Vintage set of the week: Sea Plane
Posted by Huwbot,
This week's vintage set is 712 Sea Plane, released during 1977. It's one of 14 LEGOLAND sets produced that year. It contains 115 pieces.
It's owned by 220 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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44 comments on this article
I still have a calendar from the Lego Club (or, as it was known back then, the Lego Builder's Club) that had instructions for this, adjusting for pieces (such as the propeller) that were no longer in production. I built that so many times. That calendar is the reason this set is on my wanted list.
Those are some pretty calm waters. In fact they almost look frozen. And is that fog, or does everything become a blank void? I guess that's what happens when you don't have eyes to see where you're going.
I'm a simple man - I Sea Plane, I press "like".
Give me a hand!
This set was released in Europe with set nr 371-3 (minus the last 3 of course ;-)
Actually one of the very first sets I owned (as a 5 year old back then) Happy childhood memories.
Fun fact: This set already contained dual molded pieces back in 1977 and weren't even new parts! (The doors on the plane) The first doors like these (from the late 1960's) where in fact all Trans-Clear with a painted (or printed?) lower part, but since the early 1970's these where actually dual molded, part opaque with a Trans-Clear top window.
Back in my day we didn't have hands nor face nor could our legs even move but we still worked hard unlike you younglings.
@Bengh_Zeran:
Looks like if the handle is oriented vertically, it's molded in clear and dipped in paint. If it's oriented horizontally, I suspect it's more likely that they molded the two sections and fused them together. There just isn't much material there to actually dual-mold the parts, plus I very much doubt they had the technology necessary to dual-mold that early. They absolutely had a machine that could bond clear window glass into door and window frames, though.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Bengh_Zeran :
Looks like if the handle is oriented vertically, it's molded in clear and dipped in paint. If it's oriented horizontally, I suspect it's more likely that they molded the two sections and fused them together. There just isn't much material there to actually dual-mold the parts, plus I very much doubt they had the technology necessary to dual-mold that early. They absolutely had a machine that could bond clear window glass into door and window frames, though."
@PurpleDave You're probably right, but I think it's still looking cool (or at least it was to me back in the day) Especially since there weren't that many dual colored pieces in the early days (glued, clicked or 'welded' together) that at least felt like they were just one part! (And what did I know of technology when I was only 5 years old? Pretty much nothing...!)
I got this set for Christmas, 1977. I also got 400. Such a great Christmas!
If this was not the first LEGO set I received as an 8 year old, it was close to it. I have reassembled it so many times throughout the years and it remains one of my favourite sets today. Obviously not a very technical build going on today's standards, but I have the greatest memories of playing with this.
I feel that the proto-minifigs somehow added to our imaginations back then as we had to inject personality ourselves.
What about the boat? How come it doesn't get a mention in the set name?
The poor side-builds. neglected by Lego. Although, they are fighting back to be noticed, like the lamp post in 75378, which is taking the internet by storm!
*Water is not included*
Hmm...
...Yeah. I do.
The plane required more pieces than I had, but I've built the boat many times in different colors when I was young. Happy days...
@MCLegoboy said:
"Those are some pretty calm waters. In fact they almost look frozen. And is that fog, or does everything become a blank void? I guess that's what happens when you don't have eyes to see where you're going."
Where they're going, they don't need eyes to see.
@Bengh_Zeran said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @Bengh_Zeran :
Looks like if the handle is oriented vertically, it's molded in clear and dipped in paint. If it's oriented horizontally, I suspect it's more likely that they molded the two sections and fused them together. There just isn't much material there to actually dual-mold the parts, plus I very much doubt they had the technology necessary to dual-mold that early. They absolutely had a machine that could bond clear window glass into door and window frames, though."
@PurpleDave You're probably right, but I think it's still looking cool (or at least it was to me back in the day) Especially since there weren't that many dual colored pieces in the early days (glued, clicked or 'welded' together) that at least felt like they were just one part! (And what did I know of technology when I was only 5 years old? Pretty much nothing...!)"
I have a couple of these pieces. It's actually much more simple. They are trans-clear pieces with the colour printed onto them. You can wipe the colour and it becomes a totally trans-clear piece.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=801pb01
In any case, this set is as old as I am, and it reminds me of a Matchbox model kit I had when I was about ten years old. That plane was a Noorduyn Norseman seaplane:
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norseman_Cooper_Landing.jpg
Sea Plane? Yes. I also see boat
For its day this one is quite amazing. Those huuuge wings. The octagonal shaping acting like something round. The boat being a perfect companion to it. The shaping of the pontoon struts. The doors. The cool color scheme.
Maybe it's just the angle of this image, but it just looks so groovy!
No knees and no arms
It's going to be hard to go up to the plane
"Sea Plane does not fly nor float"
It doesn't quite look aerodynamically sound, but still a lovely set!
I'd really love to see an updated version of this with proper minifigures and more detail. But it is nevertheless a very good set in my opinion.
@560heliport said:
"I got this set for Christmas, 1977. I also got 400. Such a great Christmas!"
That 400 does look pretty cool.
I assume that the guy in the boat has a set of legs somewhere...
@Mikey_1703 said:
"If this was not the first LEGO set I received as an 8 year old, it was close to it. I have reassembled it so many times throughout the years and it remains one of my favourite sets today. Obviously not a very technical build going on today's standards, but I have the greatest memories of playing with this.
I feel that the proto-minifigs somehow added to our imaginations back then as we had to inject personality ourselves."
Same. Loved this one.
@AustinPowers said:
"I have a couple of these pieces. It's actually much more simple. They are trans-clear pieces with the colour printed onto them. You can wipe the colour and it becomes a totally trans-clear piece.
<https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=801pb01"
Wrong door. We were discussing this one:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=801apb00
@Brickalili said:
"Sea Plane? Yes. I also see boat"
Sea Wolf. Sea Castle.
I'm on a sea plane diet. I see a plane then I eat it.... wait...
It that wing is made out of a single plate as I suspect it is, it was later used as a Shell station canopy piece over the pumps. Great part for things like that!
@MeisterDad said:
"It that wing is made out of a single plate as I suspect it is, it was later used as a Shell station canopy piece over the pumps. Great part for things like that!"
Inventory says a pair of 6x16 plates, but nothing larger.
I always thought this was a representation of the De Havilland Beaver. But I guess many other planes are similar.
@kdu2814 said:
" @560heliport said:
"I got this set for Christmas, 1977. I also got 400. Such a great Christmas!"
That 400 does look pretty cool.
I assume that the guy in the boat has a set of legs somewhere..."
IIRC, the torso is on a 1x2 brick with the legs in front; actually looks like a person stting in a seat.
For the pilot, I always put the torso in front of the legs and pretended the legs were the seatback.
Oh how I loved this set! It was brilliant!
Oh how I loved this set! It was brilliant!
I still have one sealed! I really loved this set as a child. Just couldn't stopped playing with it.
I was always bothered by the tail on this set - specifically the vertical stabilizer. It was just too... *chonky*.
One nice thing about these antique minifigs is that they would fit in a 2-wide hole or slot because there were no arms extending out an additional 1/2 stud on the sides. Also, the torsos can be used as shrouds for the LEGO PF and PU LED modules so that they don't spread light in unintended directions.
@PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I have a couple of these pieces. It's actually much more simple. They are trans-clear pieces with the colour printed onto them. You can wipe the colour and it becomes a totally trans-clear piece.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=801pb01 "
Wrong door. We were discussing this one:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=801apb00 "
But that's not the one used in this set.
Plus, I have this set and it came with the doors I linked to.
Both types of pieces my look very similar (part numbers 802 and 801 respectively), but the one used in this set is the transparent version that has the blue section printed on, while the one you mentioned seems to be welded together somehow. However that version according Bricklink was only used in two sets. Perhaps that other production method caused issues, hence why it was succeeded by the printed one.
@AustinPowers:
@Bengh_Zeran seems to be claiming that the printed version came first, and the Bricklink dates for the welded version fall in the middle of the painted version. There's also a heck of a lot of stores selling them in red, when they aren't listed as coming in any set in that color. Both versions are a little before my time, so I can't really comment to which set inventories might be inaccurate, except there does seem to be a problem with at least one use in red. But what I was discussing, at least, was specifically about how the doors were produced.
@560heliport said:
"I got this set for Christmas, 1977. I also got 400 . Such a great Christmas!"
Close. '79 was my Best Christmas. It was filled with tension. What to ask for? The Kenner Millennium Falcon or 497 ?
Both were outside the normal price range for my parents ($35). As a result, I got almost nothing under our home Christmas tree. As all my brothers opened their gifts, I was forlorn. We drove to my maternal grandparents, and still there was nothing. Finally, we got to my other grandparents' home for dinner. Nothing. Yet, my grandmother was the type to set up a Christmas tree on each level of the house. She saw my disappointment, and suggested I go down in the basement. There, taking up pride of place in front of the beautiful tree, was the massive SW Kenner Millennium Falcon box.
That day, I loved life, toys, myself, my family, and Sweet Baby Jesus!! I was so proud of my family for spending that much, and taking that much trouble to make me happy.
It's still the best Christmas I've ever had.
P.S. I made up for the lack of 497 by getting multiple copies of its succeedent 10497.
@AustinPowers said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I have a couple of these pieces. It's actually much more simple. They are trans-clear pieces with the colour printed onto them. You can wipe the colour and it becomes a totally trans-clear piece.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=801pb01 "
Wrong door. We were discussing this one:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=801apb00 "
But that's not the one used in this set.
Plus, I have this set and it came with the doors I linked to.
Both types of pieces my look very similar (part numbers 802 and 801 respectively), but the one used in this set is the transparent version that has the blue section printed on, while the one you mentioned seems to be welded together somehow. However that version according Bricklink was only used in two sets. Perhaps that other production method caused issues, hence why it was succeeded by the printed one. "
@AustinPowers You may have a point in that TLG might have had some issues regarding these welded/ fused 'door-with-window' pieces. In any case, my copy of set 371-3 definitely contains the welded/ fused versions of these doors, so perhaps these 2-colored doors were put in the Sea Plane sets in both versions, depending perhaps on production years and/or distribution areas and/or issues with the 2-piece molded door parts? I can't know for sure what has happened back then. (Maybe it was too expensive to keep producing these or there was some safety regulation issue in case they fused the pieces together with some kind of glue, but that is all just speculating... we need facts.)
@PurpleDave I also happen to own a copy of set 381-1 which was vintage set of the week on Oct 1, 2022 https://brickset.com/article/82504 That set came out in 1973 (4 years prior to sets 371-3 and 712-1) and as @sjr60 commented in that article, those 2-colored (yellow) doors were the painted version. The Bricklink inventory states this correct (as I can confirm from my copy of that set). Hence I assumed the painted versions of such door pieces came out before the welded/ fused ones. However both Bricklink and Rebrickable databases seem to show -some slightly confusing to me- time frames in which each version of these door parts were produced. BL suggests TLG started with the printed doors, then made a few welded/ fused ones for a period of time, only to end again with the painted ones, while Rebrickable suggests the painted ones came out secondly (which I think not)? I was born in 1972 and have no other sets than the ones I mentioned containing these dual colored doors so I can further only assume the data -as far as sets released at the end of the 1960's- is pretty much correct. Anyways, I do believe you are indeed right about the production process for these door pieces as they seem to be 2 pieces fused together somehow. What mattered to me most on the subject personally is to realize that TLG tried out such production techniques already so long ago plus actually releasing these -in hindsight interesting- pieces back then.
I still have some of the pieces of this set, including the figs. I don’t recall my dad buying it or giving it at Christmas, it was kind of one of those sets that was just always there in the bin with the other pieces.
As well as the two large rare plates, I remember this set for the 20 odd inverted slopes which were a new piece around this time, and meant you could start doing plane bodies more realistically. Has anyone being able to find any instructions as not available at the links given here?
@ambr said:
"As well as the two large rare plates, I remember this set for the 20 odd inverted slopes which were a new piece around this time, and meant you could start doing plane bodies more realistically. Has anyone being able to find any instructions as not available at the links given here?"
@ambr You can look up the instructions at https://www.brickfactory.info/index.html and then look from the 'All scans' submenu's (by number or by year) for set nrs. 712 and/or 371. They're both listed!
@Brickset admins, if I'm not allowed to post external links (like the one above to brickfactory instructions, which I do not own or operate BTW), then please remove my post. (In such case, my apologies!)
@Bengh_Zeran: Given how many external links I've seen in comments, I think it's save to assume they don't have a problem with it, provided that you don't link to family-unfriendly or NSFW sites.
Don't be a fool, Striker, you know what a landing like this means, you more than anybody. I'm ordering you to stay up there.
@kdu2814 i: I say, let 'em crash!