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I never understood Lego kits... The whole point of a construction set is to be able to build many different things, possibly unimagined to the producer. But the

by zerr 10y ago

I never understood Lego kits... The whole point of a construction set is to be able to build many different things, possibly unimagined to the producer. But the Legos are usually limited to one or two predefined models.

wmeredith 10y ago
> Legos are usually limited to one or two predefined models. Eh, you can always just take it apart and build what you want or just build what you want form the get and throw the instructions out. I did this for years as a child and have done it for years as an adult. Think of it as buying a set of pieces you can use build anything you want with (including combining with other sets to build bigger/other stuff), but it comes with instructions to build something very cool using just those pieces. On a side note, LEGO does sell boxes of basic pieces with multiple instructions sets included that only utilize a small portion of the whole box.
- zerr 10y ago
  I've always preferred a metallic construction set (meccano clone probably).
usefulcat 10y ago
Although that's strictly true, I'd say it's definitely more true (closer to true?) now than 30-40 years ago. The proliferation of specialized pieces has definitely had a negative effect on their reusability IMO. My concern is that, due to the much greater number of unique pieces, the increased difficulty of organizing a collection, or finding the piece you need in an unorganized pile, or even just being able to visualize what it is you want to build will tend to discourage kids from making their own creations. Hopefully I'm wrong about that.
- usefulcat 10y ago
  Oops--that should have read "not strictly true"
- thesuitonym 10y ago
  I think you're overestimating the number of specialized pieces out there. This is easy to do when you walk down the toy aisle at Walmart and see thirty big box Star Wars models, each with one or two unique pieces. But Lego actually makes so many models that don't use any specialized pieces. When I started looking at their website I was surprised to see that the boxes you see at the toy store seem to be the exception--probably because they sell so much better if they can pull off that iconic look that one or two cover pieces provide. I've been buying the Creator Expert series for a while now (Really cute rowhouse style models) that iirc don't use any uniques.
  - usefulcat 10y ago
    I can believe that there's less of a difference when mainly comparing models of buildings. My opinion is based on comparing my Lego collection (primarily Expert Builder/Technics, Legoland Space, and general purpose Creator-like sets from ~30 years ago), and my son's collection (not as large, no Technics, mostly vehicles), which is at most a few years old. There is definitely a very big difference between those two collections. Also, my point (which I realize now I didn't convey very well) was not that there are so many unique pieces, it's that the diversity of non-unique pieces has greatly increased.
    - DanBC 10y ago
      But you can still buy the creator sets, and they use general purpose pieces?
      - usefulcat 10y ago
        Yes, they do, there are just a lot more different kinds of "general purpose pieces" than in the past.
    - thesuitonym 10y ago
      >it's that the diversity of non-unique pieces has greatly increased. Ahh, I see. That makes sense, but also I fail to see how that's a bad thing. The new pieces are built to be backwards compatible with your Legos from 30 years ago, so wouldn't that just make them MORE attractive?
- akgerber 10y ago
  They still sell big ol' buckets of Legos: http://www.target.com/s/lego+creative+bucket+10662 http://www.target.com/s/lego+creative+bucket+10662
- DanBC 10y ago
  You don't need those specialised bits. You can just buy the creative boxes, and then some extra bits off bricklink (I bought jets, wheels, propellers, and seats) and then just mash them together. Don't under estimate kids' ability to change and invent.
douche 10y ago
You certainly don't understand Legos then. The design on the box is just the first step. Then it gets junked, reimagined into something else, tossed into the huge Rubbermaid tub with the other scrap pieces, and pawed through and built, deconstructed and rebuilt into a thousand different things. The packaging used to be better about this, even including alternate instructions using the pieces in the set.
- vidarh 10y ago
  Some of the collections do include alternate instructions, e.g. the LEGO Creator range is "3 in 1".
  - thomnottom 10y ago
    I really wish those sets had been around when I was a kid.
- DanBC 10y ago
  > The packaging used to be better about this, even including alternate instructions using the pieces in the set They still do that with some sets. Lego Classic 10709 - a small cheap set (less than $5) - has one page with suggestions if you combine it with other similar sets, and another page with instructions about modifying this set. Pages 14 and 24. https://www.lego.com/en-us/classic/activities/booklets/10709-lion-bdb5af4f1aa3491ca7b18f9377f300f5 https://www.lego.com/en-us/classic/activities/booklets/10709...
unethical_ban 10y ago
I understand the sentiment, but this seems to have taken the place of model cars and other such things that were glued together in the past. The collection seems small, but it looks like you can buy general brick sets for maximum creativity.
thomnottom 10y ago
Ugh, I'm so tired of this argument. Lego has more sets today that are just bricks or bricks with multiple models than they've had for like 35+ years. Not to mention dozens of books they put out with other ideas. And I'm not talking about instructions for how to build a different set, I mean "Here's a way you can combine these pieces that you might not have though of - figure out what to do with that" or "You like animals? Here's how to make a tail. Go make some animals." My daughter gets plenty of small sets, and then typically just wants to dive into all of the extra pieces and build something completely different. Sometimes these are inspired by Lego suggestions. Sometimes they are crazy things she comes up with on her own. There is nothing that Lego sells that legitimately limits people in what they can build.
- geon 10y ago
  Apart from the models in the booklets, there are often instructions for more online.
- ar15saveslives 10y ago
  Visit the nearest store, you'll see dozens of kits and couple of yellow "Lego Classic" boxes, somewhere on bottom (cheapest) shelves. We have ~20 kits at home (gifts, impulsive purchases, etc), it looks like pile of assorted, useless, weird blocks, non-matching wheels. My son started play Lego after I bit the bullet and just sorted out that crap, leaving only 5-10 standard blocks.
  - thomnottom 10y ago
    I visit multiple Lego stores on a regular basis. They all have pick a brick walls that are filled with standard bricks along with some specialty pieces. Next to that are usually a few shelves of Lego Classic and Lego Creator sets. I also wonder what some people consider standard blocks. If you're just talking about 2x4s, they're actually not that much fun. If I sorted all of my sets, the majority of pieces would be 1x2 or longer bricks or various flat pieces which are significantly better for building. There are plenty of odd pieces out there, but when you get into the expert level sets and see them use croissants and robot fists to do remarkable detail on buildings... well I certainly realized that very few pieces are useless.
jncraton 10y ago
These aren't limitations imposed by The LEGO Group. They include a box of parts with instructions to build a model, but that doesn't stop anyone from building other things. There are a few sites around where LEGO fans post alternate builds of models. Here's an example search showing 100+ alternate models built from a single 67 piece kit: https://rebrickable.com/search/?search_type=mocs&parent_set=31027-1&sort_sets_by=0 https://rebrickable.com/search/?search_type=mocs&parent_set=... You can do this with licensed themes as well. Here's five alternate models that I built from a tiny X-Wing: https://rebrickable.com/users/jncraton/mocs/?parent_set=75125-1 https://rebrickable.com/users/jncraton/mocs/?parent_set=7512... Seeing what a set designer has put together is always a fun way to learn new techniques and design concepts, but there's nothing stopping anyone from building whatever they want out of a LEGO set.
mustacheemperor 10y ago
I was lucky enough to grow up as the third child of a family obsessed with lego. Some of my fondest memories are digging through all the loose parts my mother kept in rubbermaid containers and building anything I could imagine with my brothers. Those pieces all started life as a bunch of different sets, but the whole point of lego for me was that the sets can be a springboard to create anything you can imagine. Plus, nothing's stopping you from buying lots of loose pieces. I'm not sure if it's still the case, but you used to be able to just buy whole boxes of bricks of different colors or shapes from lego.
- C3U-two 10y ago
  You mean legos? Or did you just have one?
  - mustacheemperor 10y ago
    I see you are new to the community. Low effort or semantic comments like yours are typically discouraged on HN. Also, for what it's worth the correct plural of lego is up for debate. http://www.adrants.com/2005/09/lego-gets-pissy-about-brand-name.php http://www.adrants.com/2005/09/lego-gets-pissy-about-brand-n...
dbcurtis 10y ago
Sorry, it is your imagination that is limited. Just go to any Lego show and look at the absolutely amazing creations that people do. Those weirdo pieces that you think only have one use turn out to have many creative uses. Swing your browser over to someplace like bricklink.com and cruise the discussion forums for pictures of interesting stuff people have built and want to show each other. Just because you can't think of anything to build other than what is shown in the book in front of you, doesn't mean that applies to everyone.

by zerr 10y ago

wmeredith 10y ago

> Legos are usually limited to one or two predefined models. Eh, you can always just take it apart and build what you want or just build what you want form the get and throw the instructions out. I did this for years as a child and have done it for years as an adult. Think of it as buying a set of pieces you can use build anything you want with (including combining with other sets to build bigger/other stuff), but it comes with instructions to build something very cool using just those pieces. On a side note, LEGO does sell boxes of basic pieces with multiple instructions sets included that only utilize a small portion of the whole box.

zerr 10y ago
I've always preferred a metallic construction set (meccano clone probably).

usefulcat 10y ago

Although that's strictly true, I'd say it's definitely more true (closer to true?) now than 30-40 years ago. The proliferation of specialized pieces has definitely had a negative effect on their reusability IMO. My concern is that, due to the much greater number of unique pieces, the increased difficulty of organizing a collection, or finding the piece you need in an unorganized pile, or even just being able to visualize what it is you want to build will tend to discourage kids from making their own creations. Hopefully I'm wrong about that.

usefulcat 10y ago
Oops--that should have read "not strictly true"
thesuitonym 10y ago
I think you're overestimating the number of specialized pieces out there. This is easy to do when you walk down the toy aisle at Walmart and see thirty big box Star Wars models, each with one or two unique pieces. But Lego actually makes so many models that don't use any specialized pieces. When I started looking at their website I was surprised to see that the boxes you see at the toy store seem to be the exception--probably because they sell so much better if they can pull off that iconic look that one or two cover pieces provide. I've been buying the Creator Expert series for a while now (Really cute rowhouse style models) that iirc don't use any uniques.
- usefulcat 10y ago
  I can believe that there's less of a difference when mainly comparing models of buildings. My opinion is based on comparing my Lego collection (primarily Expert Builder/Technics, Legoland Space, and general purpose Creator-like sets from ~30 years ago), and my son's collection (not as large, no Technics, mostly vehicles), which is at most a few years old. There is definitely a very big difference between those two collections. Also, my point (which I realize now I didn't convey very well) was not that there are so many unique pieces, it's that the diversity of non-unique pieces has greatly increased.
  - DanBC 10y ago
    But you can still buy the creator sets, and they use general purpose pieces?
    - usefulcat 10y ago
      Yes, they do, there are just a lot more different kinds of "general purpose pieces" than in the past.
  - thesuitonym 10y ago
    >it's that the diversity of non-unique pieces has greatly increased. Ahh, I see. That makes sense, but also I fail to see how that's a bad thing. The new pieces are built to be backwards compatible with your Legos from 30 years ago, so wouldn't that just make them MORE attractive?
akgerber 10y ago
They still sell big ol' buckets of Legos: http://www.target.com/s/lego+creative+bucket+10662 http://www.target.com/s/lego+creative+bucket+10662
DanBC 10y ago
You don't need those specialised bits. You can just buy the creative boxes, and then some extra bits off bricklink (I bought jets, wheels, propellers, and seats) and then just mash them together. Don't under estimate kids' ability to change and invent.

douche 10y ago

You certainly don't understand Legos then. The design on the box is just the first step. Then it gets junked, reimagined into something else, tossed into the huge Rubbermaid tub with the other scrap pieces, and pawed through and built, deconstructed and rebuilt into a thousand different things. The packaging used to be better about this, even including alternate instructions using the pieces in the set.

vidarh 10y ago
Some of the collections do include alternate instructions, e.g. the LEGO Creator range is "3 in 1".
- thomnottom 10y ago
  I really wish those sets had been around when I was a kid.
DanBC 10y ago
> The packaging used to be better about this, even including alternate instructions using the pieces in the set They still do that with some sets. Lego Classic 10709 - a small cheap set (less than $5) - has one page with suggestions if you combine it with other similar sets, and another page with instructions about modifying this set. Pages 14 and 24. https://www.lego.com/en-us/classic/activities/booklets/10709-lion-bdb5af4f1aa3491ca7b18f9377f300f5 https://www.lego.com/en-us/classic/activities/booklets/10709...

unethical_ban 10y ago

I understand the sentiment, but this seems to have taken the place of model cars and other such things that were glued together in the past. The collection seems small, but it looks like you can buy general brick sets for maximum creativity.

thomnottom 10y ago

Ugh, I'm so tired of this argument. Lego has more sets today that are just bricks or bricks with multiple models than they've had for like 35+ years. Not to mention dozens of books they put out with other ideas. And I'm not talking about instructions for how to build a different set, I mean "Here's a way you can combine these pieces that you might not have though of - figure out what to do with that" or "You like animals? Here's how to make a tail. Go make some animals." My daughter gets plenty of small sets, and then typically just wants to dive into all of the extra pieces and build something completely different. Sometimes these are inspired by Lego suggestions. Sometimes they are crazy things she comes up with on her own. There is nothing that Lego sells that legitimately limits people in what they can build.

geon 10y ago
Apart from the models in the booklets, there are often instructions for more online.
ar15saveslives 10y ago
Visit the nearest store, you'll see dozens of kits and couple of yellow "Lego Classic" boxes, somewhere on bottom (cheapest) shelves. We have ~20 kits at home (gifts, impulsive purchases, etc), it looks like pile of assorted, useless, weird blocks, non-matching wheels. My son started play Lego after I bit the bullet and just sorted out that crap, leaving only 5-10 standard blocks.
- thomnottom 10y ago
  I visit multiple Lego stores on a regular basis. They all have pick a brick walls that are filled with standard bricks along with some specialty pieces. Next to that are usually a few shelves of Lego Classic and Lego Creator sets. I also wonder what some people consider standard blocks. If you're just talking about 2x4s, they're actually not that much fun. If I sorted all of my sets, the majority of pieces would be 1x2 or longer bricks or various flat pieces which are significantly better for building. There are plenty of odd pieces out there, but when you get into the expert level sets and see them use croissants and robot fists to do remarkable detail on buildings... well I certainly realized that very few pieces are useless.

jncraton 10y ago

These aren't limitations imposed by The LEGO Group. They include a box of parts with instructions to build a model, but that doesn't stop anyone from building other things. There are a few sites around where LEGO fans post alternate builds of models. Here's an example search showing 100+ alternate models built from a single 67 piece kit: https://rebrickable.com/search/?search_type=mocs&parent_set=31027-1&sort_sets_by=0 https://rebrickable.com/search/?search_type=mocs&parent_set=... You can do this with licensed themes as well. Here's five alternate models that I built from a tiny X-Wing: https://rebrickable.com/users/jncraton/mocs/?parent_set=75125-1 https://rebrickable.com/users/jncraton/mocs/?parent_set=7512... Seeing what a set designer has put together is always a fun way to learn new techniques and design concepts, but there's nothing stopping anyone from building whatever they want out of a LEGO set.

mustacheemperor 10y ago

I was lucky enough to grow up as the third child of a family obsessed with lego. Some of my fondest memories are digging through all the loose parts my mother kept in rubbermaid containers and building anything I could imagine with my brothers. Those pieces all started life as a bunch of different sets, but the whole point of lego for me was that the sets can be a springboard to create anything you can imagine. Plus, nothing's stopping you from buying lots of loose pieces. I'm not sure if it's still the case, but you used to be able to just buy whole boxes of bricks of different colors or shapes from lego.

C3U-two 10y ago
You mean legos? Or did you just have one?
- mustacheemperor 10y ago
  I see you are new to the community. Low effort or semantic comments like yours are typically discouraged on HN. Also, for what it's worth the correct plural of lego is up for debate. http://www.adrants.com/2005/09/lego-gets-pissy-about-brand-name.php http://www.adrants.com/2005/09/lego-gets-pissy-about-brand-n...

dbcurtis 10y ago

Sorry, it is your imagination that is limited. Just go to any Lego show and look at the absolutely amazing creations that people do. Those weirdo pieces that you think only have one use turn out to have many creative uses. Swing your browser over to someplace like bricklink.com and cruise the discussion forums for pictures of interesting stuff people have built and want to show each other. Just because you can't think of anything to build other than what is shown in the book in front of you, doesn't mean that applies to everyone.