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I saw a term in the comments: AFOL. I had to look it up: Adult Fan Of Legos. I loved legos as a kid and would spend hours building stuff. Now the kits seem mor

I saw a term in the comments: AFOL. I had to look it up: Adult Fan Of Legos. I loved legos as a kid and would spend hours building stuff. Now the kits seem more like models to be assembled and put on display and not touched rather than “a paint brush of blocks” where I can use my imagination. It lost my interest. My attention is now on software where I feel I can build anything. I liken it to my lego experience as a child. I don’t necessarily think there’s a right or wrong thing here. It’s interesting to note how our mind changes as we age and grow older. The ”do anything” mentality get displaced with something else. This would make for an interesting PhD topic. :) I found another quote from a related article that captured this feeling. “It’s like a blast to the past, straight to our childhoods,” said Deason, 40, who lives in Connellsville, Pa. “It took me by surprise, but it makes sense: Life is so structured. But with Lego, you can do anything.” Deason has a few million Lego pieces, which she organizes by type and color. The Star Wars and Architecture sets, she says, are the most popular among adults, who almost always look for the instruction manuals. “The younger kids come in and it’s all about their imaginations — playing pretend, building zombie towns,” she said. “But at some point that gets lost. The adults seem to value the final finished project. That’s where they get their satisfaction.”

jerome-jh 5y ago
I still firmly believe Lego is "one of a kind" in the toys category. I personally still use Lego Technics to prototype stuff from time to time. The thing is, kids (and maybe adults too) do not play Lego as they did before. The less toys you have, the more you reuse, reshuffle, tinker. It may be surprising but kids have no time for this today. Build (following the instructions), play, switch. I actually find it interesting in a positive sense that it is possible to design something that cannot be taken apart in Lego.
CRConrad 5y ago
> Now the kits seem more like models to be assembled and put on display and not touched rather than “a paint brush of blocks” where I can use my imagination. It lost my interest. That's how that whole "kit" malarkey has seemed to me ever since it started. What's the fricking use of a Millennium Falcon, or a motorized excavator for that matter, when it's full of bespoke pieces that only really work for that particular end product? The whole idea totally sucks, IMO. When I was a kid, "kits" didn't exist; there were only generic pieces, and I think that's the way it still ought to be. Yeah, yeah, get off my lawn.
skocznymroczny 5y ago
These kind of lego sets still exist, mostly under the "Lego Classic" brand. Also, many "yes we are making legos but can't use that name" companies exist which produce more of a playset instead of a model to assemble.
- nkrisc 5y ago
  It’s been a while, so maybe there are better ones now, but I never found a company that produced bricks anywhere near the quality that LEGO does. If anyone knows of LEGO alternatives that are high quality I’d love to know.
  - mcphage 5y ago
    I believe the current best is Mould King or Decool? At least for Technic sets. But check out r/lepin on Reddit and people will be talking about all of the alternative brick manufacturers, and people will say which ones are the best.
thesuitonym 5y ago
>Now the kits seem more like models to be assembled and put on display and not touched rather than “a paint brush of blocks” where I can use my imagination. This isn't true at all. You can still buy a box full of bricks. You can even go online and purchase single bricks if you have a specific build in mind. Even the model kits are still just a box full of bricks--Lego abhors creating unique blocks unless they can be used in other sets. The reason a lot of adults gravitate toward the finished kits is the same reason adults stop picking up cool sticks outside: We just lose our imagination.
- spicybright 5y ago
  Everything you said is very true. ANY Lego set you buy lets you arrange the bricks how you want. If you want different parts you can buy different sets. Why are people saying Lego should be responsible for this? Take your model and drop it on the floor. Start building.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  The reason a lot of adults gravitate toward the finished kits is the same reason adults stop picking up cool sticks outside: We just lose our imagination. This just isn't true. When you are a kid, lots of sticks seem different: When you are an adult, you've seen lots and lots of sticks and they cease to become interesting. This is the same reason we don't find a lot of joy in children's learning toys. We should be moving on. Some folks find out they like putting things together, even if there isn't much imagination going on: Cue lego kits, puzzles, cross stitch, home improvement, and so on. Adult imagination looks different from children's imagination, in part because adults have knowledge and experience that children lack, which is why sometimes an imaginative child won't necessarily be creative in their daydreams. Adults are more likely to put it into things like parenting or making dinner or trying to stretch money to cover everything and still get gifts. Adults are out there making artwork. Creating new software. Creating music and movies and designing buildings and public spaces and stadiums and playing sports. All of these things require imagination and creativity.
- CapitalistCartr 5y ago
  I have discovered a way to reverse that effect of aging, but it's painfully expensive: I have a son in my fifties. It has rejuvenated my sense of play.
dr_orpheus 5y ago
The AT-AT model that they are talking about here is a UCS (Ultimate Collector's Series) set. These are definitely intended for adult builders to assemble a model and put on display. They are more focused on detail and less focused on "playability" as with some other sets that have moving or reconfigurable elements.
mrweasel 5y ago
Some of the newer sets have the "issue" in my mind that they aren't balanced. Either they use tiny bricks and build up everything, or they're based on pretty large single pieces. The mid-size bricks seems less used now compared to the sets I got as a kid 30 years ago. When I pick out Lego sets for my daughter it's often based on the type of bricks included, and sometimes we just get classic brick sets. Building using the 1 - 4 stud piece, especially the flat ones, get boring pretty quickly.
NoGravitas 5y ago
This is literally the core conflict driving the plot of the Lego Movie.
- airstrike 5y ago
  I guess I know what I'm watching this weekend... EDIT: I see someone made a reference to 'This Island Earth' elsethread, so now I've got to pick one of the two
saturdaysaint 5y ago
I agree. It feels like most Lego sets on the market have several major/foundational pieces which are essentially useless outside of the model they're built for - some huge chunk of molded plastic. A big part of the joy of Lego sets in the past was that they showed you what was possible with these unassuming bricks. Sure, any big/intricate set would have some funny pieces, but they would mostly lend themselves to many forms of re-use that even a 10-year old could easily figure out. My 4 year-old has had a great time with Duplos, but I'm sort of leary about transitioning to Legos because to me, they've become more emblematic of consumerist collecting than creativity.
- shp0ngle 5y ago
  They still sell the unassuming legos? And they are quite cheap (compared to the branded ones) and still quite popular
  - andai 5y ago
    Are you referring to the Chinese clones?
    - mcphage 5y ago
      Not the OP, but they're probably referring to the Classic sets: https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Classic-Medium-Creative-Brick/dp/B00NHQFA1I https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Classic-Medium-Creative-Brick/dp... which exist in any possible size, full of bog standard bricks. There's also a large line of 3-in-1 sets, which have the instructions for 3 different models, all using the same set of bricks.
- specialist 5y ago
  The older pieces fell out of copyright. So Lego differentiated by making new peices, to stay ahead of the knockoffs. At least that was my understanding in the mid-90s, when I worked in the toy industry. I'm still conflicted about it. Though I can't deny the creativity on display at any LUG or brickcon, I greatly miss the simplicity. I own too much Lego and I've given up trying to rationally organize loose peices.
biztos 5y ago
When I was a kid in the 70's we would (more or less) build the "picture on the box" (sometimes with, sometimes without instructions) exactly once after getting a new Lego set, then liberate the bricks to never inhabit that form again. Can't imagine what the attraction is of having the same boring thing as everybody else.
- cout 5y ago
  The kits I got in the 80s and early 90s often came with instructions for alternative builds. It was like they wanted you to know you could build things other than the picture on the box.
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    They still do this. I have a 341-piece LEGO kit of a Space Shuttle on a transport truck from a couple of years ago. It also includes instructions for building two additional models that use nearly all of the pieces: a jeep with a camper trailer, and a flatbed truck with a helicopter landing pad with the helicopter. I don't think the set has any specialized pieces at all.
  - octorian 5y ago
    The designs of those kits from the 80s and 90s were also very flimsy and would break easily if you started to play with them. So really, the original build falling apart and becoming spare parts was almost expected. This really changed once they started including Technics pieces as structural parts of builds, rather than as a totally separate product line. Most things I've built in recent years are far more robust than what I built as a kid.
    - biztos 5y ago
      Can't comment on kits from after about '80 but this reminds me, when I was a kid my older brother would labor extensively to build the most elaborate and beautiful spaceships, while I would pack my bricks tight into a minimalist indestructible vessel. When the inevitable clash arrived, my ship almost always prevailed, though I usually had to run away after.
dec0dedab0de 5y ago
They still have the original sets that come with guides to build many things out of the same set of bricks, and a box to put them in. These are the best ones to get kids just starting out. Plus the lego stores have pieces sorted in buckets like a candy shop, you buy a container and fill it up with whatever you want. I've never used it, but the website lets you choose from 1400 different bricks https://www.lego.com/en-us/page/static/pick-a-brick https://www.lego.com/en-us/page/static/pick-a-brick The Sets will sometimes have a unique piece or two, but outside of the mini figs it is way rarer than you might think. And as others pointed out if it's unique now it doesn't mean they won't find a way to reuse it later.
flerchin 5y ago
AKA President Business.
JamesAdir 5y ago
Lego still sells basic sets that can used to build everything.
rootusrootus 5y ago
My wife is very much an AFOL. I buy her a couple of the expensive creator/expert sets each year. We also have several bins of generic legos of all shapes & sizes for the kids. They occasionally get technic sets, too, as gifts. These are not at odds with each other, Lego is successfully marketing to two demographics that are complimentary to one another. It's a good strategy. What's not a good strategy is their really lackluster pace of creating new sets, or the speed with with they take old ones out of production so they become a thousand bucks on the secondary market.
andruby 5y ago
I loved Lego as a kid. Used to build so many things without manuals. My brother built houses and I built a lot of vehicles. Now I've got 2 boys and I buy tons of lego's for the three of us. We're trying to get mom involved and bought her the Parisian Restaurant (10243). We still use the 20 year old ground plates from my childhood. You can rejuvenate most lego in a dishwasher (put them in a washer net) I still think it's great fun. I do focus a little more on the manuals then when I was younger. But most builds inevitably get destroyed and the bricks re-used for our ever evolving lego land. Pirate Roller Coaster (31084) is inexpensive if you want coaster parts for your DIY city.
nouveaux 5y ago
As a kid, I was given a random box of legos with no guidance. I wanted to make things but I couldn't. Didn't know "how". I quickly lost interest. As an adult, I've purchased a couple of sets and had a great time putting it together. Following the instructions, I can see more easily see how different combinations of bricks, when put together, makes a certain shape. I wish I had something similar growing up. Some kids can be given a paint brush and develop enough interest by themselves to become an expert. Most kids need guidance. Whether its a coloring book or more formal instruction, having concrete and achievable goals is how most people stay interested in learning a skill. For people who do not have any artistic skills, it's not realistic to ask them to just pick up some paint and a canvas, and just "use your imagination". IMO, what Legos is doing is the right thing for most people. For the people who can be motivated to learn in a vacuum, they have a valuable gift.
- tspike 5y ago
  I make both free builds and sets. I view sets as lessons on building techniques.
erulabs 5y ago
I mean, it's also an AT-AT... You know, from 1980? It's not just that it's not simple bricks, it's that it's still our generations fantasy, too. If our generation will be remembered for one thing, it will be our iron-fist clenched around our childhood culture. Our children will have toys, yes, too many to count, but they will be 50 year old references to things kids only see the regurgitation of. New stories? Bleh, give them GhostBusters 19 in 2035, screw it.
- dwd 5y ago
  I built my own AT-AT back in '81 using mostly red bricks as I only had the articulating flat bricks from various fire engine sets to use for the legs. You built what you could from the pieces you had. I did buy a lot of Star Wars sets for my kids but it's not the same when you skip the design step.
ip26 5y ago
The ”do anything” mentality get displaced with something else I disagree, I think plenty of adults still have that mentality, but for them Legos is not the place to fulfill it. As a kid, Legos are one of the most approachable medium to manifest your imagination. But they are also very limited. As an adult, with more skills, knowledge, and money you might get into wood or metalworking or software instead, where you have significantly more freedom. An AFOL might be looking for something more nostalgic or meditative (e.g. rock gardens, bonsai?), and so they approach it differently.
rhplus 5y ago
> I had to look it up: Adult Fan Of Legos. An AFOL would likely tell you that it's actually "Adult Fan Of Lego"
cjohnson318 5y ago
> I don’t necessarily think there’s a right or wrong thing here. Yeah, I feel like the giant, expensive Star Wars sets are for adults that don't intend to take their creations apart, and are actually concerned about keeping them whole while moving between apartments, condos, or homes. In that regard, I think this is kind of a feature for them. Most parents are going to buy smaller sets throughout the year for their kids, budget permitting.
lhorie 5y ago
Lego sets these days seem geared more towards vapid consumerism than to promote free flow creative building. My kids found a way to fill that gap via knex. I don't agree that only adults take enjoyment in the final product. It's just that adults and children are interested in different things and have different household decision making circumstances. As an adult, you wouldn't buy a zombie town lego set that consists of random pieces haphazardly thrown together even considering the prospect of build-anything flexibility nostalgia, and as a child, you typically don't have the means to buy architecture sets on an impulse, nor the inclination to stare at a complex lego project with few flexible components.
klyrs 5y ago
Having kids helps. Mine likes to build the sets, sometimes with help, but he'll irreverently tear them down for parts. I like that the official builds don't stick around. We do our own thing. Most of the weirdly shaped one-off parts do get repurposed, except, sadly, the dart launchers, because the darts fell victim to the Jaws of ADHD Oral Fixation.

jerome-jh 5y ago

I still firmly believe Lego is "one of a kind" in the toys category. I personally still use Lego Technics to prototype stuff from time to time. The thing is, kids (and maybe adults too) do not play Lego as they did before. The less toys you have, the more you reuse, reshuffle, tinker. It may be surprising but kids have no time for this today. Build (following the instructions), play, switch. I actually find it interesting in a positive sense that it is possible to design something that cannot be taken apart in Lego.

CRConrad 5y ago

> Now the kits seem more like models to be assembled and put on display and not touched rather than “a paint brush of blocks” where I can use my imagination. It lost my interest. That's how that whole "kit" malarkey has seemed to me ever since it started. What's the fricking use of a Millennium Falcon, or a motorized excavator for that matter, when it's full of bespoke pieces that only really work for that particular end product? The whole idea totally sucks, IMO. When I was a kid, "kits" didn't exist; there were only generic pieces, and I think that's the way it still ought to be. Yeah, yeah, get off my lawn.

skocznymroczny 5y ago

These kind of lego sets still exist, mostly under the "Lego Classic" brand. Also, many "yes we are making legos but can't use that name" companies exist which produce more of a playset instead of a model to assemble.

nkrisc 5y ago
It’s been a while, so maybe there are better ones now, but I never found a company that produced bricks anywhere near the quality that LEGO does. If anyone knows of LEGO alternatives that are high quality I’d love to know.
- mcphage 5y ago
  I believe the current best is Mould King or Decool? At least for Technic sets. But check out r/lepin on Reddit and people will be talking about all of the alternative brick manufacturers, and people will say which ones are the best.

thesuitonym 5y ago

>Now the kits seem more like models to be assembled and put on display and not touched rather than “a paint brush of blocks” where I can use my imagination. This isn't true at all. You can still buy a box full of bricks. You can even go online and purchase single bricks if you have a specific build in mind. Even the model kits are still just a box full of bricks--Lego abhors creating unique blocks unless they can be used in other sets. The reason a lot of adults gravitate toward the finished kits is the same reason adults stop picking up cool sticks outside: We just lose our imagination.

spicybright 5y ago
Everything you said is very true. ANY Lego set you buy lets you arrange the bricks how you want. If you want different parts you can buy different sets. Why are people saying Lego should be responsible for this? Take your model and drop it on the floor. Start building.
Broken_Hippo 5y ago
The reason a lot of adults gravitate toward the finished kits is the same reason adults stop picking up cool sticks outside: We just lose our imagination. This just isn't true. When you are a kid, lots of sticks seem different: When you are an adult, you've seen lots and lots of sticks and they cease to become interesting. This is the same reason we don't find a lot of joy in children's learning toys. We should be moving on. Some folks find out they like putting things together, even if there isn't much imagination going on: Cue lego kits, puzzles, cross stitch, home improvement, and so on. Adult imagination looks different from children's imagination, in part because adults have knowledge and experience that children lack, which is why sometimes an imaginative child won't necessarily be creative in their daydreams. Adults are more likely to put it into things like parenting or making dinner or trying to stretch money to cover everything and still get gifts. Adults are out there making artwork. Creating new software. Creating music and movies and designing buildings and public spaces and stadiums and playing sports. All of these things require imagination and creativity.
CapitalistCartr 5y ago
I have discovered a way to reverse that effect of aging, but it's painfully expensive: I have a son in my fifties. It has rejuvenated my sense of play.

dr_orpheus 5y ago

The AT-AT model that they are talking about here is a UCS (Ultimate Collector's Series) set. These are definitely intended for adult builders to assemble a model and put on display. They are more focused on detail and less focused on "playability" as with some other sets that have moving or reconfigurable elements.

mrweasel 5y ago

Some of the newer sets have the "issue" in my mind that they aren't balanced. Either they use tiny bricks and build up everything, or they're based on pretty large single pieces. The mid-size bricks seems less used now compared to the sets I got as a kid 30 years ago. When I pick out Lego sets for my daughter it's often based on the type of bricks included, and sometimes we just get classic brick sets. Building using the 1 - 4 stud piece, especially the flat ones, get boring pretty quickly.

NoGravitas 5y ago

This is literally the core conflict driving the plot of the Lego Movie.

airstrike 5y ago
I guess I know what I'm watching this weekend... EDIT: I see someone made a reference to 'This Island Earth' elsethread, so now I've got to pick one of the two

saturdaysaint 5y ago

I agree. It feels like most Lego sets on the market have several major/foundational pieces which are essentially useless outside of the model they're built for - some huge chunk of molded plastic. A big part of the joy of Lego sets in the past was that they showed you what was possible with these unassuming bricks. Sure, any big/intricate set would have some funny pieces, but they would mostly lend themselves to many forms of re-use that even a 10-year old could easily figure out. My 4 year-old has had a great time with Duplos, but I'm sort of leary about transitioning to Legos because to me, they've become more emblematic of consumerist collecting than creativity.

shp0ngle 5y ago
They still sell the unassuming legos? And they are quite cheap (compared to the branded ones) and still quite popular
- andai 5y ago
  Are you referring to the Chinese clones?
  - mcphage 5y ago
    Not the OP, but they're probably referring to the Classic sets: https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Classic-Medium-Creative-Brick/dp/B00NHQFA1I https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Classic-Medium-Creative-Brick/dp... which exist in any possible size, full of bog standard bricks. There's also a large line of 3-in-1 sets, which have the instructions for 3 different models, all using the same set of bricks.
specialist 5y ago
The older pieces fell out of copyright. So Lego differentiated by making new peices, to stay ahead of the knockoffs. At least that was my understanding in the mid-90s, when I worked in the toy industry. I'm still conflicted about it. Though I can't deny the creativity on display at any LUG or brickcon, I greatly miss the simplicity. I own too much Lego and I've given up trying to rationally organize loose peices.

biztos 5y ago

When I was a kid in the 70's we would (more or less) build the "picture on the box" (sometimes with, sometimes without instructions) exactly once after getting a new Lego set, then liberate the bricks to never inhabit that form again. Can't imagine what the attraction is of having the same boring thing as everybody else.

cout 5y ago
The kits I got in the 80s and early 90s often came with instructions for alternative builds. It was like they wanted you to know you could build things other than the picture on the box.
- frosted-flakes 5y ago
  They still do this. I have a 341-piece LEGO kit of a Space Shuttle on a transport truck from a couple of years ago. It also includes instructions for building two additional models that use nearly all of the pieces: a jeep with a camper trailer, and a flatbed truck with a helicopter landing pad with the helicopter. I don't think the set has any specialized pieces at all.
- octorian 5y ago
  The designs of those kits from the 80s and 90s were also very flimsy and would break easily if you started to play with them. So really, the original build falling apart and becoming spare parts was almost expected. This really changed once they started including Technics pieces as structural parts of builds, rather than as a totally separate product line. Most things I've built in recent years are far more robust than what I built as a kid.
  - biztos 5y ago
    Can't comment on kits from after about '80 but this reminds me, when I was a kid my older brother would labor extensively to build the most elaborate and beautiful spaceships, while I would pack my bricks tight into a minimalist indestructible vessel. When the inevitable clash arrived, my ship almost always prevailed, though I usually had to run away after.

dec0dedab0de 5y ago

They still have the original sets that come with guides to build many things out of the same set of bricks, and a box to put them in. These are the best ones to get kids just starting out. Plus the lego stores have pieces sorted in buckets like a candy shop, you buy a container and fill it up with whatever you want. I've never used it, but the website lets you choose from 1400 different bricks https://www.lego.com/en-us/page/static/pick-a-brick https://www.lego.com/en-us/page/static/pick-a-brick The Sets will sometimes have a unique piece or two, but outside of the mini figs it is way rarer than you might think. And as others pointed out if it's unique now it doesn't mean they won't find a way to reuse it later.

flerchin 5y ago

AKA President Business.

JamesAdir 5y ago

Lego still sells basic sets that can used to build everything.

rootusrootus 5y ago

My wife is very much an AFOL. I buy her a couple of the expensive creator/expert sets each year. We also have several bins of generic legos of all shapes & sizes for the kids. They occasionally get technic sets, too, as gifts. These are not at odds with each other, Lego is successfully marketing to two demographics that are complimentary to one another. It's a good strategy. What's not a good strategy is their really lackluster pace of creating new sets, or the speed with with they take old ones out of production so they become a thousand bucks on the secondary market.

andruby 5y ago

I loved Lego as a kid. Used to build so many things without manuals. My brother built houses and I built a lot of vehicles. Now I've got 2 boys and I buy tons of lego's for the three of us. We're trying to get mom involved and bought her the Parisian Restaurant (10243). We still use the 20 year old ground plates from my childhood. You can rejuvenate most lego in a dishwasher (put them in a washer net) I still think it's great fun. I do focus a little more on the manuals then when I was younger. But most builds inevitably get destroyed and the bricks re-used for our ever evolving lego land. Pirate Roller Coaster (31084) is inexpensive if you want coaster parts for your DIY city.

nouveaux 5y ago

As a kid, I was given a random box of legos with no guidance. I wanted to make things but I couldn't. Didn't know "how". I quickly lost interest. As an adult, I've purchased a couple of sets and had a great time putting it together. Following the instructions, I can see more easily see how different combinations of bricks, when put together, makes a certain shape. I wish I had something similar growing up. Some kids can be given a paint brush and develop enough interest by themselves to become an expert. Most kids need guidance. Whether its a coloring book or more formal instruction, having concrete and achievable goals is how most people stay interested in learning a skill. For people who do not have any artistic skills, it's not realistic to ask them to just pick up some paint and a canvas, and just "use your imagination". IMO, what Legos is doing is the right thing for most people. For the people who can be motivated to learn in a vacuum, they have a valuable gift.

tspike 5y ago
I make both free builds and sets. I view sets as lessons on building techniques.

erulabs 5y ago

I mean, it's also an AT-AT... You know, from 1980? It's not just that it's not simple bricks, it's that it's still our generations fantasy, too. If our generation will be remembered for one thing, it will be our iron-fist clenched around our childhood culture. Our children will have toys, yes, too many to count, but they will be 50 year old references to things kids only see the regurgitation of. New stories? Bleh, give them GhostBusters 19 in 2035, screw it.

dwd 5y ago
I built my own AT-AT back in '81 using mostly red bricks as I only had the articulating flat bricks from various fire engine sets to use for the legs. You built what you could from the pieces you had. I did buy a lot of Star Wars sets for my kids but it's not the same when you skip the design step.

ip26 5y ago

The ”do anything” mentality get displaced with something else I disagree, I think plenty of adults still have that mentality, but for them Legos is not the place to fulfill it. As a kid, Legos are one of the most approachable medium to manifest your imagination. But they are also very limited. As an adult, with more skills, knowledge, and money you might get into wood or metalworking or software instead, where you have significantly more freedom. An AFOL might be looking for something more nostalgic or meditative (e.g. rock gardens, bonsai?), and so they approach it differently.

rhplus 5y ago

> I had to look it up: Adult Fan Of Legos. An AFOL would likely tell you that it's actually "Adult Fan Of Lego"

cjohnson318 5y ago

> I don’t necessarily think there’s a right or wrong thing here. Yeah, I feel like the giant, expensive Star Wars sets are for adults that don't intend to take their creations apart, and are actually concerned about keeping them whole while moving between apartments, condos, or homes. In that regard, I think this is kind of a feature for them. Most parents are going to buy smaller sets throughout the year for their kids, budget permitting.

lhorie 5y ago

Lego sets these days seem geared more towards vapid consumerism than to promote free flow creative building. My kids found a way to fill that gap via knex. I don't agree that only adults take enjoyment in the final product. It's just that adults and children are interested in different things and have different household decision making circumstances. As an adult, you wouldn't buy a zombie town lego set that consists of random pieces haphazardly thrown together even considering the prospect of build-anything flexibility nostalgia, and as a child, you typically don't have the means to buy architecture sets on an impulse, nor the inclination to stare at a complex lego project with few flexible components.

klyrs 5y ago

Having kids helps. Mine likes to build the sets, sometimes with help, but he'll irreverently tear them down for parts. I like that the official builds don't stick around. We do our own thing. Most of the weirdly shaped one-off parts do get repurposed, except, sadly, the dart launchers, because the darts fell victim to the Jaws of ADHD Oral Fixation.