Help Identifing KRAFT Set 159?

Comments

• madforLEGO Chicagoland USMember Posts: 9,933

  November 2018

  The parts really look like they are in good condition too
  

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• oldtodd33 Denver 4800 miles to BillundMember Posts: 2,537

  November 2018

  The set was mailed from Denver so it looks like Samsonite mailed it if that helps. 

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• LusiferSam MontanaMember Posts: 515

  November 2018

  Cool find!  I'm sorry I missed it on eBay.  It isn't a set I'm familiar with.  Maybe Istokg might be.  Because the set is loose it's basically impossible to know 100% for sure what you really have. 
  

  
  

  Yes, Life Cereal set 2 had 159 pieces and showed similar building ideas on it's flyer.  Is possible that it's the same set but with a different number and different promo offer?  Sure.  In fact it seems more than likely.  Life Cereal set 3 is the same set as Kraft set 5.  What's on the other side of your form 8006?  The normal Kraft Velveeta promo flyers I'm use to don't have 10 sets on them.
  

  
  

  A simple question to ask is how many pieces do you have?  Sometimes (not be always) the set number is same as the piece count.   And given the similarity to the Life Cereal set 3.  My quick look says you have basically the right parts.  The ones I can see say Pat Pend, the elements are right basic type and rough mix.

  
  

  I wouldn't read too much if anything to the post mark.  What matters with when the box (or more accurately plastic bag) was packed.  The promo could have run for a couple of years and the boxes could have been packed years earlier.  If these were left overs from the Life Cereal promo, the bags/boxes could be packed as early as '68.

  
  

  Samsonite's numbering continues to be a mystery to me.  By '72 they using 4 numbers rather than the early 7 number system, in the catalog sets.  My thought has been drop the trailing and you get the set number.  But this one is now 5 numbers. :| The problem is we don't have a complete picture of the Samsonite's boxes, promos, or numbering scheme and we're trying to fill in the gaps 45+ years after the fact.  I know Istokg has a pretty good grasp of the catalog sets.   But I don't think anybody truly has a great picture of the promo sets, as a far number of new ones have become known in recent years.
  

  
  

  This reminds me of another semi-unknown Kraft promo set I spotted last year on eBay.  Here's the thread about that one.
  

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• wjoeyjones USMember Posts: 19

  November 2018

  
  

  Here is a picture of the parts separated out.
  
  
  
  
  I think I counted 162 parts.  @LusiferSam the back of the 8006 is the standard images of the KRAFT sets.
  
  With the set being open the piece count is always in question.  I feel that Samsonite was not very systematic in their numbering scheme.  Thanks for your input on this set.
  

  

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• Istokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,205

  November 2018

  OK @wjoeyjones....
  
  You probably should have looked on the backside of the 8006 Kraft brochure that mentions 8 of 10 of the sets..... that contains your answer....
  
  
  
  
  You have listed set #7, where it mentions 159 parts.  And some of the buildable models in your 2 sided tall No. 159 brochures are shown in this back side of the 8006 sets brochure for set #7.  This set/brochure dates to 1970-71
  
  But many of these USA/Canada Samsonite LEGO 1965-73 era promotional sets (I have an entire chapter on promotional sets in my 2800 page Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide)... and the set numbers listed in the 8006 catalog vs. what is on the outer shipping box vs. what is on the instructions/model page, is a confusing muddle to be sure... but the part count often (but not always) can be matched up.
  
  Just look at the #4 and #5 sets listed on the left side of the image.  There is nothing to even help you guess that Set #4 comes with a #271 instructions number...
  
  
  
  And the #5 set is the mysterious Airport Set #367 (only known source for this mysterious set)....
  
  
  
  I have never seen the plain brown outer shipping box for these 2 sets, but I would bet that they would list '62718' and '63678'... where the "6" is the prefix number, and "8" is a suffix number... both of which are internal numbers used by Samsonite.
  
  
  

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• wjoeyjones USMember Posts: 19

  November 2018

  Istokg said:

  OK @wjoeyjones....
  
  You probably should have looked on the backside of the 8006 Kraft brochure that mentions 8 of 10 of the sets..... that contains your answer.... 
  

  Yes you are correct, I missed that on form 8006, not very observant of me.
  
  I have a copy of your Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide, and I originally looked at chapter 17.1 and found the # 2 Life Cereal Stater Set which I assumed is likely the same set?  Part count being the same and many of the models being the same.
  
  I never found form 8006 or 8007 in my copy of your book, which chapter was that?  I now wish I had paid more attention to the copy of 8006 I have.  To be fair it was not until I scanned it and blew it up that I could even see the models on the brochure clearly.
  
  Is the current version of your book on sale at weebly, newer then my 2014 copy?
  
  Thanks again for clearing this up for me.
  

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• Istokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,205

  November 2018

  Thanks,  the new version of my currently 2800 page guide will go up to over 4500 pages and include a lot of new (old) items, as well as new items... (bringing it forward to 2018).  I will have to stop selling my online version of my guide in the near future... because it's being published in simplified Chinese and also English as a 9 volume book.  But all the folks who already own my online version (such as yourself) will get all 
  the updates for free (I keep everyone in my email Address Book with a flag set, so when it's ready, I will Email download instructions, like before.
  
  I already have over 200 additional promotional sets added for the new version (including 106 Kabaya Sweets Japanese confection sets).
  
  Time for bed, but check in tomorrow, I will have some other old promotional sets with a cryptic brochure (such as 8006) and cardboard shipping boxes that you have do detective work to figure out what it is.
  
  P.S.  I am trying to add the promotional brochures for most of the promotional sets.. especially Kraft, Life, Oxydol, Del Monte, Weetabix, and more.  I'll post some tomorrow. So now there will be 4 different Kraft brochures (including 8006) in the guide.  ;-)
  
  
  

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• Istokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,205

  November 2018 edited November 2018

  USA/Canada Samsonite LEGO promotional (and department store mail-order) sets are very confusing.  
  
  Here is an example... the 1966 USA Oxydol Detergent LEGO set, which was a free item sealed in a plastic bag in the detergent box.  This set never did have any set number, or contents count (not listed).....
  
  
  
  When you look in the 2235 brochure that comes with this detergent freebie, this is what you see...
  
  
  
  The images on the right side are the Oxydol sampler set models you can build using this small plastic bag of parts.  The sets listed in the middle section are the regular Samsonite LEGO sets sold at retailers in 1966-67.  Most (but not all) of these sets had the set number = the parts count.
  
  Also included in this small plastic bag of bricks is this image of some of the freebie Oxydol bag of parts, and an offer for a LEGO Discovery set....
  
  
  
  
  
  Well ironically the Discovery Set is actually a 1966 FAO Schwarz "005 Discovery Set" exclusive, which really wasn't all that exclusive, since they took a 001 "Gear Set" (43 pieces) and a "285 Basic Set" (285 pieces, but together totaled 328 pieces)... and sold it at FAO Schwarz retailers as seen here....
  
  
  
  
  FAO Schwarz was a luxury toy store... and only sold colorful boxes.  When Samsonite put together limited numbers of these 005 sets for FAO Schwarz, they used a Samsonite LEGO 001 Gear set, and a LEGO 285 Basic Set (only the inner trays), and created a double tray outer 005 box. 
  
  But for the Oxydol mail-order special "Discovery Set", Samsonite took the same 2 inner boxes (from 001 and 285 sets).... and packed them in this box...
  
  
  
  This again shows how totally confusing these brown box sets are.  My Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide chapters on LEGO promotional sets and Department Store Catalog Mail-Order sets takes a lot of the mystery and confusion out of these quirky USA/Canada sets.  Europe/Australia/Asia did not have these "brown box" sets.  The next version of my guide (free to current owners) has even more of these mysterious sets.
  
  Also... here are the 001 and 285 Samsonite LEGO sets (found in the FAO Schwartz deluxe and Oxydol promotional "Discovery Set)... but with their separate outer sleeve included....
  
  
  
  
  
  The early years of LEGO.... "LEGO Mayhem"!   ;-)
  
  

  

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• Astrobricks Minnesota, USMember Posts: 3,738

  November 2018

  I love how they packed the gears so they interlocked and turned.

  

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• eMJeeNL The NetherlandsMember Posts: 585

  November 2018

  Looks like they pulled out the molds for the gears again for the new TLM2-sets! ;)

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• Astrobricks Minnesota, USMember Posts: 3,738

  November 2018 edited November 2018

  ^ Except the new set picture I saw showed a six stud wide gear, whereas this set jumps from 4 to 8. Also, the teeth are fatter. 
  (Hope I’m allowed to post this here. Borrowed from another user’s post.)
  
  

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• Istokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,205

  November 2018

  Almost forgot....
  
  There is a 3rd LEGO set numbered 159, which recently got added to my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide.
  
  This set 159 is a blue track era set, but it is not the #159 Straight Track with Crossing Set.
  
  It is a set that comes with a large amount of blue tracks, and could build 4 specific layouts.  This 159 set was sold for a very limited time from 1968-69 in a select few continental European countries.  This set is considered very rare....
  
  
  
  There are enough track parts to build any of these 4 layouts...
  
  
  

  

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• Oldfan Chicagoland, IL, USAMember Posts: 655

  January 2020

  @Istokg ?

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• LusiferSam MontanaMember Posts: 515

  January 2020

  There's another thread on this exact same set (and I do mean exact same set).  Check it out here.  I would recommend the mods merge these or delete this one.
  

  
  

  Anyway, I'm out of town on business for the next couple days and largely won't be able to answer questions.
  

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• drdavewatford Hertfordshire, UKAdministrator Posts: 6,577

  January 2020

  LusiferSam said:

  There's another thread on this exact same set (and I do mean exact same set).  Check it out here.  I would recommend the mods merge these or delete this one.

  Agreed - merged so all the info is in one place.

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