It's my birthday today...

 

  • It's my birthday today...

    Posted by Huw, 29 Mar 2010 15:18. Filed under Brickset.

    358: Rocket Base
    LEGOLAND, 1973
    More details...
    ©1973 LEGO Group

    So my gift to you is some new images of sets released in 1973! I won't tell you how old I am today but I was ten in 1973 ( :-) ) and set 358, Rocket base, pictured, was one of my favourite sets as a kid and it's possible I got it for my 10th birthday (but I can't remember for sure!)

    1973 marked LEGO's entry to the US market. Previously sets has been made under license by Samsonite and the last few such sets were released at the start of 1973. Later in the year LEGO established themselves in the USA and began manufacturing and selling sets there. For some reason best known to LEGO, US sets were released with different numbers to those released elsewhere, possibly because of different packaging requirements. (US set boxes have more text including the set name and the number of parts on them. To this day these do not appear on the majority of boxes sold in Europe). Consequently, from a database point of view, things became compilcated!

    Also of note this year was a large increase in homemaker sets, but still it would be a year before LEGO figures would appear to populate them. Floating boats were released, as were a range of supplementary parts packs.

    All in all, a good year...


    101 comments, latest one posted 37 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by alpha 40 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 15:57

Happy Birthday Huw!

Posted by refriedbeans in United States, 29 Mar 2010 15:57

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

Posted by mokey2345 in United Kingdom, 29 Mar 2010 15:57

happy birthday huw!!!

Posted by howardlongmore in United Kingdom, 29 Mar 2010 15:58

have a good one, be lucky and have fun

Posted by Morgan19 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 16:01

Happy brickday. :)

Posted by Pepper in United States, 29 Mar 2010 16:07

Happy birthday Huw!

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 29 Mar 2010 16:07

Happy Birthday Huw! Best wishes from me! Woah, it's nice to see the pieces of the time inside the box through those clear "windows"... Hm, if I've done my calculations right, you're... well, if you don't want to reveal your age, I won't say it! ;)
Alemas

Posted by shieldsy in Ireland, 29 Mar 2010 16:19

happy birthday huw.Dont worry i dont like doing maths so i wont reavel your age.

Posted by Greyface in United States, 29 Mar 2010 16:24

Happy Birthday Huw, but please don't make me do math after 2nd Hour on weekdays!

Posted by Murdoch17 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 16:33

Happy Birthday to Huw! I hope you have many more to come. Otherwise, who would run Brickset? ;) (Just kidding!) But serousley, (spelling?) Happy birthday to you!!!

==Murdoch17==

Posted by Jon_Brick in Canada, 29 Mar 2010 16:33

Happy Birthday, and thanks for maintaining such a great site.

Posted by CommanderOrbit27 (film girl) in Ireland, 29 Mar 2010 16:45

Happy Birthday! :)

Posted by Sky-guardian in United States, 29 Mar 2010 16:45

Happy Birthday Huw!!! Hope you're having a happy 47th birthday!

Posted by shieldsy in Ireland, 29 Mar 2010 16:53

@sky guardian,dont give away his age

Posted by Martin in United Kingdom, 29 Mar 2010 16:55

Happy Birthday Huw! Here's hoping you got some nice presents today :-)

Posted by gmsx in Italy, 29 Mar 2010 16:56

i was 10 in 1974 and this set has remained ever since in my mind as one of my most beloved gift I ever received... happy birthday!

Posted by r2d2qa in United States, 29 Mar 2010 17:00

Happy Birthday Huw, hope you're having a nice birthday!!! - R2D2QA

Posted by dugmence in Yugoslavia, 29 Mar 2010 17:01

happy birthday huw!
that brickset logo for my forum, we talked about, would be nice

Posted by Republic Commando Sev in United States, 29 Mar 2010 17:06

@shieldsy: Huw gave us his age though, so Sky-Guardian wasn't giving any-thing anyway. ;-)
Happy Birthday Huw!
Sev

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 29 Mar 2010 17:32

Thank you everyone. My wife bought me one of those minifig torches and I have a package waiting to be picked up at the UPS depot shipped from the USA containing some PoP sets (thanks Frank!) so it's not been a completely LEGO-free birthday!

Posted by knuclear200x in United States, 29 Mar 2010 17:34

Happy Brickthday!!!! So uh...I got 16 candles here, is that enough? So...less...more...not enough...?

Posted by flyguy in Australia, 29 Mar 2010 17:40

happy birthday dude! And thanks for all your hard work and efforts on the site!
Cheers

Posted by ?Mystery Man? in United States, 29 Mar 2010 17:51

Happy birthday!!!

Posted by Zacherano in United States, 29 Mar 2010 17:54

Happy birthday!

Posted by water jedi 17 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 18:01

happy birthday! must be pretty impatient to order them from the US, then again the PoP sets do have those nice ostriches and camels...

Posted by marcello51 in Brazil, 29 Mar 2010 18:10

Happy birthday!

Posted by StarWarsManiac in United States, 29 Mar 2010 18:38

Happy birthday!! :-)

Posted by Mars23679 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 18:50

tomorrow's my birthday! if i was alive back when that set came out, i totally would have gotten it. happy birthday!

Posted by R4-G9 in Canada, 29 Mar 2010 19:01

can i say how old you are huw?

Posted by legomaniac in United States, 29 Mar 2010 19:08

Happy Birthday! I should make a lego cake, could be hard to digest though :P

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 29 Mar 2010 19:09

Happy birthday Huw :-)

Posted by monkey man in Canada, 29 Mar 2010 19:19

Happy birthday ! Funny today is my friend's birthday too.

Posted by brickmatt in United States, 29 Mar 2010 20:37

A very happy birthday to you, and lots of Legos too!

Posted by brickpics101 in Philippines, 29 Mar 2010 20:39

happy b-day huw :)

Posted by tman684 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 20:45

Happy Birthday! if it wasnt for you, i wouldnt be so entertained going through years of lego sets every afternoon!

Posted by JeremyWood in United States, 29 Mar 2010 21:09

Happy Birthday! =D

Posted by Tommyo3000 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 21:27

Oh nice more pics! Happy Birthday too!

Posted by Kobacca in United States, 29 Mar 2010 21:30

Nice. Start an awesome lego catalogue-ing and news site just so you can get a whole bunch of people to say happy birthday....very crafty indeed....
Just kidding, Happy Birthday Huw

Posted by rruddick in United States, 29 Mar 2010 22:03

Happy Happy Birthday! Hope it was a good day!

Posted by krysto2002 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 22:04

Happy birthday Huw! (Yay)
I just had mine a few days ago.
Thanks for the pics, and we hope to enjoy many more successful years of Brickset.

Posted by legofanatic2414 in United States, 29 Mar 2010 22:41

Have a very happy day Huw! (I can't say birthday because of my religion) But have a very well and swell coming of age. Also, it is nice to see LEGO make a rocket ship there aren't many of those around anymore. Best wishes Legofanatic2414.

PS. I'd like to see a review of those POP sets! :)

LEGOFANATIC2414 OUT!- (geez haven't done that in a while)

Posted by Zacherano in United States, 29 Mar 2010 23:15

I just took a look at all five Prince of Persia sets on your wonderful site, and I must say they all look well worth it. The prices are very reasonable too, and there are lots of great new pieces, animals, and minifigures! I can't wait to buy some myself, but I want to watch the movie first so I will be able to have the full experience.

You are very lucky Huw -I hope you enjoy them and I hope that you had a great birthday.

Posted by christopher in United States, 30 Mar 2010 00:05

Happy birthday Huw!

Posted by indyman09 in Netherlands, 30 Mar 2010 02:26

happy birthday, with a lot of lego!!:p

Posted by weirdduck in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 02:55

Belated HBs- I was looking for this set on the database when I was creating my profile- it was probably my first set and I have really fond memories of it- it was probably my favourite for years.

Posted by reza95 in Brunei Darussalam, 30 Mar 2010 02:57

Happy Birthday, love ur site!

Posted by Cole! in Australia, 30 Mar 2010 03:27

Happy B-day Huw!

P.S: I recently looked at your collection of LEGO sets. It is huge!

Posted by aquafreak125 in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 03:33

happy birthday Huw. hope it was an awesome one!

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 03:34

Ahhhhhh - 358 Rocket Base ! One of my all-time favourites, and it was a real red letter day when I managed to pick up a boxed example on eBay for not too much dosh earlier this year. I still have most of the pieces from the first time I got this - as a present in '73 or '74 - but unfortunately no instructions or box, and hence the 'need' to buy one with a box ! The box art is so evocative and atmospheric - possibly the first time I can remember LEGO getting arty with a background.

I also think I probably had the London Bus set and the Tug Boat set, but it's so hard to remember when you get to my age !

Dr. D.

PS. Happy Birthday, Huw, and keep up the fantastic work.

Posted by Zrath in United States, 30 Mar 2010 03:57

Joyeux anniversaire Huw!
I was ten in 1976. :)

Posted by Topsy Cret in Sweden, 30 Mar 2010 04:24

A very happy birthday to you, Huw! I hope you enjoy some rattle-sounding presents!

Posted by yoshy in Estonia, 30 Mar 2010 04:34

Gratz Huw!! Hope you have the best day of the year!

Posted by KatanaZ in Singapore, 30 Mar 2010 04:41

Happy Birthday to you, Huw. This is a really, really GREAT site, all thanks to you.
btw, I was 13 in 1973 and didn't start "brick-ing" until some 30 years later!!

Posted by Renegade007cjh in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 04:47

Happy Birthday Huw. Thanks for all your hard work on the site!

Posted by DrathMaul1997 in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 05:51

happy birthday!

Posted by 7op89 in United States, 30 Mar 2010 08:03

Happy Birthday Huw! <:-)

7op

Posted by I like Lego in Canada, 30 Mar 2010 08:40

Happy Birthday Huw! Hope it rains lots of lego *clunk* Wow, was that a Grand Emporium that fell at my feet? Just Kidding.

Posted by Nabii in Denmark, 30 Mar 2010 08:43

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUW!!! :)

Hope you had a great day- nice story about your fav. LEGO set. (nice images ;)

All the best from the Brick Heath-

Megs and Mark

Posted by Brickmatic in United States, 30 Mar 2010 08:46

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope it was a lot of fun. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this site.

I was looking at the new pictures and I really liked the packaging on the supplemental parts. I thought it was very creative. One thing I did notice is that the picture for set 410 Payloader from 1973 does have a minfig in it and you mentioned minifigs had not come out yet. However, the picture is of three different sets and the set with the minifig appears in 1976, the other set in 1975. So, is Payloader labeled with the wrong production date or did it really come out in 1973 and stayed in production through 1976?

I know that cataloging this old stuff can be really challenging; I think you've been doing a marvelous job at it!

Posted by one wag in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 08:50

Happy Birthday Huw! All the best

Posted by Noah1997 in United States, 30 Mar 2010 09:00

Happy birthday!

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 09:22

@Brickmatic, that's an interesting observation about set 410 payloader. The picture we have also shows 492 'Truck and payloader' at the back which wasn't released until 1976 so we can conclude that the picture is from 1976 and that 410 was available until then. They had a long shelf-life in those days: these days it can be less than 6 months!

Posted by moondrake in Italy, 30 Mar 2010 09:30

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!

Posted by MetroiD in Bulgaria, 30 Mar 2010 09:33

Cheers Huw! Have a very happy birthday!!! :)

Posted by iabstract in United States, 30 Mar 2010 10:20

Cheers! Happy birthday, Huw.

Posted by Novelty in Brunei Darussalam, 30 Mar 2010 10:30

Happy Birthday Huw! Many happy returns!

Posted by eddy847 in United States, 30 Mar 2010 10:38

happy belated birthday, Huw!

Posted by BionicleBOOM in United States, 30 Mar 2010 11:42

Hey Huw, today (the 30th of March) is my bday!

Posted by gratefulnat in Switzerland, 30 Mar 2010 13:32

All the best to you Huw, hope you were able to blow out all the candles in one go (at some point it starts getting pretty hard...lol).

Posted by Rock Raider in Finland, 30 Mar 2010 13:44

Happy birthday Huw!

Posted by Peter1975 in Netherlands, 30 Mar 2010 14:08

Happy Birthday Huw,

My best wishes!!!
Down here a little present to you. Enjoy.

-So you were ten in '73, well, I was doing -2 back then! :) Have a nice eavening!

http://www.faniq.com/images/blog/86f706062452732439a456da0cc510b4.jpg

Peter.

Posted by bioniclemastermind in United States, 30 Mar 2010 14:54

Happy Birthday!

Posted by HQuiff in Ireland, 30 Mar 2010 15:38

Happy birthday! Have a happy "____" birthday! *I won't say it aloud* ;)

Posted by paulsalley in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 15:45

Happy Birthday Huw. I can't believe your 10 years older than me, my paper round was obviously a lot longer!

Posted by theenigma in United Kingdom, 30 Mar 2010 16:11

Happy Birthday Huw, hope you have a good one mate!

Thanks for working so hard to make this site what it is, my thanks also goes to everyone involved (though I gotta choose Huw today ;-)) as, without you folks, I wouldn't have such a lovely place to keep my childhood alive!

I look forward to meeting you guys sometime!

Kindest Regards,
Harv :-)

Posted by nadnerb112 in United States, 30 Mar 2010 17:37

Happy B-Day Huw! Thanks for making brickset. Its very usefull.

Posted by AllanSmith in New Zealand, 30 Mar 2010 17:53

Happy birthday Huw. I started work in December 1973 (born in 1956) and bought my first LEGO set in 1985.

Posted by legobob in United States, 30 Mar 2010 18:37

happy 47th huw

Posted by Tommyo3000 in United States, 30 Mar 2010 18:40

Woah everyone here is a lot older than me! :O

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 30 Mar 2010 20:23

Happy Birthday Huw!!! =D
Hope you have a nice b-day!! (but more importently a 'lego filled' birthday! LOL)
so i guess you've been a AFOL for about 29 years! Keep on bricking, and buying, and building, and creating, and MOCing,and birthday celabrating, and cake eating, lego shopping, and web site visiting, and buying, and buying, and creating AWESOME lego sites, and........................................................................................................................................!
LOL

Posted by Kyrix9 in United States, 31 Mar 2010 00:53

Happy Birthday Indeed! Keep up the great work!

Posted by ayat07 in Indonesia, 31 Mar 2010 01:17

Happy Birthday Mr Huw..heheheh thanks for making brickset useful and an enjoyable website

Posted by legofanatic in Hungary, 31 Mar 2010 03:23

Happy Birthday!!!! It's ok you're never too old for LEGOs!!!!

Posted by Duq in Ireland, 31 Mar 2010 07:33

Happy birthday Hew. 1973 was a great year indeed. I started playing with Lego that year! 611 and 686 were among my first ever sets.

Posted by jpmanalo in Australia, 31 Mar 2010 08:19

A (belated) very happy birthday to you Huw! Thank you for Brickset! (and also for your WinGrep application!)

I hope you've had a wonderful birthday, and have many, many more to come!

Posted by joetheman in United States, 31 Mar 2010 09:48

Happy Birthday! Thanks for a great site!

Posted by TheDarkKnight in United States, 31 Mar 2010 09:56

Happy birthday, Huw!

Posted by LegoHamlet in United States, 31 Mar 2010 10:33

A very Happy Birthday to you!

Posted by unpoko in United States, 31 Mar 2010 11:00

Happy Birthday! Hope you received many sets for your birthday. :D Thanks for building a great site.

Posted by legocolecter abu- h919 in United States, 31 Mar 2010 12:16

Happy birthday Huw. Without you Brickset wouldn't be here and we wouldn't know about the new sets. Add me as a friend. Happy Birthday again.

Posted by C-Fish in United States, 31 Mar 2010 12:41

Happy B-Day, Huw!

Posted by Sam19 in United States, 31 Mar 2010 12:47

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Posted by carding in United Kingdom, 31 Mar 2010 14:32

bit late but happy brithday!!?!

Posted by Zwing in United Kingdom, 31 Mar 2010 14:41

Happy Birthday!

Posted by wiwaedu in Spain, 31 Mar 2010 14:41

Happy Birthday Huw!! Thank's For this all
WiWa

Posted by cvillone in United States, 31 Mar 2010 17:00

Happy Birthday Huw!! I was born in 1973! Thanks for the images!

Posted by kevin30 in United States, 31 Mar 2010 23:04

Happy Birthday Huw!!! Thanks for keeping brickset up to date!!! Great rocket set, wish I had one!

Kevin30

Posted by Commander_Bly in Israel, 01 Apr 2010 14:11

Happy birthday Huw, have a great one!

Cyaround,
~Flare

Posted by Workshy_1 in United Kingdom, 01 Apr 2010 15:50

Happy Belated Birthday Huw

Posted by gussguss in United States, 01 Apr 2010 19:35

Happy Belated B-Day Hope it was great (100th comment! I think)

Posted by PaulC in United Kingdom, 02 Apr 2010 02:22

I'm a bit late for the party, but happy birthday Huw. I'm insanely jealous that you got to play with the Rocket Base http://www.brickset.com/detail/?set=358-1 when you were young. The set that sticks in my mind most from this year is the Legoland Fire House http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=357-1 - I got it for Christmas around 1975 and it was my most-played-with set for many years. These new images bring back so many good memories. Thanks Huw!

Commenting has ended on this article.