Hi! Alexandra from NZ here.

[LukeWarmTea]

Hi all!

I'm Alexandra, a mum from NZ and I'd love to meet other NZ lego fans. I loved Lego as a kid and collected Basic stuff, the Robin Hood series and Technics, but we couldn't afford the motorised stuff. I'm still in the same boat moneywise, I work part time as a cleaner and my partner Sara works on the lumber yard so Lego has always been a bit out of reach. My daughter is now 5 (and a half, the half is important!) and she's been given Friends the past year or so, which is slowly taking over from her Duplo which she still sometimes plays with. It has Bob the Builder stuff, so that's an incentive for her. She loves City and had some pretty neat sets which we've cannibalised (along with the Friends parts - those lovely colourful flat pieces are the best) into baby cots, change tables, high chairs and buggies, bunk beds and go-carts - all that stuff little kids are into.

I want to build with her, for her and for myself too. For the longest time I was into Sylvanian Families and I should've been buying Lego! I would love to own a big modular building like the Parisian Restaurant - all those mod builds remind me of times in Europe and the UK (where my family is) and look nothing like NZ - I'd be keen later to take on the challenge of a NZ building, maybe a weatherboard villa or two.

So that's it really. Oh, and I support those trying to address gender imbalance in toys, it's a bit of a thing for me I guess. I don't want my little girl to think she can't play with Ninjago, and I don't think her friends who are male should be unable to play with the Friends figs. I'd also like to see more advanced builds targeted to girls - like a motorised Friends range or something.

Anywho, it's nice to meet you!

Alexandra

[Freddy Bricker]

Hello Alexandra and welcome to Eurobricks! You sound rather interesting (in a good way!) and I agree with the imbalance of genders in Lego, but hey it is a toy company. Hope to see you around more. Oh yeah, and I've said this to like every girl that has signed up on the forums, but I suggest you go over to the "girls stand up" thread and introduce yourself as a lady (you get a special tag)

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2729

[ShaydDeGrai]

Welcome from pretty much the far end of the planet (New England). I hope you have many long and happy years building with your daughter.

On the question of gender equality in toys, back when I was a university professor, I used to work on a project promoting young girls' (5-9 yr olds) interests in engineering and one of the key things we used were Technic sets. The kids themselves initially branded the LEGO as a "boys' toy" but once they got over that stigma, they really took to it. In a matter of months, they'd doubled their performance on spacial relations tests and had a much better understanding of basic concepts like torque and gear ratios than their male counterparts. So, I applaud your efforts to share build time with your daughter, it's not just quality family time it could also be helping to stimulate cognitive development too often neglected by gender biased toys and instruction.

[eurotrash]

Welcome Alexandra!

[Pizzareno]

Hi there and welcome. I am newish here too. Also from New Zealand. Where are you in NZ?

[LukeWarmTea]

Hi all, thanks for the welcome - taking up your advice on the Lady tag (so much cooler than Vassal, cheers for that Eurobricks) and also am doing the Lego fan quiz thing in your sig Shaydgrai, cause lolz.

I'm in Welly Pizzareno, what Island are you on?

[Robianco]

Welcome from the UK!

[Pizzareno]

I'm on the mainland in Christchurch.

You can check out our LUG here http://lug4x2.org/

Please feel free to join. We are a bit spread out over both islands but it is also another good way to connect with other LEGO minded NZers

[LukeWarmTea]

Thanks, I have!