Nomenclature

[Peppermint_M]

In two recent instances I have found myself arguing on the "classification" of LEGO boxed sets.

One was upon another non-LEGO forum in which I was discussing the difference between the UK and Australia. I call LEGO models that come in the boxes (whatever the theme) Lego Sets. However in Australia they are called Kits (well they were by this guy anyway), which says to me something you build once and that's it, like Airfix or Kotobukiya.

The Second time was with my friend, a model kit nerd who also called LEGO sets "kits".

I have come across the aforementioned Kit (Something to be built and looked at) and Playset (which says to me something along the lines of a playmobile fire station or something, a toy that you don't build, just keep in one form to play with).

Now I'm wondering what all of you call them. If you can understand a word I've said.

Edited for grammer

Edited February 5, 2009 by Peppermint_M

[mania3]

Definitely sets. And this is what LEGO refers to them as, also. Which I think would be the most obvious mark in favor of calling them sets.

[meschepers]

I have always called them sets. Since I was wee lad in the days of the original pirates and the Black Falcons. My brother and I both called them LEGO sets and I still do.

[KinGanon]

Lego sets or Lego kits...Hmmm.

Definately sets, kits remind me of Chinese-made models that fall apart just by looking at them.

Edited February 5, 2009 by KinGanon

[Svelte]

Well, I'm from Australia and I've never heard anyone call them Lego kits before.

Sets it is!

[Peppermint_M]

That was what they were called apparently, the guy was moaning how LEGO was nothing like in his day and wasn't a ceative toy anymore. All because he decided they were "kits" now and only made one thing...

That is the problem with what you call your lego i suppose.

[Brickthing]

It sound like that guy is only making the sets seem like kits by believing they are kits and ignoring his own creativity. LEGO doesn't need to have alternate models all the time, because that's inter-matchable parts and MOCing is for!

I always call my LEGO sets sets. I think the only sets that are kind of like kits are the educational school/minstorms sets.

[CP5670]

I call them sets, as does everyone else I've seen. Although I don't know why you would argue about something like this.

[Capt. Kirk]

Definately sets, kits remind me of Chinese-made models that fall apart just by looking at them.

LOL... :skull:

Maybe in the future when we talk about the Chinese-made clones or other cloned stuff we can call them "kits" in general.

Just to make a difference between the bad and the good stuff. What do you think guys ?

Perhaps someone can find a good abbreviations for the initial components - K.I.T.S.

Then we do not have to waste our time of typing words such as Megabloks / ABC Copex / Atco / Best-Lock / Byggis Blocks / Cobi / COKO / C-3 by Art Asylum / Dia Block / FORMO / Grossblock Baumeister (Plaspi) /Intelli-Blocks

by Tandem Toys / Klip / Genuine K'Nex Bricks / Ministeck / PeBe / Philiform by Philips / Rasti / Sluban / Tatco / Tente / TYCO Blocks / Xin Ji Qi Toys - Railway blocks series / Brick. (Enlighten). As you can see a lot of companies try to imitate LEGO over the years… oh what am I in a fanatic mode and wasting my time with typing...

Back to topic; I have always called them sets and if I'm correct so does TLC.

[CP5670]

Wow, you certainly know your clone brands well.

[Corvus]

Definitely 'sets'. The word 'kit' brings to mind glue, sheets of plastic, and none of it working according to the directions.

[Freddie]

A fellow LUG-member pointed me towards a parenting forum, where a mother apparently had gotten into her head that LEGO sets were "kits", and thus what you saw on the box was that single toy you could build. She was basically complaining that they toys would constantly get "broken" and was considering gluing the bricks together. Thankfully, a vast majority of the parents did not agree, and pointed towards the fact that you were supposed to break it down and build something new, preferably with parts from other sets - there was even some nostalgic chatter in that thread.

Anyway, it is people, like this mother, who consider lego sets as a collection of bricks to build something specific. You buy an ambulance, you build an ambulance and you play with an ambulance. That's it. That's why they might refer to LEGO sets as LEGO kits, and they compare it to other model building kits like what Revell offers.

Like a lot of the answers she got, LEGO sets are sets, because it's a collection of bricks that allows you to build whatever's pictured on the box, and not a kit because it isn't restricted to that one thing.

[Shadows]

Sets. Never have called them anything else. Don't care if it comes in a box, a bag or a bucket.

If I had to guess, I would say that this person came to the "kit" conclusion based on a licensed theme set, probably Star Wars. One could easily argue that many of the licensed sets are mostly suited to building one specific thing and the alternatives aren't particularly great. How many uses can you put a TIE canopy to? Well, I can think of a few, but overall, it's a TIE canopy. What the person missed is that if you put the specialty pieces aside, you can build anything you want with the rest, which is the same as it's always been.

The other possible reason is that licensed sets include specific minifigs: Han Solo or Harry Potter or Spongebob. These people are who they are and in some cases, can't really be anyone else. Old sets may have had a band of pirates and their captain, but you could mix them around and make any of them the captain, have some assume civilian roles, or even split them up into different crews. It's much harder to do that with a bunch of Stormtroopers or Clones.

He's also lost his imagination with age.

When I was a kid, classic Space or Futuron minifigs were Star Wars figures, divided up by colour with other types of figures added in to be the more specific characters. You could do that now with Star Wars figures as aliens or robots or some kind of space faction, you just need imagination. I use some of the Star Wars Jedi torsos as Pirates or Castle citizens. There are no limits.

When you think that a set can only be built to form one thing, you call it a kit.

I personally see sets as minifigs with accessories and places or things to do.

(I'm not much for sets without minifigs, I'll admit)

As for the model builder who calls them kits, I can overlook that. He sees anything that comes in a box and has a bunch of parts as a kit. The professionals will take multiple model kits and use them to build things that aren't intended, they call it kit bashing, so for them LEGO must seem similar.

Ramble ramble ramble. I'll shut up now.

[donneyboy]

Well I call them sets, and kits are models you build looking at the messed up instructions, and if you are building a car, you end up with an airplane, now Lego sets you can (sometimes) build without instructions.

[Peppermint_M]

I call them sets, as does everyone else I've seen. Although I don't know why you would argue about something like this.

It wasn't a heated argument, it was just someone who had got an idea in their head similar to this :v:

A fellow LUG-member pointed me towards a parenting forum, where a mother apparently had gotten into her head that LEGO sets were "kits", and thus what you saw on the box was that single toy you could build. She was basically complaining that they toys would constantly get "broken" and was considering gluing the bricks together. Thankfully, a vast majority of the parents did not agree, and pointed towards the fact that you were supposed to break it down and build something new, preferably with parts from other sets - there was even some nostalgic chatter in that thread.

Anyway, it is people, like this mother, who consider lego sets as a collection of bricks to build something specific. You buy an ambulance, you build an ambulance and you play with an ambulance. That's it. That's why they might refer to LEGO sets as LEGO kits, and they compare it to other model building kits like what Revell offers.

Like a lot of the answers she got, LEGO sets are sets, because it's a collection of bricks that allows you to build whatever's pictured on the box, and not a kit because it isn't restricted to that one thing.

And I was pointing out that they are sets and can be built any way you want.

As for with my friend, we have good natured (although he can push me a bit too far on some occasions) "heated discussion" all the time. I was fresh from an encounter with some 'norms' in TRU who had tried to persuade their child away from "boring toys you build, Why not get this action figure?" .

Ho Hum. It's a good thing that most people do call them sets still. I wondered if it was universal (I cite LEGO vs Legos).