What ended Lego for you?

[BrickG]

I assume nothing since you're here. Or maybe you entered a dark age.

Anyways, my life was supposed to slow down. Long story short it sped up and I got more successful than I would have thought. I have no time for my Lego hobby these days. I might even be moving to another country pretty soon and I doubt I could take my collection with me.

That coupled with priorities. Lego just isn't one as much as I like it. This is due to everything that's happening in my life right now (highly mobile time where I don't know what's going to happen next). So I'm facing probably giving up Lego. I might try to stick with minifigures and minifigure customization but I just have no time at all and if this work I'm doing becomes any more successful (not that I'm rich or anything) I might never have time.

So I'm thinking Lego is ended for me. Maybe besides the "must have" set. Or maybe even them...

[TomLego]

Success, however its defined, doesn't have much value if you can't continue doing the things you like to do. Best wishes as you embark on the new journey.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Like many have said before, hold on to some of your sets, if you can. You may one day look back and say "Man I wish I still had that!" Either way, best of luck on your ventures! LEGO will always be around if things slow back down

[eurotrash]

....my life was supposed to slow down. Long story short it sped up and I got more successful than I would have thought. I have no time for my Lego hobby these days. I might even be moving to another country pretty soon and I doubt I could take my collection with me.

That pretty much describes the trajectory that took me into the Dark Ages back in 1998 - only I ended up going through two countries. Throughout that time I kept only my 9V Train sets and tracks and everything else (Technic, Pirates, etc.) was passed on to others. Those Train sets remained in their storage boxes until 2011 and I still strongly remember the joy of rediscovering them as I emerged from the dark times.

My advice is if you can keep your collection together then do it, otherwise triage it into those sets that you need to keep and those that others can enjoy.

We'll keep a light on for you here in the forums...

[Legogal]

Please do hold on to everything you can so that it will still be there if you decide to LEGO again.

Also you might consider moving to mini-builds beginning with the mini-modular, which is great for travel.

Smaller builds use smaller parts which fit with....you guessed it....smaller space and smaller time to build.

Much of life goes round in circles with us returning to mindframes, places and spaces we have inhabited before. We learn in every phase and often go back to something we enjoyed before. Happy travels!

[naf]

What originally brought me into my dark age: video games, girls, other teenage stuff - probably the same stuff that put most people into their dark age. It never occurred to me to keep an eye out on Lego, and I missed a lot of very cool sets between 1990 and 2012. Back then it was just a toy, albeit a very special toy. Now, Lego is a hobby, a trip down memory lane, something I can share with my kids, and a link between my kids childhood experiences and my own.

I'm busier now than I have ever been before. I have 3 kids from newborn to 6 years old. A career, a house to take care of, plus my other hobbies. Even with all that going on, I got back into Lego full swing, put together all of my old sets, bought some new ones, and I'm having a blast. While I will probably go through periods where I'm not building much of anything, I will always have my eye on Lego, and I can't see myself going into a dark age again. Life is all about balance. You may be very busy with whatever is going on in your life, but it's important to sit down and do something that's enjoyable and creative once in a while.

If you do decide to say goodbye to Lego, I would definitely pack up all of your sets and store them in a safe place. I think most people who have lost their old Lego regret not keeping it around. I'm so happy that my parents had the foresight to meticulously store all of my old Lego for me. They even kept all of the instructions and original boxes. I would be really upset right now if they had sold it all after I "grew out" of it.

[FuzzyBallz]

I'd at least keep the minifigs, because they're awesome.

[parksroad]

I think we all go through seasons of having more time and interest for Lego and seasons of ignoring it pretty completely, excepting those of us who make money from Lego.

Of course Lego isn't a life priority, but Lego doesn't take regular practice or any set amount of time or money or travel. If you have to move or need more space, I'd definitely get rid of sets you're less attached to, but it's nice to have your favorites or at least minifigures around even when you're not paying much attention to them.

When I moved out of the country I didn't have any Lego for a few years, then randomly decided to buy myself one of the littler Creator cars. And that was the only one for another couple of years. Another transatlantic move, I'm now settled longer-term and have a few more, including a couple big sets. It leaves time and space to work and party and date. Why not?

[TheLegoDr]

Time is definitely a facet of life we don't have enough of.

It seems to be a trend that most people who get out of LEGO will get back into it at some point in their life. With that said, do what you can with the sets you have. If time is an issue, then find good storage because you will probably want to break them out again. If space is an issue, then get rid of the sets that wouldn't phase you. It'd be hard to pick which sets I'd keep out of all of mine, but I can think of a few important sets off the top of my head. Do some research and look into the more collectible sets that you might be able to make money off of, if you are willing to sell them to make space.

Best of luck with your busy life.

[Zzz]

It seems you have enough money right now, so you should keep your sets. Just make sure to take some time now to separate sets. Buy some press sealed plastic bags and store every set in its original box with manual etc. and put the boxes in a dry place. This will take a sunday afternoon but believe me, in ten years from now you will be more than glad you did that. It will be a lot easier for you to sell off half of your collection in a couple of years (or even right now), if you need money or space - or if you just want to get rid of it - or give it to a friend. Endless possibilities what's gonna happen but trust me on this - once you have your sets organised, it's all easy from there on!

[Saberwing40k]

My mom almost ended Lego for me, but I figured out a way around that. I've still got all of my sets, just in storage for the near future.

[DPrime]

I "grew out of it" at one point, like nearly everyone else, but I actually had a second dark age as well. Funny enough, Star Wars brought me back the first time - but after a while, I got burned out on it all, what with "new and improved" sets coming out, etc.

Collecting anything SW seems to have that effect... Except the vintage stuff, because you know there's an end in sight. Part of the reason I'm sticking to old sets now, though I'd like to do some MOCing when I get more free time...

But anyway, if you really love it, you'll be back!

Edited September 4, 2013 by DPrime

[jluck]

I think everyone is right in saying keep them near by for the day it'll return to you, or maybe some close friend/child could benefit from them down the road. But if you feel like you must clear then out, my door is always open to homeless Lego sets:)

[kermit]

University ended lego for me. I thought that I would become so involved in my new field of study that there would be no more room for lego. I told myself it was time to grow up. Boy was I wrong.

[HawkLord]

As a toy collector who has gone through dark times I don't know often, I can say it really pays to hold on to some of the stuff. Even if you just keep it in storage or in a friend or relative's attic/basement, you might find you will miss it one day and want it back. Plenty of times I thought I outgrew something or wanted to quit and dumped everything, only to want it back later on when I wasn't so distracted. Sure, life always gets in the way, but it's certain hobbies that help keep me on track and happy. I especially recommend keeping the rare or hard-to-find stuff, as you will really kick yourself if you ever want that back.

[dhc6twinotter]

Back around 2000 I lost interest when LEGO Town sets started getting really plain. I remember some of the sets using stickers or printed bricks for headlights, and most of the sets were blocky and hand unrealistic looking designs (trans blue windshields for example). I was really dissapointed with the direction LEGO was going, and I basically quite collecting. I think I did buy a couple of star wars sets and maybe a Technic set during my "dark ages", but not much else. Thankfully I never sold any of my sets.

Also, I left home to go to school, and I left all my LEGO in storage.

I had no intention of getting back into LEGO, but around 2008 or 2009, my parents bought me a LEGO set that was supposed to be a gag gift. I was impressed with the set and what LEGO had to offer. Little did they know that set would re-spark my interest in LEGO. Now I collect mostly Technic and some City sets.

Unfortunatly, I haven't been able to build any mocs in over a year. I left my home state in June of 2012 and have been on a road trip since then. I've logged over 25,000 miles on my vehicle exploring the back roads of the United States, camping and staying with friends since then. I did bring some mocs along to display at a couple of LEGO shows, but otherwise, I haven't built anything in over a year. I'm itching for a good LEGO build though!

Edited September 5, 2013 by dhc6twinotter

[Paul B Technic]

It has always been work or women which has kept me away from the LEGO hobby. I am glad I am now able to devote more time to the LEGO hobby.

[Jeff Huntington]

After almost 20 years of LEGO fun as a kid and then single adult, I entered my dark age in 2001 after the abomination Town had become. I didn't come back until 2009 after my son was born and it was the farm sets, particularly the combine harvester, that brought me back. Fortunately I kept all my old sets in plastic bags stored in boxes in my parents basement.

[Overcold]

My dark ages are coming up within the next two years, thus I am refraining from investing my time in designing MOC's. I haven't lost intrest in lego whatsoever, I'm just going to be too busy to devote any time towards it.

Maybe once it's all over I can return and start to design stuff, but its too early to determine at this point.

Nevermind, that never happened >_>

Edited November 18, 2017 by Overcold

[Herky]

a lot of good stories and advice here, makes sense to keep them if you can, my parents did for me, boxes, instructions and all...Naf's post really says it all for me

one thing I have learned about Lego is that the value is always there, Lego does not seem to drop in value ever, other toys cannot say that

[Hrw-Amen]

For me I stayed with it right up until 1995 well into my twenties and after buying my first house. I dropped out when I had to move back to my parents due to relocating my job and I only had a single bedroom rather than the whole house. Still kept what I had but did not buy anymore until around 2011.

[Tariq j]

I think the point has clearly been made now that you should keep your Lego, it's important that you keep the sets that your happy with, big or small. I know how it feels and throughout your time collecting lego you feel slightly bored of it but you will eventually get back in. I remember when I brought an unexpected gathering I asked myself why did I get this in the first place? But I soon got back into it.

[Vindicare]

Success, however its defined, doesn't have much value if you can't continue doing the things you like to do. Best wishes as you embark on the new journey.

I wholeheartedly agree here. Work is important, but so is having a happy life. Speaking from experience, do not sell your LEGO, you will regret it.