Lego is called a system of building elements of plastic that was developed in 1949 by the Dane Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (1920-1995). It is manufactured and sold by the Danish toy company Lego A / S . Lego comes from the dance of influence le g go dt , the Swedish ” play well”.Lego is a family company that is part of the owner family finance company Kirkbi A / S. Headquartered in Billund . The company was started byOle Kirk Christiansen (1891-1958), father of the inventor Godtfred Kirk Christiansen.
History
Lego introduced the first plastic bricks in 1949 under the name Automatic Binding Bricks modeled on Kiddicrafts Self-locking bricks . [ 1 ] These early bricks were made of cellulose acetate and sold in boxes with blocks of different sizes that the customer had to build together at its head.The resistance against plastic toys were great and sales were sluggish during these early years. [ 2 ] in 1952 was named the blocks on to the more Danish sounding mechanical masonry . In the mid-1950s began to sell their Lego blocks on exports . Sweden was one of the first markets, later followed the other Nordic countries, West Germany , Austria and Switzerland .
1955 introduced the Lego complete kits with instructions for putting together a specific building. The kits were called System i Leg ( “System of Play”) and supplemented later with the finished road signs , traffic signals , as well as motorcycles and cars , so that you could build your own little town . System leg was 1:87 (or H0-scale ), and was well suited to model railways . 1958 improved the blocks with the hollow tubes on the bottom that is still used today, and that makes the blocks hold together better. [ 3 ]
1962 came Lego wheel . It was the first of a series of new blocks that were sold in the tenets under the name Basic and replaced the masonry Lego limited range. With these new blocks could now build cars and other vehicles , including a locomotive which rolled on rubber wheels.These vehicles could be supplemented with a battery operated electric motor . From 1963 manufactured blocks in ABS plastic . Moreover, the casting process was refined to 1 micron fault tolerance, which in 2015 is still valid and will result in a rejection of 18 ppm due to casting defects.[ 4 ]
Lego train with accompanying rails was introduced in 1966. It would become one of Lego’s most successful product lines and developed the trains manufactured today. The trains were also sold with a battery-powered motor 4.5V or 12V engine which was driven by household current through a transformer .
1968 opened the theme park Legoland . The following year, a series of houses and other buildings called Legoland which replaced the older system in the leg. City development in Legoland series was supplemented with cars, emergency vehicles and more. The scale was significantly greater than the system of subcontracting and suited to the Lego train. Today, Lego city further developed into Lego City .
1969 introduced Lego Duplo , intended for small children. It was the beginning of a major expansion of product lines in the 1970s. Among other things, the creation doll-like figures as well as furniture and other furnishings designed for girls. In Legoland series were added to the now classic yellow plastic guys. In 1977 Expert Builder series, which preceded today’s Lego Technic – series.
During the 1990s made Lego poor performance from an economic perspective. There were several reasons, and Lego had received considerable competition from other types of toys, mostly computer and video games as well as various collecting trends such as Pokemon .Partly because other companies with similar products have taken a piece of the market.
Lego made an attempt to latch on to computer and video games market in collaboration with Oracle . Unfortunately, it was a costly experience for Lego. The development of the games took a long time and was much more expensive than expected and was almost going to empty their coffers. After having taken measures that can be seen as a market adjustment, the company got back on its feet. Lego has among other things, bought part of the rights to the Star Wars and Harry Potter now contained in their range in the form of kits and video games. With time, even the investment in computer and video games borne fruit, and where you can find a variety of games in which game characters are small Lego figures, such as Lego Star WarsTM , Lego Batman and Lego Indiana JonesTM .
Since the 2000s, Lego produced a variety of kits with characters and scenes from Hollywood movies . In connection with the premieres ofEpisode I , II and III of the Star Wars films were made, for example, Lego figures of Luke Skywalker , Darth Vader , Han Solo and others. Even the ship from the movies, as the Millennium Falcon has been used as models for the Lego kits. Lego has also made Lego kits with Harry Potter, Indiana Jones , Spiderman and more.
Lego as an adult hobby
Lego is manufactured and marketed primarily as a children’s toy, but construction toys have always attracted adults builders as a relaxing hobby. There are many associations on the Internet that brings together adult LEGO enthusiasts of all ages, and in many countries there are local building clubs which organize regular meetings. Some of the recent largest and most expensive kits from Lego has been directed at least in part to adult builders. In Sweden, the association Swebrick adult Lego Builders which members bla. build larger landscape / dioramas together.
Some Lego Systems
Lego Basic
Basic is the classic Lego original size created by the Dane Godtfred Kirk Christiansen in 1949. Based on the Lego Basic has lots of different types Lego developed, such as Lego Baby, Lego Duplo and Lego Technic.
Lego Duplo
Duplo is a category of Lego that is twice as large a system as normal Lego. Duplo is aimed at children aged between two and six years old.
Lego Quatro
Quatro is a category of Lego that is twice as large systems such as Lego Duplo. Quatro is aimed at children between one and three years.
Lego Baby
Baby is a category of Lego that is twice as large systems such as Lego Quatro. Baby aimed at children between 1 and 18 months.
Lego Technic
Technic, also called Technology Lego , is a series of more technical approach. In Lego Technic is among others electric motors, gears and shafts. A large majority of released Lego Technic models are models of vehicles, such as cars, helicopters and boats.
Lego Mindstorms
Mindstorms is a line of products with which to build their own robots from Lego bricks. It then program their robot so that it does what you want.
Lego City
City is a series of Lego models of various works or accidents in the city of Lego City. Construction workers , police , ambulances and fire trucks are to be able to build a Lego city.
Lego Exo-Force
Lego Exo-Force is a Lego-series in the manga style with characters involved in an adventure, which is set around a mountain called Sentai. The little guys does battle in robotic machines against other robots. Many fans have long been using Lego to build their favorite characters. Lego Exo-Force, however, is the first time that Lego has devoted an entire series to this theme. Lego Exo-Force is no longer buying new.
Bionicle
Bionicle is a series of Lego figures that are created for the target group 7-17 years. Bionicle characters can be bought in cans and boxes. Among the elderly fans have the intricate back story has become very popular.
Hero Factory
Hero Factory is a series of action figures designed with Lego bricks. The series is a replacement for Bionicle and appearance quite similar to its predecessor.
Lego Indiana Jones
Lego Indiana Jones is a range of models from the Indiana Jones films.
Lego Star Wars
“Lego Star Wars” “is a series of models from the Star Wars films and the Clone Wars series.
Lego Minecraft
” Lego Minecraft ” is a series of models Minecraft game.
Legoland parks in the world
The first Legoland park, Legoland , was opened in 1968 in Billund in Denmark , and it was for a long time the only amusement park for Lego fans. During the 1990s, Lego building more parks, and today the Lego parks even in the USA , UK , Germany and Malaysia .
Similar systems from other companies
Between 1930 and 1960 there were several similar systems, then the patents usually covered only their own country. After Lego’s success, other companies have cropped up around the world with the building blocks of a similar type, usually compatible with Lego’s own products. Examples of such companies are for example COBI (Poland), Enlighten Brick (China), CoCo(China), Best-Lock (UK) and Mega Bloks (USA).
Lego has many times tried to pull the various companies and its distributors to court, but in recent years have failed more and more. Today Lego is no longer the monopoly on the bricks, and all patents are expired. Today, it is completely legal in all countries of the world to produce and create similar building systems of ABS plastic that are compatible with Lego products.The name Lego , however, is a registered trademark , and the company’s modern products have registered designs. It is not allowed to manufacture and sell direct copies of Lego sets or copy the design of their newer pieces.