mines the square one with knobbly bits on

many years ago (and I mean many) I had some rubber building bricks that had nipples and joined together in exactly the same way that lego does.

In fact the bonding was even better as the nipples fitted into sockets on the underside of the other brick.

If my memory serves me well enough there were all sorts of specialised items as well, doors, roof parts etc etc.

The best bit of all was that you could chew them, something that I would not recommend with the modern hard plastic version.

Paris for a whole range of sexual overtones (rubber, nipple, chewing, bonding)

...That was a building set (like Lego, but the parts were considerably smaller) that I got for my -dunno - 8th(?) birthday. 52 now, so it rates with my revered Hornby clockwork locomotive, or my Meccano Boy certificate.. And that bloody steam engine, ran on methylated spirits, or would've done if my Dad hadn't finished the bottle, whose name I can't recall. Begins with "M". Mahmood? Mahatma? Mustafa? (The engine, not my Dad)

(Don't bother Googling for Beta Builder - you'll just get a shedload of websites about "Beta testing software, etc) -IT angle !!! YES!!!!

You could do bugger all with Betta Builder, except make a house - like the ones in Milton Keynes (Little Boxes..), but....when I was a nipper...

Point is, aint that "Prior Art"?

(Anyway, Lego's Danish, so who the fuc*k cares)?

I always wondered why Lego bricks weren't made in a giant size. You could build your own house - in any colour - in under a day and just dismantle it when you were fed up with the design.

all the other "play block" manufacturers were bricking it !!

You mean the Mamod models? You can still buy them, assuming you haven't drunk all your methylated spirits.

I forsee a future where the rich kids with the branded Lego mock the poor kids and their knockoff Chinese "Rego" (pronounced with slitty eyes), while all concerned are sneered at by the smug clever kids (i.e. future Reg readers) and their proper metal nuts-and-bolts Mechano.

Then again... How cheap could China make Rego? A Rego house would probably insulate quite well. Easy to adapt, extend, personalise, etc.

Hmmm I think I've hit on something there. Who says drinking at lunchtime is a bad idea?

can we get a Playmobile re-creation of the Lego court scene tomorrow?

...the Lego-like bricks I have here are, but they are made of Bakelite!

(And I am so glad no-one - so far - has tried to call them 'Legos'.)

Minibrix.

Just in case you are interested.

I've suddenly realised...I'm far too old to be playing here.

I think Lego's point may have been their dimensions and tolerances.

There's actually quite a bit of maths invloved in working out an effiencient size for a Lego brick, and the manufacturing tolerances are extremely small. The so-called 'Mega-Bricks' (why is is always American companies that make fake products? They were also the ones who pirated Lord Of The Rings, too - look it up) try to dimensionally copy Lego's product, and I think this is what has Lego pissed off.

Of course you can't tradmark a rectangular prism - but if you couldn't trademark SPECIFIC geometric shapes we'd all be driving around in Mercedes-badged cars, wouldn't we? I am sure that the coursts beleive that you can only trademark symbols, without realising that the specific 3D shape and proportions of a Lego brick ARE a symbol.

On a side-note, my wife was quite shocked at my reaction when she tried to add her child-hood "lego" (mega-bloks) to my extensive collection of the real stuff - I was lucky that none of my Lego was despoiled and cursed by touching the heathen mega-blerks. Mucking 'ferkin knock-off shite...

But they ain't the Danish variety.

I always found the 'genuine' lego to be too hard and stiff.

"What would you like to make today?"

Rego would have to be made out of meramine with red based paint and be chewable!

The icon, watch out for the rittle yerrow ones.

Lego has been the best I've ever seen. No other companies bricks have been near the quality and stability of Lego.

And I'm with AdrianEsdaile... When I find non-Lego in any Lego, I swiftly chuck it into another container (sometimes the big round one).

If for some reason I wind up with a wife and kids, the kids will be Lego kids too.

It's been 50 years since the basic lego brick (4x2) shape dimensions, tolerances, etc was patented (and probably long expired...)

Still remember the days I got 853 in 78 and 7740 in 82.

As an AFOL, now having an excuse of buying Lego for my kid, all I can say after a 20 year pause is that nowadays quality (color, even tolerances - the precise brick tolerance was lego trademark for 50 years!) is sadly much worse than it just to be (when all bricks were made in Denmark) but Legos are also relatively cheaper.

It's sad though that they are cheaper over the pond even when Lego closed their US factory...

Also the packaging of large expensive sets (like Technic) is now just a plain box + bags. You can not store legos in them longterm! I still have my 853, 855, 774, 928,... stored in original boxes! Lego should differentiate products - plain box for cheaper sets, old days Technic style boxes for large, expensive, collectible sets.

Lego, get a grip and go for quality - & continuity. The cost reductions affecting quality you are doing will not bail you out long term.

And less "war" crap like Bionicle, etc. Heck, all minifigs just to smile, nowdays 3/4 have angry expressions. Even some Duplo figs. When going through a Lego brochure, there's more than half violent themes I don't want to show my kid - as if there's not enough violence in real life & chinese toys.

No more violence in Lego please!

I agree with Roni Leben: Lego should concentrate on quality. Their toys aren't what they used to be (a grumpy old man I am! (almost 30!)), at least not the "feeling" associated with the toys. And they're so bloddy expensive. I'm glad I'm not a kid anymore. :-)

They word in the street is that (some of) their patents have run out. Good riddance; they've had their monopoly, now they're forced to compete on quality.

(And I'm a Dane btw. And the beer is called "Elephant Beer" literally. Interesting taste maybe, but only for the faint hearted; just 7.2% Vol)