As far as translations go, this one takes precedence over others. I recently realized I use the term “LEGO System” a lot, and I’d like to specify what I mean when I do so.
Yiğit, one of the blog’s authors and a dear friend, came to visit in April. We made a short video, where we talk about what the lovely plastic toy means to me, and he showcased a part of my collection. While we were talking, I said “I moved to System after my DUPLO years were over”, and before I could continue, he interrupted me saying “Of course, System is the original name” and I went “Yeah” and laughed. That conversation stuck with me and it’s the reason behind this article.
We all know now, System comes from System i Leg, or System of Play. It was first announced in 1955 with the Town Plan sets. There’s a beautiful description on the official LEGO page.
“The LEGO System means that: all elements fit together, can be used in multiple ways, can be built together. This means that bricks bought years ago will fit perfectly with bricks bought in the future… It means that a LEGO element not only has instant value, but will keep its value always… We will always make sure that all bricks – from yesterday, today and tomorrow – fit together.”
Axel Thomsen, LEGO Employee
According to me, the above quote means this: If it says LEGO on it, it doesn’t matter what comes after. It can be DUPLO, Technic or City. They are all compatible with each other. Sure, DUPLO parts may not be as compatible as the other two, but you can still start a model with DUPLO bricks, use some that comes with a Creator set in the middle, and finish with Technic parts.
What does LEGO System mean for me?
Go to any store that sells LEGO sets, and look at the shelves. What do you see? LEGO City, LEGO Creator, LEGO Icons, LEGO Ninjago… there are also licensed themes, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Jurassic Park, LEGO Marvel… On some other shelves there are LEGO DUPLO and LEGO Technic sets.
Now let’s use our time machine and go back 30 years. Check out what was written on sets I got as a kid.
Nine different themes that have their own name, own category now. Some have their themes written on them, some don’t. And I’d like to underline the last one, one of the first Star Wars sets and it says LEGO System on it!
I checked with Brickset. A few sets released in 1991 had System written on them. Starting with 1992, every set that isn’t DUPLO or Technic has System written. It goes on like this until 2000. A few sets from that year still have it, but it’s not many, like when it first started. That means it’s possible to see LEGO System written on every set released between 1992-1999.
Imagine an 11-year-old-girl, just starting to make sense of the world, seeing these words on her favorite toy, until she is 18 and becomes the most annoying know-it-all. It doesn’t matter what happened after 1999, it’s already been imprinted on my mind by then.
So, every set that isn’t DUPLO or Technic is a System set for me.
And enter LEGO Friends! (you provide the dramatic music)
As I was updating the page, I realized I mentioned in so many articles that it took me a long time to warm up to the theme. The only reason is the mini-dolls, mind you, otherwise it’s perfect; colorful and full of animals. Also, I was 30ish when the theme was released, which made it harder for me to accept the figures. It was automatically categorized as a different thing. There are System sets, and then there are Friends sets. Imagine the LEGO Group sending me a message saying “You have a lifetime ban of being an AFOL!”. They’d have every right.
Maybe because they were made for girls at first, maybe because of a different reason, the Friends animals are almost always different than the System animals of the same species. Let’s say for argument’s sake that it’s a new theme, the moulds are unique to them. Okay. What about the printing? Almost all of them have eyelashes. I know, there are some that doesn’t, but every time I look at them, I see a female cat, a female horse, a female elephant… that’s the impression they leave on me, and sometimes it’s too much.
No, of course I’m not making excuses using the animals. I thought “What the…??” the first time I saw the sets (somehow this doesn’t make it any better…). But with every passing year, I got more and more warmed up to the theme, and it didn’t disappoint this year either. So much so I find myself adding various mini-dolls to my Bricklink carts more often than I’d like to admit.
Back to LEGO System…
Confused yet? Let’s move on then.
Even though I’m not as prejudiced as before, Friends will always be a separate theme for me. Other themes using mini-dolls, like Elves, Disney, DC Super Hero Girls, Gabby’s Dollhouse and so on, are subthemes of Friends.
DUPLO and Technic are two separate themes. Nothing new here.
Older themes like Fabuland, Belville, Scala, Clikits etc. are different themes. I learned their existence very, very late in life.
Everything beyond these belongs to LEGO System in my mind. It has a gazillion subthemes, please don’t expect me to write them all here.
Long story short, I read the LEGO Group’s description, understand it, appreciate it… but continue to go my own way. Because when I don’t, that little girl who still keeps me interested in this beautiful toy starts whining. Instead of fighting myself, I choose to say “Okay, we’ll have it your way” and move on. When she’s happy, I’m happy.
Those sets you see on shelves saying City, Ninjago, Monkie Kid, Icons, Marvel, etc… I only read System. Oh, and Friends, of course :)))
See you in another crazy article!
Every image except the first one is from Brickset and Bricklink.
Some girls play with Barbie dolls, while others create small worlds with LEGO minifigures and continue to do so when they grow up. You can probably guess which group I belong to :)
