Subject:
|
LEGO OLO... the Japanese Connection....
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.general
|
Date:
|
Tue, 2 Jul 2013 00:16:21 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
23168 times
|
| |
|
|
Unlike Italy, where politics played an important part in the creation of a LEGO
"clone"... in Japan it was economic and cultural forces that produced another
LEGO "flavor" called OLO...
Unlike in Italy, where Minitalia started out as a locally produced LEGO type
product, in Japan OLO was always an import from Denmark, brought into Japan to
appear as a local product that would be more accepted than a Danish import. OLO
was distributed by the Fujisho Corporation of Tokyo, and was intended to widen
the distribution and improve the rather disappointing sales that LEGO had in
Japan in the 1960s. The end results were mixed by the time OLO sales ended in
1978. But it makes for an interesting read.
OLO, like Minitalia in Italy, used a different LEGO brick patent, with "X"
bottoms instead of tube bottoms. And the quality of OLO bricks was much better
than that of the first Minitalia bricks, which were made of a different
composite plastic.
Here's the story about OLO sales in Japan from 1970-78.
http://www.youblisher.com/p/601177-LEGO-DVD-Download-Chapter-34-OLO/
This OLO chapter is brand new, and will be in my next version of my Unofficial
LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide... on DVD/download... which is downloadable,
and free to current users. One of 5 new chapters, and over 500 new images in
the latest guide, which will have free upgrades to owners, every 6 months or
so...
Cheers,
Gary Istok
P.S. The next story will be about "PRIMA... the Swedish Connection".
|
|
1 Message in This Thread:
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
