Building Sets are the plain DUPLO brick sets, buckets and boxes of bricks without a story. DUPLO started in 1969, and the name comes from the Latin word for double, because each brick is twice as long, wide and high as a LEGO brick. The studs are made to fit, so DUPLO and LEGO bricks lock together and a builder can move from one to the other. For years the plastic bucket was the usual way to sell them, from the 1980s through the early 2000s, often shaped or printed as an animal, a farm or a circus, and some came as anniversary editions. Later sets switched to cardboard brick boxes with ideas for what to build on the side.
1972 LEGO Sets
1972 was a pivotal year in LEGO’s U.S. expansion. Following the end of its Samsonite license, LEGO founded LEGO USA in Brookfield, Connecticut, while Samsonite continued production in Canada. The year also brought key new parts—including the first boat hulls, wings, propellers, and helicopter rotors—broadening creative possibilities. Trains remained a major focus with sets such as 181 Train Set with Motor, 180 4.5V Train with 5 Wagons, and 724 12V Diesel Locomotive, continuing to enhance LEGO’s realism and play depth.