Back in 2013 on that other forum, there was some discussion about a starter outfit #1778 called the Long John Silver starter set. They couldn't figure out the year of release, until someone noticed that one of the images had a 1978 catalog in it. Onto this starter outfit #1781 (only 3 outfits later). If you look at the side of the box with engine recommendations, it lists both the B8-5 and B14-5. The B14-5's last appearance was in the 1979 catalog. The B8-5's first appearance is in the 1980 catalog. Thus we can assume this starter set was probably a late 1979 set. The 17xx sets in those days were specially made for retailers like ToysRUs, thus never in a catalog.

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turbofireball
NAR 25162
SAM 0278