!

    image


  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    edited February 2015
    The very first LEGO promo set was from 1955, when among the first of the Town Plan 1:87 scale Bedford trucks...#1250-#1257. Among them were an Esso Tanker Truck #1250 and Esso Barrel Truck #1251. 1955 was the first year that the 8 different Bedford vehicles were introduced, and the windows in all of these trucks were clear plastic.

    However, that first year the Esso Tanker and Esso Barrel Trucks were also produced for Esso Service Stations in Denmark as free souvenirs for gas fill ups. The kids must have loved these!!

    They were given away in a box that had the "Esso Oil Drop Man" on the box (a common Esso symbol in the 1950s)... and "ESSO" on the box. But nowhere on the boxes does it mention that these were LEGO products, nor an item number. These freebies, unlike the ones sold in LEGO sets, had no "glass".

    image

    And today these beauties.... they sell for quite a few Quid!!
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    One American Samsonite set from the 1960's had me mystified for many years... as to why they took a small 702 set (with one of those interesting Samsonite 10x10 thick baseplate tops) and called it a "Special Introductory Set" by putting a sticker over the set number to hide it (I knew it was a 702 though)...

    image

    Then many years later I found the answer from a very old Samsonite LEGO ad in Readers Digest Magazine...

    image

    It was a special offer to get (via mail order)... a $1.95 set for only $1.00! :-)

    Sigh.... the good old days when postal service was dirt cheap.... :-(
  • IstokgIstokg Member Posts: 2,363
    Forgot about this very unusual Swedish unnumbered LEGO set...

    image


    image


    Had no clue until someone finally found one to purchase and opened it. It was produced in 1966 for the Swedish market (why nowhere else??) and was a small promotional freebie for the introduction of LEGO trains in mid 1966. The parts....

    image


    And included inside the box was a 1966 mini train catalog that shows the newly introduced Train System sets that contain these new parts....

    image


    But the biggest mystery to me was, why did only Sweden give out these Train System promotions?? These sets were introduced in all of Europe, Australia, USA and Canada....
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