5 ms·

Look: I will fully admit that these sets are really, really cool. My son is getting a gigantic Millenium Falcon set from Santa this year (DON’T TELL) and both m

by javanix 15y ago

Look: I will fully admit that these sets are really, really cool. My son is getting a gigantic Millenium Falcon set from Santa this year (DON’T TELL) and both my wife and I are excited to play with it too. But it’s a model kit. We will put it together once and we will play with it a lot and that will be that. It won’t get remixed, won’t get hacked. Eventually it’ll come apart and be put away and not rebuilt because 1000 pieces is a pain in the ass. This doesn't make any sense to me. Why on earth wouldn't you mix those pieces in with the rest of the pieces you already have from sets you've already disassembled? Sure, the marketing is a little much these days but unless I am sadly mistaken all the pieces still fit together like they did 30 years ago.

dgabriel 15y ago
I think what he's saying is that he won't rebuild the Millenium Falcon, that the pieces will get scattered and used for other stuff. That's how it goes in our house. The set gets built very quickly, and just as quickly is dismantled and used for bigger, more creative projects. Wait -- no I see that he won't hack it. I wonder why not??
- sliverstorm 15y ago
  As a kid I found with some of the predesigned kits, the result was distinctly cooler and more sophisticated than anything I'd ever be able to come up with. As a result I was always loathe to dismantle them. Darth Vader's Tie fighter, for example. It was much easier to tear apart my own creations because I could make something better.
  - T-hawk 15y ago
    That's probably pretty well accounted for in Lego Group's design and marketing philosophy. They have a vested interest in getting bricks "locked up" in creations that are too cool to take apart. Once you've done that, how do you build something else? Buy more Lego sets, of course!
  - azernik 15y ago
    I remember actually finding it very easy (and fun!) to hack my stupendously detailed X-wing LEGO set when I was little; the main difference was that the mix-and-match would generally take place with larger units (partial assemblies from smaller "model-set" type sets) or involve adding little bits coming off of things (flames from some fantasy castle set went onto the barrels of some generic set and made extra rocket engines to go onto my X-wing!) On a side note, I remember a LOT more of my childhood play than I thought.
amirmc 15y ago
I've noticed that some of new Lego sets have very specific pieces. Not really the kind you can mix and match between sets as in the 'old days'.
- CountHackulus 15y ago
  This kind of thing was popular during the LEGO "dark ages" in the early 2000s but has really died out as of late. The Millenium Falcon that's being referred to has very few, if any, unique parts. LEGO has really gone back to its roots in the past 2 or 3 years, especially with the AWESOME creator series.
  - mml 15y ago
    The creator series _is_ very awesome. it's the only kind we buy for our girl.
    - einhverfr 15y ago
      Lego contraptions is the best though. Hard to find, not too many pieces. But gears, springs, and lots of flexibility.
- brudgers 15y ago
  Unique pieces are great for remixing once one stops imposing the idea of sets upon Legos. If they don't all wind up intermingled, an adult is probably in charge.
cschmidt 15y ago
It is hard psychologically to realize you can never built the set as intended again. You end up lots of sets in big ziplocs. We've finally moved most of our son's legos into a single big bin, but he was opposed to it for a long time.
zokier 15y ago
One problem (afaik) is that the pieces are more and more specialised. A single regular lego piece can be anything. Look at the old ad; almost all pieces shown are regular rectangular pieces. And it even says Universal Building Set. But now you just get 1000 distinctly "millenium falcon" pieces.
- iy56 15y ago
  Except that's not true at all. http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/4504-1 http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/4504-1 is the brick list for the Millienium Falcon set. The minifigures are clearly specific to the Star Wars franchise, but aside from the minifig accessories and maybe half a dozen pieces that have decorative patterns, everything else is quite generic. I remember hearing that there's even an official Lego policy against introducing new pieces unless they have 3 different sets to put them in.
- pyre 15y ago
  When I was a kid, I would have loved all of the specific sets that they have now. Why? Because it increases the possibilities of what you can build. Those 'specific pieces' are mix-and-match with other Lego blocks.
Poiesis 15y ago
Seconded. There's no way in hell my kids would keep the pieces from one model together, anyway. We probably have tons of "unique" pieces, but let me tell you, they all get remixed just the same. Another reason to not keep them as kits: all Legos eventually are considered communal in our house after a certain period. It was just too hard to keep track of whose little orange brick it was that they were fighting over. This Christmas (don't tell!) they're getting five pounds of bulk bricks. Also, no kidding, this for storage: http://www.harborfreight.com/mobile-double-sided-floor-rack-95551.html http://www.harborfreight.com/mobile-double-sided-floor-rack-... . The mess was getting to be a problem.
brudgers 15y ago
It won't get remixed because at $140 from Amazon, the author will impose adult values upon the way in which the child uses it. As he notes, he no longer sees it as a toy but as a model kit...and the use - or rather non-use will reflect his view of it as a collectable rather than a bunch of parts. In all fairness, I went through some of the same thing before I came to a more sensible position - now everything gets remixed to my child's content. They aren't mine after all. I played with Legos in the era of the ad, and I was completely blown away the first time I went shopping for Legos with my child. They are just orders of magnitude better due to the massive increases in diversity of pieces and far more thoughtful assembly of sets. Indeed, I have built far more stuff as an adult than I ever did as a child - and my child has had far more entertainment from Legos than I ever did despite the massive competition from Cable TV and console games as well as far more time spent reading and completing homework. BTW, the author's complaints about tie ins is a bit ironic given his tradition of buying Advent sets.
cubicle67 15y ago
My friend's daughter, 8, has this kit[0] and it's one of the most awesome play kits ever. She's already added a heap of extra modifications to hers, and only yesterday it was transporting a load of camels for Princess Tamina(?) who happens to be from Prince of Persia, I think [0] I'm assuming it's 7965 http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/7965_Millennium_Falcon http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/7965_Millennium_Falcon

by javanix 15y ago

dgabriel 15y ago

I think what he's saying is that he won't rebuild the Millenium Falcon, that the pieces will get scattered and used for other stuff. That's how it goes in our house. The set gets built very quickly, and just as quickly is dismantled and used for bigger, more creative projects. Wait -- no I see that he won't hack it. I wonder why not??

sliverstorm 15y ago
As a kid I found with some of the predesigned kits, the result was distinctly cooler and more sophisticated than anything I'd ever be able to come up with. As a result I was always loathe to dismantle them. Darth Vader's Tie fighter, for example. It was much easier to tear apart my own creations because I could make something better.
- T-hawk 15y ago
  That's probably pretty well accounted for in Lego Group's design and marketing philosophy. They have a vested interest in getting bricks "locked up" in creations that are too cool to take apart. Once you've done that, how do you build something else? Buy more Lego sets, of course!
- azernik 15y ago
  I remember actually finding it very easy (and fun!) to hack my stupendously detailed X-wing LEGO set when I was little; the main difference was that the mix-and-match would generally take place with larger units (partial assemblies from smaller "model-set" type sets) or involve adding little bits coming off of things (flames from some fantasy castle set went onto the barrels of some generic set and made extra rocket engines to go onto my X-wing!) On a side note, I remember a LOT more of my childhood play than I thought.

amirmc 15y ago

I've noticed that some of new Lego sets have very specific pieces. Not really the kind you can mix and match between sets as in the 'old days'.

CountHackulus 15y ago
This kind of thing was popular during the LEGO "dark ages" in the early 2000s but has really died out as of late. The Millenium Falcon that's being referred to has very few, if any, unique parts. LEGO has really gone back to its roots in the past 2 or 3 years, especially with the AWESOME creator series.
- mml 15y ago
  The creator series _is_ very awesome. it's the only kind we buy for our girl.
  - einhverfr 15y ago
    Lego contraptions is the best though. Hard to find, not too many pieces. But gears, springs, and lots of flexibility.
brudgers 15y ago
Unique pieces are great for remixing once one stops imposing the idea of sets upon Legos. If they don't all wind up intermingled, an adult is probably in charge.

cschmidt 15y ago

It is hard psychologically to realize you can never built the set as intended again. You end up lots of sets in big ziplocs. We've finally moved most of our son's legos into a single big bin, but he was opposed to it for a long time.

zokier 15y ago

One problem (afaik) is that the pieces are more and more specialised. A single regular lego piece can be anything. Look at the old ad; almost all pieces shown are regular rectangular pieces. And it even says Universal Building Set. But now you just get 1000 distinctly "millenium falcon" pieces.

iy56 15y ago
Except that's not true at all. http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/4504-1 http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/4504-1 is the brick list for the Millienium Falcon set. The minifigures are clearly specific to the Star Wars franchise, but aside from the minifig accessories and maybe half a dozen pieces that have decorative patterns, everything else is quite generic. I remember hearing that there's even an official Lego policy against introducing new pieces unless they have 3 different sets to put them in.
pyre 15y ago
When I was a kid, I would have loved all of the specific sets that they have now. Why? Because it increases the possibilities of what you can build. Those 'specific pieces' are mix-and-match with other Lego blocks.

Poiesis 15y ago

Seconded. There's no way in hell my kids would keep the pieces from one model together, anyway. We probably have tons of "unique" pieces, but let me tell you, they all get remixed just the same. Another reason to not keep them as kits: all Legos eventually are considered communal in our house after a certain period. It was just too hard to keep track of whose little orange brick it was that they were fighting over. This Christmas (don't tell!) they're getting five pounds of bulk bricks. Also, no kidding, this for storage: http://www.harborfreight.com/mobile-double-sided-floor-rack-95551.html http://www.harborfreight.com/mobile-double-sided-floor-rack-... . The mess was getting to be a problem.

brudgers 15y ago

It won't get remixed because at $140 from Amazon, the author will impose adult values upon the way in which the child uses it. As he notes, he no longer sees it as a toy but as a model kit...and the use - or rather non-use will reflect his view of it as a collectable rather than a bunch of parts. In all fairness, I went through some of the same thing before I came to a more sensible position - now everything gets remixed to my child's content. They aren't mine after all. I played with Legos in the era of the ad, and I was completely blown away the first time I went shopping for Legos with my child. They are just orders of magnitude better due to the massive increases in diversity of pieces and far more thoughtful assembly of sets. Indeed, I have built far more stuff as an adult than I ever did as a child - and my child has had far more entertainment from Legos than I ever did despite the massive competition from Cable TV and console games as well as far more time spent reading and completing homework. BTW, the author's complaints about tie ins is a bit ironic given his tradition of buying Advent sets.

cubicle67 15y ago

My friend's daughter, 8, has this kit[0] and it's one of the most awesome play kits ever. She's already added a heap of extra modifications to hers, and only yesterday it was transporting a load of camels for Princess Tamina(?) who happens to be from Prince of Persia, I think [0] I'm assuming it's 7965 http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/7965_Millennium_Falcon http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/7965_Millennium_Falcon