|
| INTRO | PARTS |
SETS Moubal Jumbo |
MANUALS Moubal Jumbo |
MARKETING |
PRICE
LISTS |
BUILDING |
MOUBAL RELATED |
|
MOUBAL
MANUALS
Every set included a manual. As with the sets, there is a clear difference between the pre-war manuals produced by Moubal, and the post-war manuals by Jumbo. Manuals generally follow the chronology of the sets, which was: 1924: Set 1, Set 2 1925: Set 0, Set 1a (make-up set from 1 to 2) 1926: Set 00 (early 1926), Set 3, Set 4, Station No. 1, Station No. 2 1931: Set 2a (make-up set from 2 to 3) 1932: Set 000 1935: Set 01, Garage No. 1, Garage No. 2 1936: Set 0a (make-up set from 0 to reduced Set 1). Windmill No. 1 and Windmill No. 2 (not sold as Mobaco, but compatible). Parts count in Set 1 is reduced, and increased in Set 1a. 1937: Stations en Garages discontinued 1938: Small Garage (discontinued after 1941) ±1943: Production stopped 1948: Moubal sets available again 1949: Jumbo starts marketing Mobaco under their own brand name and with different boxes 1953: Moubal sets discontinued (last price list is from fall 1952). So for 4 years, both Jumbo and Moubal sets were available at the same time For each manual below, there is a picture of the cover, thumbnails of each page, and some basic statistics. All cover pages are shown at half of actual size. Thumbnails are shown at 1/5th actual size. A link sends you to full size page views (100 dpi scans). Where possible, a PDF with 150 dpi scans is provided for downloading. Some browsers will download the PDF, others will show it on screen, in which case you can save it by hovering your cursor over the bottom of the image and a save button will appear. Printing the PDF at 100% will result in a booklet of the same size as the original. |
|
||
1924 - SET 1 MANUAL (ROUND WINDOWS, NO TEXT) Initially, Moubal issued two instruction manuals, one for Set 1, and one for Set 2. They featured the same cover illustration, but the Set 2 manual was much larger, so they surrounded the illustration with green windows and guardrails. Since the two manuals were so different, there was no need to identify them. Manual No.1 came with Set 1, first introduced in 1924. The cover was colorful and featured very large models, much larger than could be built with this set. The rear cover also has a model, shown both half completed and finished. This model too requires far more than a No. 1 set!  300 x 225 mm 20 pages (incl. covers) Colored front cover, B&W interior + rear cover 24 designs (plus rear cover) See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1924 - SET 2 MANUAL (ROUND WINDOWS, NO TEXT) This manual is huge, larger than A3. To give an idea of proportion, all covers on this webpage are shown at the same scale. Models 1-24 are all with a square 4x4 ground plate and can be built with Set 1. The designs are identical to those in the Set 1 Manual above, except that the plans have been rearranged on the page to be more compact. They now fit on 9-1/2 pages instead of 18 (smaller) pages. Models 25-40 are with a rectangular 4x8 ground plate and can be built with Set 2. Set 2 does not included a square ground plate, but Models 1-24 could of course be built on a 4x8 plate. Statistics: 458 x 300 mm 28 pages (incl. covers) Colored covers (black + spot colors gray, red, green, light blue, tan) B&W interior 40 designs (+ 1 inside front cover + 1 on rear cover, both requiring more than a Set No. 2) See pages DOWNLOAD PDF (41 MB)  |
||||
Note: thumbnails below are shown at 90%
relative to other thumbnails on this web page Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1925 - SET 0 MANUAL (ROUND WINDOWS, WITH TEXT ON COVER) In 1925, a Set 0 manual is issued using the same image, but cropped. Added to the cover are the set number, "Nederlandsch Fabrikaat" and "Gedeponeerd Handelsmerk" as well as "Made in Holland" and "Registered Trademark" (which mean the same). Likely also in 1925, a slightly revised version of the above manuals No. 1 and No. 2 is issued, now also with a set number (No. 1 or No. 2), "Nederlandsch Fabrikaat", "Gedeponeerd Handelsmerk", "Made in Holland" and "Registered Trademark." See further below. Numbering the covers made it easier to distinguish between the manuals. All models in the Set 0 manual are new, except for No. 01 and 08, which are copied from the Set 1 and Set 2 Manuals (where they are numbered 1 and 19 respectively).  227 x 224 mm 12 pages (incl. covers) Colored front and rear covers, B&W interior 8 designs (excluding covers) See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1925 - SET 1 MANUAL (ROUND WINDOWS, WITH TEXT ON COVER) Identical to Set 1 Manual above, except for added text on the covers, and the rear cover is now in color as well.  300 x 225 mm 20 pages (incl. covers) Colored front and rear covers, B&W interior 25 designs (including rear cover) See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1925 - SET 2 MANUAL (ROUND WINDOWS, WITH TEXT ON COVER) This manual is identical to the 1924 version above, except for added text on the covers: - front cover: No. 2, Gedeponeerd/Registered, Handelsmerk/Trade Mark. - rear cover: Nederlandsch Fabrikaat / Made in Holland Contents are the same as Set 2 manual above. Statistics: 458 x 300 mm 28 pages (incl. covers) Colored front and rear covers (black + spot colors gray, red, green, light blue, tan) B&W interior 40 designs (+ 1 inside front cover + 1 on rear cover, both requiring more than a Set No. 2) See pages (covers only) DOWNLOAD PDF (covers only)  |
||||
 Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1926 - SET 00 MANUAL (ART NOUVEAU BORDER, ROUND WINDOWS) Set 00 is introduced in 1926, probably in the spring. This simple fold-out sheet has Art Nouveau borders similar to the original manual for Sets 1 and 2. It just fits in the new small Set 000 box which is sized for the 3x3 ground plate (which is 168 x 168 mm).  174 x 174 mm 6 pages (incl. covers) B&W 5 designs See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1927? - SET 00 MANUAL - VERSION 2 (ART NOUVEAU BORDER) Same as above, except added text to cover: - GEDEPONEERD HANDELSMERK / REGISTERED TRADE MARK - NEDERLANDSCH FABRIKAAT / MADE IN HOLLAND Date is unknown, but after 1926 and before ±1931, when it is replaced with the "gnomes" manual.  6 pages (incl. covers) B&W 5 designs See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1926 - TRAIN STATION No. 1 MANUAL Note: these are scans of photocopies.  293 x 195 mm 2 pages B&W printing 2 designs (station + platform shed) See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Robj Schiff |
||||
1926 - TRAIN STATION No. 2 MANUAL Note: design of Train Station No. 2 is identical to models 60 and 60a in the Set 1-4 manual (with gnomes on the cover), which could be built with Set 3.  265 x 203 mm (verify) 2 pages B&W printing 2 designs (station + platform shed) See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Henri de Graaf |
||||
1928? - SET 0 MANUAL (ART DECO COVER, ROUND WINDOWS) Other than the covers, this manual is identical to the Set 0 Manual above (with village and text on covers). It is shown in a photograph in an article about Mobaco from mid-1931. This is probably the last year that this manual was in use, as the gnomes manual for Set 00+0+1 was likely introduced in the fall of 1931.  228 x 228 mm (verify) 12 pages (including covers) B&W printing 8 designs See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1928? - SET 1+2 MANUAL (ART DECO COVER, ROUND WINDOWS) This very large manual is identical to the No. 2 manual with the village on the cover, except that production is cheaper: it's all B&W, it has a craft paper cover, it's printed on much thinner paper, and there is one fewer model because the inside of the covers is unprinted. Made in Holland is printed in 4 languages on the cover (Dutch, English, Spanish, French), unlike the smaller Set 0 manual above. Inside, they added a large number "1" and "2" to indicate which models can be built with which set. The pages still have Art Nouveau borders. Dating of this manual and the one above with a similar cover is unsure. The cheap production may indicate it's from late 1929, or 1930, after the economy took a nose dive following the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday). This manual was replaced by the gnomes 1-4 manual, which was probably introduced in the fall of 1931. Statistics: 459 x 301 mm 28 pages (including covers) B&W printing 39 designs: - 24 designs for Set 1 - 15 designs for Set 2 See pages DOWNLOAD PDF (35 MB)  |
||||
Note: thumbnails below are shown at
90% relative to other thumbnails on this web page Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1931 - SET 1 - 4 MANUAL (WITH GNOMES, ROUND WINDOWS) The manual to end all manuals! With a colorful cover and totaling 76 pages (including covers), this is the manual most pre-war children aspired to. This manual is included with Sets 1, 1a, 2, 3 and 4, and later in Set 2a as well. The book is a little larger than A4. It does not fit in Set No. 1, in which case it's folded down the middle. Moubal also came out with a smaller manual for Set 00-0-1. The book features 82 models, plus 8 illustrations without plans for Set 3 and even 3 illustrations for a Set 5. Set 5 was never released, but this indicates they had plans for such a monster set. Considering how few Set 4's were ever sold, that may have been a wise decision. Only a handful of Sets 4 are known, one of them at the Brighton Toy Museum. Interestingly, the designs for Set 5 feature square windows. So by the time this book was produced, they were already thinking about changing the windows from round to square. This is the first manual with cover illustrations by artist Eelco ten Harmsen van der Beek, who also made other illustrations for Moubal, including price lists, other manuals and marketing material. This marks a shift in Moubal's marketing strategy. Instead of focusing on the architectural aspects of the system, play value is emphasized. This manual includes designs for Train Station No. 2 (see designs no 60 and 60A). This station is also shown on the rear cover. The front cover appears to be a covered market. These illustrations are (partially) used in the Gnomes marketing brochure. The manual consists of 4 stapled booklets (16 pages each) that are glued to each-other and to the binding. The covers had a binding strip between the front and the rear cover to accommodate the thickness of the contents, see photo on the right. This manual was most likely introduced in the fall of 1931, at the same time as the Gnomes marketing brochure, which is mentioned in a Jaarbeurs (Trade Fair) article in September 1931.  310 x 233 mm 74 pages (including covers) Color covers (black plus spot colors red, pink, green, gray, tan), and B&W inside 82 designs + 11 illustrations 24 for Set 1 16 for Set 2 22 (plus 8 extra) for Set 3 20 for Set 4 3 illustrations for Set 5 See pages DOWNLOAD PDF (58 MB) |
|
|||
 Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1931 - SET 00 + 0 + 1 MANUAL (ROUND WINDOWS) This manual was introduced in 1931, as can be seen in this 1931 photograph. The cover has round windows, like the manual above, while the sets contained square windows. What is odd is that this manual features 24 designs for Set 1, while the above manual does as well.  175 x 175 mm 44 pages (including covers) Covers: 6 spot colors (dark gray, light gray, red, pink, green, yellow) Inside: B&W 37 designs: 5 designs for Set 00 8 designs for Set 0 24 designs for Set 1 See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
Alex Geelhoed found a B&W version of this same manual, with round windows. Although at first it appears to be a misprint, it is clear that it was intentional as there are extra lines for the lips, nose, cheek and buttons. The rear cover doesn't have an image. The inside is identical to the above version. [Ter] Harmsen van [der] Beek's name is on the cover, while his name does not appear on any of the color versions of the manual. This is likely an earlier version of the above manual, possibly from 1930. Since only one copy has been found, perhaps it was part of a trial run to see how the market would respond to gnomes?   DOWNLOAD PDF Scans courtesy Alex Geelhoed |
||||
1932 or 1933 - SET 00 + 0 + 1 MANUAL (SQUARE WINDOWS) This manual is identical to the manual above, except the green windows were changed from round top to square top. This could have been as early as 1932, but also in 1933, when there is an ad featuring the exact same image. There is a variation of this manual with a cover with square windows, but inside the drawings still show round windows. This "hybrid" version probably precedes the "correct" version with square windows inside. A cost saving measure? 
175 x 175 mm 44 pages (including covers) Covers: 6 spot colors (dark gray, light gray, red, pink, green, yellow) Inside: B&W 37 designs: 5 designs for Set 00 8 designs for Set 0 24 designs for Set 1 See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1932 - SET 000 MANUAL (SQUARE WINDOWS) This is a simple fold-out sheet. Clearly a budget item. 
yyy
x yyy
mm4 pages B&W printing 4 designs See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1935 - GARAGE No. 1 MANUAL  358 x 239 mm 1 page B&W printing 1 design See page DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
| Scan courtesy Henri de Graaf | ||||
1935 - GARAGE No. 2 MANUAL  359 x 238 mm 1 page B&W printing 1 design See page DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
| Scans courtesy Leen Kalden | ||||
1936 - WINDMILL No.1 and No. 2 MANUAL The same one-page instruction leaflet was used in both windmill sets.  210 x 297 mm (verify) 1 page B&W printing 1 design See page DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
| Scan courtesy Henri de Graaf | ||||
1938 - SMALL GARAGE MANUAL  228 x 186 mm 1 page B&W printing 1 design See page DOWNLOAD PDF Scans courtesy Leen Kalden 1942? - SET 00 MANUAL (OLD SPELLING) WITH K2384 This booklet is from the war. The occupier required all printers to feature a "K"-number ("K-nummer or Kennummer") on their print work, in this case K2384, shown on the rear cover. Each printer had to state either his K-number or his name on all printed matter he produced. The decree of 15 July 1941 to limit paper consumption read: Print manufacturers must affix their company name or identification number to all paper and cardboard products that are printed by them. The identification number will be sent to them on request by the Rijksbureau voor de Verwerkende Industrieën, Sectie Grafische Industrie (National Office for the Processing Industries, Graphics Industry Section) and appears on a list which is held by this National Office.This even applied to family printed matter. The list of K-numbers was lost, but in the 1990's someone found a hand-written list with many of the numbers. Unfortunately K-2384 is blank. I have done a fair amount of research on who K-2384 might be, and my preliminary thought is that it was "N.V. Boekdrukkerij voorheen L. van Nifterik", located at Oude Gracht 172, Utrecht. It could also be Handelsmaatschappij Nitor N.V., located along the same canal at Oude Gracht 201, Utrecht, but I find that less likely. Probably as a cost-saving measure, the 44-page book for Sets 00+0+1 is split into two smaller books, one for Set 00 with 8 pages, and one for Sets 0+1 with 20 pages. The covers are reduced from 6 spot colors to just 2 (red and black). All 5 designs for Set 00 from the older Set 00+0+1 booklet are included in this budget booklet. New is a page explaining how to build a Mobaco house. The instructions use the "old" Dutch spelling. There is a later version of this booklet with new Dutch spelling (see below). These same instructions are also issued as a loose leafs, and exist in both old and new spelling (see below). As to dating, this booklet could be from either 1941 (when the decree was issued) or 1942. Considering that Moubal probably had their print work done in the summer, it is possible that in 1941 they still printed the multi-color version without a K-number, and that this version is from 1942. K-numbers were in force through appr. 1947, but many printers stopped using them directly after the war in 1945. As far as we know, production of Mobaco stopped around 1943, and it wasn't available again until 1948. There may be 1948 sets that still have manuals with K-numbers from old stock.  167 x 175 mm 8 pages (including covers) B&W printing + red spot color on covers 5 designs See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1942? - SET 0 & 1 MANUAL (OLD SPELLING) This budget booklet includes all 8 designs for Set 0 shown in the earlier book for Sets 00+0+1, but only 5 of the 24 designs for Set 1, specifically designs no. 2, 12, 18, 19 and 24.  167 x 175 mm 20 pages (including covers), of which 2 are blank B&W printing + red spot color on cover 13 designs See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Scans courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
The only difference between the two manuals above and the two manuals below is the spelling of the instructions on the second page. Further below are dated, loose-leaf versions of those same instructions. They show that Moubal was still using old spelling in 1935, which would indicate that the two manuals below must be from 1936 or later. 1948? - SET 00 MANUAL (NEW SPELLING)  171 x 182 mm 8 pages (including covers) B&W printing + red spot color on covers 5 designs See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
1948? - SET 0 & 1 MANUAL (NEW SPELLING)  168 x 184 mm 20 pages (including covers and two blank pages) B&W printing + red spot color on covers 13 designs: - 8 designs for Set 0 - 5 designs for Set 1 See pages DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
 Manual courtesy Leen Kalden |
||||
| |
||||
| |
||||
The leaflets below describe how to read the drawings and put a model together. These three examples are identical except that two have a printer code on it, one for September 1935 and one for October 1935. Both indicate a print run of 5000 units. All three use the old Dutch spelling. This identical text is later included in the 00 and 0+1 manuals, using modern spelling. 1931 - INSTRUCTION LEAFLET - OLD SPELLING, NO PRINTER CODE Date must be 1930 or 1931 as Set 2a is mentioned. It is shown being packed into Set 0 boxes in a 1931 article in Natuur & Techniek  yyy x yyy mm 1 page B&W printing See page DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
| Scan courtesy Leen Kalden | ||||
1935 - INSTRUCTION LEAFLET - OLD SPELLING, PRINTER CODE SEPTEMBER 1935  yyy x yyy mm 1 page B&W printing See page DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
| Scan courtesy Leen Kalden | ||||
1935 - INSTRUCTION LEAFLET - OLD SPELLING, PRINTER CODE OCTOBER 1935  yyy x yyy mm 1 page B&W printing See page DOWNLOAD PDF |
||||
| Scans courtesy Rien ten Bos | ||||
