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): 30 pieces

The Oregonian, November 24th, 1971

First Year Confirmed Available: 1969(USA)

The Napa Valley Register, November 27th, 1969

USA Only.

Most Likely Retirement Date: 1971(USA)

While difficult to track, it was replaced by the 300 Jumbo Bricks Set in 1972.

Last Year Seen Available: 1972(USA)

1971 Marshall Fields Christmas Catalog

There may be later appearances still on shelves, but it's often difficult to tell the 300 and the 044 apart.

Aliases: LEGO Jumbo Bricks, Jumbo Brick Set, Preschool Set

Retail Price(s): $3.69-$5.00(USA)

Discounted Example(s): $2.99(1969), $2.62(1971)

Rarity Score(Index): 4/7

Known Box/Packing Variants

There are two main variants. One was an open box with a viewport starting in 1969:

Then the box was given a proper top flap likely in 1971:

Box/Overview

The 044 Jumbo Bricks Set was yet another redesign of the LEGO Samsonite Jumbo Bricks line. It is essentially a 041 Beginner's/Pre-School Set, just with six blue jumbo bricks added.

While not very interesting in that regard, it does mark an important step in Samsonite's line, as it shares more in common with the 1972 Imagination Sets than the earlier drawer/sleeve sets.

It's surprisingly a difficult box to get ahold of, as it likely follows along with other preschool sets from Samsonite wherein the boxes were not coddled nor seen as necessary. The lid variant is moreso difficult for obvious reasons.

It's also important to note that we have an odd break in the pattern. We had two preschool sets in 1965: the 041 and 042. Why is there no 043?

Regardless, my example is from an earlier period and has experienced some sort of infestation in the past, but enough is here to demonstrate how the box was designed and such. There are two layers, a thin, decorative "sleeve" and a heartier inner cardboard box:

box top image

My example also does not have all the bricks it should, but even if it did, it would not entirely fill the box with the blocks stacked like this. Instead, the set originally came with the bricks just dumped into the box: