Timeline of Lego Molds

[Tim Brauning]

I'm working on a printable timeline of Lego parts, to make it easier to identify at a glance the age range of a collection of used pieces. But the database sites don't have dates for some of the most common mold variations. I know old parts were saved and used years or decades later, making it almost impossible to pin down end dates. But it should be possible to know when a new mold was first used in a set. Can anyone help me narrow down some of these unknowns?

(I am in the United States—places without Samsonite might need to make some changes).

[JopieK]

@LEGO Historian would certainly be interested!

[Mylenium]

2 hours ago, Tim Brauning said:

But it should be possible to know when a new mold was first used in a set.

Well, if you mean moldings, then I'm sure this can be figured out, but otherwise new molds are used all the time. Not meaning to be a grammar nazi, but this distinction matters.

Mylenium

[MAB]

On 5/20/2022 at 7:05 PM, Mylenium said:

Well, if you mean moldings, then I'm sure this can be figured out, but otherwise new molds are used all the time. Not meaning to be a grammar nazi, but this distinction matters.

Mylenium

Yes, it gets very complicated. For example, some hats and hairpieces have multiple moulds. Even though the exterior look the same, some earlier ones won't have the LEGO logo inside and later ones will. Worse, some of these overlap by many years, depending on which location the parts were made in.

 

I find a better way to age a collection is to look for unique / uncommon pieces, whether they are part types or prints, that were specific to a small number of sets and/or dates rather than trying to identify small differences in common parts that otherwise spanned decades.

[howitzer]

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