Life as an AFOL

[GRogall]

Dnaindia has an interesting report about a fellow Lego AFOL!

[Darth Dino]

Hi

intersting, but not goining too much into details. At least i have learned what a "lakh" is. :D

Dino

[Paul B Technic]

A very interesting read, thanks for sharing.

[TheLegoDr]

Interesting read. Our point of view (as FOLs) compared to the typical citizen's point of view can be widely different. From the picture, most were official sets as far as I can tell. But most people wouldn't know that, especially the exclusives.

Most people think "it is cool" that I'm still into LEGO, but who knows what they really think. It doesn't really matter, but I agree the thing that matters the most is to not tell anyone how much you spend on LEGO. If they looked at you weird before, they will even more after then.

Why do I like LEGO? I like that answer, a childhood pleasure. It seems most people who are into LEGO as adults were more than likely into it as children. If you didn't come across it until your adulthood, you probably won't care about it as much. So it is very much a childhood pleasure.

And I learned what a lakh was too. Never heard of that before. He does have a lot of bricks, about double what I have.

[naf]

I would guess that most AFOL's were into LEGO to some degree as children. If I discovered LEGO as an adult, I would probably think it was a cool toy, and perhaps buy some sets for my kids. For me, so many childhood memories come back whenever I snap bricks together. I bought my stepson a few sets this past Christmas, and I was hooked again after helping him build them. I went from not thinking about LEGO at all for 20 years to digging through my parents basement for all my old sets. It was great putting them back together and showing the new generation what LEGO used to look like.

I don't MOC much. I mostly build official sets on display in my home office, which is slowly becoming a mini LEGO museum. My parents call it Legoland, and the kids love going in there to play with the models. I know my parents think it's a little strange that I still like to build with kid toys, but I think they're also glad that the gifts they gave me back then are still around and still bring me and my family joy to this day. My wife thinks it's cute, and I think it's a good way to bond with the children, something that bridges generations.

[LEGO Historian]

Naf... you discovered the most common way to come out of the Dark Ages... play LEGO with the kids... it's a sure harbinger of more LEGO in the future!

For me... I'm the first "known" AFOL... I came out of my Dark Ages in 1979... while visiting relatives in Germany. I had a hearty midday meal at my great uncles house... and needed to "walk off" the meal... I walked 2 blocks to a stationary store... that happened to have in the back of the store on a dusty shelf... 2 1958-65 Retailer Windows/Doors boxes... where kids could buy individual windows (9 classic types) and doors in either red or white. I bought both retailer boxes for $20 each... as well as 25 spare parts packs for $2 each (Deutschmark equivalent).... and those 700 LEGO windows and spare parts from the 1960s brought me out of my Dark Ages for good.

I say I'm the "first" AFOL... because in the 1987 WORLD OF LEGO TOYS book... I'm the only AFOL mentioned (page 30). I was interviewed over the phone by author Henry Wiencek. And the rest is history...

[XandersBrian]

Theres nothing wrong spending too much on Lego sets as long all of us know our priorities. I also had a huge collection of Lego despite of my financial status. Some of my friends cannot understand my brick addiction, some of people think I was too immature to buy these sets. I even create a Lego and other construction bricks segment on my Youtube account for some review which I called

.

You can also check my Lego and other Construction Bricks Stuff at XandersbrianBricktopia Blog for the complete list of my collections.

Edited June 20, 2013 by XandersBrian