Sets
Fischertechnik has produced myriad different sets over the years, and the company has several times renamed existing sets. Moreover, there have been as many as five different lines of these sets (often referred to as "A", "B", "C", "D", and "E" in fan circles) with similar but differing components (all compatible, of course). Roughly these fit into the production years 1967–1971, 1972–1975, 1976–1981, 1981–1984 and 1984–1991. The A line featured predominantly black-and-white images, whereas the "B" line features the "Oscar DuJouet 1970" award on the box design. "C" saw the introduction of black plastic cogs (earlier they were all red), and "D" saw the introduction of yellow plastic "statics" (whereas before they were grey).
The following equivalencies can help make sense of some of the core sets:
Note that prior to the Fischertechnik "C" line (1976?), the starter sets didn't have as many parts, and neither did their add-on kits (50/1, 50/2, 50/3). Because the older manuals lack copyright dates or official line designations, it is difficult to distinguish sets without in-depth knowledge of what was actually in the box for each line and set.
More recently, Fischertechnik has started producing a whole line of kits specialized for the construction of particular models, like boats, airplanes, bridges, cranes, etc. This is something of a departure from their traditional niche producing generic sets from which (literally) hundreds of different models can be built. Fischertechnik has also started producing advanced robotic sets, including battery packs, remote controls, and programmable control boards.
- Start 300 = Start 200 + 50/3 = Start 100 + 50/2 + 50/3 = Start 50 + 50/1 + 50/2 + 50/3
- Hobby 1 = UT1 = selected parts from Start 300 (but significantly abbreviated)
- Hobby 2 = UT2 = Mot1 + Mot2 + Mot3 (The Hobby 2 / UT2 lacks the battery box that comes with Mot1.)
- Hobby 3 = UT3 = EM1 + EM2 + EM3 (The "EM" stands for "Electro-Mechanical".)
- Hobby 4 = UT4 = EC1 + EC2 + EC3 (The "EC" stands for "Electronic".)
- Hobby S = Start 50S + 50S/1 + 50S/2 + 50S/3 (Note that those are "S" = "structural", not a "5".)
