The Image of Lego

[jonfett]

Last year Lego celebrated 50 years of System. As a slightly belated tribute to our favourite company we want you opinions of what the Lego compnay means to you.

Since it began its quest into the brick 50 years ago, the Lego company has had many corporate images. We all have something in our mind that defines Lego and which comes into our head when we hear it. We want your opinions! There are no wrong answers here, it is simply just each members own ideas and what makes it personal to them!

So lets begin!

Jon.

[prateek]

my first plastic toy!!! and my favourite too!! *y* *wub*

[DoubleT]

Well why is it your favorite?

[Ickelpete]

I had several construction toys ( betta builder, Philoform, Meccano etc ) when I was growing up but I always went back to playing with Lego and probably spent more time building models with Lego than anything else.

I also remember becomming a Member of the Lego club in the UK back in the late 1970's. I remember going to the first Lego Club convention held at Milton Keynes shopping centre where we set a world record for the longest and for the tallest Lego model. There were buckets of Lego all around the centre and you could build anything you wanted and join it to the next guys to form a long chain.

There were also lots of pro display models on show it was a great day out.

[xwingyoda]

LEGO !! That word brings so many things at once to mind !!

So I will just start with a childhood memory ;-) Each time I went to sleep at my grandma's house (RIP), we would go saturday morning to the toy shop that was just a couple of blocks from her flat and she would buy me a small set !! After lunch was building time yeay !!

So buying a set is a way to keep here memory alive *sweet*

*yoda*

[prateek]

Well why is it your favorite?

because it just has so much diversity and the story or the LEGO brick

[gylman]

It is human nature to want to build something out of nothing, whether to create something beautiful, or useful, or to keep alive a memory, or see if something is simply possible.

Lego is simply the best tool for the job. Looking at the elements of flexibility, durability, practicality (which includes issues of cost, storage, ease of obtaining) and attractiveness.

That's why Lego has survived Mecanno, Lincoln Logs, and the various other imitation bricks.

You guys can all wax sentimental all you like. My feeling is that Lego has tapped into an intrinsic part of human nature (not present in everyone, but present in many of us), and has simply been most successful in satisfying that need.

[Aeturnus]

Unfortunately for me..lego's 50th means the death of the train theme.

The loss of Pirates..the continued downward trend of quality.

the horrible new colours and the selling out of the company.

Lego insists they stick by their quality..if so why would their be rubber wigs

that don't stick..multiple tones of the new dark bley..I had 3 tones in one set.

the constant missing parts in sets.instructions with mistakes.

Lego designers really are lacking in imagination these days..everything is a

simplified rehash of an earlier set.with 1-2 exceptions

Ohwell may lego return to it's former glory days and stop copying playmobile

airport sets.

:D

[jof]

Unfortunately for me..lego's 50th means the death of the train theme.

The loss of Pirates..the continued downward trend of quality.

the horrible new colours and the selling out of the company.

I thought this was supposed to be about the good stuff. (Even if I do agree with some of what you said)

A toy where you can start sticking bits together that only resemble something vague in your imagination at age 4 becomes an advanced modeling tool by the time your own kids are 4.

If only you didn't have to let them bash your creations, after all, it is their lego isn't it?

And don't get me started on the logistics of keeping your lego separate from the kids lego ;o)

[The Hordesman]

50 happy years, hope Lego will live to see its 500's!

Im actually very positive for the future, and since there are duplo and 4+ pirates, perhaps we will see system ones again soon?

I really dont have much to add... Happy birthday to Lego! *sweet*

[Kikuichimonji]

I never owned any other construction toy, really. Every birthday and Sinterklaas (=dutch version of Christmas) I would get Lego...

Then, TLC made their best move ever by buying the SW license. The AFOL community boomed, but to me, SW was there to ensure no Dark Age would be there for me. For years, I just bought SW Lego, but about a year ago, I started MOCing again. Nowadays, I build MOCs more then ever, and discovered BL and such. I now buy sets for parts instead of looks (which I did when I was a kid).

Basically, it's a hobby. And an affordable one. One of my other hobbies, gaming, would cost me 50-100 euros a month. I've been gaming less and less lately, and building more and more ;-)

And to close this little tale, I wish TLC 50 more years! And then 50 more, and more, and more... :-P

[jonfett]

Since a very early age I have always loved Lego, and never had a so called "Dark Age". I was unsure at first why I never give up the hobby and have tried to think what it is that does it for me.

I'm sure that when many people think of Lego they see the bold red and yellow of the logo, or think or a classic 2x4 brick, but what I think is the classic image of Lego.. and what keeps me attracted to it, is the minifig!

I am not sure exactly what it is about it that makes me love it so much! Maybe its that classic smile it used to have? Not sure exactly. One thing I do remember is as a kid I would imagine and even dream of being the size of a minifig and walking around my little Legoland or driving in a Lego sized car. Of course, I dont dream of that quite as much these days.. for one, the crappy vehicles they produce now as no way as sturdy, and unfinished unlike the old firetruck I used to drive in!

I guess this is my image of Lego, why I like it so much and what makes it different from anything else! So long live the minifig!

Jon.

[snefroe]

i loved lego as a kid because it allowed you to be creative. you could build models, figure out why they worked or didn't work, what you needed to do to prevent a collapse; it challenged you ... at the same time , it allowed you to invent stories, whatever you could think of, you could always use lego to make it happen... i don't think there was any object more important to me than lego as a young child.

even today, in some cases, i still remember what set i got, where, why and how i got it. i remember lots of occasions when i played with lego together friends and family, even tho I lost track with quite a few of those people thru out the years...

now i'm using lego as a hobby. it's relaxing to build things with lego when your daytime job is extremely stressfull and working over time is more the rule then the exception...

[JoeMI6]

When i think of lego, one word automatically comes into my head. Fun. The feeling you get when you build something good and can look at it and say, 'i built that' is just indescribable. If it breaks, you can just rebuild, maybe into something bigger and better. Even though i have dipped in and out of it as a hobby, i don't think it will ever truly leave me. It is something i can always come back to, and rediscover. I hope lego continues for another 50 years and onwards.

Lego, i salute you. *y* (that's as close as i can get to a salute X-D )

[JINZONINGEN73]

Lego to me is "quality materials".

As a kid, I only briefly touched on junkier building toys.

Tente was made of EXTREMELY fragile, shatter-prone plastic.

Lincoln Logs were boring and had splinters.

Lego imposters used inferior plastic and couldn't even get the pieces to connect in any sane frequency.

But here's Lego... with:

--MANY colors to choose from.

--White parts that are more resistant to yellowing than any other toy I've seen.

--Trans colors that don't turn brown over time.

--Glow in the dark that doesn't discolor during extended exposure to ultraviolet light.

--Parts that USUALLY match up with each other well.

Yeah, Lego to me is the quality of their plastic.

Hades forbid they move over to using the same crap plastic every other toy company does... it's OVER.

I'd sell my parts bins off and go back to sculpting exclusively with modeling clay.

They're not PERFECT, both in manufacturing and in misguided reads on the market, but for all the worldwide, mass-produced sets they need to ship out each year, their track record is ASTOUNDING.

Luckily, their negative image of "so politically correct and anti-weapon that I could barf 100% pure cane sugar" was ditched this year.

Things are only getting better, so long as they don't sign up with Disney or something.

[Jipay]

They already did X-D See the Disney fabuland line :-P

[Brick Miner]

It is human nature to want to build something out of nothing, whether to create something beautiful, or useful, or to keep alive a memory, or see if something is simply possible.

Lego is simply the best tool for the job. Looking at the elements of flexibility, durability, practicality (which includes issues of cost, storage, ease of obtaining) and attractiveness.

That's why Lego has survived Mecanno, Lincoln Logs, and the various other imitation bricks.

You guys can all wax sentimental all you like. My feeling is that Lego has tapped into an intrinsic part of human nature (not present in everyone, but present in many of us), and has simply been most successful in satisfying that need.

i couldn't have said it better !!!

the ability to imagine is one of the most unique qualities that makes us human... LEGO satisfies so many requirements in realizing a life of fulfillment...

identifying a challenge and over coming it...

experiencing joy from problem solving...

taking pride in creating...

i mean, the list goes on... LEGO fulfills some of the most basic principals of human satisfaction.

well, at least, that is what LEGO means to me...

- BrickMiner

[Kikuichimonji]

Look, Jinzo's back! :-D

[oo7]

That's why Lego has survived Mecanno, Lincoln Logs, and the various other imitation bricks.

Meccanno and Lincoln Logs aren't that bad but LEGO is deffinatly better, plus these brands are actully pretty different than LEGO. If your going to accuse someone of immating LEGO bricks bash MEGABLOCKS and C3.

I own a k'nex car and bee (yes, a set of 3 giant robotic honeybees :-D ), a Meccanno heli and Empire State Building (Yay, an elusive add for NY State), a tub of MEGABLOCKS and their version of this, two Lincoln Logs forts, and a hell of a lot of Lego and Duplo X-D .

here is my order

1. Lego (and Duplo when I was at the age) *sweet*

2. Meccanno :-)

3. Lincoln Logs :-/

4. k'nex :-(

5. MEGABLOCKS :-X

[SuvieD]

LEGO is all about the SYSTEM. I can make what I want how I want with what features I want because everything sticks together in some way.

LEGO opens the doors of imagination.

LEGO is durable and can withstand being used thousands of times without fail to snap together.

Things like colors may change and new shapes can replace old ones. It has done this from the beginning and I think it will until the end when children no longer play with toys and the dwindling adult market can't afford them anymore. The face of LEGO is never the same yet it always has that look.

Long live LEGO, best toy company ever!

[Clone comander Nodra 999]

To me lego litteraly means creation, choice and originality. lego gives me the power of total control. i have the power to chooes what my toys look like. im not restricted like with other toys. i can choose the color the size and the shape of my toy. and then when i get bored with it i can turn it into something else.

I can still remember my first sets, an ice planet celestial sled and that my grandma got me at kmart and a spirius saucer scout that my mom got me at the toyrus down the street when i was realy little like three of fourish *wub* .I was drawn to the hypnotic grid that the tlc would put on those old space boxes. Ice planets year of 2002 has been surpassed buy 4 years and im now 15 going on sixteen now i still remember the old ways. when evry set was a creative masterpiece and not some liscensedhunk of megabloken garbage that it doesnt take a geniuse to make. Just think about it for a moment. How hard is it for a lego disigner to say im gona make stawars sets. Thats probably easier then saying im gona make a race of people that a live in undersea bases and have to fight with shark people to get these crystals. dont get me wrong im a huge suporter of starwars but still think it was more fun trying to make my own versions of st00f id see off tv. I'd like it if lego would try to make their own themes again and not buy more liscences.

good times

[gusmoore17]

Lego:

1.- That thing that opened up my mind since I was very little to become into I am about to be: an Architect.

2.- Fun

3.- Imagination without limits.

4.- The connection between my "world" and the other's "worlds".

5.- A global connection.

6.- Authenticity

7.- There are so many happy memories!!!

*sweet*

[Mister Phes]

Ahhhh... 50 years... The past 9 years has been all down hill... The 9 before that were brilliant... And the 32 before that I was either to young or non existent to remember...

[Dino_Bot]

I've never been partial to any toy companies, due to the fact I collect lots and lots of toys, so to me, they can be toys, highly valuable collectibles, or simply memory storage pieces...There's Hasbro, who've made JP, Batmen and Transformers, which are on my top choices, Mattel which now makes DC, and I buy a lot of their stuff, and Safari LTD, my leading choice for Dinosaur collectibles, and others, altough I'm open to everything else, but...my point is, all those lines, who cares, whithin those lines, toys are toys, no matter the quality or theme...But with LEgo, its a whole different thing. When you hear LEgo, you are guaranteed fun and quality, and pretty much EVERYTHING an object has to offer. LEgo is Lego and no one can imitate it.

Hmm...At least C3 and MEgablocks are compatible to a degree...That's a sidenote for me lol. I recently found a huge tub containing a Megablock Stegosaurus from times past. Never built it due to mysterious circumstances, but I can build a small outpost for Minifigs out of that...

Then, when I think back about that Stegosaur, and compare it to my LEgo Triceratops...Times have changed, and I'm pretty sure my red Triceratops will remain that same color forever, as sadly, the Megablocks Stegosaur turned brown. Blue and dark green it was.

[kenji]

lego is too expensive