Origins
Erector building sets originated in the United States in the early 1900s. Lego bricks originated in Denmark and reached the present design in 1958.
Materials
Lego bricks are only made from plastic. Erector sets are mainly metal but may have plastic components. Junior Erector sets are made of plastic.
Designs
Erector sets consist of thin metal beams with holes, pulleys, gears, tires and nuts and bolts. Lego bricks come in 52 different colors and 2,350 different shapes and sizes.
Movement
Lego and Erector both produce building sets that can be animated with electrical components. Many sets also have non-electrical moving parts.
Fun Facts
The Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, Connecticut, has a permanent display of early Erector sets.
The Lego Group produces approximately 36,000 Lego bricks per minute or about 19 billion bricks per year.