BrickOn

What interesting comments do visitors to your home make about lego?

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I was just tidying up after some guests left my place (they'd being staying for almost a week) and I found a post-it note left on a small MOC on the coffee table... apparently written by one of the minifigures in the scene, asking to be put down... I thought it was quite cute. Most of my lego was not out for the guests to see when the visited but on the occasions I was building some things they wanted to touch everything and play with the cannons etc (understandably), I think they were quite taken with the Lego in general.

And I was just wondering what do visitors to your homes say when they see your lego collection? Do they ask to play? Do they think you are slightly mad? Or is the Lego strictly off limits to guests (or just the children)?

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Mostly off limits but some who have seen it generally tell me that my son (2 years) is too young for Lego. I normally smile and say I know. Others are quite amazed and ask questions like "did you build this?" thankfully it's in a seperate room and I can choose who sees it. Suprisingly no-one has wanted to play.

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I think the most common comment I get is "I love LEGO" or "I used to have a lot of LEGO myself" and similar comments.

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It is a shame to tell kids it's not to be played with when they come over and see models on display. However, I do have a massive box of used car-boot Lego for them to play with.

I'm 34, my partner is 27: she's really understanding and kinda' nurtures that part of me. She is also really good at letting me have it in the lounge on display as long as it's not OTT. I have a Millennium Falcon out, Imperial Shuttle Tydirium, Ecto 1 and LOTR Attack on Weathertop. As the years have gone on, I've made no secret that I love Lego, even the teenage kids at school know-so people tend to be quite respectful about it. I think it's different as an AFOL as the models tend to be more intricate, and not like Lego the way they usually see it. Film themed sets generally generate a lot of interest: I wouldn't have City sets out for example.

But a great deal of my friends are also into similar things as me so it's never an issue, and family members have known about my love of Lego since i was about 7 years old, so are accepting and not at all surprised!

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I don't have guests but even if I did, they wouldn't see my collection: it's kept out of sight and out of sunlight. The only person to have seen my MOCs in recent years is my fiancee. She tolerates my hobbies including LEGO but regards most of them as juvenile.

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I used to get a few "Wow, that's LEGO." comments when people saw 10210 Imperial Flagship, when I had it out for everyone to see. Since moving though, it's stuck in a room where some see it & sunlight does not.

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Most of my friends said "wow cool Lego" and look at them. Some of them got closer and played a bit. I displayed SW microfighters on a shelf and some of my friends played with them.

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The only LEGO that is visible to anyone is in our guest room, but we don't have people stay in there too often. None of them have commented about it. As far as I know, the mother in law thinks it is childish and doesn't talk to me about it. My own mom tries to buy me as much LEGO as she can since she loved doing it when I was a kid (I'm 31 now)... Other guests don't comment or don't know about it.

I don't think I hide it, but I am not flamboyant with my hobby either.

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Not many guests, but the family friends who know about my hobby are always asking after it. They're cool with it, some of those who've known me since I was little are pretty tickled that I still play with my LEGO. Everyone is impressed that I travel around through it too (the Event has become my holiday plan each year).

The most amusing comment came from my friend. She has a six year old nephew who also knows I love LEGO. Apparently he recently decided that he would marry me because "She likes superheroes and LEGO.", I suppose that's what you want in a wife when you are six :laugh:

Even my boss knows I like LEGO and will tell me when he has visited the LEGO Store in Cardiff, (Apparently, forum moderating is one of those things that can look good on the old CV, what with the transferable skills thing. I put it on there and I was still hired, so cool beans!). Oh, and I wore my LEGOLAND cap one really sunny day (easier to drive in a hat than sunglasses) and the big boss passed positive comment.

Then again, it is a British thing to enjoy eccentricity!

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While some relatives think our hobby is a bit odd, most people who come through are impressed. We have modulars, Ferris wheel, opera house, London Bridge, and many of the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings sets on display. The grandkids brag us up to their friends. We also have a lot of 'kid Lego' for the ones that want to play.

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"You still play with Lego?"

"You have sooo many OMG"

"You should buy something else with all that money"

Kids are all like: "OMG THAT SO AMAZING, I WANT THEM ALL TOO!!!" or "Hey, I have this one too!"

But in general they like my modulars display.

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6 year old boy: "Your LEGO is okay, I guess". He wasn't that interested in my Elves collection or glow in the dark cave.

Mid-late 20 year olds: "Haha you have Lego, that's great," and then they saw my Lone Ranger's Silver Mine "That is so perfect for you!" They found it very endearing that I have that particular set since I have a bit of a geology background.

Mid 40 year old man: "Awesome!", "Yeah!!" and then "Lame" @ my girly Elves sets.

Mid 60 year man: "So this is where your mortgage money is going to?" I kind of regretted having my Lego out at this point. Expected some judgement, but still found it rather insulting since 3/4 of my paycheck goes to paying off my education and saving for a house.

Mid 60 year old woman: (Witholds verbal judgement and then notices my two akro storage cabinets) "It's so organized! Can I take a photo to send to my daughter-in-law?"

The most amusing comment came from my friend. She has a six year old nephew who also knows I love LEGO. Apparently he recently decided that he would marry me because "She likes superheroes and LEGO.", I suppose that's what you want in a wife when you are six :laugh:

That's a cute story Peppermint_M and quite true. A similar story- After playing LEGO with my friend's six year old he asks me if my boyfriend is a good boy and if I was going to marry him. He then informs me I should marry him when he grows up, since he is a good boy. Hahah.

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"Wow!" or "Did you build that yourself?!" is the usual reaction I get, at least, whenever there happens to be an MOC built (rather than in the process of being built or of being destroyed) to display. I don't hide my LEGO, certainly, but because I MOC a lot I don't keep anything particularly large available for viewing (so some people are probably under impressed). Mom's with kids that are/used to be interested in LEGO usually complement me on my orderliness and complain about the pieces all over the floor that their kids leave. :laugh: (And my gut reaction is, what a waste of pieces! :tongue: )

Most visitors don't actually "play" unless you yourself invite them to. They might shoot off a spring loader or two, but they'd probably be embarrassed to zoom the car along the floor or swish a spaceship around the room. And of course, unless you actually get out your minifigure collection and ask them to build some figures, they're not going to just delve in! Most people do seem to enjoy building figs though, if they get into it.

No one has really looked at me as immature because of my hobby, though as I get older, I might have that problem more. :laugh: But I do try to keep it within bounds.

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"Oh, you have kids!"

"No, that is all mine."

(awkward silence)

"Ah, my little niece has that Playmobil eagle, too."

(awkward silence)

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You mean that's LEGO!

I didn't know you could do that with LEGO.

Wow, that looks so real, I've been there.

How did you do that?

All the comments I get are very positive, most people look at my LEGO as I do, as an artistic expression, only done with plastic bricks instead of paint or clay or some other art medium.

AndyD

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"You should buy something else with all that money"

Really??

How annoying! :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

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My quest don't have many chance to see my Lego collection, but the usual reaction are:

1." Awesome!"

2." I want it!"

3." How much you spend on these things?"

4." Where did you get these things?"

That's all the reaction I remember.

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Hee hee a lot of mixed reactions then... I have had few more people visit since starting this post... I guess I am secretly hoping visitors will bring me Lego, especially the ones coming via Denmark (but unless they know I collect Lego I guess this is unlikely, I will tell more people). Not too many kids visit me at the moment... So it mostly adults and from my recent guest I got, the usual "wow a lot of Lego, I had had a lot when I was a kid" and for the minifigures I got some "wow so cute" and "we were looking at Lego in the shops today, they sell keychains".

When one friend walked through the door his immediate reaction was "woah I feel out numbered AND they have the higher ground!" - I suppose he felt the minifigures could surge down from the rafters and engulf him if they decided to attack... He has a point that would be terrifying!

Edited by BrickOn

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The cable guy who came out to fix my modem the other day assumed that I worked for TLG and started telling me what his daughter felt was wrong with the Friends sets but how happy she was with the new Elves line. When I finally got word in edgewise and told him it was just a hobby, his next reaction was "A hobby? Are you an internet millionaire or something? This stuff must have cost a fortune. S***, I would have bought a boat or a Ferrari, you know, something fun." So much for cable guys….

Usually reactions are more supportive variations on amazement and awe. One of my favorites was from a friend who was a big fan of Science Fiction who channeled Arthur C. Clark's 2001: "My god, it's full of bricks…"

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These days, I mostly buy used sets off ebay, build them, and then sell them back off. The only exceptions are the architecture sets, which I like to keep and display. I also keep a small army of custom Star Wars minifigs and my castle armies, but these are usually just kept in a box. All of my LEGO is kept in the basement as that's the only place where I have a free table to build, and the only other things down there are a bunch of unused furniture and a bar, mini-fridge, and an air hockey table (my mother-in-law is very anti-alcohol, so we keep it downstairs rather than hide it whenever she comes) so the only people that generally see it are friends that have known me and know I like LEGO for a long time, so I don't get a whole lot of comments on there other than the occasional "Your army has gotten bigger!"

I do keep my most recent architecture purchase sitting on my desk in the study, which sees a bit more visitors. I normally get something along the lines of "That's neat" with a varying degree of interest. Some people really like it or comment that it's cool that there are "Adult LEGO sets." I've never gotten any childish comments, but that could be due to the nature of the sets on display. There's also a lot of competition considering I'm a book collector and a rabid sports fan, so there's a lot of other things to look at in there. :grin:

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The kids all love it, my nieces can't wait to get into the attic to look at stuff and try and spot the new additions. Then try and add / modify things while I try and suppress the lord business alter ego.

My brother in law loves it, given time and space at his place I think he would love to have some of his own.

My wife hates it, but tolerates it. I only spend my own money on it and keep it out of her way.

We had an electrician round recently and she said 'sorry about this, my husband doesn'nt know it's time to grow up' and the plumper turned round to his team and said "guys get up here and check this out, it's fantastic, this guys got the whole f****ing lego movie up here, look at those guys; I remember that from when I was a kid."

I really think people are split between those who are embarassed by it in adults and just look at it as a child's plaything,

those who are secretly embarassed about liking it and wished they could play with it without ruining their image,

and those who embrace their inner child and go with it.

I really think that the second category is larger than people would like to admit. There are so many people who grew up with lego, and the current trend of movie tie-ins just add to the nostalgic influences of it.

I must admit to being slightly embarassed in my local Argos dropping £150+ on my latest purchase. Ready to drip the "it's for my son" line, when the (young and attractive) cashier turned round and said "that new Millenium Falcon looks amazing, have fun building that one. Cue secret glow of manly satisfaction.

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