Early Bricks and Pieces newsletters added to our library
Posted by Huw,
One of the most interesting but overlooked features of Brickset is our library, where you'll find scans of catalogues from the 20th century, ideas books and various other documents.
Among them are the Bricks and Pieces newsletters sent out to LEGO Club members in the UK during the 1970s and 80s. We have just been able to add the first three issues, published between 1974-1976, thanks to Brickset member LizR1710, who discovered them at home recently.
They are really fascinating, and clearly from a different time. Unlike today's LEGO Life magazine, they are not filled with cartoons and adverts, and actually have articles worth reading in them including, in the first issue, one about an 81-year-old AFOL.
Anyway, have a browse and, if you're of a certain age, reminisce about your childhood.
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I do remember a newsletter accompanying the magazine when I fist joined the club in the late '80s. I never understood why they didn't just make it a part of the magazine instead of a separate publication, but if it started publication (Did it? I have no idea when the magazine started publication.) before the magazine did, that would explain it. I'll have to have a look at these.
I love this! Thank you soooo much!!!
Thoroughly enjoyed looking at those first three issues. Thanks.
I do love to occasionally browse some of the old brochures, but had never seen these.
Thanks. Excellent additions to the archives, from a Lego age that completely passed me by!
Immediately drawn to the Lego Mini in the 1st issue. Intrigued by how many different ages of Mini it must have been inspired by (Front Clubman, middle Mk1/Mk2, back Elf/Hornet). Reminds me of Johnny Cash, 'One Piece at a Time'!
I had these in the 70’s. I remember getting a metal badge as well.
What a great historic resource! Thanks for making it available here. Great to see the Master Builder awards models in the middle of the newsletters, that was real play and construction, long time befor IP took over LEGO and childrens' play.
The making of of the commercial for 7745 in 1985/3 is great reading, the commercial itself is to be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37PK7qVASaQ
This is absolutely wonderful thank you for posting these and scanning them into the database! Glad to see they will not be lost to Father Time.
Not one of the new scans, but the spring 1979 issue has Star Wars and a 2 meter long classic space ship. Kind of neat to see both of those.
When I was about 7 or 8 I visited the Lego factory in Wrexham, North Wales with my mum and got to spend an afternoon with David Lyall building stuff. We made the chess set in issue 2. His white and mine multicoloured. I had no idea how to play chess, but it was a fantastic day.
Very nice to see those old papers again!
I'm impressed how talk of legal or illegal building techniques was absent. Need to have your wife's knitting needles to get the effect you want? Go for it. Want to add paper and glue to make your family's accessories? Sure, here's how! Such innocence before things became rigorous and well-defined. I suppose that's the way it is with everything if it is around long enough, as now LEGO has had its Weierstrass.
Wow, I've never seen these! Awesome addition! Epic AFOL in 1974!
Also note the flesh-colored minifigures in the comic in the first 1984 issue.
Spring issue, 1979, page 4. A 3 metre long version of 928! Oh how I would love to build that.
I loved Bricks 'n Pieces as a kid, my parents signed me up for the Lego Club when I was 4 and I've still got all of the 1980s copies (some of them very well thumbed) since the spring 83 edition. I'm sure I was still getting them well into the 1990s, and there was a Technic Builders Club too later on?
Overlooked indeed--I don't think I knew about it at all, excited to go have a look (and maybe even contribute!).
@legospaceslug said:
"I had these in the 70’s. I remember getting a metal badge as well. "
I had the metal badge and it must still be at my mums house somewhere... There was also a card certificate and a sew on badge, plus some stickers - I very rarely actually used any of this stuff as I just wanted to keep things complete (sadly this did not extend to my sets at the time though!). I can also recall getting a newsletter through in 1979 with a first day cover included for new stamps from the post office - I think it was to do with the year of the child; a nice tie in with Lego.
it's not in the archive yet (and I don't have it in mine!) but somewhere in a later issue (late 80s early 90s? i should work it out) is a photo of me. In a jumper my mum knitted.
Got a gold duplo brick for that
I distinctly remember the Christmas '76 edition, and maybe another, but no idea what happened to them. Thanks for the jolt back to being a 10-year old :)