Sabeer Posted April 20 Posted April 20 Hi everyone, just doing a quick survey about LEGO in the 2000s and have a few questions for AFOLs or anyone aged 30 or over to answer (does not need to be full sentences). I would greatly appreciate any help with this. What year did you first start playing with LEGO? What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? Were the changes for the better? Thanks a lot. Quote
SpacePolice89 Posted April 20 Posted April 20 2 hours ago, Sabeer said: What year did you first start playing with LEGO? I'm not 100% sure but I think it was in 1990 because Futuron was still available in toy stores together with Blacktron 1, Space Police 1 and M-Tron. My first sets were Futuron. 2 hours ago, Sabeer said: What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? In the early 2000s most new Lego sets and themes were really crappy but Lego was still my favorite toy thanks to Bricklink, the Legends sets and my existing collection. Back then I was also into Pokemon, military toys and Playmobil but never to the same extent as my interest in Lego. I remember being very disappointed with most new Lego sets and themes back then because of junior ization and the introduction of licensed themes. 2 hours ago, Sabeer said: What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? Of the themes released in the 00s I liked World City the most because of the trains but I preferred to buy 80s and 90s sets from Bricklink. Legends was also fantastic. I also liked the Pirates, Castle sets released in the late 00s. 2 hours ago, Sabeer said: What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? Worse quality (quality of plastic and color consistency is not as good as it used to be), worse instructions (really dark and made from crappy paper), great themes such as Space, Castle and Pirates have disappeared and have been replaces with subpar products and themes. Some of the production moving to dictatorships and authoritarian countries (Mainland China and Hungary) which is bad. 3 hours ago, Sabeer said: Were the changes for the better? NO! Quote
BrickBob Studpants Posted April 20 Posted April 20 (edited) 8 hours ago, Sabeer said: What year did you first start playing with LEGO? What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? Were the changes for the better? Thanks a lot. I started playing in 1994 and collecting in 1999. Even back then, it had a more diverse portfolio compared to other toys, especially with Star Wars, Harry Potter and Spider-man entering the mix at that time. SW, HP, Spidey, and Adventurers (especially the Orient Expedition subtheme) The building techniques got a lot more sophisticated, we have so many versatile and unique pieces now, minifig design is leagues above compared to what we had back then, and the offerings got even more diversified with 18+ sets, Ideas and much more. Yes. Colour inconsistencies aside Edited April 20 by BrickBob Studpants Quote
JesseNight Posted April 20 Posted April 20 (edited) What year did you first start playing with LEGO? Must have been around 1983, when I look back at the runtimes of my first sets. I was still very young. What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? I can't say. The early 2000s was past my childhood Lego phase (that ended around 1996) and before my AFOL phase that started only 2 years ago. If I were to apply that question to my childhood years, I find it hard to compare bc Lego was just... different. Other toys I had were lots of fun, but were just about playing and not so much about building and challenging creativity. With Lego, I always challenged myself to build my own visions and preferably at a larger scale than anything available at the time. [Edit] It just came to mind that I often combined Lego with other toys. If I were missing important vehicles or a base in my other toys that I either didn't own yet, or didn't even exist, I'd try to make them out of Lego to use in play sessions with these other toys. What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? Before I was 10, I loved the Space themes. Classic Space, Futuron, Blacktron, Space Police, M-Tron. I was appealed to Blacktron II and Ice Planet too but didn't have any of those sets. In my teen years, my interest shifted towards Technic. What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? Again hard to answer, considering the past 20 years I haven't been active with Lego. Comparing what I've seen the last few years compared to my youth, things have changed quite a lot. There's way more colors, there's different building techniques (like SNOT), there's lots of new parts, and a lot more products based on movie and game franchises rather than in--house designs. Were the changes for the better? Hard to say. More colors is something I like, even though sometimes it feels a bit too much (making it hard to tell some shades apart). Techniques definitely have improved. I'm no fan of movie/game franchises myself but I expect it works in modern times. Edited April 22 by JesseNight Addition to second answer Quote
Toastie Posted April 20 Posted April 20 (edited) On 4/20/2025 at 1:28 PM, Sabeer said: What year did you first start playing with LEGO? What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? Were the changes for the better? 1965 - it was Christmas, and Santa got me the LEGO set #323 1998 the RCX came out and "9V" Mindstorms prevailed through the early 2000s. Living in the US back then, I thought I was in heaven. Well, "9V" Mindstoms sets: Robotics Invention 1.0 - 2.0, Robotics Discovery, Droid Developer, Spybotics ... Losing creativity, going cheap See above, no. None at all. Edited April 21 by Toastie Quote
Wolfpack Posted April 21 Posted April 21 18 hours ago, Sabeer said: What year did you first start playing with LEGO? Around 1990. 18 hours ago, Sabeer said: What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? LEGO still had the status of the best and favourite toy, but the new sets were not that great at the time. 18 hours ago, Sabeer said: What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? From the year 2000 I liked football, Adventurers and RC car. I remember I was dissapointed about most themes. KK was probably the worst line in castle until that time and Town was really terrible compared to before. Pirates were not even there if I am not mistaken. 18 hours ago, Sabeer said: What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? I have noticed It is almost only city and licences now. When HP and SW came out I was appaled. That was not LEGO for me, no creativity, only brick models of some other toys/films and total collapse of the LEGO universe. Imagine if the next Star Wars would include Emmet Joseph Brickowski as the main character or a Harry Potter movie about Harry getting a monorail for his birthsday. The builds and techniques have improved a lot, but the most sets have no creativity, there is imagination and fantasy lacking in the (most) themes. There are no alternative builds at the back (of course not, if it is a licenced model) and everything is so boringly structured, all characters are different and have names and stories etc. Yes, there are some great sets in Ideas and Icons, but you really have to be into LEGO to even find them, usual sets on the shelfs are so boring and repetitive. If someone does not like city, than there is not much to choose from. Especially in countries where American culture is not that strong, LEGO became a toy with very little appeal for the most part. There are no historic themes, although the possibilities are limitless. They are focusing on quantity, but it is mostly the quantitiy of licences and remakes. 18 hours ago, Sabeer said: Were the changes for the better? Designwise yes, as the builds in the early 2000s were mostly clunky and weird, but everything else is worse now. Even the best design does not help, if there are no new ideas to design from. Quote
Feuer Zug Posted April 21 Posted April 21 On 4/20/2025 at 7:28 AM, Sabeer said: Hi everyone, just doing a quick survey about LEGO in the 2000s and have a few questions for AFOLs or anyone aged 30 or over to answer (does not need to be full sentences). I would greatly appreciate any help with this. What year did you first start playing with LEGO? What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? Were the changes for the better? Thanks a lot. Mid 1980s I graduated to computers by 2000. Space and Castle Many new types of parts Some parts additions really work and make things better. Other parts I wonder why they went into production. Quote
Slegengr Posted April 21 Posted April 21 (edited) On 4/20/2025 at 6:28 AM, Sabeer said: Hi everyone, just doing a quick survey about LEGO in the 2000s and have a few questions for AFOLs or anyone aged 30 or over to answer (does not need to be full sentences). I would greatly appreciate any help with this. What year did you first start playing with LEGO? 1993 with basic bricks (at age 2), 1994 with my first memorable sets: 6086 Black Knight's Castle and 6009 Black Knight On 4/20/2025 at 6:28 AM, Sabeer said: What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? LEGO was my absolute favorite toy without question. It incorporated so many aspects I prefer into one: design/build, interesting themes, marvelous play value, endless imaginative adventures, compatibility across entire collection, timeless value. As a child, if I was not roleplaying outside or playing board games, I was playing with my LEGO collection. So often, my outside roleplaying and board game versions or alterations were based on LEGO themes and dreams. On 4/20/2025 at 6:28 AM, Sabeer said: What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? Castle, Space, Pirates, Adventurers, Rock Raiders, Aquazone, Arctic, Western, Ninja, Vikings, Time Cruisers/Twisters, Res-Q, Extreme Team, Alpha Team, Dinosaurs, Racers On 4/20/2025 at 6:28 AM, Sabeer said: What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? Many licensed rather than original themes, higher part counts in sets due to new smaller parts that allow for more detail in models, less innovation/imagination in general, cheapening the product with lame excuses for more profit. On 4/20/2025 at 6:28 AM, Sabeer said: Were the changes for the better? Yes and no. More detailed models are interesting and the MOC-building potential is immense, but there is less of the original charm of the blocky/angular aesthetic of the 90's (I know, some think this is just due to nostalgia...). It is probably personal opinion and I understand why it generates more sales for TLG, but I despise the shift to almost entirely licensed themes. I want more from the original themes of the 80's/90's or similar to what was still produced in 2000's/2010's such as Power Miners, Atlantis, World Racers, Agents, etc. Maybe it is just me, but I liked Castle, Space, Pirates, etc. as a child because of LEGO sets, not the other way around. So many of my childhood interests were sparked because of LEGO, which built a strong brand image that the company does not seem to value today due to the quicker profit-margin market of today driven by pop-culture/media/technology/etc. As a child, LEGO was my pop-culture, and they only maintained this while they had original/imaginative themes rooted in the early company values around play, in my opinion. "Only the best is good enough" seems to be quite often forgotten today. Edited April 21 by Slegengr Quote
CallMeCarbiz Posted April 21 Posted April 21 On 4/20/2025 at 7:28 AM, Sabeer said: What year did you first start playing with LEGO? First set I remember was from 1990 What did you think of LEGO compared to other toys in the early 2000s? LEGO was probably the only toy I was still buying. I was in my late teens and my budget was shifting towards computers and girls. What LEGO themes/sets did you like back then? Star Wars. I wasn't interested in the other themes like sports, Alpha Team, Studios, or Exo-Force. What changes have you noticed in LEGO products over the past 20 years? The price and detail have both gone up. SNOT has drastically changed what can be done with LEGO bricks. There are more elements and colors than before, but there is also a greater focus on IP and collectable items. Were the changes for the better? It seems like a two edged sword. I'm sure that the collectables and franchises have led to LEGOs success. But the in house Castle, Pirates, and Space themes have been condensed into a single Icons series. Quote
Sabeer Posted April 22 Author Posted April 22 Thank you all very much for your input; it has been extremely useful! Quote
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