>>10323039>It's just the photoIt's the minimalism of the pieces being put together. It provides story telling of what's inside the set and what you can start with. All these old classic sets came with enough pieces to get an idea of something, and it was always through combining sets that you could unlock the possibilities of your creative power.
>inb4 What do you mean schizo?Take a look at the BASEDplate. It has a printed stone pattern. You could use this as a template for "ok, car driveway" and when you take it apart maybe you can use it as a medieval sidewalk. You get those chairs, cups, umbrella, and mailbox and you can set up an outside scene on a town baseplate or you could use those car pieces and windows and chairs to make a funky car.
A set like this right away shows what you get. It isn't trying to hide plate elements everywhere. It doesn't have super specific molds that are only for X license. Its not a set that says "don't take this apart because it's supposed to be a statue or dust collector" (which I have a lot of).
These old sets just really go back to the idea of "buildable toy model". Friends sets like 10 years ago kinda followed that idea.