  Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3242 Registered: 08-2004 |
Well, I finally did it, after 3 years.... something that no one else in the world has ever done before. Written a collectors guide for LEGO. If you go to Barnes and Nobles or Borders Bookstores, you won't find LEGO in any of the antique toy books or other toy collectible books. Why is that? Because LEGO is the most complex toy collectible in the world. There are over 8,000 different sets, and over 13,000 different parts. And there are sooooo many different packing variations to sets as well as design changes to parts. I am selling a 1,260 page book on CD with over 1,700 pictures. Why on CD? To produce a book, the price would be over $50 for that many pages and color pictures. And this is only volume 1 (1949-80). There will be a volume 2 (eventually). But volume 1 has all the older stuff that is a mystery to most toy collectibles. Everything since 1980 has been well documented on several websites, as well as available in LEGO catalogs of the last 25 years. But the older stuff is very obscure, and many of the earlier years didn't have a LEGO catalog. See my add in Classified Ads... for those who decide to purchase a copy, I am donating $5 to DetroitYes (Lowell) for any forumer that wants to buy a copy. | ||
Detroitrulez Member Username: Detroitrulez Post Number: 74 Registered: 12-2006 |
whoa dude. 1,260 pages about Legos? must have been some burning the proverbial midnight oil on that project. Good Luck. | ||
Pam Member Username: Pam Post Number: 758 Registered: 11-2005 |
Publish your book here: http://www.lulu.com/ | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3246 Registered: 08-2004 |
Unfortunately they cannot produced anything larger than 740 pages in Lulu. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3255 Registered: 08-2004 |
LOL... I see the folks on Hot Fudge are bemused by my LEGO posts. They think I'm a "nerd" for such LEGO folly. But I already sold (pre-payed) 160 LEGO CDs worldwide (11 countries) before a single CD was ever produced. So those Hot Fudge folks may be too cool for LEGO or Hot Wheels or GI Joe's. But there's big money in collectibles these days. Maybe when those folks get out of their "cool kids" years (17-21) they'll realize that. If I'm a nerd... I'm laughing all the way to the bank...  (Message edited by Gistok on December 19, 2006) | ||
Pam Member Username: Pam Post Number: 764 Registered: 11-2005 |
Maybe their moms gave away their Lego, so they are jealous. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 67 Registered: 10-2006 |
Funny, I feel the same way about some of the more "serious" discussions on this forum. | ||
Detroitrulez Member Username: Detroitrulez Post Number: 77 Registered: 12-2006 |
bwahahahhaha | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3257 Registered: 08-2004 |
^^^^ Dds, I agree! Especially (but not exclusive to) Non-Detroit Issues. | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1466 Registered: 11-2003 |
Congratulations, Gistock. 3 years in the making. You obviously have talent. I did not realize just how big Lego has become until my grandsons sent us some postcards from Legoland in California. Do I understand there is some sort of a Legoland in Windsor? The grandkids would love it! | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3259 Registered: 08-2004 |
Yes there is.... in Windsor England!  Thanks Rock. From 1949 until today LEGO has made something like over 8,000 sets, and over 13,000 different elements. That may explain why no collectibles or antique toy books even mention LEGO. The LEGOLAND Parks are in Billund Denmark (original park, opened in 1968 in their world HQ town), Windsor England, Gunzburg Germany (halfway between Munich and Stuttgart) and Carlsbad California (near San Diego). All LEGOLAND Park models (which are glued together) have to be replaced every few years due to ultraviolet light and weathering. The LEGO Company is owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and his sister Gunhild (3rd generation owners). They are one of 2 Danish billionaire families (the other owns Maersk Shipping Co.). LEGO was made from Cellulose Acetate plastic from 1949-63, and from ABS plastic since then. Cellulose Acetate has a tendency to warp over time, which explains why old LEGO does that. Since the advent of the internet, being an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) no longer carries any stigma (as some folks on Hot Fudge seem to feel). Today there are 300,000,000 children AND adults who have played with LEGO. It seems that adults who played with LEGO as a kid, and then went on to have their own children, many of these took a renewed interest in LEGO. Today there is a super website for buying and selling LEGO. It is known as BRICKLINK: www.bricklink.com This site has over 2,400 individuals worldwide selling over 59 million LEGO elements of all shapes, sizes and colors. This site has had 16.9 million visits since it first started about 5 years ago. LEGO... it's not just for kids anymore! | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1467 Registered: 11-2003 |
Oh, so it's Windsor, England. I was hoping it was AIW's Windsor! The last three model train shows I have attended have featured a group from Illinois with their LEGO trains and cityscapes. They are the hit of the shows and their work is just fascinating. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3268 Registered: 08-2004 |
The_rock, next summer there will be a National Model Train Show at Cobo Center. Real model railroaders used to thumb their noses at LEGO Trains (an entire System that LEGO has produced since 1966, currently using 9v LEGO built trains). But when visitors to model train shows went flocking over to the LEGO trains (due to all the skyscrapers and other cool buildings that LEGO provides the flexibility to build), they garnered a newfound respect from the rest of the model train folks. You can expect to see LEGO models of the Fisher Building, David Stott Tower and Penobscot Building at that show (by Jim Garrett), as well as Chris Leachs LEGO People Mover. | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1468 Registered: 11-2003 |
Looking foreward to the BIG (national) convention of the NMRA in Detroit, July 22-28, 2007. I am sure that the LEGO display will be a wonderful attraction for kids and adults alike. One of my friends has his collection listed on the tour during the week, a retired Chrysler engineer who has a fabulous layout in O gauge. This is going to be bigger than the SuperBowl and/or the World Series!! | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1485 Registered: 11-2003 |
Pretty impressive, Gistok, didn't realize we had such a "historian" in our midst. ;-) Probably you know what I'm talking about when I fondly remember the go-cart, tractor and forklift sets of "Expert" Legos that I had as a kid. That would be late 70's, so I guess they'd be in your guide. (Those boxes are still on my 3rd floor somewhere.) I also had some of the classic Space lego sets... surfing through bricklink is jogging my memory now as to which ones. I'd think there'd be a decent number of auto engineers around this area who were into the Expert legos as kids with the gears & axles & all... many of the sets had simple rack & pinion steering systems and little "engines" with pistons bobbing up and down that you put together yourself. I assume you're going to put together a website at some point to help sell your CD book? Maybe with a preview pdf containing part of it. And I suppose you could still publish it on Lulu if you split it into two volumes. | ||
Detroitrulez Member Username: Detroitrulez Post Number: 90 Registered: 12-2006 |
oh boy....hold on to your hats.....cuz here we go.... | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3308 Registered: 08-2004 |
Detroitrulez... you didn't have LEGO as a kid, did you? But you are intrigued by it now! My current (temporary) website location is here: www.geminisystems.net/lego/ Dougw, if you go to my website, and follow the link to EMAIL me, I'll send you the PDF file on the Chapter that has the Expert Builder LEGO sets that you had as a youngster. And I'll also send you the portion of the Insurance Price Guide on Expert Builder sets to show you how they have appreciated in value over the years! LEGO Expert Builder sets were renamed LEGO TECHNIC in 1984. | ||
Detroit_stylin Member Username: Detroit_stylin Post Number: 3430 Registered: 10-2003 |
Gistok...shoot me an email... Put LEGO in the subject bar... | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3313 Registered: 08-2004 |
Detroit_stylin, I can't click on your name (like one can for "ITSJEFF"), so I don't know your EMAIL ID? | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3341 Registered: 08-2004 |
By the way, if anyone is curious, and wants to download a copy of one of the more interesting LEGO CD chapters, you can view the 11 page "CHAPTER 13 - LEGO SETS/PARTS NOT PUT INTO PRODUCTION" PDF file. http://geminisystems.net/lego | ||
Cwl704 Member Username: Cwl704 Post Number: 34 Registered: 12-2006 |
looks good.Bring me a copy when you come to a meeting of MichLUG. |
