How long do you wait until you open your lego?

[Ratshot]

I thought it would be interesting to see how long everyone waits to open up there Lego. I find myself opening it the minute I get into my van. The downside of this is that I lose pieces every now and then.

What about, how long to you wait?

[prateek]

I wait till I get home. That way, I can get as comfortable as I can and not lose any pieces

[ZO6]

When I was younger, I used to open the box and check out the instruction manual on the way home. I'd then dump out all the pieces on my bedroom floor and quickly get to work. No time could be wasted!

Now when I pick up a set, I wait until I get home before carefully slicing open the box. I usually get myself a nice big drink before I make myself comfortable for the construction process. I usually build my sets at a large table.

If I'm going to be doing a review for a set, I usually wait until it's a sunny day so that I can get my pictures looking as good as possible. Usually this ends up being the day after I received the set, but sometimes longer.

I honestly still get so excited when I get any kind of Lego set, so I find it difficult to wait long before building it. I voted "When I get home" on the poll.

[Galaxy Explorer]

I voted for That night or next day- I used to be really good at assembling my new sets immediately. I'd say, however, in the last few years I've accumulated quite a few sets that still remain sealed- not because I don't want to open them, I just don't seem to have the time! I remember pulling an all-nighter when I picked up all the Episode II sets at the midnight launch- haven't done that in a while.

[ILikePi]

For most sets I buy, I wait until it's sunny and bright so I can take pictures of the polybags for future reviews before I open them all up. That means my vote goes to "that night or the next day".

Interesting topic!

I honestly still get so excited when I get any kind of Lego set, so I find it difficult to wait long before building it.

Me too; whenever I bring a set home, I can never resist opening it!

[Mirandir]

Since 99.9% of the sets I buy are to be reviewed on my blog I open the sets after I get home and hav had the time to photograph the unopened box.

[Modulex Guy]

Where is the "whenever I have the time" button??

I sometimes open sets the day I get them, while others I do not have the time to build at the moment. I have a three year back log of sets still to be open.

Sometimes, because of work/school I buy sets, put them aside and happen to forget them for a while hence the three year old sets that I just randomly forgot to open.... I think I still have sets older than that laying around still.

[Izzy]

Where is the "whenever I have the time" button??

I agree, Hehe! I said a couple of weeks because that is usually when I find the time. For example I have the Winter Toy Shop and Emerald Night still in baggies at my feet, I got them 2 weeks ago and still have to find some time and space to build.

[Rick]

I usually find the time for smaller sets within one or two days.

[k_peek_2000]

Usually when I get a set, I wait until I accomplish something. Like my most recent large set I bought, I told myself I wouldn't start building until I cleaned my room (who wants to build in a messy room anyway). So I did, and the set ended sitting in my room for about 3-4 days till being built.

[Aredhel]

Well, I chose at the weekend because this is the time where I really have more than 1 hour of time. After work it is not possible to do much more than eating and going to sleep

Before opening my new set I need to take pictures of the box and the unwrapped bags and for that I need a good light (meaning no electric light if possible)...

--> and THEN I can start building the set...

-Aredhel

[Fugazi]

Very variable for me, from the same day up to a week or so later. I still happen to open impulses and other small sets in my car on the way home, like when I was a kid... just that now, I'm the one driving

[dr_spock]

When I have time or feel like building.

[jonwil]

Usually I will open the box on the way home on the bus (and read the instruction manual and study the cool parts etc) but I will wait until I get home to open the bags.

If its one of the impulse sets (which come in a single bag) I will try to do a "build in the bag" straight away.

[Raven Brickroft]

Depends on what I get.

Small sets, impulses, little creators, I open them as soon as I can (ie stop by a coffee shop, eat at a food court).

Big sets? I wait til I'm home. I just can't afford to lose even just a piece. So, I wait. :)

[tiggerkiddo]

If I don't work that day, then generally as soon as I get home. I too get some water so I can be relaxed and ready. If I have to go to work...depends on the set. If it's small, I complete it or try to. If it's big, I'll just wait until after work.

Which generally makes work even worse because I'm thinking about that set I need to open.

[lightningtiger]

I say when I get home or somewhere I can open the box safely !

I'm a conformist! !

[Sergiu]

I almost always open a new set when I get home so that I have time to prepare to assemble it. For really small sets I prefer to open them when I get in the car, but I only build them home.

I am so anxious when it comes to opening a new box.

[fff]

It depends, if is it for the kids, they will open it as soon as they put their hands on it, if it is for me i wait until the most suitable moment... this can take a lot of time, and this does not mean i will play alone with it, my kids will help me of course, but sometimes i find they have too many things, so make them wait some days will not hurt :)

[drdavewatford]

You need a "depends" category !

Some sets I'm desperate to build, e.g. Emerald Night, Grand Emporium, and crack open as soon as I have some uninterrupted time.

Other sets I buy just to keep my collection up to date, e.g. retired MISB Star Wars sets. These are sometimes never opened unless it's a set I genuinely love; certainly there's no hurry with these. When I eventually got the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer I couldn't wait to get building, but I'm not in such a hurry with 7111 Droid Fighter, for instance, which has been unopened on the shelf for more than a year.

Dr. D.

Edited May 10, 2010 by drdavewatford

[yugistew]

i cannot remember the last time i purchased a new set in the store

i love kit bashing and rarely ever look at brand new sets for what they are but more for the elements they have

typically from that point i just end up buying the elements on their own via ebay or bricklink...

however... trains are my one weak point and i gobble those sets up new, used, or incomplete

however random and misguided my comment might seem there is point to it!

i do take great pleasure in tearing into a well packaged lot from ebay.

its always fun to see whether the owner was a true lego fan or just someone who stumbled on some bricks

Does anyone else appreciate when you get that box in the mail and the 10 year old set is cleaned, bagged, labeled, and firmly secured with bubble wrap?

sets like that do not even make it to my work table, they end up spread on the couch or wherever i first tore the tape off ;)

[drdavewatford]

i do take great pleasure in tearing into a well packaged lot from ebay.

its always fun to see whether the owner was a true lego fan or just someone who stumbled on some bricks

Does anyone else appreciate when you get that box in the mail and the 10 year old set is cleaned, bagged, labeled, and firmly secured with bubble wrap?

sets like that do not even make it to my work table, they end up spread on the couch or wherever i first tore the tape off ;)

I have to confess that when I buy used sets from eBay I always check that all the parts are present (via Peeron or Bricklink) before I build. Yes it's time consuming, but I really hate discovering that pieces are missing during a build and having to stop and order pieces from Bricklink part way through. I would estimate that less than 50% of the sets I've bought which were sold as complete actually were - either pieces were missing, or there were substitutions with "equivalent" pieces (e.g. two 1 x 2 bricks rather than one 1 x 4 brick), or substitutions with similar pieces of a different colour. Shoddy.

But yes, I do love receiving a carefully packaged set, mainly because (1) it's generally more likely to be complete, and (2) the box is less likely to have been damaged in transit. Note to eBay sellers - do NOT just ship LEGO in bubblewrap and packing tape - the set will get squashed. Please PUT IT IN A PROTECTIVE BOX for sending ! End of public information bulletin....

Dr. D.

Edited May 10, 2010 by drdavewatford

[Raphy]

When I get home, I really don't understand why people wait ;)

[Big Cam]

On average it's weeks or months, I buy a bunch of sets and then I store them and on one day I open a bunch and usually that involves reviews.

[t20a1h5u23]

I built my Tahu Nuva on a mall bench outside a Toy Store. I say it depends on the size of the set. For anything more that $20, the risk of losing pieces is to much.