Lego is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colourful interlocking plastic bricks accompanying an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Anything constructed can be taken apart again, and the pieces reused to make new things.
This article lists notable events and releases in the history of the Lego Group.
A Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Danish toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 3.7 billion produced worldwide. Minifigures are usually found within Lego sets, although they are also sold separately as collectables in blind bags, or custom-built in Lego stores. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from film, television, and game franchises, or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme. Minifigures are collected by both children and adults. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in many combinations.
Lego Fabuland is a defunct theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, aimed at young children. Introduced in 1979, the range aimed to fill the gap between Duplo and the standard Lego product ranges. Aimed at both boys and girls, the range encouraged storytelling, and was the first theme to be extended into books, clothing, and a claymation TV series that aired in the UK and Canada during the 1980s as Edward and Friends. Each episode was five minutes in length.
LEGO Exo-Force is a LEGO toy line.
Lego Harry Potter is a Lego theme based on the films of the Harry Potter series. Lego models of important scenes, vehicles and characters were made for the first six films and all the books released. The first sets appeared in 2001, to coincide with the release of the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Subsequent sets were released alongside the new films, until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The line then went dormant for three years, with sets being released in 2010 and 2011. In 2018, it was announced that more sets based on the Harry Potter franchise would be released, including new sets based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and its sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
LEGO Castle was a Lego medieval and fantasy theme featuring knights and castles. It was introduced in 1978 until 1997. The medieval theme was then carried on in the LEGO Knights Kingdoms and later LEGO Kingdoms themes. Lego Castle sets were marketed under the LEGOLAND banner until 1991. LEGO decided to change and add LEGO System in 1992, but was dropped after 1999.
1:48 scale is a scale commonly used in diecast models, plastic models made from kits, and construction toys. It is especially popular with manufacturers of model aircraft and model trains, where it is known as "O scale". 1:48 is also a popular scale among Lego enthusiasts, since it is approximately the scale of the Lego minifigure
Lego Wild West is a Lego theme based on the Old West period of the United States.
Lego Spider-Man is a product range of the Lego construction toy, based on the first two Spider-Man movies. The theme was first introduced in 2002 as a sub-brand of the Lego Studios theme, to tie in with the release of the first Spider-Man film. Three new sets were released in 2003, this time without the Lego Studios branding. In 2004, 7 new sets were introduced, to tie-in with the Spider-Man 2 movie. After this, the line was discontinued, and the rights to the third film in the series Spider-Man 3 were sold instead to rival company MEGA Brands, resulting in a Spider-Man 3 range of the Mega Bloks toy. However, in 2012 LEGO released a set based on the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series in their Marvel Superheroes line.
Lego Studios was a popular brand of Lego toys released in the early-2000s and mainly focused on movie-making and the steps thereof. Lego Studios was first distributed in November 2000, and was later discontinued in 2003. The last series in the franchise was the Lego Spider-Man set. The appeal of Lego Studios was that it featured stop-motion animation to make real movies with Lego bricks. In response, many websites have grown that are dedicated to the product and feature many uploaded videos, such as Brickfilms.com.
Lego Star Wars is a Lego theme that incorporates the Star Wars saga. Originally it was only licensed from 1999–2008, but the Lego Group extended the license with Lucasfilm Ltd. multiple times: first until 2011, then until 2016, then again until 2022.
Lego Chess is a Lego-themed, chess-based strategy video game developed by Krisalis Software, published by Lego Media, and released for Microsoft Windows in November 1998.
Tente was a line of construction toys created in 1972 by EXIN-LINES BROS S.A., a plastics and toy company based in Barcelona, Spain which ceased operation in 1993. Subsequently, the trademark and patents were acquired by EDUCA BORRAS, and as of 2008 the toy line appears to be discontinued. Their later series were no longer compatible with the old system, although some models remained compatible. The toys consisted of multi-colored interlocking plastic bricks in multiple scales and an accompanying array of wheels, minifigures, and various accessories.
Lego Universe was a massively multiplayer online game that was available from October 2010 to January 2012. The game was developed by NetDevil and released on October 26, 2010, with an early opening for the to-be Lego "Founders", which consisted of users who pre-ordered the game. It was globally distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Its release was delayed from original estimates of 2009, Teasers were released by Lego in 2007 and late November 2008 to promote the game, and also in 2009 for one last promotion. The game was available in English and German. The servers were shut down permanently on January 30, 2012 due to 'unsatisfactory revenue' from within the game's target audience.
Lego Indiana Jones is a Lego theme based on the Indiana Jones film franchise, licensed from Lucasfilm. The exclusive franchise was first announced in June 2007, and followed the successful Lego Star Wars franchise, also with Lucasfilm. The first set of products were launched in 2008, based upon two of the three earlier films. Sets featuring scenes from the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, were released alongside the film, later in 2008. The Temple of Doom film was not featured until 2009, in a large set which re-created the mine-cart chase using new narrow-gauge Lego train track.
Belville was a product range of the Lego construction toy designed to appeal primarily to girls. First introduced in 1994, the theme included multi-jointed doll-like characters, much larger in scale than the traditional Lego minifig. The sets include larger pieces, often in a pink and purple colour scheme, and depict scenes from fairy tales and fantasy as well as everyday life. Its direct successor is LEGO Friends introduced in 2012, and its direct target is kids.
BrickArms is a limited liability company specializing in minifigure accessories, specifically weaponry. It is unaffiliated with LEGO, instead privately owned and operated by designer Will Chapman from his home in Redmond, Washington. The company was briefly the subject of controversy when one of its products was accused of being based on a member of al-Qaeda
Lego Pharaoh's Quest is a 2011 Lego theme. It uses elements from the previous Adventure series.
Lego Minecraft is a Lego theme based on the sandbox video game Minecraft.
