Leggo my Lego

Owing to a transit strike and too much time to kill before I could get a ride home I found myself doing something I rarely do.  I did a complete tour of a shopping mall at a leisurely pace.  Normally I am a get in, get what you came for and then get out kind of person. I can't really say I had a great time, but it wasn't a complete waste because I came across the Lego store.

I have always liked Lego, but never really had any.  I had one set when I was a child. but it wasn't a huge "megaset."  I could maybe build a small house or car, as long as colour symmetry wasn't a priority.  If you've read my blog called The Massive Collection and the Mind of a Child you might remember my friend's Playmobil collection.  What I didn't mention was that he also had a very impressive collection of Lego. Impressive because he had enough Lego to build a small village of houses, all tastefully colour coordinated.  I was pretty jealous, but we played with it together often enough that I only have good memories of it.

The Lego store is a pretty amazing place.  I hadn't realized how many products they had.  There were so many cool kits and stuff that I had no idea they made.  For a moment..... actually longer than a moment, I was a kid again.

I spotted that Lego train and made those important financial calculations that all hobbyists have to do.  It is a complicated formula involving the  (fun quotient X the building time X the buddy brag factor )/ (the cost factor + the once finished dust collector factor+ the wasted money factor)

I walked out of the store without a box of shiny new Lego and a healthy respect for the store clerks who patiently dealt with children (including one who listed every kit he owned in alphabetical, then chronological order.)  And although I managed to thwart the temptation, the seed has been planted, the need has been created.  Only time will tell where this will lead.

The Massive Collection and the Mind of a Child

I admit it.  I admit it freely.  I was incredibly jealous of my best friend while growing up.  What gave rise to this jealousy?  My friend, in his few short years on the planet, had amassed a massive collection of Playmobil figures and vehicles.  I, on the other hand, had a small collection of micronauts.  My friend's collection was large enough to warrant its own cabinet.

He had a vast array of figures and vehicles from all different eras.  I grant that I couldn't identify everything he had because some of it was ....subtly different than what I was seeing on the streets of our small town.  Looking back on it, he got most of his collection as birthday and Christmas presents from his overseas relatives.  Playmobil wasn't as common in those days so I was fascinated by it.

We didn't often play with these toys.  They sat protected from dust in their cabinet.  That is, until one day, I proposed a daring feat.  I suggested, maybe cajoled is a better word, that we use all the Playmobil in one massive scene.

We spent hours laying out all the figures vehicles and accessories in his living room, dining room, as well as up the stairs, throughout the hallway and into his bedroom.  We debated the merits of each placement like we were planning a great battle, right down to the posture of each figure.

It was with great sadness that I had to leave shortly after we placed that last piece to let him have dinner.  I would have come back after dinner to help him put it all away if only he had asked me.