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Play is still Children's Most Important Work
- new products in 1996 from the LEGO GroupIn 1996 the LEGO Group's large international retail assortment will comprise 337 (very) different sets with lots of opportunities for creative and developmental play activities for children between six months and 16 years of age all over the world. We take children's needs and development seriously.
A total of 153 new sets will be launched in the DUPLO, LEGO SYSTEM and LEGO TECHNIC product programmes. They include the brand new LEGO SYSTEM product line Western, the entertaining Time Cruisers and the fascinating LEGO TECHNIC fibre-optic light elements.
The DUPLO Product Programme
For the very young last year's big novelty for the youngest children was DUPLO Primo, a multifunctional stacking system consisting of large, colourful decorated elements that appeal to and stimulate little children's senses and motor skills in an amusing and entertaining way. More Primo sets are being launched in February.
DUPLO Building Line
Two major new sets are being added to this section of the DUPLO range, which mainly consists of basic elements. One of the sets is a rescue team with a fireman and a nurse, the other a circus with a little elephant and several human figures. They will also be available in February, together with several smaller sets with figures and decorated elements.
DUPLO Play Line
This is the product line in which the various themes are drawn from everyday life. One of the exciting new sets, which will be introduced in 1996, is a police station, but the biggest novelty of the year is the farm. It features several new animals (including a horse with a movable head), a tractor with various implements and a farmer in a checked shirt. All these new products will be launched in September.
Play Train
There are three new DUPLO Play Train sets: a push train and two electric trains - a beginner model and a larger, more advanced one with functions such as start and stop signals. When the train is not running, the motor stops automatically after two minutes to save energy. The new trains will be introduced in May.
Play House
The Play House, which can be furnished exactly as the child wants, is to have even more features from May. For example, there are a new bathroom and a play area, which can have a pony and its rider.
Toolo
Young "engineers" can design to their heart's content with the sets in the Toolo series. Next year's new products, which will be in the shops in May, are an airplane (with elements that can also be made into a racing car) and a large fire engine.
The LEGO SYSTEM Product Programme
FreeStyle
FreeStyle is the series in which everything is possible and there are no "wrong" ways of doing things. January will see the launch of supplementary sets with masses of basic elements, as well as two new sets with building plates as lids.
Belville
Four new sets in the Belville product line for girls will be on the market in August. There are a little playground with a swing and a somewhat larger ballet studio. The hospital, with lots of details such as plaster of Paris for broken legs, is a brand new Belville theme. Lastly, there is a large villa, crammed with all the features that little girls enjoy.
Town
Time Cruisers are the big news in LEGO SYSTEM Town. The sets contain elements from various product lines - Castle, Aquazone, Space, Pirates and LEGO TECHNIC - for building models representing past, present and future. Starting in August, young builders will be able to "travel in time" with their Time Cruiser models.Other new products in Town include a Formula 1 pit and a vehicle transporter. There are also a new aerobatics aircraft, a large Universal set with all the elements needed for a small townscape, a large new police station and a gold-smugglers' hideaway.
The Paradisa series, intended primarily for girls, is acquiring a Country Club complete with horses and stables. There is also a smaller set with a horse and trap. These new products will be in the shops as from January.
Train and Ships
The new Train sets, to be launched in September, include a goods train and a passenger train, both with lots of functions.Three new ships will be launched in April.
Western - a brand new product line
The new Western product line will be introduced in September. There are six large and small sets, with lots of opportunity for the action games that boys enjoy. There are bandits, covered wagons, a sheriff's office, a jailhouse, an abandoned gold mine and a Main Street, just like the ones in cowboy films, with a general store. The biggest set contains the elements needed to build the LEGOREDO fort, the soldiers' headquarters.
Pirates
The six new Pirate sets, large and small, will be available from May. The "Santa Cruz" has splendid textile sails and flag. The sail of the pirate's brig, however, has been ripped by cannonballs, but it can still be hoisted.
Aquazone
The popular Aquazone product line, introduced in 1995, is to have three new sets, to be marketed in April. One of them is an Aquashark base, complete with an undersea vessel.
Space
The Space line, which has been on the market since 1979, is as successful as ever. In March, there are to be seven sets in the new "Explorien" series, with new magnetic functions and labels with metallic and holographic effects.
Model Team
Model Team is for the patient, meticulous builder. The new product for 1996, to be launched in September, is "Black Cat" - the ultimate US truck with lots of functional reality.
The LEGO TECHNIC Product Programme
The LEGO TECHNIC programme is split between Starter and Advanced sets. Even in the smallest LEGO TECHNIC models the accent is on genuine technology, with mechanical or electronic functions. There is to be a new departure in February with the launch of a Multi-Module set in the Starter series. There are building instructions for a total of nine models which can be built on the basis of the three main models. There are also five other new vehicles.A beach buggy and a large aircraft with many technical details are to be launched in February in the Advanced series.
There will also be two sets with the new Fiber Optic elements that glow in the dark. The larger of the two sets contains the elements for a large spaceship or a submarine, complete with two motors to control their exciting functions.
All in all, it promises to be yet another great year for new products from the LEGO Group, which remains to be the only European toy manufacturer in the international Top Ten. In 1995, LEGO products were sold in 138 countries.
The LEGO Group - purveyor of creative experiences, toys and educational materials to children everywhere.
© 1996 The LEGO Group
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