By the late 1980s, the leading bran

By the late 1980s, the leading brand’s manufacturer decidedto change its direction by adding “model kits” for salealongside the sets of generic building blocks. These modelkits included a printed sheet of instructions and specific bricksthat enabled the child to build a specific item or items. Forexample, a kit might be intended to build a toy fire engine.The distinguishing characteristic of those kits was that theyincluded custom parts that were not otherwise available in thegeneric sets. For example, the fire engine kit included aturntable ladder that came only with this kit, along with bricks that had been screen-printedwith signs and logos that signified “Fire Department”.