Take the min out of minitalia and it's an Italian theme.

I can't really tell if this thing is floating or not. The shadow's throwing everything off because that makes it clear it's a very shallow pool. Plus then there's the segments of the pieces, so they must have huge cavities that can't be accessed that are keeping this thing afloat. Is this false advertising?

It's not that large

@WolfpackBricks63 said:
"It's not that large"

"You keep using this word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

“I’m huge!”

If it's a large ship, shouldn't it be "Maxitalia," not "Minitalia?"

@MCLegoboy said:"I can't really tell if this thing is floating or not. The shadow's throwing everything off because that makes it clear it's a very shallow pool. Plus then there's the segments of the pieces, so they must have huge cavities that can't be accessed that are keeping this thing afloat. Is this false advertising?"

It could float; if you go to the "Parts" tab of the database page, you'll see large segments of hull, each of which were capable of floating by themselves.

@PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricks63 said:
"It's not that large"

"You keep using this word. I do not think it means what you think it means.""

Speaking of which, Dave, something I've been wondering. Do you own multiple copies of the book, too?

This set comes from a time before it could have been named Boaty McBoatface!

Large ship...? You're gonna need a bigger boat.

I wish all Lego boxes came with large Italian print on the front people could read out loud in the toy shop. Ora Lego anche in mare!!

I love those hull pieces. I had a 4025 Fire Boat when I was a kid. This looks similar in size. Sadly everything about the that set is lost by now, exept the weight pieces that helps the boat float.

Interesting. Being minitalia, the bricks are the strange minitalia kind with x shaped stud holders on the bottom and hollowed out studs. But those boat hull pieces seem to be the regular brick kind. It seems they didn't deem it necessary to make a minitalia version of those

A large ship could be a synonym for long boat. And it’s coming from Denmark…
Just gonna go ahead and make sure our defences are prepped for Vikings…

@Binnekamp said:
"Interesting. Being minitalia, the bricks are the strange minitalia kind with x shaped stud holders on the bottom and hollowed out studs. But those boat hull pieces seem to be the regular brick kind. It seems they didn't deem it necessary to make a minitalia version of those"

There *were* only three Minitalia ships released: https://brickset.com/sets/tag-Floats-On-Water/theme-Minitalia They were all released in 1973, too, so maybe Lego just didn't see the need to invest in a new mold. It does make me wonder, though, how many kids back then got their hands on one of them and thought, "Why are the studs different on these pieces?"

Edit: Looking at the inventory again, it also had closed-stud 1x1 round bricks, which also had the standard stud.

"It could float; if you go to the "Parts" tab of the database page, you'll see large segments of hull, each of which were capable of floating by themselves."

It could float, but it was not watertight. Shaking the parts you could hear the waterdrops inside.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @WolfpackBricks63 said:
"It's not that large"

"You keep using this word. I do not think it means what you think it means.""

Speaking of which, Dave, something I've been wondering. Do you own multiple copies of the book, too?"

I don’t think so? I know I own one copy of the book, but I’ve never read it, and don’t even know where it’s at presently. But I know at least once each I’ve accidentally bought duplicate copies of a novel and a DVD because I forgot I’d already bought them (plus there were a few times when I knowingly bought duplicate copies,because of something they came packed with). But this was a book that spent quite a long time on my radar before I actually grabbed a copy to buy, so I’m pretty sure I only got one. The problem lies in not reading or watching it right away, so if it feels unfamiliar to me when I next encounter it, there’s a chance I may think it’s new and something I still need to buy.

@Brickalili said:
"A large ship could be a synonym for long boat. And it’s coming from Denmark…
Just gonna go ahead and make sure our defences are prepped for Vikings…"

Ah, this one’s just Bjorn Plasticsides, heading to the Mediterranean. Specifically, to Italy.

@Maxbricks14 said:
"Take the min out of minitalia and it's an Italian theme."

Well, it kinda is even with that.

The story of Minitalia is said to be like this:
Around the early 1970s there seemingly was an import ban on toys in Italy. Thus TLG had to produce stuff within the country, so they could still sell in Italy. To distinguish the Italian bricks from the Danish ones, they opted for the X-shaped underside connections (which were patented alongside the tubes in 1956 btw).

Minitalia was (unsurprisingly) exclusive to Italy and vanished once the ban was lifted.

Few people know there's also a Japanese counterpart to Minitalia called "oLo" which was in fact produced by Lego, but not that openly marketed as such.

@Atuin said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Take the min out of minitalia and it's an Italian theme."

Well, it kinda is even with that.

The story of Minitalia is said to be like this:
Around the early 1970s there seemingly was an import ban on toys in Italy. Thus TLG had to produce stuff within the country, so they could still sell in Italy. To distinguish the Italian bricks from the Danish ones, they opted for the X-shaped underside connections (which were patented alongside the tubes in 1956 btw).

Minitalia was (unsurprisingly) exclusive to Italy and vanished once the ban was lifted.

Few people know there's also a Japanese counterpart to Minitalia called "oLo" which was in fact produced by Lego, but not that openly marketed as such."

From New Elementary (https://www.newelementary.com/2017/01/old-bricks-lego-minitalia-italy.html): "For many years it was believed that those sets had been produced directly in Italy because of restrictive Italian import laws but a few years ago a friend of mine realized that there were no such laws and it must have been one of those things that everybody "knows" that turns out not to be true."

@TheOtherMike said:
" @Atuin said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Take the min out of minitalia and it's an Italian theme."

Well, it kinda is even with that.

The story of Minitalia is said to be like this:
Around the early 1970s there seemingly was an import ban on toys in Italy. Thus TLG had to produce stuff within the country, so they could still sell in Italy. To distinguish the Italian bricks from the Danish ones, they opted for the X-shaped underside connections (which were patented alongside the tubes in 1956 btw).

Minitalia was (unsurprisingly) exclusive to Italy and vanished once the ban was lifted.

Few people know there's also a Japanese counterpart to Minitalia called "oLo" which was in fact produced by Lego, but not that openly marketed as such."

From New Elementary ( https://www.newelementary.com/2017/01/old-bricks-lego-minitalia-italy.html ): "For many years it was believed that those sets had been produced directly in Italy because of restrictive Italian import laws but a few years ago a friend of mine realized that there were no such laws and it must have been one of those things that everybody "knows" that turns out not to be true.""

Oof.

I'm not sure how I missed this (or forgot about it).

The whole idea about oLo (though Im not sure how much is fact and how much is speculation) currently is that oLo was meant as a "cheap version" sold in rural areas, whereas the regular Lego sets were sold in the big cities like Tokyo.

Given how Nintendo's N&B Bricks werent that far off at oLo's introduction it seems even weirder.

There are many things and theories regarding Minitalia, oLo and local clone brands that predate Tyco and Megabloks (yes, that's a thing) don't line up with historical evidence or TLG's public statements.

Do you have more info on any of these?

@Atuin said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Atuin said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Take the min out of minitalia and it's an Italian theme."

Well, it kinda is even with that.

The story of Minitalia is said to be like this:
Around the early 1970s there seemingly was an import ban on toys in Italy. Thus TLG had to produce stuff within the country, so they could still sell in Italy. To distinguish the Italian bricks from the Danish ones, they opted for the X-shaped underside connections (which were patented alongside the tubes in 1956 btw).

Minitalia was (unsurprisingly) exclusive to Italy and vanished once the ban was lifted.

Few people know there's also a Japanese counterpart to Minitalia called "oLo" which was in fact produced by Lego, but not that openly marketed as such."

From New Elementary ( https://www.newelementary.com/2017/01/old-bricks-lego-minitalia-italy.html ): "For many years it was believed that those sets had been produced directly in Italy because of restrictive Italian import laws but a few years ago a friend of mine realized that there were no such laws and it must have been one of those things that everybody "knows" that turns out not to be true.""

Oof.

I'm not sure how I missed this (or forgot about it).

The whole idea about oLo (though Im not sure how much is fact and how much is speculation) currently is that oLo was meant as a "cheap version" sold in rural areas, whereas the regular Lego sets were sold in the big cities like Tokyo.

Given how Nintendo's N&B Bricks werent that far off at oLo's introduction it seems even weirder.

There are many things and theories regarding Minitalia, oLo and local clone brands that predate Tyco and Megabloks (yes, that's a thing) don't line up with historical evidence or TLG's public statements.

Do you have more info on any of these?"

Pretty much all I know about Minitalia as a whole can be gleaned from that article.