1:38, 1:43 and H0-scale vehicles
A detailed look at colours and variations for the different LEGO vehicles made in Norway.
1:38 VW beetles -
Black 1:38 / Tan 1:87
The big VW beetles hit the market in 1957 and came in most of the same colours as the small VW beetles. The colours were:
Red, "rust red"/teracotta, yellow, green, (medium) blue, tan / dark tan, black and dark gray.
The yellow, red, green and (medium) blue being quite uniquely different from any Danish beetle colours.
Measuring the hubs on the wheels of the VW beetles should be 10mm for Norwegian beetles and 12mm for Danish. The tires on the Norwegian beetles are only black.
The plastic used to make the beetles varies a lot in colour. It can be one solid colour, ex. white, or it can be marbled with lots of different colours. Since the beetles were painted it did not matter much what the colour underneath was.
1:43 Chevrolets -
The Chevrolets were one of the first toys LEGO made in Norway, released in 1953. 13 different trucks with trailers came first, the vans came a little later. The 13 were:
901 - ESSO flatbed truck - Red
902 - Milk truck w/ 902P trailer - White/Black
903 - Green truk w/ 903P trailer - Green/Yellow
904 - Coal truck w/ 904P trailer - Black
905 - Gravel truck w/ 905P trailer - Blue/Yellow
907 - Animal transport w/ 907P trailer - Red/Yellow
908 - ESSO tanker short - Red
911 - ESSO truck w/ 911a long trailer - Red
912 - Milk truck w/ 912a long trailer - White/Black
913 - Truck w/ 913a long trailer - Any common colour
914 - Coal truck w/ 914a long trailer - Black
915 - Gravel truck w/ 915a long trailer - Blue/Yellow
918 - Esso tanker w/ 918a long trailer - Red
Not mentioned in the overviews here are the Norwegian SHELL tankers. They are not in any price lists and therefor does not have an item number. They were made for the Norwegian SHELL company as gifts/promotional items in a limited quantity and are really rare today.
The animal transport / "dyretransport" is the only Norwegian Chevrolet truck where the decals are exactly the same as the Danish. All others have different spelling or design. Still if the truck has gray silver rims it is Norwegian, as no Danish Chevrolets had silver rims. This counts for all the trucks and is a nice way to know the difference if a truck is missing the decals.
Around the middle of 1954 the Chevrolet vans were released with (M) and without (H) motor:
960(M/H) - Coca Cola van - Yellow
961(M/H) - Ambulance van - Cream white
962(M/H) - Police van - Dark green
964(M/H) - ESSO van - Red
965(M/H) - Post van - Red
966(M/H) - Electrician van - Blue
Lastly two new trucks came and they were unique for the Norwegian market. This was:
919 - Firetruck w/ 919a ladder attachment
920 - Tow truck w/920a crane attachment
The trucks with ladder and crane attachments were never made or sold in Denmark.
The little green "f©ªrerkort" (driving license) was not included with the trucks and vans until late 1955.
H0/1:87 scale
There were also differences in colours and models for the small system scale vehicles. The first to be released in Norway as a part of the System was the 1250-1257 Beford trucks. However one vehicle, not made for the System, but used for it, was released a year before. This was the 275 - VW vans. Here we will be taking a look at all the vehicles made and used for the LEGO System in Norway.
One important note about the wheels of the System cars. The models released from 1954 to ca. early 1958 had what we call "flat wheels". The rim of the wheel is not as curved as on ex. Danish models. The earlier the models the "flatter" the wheels. Towards the end of 1958/59 it is close to impossible to see the difference. The first 1954/55 models also had wheels made of brass.
VW vans/busses -
A van and two busses with brass wheels.
The VW vans and busses released in the middle of 1954, before the introduction of the System in late 1955, and were in a bigger 1:80 scale. They used the nr. 275 and came in a lot of different colour mixes. Special for Norway is that some of them were made using only one colour. Elsewhere they were always made using two seperate colours on the top and bottom half. The early versions ca. 1954-55 also had the unique brass wheels. It can also be added that the early versions used the same plastic as the Chevrolets and thick baseplates. So the colours does not appear as shiny, but held their shape really well.
The difference between the bus and van variant can be seen on the number of windows on the sides. The VW vans only had one, the busses had 4. Since both variants have been found with brass wheels, it is very likely they were released at the same time.
The colour variants that have been found so far are the following:
Full yellow
Full red
Top: dark blue , bottom: yellow
Top: red , bottom: blue
Top: red , bottom egg-white
Top: egg-white , bottom: yellow
--To be updated--
System trucks -
Before the release of the System in late 1955, the 1250 ESSO tanker was actually released as number 999 in a unique ESSO packaging. This set/truck was not sold, but rather given away to people tanking at ESSO fuel stations. The ESSO truck had brass wheels, no decals, and was called "småen" (The small one) based on it being the smaller version of the ESSO Chevrolet truck. When the System was released the box type was reused for the 1250 ESSO tanker, later it was changed to the common box type. The 999 number was also in use for some time after. The first ESSO tankers were made using the same plastic as the Chevrolets, which was not as shiny, but held the shape better than the CA plastic.
All the text on the decals was "ESSO", nothing more as in other countries. The decals even came in two sizes. The earliest have a much "taller" decal originally made for the Mecline ESSO van, but reused for the System ESSO truck. This appears to have been changed rather quickly, so the big decals are much less common.
Fun Fact: While Norway was making LEGO for Sweden around 1955-56, Sweden introduced an own decal. So for a short overlap they placed the new decal on top of the "old" ESSO tankers they had recieved from Norway. Meaning you can find Swedish ESSO trucks with a worn out top decal showing the Norwegian decal underneath.
1251 ESSO truck and 1252 trailer
Next up we have the 1251 ESSO flatbed truck with 1252 ESSO trailer. They exist with the same variation of the big decals as the 1250 ESSO tanker. Other than that there is not a lot else to mention, they follow the same variation with early versions having very "flat" wheels and later version not.
1253 blue truck and 1254 trailer
The 1253 blue flatbed truck with 1254 trailer has some unique colour variations. The first versions of the 1253 truck exist with a very dark blue cab using the same plastic as the thick baseplates. Later versions ca. 1956/57 and forward had the usual "normal blue" colour. The flatbeds/trailers also exist in two variants, a slightly egg-white hard plastic (same as the baseplates) and the later shiny white CA plastic.
1255 firetruck
The 1255 firetruck had a dark silver ladder and hose roll on the back. The silver colour is unique for Norway and was also used for the small motorcycles and street lights. Some of the late versions of the Norwegian firetruck still use this dark silver plastic. So you can find versions with "round" wheels and this colour for the ladder/hose. A nice way to spot the differenve on Norwegian/Danish firetrucks even for later variants.
1256 tow truck
For the 1256 tow truck there is not any significant variations. Though we are researching if the tow hook may appear different in Norway.
1257 transport van
Lastly we have the 1257 transport van/truck. In Norway the transport van did not have the "LEGO Transport" text in gold on the sides. It was completely plain. It was not added until towards the very end where we no longer can see the difference between Norwegian/Danish vans based on the wheels.
VW beetles -
The small VW beetles were released in late 1957. They exist in the same colour variations as the big 1:38 scale beetles:
Red, "rust red"/teracotta, yellow, green, (medium) blue, tan / dark tan, black and dark gray.
At this point the Norwegian wheels were much less "flat", but you can still find them where it is very noticeable.
Opel Kapitän -
The Opel Kapitän is one of the most famous 1:87 scale LEGO vehicles. Released in a small batch in 1958 it was meant to be a series of three cars, a Vauxhall Velox, a Simca Aronde and the Opel. The Opel was released first, but too little success. The design was fragile making the roof and supports easily cave in, as well as the wheel "holders" breaking pushing the wheels inside the car. The Opel just could not handle the same amount of play as the other LEGO vehicles. They ended up pulling the Opel from the market, giving the remaining cars to employees and friends. Since we never saw any of the other models either it seems like the whole line was scrapped. One of the sons of the maker of LEGO in Norway did however go to work in the UK, helping setting up LEGO production in Wrexham. A car we saw released for the UK market was a Vauxhall... Maybe a coincidence, we will probably never know.
Now back to the Opel. Due to a short and limited production these are hard to come by today, however quite a few have surfaced, and in some great colours. We have found the Opel in the following colours:
Red
Dark red
"Rust" red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
White
Gray
Black
On the chassis and inside the body of the car it is marked "1957" - the year it was designed and the model it is based on. The glass inside the car is also marked "Opel Kapitan". Mould numbers are also present on the car parts, raging from 1-6. Meaning there were 6 Opel Kapitan's in a single mould.
To add to the number of variations 4 chassis types exist:
Normal gray
Milky (marbled) gray
Dark Gray
Dark silver
The dark silver being the same colour as used for the small motorcycles, street lights and firetruck ladder.
Motorcycles and cyclists -
Released in 1957 in set 1270, these small H0-scale motorcycles and cyclists were hand painted in lots of different colours and combination. Unique for Norway is the dark silver plastic used as the base, as can be seen on the right motorcycle on the picture.
Pictures used are from me and Arild Anderson's collection, unless otherwise is stated.