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05-061.
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While LEGO toys at first may seem out of place in Ars Longa, it won't take you long to see them as a truly modern piece of design history. Coming from a tradition of Danish craftsmanship, and moving forward into the Modern age, Ole Kirk Christiansen blazed the trail of toy design in the mid-twentieth century. A pioneer in material use, interactivity, and a true freedom of creativity, Christiansen created a toy that has survived the test of time, and looks at home in a contemporary child's toy box as it would have 50 years ago.
When these Jumbo Bricks were produced, LEGO was experiencing a sort of dark age. For the first time in its history, the LEGO company had outsourced production in order to expand the reach of its products. The subsequent plummet in quality control proved to be a horrible blow to the company—so much so they retook control of all production only a few years later. At the same time, the design end of the business also slipped from Christensen. Because of this, Jumbo Bricks are the only LEGO blocks that are not compatible with the rest of the product line. This horrible design consideration, along with the poor quality of the materials used in production, makes this particular line of LEGO toys exceedingly difficult to find.
Found on May 31, 2005 in Crystal, MN.
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