The sets that got away

 So many times there were sets that I had or wanted but realized financially I couldn't or shouldn't buy!  The top sets I can think of are below; believe me I am thrilled with what I have, but these sets were just so neat.  Pure greed on my part!!!

1) town hall

The town hall was just too

Expensive but it was sure neat!  Beautiful architecture 

2) The black creator car

I wanted this car but it was $70.  I went to a garage sale but took a wrong turn.  After getting my bearings, I parked and went up the long driveway and a kid was walking away with this for $5.  I truly daydreamed i knocked the box away from him(just kidding!!), ran and got into my car but I thought better of it. That kid had better have enjoyed it!  If I hadn't missed that one darn curve!

3) the lego apocalypseburg from the lego set...I love the outstretched green arm with the ladder...honestly even if I could have afforded it, the complexity would have been over my head

4) multiples of the star wars midi scale set on sale for $12

Every year at the end of the holidays, walmart tortures me by putting left over legos on clearance in the garden center for sale.  The smell of miracle grow fertilizer nearly overwhelms me due to no ventilation and the temperature is about 30 degrees, but I power on to find those legos between thousands of Christmas bulbs..  I didn't have the gull to buy these on 12-30-2008 (date?) at Walmart because I had just come off a great Christmas with legos, couldn't justify more at that time.  In retrospect there weren't many complex and diverse pieces.  I was so determined to get a deal the next year all I could find was 10x$1 for the set below so I have 10 pigs i have no idea what to do with

4) space cruiser

I didn't know that sets 918, 924  existed until I was older,  I knew there was the galaxy explorer but not the 2 smaller versions.  I would have been too young to buy!

5) lego chasses, both versions --too young!!!  Still would take 8860 in a minute!!

6) multiples of original lego millenium falcon. $75 clearance Walmart...no one wanted them.  I took 3/5 left

7) lego motor

As a kid in the 70s, I was going to build the ultimate car or train, but had to have the motor first!!  Loved seeing this in the catalog back then, not even remote control operation but that wire control was so technologically advanced as a kid

8) lego technic tipper and Volvo truck

Again even if I could purchase these. They would be too complex for me to build.  Loved the color schemes of these sets, especially the gray curved on the tipper truck!

9) at st

Only wanted for the gray pieces. But they were mostly plates...but I could have had 3 for 1/2 price.. I think $40

10) the detective office 

Who wouldn't love this set with a story line and hidden features.  And the cool little cookies.  The creation of a flush toilet, a pool table, a 2x1 letter tile and the first lego scissors...I blew it on this one, I could have bought this for $100 but the window decals were put on crooked...I was stupid!

11) the blue car...$12 * 8 sets available...I wanted them for the clear windshield but the other pieces weren't quite worth the cost.  Fortunately lego did make transparent yellow windshields for the lego movie 2.

12) lego Ferrari

I just didn't realize how neat this set was at the time until it was retired 

Don't know what i was thinking, although it never went on sale

All of these sets were awesome but so pricey...plus even if I had these i would still want more...I need to be thankful for the great sets I have been able to have!!! Pure greed on my part as I have been so blessed with what I have.

The price is right...except at the big box stores

 My favorite thing in the 80s was to leave my parents and look at the toy aisles....it was customary to look at each box of the same set to see if they made a mistake with the price tag...usually the ones in the back that had been put out earlier

My major find was a dollar off the spaceman set at gold circle...mom had to get me that!

I saved a dollar off the $3.99 price!!

Image from brick economy 

Flash forward to 2 years ago at a big box store 12/26.  The price for set was 20$ or so off.  The compassionate highly focused cashier rang up the set and said it wasn't on sale "because that's not what the computer said" I went and got the tag on the shelf and brought it back to her...she said "I cannot believe you took that off the shelf" to which I said" well it's not doing anybody any good!". I thought the big box store security was going To get me booted out but they were arguing at the register about getting their employee discount on legos! 

Hard work to get this set at big box store!!!

25$ vs 45$ ..I'm just lucky the computer didn't say $70 because thats what the wheel said

Image From datagenetics.com

Ha ha I thought the price is right ended with the showcase showdown, the price was right for me, but it ended in the cashier/register showdown

Foundational lego piece

 It seems like now days anyone who talks about legos has a certain style or theme of legos that they like and reference in their mind.  But I think there's a generation of builders that trace their lego memories back to one piece that wS the center and foundation of legos and that is the green baseplate.

It could be the foundation of a house, an uneven terrain for lego cars to manage, a massive car or wagon when 4 wheels were attached, or the balcony of a huge tower.  It was like kindergarten or a rite of passage where any lego collection started

Any model from lego or moc starts with pieces coming together in perfect order and sequence, the key is the solid foundation for all other blocks to build upon .

Excitement of mail order

 In this day and age it's so hard to think of having to wait for mail deliveries but thats how lego used to be even into the late 80s.  There were always service packs to order and here is examples of this...in reality I only ordered 1 time

Nowadays the catalogs are so different and wouldn't it be amazing to be able to buy these pieces again at the old prices!

Tribute to open lego buildings

 I touched on 493 set being the first open set in a prior post, but found some pics that really show this.  

I remember paying with the above sets, but the play was limited to bringing cars in and out of the bays for parking.  Then came the open bud concept started with set 493

The sets below really show how far this building concept has come

The word playability used to describe lego sets is sure enhanced with the open building concept!...also see the Disney castle and now the daily bugle set.

Manual labor!

No more room for my lego manuals... 

This weekend i finally confronted an issue I knew needed managed.  I have a huge collection of lego manuals that take up so much space in my already filled to the max lego room.  So I finally decided to let go.  Why we hold on to things thinking they'll triple in value the minute they're thrown out ill never know.  But I pared down 2/4 sterilite containers that can be used to store legos for better building  I found some manuals that I intend to give to someone at work so their kids can hopefully have fun building more of the generic models.  Here are some of the highlights of this weekend...

I loved the new gray 2x2 1 stud pieces new with heroica sets!!

Gray 2x2 1 stud tiles (pic from ebay)

Loved the star wars mini sets!

I gave up taking pics and just pitched 2 other garbage bags of lego manuals.  It just seems easier to be digital and get stuff online, but the old guy in ne wants something I can hold when I build!  Well for now I feel like i created more room to build!

If the way to put legos is infinite, the same model can have infinite instructions

 I miss the lego 4 wide cars from the 80s...while I stumbled on the instructions on google images, I found the same car with multiple steps to build the same model

I included screenshots from repubrik, suncentral inc., bricks and brickinstructions.com, worldbricks.com

Well, the important thing is the car gets built regardless of how many different steps are needed!!!

This was one of the best lego cars ever...essentially the model t of legos...the double windshields,  the headlight bricks...people in this day and age dont realize how hard these type of pieces were to get enough of...and how we had to walk to school up hill both ways!!!man I'm old!

Major breakthrough with the little red bins!

 Well, by mistake and no idea what I was doing, I came up with the best idea ever...I present my bin storage solution 

I thought I could jd weld the plastic to metal to carry around to sort in different places...I left the middle part open

And duct tape just peeled off after a year

So the bins fit perfect in this wood frame from menards

No tools needed and the tight fit hold the bins perfectly!!!  Truly a bin/bin situation!!