310 Motorized Truck Set
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.
Instructions: FORM NO
Advertised Part Count(s): 176 pieces
First Year Confirmed Available: 1968(USA)
First appears in catalogs starting in 1968.
USA Only.
Most Likely Retirement Date: 1971(USA)
Final appearance in several 1971 catalogs. Production would not have continued beyond the cancellation of the LEGO license in 1971.
Last Year Seen Available: 1971
Independent, December 16th, 1971
Aliases: Motorized Truck Set, Motor Truck Set
Retail Price(s): $11.99-$14.95(USA)
Note: Due to highly variable prices for the 310 in particular, the RRP is particularly difficult to identify. The official RRP should be between these two numbers
Rarity Score(Index): 2/7
Known Box/Packing Variants
The set has two main variants of the colorful box:
1968-69 - eight patents:
1970 - "Some parts...manufactured in Denmark" sticker appears somewhere on box, but no other changes.
~1970-71 - "Some parts...manufactured in Denmark" printed directly on box:
At least one plain mailer box variant(JCPenney from 1968-1971) also exists.
There are at least two versions of the inner tray configuration:
The most common will use the 107's tray to hold the motor, battery box, instructions, and wheels. Then there will be two main trays with an empty center divider.
The second, and much less common, is the use of only the standard various sized trays used in 1965+ basic sets instead of the specialized inserts/dividers. This version likely appeared only when Samsonite had run low on the 107's tray.
There are no discernable dates for either of the two variants above.
Box/Overview
With the expansion of the Model Maker line in 1968, the 310 set was created to combine three new-for-1968 Model Makers into one set: the 331 Dump Truck, 332 Tow Truck, and 333 Delivery Van. It was actually four sets in one, however, as it also included a 107 Reversible Motor Set so that you could motorize the vehicles.
The set's box does not use many new images of the sets, most of the images are reused from the original sets:
As you'll notice, these models were not designed with motorization in mind, so models like the dump truck become static. Steering was also an issue, as the steering plate would have to be omitted when motorized.
Surprisingly, the set continued production alongside the 311 Remote Control Car Set, even though that set feels a driect successor and improvement on the 310(even the number is a direct increment).
Speaking of the set number, it is a very odd choice as it doesn't follow any known Samsonite logic. Instead, my idea is that it is referencing the three-in-one nature of the set, even though it's technically four-in-one including the 107.
Contents
The 310 contained enough parts to construct all three models, but only enough motorized parts to motorize one at a time.
