So Did Anybody Else Skip Their Dark Ages?

[xboxtravis7992]

I can't recall if there was a topic about this, but has anyone else gone from KFOL to TFOL to AFOL with no dark ages in-between? For example I have been getting Lego sets since 2001, and even when I was out of the country for two years my parents mailed me minifigures for Christmas.

So did anybody else skip the dark ages entirely?

[KringlesBricks]

Ever since i was 7, I've been playing and building Lego. I started with DUPLO...and then went into Lego with the smaller sets my parents got me for taking naps and doing well in school. Then, it was mostly buying and building the 2,000 piece plus sets and putting them on my shelf in my room once I got older. I never went through a Dark-age, and don't plan to. I didn't have a lot of sets when I was between the age of 7 and 13, cause my parents only allowed us to get a number of sets a year. It's when I starting working at age 14 is when I started buying my own sets...and building my collection. I'm 32 now and still building.

My very first building experience was this fire engine my dad got my for my birthday at age 7 in 1990ish. He sat on the floor with me putting it together with me...memories. The Blue plane was given to me by my grandparents at age 8,9.

Edited January 25, 2016 by KringlesBricks

[THERIZE]

Yep, I started as a kid, and I'm now a teenager. My first true LEGO sets are from 2005. (I was 4 years old back then) I can't remember what the first one was but I know I is probably 7236. I think there will be a moment when I stop building LEGO for around a few years. I'm sure I won't build LEGO for the rest of my life. But really, I don't care. I have fun with LEGO now and if that ends. I can go back to the times I have builded LEGO.

Ps. Am I the only one who thinks that 'Dark Ages' sounds stupid. I mean, so when you don't build LEGO it's a dark age. I'm sorry if I offend someone but doesn't it sound weird. 'Dark Ages' sounds more like a time period in history instead of not building LEGO. But well, I ain't call myself a TFOL. Because I like LEGO. I'm not a fan of LEGO.

[Alfadas]

I'm afraid I'm kinda going in my dark ages now. I'm 20 years old, and played with/collected Lego since as long as I can remember. But I am way less excited when building Lego then I once was. So, maybe this are the feared dark ages? We'll see how it goes...

[hodberta]

I'm sure I won't build LEGO for the rest of my life.

[Immo]

I had my Dark Age since 2005 to 2013.

In 2005 I moved to a new apartment and got more seriously into writing and my Lego collection gathered dust - one of my huge (colorful) MOCs stood half-built on a shelf for years. In 2013 my GF gave me a small creator set. I kinda felt the Lego thing starts to interest me again. A few months later I was sure that was the case. Now I feel Lego's gonna be a huge part of my life, very important hobby and a way to keep me (and my shelves) occupied.

[Captain Pirate Man]

I think to truly understand what "dark ages" mean you have to have aged a decent amount. Like what I mean is, a lot of us literally forgot about Lego during our late teens or twenties entirely. Im not trying to diminish others experiences, but if you were a little kid back in 2004, then you can't really comment on this issue imo. Why? Because you very well might go through a dark age, you just haven't gotten there yet. I know some of you have stuck with Lego in your twenties, but I would bet most of us did other things during that age. Twenties are a time for college, discovering who you are, saying women, partying, etc. Its just not really a time for spending a lot of time into hobbies like Lego.

I know for me, I loved Lego from 1987/8 through about 1994/5. Then I was a teenager and was playing sports, music, and other things. Then from 2000-2013 I was in my twenties and early 30s, and had other things I wanted to accomplish in life. Lego just plain wasn't a priority. But now that I'm a little older and have kids, I have rediscovered my love of the hobby.

[xboxtravis7992]

I guess I have 8 more years to go before I leave my "turbulent 20's"; so who knows what will happen. But the only thing which I feel would put a hiatus on Lego for could would be small children in the house; which only a few years later would be the same excuse to come back to Lego in full force (once they are old enough not to choke on it!).

But I'm still single for now so who knows when children will even be a factor.

[dr_spock]

Everyone's experience is different. I had children in my Dark Ages. I bought them LEGO for many years before I caught the AFOL bug. It might have been better if one was an AFOL at the time then you would have bought them sets that would be useful to you when your kids lost their interest in LEGO.

[MrHerofan]

I think to truly understand what "dark ages" mean you have to have aged a decent amount. Like what I mean is, a lot of us literally forgot about Lego during our late teens or twenties entirely. Im not trying to diminish others experiences, but if you were a little kid back in 2004, then you can't really comment on this issue imo. Why? Because you very well might go through a dark age, you just haven't gotten there yet. I know some of you have stuck with Lego in your twenties, but I would bet most of us did other things during that age. Twenties are a time for college, discovering who you are, saying women, partying, etc. Its just not really a time for spending a lot of time into hobbies like Lego.

I know for me, I loved Lego from 1987/8 through about 1994/5. Then I was a teenager and was playing sports, music, and other things. Then from 2000-2013 I was in my twenties and early 30s, and had other things I wanted to accomplish in life. Lego just plain wasn't a priority. But now that I'm a little older and have kids, I have rediscovered my love of the hobby.

I don't think that people really focus all of their time on LEGO when they say "Dark Ages". I'm sure they still do more stuff with their lives and in the spare time or whatnot they spend some time messing with their LEGO collection. As a Dark Age I'm sure they mean that they just don't have any interest with the toy at all. Remember it's possible to have a life and be a fan of LEGO when you are a younger person.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now as for me, I sometimes will go into a period of possibly months where I'll ignore the toy and not really pay attention to them for that time, until I see some new set online or of the like.

[Aanchir]

I think to truly understand what "dark ages" mean you have to have aged a decent amount. Like what I mean is, a lot of us literally forgot about Lego during our late teens or twenties entirely. Im not trying to diminish others experiences, but if you were a little kid back in 2004, then you can't really comment on this issue imo. Why? Because you very well might go through a dark age, you just haven't gotten there yet. I know some of you have stuck with Lego in your twenties, but I would bet most of us did other things during that age. Twenties are a time for college, discovering who you are, saying women, partying, etc. Its just not really a time for spending a lot of time into hobbies like Lego.

I'm 24 (turning 25 in March) and I don't see LEGO disappearing from my life at any point in the future. I don't think it'd be wrong to say it's one of the most important things in my life. Most of my best friendships and professional connections come directly from my involvement in the LEGO fan community and my ambitions of becoming a LEGO designer. College didn't get in the way of my love of LEGO — on the contrary, it just helped me understand why LEGO is so important to who I am, from its creative potential when I needed to express myself, to its therapeutic value those days when I felt overwhelmed, to its usefulness in establishing and maintaining social connections. "Discovering who I am", in my case, has meant realizing that LEGO has been instrumental in helping me to become who I am.

I never had a dark age. I like to say that Bionicle carried me through what might have been my dark age (and it's true that most of the themes I bought from 2004 to around 2008 piqued my interest first and foremost because they contained cool Bionicle-compatible parts and Bionicle recolors). But in truth, if Bionicle hadn't been there then I feel like other LEGO themes might've filled in for that need I had to explore my creative and social impulses. Perhaps not quite so well, though. BZPower (then just a Bionicle fansite) was my first online community, and it inspired me to make friends, attend social gatherings like BrickFair, seek creative feedback from others, and eventually find a sense of belonging that I had never experienced previously. I have a hard time imagining other more general LEGO communities like Lugnet could ever have made me feel so welcome back then!

[Captain Pirate Man]

I'm 24 (turning 25 in March) and I don't see LEGO disappearing from my life at any point in the future. I don't think it'd be wrong to say it's one of the most important things in my life. Most of my best friendships and professional connections come directly from my involvement in the LEGO fan community and my ambitions of becoming a LEGO designer. College didn't get in the way of my love of LEGO — on the contrary, it just helped me understand why LEGO is so important to who I am, from its creative potential when I needed to express myself, to its therapeutic value those days when I felt overwhelmed, to its usefulness in establishing and maintaining social connections. "Discovering who I am", in my case, has meant realizing that LEGO has been instrumental in helping me to become who I am.

I never had a dark age. I like to say that Bionicle carried me through what might have been my dark age (and it's true that most of the themes I bought from 2004 to around 2008 piqued my interest first and foremost because they contained cool Bionicle-compatible parts and Bionicle recolors). But in truth, if Bionicle hadn't been there then I feel like other LEGO themes might've filled in for that need I had to explore my creative and social impulses. Perhaps not quite so well, though. BZPower (then just a Bionicle fansite) was my first online community, and it inspired me to make friends, attend social gatherings like BrickFair, seek creative feedback from others, and eventually find a sense of belonging that I had never experienced previously. I have a hard time imagining other more general LEGO communities like Lugnet could ever have made me feel so welcome back then!

Which this all sounds great. But I would say you are more of the exception than the rule. I think that's why this idea of "dark ages" came about, because most adult Lego fans DID walk away from them, only to return later. But if you have stuck around the whole time, good for you. I never said that EVERYONE will leave the hobby behind, because I don't like to generalize to such a degree. Again, you are more of the exception than the rule.

[Aanchir]

Which this all sounds great. But I would say you are more of the exception than the rule. I think that's why this idea of "dark ages" came about, because most adult Lego fans DID walk away from them, only to return later. But if you have stuck around the whole time, good for you. I never said that EVERYONE will leave the hobby behind, because I don't like to generalize to such a degree. Again, you are more of the exception than the rule.

I understand that AFOLs who never went through a "dark age" are the exception rather than the norm. If it were the other way around then it would make more sense for this topic to be asking if you DID go through a "dark age" than if you DIDN'T!

I will say, though, that it seems like the "dark ages" may become slightly rarer with younger TFOLs and AFOLs, because LEGO and how it is perceived are changing. For starters, LEGO is no longer "just a toy". Themes like Bionicle, Ninjago, and The LEGO Movie add a story– and character-driven element that sow the seeds for a fandom like you see for other cartoons and movies. Rather than experiencing these themes only through building, fans of these themes create fan art and fan fiction, they mingle with others who share the same interest, they theorize about past installments of the story and anticipate new ones. That's the kind of thing that can prolong a person's interest in a series.

Additionally, the idea of "fandom" as an adult pastime is rapidly gaining legitimacy. People who love superheroes and sci-fi fiction and video games well into adulthood used to be considered social outcasts. Now they're rapidly becoming the mainstream. And I think we're seeing the same thing with LEGO as it continues to gain exposure through AFOL events, LEGO themes of popular all-ages franchises, media like The LEGO Movie, etc.

Obviously, the majority of LEGO fans are still kids, and that will probably always be the case. So there are probably always going to be insecure people who want to let go of LEGO as as they become young adults simply so they can distance themselves from things they associate with their childhoods. But I think that the tremendous social pressure to move away from LEGO, and the misguided stigma that you can't be a LEGO fan and also have a life outside of LEGO, are beginning to erode somewhat.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Aanchir

[xboxtravis7992]

I don't know. It seems most young 20 something AFOLs never had a dark ages. Then again that is just speaking of those we know about now; in another 10 years we could discover hundreds of 'millennial' AFOLs who are having Dark Ages right now and will return to the hobby in the future. It could be our data on young AFOLs is slanted just because the only active ones are the few who skipped the dark ages.

It would be a great poll to try and gather data on the subject

[AmperZand]

I reckon there are two effects at play in people's dark age: a generational one and a cohort one.

The generational one is what's mostly been described in this thread so far. It's a time in one's life - often in one's teens or twenties - when one loses interest in LEGO. I had one from late childhood to my early twenties when I rediscovered the joy of LEGO.

The cohort one is related to when one was born. When I was a teen, there were cultural and societal pressures that discouraged people my age from pursuing interests associated with childhood. For example, teens and adults didn't buy superhero paraphernalia: superheroes were for kids. You couldn't find Batman or Spider-man clothing in teen or adult sizes and action figures were aimed at children. Likewise, LEGO was a kid's toy and if you were seen to have an interest in it in your late teens or into adulthood, you were thought of as developmentally arrested or even deviant. Nowadays, it's very different with the stigma of infantilism being significantly less. This is down in no small part to the internet. I suspect that a smaller proportion of KFOLs will enter a dark age than they did in my day when AFOLdom was largely unknown - and the acronym AFOL not invented!

Edit: Aanchir beat me to it

Edited January 26, 2016 by AmperZand

[Kretnica]

I'm pretty sure i never had dark ages. Well, at least according to brickset and my own memory. I'm 25 and i own at least a few sets from every year i've been alive except from the year 2004 apparently (?!). I was 13 in 2003 and loved playing with Orient Expedition ( i remember assembling those sets (i own entire line) at my gradma's house ). A huge blank for year 2004 is probably due to being a really lame year (knights kingdom 2 anyone, i am a huge castle fan and absolutely hated that line.. ). I def remember sets that came out at that time though ( Harry Potter ones i didnt get unfortunately ). In 2005/2006 i got Vikings, 6212 X-wing fighter, some city sets etc.. but then came 2007 and lets just say i was completely blown away with Market Street (!), Cafe Corner (!).. It was a begining of a new era of being a LEGO fan haha. Also enjoyed Castle Fantasy Era and Creator houses. Started buying more and more sets around that time. Joined a LUG, started visiting forums and mocing again. Here i am in 2016 impatiently awaiting leaks of new sets.

So yeah i am fairly certain i never had dark ages except being slightly less enthusiastic about LEGO from time to time. I always collected LEGO retail catalogs and visited toy stores even if i didn't get any actual sets (2004 i'm looking at you).

[vinchente000]

I want to say yes bu I can't quite remember I defoo had lego all my childhood I think, then 2005 I moved but still had lego until 2007. And as of 2010 I remember having lego again but I can't quite remember if I had lego in those 3 years. I like to think I did ^^

[Immo]

I was 17 1/2 when my Dark Age started. It ended when I was 26 1/2. Is it a legit Dark Age?

I will say, though, that it seems like the "dark ages" may become slightly rarer with younger TFOLs and AFOLs, because LEGO and how it is perceived are changing. For starters, LEGO is no longer "just a toy". (...) the idea of "fandom" as an adult pastime is rapidly gaining legitimacy. People who love superheroes and sci-fi fiction and video games well into adulthood used to be considered social outcasts. Now they're rapidly becoming the mainstream. And I think we're seeing the same thing with LEGO (...)

Couldn't said it better myself.

[rdflego]

I never had a 'dark age' simply because I've always had encouragement from my family and the friends I keep. Plus I have invested far too much of my 20 years into becoming an expert MOCer to think about quitting.

[Airbenderfreak]

I am fairly certain I never had a "dark ages". There were periods that lasted about a week where I didn't touch my collection at all, but that is about as close as I have gotten.

[GunwitchUK]

I was a KFOL, TFOL, AFOL then went "dark ages" for 7 years now i'm back to being a AFOL. Finding out that i've missed out on so much in that time

[geezerman402]

I had one from 2001 to 2014... very nearly came out at 2012 though. So tempted by some sets as I wandered brought the mall. Really wish I didn't have one at all, missed so many great sets!

[raarghh]

Was a huge lego fan between 1991-1998 and just this year got back into it.

[gundamz]

I've been buying LEGO on and off since I was a kid, so no I never had a "Dark Age." I just buy whenever I see a LEGO set that catches my eye that I like.

[catwrangler]

I never had a Dark Age in the sense of completely losing interest in/forgetting about Lego. There was a time (which roughly and not accidentally coincided with my relationship starting) when I didn't pay such close attention to new releases/didn't buy new Lego (one exception: they finally came out with Vikings, which had been my dream forever - I bought a set then alright!) because I had so much else going on which was vying for my time and money. However, it's significant that my partner was also a Lego fan - he still had his childhood bricks, and before we became a couple he once mentioned "always having wanted to find a girl to combine Lego with" (clearly he was the man for me). So his Lego would come out sometimes on bank holidays, and I'd get the catalogues and just never quite feel I could justify spending the money on it that I once could.

I think the important context to this is that I was someone who always had a lot of interests that mainstream culture would, until recently, have pegged as childish and odd - comics, for instance. I still loved my old toys, and the older I got the more I appreciated them from a design/worldbuilding point of view. Discovering online fandom really made a difference - as Aanchir says, it's become so much more acceptable for people, particularly of my generation and younger, to be heavily engaged with fictional worlds and fan creations, regardless of what age group they were originally created for. And Lego courting the AFOL market with modulars and CMFs hasn't hurt things at all!