Duplo and Lego bricks and sets were a huge part of my childhood. The first set and one of the first toys I remember playing with was 2705- Duplo Passenger Train. I still remember pulling that train around the carpeted room, in awe of how the wheels made those bars on the engine move up and down, just like on a real steam train. That the cars could all easily be linked together and the tops opened so that you could put all the people inside. The nice bright colours that made everything seem so exciting and full of life. It was around 1992 when I first played with that set, nearly a decade since the set had been released. I'm sure there were much more exciting Duplo sets on the market, but the idea of a primary coloured train is so basic and so universal that it can easily stand the test of time.
As an adult, that's partially what I love about Lego sets and bricks. Sets from 30 years ago still have enormous play value. Bricks from 30 years ago interlock with the bricks of today. The Lego Group is continuing to create and amaze me with some of the special pieces and building ideas they come up with, but at the heart of it are these basic shapes of bricks that I've known all my life. It's a little bit of nostalgia without living in the past.
When I was about four and a half, I got my first box of Lego Bricks. I built a small house that became slightly modified as I grew up, but mostly remained the same. I still remember sitting with my aunt the week I got the bricks, her giving me a tip on how to make the walls of the house good and sturdy. Throughout my childhood, I received a few more buckets of bricks, but they all ended up as houses. The most I could make for the inside were beds, tables, chairs, and TVs. Still today, if you give me a mess of bricks, it will probably turn into a house or things for a house. Perhaps a very basic boat or car. I grew up thinking that building was just the boring work to get to the fun set. My creativity came in after the set was built. I made stories, not buildings. I gave life to my people and made sure that no matter what kind of adventures they were destined to go on, they all had a place to call home. Now as a 23 year old, I love constructing the sets and now understand that the building process is apart of the whole Lego experience. I think the newer sets with the "easy start" numbered bag set-up has turned my past frustrations into a fun time. Also, as an adult, I am familiar with just about every single brick the Lego Group makes so it's always remarkable to see them used in creative and mind blowing ways.
I have always enjoyed just about any City set. The Indians in the Western theme particularly stick out in my mind as I loved anything to do with Indians. As I got older and they were released, I received a lot of Star Wars and Harry Potter sets. Other than a castle, I don't think I ever asked for any particular set, though I remember looking through Lego catalogs and magazines all the time. I was happy with just about anything I got as a gift and luckily my family knew me well enough to get sets that fit me. I am a woman, but I was never interested in any of the "girl" themes and think most of them are terrible and somewhat insulting to me as a woman. However, I don't like gender typing in toys in general and think Lego sets are and should be gender neutral. That being said, there were always more "boyish" themes I wouldn't even look at because I thought they were icky. Usually ones that had all these bright green pieces in sets that were full of large monsters and things that had no place in my nice village of Islanders, Policemen, Ninjas, and Jedi. I understand the idea that if they are going to make a super "boyish" theme with lots of odd parts, then why not do the same for girls. If they insist on a "girl" theme, I think they should go back and reimagine the Paradisa sets. A Lego theme that was directed at girls, yet used all standard Lego bricks and minifigures. The sets had mainly cafe and beach settings containing mostly female minifigs and some pink bricks. I kind of like the Friends theme they have now and it's better than some of the full out Barbie look-a-likes they've done, but I hate the Friends figures. Those figures are larger than a standard Lego minifigure, so the buildings and models in the sets are a bit larger than they typically would be, so buying the sets just for the set itself and not the figure doesn't quite work. However, I am very happy that the Friends sets are made up of standard Lego bricks (just in crazy colours) with some special pieces that girls who are used to playing with doll houses would be more comfortable with, like little shampoo bottles or forks and knives. I think there are a lot of good ideas in the Friends sets right now, but it needs to be moved to a little less extreme: not so many odd coloured bricks in any one set and standard sized minifigures. I think that makes it easier and more welcoming for a girl to have both those "girl" sets and City or Licensed sets. This is just one ex-girl's opinion. One ex-girl who is very excited about the idea of a Squirrel Treehouse and a Turtle Oasis.
For most of my childhood, Lego sets were one of my primary toys. I had a lot of stuffed animals, I had a lot of things to go with my Fisher Price dollhouse, and I had a lot of Gameboy games; but I think I had more Lego than anything else. An ever-growing collection where no set ever became obsolete. Dollhouse play lasts a handful of years and by the end, the sets you have seem so outdated. Most stuffed animals come and go. Video games get beaten and replaced by new ones. But that Lego house I built when I was 4 remained the central part of my town throughout my entire childhood. My main character in all Lego adventures was a figure I modified throughout the years but who originally came from a Lego Islanders set of 1994. Over a decade he got nice black trousers instead of leaves over his legs. He switched his face to a sunglasses donned one from a Police set. He got a quiver of arrows from an Indian set. He has his own black horse and modified Police motorcycle. His own lightsaber and ninja sword. There's that beauty of Lego again. My favorite character could be the same person my entire childhood, but grow and adapt as my own interests changed.
I've figured out that the last set I got when I was a child was 4754- Hagrid's Hut. Then in 2008 and 2010, I received a few small sets from my mother who was mostly trying to get her little kid back. In 2008, at age 19, I asked someone for the largest Lego set I had ever gotten, 10184 Town Plan. In 2009, for the first time as an adult I purchased a Lego set, 7639 Camper. In late 2011, I received and bought a few minifigures from the mystery series. All of this was still just because the sets or figures were cute and nice to look at for a little while before being packed up in a box. It wasn't until two months ago, August of 2012, that I decided to start my Lego Universe again. Somehow my interest evolved from a small passing-by purchase to an extreme desire to collect and build certain sets or minifigures. Sets seem amazing again. Full of all of that wonder I first experienced when I was two years old, pulling a Duplo train around the floor. It's now by far my favorite thing to spend money on and as an adult, I now have the ability to buy most of the sets I want. Realistically, I can't and don't play with the sets like I used to. However, the sets still make me just as happy (maybe more) as when I was a child, albeit in a slightly different way. I do not buy sets just to collect them, I buy them because I really like what they have to offer. Most of my joy comes in building the set, looking at it, and just knowing that I own it. It'll now be apart of my world for the rest of my life. Always there for me, always familiar, always innovative, always Lego.
As an adult, that's partially what I love about Lego sets and bricks. Sets from 30 years ago still have enormous play value. Bricks from 30 years ago interlock with the bricks of today. The Lego Group is continuing to create and amaze me with some of the special pieces and building ideas they come up with, but at the heart of it are these basic shapes of bricks that I've known all my life. It's a little bit of nostalgia without living in the past.
When I was about four and a half, I got my first box of Lego Bricks. I built a small house that became slightly modified as I grew up, but mostly remained the same. I still remember sitting with my aunt the week I got the bricks, her giving me a tip on how to make the walls of the house good and sturdy. Throughout my childhood, I received a few more buckets of bricks, but they all ended up as houses. The most I could make for the inside were beds, tables, chairs, and TVs. Still today, if you give me a mess of bricks, it will probably turn into a house or things for a house. Perhaps a very basic boat or car. I grew up thinking that building was just the boring work to get to the fun set. My creativity came in after the set was built. I made stories, not buildings. I gave life to my people and made sure that no matter what kind of adventures they were destined to go on, they all had a place to call home. Now as a 23 year old, I love constructing the sets and now understand that the building process is apart of the whole Lego experience. I think the newer sets with the "easy start" numbered bag set-up has turned my past frustrations into a fun time. Also, as an adult, I am familiar with just about every single brick the Lego Group makes so it's always remarkable to see them used in creative and mind blowing ways.
I have always enjoyed just about any City set. The Indians in the Western theme particularly stick out in my mind as I loved anything to do with Indians. As I got older and they were released, I received a lot of Star Wars and Harry Potter sets. Other than a castle, I don't think I ever asked for any particular set, though I remember looking through Lego catalogs and magazines all the time. I was happy with just about anything I got as a gift and luckily my family knew me well enough to get sets that fit me. I am a woman, but I was never interested in any of the "girl" themes and think most of them are terrible and somewhat insulting to me as a woman. However, I don't like gender typing in toys in general and think Lego sets are and should be gender neutral. That being said, there were always more "boyish" themes I wouldn't even look at because I thought they were icky. Usually ones that had all these bright green pieces in sets that were full of large monsters and things that had no place in my nice village of Islanders, Policemen, Ninjas, and Jedi. I understand the idea that if they are going to make a super "boyish" theme with lots of odd parts, then why not do the same for girls. If they insist on a "girl" theme, I think they should go back and reimagine the Paradisa sets. A Lego theme that was directed at girls, yet used all standard Lego bricks and minifigures. The sets had mainly cafe and beach settings containing mostly female minifigs and some pink bricks. I kind of like the Friends theme they have now and it's better than some of the full out Barbie look-a-likes they've done, but I hate the Friends figures. Those figures are larger than a standard Lego minifigure, so the buildings and models in the sets are a bit larger than they typically would be, so buying the sets just for the set itself and not the figure doesn't quite work. However, I am very happy that the Friends sets are made up of standard Lego bricks (just in crazy colours) with some special pieces that girls who are used to playing with doll houses would be more comfortable with, like little shampoo bottles or forks and knives. I think there are a lot of good ideas in the Friends sets right now, but it needs to be moved to a little less extreme: not so many odd coloured bricks in any one set and standard sized minifigures. I think that makes it easier and more welcoming for a girl to have both those "girl" sets and City or Licensed sets. This is just one ex-girl's opinion. One ex-girl who is very excited about the idea of a Squirrel Treehouse and a Turtle Oasis.
For most of my childhood, Lego sets were one of my primary toys. I had a lot of stuffed animals, I had a lot of things to go with my Fisher Price dollhouse, and I had a lot of Gameboy games; but I think I had more Lego than anything else. An ever-growing collection where no set ever became obsolete. Dollhouse play lasts a handful of years and by the end, the sets you have seem so outdated. Most stuffed animals come and go. Video games get beaten and replaced by new ones. But that Lego house I built when I was 4 remained the central part of my town throughout my entire childhood. My main character in all Lego adventures was a figure I modified throughout the years but who originally came from a Lego Islanders set of 1994. Over a decade he got nice black trousers instead of leaves over his legs. He switched his face to a sunglasses donned one from a Police set. He got a quiver of arrows from an Indian set. He has his own black horse and modified Police motorcycle. His own lightsaber and ninja sword. There's that beauty of Lego again. My favorite character could be the same person my entire childhood, but grow and adapt as my own interests changed.
I've figured out that the last set I got when I was a child was 4754- Hagrid's Hut. Then in 2008 and 2010, I received a few small sets from my mother who was mostly trying to get her little kid back. In 2008, at age 19, I asked someone for the largest Lego set I had ever gotten, 10184 Town Plan. In 2009, for the first time as an adult I purchased a Lego set, 7639 Camper. In late 2011, I received and bought a few minifigures from the mystery series. All of this was still just because the sets or figures were cute and nice to look at for a little while before being packed up in a box. It wasn't until two months ago, August of 2012, that I decided to start my Lego Universe again. Somehow my interest evolved from a small passing-by purchase to an extreme desire to collect and build certain sets or minifigures. Sets seem amazing again. Full of all of that wonder I first experienced when I was two years old, pulling a Duplo train around the floor. It's now by far my favorite thing to spend money on and as an adult, I now have the ability to buy most of the sets I want. Realistically, I can't and don't play with the sets like I used to. However, the sets still make me just as happy (maybe more) as when I was a child, albeit in a slightly different way. I do not buy sets just to collect them, I buy them because I really like what they have to offer. Most of my joy comes in building the set, looking at it, and just knowing that I own it. It'll now be apart of my world for the rest of my life. Always there for me, always familiar, always innovative, always Lego.
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