LEGO

The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The company manufactured wooden toys from its inception until 1960 and became very famous for its plastic bricks, the original form of which was introduced in 1949. These first LEGO bricks, initially called Automatic Binding Bricks and later LEGO Mursten, were a copy of the hollow-bottomed Self-Locking Building Bricks produced by Kiddicraft in England. In 1958, LEGO filed a patent for a major improvement to the design that included tubes on the bottom to strengthen the bricks' clutch power. The 1958 design is still used today with only minor modifications introduced over the years for ease of manufacturing and cost reduction.

Of interest to model car collectors, LEGO also produced a range of 1/87th scale model vehicles between 1955 and 1968. The bodies of these models were made of plastic and the wheels and axles were made of metal. The range consisted of various cars, VW T1 Transporters, and Bedford and Mercedes-Benz trucks. Models of figurines, bikes, road signs, and buildings in the same scale were available as well. In the early 1950s, LEGO also produced some model vehicles in larger scales (1/38th scale VW Beetle, 1/43rd scale Chevrolet trucks). From time to time, LEGO releases brick sets from which large-scale models of real cars can be built, e.g. a series of three vintage cars (1909 Rolls-Royce, 1913 Cadillac, 1926 Renault) introduced in the mid-1970s and, more recently, a VW Beetle (2008), a VW T1 Camper (2011), and a Mini Cooper (2014).

Subject ID: 381

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The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The company manufactured wooden toys from its inception until 1960 and became very famous for its plastic bricks, the original form of which was introduced in 1949. These first LEGO bricks, initially called Automatic Binding Bricks and later LEGO Mursten, were a copy of the hollow-bottomed Self-Locking Building Bricks produced by Kiddicraft in England. In 1958, LEGO filed a patent for a major improvement to the design that included tubes on the bottom to strengthen the bricks' clutch power. The 1958 design is still used today with only minor modifications introduced over the years for ease of manufacturing and cost reduction.

Of interest to model car collectors, LEGO also produced a range of 1/87th scale model vehicles between 1955 and 1968. The bodies of these models were made of plastic and the wheels and axles were made of metal. The range consisted of various cars, VW T1 Transporters, and Bedford and Mercedes-Benz trucks. Models of figurines, bikes, road signs, and buildings in the same scale were available as well. In the early 1950s, LEGO also produced some model vehicles in larger scales (1/38th scale VW Beetle, 1/43rd scale Chevrolet trucks). From time to time, LEGO releases brick sets from which large-scale models of real cars can be built, e.g. a series of three vintage cars (1909 Rolls-Royce, 1913 Cadillac, 1926 Renault) introduced in the mid-1970s and, more recently, a VW Beetle (2008), a VW T1 Camper (2011), and a Mini Cooper (2014).

Subject ID: 381

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