DUPLO is a larger version of LEGO designed for small children ages 1-5. DUPLO bricks are twice the length, width and height of regular LEGO bricks and can be attached to regular LEGO bricks and plates.
In its early days, DUPLO only had bright colored bricks in yellow, red, green, and blue. However in recent years LEGO has added some darker shades to the DUPLO line; colors like tan, dark-tan, brown, light-gray, dark-gray, and black.
Why would this be important for adult LEGO builders? Well, besides that DUPLO is cute, it has very useful applications in regular LEGO building. For example, if you are building a very large creation like a mountain or a large fort, you can incorporate DUPLO to build up the bulk of your project, then ad the smaller details with regular LEGO bricks.
DUPLO colors are the same as the colors of regular LEGO, so they blend in nicely. Also, DUPLO is a lot cheaper than regular LEGO for its size. This can really help with budgeting for a large project. And because DUPLO’s much larger size, you will need a lot less bricks. Also, the time to build a large-scale design will be reduced greatly.
So, don’t look down on DUPLO as “baby LEGO”! It can grow with you into your adult LEGO building years! If you have any of your own tips and tricks using DUPLO, feel free to share in the comment section below! 😉
I found it hard to find some Duplo building examples, but following site satisfied my needs:
Yeriho, you are welcome to promote your site as long as you meaningfully contribute here. 😉
My boys are already mixing lego and duplo bricks. I like your picture of the various combinations that can be done with the two different size birks. Some of it I was not aware of. Lego did a brilliant job by making these two systems compatible. Duplo will grow into lego! Thanks for the post!
You are welcome, Hayato! 😉
I was wondering what to do with my old duplo! now I know! it will be great for castle building! 😀
I got a bunch of old Duplo from my neighbors for my niece, and I tried to make some kind of space ship just for fun, but I couldn’t come up with any kind of working SNOT technique. You couldn’t fit plates between studs as with regular Lego. Is any SNOT technique even possible using regular Duplo bricks only?
Sorry, for my nephew, I meant…
Hakan, DUPLO is for little kids, so the techniques you can use with them are very basic. However you can attach regular LEGO bricks to DUPLO and do some snotting from there. 😉
I figured as much, but I felt it was cheating…
Thanks, anyway…
LOL! No, no cheating. In fact, there is a LEGO commercial that advertises and encourages the mixing of DUPLO and LEGO. So yeah, it is legal. 😉
Nah… I’m a Duplo purist. I won’t have any Lego elements in my Duplo MOC:s… 😉
But now I found one Duplo piece available for Snotability…
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=6429
I am currently working on a large model that’s like the Technic models (suspension, power functions, etc.), and Duplo can be very useful for the subwoofers in the back.
Zach, thanks for sharing that! Another awesome way to use DUPLO! 🙂
I am looking for a very old duplo jointed green caterpillar. I have seen one but do not know its value or if they even exist anymore. Can anyone help?
Nana, your caterpillar must be one of these: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=caterpillar. The green one is available in the USA, the rest of the variations you can find at various European sellers. They are less than $5. 🙂
Oh, I’m so glad to find this site. Now I’m not alone as afol Duplo lover, yahoooo. I’ll be back soon.
Where can I see the idees for duplo + normal Lego mixing ? Can’t find any photos ?
Lisa, you mean besides the pictures in this article itself? LEGO fans usually use DUBLO as a filler. So for example if they are building a big hill they will fill up the hill with DUPLO, then build on top of it with LEGO. So you normally don’t see where the DUPLO elements are as people tend to hide them. 😉
Yes, had hoped for some Duplo MOCS, not just as filler,
I don’t think they are kind of 2.hand Lego, just bigger.
Lisa, as I mentioned, most adult builders use them as fillers for very large dioramas. I’m not aware of anyone who regularly mixes LEGO and DUPLO for smaller, however there is one I found recently that I thought was really sweet. It uses a DUPLO printed brick (the one with the steaming cup of coffee) as the main decoration on the wall: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bleyleluehrs/4518394330/