Subject:
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Re: Unknown LEGO Set... (another one)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Wed, 9 Jan 2013 21:25:10 GMT
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Viewed:
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19883 times
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In lugnet.general, Gerhard R. Istok wrote:
> Here's another unknown set... this one from 1986, and produced for Japan...
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/82930629@N08/8292482117/sizes/l/in/photostream/
>
> I checked with the Billund Archives folks... they have no records of this set
> either... so they're contacting the Japanese sales subsidiary to ask why that
> is??
>
> Another one for the next DVD/download! :)
>
> Gary Istok
Well I found out some very interesting information on this set from the
investigations of my Billund Archives contacts today.
It seems that in Japan LEGO was always mainly a large city department store item
only found in big cities... not found in small town toy stores. So this really
restricted the distribution of LEGO there (story sounds vaguely similar to the
complaints of foreign auto companies).
What TLG did was to enlist the help of LEGO Dacta, which did have access to
school classrooms across Japan... and here is the story behind this relatively
obscure and unknown 1400 set....
__________________________________
"1400" was the special product only for Japan with Japanese writing on the box
in mid 1980s. It says "Special Set for Kindergarten child - LEGO bricks help
stimulate unlimited creativity of the children".
In mid 1980s LEGO Brand was not yet well known (like it is today) in Japan, LEGO
products were sold only at department stores in big cities. So LEGO Dacta team
tried to sell this set "1400" through kindergarten all over Japan.
They prepared leaflets about this product and asked the kindergarten to
distribute them to the parents. Parents ordered the products and get the
delivery through kindergarten. The price was 2500 Japanese Yen at that time and
sold very well.
________________________________
So in this instance TLG used the Dacta Educational Division as a sales tool
(which it in a sense is anyway)... to sell a LEGO set that was otherwise
unavailable to most rural or small town Japanese children, and get the parents
interested in obtaining a toy that would further their educational development.
So this 1400 set was a LEGO Basic set/Dacta set hybrid that helped (where the
distribution channels failed)... to make LEGO more of a household name in
Japan... which it is today. So the 1400 set was a marketing tool of sorts that
did pay dividends in getting LEGO a larger foothold into the Japanese market.
Looks like this is another "special set" to add to my already expanding Special
Sets Chapter of my LEGO DVD/download next version (free to current
owners/purchasers)....
I love finding the history behind some of the obscure and odd LEGO sets... keeps
me searching for more....
Cheers,
Gary Istok
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Unknown LEGO Set... (and yet another one)
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| Well here's another unknown LEGO set (there's still plenty out there!).... It was purchased by a German acquaintance at a German auction, and is unlike any wooden box set I've seen before... very unusual. It has 24 compartments... which is the (...) (12 years ago, 10-Jan-13, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Unknown LEGO Set... (another one)
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| Here's another unknown set... this one from 1986, and produced for Japan... (URL) checked with the Billund Archives folks... they have no records of this set either... so they're contacting the Japanese sales subsidiary to ask why that is?? Another (...) (12 years ago, 3-Jan-13, to lugnet.general)
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