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.
2006 LEGO Sets
2006 was a year of creative resurgence, adding major themes while closing older ones. LEGO Batman debuted as the first full DC Comics collaboration, joined by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Exo-Force, and SpongeBob SquarePants. LEGO Mindstorms NXT modernized the robotics platform with sensors and wireless control, and Remote Control Trains replaced the 9V system. Vikings and Clikits ended, while standout collector sets such as the Technic Tow Truck (8285) and Boeing 787 Dreamliner (10177) strengthened LEGO’s appeal among adult fans.