Lego

[Littlepeahead]

I just caught the end of the program about Lego on BBC2.

Now back in my day when you bought Lego you got a big bag of bricks, it was quite cheap and you had to use your imagination to build any number of cars, castles, space rockets etc.

Now it seems to be stupidly expensive, you get about 5 parts and you have to make whatever is shown on the box which is usually linked to the latest kids movie.

Am I just turning into a grumpy old woman wearing rose tinted spectacles? Or has the whole idea of Lego changed for the worse?

And is there a pain nastier than treading on a small Lego brick in bare feet?

[Sid Squid]

Maybe, yes, and try kneeling on one.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

No, there is no pain worse than a piece of Lego underfoot. My response to the new kits is they are sort of dual use, my eldest used to get the kits and then put a number of them together to make the most fantastic things, my youngest on the other hand could only ever follow the instructions and his imagination would take him no further. Saying that following instructions was very good for my youngest, he is not always so good at that, and using imagination was excellent for my eldest was brilliant because he often lives in the here and now (apart from when he is writing stories). I love Lego and I think it is kind of sad that they have both grown out of it.

[Littlepeahead]

Funny thing is when I went to see the foot specialist about my heel and he asked what the pain was like I asked if he had children. He said he did. So I said, you know that excruciating pain when you step on a Lego brick? He visibly winced and said ah right, it's bad then.

[squirrel_hunter]

I'm not sure what the program covered as I didn't see it. But from my memories as a child I had a mixture of the 2; that being the type that you built to direction and that you built from a random selection of bricks. From what I remember I preferred building the predefined object, but only because I didn't have a large enough selection of bricks to build the grand structures that my imagination could conjure up.

For me it was always somewhat disappointing though I did enjoy it.

James May did a good program about Meccano (Lego for the older child) not so long ago where he demonstrated the difference between the two types of build and that the instructions were purposely incorrect. The instructions were wrong to encourage the imagination and problem solving. I think that Lego could have done something similar with the prebuilt designs and that may have kept my imagination.

But these days I've long grown up from Lego and Meccano. I now dabble with motorbikes and the Haynes manual that takes its inspiration from Meccano instructions...

[cb1000rsteve]

This is exactly what the Lego movie is about!! The good guys make things from imagination whilst the baddy wants only things made from following the instructions!!!

[Jayneflakes]

I am still a keen Lego enthusiast and have several sets and several parts purchased from either Brick Owl or Brick Link. :cheers:

I tend you build fun things of my own design and build the designs available on the web too. Most recently I have built a remote controlled triple motor powered rock crawler that has working full suspension and a V-Six model motor with moving pistons. No photos yet because the batteries in the controller have gone flat because that many motors draws a lot of power, but here are a couple of the others I have built.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/1507545_10151833980456519_372867396_n.jpg

Drag Car with a V- eight model engine, twin electric motor drive, working steering and wheelie bars. Sadly the torque never raised the front wheels. :mrgreen:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1/1528698_10151874536281519_1685013543_n.jpg

A tank with electrically driven tracks, model engine in the rear, torsion bar suspension on each of the road wheels and a rotating turret.

https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/1464638_10151874536606519_836881986_n.jpg
This is a view of the drive system and suspension bars.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/1607117_10151883767996519_761795817_n.jpg
This is my truck with crane. This had driven rear wheels, model V-10 engine and front wheel steering. The crane had mechanical rams and winch operated through a gear box run by electric motors.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/1528586_10151883767741519_451655964_n.jpg

Lego has moved on a lot in the last few years. I model with Technic, but you can build robots using the NTX kits. I found this video on Youtube a while back, the NTX controller is the box in the middle with two servos mounted on the side.

-KQcUo3JVUs

I also use this book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unofficial-LEGO-Technic-Builder%2527s-Guide/dp/1593274343/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1392083242&sr=8-4&keywords=Technic+Lego+books) which is more like an engineering text book than a kids play book. Being almost innumerate means I struggle with the mathematics inside, but fortunately there is not much of it there, but I have built a working four speed clutch controlled gear box and found advice on building four wheel drive suspension units for my rock crawler project.

https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1/1004972_10151904144351519_713861251_n.jpg

Rock crawler prototype one, four wheel drive, but no suspension on the front.

Edit:- I also have plans for a street triple, I shall see if I can knock that together for you lot to see.

[widepants]

Holy **** Jaynie!!!

[PyroUK]

Yep you're right LPH, it's the same for meccano that I grew up on, imagination plus instructions. My nephew got a set for Xmas and you can only build 2 things and nothing else. Shame really

[Brettus]

Lego is 90% imagination:
http://barryborsboom.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/mattus_lego_copy.jpg

Yes the new kits are designated for certain stuff but if you get a tub of the generic pieces then you have what we all remember. your car won't look anything like an Audi but it'll be a wheeled lego brick. Then refer to the above picture :)

Imagination is being supplanted because we can feed ourselves all these wonderful images and worlds that we can dream up in computers and movies. Lego just changed their business to keep up, if they didn't they wouldn't exist, which would you prefer?

[CharleyFarley]

[ Edit:- I also have plans for a street triple, I shall see if I can knock that together for you lot to see.]

WOW............Never knew "toys" were so advanced!!!! Should get the BBC to "document" a lap of this years IOM TT (the three 'cylinders' of Man)..........try to beat James May' lap record??? 😛



"Gas it w###a".........

[carelesschucca]

Sky+ the lego program last night, I loved it as a child and every time I'm with my godson we have a great time building things. I could sit for hours just building things.

[pookie]

I've started playing with lego again and the types of bricks and shapes have increased. Lego is like gold and measured by weight. The themed box sets are pretty much fashion based with many discontinuing as soon as the franchise stops ( lego harry potter etc). I love the star wars sets but balk at the price of the death star.
That said times move on and so does lego.. is this the new face of lego??
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJffz5qYc4WpKv1AisF0HeUmdGWTYYw dlw_-NfvmS7d0zn2z9v

those Jayneflakes creations are fab !!!

[Littlepeahead]

My Lego is all with my nephews now and I add to it for them. However, we do sometimes get it out and after about half an hour I realise they have wandered off to do something else and I'm still sat on the floor surrounded by bricks and wheels and Space Lego which was always my favourite, building another version of my space station.

When I was a kid I'd come downstairs in the morning to find my dad had made some creation after I'd gone to bed and he'd get quite hacked off if I then broke it up to start again.

[SIII]

My name is SIII and I am a LEGO'holic, :cheers:

All of the kits are built with my 2 daughters and most are Star Wars sets. It is not the the actual end result that I enjoy and actually find the storage of the completed items a bit of a pain. What I get from it, is sitting with either of my kids for a few hours just working with them, sorting out the packets of bits, putting the bits together and basically just spending uninterupted time with them and working together.

I actually have the Millennium Falcon (The big one) sat in my office yet to be built, just waiting for the perfect wet sunday (Xmas present from the missus, she just like to watch us and occasionally wade in and make a mess of procedings).

[Tara]

Falc kept all his lego from when he was a kid My sister in law works for Lego and she buys our child the kits so we do have the best of both words and no there is no other pain worse than standing on lego off to the film during half term

[Jayneflakes]

WOW............Never knew "toys" were so advanced!!!! Should get the BBC to "document" a lap of this years IOM TT (the three 'cylinders' of Man)..........try to beat James May' lap record???


Sadly my street triple model is just that, a model. The engine although three pistons is driven via the chain by the rear wheel as you push it along the road.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/t1/1656178_10151933858706519_1427734238_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1/1891021_10151933859046519_95150267_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/1604563_10151933858716519_989868994_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/t1/1900179_10151933858751519_1532665640_n.jpg

It is hard to see the detail because my camera is not very good, but this was built this afternoon. :mrgreen:

[pookie]

you really ought to join the brick masters
http://cache.lego.com/r/aboutus/-/media/about%20us/img/lego_certified_professional_logo.gif?l.r=-1402949355

http://aboutus.lego.com/en-gb/lego-group/programs-and-visits/lego-certified-professionals

[DJFridge]

I've started playing with lego again and the types of bricks and shapes have increased. Lego is like gold and measured by weight. The themed box sets are pretty much fashion based with many discontinuing as soon as the franchise stops ( lego harry potter etc). I love the star wars sets but balk at the price of the death star.
That said times move on and so does lego.. is this the new face of lego??
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJffz5qYc4WpKv1AisF0HeUmdGWTYYw dlw_-NfvmS7d0zn2z9v

those Jayneflakes creations are fab !!!

They look like Bionicles to me. Both our kids loved them, and the cheesy movies that went with them (I think we may still have the DVDs somewhere).

[DJFridge]

Oh, JF, that Speed Triple is AWESOME. And I don't type in capitals very often!

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

My favourite bit about the sets was laying them all out first with all of the bits of different sizes lined up together so they were easy to find when you actually do the build. I might be a little tiny bit compulsive about things being organised though.

[Jayneflakes]

My favourite bit about the sets was laying them all out first with all of the bits of different sizes lined up together so they were easy to find when you actually do the build. I might be a little tiny bit compulsive about things being organised though.


I have the bits in little trays and in a rack that has little plastic drawers, so all of the different parts are organised for ease of use.


Oh, JF, that Speed Triple is AWESOME. And I don't type in capitals very often!

I wish that I could claim that it was my design, but I cheated and found the instructions on line for that one. I am on Mark three of my rock crawler now though and it is getting better with each go. :smt038

[Richie]

I'd hate to total up the amount of money I've spent on those plastic bricks for the kids....
But it keeps them quite.

[maviczap]

My sister said she was going to give my kids the Lego her boys had when they were children, but one of the complained about her giving it away. He was 21 at the time :smt019

My youngest likes the Lego 'friends' stuff she'll play for hours setting it up.

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

I'd hate to total up the amount of money I've spent on those plastic bricks for the kids....
But it keeps them quite.

Yes but you can always sell it on flea bay when they are finished with it, make more kids happy