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Can anyone identify these bricks, which I suspect are LEGO clones. They may be more than 30 years old.

I bought them on ebay as Betta Bilda from LEGO/Duplo dealer. Some BB was included, but these are unknown to me, with an extensive BB collection.

Mystery bricks 1 Mystery bricks 4

The underside of the bricks is hollow and with apparently random numbers - they aren't part numbers because they are different for the same part and sometimes the same for different parts. Window frames have no top studs.

Mystery bricks 7 Mystery bricks 8 Mystery bricks 13

I took a good look through many posts with similar questions, but found nothing that matched. Many Google reverse images searches kept pointing at real LEGO/Duplo, before I noticed this place.

Usually I can identify unknowns like this, but these are a real challenge.

Edit (Nov 29, 2019)

Some comments have asked for clarity on size of these bricks. The majority are close to if not identical to 8 stud LEGO, although there are also 2 and 4 stud bricks too. They clip to Betta Bilda pieces, in a similar way to authentic LEGO. The window frames appear to be confirmed by two comments as 1950-60 LEGO, but additional insight would still be appreciated.

chicks
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Paul F
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    Don't know what brand they are, but I'm pretty sure they were around in the 1980s, since I have some from when I was little. Might help with dating them a bit... – Matthew Dec 05 '17 at 06:36
  • Matthew - thanks for that, any help is appreciated. They are hard to date by condition, but could be slightly newer than the 60s Betta Bilda they came with. Since my original post I found some similar looking parts under the question "Lego variant, or is it?" with answers suggesting 60s or 70s. There was also one suggestion that they might actually be non-ABS Lego from the 60s. – Paul F Dec 07 '17 at 19:01
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    Those window parts are remarkably similar to some I had back in the 70s. No studs on top, and the hinge points look identical. They were authentic Lego. – Rory Alsop Dec 20 '17 at 08:47
  • I keep happening upon this, and the 2 or 3 others that seem very similar or the same. The problem is that here it is suggested that they're Duplo sized, while some of the other questions state that they're the same size as a regular Lego brick. Even though I've never seen Duplo sized windows like that doesn't mean they aren't, Which is it? Duplo sized or regular Lego sized? I may actually have an answer to some of these questions if I knew. – JohnnyB Aug 28 '19 at 02:36
  • @JohnnyB Thanks for taking the time to comment. My apologies for not making the sizes of the bricks and windows more clear, perhaps I should have included a ruler or something for a size reference. The bricks and frames are regular Lego size. I don't have any Lego to check compatibility, but these bricks are generally compatible with Betta Bilda parts, which are themselves generally compatible with most regular Lego. I hope that clarifies the sizes of the pieces in my photos at least, although I can't comment on others you may have seen elsewhere. – Paul F Sep 02 '19 at 20:14
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    the red windows looks like the old ones I have, and its lego from 1950-60. – Lisa Astrup Nov 20 '19 at 23:09
  • @Lisa Astrup Thanks for your comment. Your knowledge confirms what at least one other has said regarding the likely age and authenticity of the window frames. I feel that I can begin to trust that they are authentic Lego from around 1950-60, making them the only Lego pieces in my brick collection! I still hope to find some confirmation of the origin of the bricks, so perhaps it is time for me to do another thorough internet search. – Paul F Nov 29 '19 at 03:31
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    I advise that you contact Lego support and ask Them since we could guess pretty much all day and yet even if we Do find the correct answer, we wouldn't even know and we'd keep guessing. That's your best bet. – mindstormsboi Apr 06 '20 at 20:08
  • @mindstormsboi Thanks for that suggestion, as I was not aware they might even be interested. If as a number of replies have suggested there is a small possibility that they are older Lego pieces then it may be worth asking them. I will try after Easter. – Paul F Apr 10 '20 at 21:06
  • Hello Paul, did you forget to ask Lego Customer service about these parts? Just a reminder. – mindstormsboi Jun 20 '20 at 00:42
  • Did you ever get to the bottom of what these are? I've recently acquired a fair number of identical bricks, windows and roof parts and I'd love to know what they actually are. I've hunted around but this is the only place where I've found a photo of what I have. – Malcolm Sep 03 '20 at 23:32
  • @Malcolm Thanks for the recent comment and I am sorry that I didn't see it sooner. It is interesting to discover there is someone with identical bricks, but so far this year has not been the best time to pursue this with Lego Customer Service. I will contact them tomorrow (Sept 11) and see what advice they can offer. A note on their website suggests 10 days for routine email replies, so I will update here as soon as I can. – Paul F Sep 10 '20 at 21:51
  • @mindstormsboi I am sorry that I did not respond to your follow up comment in June, but after the more recent comment about similar pieces I will call Customer Service at Lego tomorrow (Sept 11) and see what insight they can offer, and if I should address email to a department or individual. – Paul F Sep 10 '20 at 21:57
  • @mindstormsboi Response from LEGO customer service received, and they say the bricks are not LEGO, and they don't recognise the the clone either. I have decided to answer my question, as I suspect no further progress can be made, if even the LEGO experts can't identify the bricks I have. I appreciated your suggestion and I was impressed with the friendly and helpful attitude of the LEGO representative. – Paul F Sep 24 '20 at 18:43
  • @Malcolm The answer I received from LEGO confirmed my bricks are not LEGO and they could not offer a name for the clone manufacturer. Sorry I can't help more, but the fact that you also have similar bricks must mean that an answer can be found somewhere online. If I find anything helpful I will try to let you know through this forum. – Paul F Sep 24 '20 at 18:46
  • Which country do they originate from? They remind me of the bricks I had in the 70s in Bulgaria. And they were certainly not original Lego. Probably were not made in Bulgaria but, rather, somewhere else in Eastern Europe or USSR. – Nick Jan 20 '21 at 21:23
  • @Nick Sorry I don't know where the bricks came from originally, but I bought them in the UK from a UK seller of mostly Lego on ebay. You may be right that they came from Eastern Europe, as they don't appear to be common. Thanks for your info. – Paul F Jan 21 '21 at 22:34

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As suggested by @mindstormsboi I contacted LEGO customer services and sent them a link to this question as well as many additional photos. The information was passed to their expert team and the answer that came back was "they believe that these are not LEGO® parts". They were not able to identify them as a known clone type. I feel obliged to accept that as a definite answer, although it leaves unknown who actually manufactured the bricks I have. I will continue research into that question, but elsewhere.

The customer service team member also gave me two interesting links to a fan created website with some of the history of LEGO parts, as well as section covering many of the clones and similar brick building sets. I include the two links below, as they may be of interest to some who find this question and answer.

https://www.inverso.pt/legos/

https://www.inverso.pt/legos/clones/texts/mobitec.htm

Thank you to all who contributed their knowledge, experience or point of view.

Paul F
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  • I just spent waaay too long looking through the sources you linked, and then the sources they linked, and so forth. Rasti appear to be the only lego clone with holes through every stud. Even then, the bricks in the first image you posted probably are not Rasti, as the stud holes are too small. It's a mystery! – tel Oct 02 '21 at 05:35
  • The only blocks you show that seem like they might be genuine lego are the windows. According to inverso, the very earliest lego windows lacked what became the signature studs on top – tel Oct 02 '21 at 05:36
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From the LEGO Wikipedia Page "1961 and 1962 saw the introduction of the first Lego wheels, an addition that expanded the potential for building cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles from Lego bricks. Also during this time, the Lego Group introduced toys specifically targeted towards the pre-school market." here is a picture of these first-ever Duplo bricks from the 60'senter image description here look similar?

thecreative2007
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  • Also, the Wiki page says in 1958 they added the famous circles in the bottom of the brick to help them connect. – thecreative2007 May 27 '18 at 17:39
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    Thanks for your contribution which has kick started my research of this mystery afresh. The wiki Lego history mentions that Duplo did not go on sale until 1969, so the lack of circular tubes on the underside of Lego bricks would have been 11 years earlier. However, adding 1969 to my Google image search for Duplo blocks did turn up one photo of bricks almost identical to mine on the Eurobricks forum, which showed a set of Duplo as issued in 1969. Mine could still be clones though, because I cannot find photos of the underside with the strange numbers that are on mine. – Paul F May 28 '18 at 19:25
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    My understanding it that Lego use to put the mold numbers in the underside of the bricks. There is a great video on Netflix, the show is called The Toys that Made us, the Lego story is under Season 2 episodes which kind of shows the molds with the numbers that look just like that. – bricknerdz Jan 24 '19 at 20:21
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I don’t exactly know if it is LEGO, But it may be an old version of LEGO. The numbers also could be the date the were made or a factory code.

Ultraman2018
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  • Thanks for your thoughts. I suspect the numbers might relate to moulds or machines, so they could monitor how many pieces were produced from them or which one had problem if defective pieces were observed in quality control. The feedback from other contributors has been mixed, but most seem to think they could be LEGO or DUPLO from the 1960s. My question is over a year old now, but I remain hopeful that one day someone who has some solid evidence can confirm what they are. – Paul F Apr 01 '19 at 01:45
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I don't think they are LEGO due to the holes in the middle of the studs. LEGO pieces also say "LEGO" somewhere on them, so I bet that they are a 3rd party brand.

zovits
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User 119
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    Hi User 119! Your points are correct regarding the LEGO elements of today. But as the OP mentioned, these bricks may be more than 30 years old. Are you sure your observations are correct for that time period too? – zovits Mar 05 '20 at 09:40