The 2011 case of Lego fever is lasting strong through February. Like I’ve said before, I was usually stricken with the fever around New Year’s. What, with Christmas nearby and all that, prospects of getting Lego sets as gifts were always good.
Lately, the world of Lego is bigger than ever. With it’s classic themes such as Town/City, Space, and Castle systems, and all the new licensed properties that they’ve acquired, vast new possibilities exist for those of us who have begun to shop beyond the Lego theme, and more for it’s elements. Terms exist such as ALF (adult lego fan), or the ALH (adult lego hobbyist), and the ALE (adult lego enthusiast). I like the term Enthusiast. To me, that imparts more of a creative vibe onto the person that you’re describing. The fan, I feel has more of a collectors attitude. Like, they’ve got to get every single set from every single theme. Maybe they build them, maybe not. Maybe they buy two of each?? I feel the Hobbyist was someone who was into Lego as a youth, and as he/she grew up, their taste in the sets also grew, gravitating more towards the Technic sets, or Lego Mindstorms incorporating computer software into their building. That is all well, and good too. Don’t get me wrong.
Now, for me to label myself as an Enthusiast, I suppose I would have to explain myself a little. I was into Lego as a child, and my preferences swayed greatly from theme to theme. One year I’d be interested in nothing but Pirate sets, the next summer it would be the Space theme and whichever new collection was added to it (like M-Tron featuring real magnets, or Spyrius with their sort of middle of the road mercenary appeal, and cool android robot minifigures). Quite a few of my friends growing up had Legos too, so that helped feed the craze, and also sway my decisions as to what sets to get next. We used to pretend play Star Wars with MOC (my own creation, or my original creation) weapons and vehicles. Only now, there are official Lego versions, and back then we didn’t call things MOC. There was no internet yet.  So, getting back to my point:
The Enthusiast has seen a lot of what Lego has to offer, and never truly stuck with one theme or another, but still recognizes the potential in certain sets to be used for MOC building. This is something of a new, small revelation to me. Lately, all I have been interested in is MOC. But isn’t that the true backbone of Lego? Listen to this. Essentially, each set is a model kit. Each set includes instructions to build the featured set. Now… back in the 80’s and early 90’s, Lego used to feature the main set on the front of the box, and on the back, they featured what you could call suggestions. Different things that the designers had built using the same pieces included in the set. They were showing you their MOC’s all these years!   Some of them in fact influenced me to purchase a few sets throughout the years. The only bad thing was that you didn’t have the instructions for them. You were definitely encouraged to break down your set and build it again, or build it differently. That was the true appeal to me. It was a new toy, that constantly became a new toy. Everything worked with something else you already owned. If you were good enough too, you could build your own version of something else using your own pieces and not have to buy a new set. The only limits were your imagination. Now, I can’t speak for everybody, but I know that as a child, my imagination often ran wild. For instance, when I would be punished and have to sit in the corner, I would pretend that I was a secret agent who was captured and needed to devise my escape. Growing up, my imagination was my best friend. Lego was a toy for my imagination to play with. Let me tell you, it never gets old.
Now, that I’m older, some of my interests changed. Suffice it to say, some of my interests have not changed a bit. Others have only grown with me. I still get the same sort of feeling when I get a new Lego set. That sort of fleeting feeling of possibilities rambling through my head.
Welcome to Greeble Journal!! Enjoy this ‘artsy’ photo of my still unnamed Bionic Commando MOC, codenamed Flying Fox.
My name is Jyo, and I am a Lego Enthusiast.