Town Plan / System in play
Sets 1210, 1211, 1212, 1213 and 1236 — the first true model sets!
In 1955, TLG launched the System i leg ("System in play") branding concept, which was the genesis of what we now simply call the Lego "system". System i leg was a line of small model kits, parts packs, accessories and HO-scale vehicles that, together with the existing Lego Mursten gift boxes, all centered around the "town plan"—a soft plastic mat that had a city streetscape laid out on it. So you could say this was also the beginning of the Town theme (although the idea of themes wasn't really introduced until Legoland in the 1970s).
These five small model sets included, for the first time, a selection of parts intended to build specific models, and there were instructions for those models enclosed in the box (as opposed to in the catalog, as with the gift sets of 1954)—another first, although standalone instructions wouldn't become commonplace for about another decade. The models were a collection of small shops or houses, and a garage with a clever automatic door.
These sets went through a few different versions over the years, as slotted bricks were retired and tabbed windows replaced with studded ones, and like all early sets, the exact contents tended to vary quite a bit anyway. When Lego started selling in Germany and beyond, these were sold with 3-digit set numbers (210–213 and 236) to differentiate them from Scandinavian sets that still had the slotted bricks. The 3-digit set numbers became universal in 1958.
Sets 1210, 1211, 1212, 1213 and 1236 — the first true model sets!
In 1955, TLG launched the System i leg ("System in play") branding concept, which was the genesis of what we now simply call the Lego "system". System i leg was a line of small model kits, parts packs, accessories and HO-scale vehicles that, together with the existing Lego Mursten gift boxes, all centered around the "town plan"—a soft plastic mat that had a city streetscape laid out on it. So you could say this was also the beginning of the Town theme (although the idea of themes wasn't really introduced until Legoland in the 1970s).
These five small model sets included, for the first time, a selection of parts intended to build specific models, and there were instructions for those models enclosed in the box (as opposed to in the catalog, as with the gift sets of 1954)—another first, although standalone instructions wouldn't become commonplace for about another decade. The models were a collection of small shops or houses, and a garage with a clever automatic door.
These sets went through a few different versions over the years, as slotted bricks were retired and tabbed windows replaced with studded ones, and like all early sets, the exact contents tended to vary quite a bit anyway. When Lego started selling in Germany and beyond, these were sold with 3-digit set numbers (210–213 and 236) to differentiate them from Scandinavian sets that still had the slotted bricks. The 3-digit set numbers became universal in 1958.
