Octan is a fictional gas station brand that has been appearing in various LEGO themes since the early 1990s. It was also featured prominently in The LEGO Movie, with President Business as the Octan Corporation’s head. There are many interesting sets containing the Octan logo either prominently or in a hidden way, and they have become quite popular with collectors. Today we will take a brief look at Octan’s history, and some of the most recent sets featuring the Octan brand. 🙂
In pre-1990s LEGO sets, the most popular gasoline brand was Shell. While LEGO still releases Shell-branded sets from time to time, LEGO introduced their own gas station brand called Octan – a playful reference to Octane (a component of gasoline) and Octane Rating (a gasoline rating system). The Octan logo is red and green on a white background, and looks quite sporty. It also got sort of a yin-yang sign look, which may be a reference to gas companies having both a good and evil side – but this is just my own speculation. 🙄
The very first Octan branded set were introduced in 1992; the #6397 LEGO Gas N’ Wash Express (see above), the #6594 LEGO Gas Transit (see below), and a few small race cars with Octan as their sponsor. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s a number of Octan gas stations, tankers, and race cars were released, and the brand was also introduced in LEGO DUPLO (#2621 LEGO DUPLO Motocross Racer), and in LEGO Technic (alternate model for the #8880 LEGO Technic Super Car). LEGO DUPLO and LEGO Technic continues to release sets featuring the Octan brand to this day.
Just like real-life gasoline companies, Octan sponsors both good endeavors and some shady activities in the world of LEGO. In 2012 LEGO released the #7747 LEGO City Wind Turbine Transport with the new Octan Energy logo, indicating that the company branched out the renewable energy.
The Octan Energy logo is even more prominent on the #60016 LEGO City Tanker Truck (see below). Perhaps the company was attempting to clean up their image, and show that they are trying to go green. In the meantime, Octan remains a prominent sponsor of LEGO race cars, and they also have some type of connection with the notorious Skull Twins – badguys from the 2009 LEGO Space Police III sets.
While sets featuring the Octan brand always looked good, they really became excellent starting in around 2010. The #3180 LEGO City Tank Truck from 2010, the #60016 LEGO City Tanker Truck from 2013, the #4207 LEGO City Garage from 2012, and the #60132 LEGO City Service Station from 2016 are all exceptionally well designed sets.
The Octan brand also appears on LEGO City trains, like the #7939 LEGO City Cargo Train from 2010, and the #60052 LEGO City Cargo Train from 2014 – both carrying Octan tank cars.
And Octan remains a sponsor of car racing, as demonstrated in the very popular #60025 LEGO City Gran Prix Truck from 2013, the #60053 LEGO City Race Car from 2014, and the #60115 LEGO City 4×4 Off Roader from 2016. A lot of LEGO fans collect these great looking vehicles, building up a whole racing team.
Octan also sponsors motorcycle racing, as can be seen in the #60084 LEGO City Racing Bike Transporter from 2015. Octan supports soccer as well, as evidenced by the prominent logo on the LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 4 Soccer Player’s jersey.
LEGO minifigures featuring the Octan logo on their clothing are also fun to collect. Most of them are gas station attendants or race-car drivers, and of course President Business carries around his signiture red cup with the Octan logo. After all, he is the big boss of the whole operation!
Speaking of President Business, it seems that he really expanded the Octan brand, and pretty much everything in Bricksburg is owned, operated or sponsored by Octan. The Octan logo can be seen on the #70804 LEGO Movie Ice Cream Machine (ice cream truck), the #70805 LEGO Movie Trash Chomper (garbage truck), and the #70811 LEGO Movie The Flying Flusher (plumber van). And Octan also branched out to space travel, as you can see in the #70816 LEGO Movie Benny’s Spaceship set.
Personally, I prefer to stick with the main Octan sets, as I think the red-green-white color-scheme is awesome and the sets look great. If you like LEGO vehicles, and would like to start a cohesive collection that looks good together, you might want to consider the LEGO Octan branded sets. Only a few are released each year, so they don’t cost a fortune or take up too much space. You can find the currently available sets under the LEGO City section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the Octan-branded LEGO sets? Do you collect them? Which ones are your favorites? Are there any other sets besides the ones mentioned here with hidden Octan logos? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
My grandson has a Duplo Octan tanker truck with a sound brick that makes glugging sounds when the hose is inserted into a vehicle. (I hope I’m remembering that correctly because I can’t imagine how the sound was triggered but it definitely made that sound and only in response to the hose in some way or other…)
It was from 2010-ish.
That’s probably #5605 from 2008. It’s a really nice looking tanker with a sound-brick: http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=5605-1#T=S&O={}
Yes. That’s it.
They made a lot of really nice Duplos that, for some reason, never made it to their online site. I had to search through education catalogues and Amazon for them.
Interesting. I should really write an article about DUPLO, because DUPLO is actually one of my favorite brands, and what brought me back to LEGO as an adult. They have some really-really nice sets. 🙂
I always liked the octan brand!
Yeah, me too! 😀
1. There were also Exon sets in the US before Shell
2. I have this vague recollection that Lego and Shell had a falling out over a Shell corporate policy. (Environmental)
3. Shell stations carried many Lego promotional items with the shell logo/colors back when.
4. If you are building a town, competition between two oil companies would be nice.
5. AFOLs are always complaining about the lack of various building types in Lego City. How about an Octan corporate or regional office building?
There were a few Exxon branded sets in the 1980s. A fuel pumper, a tanker, and a gas station is what I remember. Greenpeace did some agitation a couple of years ago against Shell, and they also tried to force LEGO to give up their affiliation. In response LEGO made a statement that they won’t renew their contract with Shell. So it is likely that we will see even more Octan sets that now Shell is out of the picture. But you are right, some competition would be good. And yes, we definitely need something like President Business’s Octan HQ. 😀
The Shell partnership was initiated as far back as the 60’s, though, so there are still plenty of old bricks that could be purchased online through Bricklink.
https://brickset.com/sets/tag-Shell
(Although the list also includes promotional releases and some sets that just includes the color scheme and not the logo.)
One issue with old bricks like the Shell logos is the condition. Most Shell logos are on white or yellow background, which easily get soiled/discolored. Buying used parts on BrickLink – especially really old ones – is always a gamble. It is a good idea to email the seller and ask for pictures of the part, especially if they cost more than just a bit. Some people take amazing care of their LEGO, and you can definitely find some like-new old pieces, but most will be quite used. There are sellers however who specialize in old parts and are very reputable.
Great article! Octan definitely has an interesting history. I think it’s more likely that the Octan logo is two drops of oil curled around into an oval shape, with a gap between them, but that too is just speculation. 😕 I hadn’t noticed the Octan logo on the LEGO Movie sets before, despite having the Flying Flusher and my brother the Ice Cream Machine.
One typo, admin: #60016 Tanker Truck is from 2013, not 2016. 🙂
Also, sheesh! There’s been so many 2017 sets revealed over the past few days. Creator, Ninjago and Juniors on top of The Batman Movie, Nexo Knights, Friends, City, and Technic. I’ll say just a few things. Nexo Knights is looking just like Chima did in 2014, the Creator and Technic are OK but not great (although 31058 is on my list to get), and Ninjago looks really interesting – the sets are pretty good (not all are great) and I wonder how this season will go, given Ninjago’s history with time-travel. The Batman Movie sets are also very cool, with lots of new characters appearing. And we’re just getting started with 2017 sets. 😀
Yeah, I have been just looking through the 2017 images myself. I really like the Ninjago sets, and some fo the Nexo Knights one. Will probably talk about them later this week. I didn’t care for the Technic sets so much. I think this year (2016) was the best year for Technic. 🙂
Yeah, Technic isn’t the best this year (although 42064 is pretty neat; it has some hidden functions on it), but maybe that’s because the summer Technic sets are so awesome they don’t want people buying other Technic sets… or something like that. 😉
I don’t think the 2016 Technic was all that outstanding. Sure, we got the Porsche, BWE, and CLAAS, but few besides those caught much attention. I think 2015 was overall better, with at least 6 great sets. But that is just my opinion.
Also, in regards to 2017 sets in general, I haven’t found too many new parts yet, but I am hesitant to say LEGO is cutting down on new parts, as the SW, regular Super Heroes, and Elves, among others, have yet to be revealed. Additionally, my count is currently at 33 parts, but this time last year I only had 22 new 2016 parts (which became 150+), and in 2014 had just 18 new 2015 parts (that became over 170). So I’m not sure of LEGO’s direction this year at all. 😕
Yeah, it may be too early to count all the new parts. Star Wars and Super Heroes almost always have some, and Elves will likely have at least some new accessories. I find the Creator sets a bit boring, although I think the Park Street Townhouse is pretty solid. In City I like a couple of those small vehicles, but what I’m really looking forward to is the other Moana set and the Elves sets.
I don’t like anything in Friends, besides maybe the Pizzeria. Strange, because I normally really like Friends sets. Just nothing jumps out in this wave. And of course the really big deal is going to be The Batman Movie sets. I remember how crazed people were after The LEGO Movie! 🙄
I, too, had some Exxon sets back in the early-80s. My brother and I have both Octan and Shell stations in our town. I love to hate Octan. We’re always building weird, toxic-looking power plants and other industrial stuff. We always blame Octan for any environmental issues that come up amongst our town’s citizens.
We got the Octan Service Station (60132) this year, but I refuse to apply stickers, so I had been acquiring printed Octan pieces for the past year or so. I’m sure I’d miss any hidden Octan logos, as they’re probably stickers.
Funny, I also collect the printed Octan pieces. The Service Station is a great set! I would love to have a weird toxic looking power plant LEGO set, but unlikely that LEGO will ever make one. 😈
Sounds like a nice Moc!
Interesting article. I don’t actively collect Octan sets, although I do have the 3180 Tanker Truck. Many of the examples you listed are on my wishlist, including the 4207 Garage, the 60132 Service Station (still waiting for a discount), and both of those cargo trains.
Look out for discounts this holiday season. I have seen some really great deals on those trains. And I really hope that the Service Station will go on sale at some point as well. It is a great set, but the price is very high for some reason.
There’s also a somewhat related article on Brickset.
http://brickset.com/article/22494/the-economy-of-lego-city
President Business- Hi, I’m President Business, president of the Octan corporation and the world. Let’s take extra care to follow the instructions or you’ll be put to sleep, and don’t forget Taco Tuesday’s coming next week! Have a great day everybody!
Emmet- You have a great day too, President Business. Man, he’s such a cool guy. I always wanna hear more of…wait! Did he say put to sleep?!
Yup! I would say Octan may be a bit suspicious… 🙂
LOL! 😀
There is only one small tank of Octan and a one-car unmanned gas station in my city. Almost everything is instead fuelled by Shell, from the Main Gas station along the boulevard to the Diesel Engines at the the train station.
Just wait until Greenpeace hears about your city… 🙄
Retro!
Well a group of protesters and the police necessary to keep them from doing anything indecent are surely going to add something of interest to the city, Thanks for the idea