Lego Geek

Legos are an amazing thing. Just six 2 X 6 blocks can be combined in 915 million different combinations. They have become the most iconic toy known to mankind. It’s unimaginable that there might be a person who has never played with Legos. They produce 306 million tires per year, making them the largest tire manufacturer. There are approximately 6 billion Lego minifigures, making them the world’s biggest population group. Finally, there are 62 Lego pieces for every man, woman, and child on Earth.

A quick Google of Lego pictures show smiling children with their humble creations that have inspired me to steal all of my son’s Legos and attempt to recreate the universe. Then there are Google pictures of absolutely jaw dropping amazing constructions of buildings, people, ships, and anything you can imagine, which make me humbly stick to the Lego building instructions. I think everyone has dreamed creating amazing Lego art. It all starts with snapping a couple of bricks together. I am a modest Lego Geek with a couple thousand pieces that actually belong to my son. Like most people I started out as a little kid with a bucket of random pieces and a booklet full of pictures you could build from. Around ten years old my parents gave me my first set. It was one of the first Lego Space sets. This was way back before they had licensed sets like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, or Ninjago. I still think these old Lego Space sets are some of the best. As you can see from the picture, they didn’t have special pieces. I know they look pretty boring compared to the modern sets. And yes, I know I am letting my age show.

Secretly I have encouraged my son to collect Legos. Yes, I think he has had fun with the Legos and in a lot of ways have been educational for him, but honestly I wanted to play with them myself. Of course I have always opted for the Star Wars Legos, but unfortunately he has preferred Bionicles, Hero Factory, and Ninjago. My son is five. He has not developed good taste yet. This past year was dubbed “The Great Lego Hunt of 2012.” When I saw the discombobulated pile of pieces my son’s Star Wars Legos became, I decided to rescue them. I have spent countless hours hunting for the tiniest pieces. I have put all of the sets back together, except the X-Wing. I think I am going to have to order the missing pieces to finish it. I finally admitted my Lego geekdom, which my family rewarded me with a Lego Millennium Falcon, Tie Fighter, and Y-Wing on Father’s day. My family’s love and support of my geekiness means so much to me. Unfortunately, their love and support has limits. I am not allowed to spend $300.00 to buy either the Lego Death Star or Star Destroyer.

It is my dream to become a Lego Artisan one of these years. I could build large historical mansions and sculpt statues of the famous. Maybe I would build a life size car out of Legos that would be noteworthy in the Guinness Book of World Records. I’d be satisfied with building very large starships. I have a couple of art books of spaceships. It would be awesome to bring them to life with Legos.

So, how about all of you? What Lego art have you created? How many Legos do you have? What are your favorites?

Lego facts found at http://natgeotv.com.au/tv/megafactories/lego-facts.aspx