Purism

[Toastie]

Just now, howitzer said:

And yeah, there of course was some parts that are decidedly non-Lego, like the tracks and wheels you mention, but those along with the glue are obviously a compromise they have to make to take the plastic bricks far outside of their intended usage condition

Absolutely, that was my point: They have to, otherwise it would not play out at all, of course.

Well, been there many times and will hopefully go there many times more. Was there this year in June. My first visit was a couple of years after the inauguration of the "park" - it was more "LEGOs in a meadow" and the airport served sports airplanes only (a couple). Since this time I love the "old" region the most. Representation of the original LEGO idea (recognition and imagination in the first place, in my view). As you said: Just basic bricks and plates. I believe though that at that (large) building scale, they accomplish two things at the same time: Accurate representation - models very easily recognizable and done with passion and dedication (of course) - and at the same time, you always directly see and feel: These are made from real LEGO bricks, even from a little farther away. Just imagine, everything would be tiled up and the like ... then the LEGO idea would vanish quite a bit and Playmobile would maybe do as well  .

Wonderful place.

Best
Thorsten

[Maaboo the Witch]

I only ever use original parts and I'm sticking to that.

[howitzer]

51 minutes ago, Woodpecker said:

The term "purist" is often treated subjectively, being based upon the builder's interpretation of what is pure.

For example, I consider any part that is manufactured by TLG pure, even obscure parts like part 32068, as well as all rubber bands, even those not manufactured by TLG. That's where I draw the line. @howitzer draws the line before I do. Even so, I think that if we both build MOCs that abide by our own standards we will probably both consider them "pure". 

<snip>

The part you mentioned isn't even all that obscure, according to Rebrickable it appears in 91 sets over 20 years (last in 2019) so they are easy to obtain and probably still in production too. I was talking more about parts that were produced for only a few sets decades ago and never again, like for example the steering arm of 8865 (released in total of three sets) or the fiber optics of the 8480 (released in total of four sets). The Flex system was another one that could sometimes be very useful, but the original design was prone to breaking and the upgraded parts can get somewhat expensive (most costing few euros per piece and some up to tens of euros) if you want a good collection of them for wider use.

[Brickend]

My personal rule (which applies only to myself) is "don't do anything that can not be undone".

This allows the freedom to mess with tires/bands/sails etc. but not painting, cutting, bending or fitting drive-train destroying 540 motors etc.

Something that has changed for me recently though is the purchasing of replica parts that Lego made, but do not sell (2903 in LBG for example) - I don't like third party parts and have always try to buy from Lego direct, but if they don't make the special parts available for models that they have produced, then I personally think it's acceptable to buy them elsewhere. 

Edited December 10, 2020 by Brickend

[Woodpecker]

24 minutes ago, howitzer said:

The part you mentioned isn't even all that obscure, according to Rebrickable it appears in 91 sets over 20 years (last in 2019) so they are easy to obtain and probably still in production too.

Fair enough. I should have done more research.