Vintage set of the week: Piano
Posted by Huwbot,
This week's vintage set is 293 Piano, released during 1973. It's one of 8 Homemaker sets produced that year. It contains 131 pieces.
It's owned by 276 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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It even came with a shelf for music books! 21323 should be ashamed at how outclassed it was
Stickers! It's not real if it's not a brickbuilt solution! Modern sets and their cost-cutting!
(Or should I complain about the German/Belgian dominance of the bookshelves?)
That's a pretty weird meter. 5:8?
And the tune doesn't even really look all to great either.
C G E G C G E C E E or C G E G C G D C E F
Kind of a bit all over and a mess.
And the notation's also pretty weird considering they're all eighth notes, but sometimes their staffs are connected, not that it really makes a difference, but it certainly is odd.
Completely and utterly studless. I wouldn't expect to see that in a set from 1973. Also, am I the only one who thinks that the lamp (at least I'm assuming that's what it is) looks like an old-fashioned flashcube in that position?
Sing us the song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say man what are you doin' here?
Oh, la, la-la, di-di-da
La-la di-di-da da-dum
Sing us the song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
(the rear half of the song "Piano Man" by Billy Joel. I felt it was appropriate)
Ok, this is one of the most adorable and charming sets I’ve ever seen!
Never seen this little set before. It's cute and excellent.
As a pianist I approve of this set! It's surprising just how well jumper plates work as piano keys. The music sheet sticker is also really cool.
It's a shame we don't get pianos very often from Lego. Occasionally we get a keyboard (literally just printed keys on a table), but rarely do we get a nice upright piano or grand piano.
If anyone wants to sell the organ from the Haunted House, please PM me! (Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor intensifies...)
For the size and the limited selection of parts at the time, it does a very good job of portraying the white and black keys.
Very nice!
@TheOtherMike:
It looks top-heavy, especially since it's not actually attached to the piano.
@Murdoch17 said:
"Sing us the song, you're the piano man"
Too late. He's gone. He'd already played for the longest time...
Tiles, bricks, plates, slopes and a Homemaker cabinet: that's all you need. Even without the stickers it's recognisable (and I am unsure I'd want a bench like that, but it was 1973 after all).
That's a really impressive build given the age. Love the snot-work on the books on the book shelf.
I've always been intrigued by the studless constructions of the early Homemaker sets.
But come to think of that all of those tiles were the original groove-less variant - dismantling those builds would be a nightmare!
Looney Toons:
"Have ya got a piano?"
Looks great for its age. Kind of looks like MY Piano actually.
Oh, this actually looks very nice. My only comment is, the piano could benefit from one stud indent in the front.
@CCC:
Baseplates have no under structure, so it’s easy enough to flex them and jam a fingernail or minifig crowbar under the edge. Put one in the center of a 4x4 plate and you’ll have to decide if you want to sacrifice the tile, the plate, or potentially your fingers as you enlist the help of someone else to wedge an X-Acto blade under the edge while you try to flex the plate enough to lift the edge. And you’re pretty much doomed if you put one in the center of a 4x4 magnet brick.
Amazing set, I would totally buy it if it was on shelves today.
Instrumental break!
- Which instrument do you want me to break?
...PIANO!!!
Next week the didgeridoo?
@Brickchap said:
"As a pianist I approve of this set! It's surprising just how well jumper plates work as piano keys."
No jumper plates in this one, not introduced until later 1970s i think?
"Love the snot-work on the books on the book shelf."
As far as I remember these sets 'books' were done by tiles. This matches with parts inventory at bricksets (https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=293-1): There are no 1x2 red plates.
@Murdoch17 said:
"…'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see…"
I shook Billy Joel’s hand once when he came to my uni to give a talk and sing some of his songs :~)
I know it’s supposed to be a lamp, but that big red cube really looks like it’s supposed to be a home AI. Gonna ask Alexa to play something to accompany you on the piano?
@Brickchap said:
"If anyone wants to sell the organ from the Haunted House, please PM me! (Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor intensifies...) "
The organ from 11019 is a nice affordable alternative, and easily modded to fit into whatever build you want it in.
@cm5878 said:
" @Brickchap said:
"As a pianist I approve of this set! It's surprising just how well jumper plates work as piano keys."
No jumper plates in this one, not introduced until later 1970s i think?"
Regular tiles indeed. Jumper plate (without groove) came out in 1978: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=3794a&v=3&in=S
The STAMP though...
@BovineBrick said:
"It even came with a shelf for music books! 21323 should be ashamed at how outclassed it was"
Was Ideas Grand Piano a flop?
That would have been some investment. £0.75 in 1972 to £88 now. Small and easily stored too. Isn't hindsight wonderful?
@Formendacil said:
"Stickers! It's not real if it's not a brickbuilt solution! Modern sets and their cost-cutting!
(Or should I complain about the German/Belgian dominance of the bookshelves?)"
Actually the books are neither a representation of the Belgian flag nor the German one for that matter.
@AustinPowers said:
" @Formendacil said:
"(Or should I complain about the German/Belgian dominance of the bookshelves?)"
Actually the books are neither a representation of the Belgian flag nor the German one for that matter. "
It's actually the flag of the United Belgian States! Well, on its side, that is. Probably the national anthem? Pretty long for a country that didn't even exist a whole year....
@WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @Formendacil said:
"(Or should I complain about the German/Belgian dominance of the bookshelves?)"
Actually the books are neither a representation of the Belgian flag nor the German one for that matter. "
It's actually the flag of the United Belgian States! Well, on its side, that is. Probably the national anthem? Pretty long for a country that didn't even exist a whole year...."
Sheldon Cooper presents
"Fun with flags"...
@CCC said:
[[ @Atuin said:
[[I've always been intrigued by the studless constructions of the early Homemaker sets.
But come to think of that all of those tiles were the original groove-less variant - dismantling those builds would be a nightmare!]]
Removing those tiles is not a nightmare. The ones on the piano are simple to remove, as they are on top of staggered bricks. On the bookshelf they go to the edges of the build, so you hold the edges of the tile and pull.
Grooveless tiles only get hard to remove when put into the middle of larger one piece surfaces such as plates, baseplate or the old brick baseplate.]
Thanks for discussing I didn’t realize there was a difference in removing - groove/no groove. Might explain some of my difficulties I’ll have to go play and then separate for future builds.
Cobi uses grooveless tiles.
Trying remote those is truly a pita, but as Cobi sets are mainly for display only, it's not that bad.
This is better than any other pianos of this size Lego has ever made.
Even if it only has 13 keys.
Proves that sets need not be big, complex, or pricey to look good.
I've always wanted this set, to add to my home maker collection. I remember wanting it as a child, along with the bathroom. I have the bathroom now, but not the piano, sadly.
@Ridgeheart:
Lore is that the real-life bar patron who "Paul" represents was a real-estate agent by day, and would sit in the bar at night, writing a novel he was convinced would become a bestseller. That does not disprove the possibility that he was drunk, delusional, and in need of a taxi, mind you. It's just that "real-estate novelist" was not meant to be interpreted as a single job, but a lyrical combination of two career paths.
These sets were intended to be used in doll houses (yes Lego at the time did encourage mixing Lego with other toys) which is why they were studless.
I have a couple of these sets (not this one sadly). They're harder to find with the stickers still intact.
@560heliport said:
"For the size and the limited selection of parts at the time, it does a very good job of portraying the white and black keys.
Very nice!"
hmm I have lots of pianos. I see them regular. One as late as christmas calendar 2022. Also from friends and Dimensions as I recall.