Sentimental for 80s legos

 I watched the new "Top Gun Maverick" this date. The movie took me back to being a kid in the 80s when lego was "primitive" by todays standards in terms of types and sizes of sets. SPOILER ALERT...there is a scene with the old f14  (or 15) jets go up against the newer jets.  I must be getting old as I rooted for the older jets even though the new jets that the enemies had are much more capable, expensive, and maneuverable.

And then a book I saw at the library came to mind  (which is available at my library and on the Lego website.).  It's called I'm fun too!

The premise of the book is that old sets from the late 70s early 80s being behind the times compared to the current sets of 2022.

In fairness it has been 42 years since the early 80s. So things do change over time.  The pics in the book depicted the kinds of sets I remember from childhood: two are shown in the book "I'm fun too".

Source:I'm fun too a classic LEGO picture book, 2018, Jonathan Fenske.  

Source:I'm fun too a classic LEGO picture book, 2018, Jonathan Fenske

Above: much cooler motorcycle

Above castle horse vs new horse

Source:I'm fun too a classic LEGO picture book, 2018, Jonathan Fenske

Tonight I watched you tube. There are so many channels, vlogs, fancy video productions with big colored letters and people showing $1800 to $2000 hauls from the Lego store.  Part of me doesn't like all the fancy videos, yet another part watches in disbelief and envy.  Then there are so many videos on investment in sets which always make me think "people actually buy these to sell secondhand, it's a kids toy"

So for now I like blogging about legos but unfortunately the flashy videos and more expensive sets surpass me. I just miss the 80s where lego selling didn't exist on computers and costs were not as astronomical due to licensing.  There was just space, town, castle themes and general sets, not todays massive/ licensed sets. Now I cannot keep up with the multiple different lines of products and being part of lego community is hard without keeping up with videos and seeing the diversity of new sets out there online.  Reading a blog about legos can't compete with videos!

So my blogging isn't as neat as the videos, but I'll keep plugging away.  I feel like I'm an actual newspaper in a 24 hour instant news digital world.  I'm becoming obsolete with keeping up on trends and news about lego collecting and sharing on the internet.

After writing and thinking about Lego advances, this article came up on my news feed

Now the new red motorcycle and fancy brown horse in the above mentioned book above are being relinquished to the past and left thinking "I'm fun too"

Lego art and ads showing what I think is the spirit of building with Lego

The spirit of lego 

I don't know how I stumbled across this picture, but I think it is genius!! 

Source:August 2015 Scandinavian Traveller.  Written by Daniel Dasey and photo by Jann Lipka, page 60.

The picture above makes me think of aspects of what I consider to be the spirit/essence of building or playing with Lego whether as a child or being an adult. I have broken down my thoughts as to what using lego represents to me and what to never let go of. These 7 aspects include: giving, creating, rebuilding, celebrating different tastes in sets and themes, coming together from diverse backgrounds to make things, imagining and developing ideas.  I've tried to use lego ads and pics to illustrate my point!

 

1) Creativity

 The spirit of creativity is used by both kids and adults no matter how complex a build.  In the never let go picture above, creativity is seen by using all pastel colors indicate a consistent and complementary color scheme that a relatively older builder would think of.  The technique of stacking of bricks conjours images of creativity of a child or me in youth playing with lego when pieces of of lego were very simple/limited as children and color schemes didn't matter.  Creativity is present at both ages.

Now, years later, the creativity of lego building is still the same. Fancier techniques and pieces are available as demonstrated in the Lego Movie logo.  The font below is much more complex than the first picture in this blog saying "never let go."

Even with such contrasting fonts used in the never let go picture and the lego movie 2 picture, the creativity used to make each is the same process

As a side note, I don't think we'll ever see the ultimate collectors letter and numbers set, but there may be a market for the creativity it would allow.  One has to only look at Etsy to see child names and initials for sale due to the creative look!

2) Giving

The second piece of lego art conveying the spirit of lego is present in the picture below.  This craft was made by a nice person who knew I like building with Lego.  I was really touched that they took the time to make this...

Lego gives a way for people to create original projects and give/share those creations to others.  It could be a parent making a plane or car while playing with their kids, or an adult buying a set for a person they know.  I've had people bring me lego mugs and "candy blocks" that look like lego and it is so appreciated!

Related to the giving spirit, I often browse the lego aisle and commonly hear people buying for kids and laughing "oh, look they have a garbage truck" or "look there's even a little cat"..  Again, legos bring out a giving spirit as the people mentioned above will often say "well, I think that they'll like the boat, let's get that".  (Then they'll look at the price and say "good grief"-except for grandparents!).  Parents say "put that back!"

3) Rebuilding

I love the above picture, the symbol of arm for using your body for building.  The "t" in the 2nd line shows putting pieces together, in usual or new ways.  The final "o" shows the gladness and happiness in doing the rebuilding.  

4) Celebrating different likes and dislikes in sets and themes

5) Diverse groups of people and pieces coming together in the spirit of creativity 

6) Imagination

One only has to type afol moc in the search box to see this demonstrated

7) Creating ideas

 A self built prosthetic arm, placing lego in holes of real buildings, making train models. There's never a shortage of lego ideas!

There is a final ad that summarizes what I think all the 7 elements of the spirit of lego building present in both youth and adulthood...

  

In summary, I feel that there are multiple elements that form the spirit of building with lego.  These elements include giving, creating, rebuilding, celebrating different tastes in sets and themes, coming together from diverse backgrounds to make things, imagining and developing ideas. I  think the ads and art pics above convey visually what I'm describing as the essence of building with lego.  From youth to adulthood, there is always progression in the 7 elements that I consider to be the essence/spirit of building with Lego.  Never let that go!

 

What lego collectors dream of!

 What lego collectors dream about:

Las Vegas...godiva and lego together!!!

Lego store in Hong Kong...fantastic presentation of drawers in a used lego store

Tables of pick a brick used legos...could be infected by a mega block or Tyco virus

How can I get clearance prices from the vending machines!!!

Love the caption below the pic, "stylish spaces designed for living"  would be hard to keep the floor clean from errant pieces...

Sweet dreams!!

Dumb mistake #1 setting up my lego room

 I cannot get to my basement to get to my legos due to an injury ( I miss my legos so much).  When I built my room,  I thought at the time it would be neat to have legos stored from floor to ceiling, just like at the legoland workshop or a library where you need a ladder to get to the top/full collection.  Well I never thought about getting up to all the legos if physically I was unable. Now I've got to get someone to eventually get the top drawers down

Not so intelligent stacking cabinets so high!  No chance of reaching the top!  When I fill the 64 drawer cabinet on the particleboard bookshelf, it will be too heavy and unsafe...

Could also be a safety risk, esp. With steel cabinets!

Live and learn!

How I avoided getting "hosed"

 Every hose has its thorns

I think some tubing and hosing replacements are so hard to find or buy due to expense.  The first type of hosing I wanted was the classic space type as seen in this truck from the alpha 1 base from about 1979

Another example is from the set below

So I took a piece to a local O'Reilly auto part store.  I was afraid the 2 clerks would laugh at my lack of a true masculine car project but these guys were incredibly nice. I took a piece that the hose should fit and we eventually found black tubing the right size.  Needless to say I will definitely go back there; the only problem was a small amount of black residue and the small piece I bought made the car smell like a tire when I mistakenly left in a hot car!  But the size was perfect and will help create new little space vehicles!

I also bought gas trimmer fuel line tubing with a nice yellow tint that I had read will work!

This is the reference from bricklink

I have a few original hoses and they were kept in a cool damp environment which likely helped preserve them as I would think dry and heat storage would dry and crack the rubber material.

The second type of hose seems more common on the internet...the hydraulic hoses for technic models

The inner diameter appears to vary 1.5 to 2.5mm, some appear to be available for order in the UK.  Hope this helps others, I'm trying to get more info and may update the info in this post!

ADDITIONAL INFO FROM BRICKLINK

Favorite adventure cars

I never had any of the jungle theme, jurassic park scene, Egypt sets but they had some of the coolest cars.  I often took pictures of the set numbers and cars, unfortunately some of the cars have such unique pieces and colors

The color of this car is so neat!!

Similar to the above red car, this car has cool hubcaps And love the rounded hood and grill piece!

This car had a neat round inverted piece for the side door

A little better view 

This roadster had a mix of colors and a extra tire on the back!!  Also love the hubcaps with spokes

Love the curve from the back coming to the open door area

Love the roll cage bar piece, also the exhaust tube

I don't know how anyone can make an old fuel truck any more cool.  The thin tire treads and cab are fantastic.

Like 

I like this car that could be amphibious and the tilted unique window 

Nice jeep above for escaping from dinosaurs!

Great sand mobility and new style of grill in front.

This isn't lego brand but still a cool design for a scooter

Good truck for fire response above

Like the dark green color!

I like the dune buggy appearance...would be fun on sand!

Building this car was really nearby, love the use of clips for fenders

Like the design but I hate green legos!  In gray and blue this would be more amazing!

missiles! If I like the pink, but still a cool car!

Who couldn't love A speeding car shooting misssiles!

This is by far the neatest car, the color scheme and design!! 

Well there are many more but these were so neat that I hope to build these eventually!!  Have my own version of Jay lenos garage (probably about the same cost legos are so expensive!