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LEGO thread!

ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito!Registered User regular
edited February 2012 in Debate and/or Discourse
Oh hello there!

4230495623_10bf8f0f47.jpg

So you want to have a place to discuss LEGO bricks? What's that? You don't know what LEGO bricks are?

LEGO bricks, which most other people know about already, are a line of construction toys based out of Denmark. They are widely regarded as the best toy ever made in the history of mankind.
The company name Lego was coined by Christiansen from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means "play well". The name could also be interpreted as "I put together" and "I assemble" in Latin

Part of the appeal of the LEGO product is its universality. For instance, all bricks made after the year 1958 are completely compatible, even with the bricks in the set you just picked up yesterday.

Wikipedia:
Bricks, beams, axles, gears, mini figures, and all other parts in the Lego system are manufactured to an exacting degree of precision. When snapped together, pieces must have just the right amount of strength and flexibility mixed together to stick together. They must stay together until pulled apart. They cannot be too easy to pull apart, or the resulting constructions would be unstable; they also cannot be too difficult to pull apart, since the disassembly of one creation in order to build another is part of the Lego appeal. In order for pieces to have just the right "clutch power", Lego elements are manufactured within a tolerance of 2 µm.

The bolded part is probably the biggest contributor to the success of the product; LEGO bricks are famous for the ability to be assembled in so many configurations almost anything is possible.
4277855804_b77ee51809.jpg

The other major contributors to the success of the product is the aesthetic appeal coupled with the official licensing of a very popular franchise...
8017-0000-xx-12-1.jpg

With the addition of the TECHNIC line, LEGO introduced pieces like gears and axles, which allow for creations such as a LEGO microtome that can cut down to 250 microns.

A lot of LEGO fans are crazy:
4230398764_25de544d07.jpg

LEGO aficionados are also famous for having some terrible acronyms for building terms.

Examples:
AFOL- Adult fan of LEGO
MOC- My Own Creation
SNOT- Studs not on Top (meaning, your model is not just built by stacking bricks vertically. this is also the worst acronym ever)

LEGO has also licensed some really cool video games.

LEGO also has a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG coming out in the future, and we have a thread for it.

Needless to say, I am very excited for that last thing.

I have a lot of LEGO bricks
7519_561684153746_45503615_32933927_2885192_n.jpg
NOTE: these are now all sorted and organized by color. Mostly.

I also build some cool things sometimes:
5449_557886878516_45503615_32809972_4444874_n.jpg
19346_571410601866_45503615_33253790_3586345_n.jpg
sorry for blurry
19346_571410517036_45503615_33253788_5521816_n.jpg

Are you sad because you cannot afford enough LEGO bricks, or because you gave them all away as you got older? Never fear, the LEGO Digital Designer is here! You can use this program to build with virtual bricks (and then even order the exact bricks used to make that set, along with building instructions in case you forgot, or are gifting it to someone!)
The designer is a bit cumbersome, but it is better than NOT playing with LEGO!

P.S- this PDF (go to the link and download it) is my bible. Read it and learn.

P.P.S- Excepting the last four images and the LEGO Tie Fighter, all the others (I think) were taken from Brothers-Brick.com, which is a pretty good portal if you want to look at cool things or dip your toe into the LEGO community.

P.P.P. S. (this is going to get cumbersome as I add more inevitably, much like when I build things!)- Bogart suggested all those people who are 'to old for LEGO', or who feel odd going to pick them up in Target, read this

Tube on
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Posts

  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    How can you not post the Planet Express we were discussing yesterday?

    Geez you fail me, Arch.

    01_PlanetExpress.jpg
    06_PlanetExpress.jpg

    JustinSane07 on
  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Also!

    257574496_ezapG-L-2.jpg
    215226244_sKmWK-L-2.jpg

    JustinSane07 on
  • WMain00WMain00 Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Let us start up this brilliant thread with a thought:

    IT'S LEGO!! L-E-G-O! NOT LEGOS! ALRIGHT?!

    And now, that Steampunk mech is awesome Arch!

    Also I want more lego!

    WMain00 on
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I did not post the planet express thing because I missed it yesterday!

    Also, in before the argument (EDIT: too slow):
    If the LEGO trademark is used at all, it should always be used as an adjective, not as a noun. For example, say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGO BRICKS". Never say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGOs".

    Yes it is dumb. Yes they need to deal (and are silly geese!). I did it in the OP, you can too!

    Arch on
  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    In all seriousness, I've been collecting LEGO since I was a little boy. When I moved out last march, I unearthed some LEGO I hadn't seen in years. They were packed away in boxes. They were from some snow set they put out years ago. Unfortunately, the white has faded to yellow after so many years.

    The only complete set I've ever gotten was the Throwbot Technic set. About 14 Robots with spring loaded arms to throw discs. They also folded into their little carrying cases. They were more like action figures than LEGO.

    My biggest issue with LEGO has always been the price. They are rather expensive, but many of them look very good. The recent Batman sets they put out looked more like models that brick LEGO. They were amazing to see.

    JustinSane07 on
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    In all seriousness, I've been collecting LEGO since I was a little boy. When I moved out last march, I unearthed some LEGO I hadn't seen in years. They were packed away in boxes. They were from some snow set they put out years ago. Unfortunately, the white has faded to yellow after so many years.

    Best use of Oxyclean ever

    Arch on
  • ArtereisArtereis Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I have had a major dilemma since Christmas. My fiancee's mom gave me a $50 LEGO gift card, and I have no idea what to buy. I just want a fun kit to build. I had originally intended on buying one of the MARS Missions kits, but they've all been discontinued.

    Artereis on
  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Arch wrote: »
    In all seriousness, I've been collecting LEGO since I was a little boy. When I moved out last march, I unearthed some LEGO I hadn't seen in years. They were packed away in boxes. They were from some snow set they put out years ago. Unfortunately, the white has faded to yellow after so many years.

    Best use of Oxyclean ever

    Billy's been dead for 7 months and he's still giving something to the world. The man is a saint.

    JustinSane07 on
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Artereis wrote: »
    I have had a major dilemma since Christmas. My fiancee's mom gave me a $50 LEGO gift card, and I have no idea what to buy. I just want a fun kit to build. I had originally intended on buying one of the MARS Missions kits, but they've all been discontinued.

    They just re-released the space police sets...

    Arch on
  • WMain00WMain00 Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I used to have a fuckton of LEGO stuff since I was a child but alot of it is buried in the attic now. I'm tempted to let my kid side out and try get a box of lego and develop more advanced stuff. That mech looks interesting for instance.

    WMain00 on
  • BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited January 2010
    Arch, Look! A glorious essay by proper New Yorker journalist Anthony Lane about The Joy of Lego! Add it to the OP to keep up the facade of us being adults.

    Bogart on
  • Vrtra TheoryVrtra Theory Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I approve of this thread, and the picture in the OP.

    I haven't had much time for personal creations lately, but my sister did give me this set for Christmas. I find it to be bad-ass.

    21005-0000-xx-12-1.jpg

    Vrtra Theory on
    Are you a Software Engineer living in Seattle? HBO is hiring, message me.
  • monikermoniker Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    When I have kids they are going to get so much Lego stuff, whether they want it or not.

    moniker on
  • thanimationsthanimations Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    moniker wrote: »
    When I have kids they are going to get so much Lego stuff, whether they want it or not.

    This is pretty much my entire theory for the toys my kids will get: daddy gets a second childhood!

    thanimations on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Modern Lego sets kinda seem less cool. There are so many ultra-specialized pieces that can only be used for like one thing - I'm much more into more generic legos that you can put together to make any sort of weird shit you feel like. And then have pirates fight knights on it.

    KalTorak on
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Modern Lego sets kinda seem less cool. There are so many ultra-specialized pieces that can only be used for like one thing - I'm much more into more generic legos that you can put together to make any sort of weird shit you feel like. And then have pirates fight knights on it.

    This is actually kind of a big deal, and I agree completely. The LEGO group has made some nice advancements in pieces that allow for non-traditional construction, but for every brick where there are studs on the side, you get pieces like the UFO from a few years back...what can I do with a fourth of a UFO disk BESIDES make another UFO?

    I actually plan to go through my collection and get rid of a lot of pieces like that, but I haven't the energy yet.

    Arch on
  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Modern Lego sets kinda seem less cool. There are so many ultra-specialized pieces that can only be used for like one thing - I'm much more into more generic legos that you can put together to make any sort of weird shit you feel like. And then have pirates fight knights on it.

    I have a lot of late 80s and early 90s sets like this. You lose a piece and you can replace it with another from the bucket. It was great.

    These days, yes, there's so many specialized pieces that if you lose one, you have to send away for another. Which LEGO is pretty good about, but it would be nice if I could just swap it for another.

    Btw, I once had an epic Pirates vs. Robin Hood vs. Space Guys battle set up.

    I don't even know where the Pirates and Robin Hood sets are these days.

    JustinSane07 on
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Modern Lego sets kinda seem less cool. There are so many ultra-specialized pieces that can only be used for like one thing - I'm much more into more generic legos that you can put together to make any sort of weird shit you feel like. And then have pirates fight knights on it.

    I have a lot of late 80s and early 90s sets like this. You lose a piece and you can replace it with another from the bucket. It was great.

    These days, yes, there's so many specialized pieces that if you lose one, you have to send away for another. Which LEGO is pretty good about, but it would be nice if I could just swap it for another.

    Btw, I once had an epic Pirates vs. Robin Hood vs. Space Guys battle set up.

    I don't even know where the Pirates and Robin Hood sets are these days.

    Pirates are still around, and Robin Hood has been replaced with seemingly warhammer-inspired Orcs and Dwarves.

    Which I am ok with.

    Arch on
  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    No I meant, in my parent's house.

    I think they're in the basement.

    JustinSane07 on
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    No I meant, in my parent's house.

    I think they're in the basement.

    Justin sometimes you say things that make me go o_O and :x

    but this

    this was gold

    Arch on
  • BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited January 2010
    You can order a whole bunch of whatever the hell you like online, I believe, so although the kits are more specific and less open to customisation, there are ways round it.

    Bogart on
  • monikermoniker Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Modern Lego sets kinda seem less cool. There are so many ultra-specialized pieces that can only be used for like one thing - I'm much more into more generic legos that you can put together to make any sort of weird shit you feel like. And then have pirates fight knights on it.

    In some cases, perhaps, but there are still plenty of generic kits and options available if that is what you want to buy.

    moniker on
  • ArchArch Neat-o, mosquito! Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Bogart wrote: »
    You can order a whole bunch of whatever the hell you like online, I believe, so although the kits are more specific and less open to customisation, there are ways round it.

    Yea you are right

    ALSO I need to find a place to fit this into the OP...

    Lego Digital Designer

    Let me dig up the sweet spider tank I made a while ago with this...

    It gets pricey, but it is sweet

    Arch on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I remember my brother invented a war game that was basically Warhammer (from my cursory understanding of Warhammer rules), where you'd pick your army and their equipment and then have movement based on the studs and have them fight. It was pretty cool but so involved that we only ended up playing it once (he won).

    KalTorak on
  • Best AmericaBest America __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    I approve of this thread, and the picture in the OP.

    I haven't had much time for personal creations lately, but my sister did give me this set for Christmas. I find it to be bad-ass.

    21005-0000-xx-12-1.jpg
    LEGO Phoenix, AZ? I can't figure out what this one is!

    There was a LEGO store at some mall I went to once and never went to again. They had towering plastic tubes full of LEGO bricks, and you could use a scoop to fill up on basic brick types to buy them by the pound. It was pretty awe-inspiring, and kind of made me wish I hadn't lost all the bricks I had as a kid. I'm sure they're bumming around in my parents' attic somewhere. It's possible they've been given away to my cousins already, which would be a good fate.

    The cost of entry is the only thing stopping me from picking up some bricks as an impulse purchase. I'm also not sure if it would work out well, since I'm mostly a nature aficionado and I would need to check BrothersBrick to see if anyone had done good landscape or panorama-type scenes with bricks, considering they've got kind of poor 'resolution.' Failing that, I'd love to make a sandpiper as big as my laptop! :D

    Best America on
    right you got it
  • thanimationsthanimations Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    It's Falling Water, you silly goose. They also made a Guggenheim set that was pretty neat looking.

    thanimations on
  • monikermoniker Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I approve of this thread, and the picture in the OP.

    I haven't had much time for personal creations lately, but my sister did give me this set for Christmas. I find it to be bad-ass.

    21005-0000-xx-12-1.jpg
    LEGO Phoenix, AZ? I can't figure out what this one is!

    Falling Water
    250px-Wrightfallingwater.jpg

    moniker on
  • WMain00WMain00 Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    That digital designer is awesome.

    EDIT: In fact screw it i'm gonna see if I can build a mech with it using some diagrams then get it ordered.

    WMain00 on
  • GodfatherGodfather Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Is Falling Water the place that's considered the most beautifully designed house in the world?

    And also the most nightmarishly designed as well?

    Godfather on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    1.jpg
    I want to make this one someday.

    Couscous on
  • Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    That's not...not...

    ...and my first reaction was, 'What hell kind of old school space police set is that?'

    Gaaah.

    Linespider5 on
  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Is that um.

    LEGO Auschwitz or something?

    JustinSane07 on
  • thanimationsthanimations Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Yeah, that's the Holocaust set Anthony Lane referenced in his piece about LEGO.

    thanimations on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Wow, they produced that?

    Thing must be worth crazy money today.

    KalTorak on
  • TomantaTomanta Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I approve of this thread, and the picture in the OP.

    I haven't had much time for personal creations lately, but my sister did give me this set for Christmas. I find it to be bad-ass.

    21005-0000-xx-12-1.jpg

    The architecture line of sets is amazing, but a little pricey for me :(. And that's compared to other LEGO sets.

    I wish I had money to spend on some of the Ultimate Collector's Series Star Wars sets they put out, but I guess I have to settle for the new mid-scale line:

    lego-millennium-falcon-mid-scale.jpg

    I have this set. It is awesome, even if it is the first set I ever bought with a malformed piece.

    Sooner or later I will finish sorting my collection so I can build some stuff...

    Tomanta on
  • thanimationsthanimations Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Wow, they produced that?

    Thing must be worth crazy money today.

    Oh no, some artist created that for a gallery.

    thanimations on
  • Loren MichaelLoren Michael Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I used to have tons of LEGO stuff, loved it, loved it so much. When I was younger, I was stupid and though I loved my LEGO bricks, I coveted the lame toys my friends had, which generally consisted of various kinds of action figures, like Ninja Turtles and Transformers and G.I. Joe., and this was generally what I wanted on a day-to-day basis. This was stupid of me. Action figures have a fun life of about an hour with me.

    Fortunately, my parents were much smarter than me, and supplied me with LEGO stuff since I was like six years old. I loved it, every second of it. I was quite adept at crafting stuff, generally specializing in castle stuff and badass mecha, not dissimilar to the steampunk robot in the OP, though being more of the sci-fi aesthetic (I was not aware of the concept of steampunk when I was a kid. I was kind of a genre purist, having my castle shit and space shit in separate boxes, never to combine. Had I known about steampunk as a kid... <sigh>)

    But I finally kicked the habit (and what a wonderful habit it was!) when I started playing Magic: the Gathering. Magic has many of the elements that make LEGO stuff great. Compatibility of the various parts, individual pieces often combining in novel and interesting ways, with the whole often being greater than the sum of its parts. Magic also added a competitive element.

    One thing I miss about LEGO bricks though is that it's a much more fulfilling solo pursuit. Magic generally requires other people at one point or another to make it really shine. LEGO stuff can stand on its own.

    I stupidly got rid of my LEGO collection... maybe ten years ago. When I was a total Magic nerd. This is probably the third biggest mistake of my life.

    Loren Michael on
    a7iea7nzewtq.jpg
  • JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    That LEGO "Concentration Camp" isn't an official LEGO.

    The "6773" number corresponds to this one.

    6773-1.jpg

    It's something some artist did in '96.

    JustinSane07 on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Wow, they produced that?

    Thing must be worth crazy money today.

    Nah, some artist made that.
    http://users.erols.com/kennrice/lego-kz.htm
    PLEASE NOTE! Many people have written to me asking where they can buy these sets. As far as I know, Zbigniew Libera only made three copies of these sets. They were sold for $7,500.00 each in the mid-1990s. I do not know if they have since been offered for sale. If and when they are, I expect the price will be much higher.

    Danish art critics raved about the display. But Lego officials feared a public relations disaster. They fretted in particular over a statement on each of the imitation Lego packages explicitly linking Libera and Lego." This work of Zbigniew Libera has been sponsored by Lego System," it states.

    Libera maintains that donated supplies amount to sponsorship, but the company says it never gave him the authority to use its name or logo as an implied endorsement. Ambeck-Madsen, the Lego executive, said the faux packaging is so realistic that a Jewish organization in Sweden threatened to organize a boycott of Lego because offended members believed the company had manufactured the boxes.

    Couscous on
  • Loren MichaelLoren Michael Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Oh, and I tend to hate the Star Wars type stuff. I tended to use the box models as an exercise in learning to use the new pieces, I never really kept them like that for more than a day. I could always build more impressive stuff. I understand the commercial necessity (or at least the argument for it), but it's totally wasted on me. I guess I'm just a different sort of LEGO guy than some others.

    Loren Michael on
    a7iea7nzewtq.jpg
This discussion has been closed.