|
The Sets |
|
|
To my knowledge there were 4 different sets offered by Schuco. Surprisingly, none of the sets came with a transformer, though some of the Christmas catalog sets offered a transformer outside of the boxed set. Below is the listing of the four sets. If you would like to see pictures of the sets and the contents in them, click on the set titles. Last updated 8/1/10 6333 Gift Set--1961 & 1962. The first generation G set. This set and the next one listed below are both 6333/G sets, but there are two distinct types of G sets. In the instruction booklet this set is definitely referred to as the "gift set," so I'm assuming that "G" stands for "Gift." This set included enough track to make a big square or a big oval depending how you used the straight track. It also included enough pylons to add a little bit of a grade to the track. The three car monorail came in red or blue. The monorail in this set did NOT come with weights or the tail fins on the rear car. The wheel mechanism was the tin capped style. This train was the lightest of all the Schuco monorails made, and thus was probably the biggest victim of the "try to run, then put away" sets. All of the parts were stored in a thin, yellow plastic insert which usually cracked. I believe this set sold for around $39.95 which was a pretty hefty price for a toy in the early 60's. Also keep in mind it cost around $1.00 to get into Disneyland at the time, so a child receiving a $40 monorail set on top of a day at Disneyland was truly fortunate! As a side note, I have seen many of these sets with a weighted and tail finned monorail in them and do believe that during the transition from one design to the other ( listed below) that Schuco may have started putting the newer monorails in the old plastic inserts until the old inserts were gone. Using this theory, you should never see the non-tail finned and non-weighted monorail in the styrofoam inserts from the factory. Of course, an individual could switch them around. I do not believe that you would have ever seen on the shelf a silver monorail in this plastic insert. However, I have seen this configuration for sale. The box lid should bear a silver dot if this was true. Since the lids for this set and the below set are the same, an individual could still switch box lids. If anyone has purchased this set new with a silver monorail, please email me trainfool@aol.com! 6333/G Set--Late 1962 to 1968. The second generation G set. I sometimes refer to this as the "Circle Set" and the set listed above as the "Oval Set." Schuco had made quite a few changes to this set. The three car monorail now had weights in the front. Some of the trains still had the tin capped wheels, but later were improved to the black capped wheels, and finally to the white with the square axle insert. The chassis also improved with the final one constructed with a lot of lead and thus was the heaviest. A new color was also added, silver. Why Schuco chose silver I do not know. The logical choice would have been yellow since Disneyland had a red, blue, and yellow (referred to as gold) monorail. I did hear that the Disneyland monorail prototype model was painted silver, and maybe this is where Schuco came up with idea. I have also heard the theory that silver was a trademark color for Schuco, so they therefore made a monorail in that color. Please email me if you have any other information on this: trainfool@aol.com. The last final change on the monorail itself was the addition of the rear tail fins. The story is that Walt Disney requested Schuco to add these to their models so that they would more resemble the real monorails at Disneyland. After talking with Bob Gurr, the designer of the real monorail at Disneyland, this story is probably not true. In fact, because Disneyland was having troubles with the tail fin design when going in reverse, they were taking off the fins about the same time Schuco was putting them on! I am not sure what this set was originally priced, but later sets were reduced as low as $25. Schuco tried to cut down costs by including less track and less pylons. All of the parts were stored in a styrofoam insert, some which were of a yellowish tint, and some which were white. Some had red stripes, some did not. There are a lot of variations of the styrofoam insert, including the color of the "Schuco" logo. Many collectors insist that the red monorail came with a red logo and the silver monorail came in the styrofoam with the silver logo. I have never seen a blue logo, however, for the blue monorail. The indentation for the monorail did have a place for the weight which stuck out further than the skirting on the monorail. The box lid also had several variations. Most were the same as the set listed above, but some had the red paper on them with the S set portion of the monorail/mountain label (it even has the words "6333/S" on it). Later versions had just a plain brown box with the label from the individual monorail boxes pasted to it along with the cover of a manual (usually the Italian one). I've seen sets with just a plain brown box and no labels. Most of the sets have a colored dot or rectangle on one side of the lid to indicate the color of the monorail inside. Again, many collectors insist that the color of the dot must match the color of the monorail inside. I have, however, seen several sets with red dots on the side, yet contain silver monorails inside. There are silver dots! The H set or American Set--late 1962 to early 1968. This was the set made specifically for the North American market. I am not sure why it is called the "H set." I can guess that it is simply the next letter in the alphabet after the G set, so someone just decided to refer to it as such. There are no markings on the box to indicate it as an H set and today is also referred to as the "American Set." This set was the one listed in a few Christmas catalogs in the United States. The catalog I know for sure that listed them is the F.A.O. Schwarz Christmas catalog (if you know other stores, please email me: trainfool@aol.com). In the 1962 catalog, on page 78, the set listed for $49.95. I do not have a copy of the 1963 catalog. The American Set is listed, but I do not know the price. In both the 1964 and 1965 catalogs, page 127, the monorail is listed for $39.95. In the 1966 Christmas catalog, page 117, the price remained at $39.95. The last F.A.O. Schwarz catalog to list the H Set is the 1967 one on page 117 and is still priced at $39.95. For sure, the monorail did not appear in the 1968 catalog, thus confirming that Schuco had now given up on this series of toy trains. The #150 transformer was a separate item from the set and listed at $12.00 until 1967 when it was increased to $12.95. The set included a three car monorail, and I have seen all three monorail colors available. The monorail did have the weights and the rear tail fins. There were enough tracks to make a figure eight, plus one left hand (sometimes right hand) switch to make a side spur. Also included was a special end bumper (6333/8), a block signal (6333/27), and a controller (6333/41). This set usually included an English version of the color manual and is considered quite rare. It seems strange that this set, which was made for the American market, is one of the hardest to find, but it is! All of the pieces were stored in a yellow plastic insert which, again, was susceptible to cracking. I have seen a picture of one set that actually has a cardboard insert instead of the yellow plastic. Thanks to a collector, you may see it also if you click on "The H set" link above. The S set--It is the biggest set that Schuco offered with over 200 pieces. Like the H set, it had enough track to make a figure eight, but also included a pair of switches and a pair of block signals. Instead of a dead end track, one could make a complete or continuous side track. The greatest addition to this set was a four car monorail! It came in red, blue, or silver. I have seen all three types of wheel configurations in the S sets. All of the monorails had weights and the tail fins. Everything was stored in a thin, yellow plastic insert. Even though Schuco added cardboard supports underneath the plastic, it still cracked. The cost of this set was a whopping $89.95!!! I was told that the set was only made for one year and never sold well because of its high price; however, the set is listed in a 1962 brochure and the 1966 Schuco catalog, thus dispelling the fact it was sold for only one year. It is possible that it could have been only manufactured for one year, but enough were made to supply the market for several years. Because of the various styles of monorails found in the S sets I have seen, I doubt this was true either. It is probably true, however, that it did not sell well since the set is extremely hard to find. It is especially hard to find a box which is 100% complete. Usually, at least one side of the lid is missing for some reason. I have had sets where the owner admitted to cutting out slots from the lid and making a tunnel for the monorail to run through. Today, the cost of the 200 plus parts easily adds up to over $1,000 alone, so the value of a completed box can really make this an expensive set to collect! 6333/99 Accessory Pack--It is not really a set with a monorail, etc., but it is a nice set of different accessories such as track, pylons, etc. It included everything to make a basic G set (circle set or second generation G set) layout into a S set layout except for the switches. These are really tough to find with the box and clear plastic insert and quite expensive when you do find one in a decent condition. The box lid did come in a variety of styles, one with a graphic, one with a graphic and an added sticker with the part number on the lid, and one with no graphic at all. Usually the box lid with no graphic bears a label with the #6333/99 on the side. |