General Information

The following information has been collected from original newspapers, catalogs, and magazines, some of which are freely available for reference below. The rest can be found in the site’s gallery. No aggregate catalogs (BrickLink, Brickset, etc.) were used.

Advertised Part Count(s): 99 pieces

Set Box

First Year Confirmed Available: 1967

1967 Eaton's Christmas Catalog

Most Likely Retirement Date: 1973+

This set has a variant that could only have existed in 1973 or beyond, outside the current scope of this site. As a result, I do not currently have a retirement date.

Last Year Seen Available: 1971

Edmonton Journal, November 24th, 1971

Aliases: Beginner's Set, 99 pieces, Set No. 99

Retail Price(s): $2.95(Canada)

Rarity Score(Index): 6/7

Known Box/Packing Variants

This set has three main variants.

From 1967-70, the set came in a tall box reminiscent of US 1961-65 tall boxes(1961-66 for Canada):

Then from ~1971-72, the set switched to a flat box. There are two versions of this box(the other has a fish model on the sides and the "Quality Product of Samsonite" text, but I don't currently have an image to share).

This example is likely from 1972, as it has the updated Samsonite logo:

And just a better image of the logo:

Then at some point on or after 1973(approximated with the new LEGO logo), the box design switched again:

Box/Overview

The 99-piece set was not produced in the US, exclusive for Canada. It served as Canada's direct successor to the 702 Basic Set, known via comparing the relative price and piece counts. The US market instead used the 93-Piece Set exclusively for promotional purposes and did not carry a retail version like Canada did.

For now, the most notable thing about the 99-piece set is that it was the smallest basic set available at the time, fulfilling a role that Samsonite's US subsidiary did not think was important after the retirement of the 702 Basic Set. Of course they eventually began importing the smaller Model Maker sets, but I digress.

Similar to other Canadian sets, the box featured bilingual text:

box top image

And the tabs:

And the sides:

Contents

The set would've contained a simple assortment of basic elements with a majority in red and white, though the inventory more than likely evolved overtime.