LudeBene

I guess I'd use Adult Fan of Lego when talking to other people as I think they recognise the 'phenomena'... but I do agree with the fact that it sounds a bit pretentious! I really dislike the FFOL / FAFOL terms to distinguish a female fan of LEGO as someone different from a plain old AFOL. If AFOL is sort of defensively acknowledging that you're an adult, rather than a child who likes LEGO, then FAFOL / SHEFOL is like adding a "gasp! - and I'm a girl! how surprising is that?" But ignore me, I'm just bitter because as the youngest, and a girl, my mother refuses to admit that I have any claim to even a portion of the communal LEGO from when me and my siblings were children.

Fixed, I think!

Reminds me of this video, where a Megablok scene was burnt to a nice gooey crisp: http://thebrickblogger.com/2012/08/sacrilege-what-happens-when-lego-burns/

I know you've opened them now and it's something of a moot point, but this got me thinking. In addition to LEGO I also collect books, and you sometimes get old books that have 'uncut' pages (as until relatively recently multiple pages were printed on single sheets, that were then folded and bound into the book, leaving a fold on the 'outward' edge that the reader would have to cut with a paper knife). Uncut books are usually more valuable, but I must admit I take a real pleasure in 'cutting' a book open. It's a bit poignant to think of something that has never been read in 100+ years of existence, and kind of cool to be the person who reads that particular copy for the first time. For me, books are made to me read, and it seems very sad to me for a book to not get to fulfil its purpose just so you can keep it 'perfect'. Investing aside, the same is true of LEGO - it was made to be built!

Hi vinchente, thanks for sharing your post. I think any really absorbing hobby has the potential to keep people grounded and happy even during difficult times, and I guess that's what's so great about LEGO - it fills up your brain as well as your hands!

Hello Eurobricks members! Since I came out of my Dark Ages about three months ago I have spent lots of time perusing threads and reviews here on Eurobricks, so I decided I might as well register as a member so I can join in with all sorts of great LEGO-related conversations. I am currently finishing my PhD thesis, and one of the big motivations for taking up LEGO was the desire to have something to do in the evenings that didn't involve doing what I do all day, i.e. sitting in a chair and staring at a computer screen! I'm a historian, so I'm quite a fan of historic builds, but am also a giant geek, so a good sci-fi / fantasy set or build will always fill me with delight! My current big MOC project is a build of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh, mainly because my first big set purchase was of Orthanc (10237), and with all those black bricks available the exhaust-stained monument was just begging to be made! I have got halfway down but am rapidly running out of bricks, so watch this space... eventually. Anyway, hello once again and I really look forward to chatting with people here!

Haha - you've all definitely convinced me -- MMV is now very high on my list of sets to acquire as soon as funds allow! kyreii, I'm definitely one for judicious selling-off of minifigs in order to buy more bricks. It's one way to comfort myself about expensive sets; if I can make £30-£40 on the minifigs (very possible with some of the minifig-heavy licensed sets) then I can pretend the set was cheaper than it actually was!

Haha! The landscaping is great and Patsy in particular is perfect.

I am just a couple of months out of my dark ages, so I've found reading this thread fascinating! I think I probably stopped playing with LEGO fairly young... maybe 8 or 9? But I do remember absolutely loving all building toys - one of my earliest memories iks of my Dad (an actual builder) teaching me to bond bricks properly with Duplo. Looking back I wonder if my Mum may have put the LEGO away when my older brothers grew out of it, and assumed that as a girl I'd have no interest. Then of course teenage years, exams, a lot of other creative interests - writing, drama - intervened. Then I was a very poor undergraduate student and then a poor newlywed and just didn't have the funds! An increase in income has certainly helped, but what I'm looking for out of my hobbies has also changed. I'm currently a PhD student so all my old relaxation activities - mainly reading and writing - started feeling like a bit of busman's holiday. I needed something that wasn't staring at a computer screen or reading more books... really, something to play with and make mistakes and produce something satisfying solely for my own enjoyment! LEGO ended up filling that gap after a relative gave me a small 3-in-1 Creator truck for Christmas as a desk toy. I felt more relaxed doing that tiny build than I had in months! Then I looked at the LEGO store and found there were so many amazing sets out there. I'd muttered about getting the Doctor Who Ideas set (I'm a big Whovian) when it was announced and I just decided to go for it. Something I do regret slightly is that apart from the DW set I was a bit too embarrassed early on to buy what seemed like 'childish' sets, so my other early sets were deliberately sombre choices - Architecture, mainly - when really I'm an absolute raging geek and don't really want 'grown up' models. But I have fortunately since lost my initial embarrassment and am now happily delving into the whole wide colorful world that's out there!

Thanks to everyone for the responses! Haha, I do love sorting actually... Some of the numbered bags make it much less of a satisfying challenge! So far I've been thinking about the sets I buy from two perspectives: firstly if it will be a fun build and a pleasing finished set in its own right, and secondly what potential it has for giving me more flexibility with MOCs... It strikes me that the MMV offers options for a type of building you don't often see in LEGO. I'm also from a very ye-olde-worlde part of Britain so it kind of reminds me of (late mediaeval / Tudor) buildings from my local villages! My current slow-boil LEGO dream is a sort of modular fantasy forest with different scenes and settings... Dark spooky ruins using Orthanc pieces, a lake with a minifig arm offering up a sword, and maybe I need a wee cottage in there too...? Hah, this LEGO thing is quite addictive...!

Hello all! I'm a new poster to these boards but have been reading them since my Dark Ages came to an end a couple of months ago. I currently feel like I'm overwhelmed by an embarassment of riches - there are so many amazing sets out currently and then I come across references to legendary retired sets and find myself getting lost on Ebay and Bricklink, oh dear...! Anyway, I've recently become aware of the existence of the now-sadly-retired Medieval Village 10193, which looks absolutely amazing. I've looked up various reviews and discussions about it on here and it seemed that whilst it was out many posters agreed that it was one of the best sets LEGO ever released. I have to agree that from pictures it looks pretty stunning - some great colours and parts going on. The question I have is, does this assessment (best set ever) stand the test of time? How do people who've built it (or used its parts...!) feel it compares to more recent sets? For example I'm also currently swooning at the Temple of Airjitzu 70751 which seems to have received a lot of praise and also has some very tempting parts. Regarding the price it seems that the going rate is around £140 - which I don't personally mind too much (other than regretting how much LEGO sets seem to have inflated in price since the Medieval Village's release!), as it seems to me that if I were buying from the current LEGO catalogue that would be about right for price-per-part. But for those of you who bought it at the RRP, would you still be happy paying twice that, or are there current sets out there that you'd rather spend your money on at that price? I'd be really interested in hearing people's thoughts about this!