Wheel
LEGO has produced a wide variety of Wheels for Trains, automobiles, aircraft and even skateboards. Special cart wheels were created originally for the Castle theme.
LEGO wheels come in a wide variety of models and sizes but two basic configurations: wheels with an integral axle and those with a seperate axle . Integral axles have been either metal inserted into the ABS or molded as one piece in plastic.
Automobile Wheels
DID YOU KNOW? | |
According to the company, LEGO is the largest producer of tires in the world. 306 million tires per year according to a 2006 report by Business Week Magazine |
Automobiles were part of the LEGO System from the earliest days but it was not until c. 1961 (see also: History of LEGO ) that they produced wheels that connected to LEGO bricks. Previously automobiles were seperate toys that were used as props for playing amongst the LEGO buildings.
Early wheels were very thick and could be used with tires for automobiles or without the rubber tires on train tracks (see below ).
- Perhaps a listing of the varous types of automobile wheels with illustrations could be inserted here?
Train Wheels
DID YOU KNOW? | |
The 7750 12v Electric Steam Locomotive was purchased by many AFOLs simply to aquire the rare large red train wheels exclusive to this set. |
Wheels in various sizes have been produced for all the different versions of LEGO Trains.
For many years, one of the shortcomings of LEGO Train wheels was the lack of offset holes for realistic use of connecting rods to drivers. This led to some of the first Custom elements produced by Ben Fleskes.
External Links
- Visual Lego Parts Helper - Wheels