I've never built a Lego, actually never even been around any. I do buy one every month or so for a 6 year old in IL, his mom re-mails me cigars I've ordered, that's how I pay the postage.

Be glad!

You've not truly experienced them, until you have stepped on them in bare feet... in the dark

My friends son got the Lego Millennium Falcon for his 10th birthday. I looked at my buddy and all he said was "don't ask".

Nobody but the extraordinarily rich is letting their kid break apart a $300 replica of a Porsche GT3 for parts, or a $600 scale Titanic.

These collectible sets are like model airplanes and trains. They get built and get set up on a shelf as a collectible. They're not even useful as puzzles as the parts are bagged according to assembly steps.

A $40 Avengers or Batman set with no collectible value? Sure, those get cannabilized for free play.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Nobody but the extraordinarily rich is letting their kid break apart a $300 replica of a Porsche GT3 for parts, or a $600 scale Titanic.

These collectible sets are like model airplanes and trains. They get built and get set up on a shelf as a collectible. They're not even useful as puzzles as the parts are bagged according to assembly steps.

A $40 Avengers or Batman set with no collectible value? Sure, those get cannabilized for free play.

I’m the mean Dad. I mix all the bags up and make them work harder at them.

The oldest boy had a birthday party today and got 10 more sets!

When I was a kid, I used to buy certain sets for the oddball pieces that I could use to build other things.
Probably why I have a 3D printer now.
2018-06-21_11-58-33 by Andy Snider, on Flickr

On occasion I will buy storage lockers at auction, usually because I see something inside that I want for myself. About a month ago I ran across one that had a few of those things in it, and I saw a few lego containers that appeared to be empty.

When we went to clean out the locker and started digging into it, we discovered that about half of what was there was legos. I'm assuming these were adult built and then displayed assembled. Probably one of the more interesting discoveries I have made in a locker.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Nobody but the extraordinarily rich is letting their kid break apart a $300 replica of a Porsche GT3 for parts, or a $600 scale Titanic.

These collectible sets are like model airplanes and trains. They get built and get set up on a shelf as a collectible. They're not even useful as puzzles as the parts are bagged according to assembly steps.

A $40 Avengers or Batman set with no collectible value? Sure, those get cannabilized for free play.

I've got the Saturn V, ISS & the Mercedes F1 sets.
Assembled & on a shelf.

I've been occasionally looking for set 21307 (Caterham 620R) to go with the car being built in the garage.
Though I may try to source the parts in another color (which may end up costing more)

My oldest loves Lego & she'll build it per the book, then it gets modified & cannibalized over time. She's got a leftover coffee table upstairs that's covered in loose parts & random creations.

It always amazes me what people will argue over. They are legos. They aren’t destroying society.

They still sell Legos by the bucket so you don’t have to buy a set. But there’s nothing wrong with a kid learning how to follow an instruction manual either. Using their imagination is critical for a kid but if you’ve ever seen an instruction manual for some of these sets you’d likely agree that there are several lessons that can be learned by following them. In addition some of these sets take hours which can lead to some fun and wholesome family time. Some of my favorite memories are the times my son and I spent days at the dining room table putting together the sets he got for Christmas or birthdays.

My son had a spot on his dresser to display his latest sets. As he acquired new ones, the old sets got tossed into the parts bin and he used the pieces to build his own creations.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pale Horse,

I didn't get many sets when I was a kid, just made my own stuff. Now, my kids get sets occasionally, build them, then take them apart and build what they want. This unfortunately means that sweet X-wing will never be built again because we're definitely missing some pieces.

My 5-7 year olds love following the instructions and putting them together.... once. It's good for them to be able to follow the instructions and get a finished product.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Nobody but the extraordinarily rich is letting their kid break apart a $300 replica of a Porsche GT3 for parts, or a $600 scale Titanic.

These collectible sets are like model airplanes and trains. They get built and get set up on a shelf as a collectible. They're not even useful as puzzles as the parts are bagged according to assembly steps.

A $40 Avengers or Batman set with no collectible value? Sure, those get cannabilized for free play.

lol... extraordinarily rich.

^^^^^ $600 for a kid's toy? I'm glad I don't have kids.

I have this vision of my dad contemplating paying that kind of money for a toy for me--wouldn't have happened. (Of course, in the 1940s the price would have been about $50, but the same impact.) I did get a construction set once, but it was a knockoff, not a real "Erector". Nevertheless, I had fun with it.

If I were to get Legos, I'd want a lot of their gears, etc. and the hardware to use them, not some replica of a building or vehicle. Gears fascinate me.

flashguy

Nothing like the smell of a freshly opened can of Lincoln Logs.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Legos didn't exist when I was a kid (1940s). I had Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, and a generic construction set (couldn't afford real "Erector"). I also built a lot of bridges, etc. with playing cards stuck into books. One of my uncles worked in a laundry and he brought home lots of those shirt cardboards. His older son and I would cut them into strips and fold them into troughs, glue them together into "marble runs", with lots of turns, switches, etc. Some of them covered half a ping-pong table up to 2 feet high and would take about a minute for a marble to make its way all through it.

FWIW, someone built an eternal clock with Lego parts that was accurate to a few seconds a century.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
I guess I am truly a dinosaur. I thought the value of Legos was that kids could use their imaginations to create unique objects, now it seems that they are merely completing jigsaw puzzles. I know the cranes, bridges, and rocket gantries I made from my erector set were not to an instruction sheet.

Perhaps this explains some of what we are seeing in our youth?

I built LEGO that way as a kid, too, but I also like these kits. I built a large Saturn V, and it was fun to make.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
My friends son got the Lego Millennium Falcon for his 10th birthday. I looked at my buddy and all he said was "don't ask".

I kind of wanted the BIG Star Destroyer, but it was more expensive than I could justify.

My grandson wanted the Lego Star Wars Star Destroyer for his birthday. His parents said “No”, so he hit up his grandpa who is usually a soft touch.

I looked it up. $700!!

quote:

Originally posted by ersatzknarf:
Be glad!

You've not truly experienced them, until you have stepped on them in bare feet... in the dark

Been there, done that.

Cost me a severe ankle sprain, a strained meniscus, and torn ligaments in my foot.

Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets, and LEGO, I loved them all as a kid.

Because YouTube apparently knows all, this was pushed to my recommended videos:


https://youtu.be/b3VzAGPfNic

I had a hard time finding a place for the Saturn V (currently laid over on my dresser, was too worried about it getting knocked over to leave it upright).
ISS was compact enough to fit on a bookshelf.

There's just about nowhere practical to display something this large in my house.