PhoncipleBone
Banned
What is LEGO?
Lego (trademarked in capitals as LEGO) is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts. Lego bricks can be assembled and connected in many ways, to construct such objects as vehicles, buildings, and even working robots. Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used to make other objects. The toys were originally designed in the 1940s in Denmark and have achieved an international appeal, with an extensive subculture that supports Lego movies, games, video games, competitions, and four Lego themed amusement parks.
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History
The Lego Group began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 April 1891 11 March 1958), a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934 his company came to be called "Lego", from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means "play well".
It expanded to producing plastic toys in 1947. In 1949 Lego began producing the now famous interlocking bricks, calling them "Automatic Binding Bricks". These bricks were based largely on the patent of Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks, which were released in the United Kingdom in 1947. Lego modified the design of the Kiddicraft brick after examining a sample given to it by the British supplier of an injection-molding machine that the company had purchased. The bricks, manufactured from cellulose acetate, were a development of traditional stackable wooden blocks that locked together by means of several round studs on top and a hollow rectangular bottom. The blocks snapped together, but not so tightly that they required extraordinary effort to be separated.
The Lego Group's motto is det bedste er ikke for godt which means 'only the best is good enough'. This motto was created by Ole Kirk to encourage his employees never to skimp on quality, a value he believed in strongly. The motto is still used within the company today. The use of plastic for toy manufacture was not highly regarded by retailers and consumers of the time. Many of the Lego Group's shipments were returned after poor sales; it was thought that plastic toys could never replace wooden ones.
By 1954 Christiansen's son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was his conversation with an overseas buyer that struck the idea of a toy system. Godtfred saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play but the bricks still had some problems from a technical standpoint: their locking ability was limited and they were not very versatile. In 1958 the modern brick design was developed but it took another five years to find the right material for it. The modern Lego brick was patented at 1:58 p.m on January 28, 1958;bricks from that year are still compatible with current bricks.
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Shamelessly stolen from Wetwired's OP for the last Lego thread.
Popular Themes
Click the logo to be taken to the Lego home page for the theme.
Probably the most diverse and all encompassing theme for Lego sets out there. Almost all sets come with complete instructions for three different models. Sets include things ranging from dragons to eagles, cars to jets, and houses to robots. One of the most well regarded themes going right now, and the best gateway sets to introduce someone to Lego.
One of the most popular and enduring themes in Lego history. It focuses on city life and normal city services. Popular sub themes include Fire Fighters, Police, and Contruction
One of the biggest selling themes for Lego, the Star Wars theme encompasses not only the film series, but also the animated Clone Wars series as well as extended universe properties like The Old Republic.
Newly introduced in 2012, the Friends theme is focused primarily to appeal to girls. Featuring unique figures unlike any other Lego series, the sets also feature bricks in very unique colors such as pastels and pink. The uniqueness of the brick colors make this a popular theme with collectors.
Don't be put off by the girly nature of the sets, as the sets are still full blooded Lego goodness, and feature many neat and advanced building techniques.
Marvel UniverseDC UniverseFeaturing some of your favorite super heroes from Marvel and DC. Sets include things from The Batcave to the Quinjet.
New in 2012, Lego finally journeys to Middle Earth. One brick to rule them all! And new for Holiday 2012 is the Hobbit sub theme.
Designed to recreate famous buildings in micro scale, this series appeals mainly to adults and make fantastic desk decorations. Some sets are vastly overpriced in the price per brick ratio, but some are amazing display pieces, such as Robie House.
For the truly advanced builder, Technic focuses more on the mechanical and engineering aspect of Lego. From gears and levers, to actual motors and pneumatics, these sets are both challenging and rewarding to assemble.
Other themes:
Monster Fighters Newly introduced in 2012. It is unknown if more sets are to be released.
Ninjago One of the biggest selling themes of the last few years. 2013 is expected to be the end of the line for this popular ninja themed series.
All currently available Lego themes
Themes for the Serious Lego Fan
In addition to all the regular themes, Lego also has sets and sub themes aimed at adult fans of Lego (AFOL) and those with deeper pockets.
Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series (UCS): Prices range from $100-$500 MSRP
These sets are designed to represent the ultimate in detail and size for hard core Star Wars fans. The Super Star Destroyer shown above is one of the largest Lego sets ever released at over 50" long and costing $400 US. Sets are generally released one or two per year, and kept in production for two to three years. After going out of print (OOP), values on these sets tend to skyrocket in the aftermarket. The white whale for many Lego Star Wars collectors is the UCS Millennium Falcon.
Modular Buildings: Prices range from $150-$200 MSRP
Released at a rate of one per year for the last several years, the modular buildings are designed to mimic buildings seen on a normal downtown street. Beginning with Cafe Corner, a new building was released each year to keep the street growing. Beginning with Green Grocer (now OOP), the buildings started to feature extensive interior details. Like the Star Wars UCS sets, these tend to spike in price once going out of print.
These sets also feature a fantastic price per brick ratio, as sets average 2000+ pieces for only $150-$200.
Lego Exclusives: Prices range from $80 MSRP and up
From miniature modular buildings to the Sopwith Camel. From Winter Cottages to Tower Bridge. These sets, usually identified by their blue boxes, are timed exclusives to Lego stores and feature very detailed builds and high piece counts. These sets also spike in price in the after market after going out of print.
Mini Figures
One of the most iconic pieces of Lego, and what helps drive the collector craze. Not only do many sets come with unique mini figures, but Lego also releases a line of unique figures. Each series consists of 16 different figures, and it is a mystery as to what you get in each package.
Or is it? Many figure out tricks to decipher which figure is in which bag. One method is to know the dot code that is embossed on the packaging itself. This one is a bit trickier than the good ole feel method. Just feel the bag to figure out which figure is inside. The trick is to feel for unique pieces to certain figures, such as the unique wings that are on the Man Bat figure show above, or Santa's sack of toys. Is it an exact science? No, but it will help you get the figures you want to complete your collection.
There is also an active community in here for trading figures among users.
Wanting to display your mini figures? Our very own Wetwired, Lego Nut Extraordinaire has one of the coolest methods for displaying your collection:
Wetwired's Flickr Gallery of Minifigures
The frames are IKEA Ribba Frames.
The Brick Separator
Below is one of the single most useful things you can own if you are into Lego.
The new and improved Lego Brick Separator. You can buy it on its own, but over the last year Lego has been putting them in most moderately expensive sets, so it is easy to amass a collection of them.
What can you do with them?
Easily separate bricks. Whether it be plates, bricks, or jumper plates.
Use the flat edge to pop flat tile pieces off. Great when disassembling the Modular series.
Use the technic peg at the top of the tool to remove axles and pegs.
But for the ultimate use of them, you need two of them for this dirty little secret:
Use two to pull apart plates that are together, including the ultra annoying 1x2 tiles stacked on each other.
Storage and Sorting
So, now that you have amassed a large collection of plastic bricks, how do you store them? And how do you sort them?
There is no perfect or official way to sort your collection. But there are several popular methods for keeping your stash of bricks organized and neatly out of the way (to avoid fights from significant others).
1) Sort by type, not by color. If is far easier to find a red 1x1 brick in a sea of randomly colored 1x1 bricks than it is to find that brick in a sea of identically colored bricks of all sizes.
-Exception: If you have significant quantities of one particular color of a certain type of brick. It usually works out better to make a separate stash for that one brick in that one color. You will know when you get to that point.
2) Organize bins by type: this is an extension of the above idea. Keep all your 1x? bricks separated in their own area, and all your 2x? bricks separated in another. Labeling your drawers/bins with what style (1x? tiles, 1x? bricks, 2x? bricks, wheels, windows, etc) makes it easier to find the parts you need quickly. Having a drawer with a pocket for wheels, and a pocket for 1x2 plates while your 1x3 plates are in another drawer just adds confusion.
What do I store this stuff in?
Again, it is all personal preference. Some prefer to keep their sets separate and in Ziploc bags. Some like to lump their entire collection together.
The three most popular methods (outside of custom cabinets for those lucky people) are:
Stanley SortmasterSmall, stackable bins with adjustable pockets inside. Easy to stack in a corner or slide under the bed. Also fairly inexpensive, and easy to keep buying more as your collection grows.
Plastic storage drawersSmall, shallow, and easy to put on a table. These are clean and out of the way, and easy to label. The only issue is if you want to move the cabinets. The backs are usually open, so tilting the cabinet can result in pieces spilling out. However, if you don't move the bins much, these are very clean and easy to organize pieces.
Third is to use lots of these guys:
Separate containers for each piece type (or however else). This is nice because you can pull out only what you need, and if you need a larger bin you just dump your smaller one into the larger one and can keep expanding. Easily labelled, and cheap to buy as well. These are also nice to use when building a new set. I particularly like dumping a bag into a separate bin. It keeps things organized like they came in the box, but I still get to dig for pieces like all the psychos that mix them all.
Again, there is no perfect solution. You gotta do what feels right for you, and what you can do with whatever space you have in your home.
MOC (AKA Mind of Creator or My Own Creation)
The best thing about Lego is the infinite replay ability of it all. You can take a set apart and rebuild it, or you can take it to its logical conclusion and begin creating your own sets. This is referred to in fan circles as MOCing.
Wetwired's genius at work:
Front View by Brent Waller, on Flickr
My first ever major MOC:
Album of more Cafe images
Recommended Sets
These sets are ones that are usually very well regarded by many of us here on GAF. Many I will personally recommend, and others I have not secured yet but come highly recommended by other users on here.
For the budget minded consumer:
9469 Gandalf Arrives. $12.99 USA MSRP
6913 Creator Blue Roadster. $12.99 USA MSRP
6914 Prehistoric Hunters. $17.99 USA MSRP
Mid Range Priced Sets:
5891 Apple Tree House. $44.99 USA MSRP
9495 Gold Leader Y-Wing. $49.99 USA MSRP
9493 X-Wing. $54.99 USA MSRP
6869 Quinjet Ariel Battle. $69.99 USA MSRP
10230 Mini Modulars. $79.99 USA MSRP
Higher Priced Sets:
7965 Millenium Falcon. $139.99 USA MSRP
10220 Volkswagon T1 Camper Van. $119.99 USA MSRP
10231 Shuttle Expedition. $99.99 USA MSRP
10193 Medieval Market Village. $99.99 USA MSRP
Modular Building Series. $149.99-$199.99 USA MSRP
For the truly insane (if you got it, flaunt it!):
10212 Imperial Shuttle. $259.99 USA MSRP
10188 Death Star. $399.99 USA MSRP (My personal, highest recommendation)
10221 Super Star Destroyer. $399.99 USA MSRP.
10214 Tower Bridge. $239.99 USA MSRP.
Sets and Themes Many of Us are Drooling Over for 2013.
Galaxy Squad. A nice return to form for Space Systems fans. Ghostmind was lucky enough to already snag some of this line.
Arkham Asylum Breakout. Coming in January, and looking oh, so sexy.
Horizon Express. Maersk Train is a goner now. (But can still be found on many retailers' sites.) This is a Jaime designed set, so expect much awesomeness.
Terms to Know (Shamelessly stolen from Wetwired's OP from first thread)
Minifig or Minifigure - The official name for the little LEGO men and women.
MOC - My Own Creation, the term used in the community to describe your LEGO creations.
Stud - The name given to the little protruding round circles on the top of LEGO bricks.
AFOL - Adult Fan of LEGO
TFOL - Teenage Fan of LEGO
TLC and TLG - The LEGO Company and The Lego Group respectively.
