I am writing on behalf of my daughter Jess, total aficionado and mega pro on LEGOs®. She has been working on many pieces by herself but when she moved back home recently, things went to the next level. It became our thing. Now, mind you, she is the one building but she delegated responsibilities to me such as opening bags and organizing pieces, as well as being the snack person. Lol. Absolutely loved it as it connected me back with my daughter and I recovered so much time lost while she was a kid and I was too busy working :(. LEGOs® brought us closer and build a connection that we were trying to establish back for so long.
That is our happy story of a mom who reconnected with her daughter through LEGOs®.
Unfortunately, shortly after we had a good thing going, she had several pieces that we acquired over months and mommy even financed some, Hurricane Helene came and literally washed it all away. We could not salvage even 10% of her pieces. We had done masterpieces such as the lighthouse, milky way, Concorde, museum, many cars and all the flowers, Japanese garden and the pyramid, oh my, so many. Millennium Falcon!
We lost everything on the storm and could only salvage very little personal items such as clothes. It was very sad to see her whole collection, pride and joy, all gone with the surge. And it had been emotionally drowning.
Although this was an extremely happy story in the beginning, it turned out to be really sad because of a disaster outside of our control. We’re trying to rebuild our lives but LEGOs® were such a big part of such a happy part of our lives, that I wanted to share with everyone. I don’t know when we will build LEGOs® again, but I sure do hope it happens soon!
LEGO® has been a part of my life since I was a child in the 1970s, and I feel the brand has grown over the years with me. I had an abundance of LEGO® kits, mainly LEGO® system and Space. One thing I remember was that I used to build ‘play sets’ and ‘ships’ for my Star Wars figures as a kid. I had Star Wars toys, but I had this massive box of plastic bricks that I could literally build anything I wanted and created so much to entertain myself.
Growing up with LEGO® and Star Wars, you can imagine how blown away I was when LEGO® had the franchise to produce sets. LEGO® is a premium product, and I simply cannot, like millions of others, bring myself to buy third party stuff. But I find now that I work for a living and I can afford to buy bigger and better sets, so for me the dream, the childhood escape continues.
During lockdown in 2020, I started working from home, and the amount of money I noticed that I was saving by not spending it on fuel, I discovered the very slippery slope of buying the modular buildings and more expensive sets, and I love them! The minifigs really make it for me too. I know there are thousands, but I have a small collection of the ones I really love, and treasure them more than some of the bigger sets I have. The whole notion that anything is possible in the mind of a child still runs through my veins even though I’m in my late 40s, from the sane to the ridiculous, there are no limits.
When I bought my first modular, the Bookstore, I just had this idea that I would get the mini figures to actually build the building. I’m always posting on social media, so what better thing to do than to document the construction of this new kit. Blending the characters from different genres was also a fascinating concept to me, because in this world of mine anything was possible. The notion of Darth Vader’s troopers building a building is nuts, but that’s how my mind works. We know these characters from films, but to give those characters additional quirks, such as they are hooked on donuts, or have some sort of unhinged quality is comical to me.
Dear old Darth Vader kind of a helping to build the LEGO® bookstore!
Recently I had been re-watching the classic 1990s tv series Home Improvement, and simply love the show, and I’d seen on LEGO®Ideas someone had created a small Tool Time set, and I used the concept, and designed my own version in Bricklink Studio, filled it with tools, and then spent a fortune building it for real. Then I spent a fortune buying random minifigure parts to try and fit together characters that matched those of the television show, and after so many variations I’d like to feel I did a reasonable job.
My Home Improvement studio
I did a series of skits over the Christmas period which were studio based with the characters interacting with various guests, ranging from various Star Wars characters to Santa Claus, with all the ensuing catastrophes that happen due to the nature of Tim’s character. This lead to a Tim and Al special ‘acquiring’ the parts to build a LEGO® Galaxy Commander ship, one of my childhood favourites (which I’d acquired on eBay for a great price) have them testing it out, and being picked up on the scanners of the Imperial Empire, with Vader insisting they track the ship.
Also I did a ‘Tim and l’ build the LEGO® Diner, and friends and family seem to really enjoy these nonsensical pieces of harmless fun. The whole idea that a character can be killed off and returns in a future skit, via some sort of magic, or invention by a character such as Dr Strange from the Marvel Universe, or Doc Brown from Back to the Future…..is crazy yet hilarious.
I also love LEGO® Technic, and I plan to buy the new Lamborghini next. I loved the intricacy of the working parts, and the fact that I put the sets together. It’s a great way to learn mechanics and physics, and great for those with an interest in engineering. I have built many Technic sets, but don’t tend to do the step-by-step pictures of documenting the build, and just simply enjoy the build. It’s a different type of build compared to the comedy modular builds I do. Although that being said, I did have two LEGO® Death Troopers, the larger format figures, and made out that they built the LEGO® Technic Ducati motorbike, as it was perfectly scaled to them, but that was a one off.
2 LEGO® Death troopers riding in a cool Ducati!
Will I grow up, I doubt it…..but whilst friends, family and the dozens of people that enjoy what I’ve done continue to love what I do, I’m happy to carry on! If you want to check my latest adventure you can check it out here!
Long live LEGO®……these little plastic bricks have certainly, and continue to shape my life!
經過多個月既努力，儲左幾十年既舊SET終於都可以以城市形態再一次重現眼前。 數數手指對上一次砌個LEGO® town出黎已經係26年前中學時代了。砌呢個城最大嘅挑戰係點樣利用有限嘅空間而有效地display到最多嘅set出嚟，而出到嚟又唔會有迫夾嘅感覺。雖然實際動工砌前已經用digital方法 plan 咗layout但係砌到出嚟睇又係另一回事，所以其實layout更動都改咗三次。而且display出嚟更加要顧及觀賞/影相角度要有層次感盡量要收埋建築物嘅背面同唔好重疊建築物。（避免前高樓遮住後矮樓）基於土地問題關係我經過嚴選後已經放棄左好多set show唔到出黎只能display到1/3既vintage set左右，所以重複的建築物如消防局LEGO®總出過四間咁只能活一間了!有部分車仔我想放但係唔夠路面。希望不久既將來可以再砌大D令到個城更加豐富啦。 其實我作為一個玩LEGO®數十載嘅fans可以喺香港呢個彈丸之地砌到呢個能夠媲美外國規模嘅城市，真的滿足了！謝謝觀賞尺寸：366cm X 228cm 32×32底板數: 15×8塊盒裝使用數量：150盒以上最舊既set: 376 House with Garden (1978)最新既set: 10219 Maersk train（2011)最細既set: 6606 Road Repair Set (1983)最大既set: 6399-Airport Shuttle (1990)
Photo credit: Jerry HungPhoto credit: Jerry Hung
English version:
A Nostalgic Journey: Building a Classic LEGO® Town
After a few months of hard work, I finally finished building a LEGO® town with some of my lovely vintage sets that I have collected in the past 40 years. The previous time I built a LEGO® town was 26 years ago, when I was in high school.
Photo credit: Jerry Hung
A few more details about my LEGO® vintage town:
Size: 366cm X 228cm. 32×32 base plate number: 15×8
I tried to make it look like the old school LEGO® catalogs. Most sets in this town (there are 150 of them) were produced between the 80’s – 90’s. I wanted to build a LEGO® town that only had vintage sets, no modern city or modular buildings at all. Due to limited space, I only can display about 1/3 of my vintage sets collection. I hope I can expand my town in the near future. Thanks for reading!
When I was 10 years old, I remember playing with my few LEGO® sets until exhaustion. Every Christmas, I eagerly waited for the catalogues from the big retail stores, showcasing all the toys you can imagine. My favorite toys were always RC cars and of course… LEGO®!
One day, I went with my mom to her manager’s house and… I saw IT! An enormous LEGO® Technic set, that I only had seen in the Christmas catalogues booklets… and that I thought I would never see in real life. ‘IT’ was the 8865 Test Car, laying around… Half on the floor… Half on the box… left abandoned, and worse… I wasn’t authorized to play with IT!
That day, I secretly promised myself – ‘One Day I will have IT! Meanwhile (unfortunately…) I grew up, and went into my LEGO® dark ages, years went by and LEGO® became just a fading memory. just a memory and fade!
Years later, when I was already an adult, my inner geek started to come out again when I started watching The Big Bang Theory. When my girlfriend gave The Big Bang Theory LEGO® ideas set, I rediscovered the world of LEGO® again!
This year I turned 40. And one night, after putting my 2-year old daughter to sleep, I went on Ebay to look for my next LEGO® set. And I stumbled upon it… a second-hand 8865 Test car! With so many memories coming back to me I decided – I have to have IT!
Photo credit: Alexandre Fernandes
And as I write this story, I am bringing its yellow aged bricks back to vibrant colors – and I can’t wait to build IT… Finally.
When I was 10, my dad went on a business trip to Las Vegas.
Before he left his hotel for his return flight, he decided to play blackjack with $50 and got very lucky. When he returned home, he brought us to Walmart and told us we could pick out whatever we wanted!
I went to the LEGO® aisle and got the #6520 – Mobile Outpost and #6579 – Ice Surfer. THE ICE SURFER – the coolest set!
As a 10 year old, it was the greatest night of my life. My family was very frugal, and they never spoiled us kids, so it’s the only time something like that ever happened. Receiving a LEGO® set outside of a birthday or Christmas was unheard of. Which made that night all the more special.
It is by far my fondest memory. I still have those two sets in pieces and I am now trying to put them back together.
It was the only gift I wanted for birthdays, for Christmas – for any celebratory occasion really.
What I really loved was the precision, attention to detail and the reward of completing the build. This brought out creative and problem solving qualities which I now value deeply.
A couple of years ago, I was going through a really tough time professionally and I found myself drawn back to LEGO®. You can probably tell from the picture below.
LEGO® sets Photo Credit: James Myers
It helped give me an alternative outlet from the stress and intensity of work, a sense of calm and focus. Which I now turn to whenever I feel anxious. And I have no doubt others like me do too.
At 8 I had a big box of LEGO® bricks. I mean a big, BIG box.
It was so big that I could easily fit inside the box. I had all kinds of pieces, bricks and LEGO® stuff in there. I even had a smaller red box to sort LEGO® bricks, by color and by shape.
I think it was a box of some sort of appliance my parents bought. I used it to keep my LEGO® safe from the world (meaning my dog and other kids).
Vintage LEGO® Photo credit: Diogo Lobo
And it was always the same ritual: I would bend the box slightly so all the pieces could lie on the floor but so that ALL the pieces could be in sight. DO NOT lose any piece was the absolute mantra. Even if I didn’t need it for a build, I would never lose one single brick. Never.
Then, creativity took over and castles, cars, buildings and even ice creams would see the light of the day. In the end, I would put all the pieces back in the big box and close it with that childish feeling that my treasure was safe. Those were the days!!
Many amazing structures were built and destroyed minutes afterwards, but one always stuck with me. The Yellow Tower!
One day, I decided to build the biggest tower one could ever see, meaning a tower that could reach the ceiling of my room — aka the sky.
But not just any tower, it would be a single line with one brick on top of the other straight to the sky. Will it stand? Do I have enough pieces? How many days will I need?
Construction began just after school, making sure no one would enter my room. With the coast clear, the next task was critical: choose the brick. Don´t know why I had so many yellow pieces (maybe it’s one of the most common colors) but this was the one that I had most pieces of. So be it.
One Brick to Rule Them All
Effortlessly with the wind blowing in my hair and looking at my bedroom’s ceiling (AKA the sky), I started to put bricks one on top of the other.
First try: 30 seconds later it fell, didn’t even reach the height of my forehead.
Second try: looking good and steady until someone opened the door and I looked away slightly touching it. Nooooooooo….
Third try: My hands are shaking.
Maybe I need help.
– “Moooooom!”
– “Why don’t you do it in sections and then put them together?”
– “What are sections? “ — I was 8…
– “You do one part with 20 bricks and put it on the floor. Then do another one exactly the same, and another, and another. Once you have 6 or 7 sections, let me know and I´ll help you.”
And then again I went. Section by section I was learning that a journey is made of small steps. One after the other just like LEGO® bricks, one after the other.
Once I had my sections ready to shine, we started to build it. And we only finished it when it touched the ceiling (almost). And there it was — a single line of yellow bricks from the ground to the ceiling, from down below to the clouds above.
I was 8…
I must have of photo of it somewhere. I still have the box. I still open it sometimes and remember that big tower.
（避免前高樓遮住後矮樓）基於土地問題關係我經過嚴選後已經放棄左好多set show唔到出黎只能display到1/3既vintage set左右，所以重複的建築物如消防局LEGO®總出過四間咁只能活一間了!有部分車仔我想放但係唔夠路面
。希望不久既將來可以再砌大D令到個城更加豐富啦。
其實我作為一個玩LEGO®數十載嘅fans可以喺香港呢個彈丸之地砌到呢個能夠媲美外國規模嘅城市，真的滿足了！謝謝觀賞
尺寸：366cm X 228cm 32×32底板數: 15×8塊盒裝使用數量：150盒以上最舊既set: 376 House with Garden (1978)最新既set: 10219 Maersk train（2011)最細既set: 6606 Road Repair Set (1983)最大既set: 6399-Airport Shuttle (1990)
