Melbourne pirate fan '87

I finally found (and bought) the Soldier's Arsenal at K-mart in Altona Gate Shopping Centre. However, the Soldiers' Fort is not out yet. Looks like I'll have to wait a little longer yet.

I can't even find the impulses. Seriously, I don't understand why most Pirates sets aren't coming out until 6 months after they were released in North America, and several months after they were released in NZ. I think it's rediculous.

Greetings fellow lego fans! I say this greeting with the utmost enthusiasm as someone who has only recently discovered the AFOL network. I am 22 and have been a fan of lego since I was just a little tacker. However, things have not always been smooth sailing. As many of you may know, other people do not look kindly on adults who like lego. My family was one. When I was in my mid teens my family pressured me to pack my lego and other toys away and make my bedroom more 'mature'. Eventually I did move my lego up to the attic in the garage when I was 17 but I sorely missed it. Even after this I was encouraged to see a psychologist because my family thought I wasn't 'mature' enough because I played computer games and something called Warhammer 40,000 which they thought was too childish. Despite this I have secretly collected lego sets I have liked and set them up in the garage where I can enjoy my hobby in private. I did this thinking I was the only over 16 who liked lego. Now that I have discovered the online AFOL (I prefer the term ALE - Adult Lego Enthusiasts) community I feel overjoyed and believe I am now getting over what the community calls the 'Dark Ages'. I would like to hear other people's stories about how they kept their hobby secret and/or what it was like to get over their 'Dark Ages'.

Yep, but not much unfortunately. Anyway, perhaps I should start a topic on 'undercover' lego fans like myself, people who keep their passion to themselves to avoid ridicule. I'd love to hear people's stories.

You are so lucky! Where did you find a girl like that? I think if I found a girlfriend and they knew I liked lego they'd probably dump me.

That's annoying that most sets won't be out in Australia until mid-year. The problem for me is I still live at home and my family thinks I gave up lego years ago (I'm 22). I was hoping to get the new Soldier's Fort in mid-April when the rest of my family was away on holiday and I had the house to myself for a few days. Then I could break out the lego and build stuff like it was 1999. The problem with ordering from S@H is if I got a delivery at home my family would be like "Why on Earth are you ordering lego?" Even if I could time the delivery for when they were away I'd still have to use my parent's credit card to order it and they'd find out when they got the bill. I hate being 'in the closet' about liking lego. I want my own place!

That's strange. Why so late after being released in North America in December last year?

I have been looking all over for the new Pirates sets around my local area (Melbourne, Australia) including Toys R Us and I can't find them anywhere, except for the pirates construction set (not part of the official pirates line). I've been looking forward to buying the Soldier's Fort since the beginning of this year. Anyone in Australia seen the new sets out in stores?