Has the imagination disappeared from Lego?

Has the imagination disappeared from Lego?

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Original Poster:

18,444 posts

193 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Some Gump

12,671 posts

185 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Course not.

The writer of that article is simply missidentifieng nostalgia with "better". If lego had the ability to make 3,000 different oieces in 1970, it probably would do.

Some of the lego technic stuff now is just awesome, back when i was a kid 3 cogs and a 2x2 brick as a piston was all we coukd get - which was still awesome, but hardly less imaginative / educational than a working v twin...

Mutley

3,178 posts

258 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Playsets are nothing new, I had a few Lego Space ones when I was a kid, but, there are more playsets now. That doesn't mean you just build the one thing and leave it. There are more pieces now, and that makes building anything easier.

As for Technic, that was always for the older kid (aka adult) but again, why stop at what the set/instructions are for?

Foliage

3,861 posts

121 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Lego nearly went under from making too many specialist bricks for sets in the late 90s early 2000s, I doubt they would make the same mistake twice, the star wars link and where that has put them is what has kept them going, I read a great write up about this and the story behind the 'girls' line of products and how that change the dynamic of lego for girls

Lego is primarily a toy manufacturer, they make sets that are fun, bringing children towards creativity and construction in my eyes is just a plus.

Edited by Foliage on Wednesday 26th November 13:44

russy01

4,693 posts

180 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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I can see where they are coming from, but I dont think its correct. However I do think they could do with releasing a couple large sets of just bricks...

Whilst its great making a police station or a friends dolphin cruiser, its much better having 3-4kg of bricks to make random multicoloured houses or giant cars with wings.

They do have a few sets of just bricks, but they put no gusto behind trying to sell them...

Janesy B

2,625 posts

185 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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You just need to see some of the MOCs that are about to know that the article is a load of bks.

dr_gn

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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David Gauntlett, professor of media, art and design at the University of Westminster. "It is commercial madness to make specific parts that can't be used for other things..."

Like Airfix Quick Build kits maybe?



I must admit, they do seem almost completely pointless.


Yertis

18,016 posts

265 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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That Spitfire does look a bit like something out of a Christmas cracker, but if it gets someone into modelling it's a good thing.

But I agree with the general argument. Lego bits do seem to have become more and more limited in practical use beyond the kit from whence they came. It's not new though – look at this thing, which dates from about 1973, and has since resisted all attempts at re-imagining as anything other than "hull". It lives alone and ignored on the top shelf, to where it will now be returned.


dr_gn

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
quotequote all
Yertis said:
That Spitfire does look a bit like something out of a Christmas cracker, but if it gets someone into modelling it's a good thing.

But I agree with the general argument. Lego bits do seem to have become more and more limited in practical use beyond the kit from whence they came. It's not new though – look at this thing, which dates from about 1973, and has since resisted all attempts at re-imagining as anything other than "hull". It lives alone and ignored on the top shelf, to where it will now be returned.

Wow, a four section hull - your family must have been loaded: I was dragged up with the three section version! Still gets used every evening (by the kids, obviously), as you can tell by the damage:



There was also the track, level crossings etc., and some rolling stock which was specific. All still being used in chateau dr_gn:



The track and the black boat hull came in a box of lego given to my son recently. Talking of which - it's bathtime.

Yertis

18,016 posts

265 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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dr_gn said:
Those points cost a small fortune, back then, and that pic's the only time I've seen that type of Lego track apart from my own set, by the way. beer

Also I've just spotted you have the reversing switch fitted to that battery wagon – impressive. Do you also have the special, slightly fragile 6 x 18 flat which sits on the motor unit to provide a base for locomotive superstructures?

Lego was big part of my childhood. Dad used it as a sort of mega-rapid prototyping tool for projects he was working on, so it was always lying around, along with Meccano for when things got serious. If you want to know how to build a motorized walking robot using <1972 Lego, I'm your man. Those blue rails, for example, are used to reinforce the legs.

Edited by Yertis on Wednesday 26th November 18:53

essayer

9,011 posts

193 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Hey, blue rails ? Never seen those before, mine were grey!


slybynight

391 posts

120 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Nah - building out of a limited number of shapes is half the fun!
Here's my Concorde!


dr_gn

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Yertis said:
dr_gn said:
Do you also have the special, slightly fragile 6 x 18 flat which sits on the motor unit to provide a base for locomotive superstructures?
These?



Two a penny in our house, along with old gears, white axles, flags...the lot biggrin

Re. prototyping: I managed to secure a load of Technic stuff from Lego for work. We use it for prototyping, it's great for getting buy-in from customers (some pretty big customers too) when they can see something working. Also use Meccano - mentioned in the O/P article as well I notice - for proof of concept. This is my Meccano concept for a gearbox that automatically changes ratio depending on the input direction. It was for use in drilling through stacks of metal/composite/metal in confined spaces where there was no room for complex gear selection controls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRXy1p7-baI


ETA: Mine look like 6x16 locomotive plates.

Edited by dr_gn on Wednesday 26th November 19:19

Yertis

18,016 posts

265 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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cool

Yes, those are the ones, mine are same size. You'll not be surprised to learn I also have those gears sets, several of them actually, and the associated grey axle blocks. My flags didn't survive my little brother, but for some reason I still have all the bases and flag poles.

I tried to inspire my daughters with Lego, but they didn't really get beyond building 'schools' or 'hospitals'. I tried to interest them in operational gearboxes but realised I was really just making them for myself.

Thinking about it my youngest is doing architecture so maybe something rubbed off.

Banana Boy

467 posts

112 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Lego spokesman Roar Rude Trangbaek said:
"isn't true" that the toy has become less creative. "Children still get bricks and they can combine them," he adds. "The bricks will probably end up in big boxes in homes and that acts like a pool of creativity."
After posting this I'm going to find a contact for Roar Rude Trangbaek to let him know that he can say for certain that the bricks do end up in big boxes in homes and are definitely pools of creativity!

My daughters (5 and 7) both love Lego and not just the girlie stuff, they play with what's left of my Star Wars Lego and anything else they've accumulated, including racing cars and other random bits. It all lives in a big pink box and they spend hours noisily raking through all the bits trying to find 'that bit'! A great piece of history repeating! smile

dr_gn

16,140 posts

183 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
quotequote all
Banana Boy said:
Lego spokesman Roar Rude Trangbaek said:
"isn't true" that the toy has become less creative. "Children still get bricks and they can combine them," he adds. "The bricks will probably end up in big boxes in homes and that acts like a pool of creativity."
After posting this I'm going to find a contact for Roar Rude Trangbaek to let him know that he can say for certain that the bricks do end up in big boxes in homes and are definitely pools of creativity!

My daughters (5 and 7) both love Lego and not just the girlie stuff, they play with what's left of my Star Wars Lego and anything else they've accumulated, including racing cars and other random bits. It all lives in a big pink box and they spend hours noisily raking through all the bits trying to find 'that bit'! A great piece of history repeating! smile
Same here. It's fine, but when I think how much over the odds has been paid for a specific set of say a rescue helicopter or space shuttle, for it to be consigned to a pile of nondescript bricks is a bit much to take. Still, the stuff the kids come up with more than makes up for that.

Banana Boy

467 posts

112 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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dr_gn said:
Same here. It's fine, but when I think how much over the odds has been paid for a specific set of say a rescue helicopter or space shuttle, for it to be consigned to a pile of nondescript bricks is a bit much to take. Still, the stuff the kids come up with more than makes up for that.
Ha, I think that's the slightly OCD model maker in us 'grown-ups' speaking there?! (I have to fight the same little devil on my shoulder and let the girls explore for themselves!) smile

It's always been an expensive toy though, I wouldn't like to say how many sets make up the Lego collection that still lives with my Mum?! It's organised by colour/std Lego/Technic Lego into a number of decent sized boxes! My Dad once estimated how much may had been spent on it all and came up with a figure of about £1500?! (this was about 15 years ago)

Jader1973

3,946 posts

199 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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My 5 year old has quite a bit of Lego (and is getting more for Christmas). A lot of it has been built as per instructions and then rebuilt into something else.

Even the mini-figures get mixed and matched to make all sorts of different characters.

I agree they could make it easier to buy just a box of random bits though.

Yertis

18,016 posts

265 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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I found this a while back, for future reference.

BGARK

5,493 posts

245 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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