Old LEGO in odd colors – where from?

(Written by: Gary)
(Photo by: Maxx)

Back in the 1960s, and much of the 1970s, LEGO parts came in just a few colors; red, white, blue, yellow, clear and black, with a few plates/baseplates in gray and green. But that was it…

However through the years many folks have been  finding very old types of bricks in tan, green, gray and dark gray. Some of these with “Pat. Pend.” on the underside, and others of the 70’s “Pat. Pend. Removed” type.

Where did these very old parts – in colors never found in sets back then – where did they come from???

Same place special colors come from today; from the model shops of the LEGOLAND Parks. Some of the colors released by the park model shops were found in LEGOLAND parks years before they were found in LEGO sets.

Take the color TAN for instance; it was officially released in LEGO sets in 1998. However, there are known LEGOLAND building images of Egyptian pyramids and temples made of tan LEGO elements going as far back as the early 1970s!

If you have any old, unusual LEGO bricks, share your pictures and comments below! And if you would like to read more about the history of LEGO colors, you might want to check out the Introduction to LEGO Colors section. 🙂