LEGOs

The Growth of Plastic LEGOs

After World War II Christiansen purchased a plastic injection-molding machine to produce toys; beginning in 1949 the company made its toys from cellulose acetate, but switched to a more durable material (acry-lonitrile butadiene styrene) in 1963. Although LEGO continued to produce wooden toys until 1960, the new plastic interlocking bricks would quickly become the company's trademark item, and by the early 1950s the majority of LEGO toys were made with plastics. The concept did not originate with LEGO, however, and the true inventor of the interlocking plastic block was Hilary Harry Fisher Page, a British child psychologist. Page founded Kiddicraft in 1932 and began producing a line of plastic “sensible” toys in 1937; in 1939 he introduced Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks, the forerunner to the LEGO. LEGO began producing its own line of “Automatic Binding Bricks” in 1949; by 1953 they were renamed “LEGO Bricks.”

In 1958 Godtfred Kirk Christensen took over the lead management position at LEGO, when his father and founder of the company, Ole Kirk Christiansen, passed away. Godtfred had worked for the company since its inception and was instrumental in developing the revolutionary LEGO System of Play in 1955. The LEGO System consisted of 28 building sets and eight toy vehicles, and was considered innovative in that players had the freedom to build and expand as they pleased, without having to stick to a precise set of directions. Shortly thereafter, LEGO patented its now famous “stud-and-tube” coupling system, which made models far more stable.

In 1963 Godtfred Kirk Christensen redefined the mission of LEGO and stated that the company's products would be characterized by the following: unlimited play potential; made for both boys and girls; fun for every age; year-round play; healthy, quiet play; long hours of play; development, imagination, creativity; the more LEGO, the greater the value; extra sets available; and quality in every detail. By 1968 there were 218 different LEGO pieces (not including color variations) and the company was producing 57 different sets and 25 vehicles. It was also during this period that LEGO launched DUPLO bricks, which were about twice the size of the traditional LEGO brick, and were marketed for younger children, who would find the larger sizes more suited to their developing motor abilities.

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