Any aspect you can think of. Just your opinion.

For me it's playability. I don't "play" with them. I build stuff. I can make and imagine scenes. But even as a kid I didn't really play with my toys. I'd instead Muppet Baby style around and use the toys as inspiration for my imagination (the best toy of all). I don't really go muppet babies everywhere anymore (if there's anyone else in the room ;) ) but I still enjoy collecting and building and soon will start making customs. :)

Playability matters nothing to me. Never has. But I understand that it would be important for a lot of people.

For me it's playability.

Agreed. I never "play" with them. I usually build what I want and display it. The rest is stored in containers, out of sight. However, unlike you, I definitely played with them as a kid. Some of my fondest memories include the Saturday mornings waking up with Lego stuck all of my body because I ended falling asleep exhausted on my huge pile the night before while building, playing, and watching movies/TV shows.

I guess I would have to say the packaging. Of course I want it to reach me safe and undamaged but I do not have any space to keep countless cardboard boxes even if they are flattened down and in the loft.

Playability and boxes for me too, with one exception - the Star Wars sets.

For some reason, I have this need to keep Star Wars boxes. Just the bigger ones, not the battle packs. I don't really know why because I have no intention of selling my Star Wars sets any time soon. With every other theme, including modulars (my favourite theme), the boxes go straight into the recycle bin.

I often find myself "swooshing" the starfighters around. Everything else is pretty much just for display, and doesn't get played with.

Well, I definitely still play with them (and not ashamed! ) AND keep all of my boxes, so for me the least important aspect is: the debate of fleshies vs yellow heads.

For me, it's Duplo.

The gimmicky play features; like flick fire missiles and flip tables etc...

I keep all my boxes, as well as, the piece bags, and used sticker sheets. No answer as to why... I no longer play with my LEGO. I just build, photograph (MOCs) and, when I had a city layout, create scenes of everyday living. Even as a kid, I would put "scenes" back the way they were if I played with them. I guess that was my way of keeping rack of my LEGO. I do/did have two younger brothers who both decided to go Godzilla on my city at one time

The gimmicky play features; like flick fire missiles and flip tables etc...

This. Completely.

I think most AFOLs will agree that some of the least important aspects to them are flick-fires, trapdoors, etc.

Personally, things like boxes are slightly less important to me than play features. I mean, some of those features are pretty cool!

Playing as I build mine and then display them.

Official bricks that have little compatibility with the entire system

The top slot varies with the moment and whether I'm think of "least important feature" versus "outright detractor" but my short list usually goes something like this:

#5) Sticker sheets - either give me a model that is so textured and colored that it doesn't need stickers, or pre-print the bricks

#4) Nested/excessive bags in the packaging - it's one thing if outer bags are numbered to break up a large build, but little bags inside big bags without numbers or a dozen unnumbered bags when two or three large bags would have done is just more packaging to open, sort through, and dispose of ( I realize this is done to make things more accurate for weight based packaging machines but still...)

#3) Oversized specialty parts - I like big models made from large numbers of small generic parts, not the other way 'round

#2) Overall playability - I'm a builder and a collector. I think of LEGO creations as display pieces more than toys (okay, I admit I play with my trains, but who doesn't...)

#1) Gratuitous play "features" - Flick fire missiles in Weather Top? Really? When do we get little lasers to put on the sharks' heads for the next underwater theme?

Versatility. Sets that allow for alternate display options or sets that work with other sets to expand on. Generally with Star Wars, sets like ships are more boring to me. I still buy them, but I'd have much more interest in something like Jabba's Palace over the SSD.

Admittedly, figure count is also a factor.

Edited September 7, 201212 yr by Hawkman

[quote name=' ShaydDeGrai' date='07 September 2012 - 06:01 AM' timestamp='1347019282' post='1386593'

#3) Oversized specialty parts - I like big models made from large numbers of small generic parts, not the other way 'round

#2) Overall playability - I'm a builder and a collector. I think of LEGO creations as display pieces more than toys (okay, I admit I play with my trains, but who doesn't...)

#1) Gratuitous play "features" - Flick fire missiles in Weather Top? Really? When do we get little lasers to put on the sharks' heads for the next underwater theme?

I seem to see a pattern forming here. With many of the posts. It seems to me that most folks on this forum fall into the category of "builder and collector", that is where i believe I fall.

So the overall playability is not important to me. I like things that enhance the displayability though.

I like he box art, but I look at it, build the model, then put the box in the recycle bin, I have no room to collect boxes.

So for me, i have to say I most identify with what ShaydDeGrai listed as his 1,2,3 items.

Andy D

I have to agree with many of the posts offered above, they're all valid. I don't play with my models, and while I do keep my boxes, it's more for resell value should I ever come on hard times. I do hate stickers though, I tend not to apply them.

One that I have to add (that I believe I will cop some flak for) is Minifigures. I really don't care that much for them. Don't get me wrong, you need them to set the scale and they can't all be the same, but I'd rather the standard smiley on my minifgures than all these expressions. They're to complement what I've made, not overpower it. Lego used to be a lot simpler without all these different accessories for my dudes.

Certain play features for sure. I don't flick the missiles because I don't want to hit anyone's eyes. Same reason I don't shoot my cannons, even though that is actually fun sometimes. I know my 3 year old will hurt something with it, so I haven't done it in front of her yet.

But I do play with my sets sometimes. I like swooshing the TIE Fighter around and I love playing with Shelob. But for the most part I only display the sets or MOC into other structures.

I collect some of the boxes because the box art can be really neat. I'm sure once I run out of space for the boxes, I'll start recycling the least favorites.

Let me give my fairly unpopular opinion on this matter...

1. Minifigures.

For me personally, all they do is jack up set prices. I don't care about them, I don't build with them, I think they're outdated, non-posable, too "symbolic" and not enough "human-like", and I reckon they take up a considerable amount of Lego's new parts budget, with all the detailed printing. Would there have been no minifigs, there would probably have been place for a lot more interesting new parts or existing parts in more different colors so there would be more "complete" colors to build with.

Also, using a minifigure means the scale is fixed. To me, that's an unwanted limitation.

Also, using a minifigure means the scene somehow has to be "credible". It reduces the "artistic"-ness of a build, because it's hinting at real-world stuff. I like to "suggest" things with the regular parts. I very much see Lego as an art medium. I think detailed minifigs don't fit in that perspective.

And, if you think of it, minifigures satisfy almost all characteristics of "oversized specialized parts"...

By the way, Technic figures are a lot more interesting. They actually look like little people because they have the right proportions, and you can actually seat them on a chair with their feet touching the ground. You can use their limbs in ways I can use mine. They're just so much more "lifelike". I still rarely use them because of the scale problem, but at least they are good figures. Creating something for technic figures feels like designing something for actual people.

2. Stickers and printed bricks.

For the same reasons as minifigs, stickers and prints hint to real-life situations, which reduce the artistic-ness of a model.

3. Polybags.

I always have an uneasy feeling when having opened a large set and at the same day, having to throw away all those empty plastic bags I have just opened. Can't that be done a bit more environmentally friendly?

4. Pearl colors

They're generally ugly, in my humble opinion. I like the metallic colors, but the pearl colors never did it for me.

5. Licences

Almost all licences are "good vs. bad" types of franchises. I just don't care about those. But there are licences I like - Ferrari, Architecture, Volkswagen come to mind. Again - Lego used as an art medium.

6. Mosaics

Everyone can use a computer to reduce an image to a grayscale pixelated image and grab a box of 1 x 1 plates. But for some reason, actually interesting mosaics are much rarer.

Aside from the occasional 'test swoosh' when I make a SW set, I don't play with mine either. I build and display. The closest I get to playing is setting up minifigs in my layout.

#1) Gratuitous play "features" - Flick fire missiles in Weather Top? Really? When do we get little lasers to put on the sharks' heads for the next underwater theme?

Been there, done that. http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=8633-1

;-)

Been there, done that. http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=8633-1

;-)

Wow, I don't know how I could have missed that, maybe I knew about them and just repressed the memory.

Oh well, Bricklink here I come...

For me the mini figures are key and truly add to the greatness of Lego.

Every minifig is at least 4 new friends ;-)

And for me also stickers are not important, and I never slap them on.

Or it is printed, or it is not..

Me2

Well it would have to be the boxes. I can find lots of uses for flick fire missiles and trap door pieces. But I just don't need the boxes, running out of space in my room for some arbitrary cardboard.

Huh... like others here, there's a list of things with ZERO importance, so it's hard to pick which one, but tied for least important is definitely boxes and playability.

I built Mines of Moria, and was overwhelmed with play features... I need to find a way to just remove them. That and the fact I had to add my own baseplates, because all those separate pieces made it terrible for displaying.

It's just something AFOLs need to deal with, I guess.

Edited September 10, 201212 yr by fred67

More technic related, but for me it's probably RC. It's ok I guess, but it's very expensive to do and so diminishes the rest of the set.