The LEGO Bob the Builder licensed subtheme was part of the DUPLO theme and based on the British children's television series Bob the Builder. The theme ran for eight years with only a small number of sets released each year starting in 2001 and is one of the longest running themes. Most of the sets were based on the vehicle characters seen in the show with some DUPLO figures including Bob, Wendy and Spud.
2001 LEGO Sets
2001 was another interesting year for LEGO collecting. LEGO introduced a few very iconic and highly collectable sets which help drive LEGO investments to date, these include the Bionicle theme, Harry Potter, LEGO Racers and Alpha Team. Also introduced in 2001 as well as retired was the Life on Mars theme. We also saw the release of Islanders and Imperial Armada as subthemes of LEGO Pirates. LEGO also expanded its retail footprint in 2001 with brand stores opening in England, Germany, and Russia as well as expansions in the United States. The 2001 notable sets include the Star Wars Darth Maul bust (10018-1), Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Rebel Blockade Runner (10019-1) and of course the LEGO Dragon sculpture (3724-1).