Hey folks,

I'm 38 and a father of 3 (2 boys and a girl). The oldest boy and I have just started buying and building LEGO, and now suddenly I find myself wanting to build it on my own time too! :)

I'm no stranger to hobbies that some folks my find "youthful" - for example, I do a ton of painting of Warhammer and other miniatures (www.minijunkie.com).

Anyway, so far I find myself mainly wanting to buy and build Star Wars ships and vehicles. Currently I have my eye on Slave 1 and possibly the V19 Torrent (hope I got that name right). But I'm hesitant...it will probably look weird to my immediate family lol.

Questions:

- if you are a collector of LEGO, does that mean leaving them sealed in the box? Never really been a fan of that kind of collecting but I imagine the value of a set drops to nil if it's open and built?

- I find I don't really feel like doing MOCs - I just want to build the sets as they are meant to be built, and then display them or just basically stare at them lol. Do any of you do that or do most of you do MOCs?

Anyway, just perched on the fence at the moment!

Regards

Jarrett

-in terms of collecting, most lego hold most of their value even after they have been opened. i know some collectors leave them sealed but most do just what you want to.

-in terms of star wars i don't do much mocing. i leave most of my starwars built the way it is or moding a bit if i don't like the way the set is built but very rarely do i completely dismantle a set to make something completely different (only starwars set i've done that with is the republic gunship).

i do hope you'll join us

The nice thing about this hobby is you can do what ever you feel like. Never be afraid to open your purchase and enjoy it because if that makes you happy, that is all that matters. From time to time, i build custom stuff but i enjoy showing my town full of lego sets

Questions:

- if you are a collector of LEGO, does that mean leaving them sealed in the box? Never really been a fan of that kind of collecting but I imagine the value of a set drops to nil if it's open and built?

LEGO is meant to be opened, assembled and played with. keeping them MISB defeats the purpose unless you are thinking of re-selling in future. in this case, you may need a lot of space to store them and sell in future.

on the other hand, i would think it would be better if one starts a collection out of passion instead of thinking of future re-sale value. because some items (though Lego SW is less likely) may depreciate in future due to lack of widespread interest and/or cheaper alternatives/focus.

As has been said, LEGO maintains a good value even after opening, and in many cases you can sell an opened but complete in good condition set for more than MSRP if you hold on to it long enough.

That said, it sounds like you're defnitely not looking into this hobby solely for resale. Buy a few sets you like, build them, and if you're like most of us, you'll find out that you simply can't buy only one copy of a set you like and not open it.

Hey folks,

I'm 38 and a father of 3 (2 boys and a girl). The oldest boy and I have just started buying and building LEGO, and now suddenly I find myself wanting to build it on my own time too! :)

I'm no stranger to hobbies that some folks my find "youthful" - for example, I do a ton of painting of Warhammer and other miniatures (www.minijunkie.com).

Anyway, so far I find myself mainly wanting to buy and build Star Wars ships and vehicles. Currently I have my eye on Slave 1 and possibly the V19 Torrent (hope I got that name right). But I'm hesitant...it will probably look weird to my immediate family lol.

Questions:

- if you are a collector of LEGO, does that mean leaving them sealed in the box? Never really been a fan of that kind of collecting but I imagine the value of a set drops to nil if it's open and built?

- I find I don't really feel like doing MOCs - I just want to build the sets as they are meant to be built, and then display them or just basically stare at them lol. Do any of you do that or do most of you do MOCs?

Anyway, just perched on the fence at the moment!

Regards

Jarrett

This is exactly how I am. I just buy and build them as they were meant to be. No MOCs either. I don't know of anyone who just buys them and leaves them MISB. Some will buy 2 and leave one in the box. Or, you can always be like member mutley777, and just buy buy buy and then have to many to build and not enough time.

Welcome to the fold!

I have little time to MOC and prefer collecting the big. impressive Ultimate Collectors Series sets which are designed for display rather than play. Keeping them MISB is not an option, only storage space and an understanding partner. Mind you she loves the World Series sets like the Taj Mahal and Effiel Tower so either way we get to share a few fun builds a year and consider the display or store issues afterwards....

Hay Minijunkie, your hobby is your hobby. Do with it anything that you please.

I personaly like to build, display for 6 months and then pack it up due to sun damage. You can jump onto www.brickset.com and list your Lego sets and they will give you an approx RRP, part count and minifig count to keep track of your collection. Ive got $3990 US worth od Star Wars and about $2500 US in other themes. Also www.bricklink.com is awsome for pricing and comparing sets with prices on ebay to see if you getting a good deal. You can look up old set prices to see what they are worth or even pick up that set that you missed out on at the shop or was an exclusive.

I find it really hard to keep my sets MISB but latly with my 10 year old son contnatly touching, braking, loosing and swapping over fig elements I find it easyer to keep in the box. When I get sick or board I will whip one out and start building.

I usually get down on the ground with my son and help him with building somthing but ususlly I dont get the time to Moc myself.

Just finished putting together my Star Wars minifig display stand, and now need to sort through all the Lego to find the right bits to make the minifigs. Will get a photo up as soon as can in the show your army diplay thread.

Those who keeps tens and tens of boxes MISB for years, and then sell them with an (unfair) premium are not Lego fans.

They are money addict. That's all.

Hello MiniJunkie and welcome to the forum!

As an old fan of Star Wars I suddenly found myself looking more and more on those Star Wars Lego sets, especially the USC series and the minifigs. And some years later my collection keeps growing, I have a lot of models and minifigs for display and enjoy building the sets (especially the USC's) very much. I probably can call myself an AFOL by now... You just have to buy that first set, then you're hooked And it's great to build together with the kids as well.

Over to the questions:

-If you buy LEGO only to sell later and make some money, then keep them unsealed in the box. If you're a fan of the models and LEGO and enjoy the build - then build them! But it might be a good idea to keep the box, instruction booklets and so on. Always good to have a complete model.

-At first, I didn't do any MOC's at all. Then, as my collection grew, I started to modify some ships (for example the 6202 - those details are not supposed to be blue... I wanted them gray...). I also noticed that my spare part collection grew, so I did some MOC's. But the primarily build is still the official sets. But I guess there will be more MOC-ing in the future.

Some people do crossword puzzles, others build LEGO... I use to say that LEGO building is as good training (and much more fun) to your brain as crossword puzzles or sudoku. Then most skepticism use to turn into a smile

What's an "AFOL"? Am I one? 31 years old and have just bought my first Lego set in two decades, a technic whell loader 8265 that I'm building with my four year old daughter. It's great to be back.

Minijunkie, I recognize the problems with convincing your wife. I've been painting warhammer figs for twenty years now and it took her a while before she really understood it. And now I'm on to Lego.

Top tip: involve your son as much as possible, your wife will then be much more understanding. Mine even told me that "Seeing you build together with your daughter opens up a lot of possibilities for you..."

The only drawback is that building is really, really slow. But then, in a way that gives me more value for my money.

In short: enjoy!

Those who keeps tens and tens of boxes MISB for years, and then sell them with an (unfair) premium are not Lego fans.

They are money addict. That's all.

Maybe so, but they do give collectors late to the game a chance to own MISB sets. The only people I could see being mad about this is other collectors who have MISB sets and don't want that market to be saturated. It's not like they prevent anyone from buying the set during its normal production run.

With my eightteen years old, I don't know if I would call myself an AFOL, but after building a SW set, I break it down in pieces after 2 or 3 days, hehe.

I mostly do MOC's, I only buy SW lego for the parts and minifigs. Although bricklink is a better solution for collecting (useful) parts.

It's a hobby, man-- that means doing something you enjoy on your own time and on your own terms. Do whatever you want with it. Personally, not only do I not keep them in their boxes-- I don't even keep the boxes at all! And I RARELY build MOCs-- usually it's just the process of buying and building a set that I enjoy. There are no rules, excep the ones you keep for yourself! And the fact that you'll probably spend more money than you wanted to, haha!

Here are some what I think are helpful tips:

1. LEGO can be expensive

That's why I buy for less whenever I can. There are many ways of acquring LEGO and if you are building specific sets there are loads of instructions on the web (go visit brickset.com) and getting parts for them (bricklink).

2. LEGO can be tiring

Sometimes after two hours of staring at the little booklet trying to finish building the set, you get tired hunched in your seat, your eyes hurt looking for pieces and trying to figure out how to put it together, etc... So sometimes it is nice to have a small side project like building minis or looking at other things.

3. LEGO is hard to sort

If you are building models only then you won't need to go through tens of thousands of little plastic bits but if you are go look for a plastic tool box with lots of drawers to store different pieces and small tackle boxes for smaller pieces, also having a gigantic box is nice to keep unsorted or 'scrap' LEGO

4. Have Fun

The most important part is to have fun for that is the whole purpose of LEGO, it even means that in dutch (I think) play well.

Good Luck!

Well i'm 36 so must be an AFOL

Anyway i only buy the true UCS sets as i don't play with the Lego and just Stare at it, i also build Mocs though which at times can get tedious, but its the pleasure i get out of other people seeing them at the shows/exhibitions i display at.

I took the plunge and picked up Slave 1. We'll see how this goes. Should be interesting to see how the wife reacts...

Maybe so, but they do give collectors late to the game a chance to own MISB sets. The only people I could see being mad about this is other collectors who have MISB sets and don't want that market to be saturated. It's not like they prevent anyone from buying the set during its normal production run.

In the case of Lego I would have to agree. The production and availability is quite good, at least for me, that I see no negative to some people buying sets and hanging on to them. It's not like they are able to buy up so many that others are not able to obtain the set at retail. I've seen this happen with other collectibles, but not Lego.

I took the plunge and picked up Slave 1. We'll see how this goes. Should be interesting to see how the wife reacts...

I'm a married dad as well, and my wife generally took my return to Lego well. Compared to dad's blowing money on cars, bars, or sports, Lego isn't so bad. She took issue when spending went beyond $100 a month though, and I had to reign it in.

It really is just a hobby. No better or worse than building model battleships or having a train set in the basement.

Enjoy your Slave I, and consider diving into the big sets, like the modular buildings. They cost more, but feel more mature and you might even be able to place them in the living room

I'm a married dad as well, and my wife generally took my return to Lego well. Compared to dad's blowing money on cars, bars, or sports, Lego isn't so bad. She took issue when spending went beyond $100 a month though, and I had to reign it in.

It really is just a hobby. No better or worse than building model battleships or having a train set in the basement.

Enjoy your Slave I, and consider diving into the big sets, like the modular buildings. They cost more, but feel more mature and you might even be able to place them in the living room

which building sets do you mean, def?

which building sets do you mean, def?

This section has the more adult-oriented sets. They have more pieces and usually look more realistic. Do your research before buying sets from Amazon, they are usually way overpriced. You can check prices against Brickset.com.

This section has the more adult-oriented sets. They have more pieces and usually look more realistic. Do your research before buying sets from Amazon, they are usually way overpriced. You can check prices against Brickset.com.

They had that Death Star in stock at TRU today but...eep, not sure I can explain 500 to my wife right now :D

Can't help reading this topic's development with a big smile on my face... I get this "you're not alone" feeling.

So I guess I have to join the confession: Also a happily married dad. Aged 37. Picked up LEGO building about 5 or 6 years ago. Collect minifigs and the USC sets.

I really agree with def. A dad could be a lot worse than building and collecting LEGO. I can't put my models everywhere in the house, but my hobby is well accepted by the family and I do spend a lot of time building with my kids.

MiniJunkie! Good luck with Slave I, it's a nice set with some really cool minifigs.

That’s kind of how I got restarted. I started seeing these Lego Star Wars sets pop up in ‘99 and ’00 and I had liked Lego as a kid and had always had an eye on my oldest brother’s Star Wars ‘70’s classic models. So along with a 6 pack, and steak, I’d toss in box of Lego. And that was my “Sunday” afternoon.

Hey folks,

I'm 38 and a father of 3 (2 boys and a girl). The oldest boy and I have just started buying and building LEGO, and now suddenly I find myself wanting to build it on my own time too! :)

I'm no stranger to hobbies that some folks my find "youthful" - for example, I do a ton of painting of Warhammer and other miniatures (www.minijunkie.com).

Anyway, so far I find myself mainly wanting to buy and build Star Wars ships and vehicles. Currently I have my eye on Slave 1 and possibly the V19 Torrent (hope I got that name right). But I'm hesitant...it will probably look weird to my immediate family lol.

Questions:

- if you are a collector of LEGO, does that mean leaving them sealed in the box? Never really been a fan of that kind of collecting but I imagine the value of a set drops to nil if it's open and built?

- I find I don't really feel like doing MOCs - I just want to build the sets as they are meant to be built, and then display them or just basically stare at them lol. Do any of you do that or do most of you do MOCs?

Anyway, just perched on the fence at the moment!

Regards

Jarrett

Hello Jarrett and welcome to the forums. I had to smile when reading your post. I recently went through a similar experience. Started collecting LEGO roughly two months ago, SW exclusively (or so i swore to myself ).

Since then i spent 523 EUR to get some of the basics - and i am still waiting for sales on the summer wave sets...

Yes, that sounds obsessive at first - but others here can only groan at such a meager starter...

The nice thing about LEGO is the freedom you have to emphasize on one or several aspects of your liking. Be it smaller sets, bigger ones, standalones, UCS, specific topics, minifigs, customizing/MOCs, photography and so much more. It's just up to you.

Regarding your questions:

- I have most of my sets (the bigger ones) sealed yet. Getting a glass cabin next month and do not want to get things dusty before i set them up in there. Leaving them sealed was a rationale at first - if the hobby gets too expensive or whatever - one could still sell them at a reasonable price. I learned that older sets out of production achieve high prices even if they were opened and built up before (only make sure to keep them clean and complete!). However, i cannot imagine to sell anything of what i bought. Despite the large inevstment to get 'the basics' i am critical on what to buy. This forum and it's excellent people are of great help when it comes to choosing well on what to get or emphasize on.

- MOCs are an 'advanced branch' i guess. Up to now i feel like you. I am perfectly fine with just building as things are supposed to be. For testing without disassembling your precious, i suggest you to try on the LDD. There is a specific subforum on it and the program is a great tool to play and try out new techniques or workarounds.

I can only congtatulate you to joining that funtastic hobby for (wo)men who have to pretend to be adults most of their time.

And in your case - hey you have kids. That's the best excuse i can imagine.

Have fun and happy brickin'

EDIT:

Hehe, Slave I was my first set above 50 bucks, too. Umm, there's Boba Fett with it and Han in carbonite - your wife must understand that you simply had to get it...

Edited June 27, 201113 yr by Ki-Adi-Mundi