New stone building sets and puzzles are
being made again, and in Rudolstadt, by
Modellbaustein-Spiele GmbH,
Breitscheidstr. 103, D-07407 Rudolstadt/Thüringen, Germany. Tel: 03672
/ 5 25 55; Fax: 03672 / 5 25 52;
e-mail address Modellbau@Ankerstein.de. These wonderful
sets are beginning to be imported into the USA once more. Last February,
these sets were reintroduced at the American International Toy Fair in New
York. I visited the Toy Fair and finally got the new pricing. The
first set, # 6, was offered in the December issue of Land's End Holiday Catalog,
on page 6, for $140, plus shipping.
Because the retail distribution of Anchor sets and puzzles is still extremely limited, as a service to people who want to buy these new sets, I keep a few on hand and will send them, post paid, upon receipt of a check. Since I am not operating a business, I have no arrangements to accept credit cards.
The cost of the new sets and puzzles:
# 6 (105 stones, the basic set)
.............................................................................
$ 120
# 6A (113 stones, supplement to set # 6, to total 218 stones)
............................... $ 130
# 8A (116 stones, supplement to sets # 6 & 6A, to total 334 stones)
.................... $ 140
# 10A (165 stones, supplement to set # 6 & 6A & 8A, to total 499stones)
.......... $ 150
Anchor Puzzle (a seven stone tangram, with 178 problems and solutions)
.............. $ 14
More puzzles are supposed to be added this year. The next one planned
is the Egg of Columbus, but I have no positive information to report on this
project. Although I have pushed the question of loose stones with
both the factory (during my recent visit to the factory) and the importer,
no decision has been made by the factory or the importer. The factory
was severely overcharging for loose stones. They sell loose stones
at roughly three times the retail price of stones in sets (assuming that
the box and books cost nothing!). If you would like to buy a set or
two or have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me by
e-mail.
For those who are really interested in Anchor stones, I have written a book about them. (I just got tired of either looking up the same information again and again, or trusting my memory on specific details such as dates and names.) It is expensive, $70 (or 100 DM) ppd, because I print it myself on my PC and color ink is expensive. The book undoubtedly contains far more information about Anchor stones and sets, the Richter company, etc. than you'll ever want to read. This book is a lot of work to print (I print about a dozen at a time, in either English or German), so please don't think I am urging you to buy one.
A picture of new sets #s 4 and 6.
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