LukeWarmTea

What?! ^ I so want to know what went on there. I have intense FOMO.

Hey, side note - why do Kiwis and Aussies have to pay for the Lego club?

First off, woah. I honestly did not expect such a large number of replies. Thank you all for sharing; your thoughts, advice and especially personal stories. I just spent the last hour and a half carefully reading over this thread and you all have such interesting, insightful things to say. This thread is the most wonderful read. I was collecting posts to reply to and hit about twenty when I realised all I really wanted to say was thank you. Thank you all so much. To those who wish they could rip out a heart (preferably a blue one, am I right?) or who knit on busses, the Lego historian who loved Lego since before it was cool, those who collect Duplo because seriously - a toy is a toy is a toy - and those who obviously love Lego so much they really didn't get my point and all the ones in between - thank you. I came out of my Lego closet. It was pretty obvious I was in there as it was all multicoloured and all. My partner (who is also a woman) was surprisingly more understanding than I expected, possibly because one of the sets I found (box damage for the win!) sold second hand for more than the RRP. I built it with Bella and we didn't say 'piu piu' very often, but there was a lot of 'Can I have a cup of tea?'. Xoxo.

Just out of interest, how many minifigs have been produced, ever?

Wow, this was a bigger response than expected! For a start (and for those who did not visit the blog to read the really short letter) I should state that the woman in question wasn't writing from a position as 'scientist' or an 'academic' she was writing from her position as a mother, and she simply thought of an idea that might give her daughter a chance to see more female minifigs. The reason why her science background matters is only because it meant her simple plea to TLG was picked up by NZ national media - most likely to publicise the fact she recently won a major award, and one we would never really get to hear about in the media otherwise. Which is a shame. But there you are. What I really find most interesting about this whole thread is that whether you are saying 'get ova it already it's a toy' or 'gender specification in construction/creative toys is an issue for serious consideration' not one person has expressed surprise over the minifig gender disparity, no one has simply 'not noticed' there are a dearth of women in Lego land, no one has suggested the ratio is balanced. Essentially, no one has doubted it is an issue.

I'm just starting! (Again) But I am finding it very hard going. 1. Taking too much time ? I 'play' Lego with my daughter, which is just lovely and I would spend all day playing if I could - this is a legitimate use of my time so is fine. I have been building with LDD for a few months now and that does eat up my time, which has been causing a little bit of tension with my fiance - I am generally doing this when she's gaming on her Xbox and wants me to watch. Woo! 2. Wanting to explore other 'interests' Pfft. Or does 'interests' really mean sex? Cause that'd be a tough call. 3. I really should be putting my $ elsewhere ... Yes. Yes I really should, sigh - which is why I've been limited to LDD till now. 4. Enough with this 'play' ... time to focus on contributing to Society, and possibly leaving a legacy behind ... I had a baby! I'm done with this legacy junk. 5. One's own mortality ... who's gonna sort my thousands of parts once I'm gone ... sure hope they don't end up as a bulk lot on eBay for a fraction of the initial investment ... Again, I had a baby... 7. What else ... ? My family thinks it's this huge waste of money and time when I really should be looking for cleaning work/cleaning the house/getting exercise/something else I hate doing. Sigh.

Hey all, I've been wondering this for a bit as I've always used the excuse that whatever set I'm buying is 'for Bella' (my daughter) when really, I love Lego and often buy things I really just wanna play with myself. Today was a perfect example, Bella has a reward program where she can earn little Lego sets, and today she got Olivia's Workshop. She doesn't even fully understand what that means yet - but I loved it, and I loved teaching her all the names for the things in the set (she knew 'chemicals'!). With Christmas looming, I've decided to get her a bigger Friends set that will be retired soon, but I'm struggling to justify the cost (we're in NZ, so it's silly money really) to my partner and my Mum, and when they say things like "Are you getting it for you or her? She won't know if you get her the small set/knock off/some other junk" I really wish I could say "Yes, it's partly for me, and it's my money, is that a problem for you?" But I am a chicken. :( I don't know what to say to them next month - I'd like to get a Creator Mod set for my birthday - and that'll cost me two weeks wages at least! I've often heard EuroBrickers joke about their partners 'not understanding' their love of Lego - is there any point in explaining it to them? Is there anything I can do to make them happier about the whole thing? Their attitudes are very discouraging at the moment, I've been building in LDD and that's kind of been tolerated, but I want to brick some things and you know, that requires bricks! Help? Thanks heaps in advance - you guys have been so super helpful so far :D

Happened to me! I built a 'campfire' for my Belleville (yes, really) figures as I had the horse and tent set (5854, the internet tells me) out of unlit matchsticks in the proper, tee-pee style shape. Left it outside in the sun... came back to a melted mess. Sigh.

Oh sorry, the Grand Carousel. I thought your version looked similar in styling, vs this cartoony pink one shown above. I don't even know if those swans move - the carousels are not shown 'in action' although we see a delightful ferris wheel with round roofed carriages!

Touche.

It did, thanks Freddy Bricker! I was under the delusion that 'Flagship' sets like OH would stick around a bit longer, alackaday. Any storage ideas? I've seen all sorts of 'wonder products'.

Right, of course - and your idea is exactly what I am planning! I'm using LDD at the moment (although it is somewhat limited when it comes to Friends) and then I'll probably combine BrickLink buys with your small-set idea. The hard part is telling the kids the set is for you, not them - yet!

Thanks guys! Freddy Bricker - NZ and OZ are similar, but not quite the same place! Easy mistake, no worries ;) Your info on retiring sets was super useful and not surprising - S@H already prevents me from buying a large number of 2012 sets and TradeMe (our version of Ebay) has started putting up their '12 prices already! I'm going to work my B off and try and get both Olivia's House and the Stables as they seem to be selling out here-I should be able to pick up Summer Riding Camp in Jan, fingers crossed, for my own birthday! What wave was the Vet in? It's very hard to find affordably here - overpriced stores still have some in stock I think. And I agree Xyver - the Cruiser looks amazing and I know it'd be a huge hit - but with the retiring set issue, it's gotta be OH. One worry - have you heard rumours they are pulling Friends from Aus/NZ? One of the larger local chains we frequent recently told me there was 'not enough demand' and they are 'unlikely to be stocked next year'. Which is a major poo.

Hi Bianca! I'm new too :) I don't mean to be rude if I'm mistaken, but here in NZ Bianca is a female name - and if you happen to be one - you can score a nifty Lady tag like mine. I'm a bit conflicted about the tag, but it's better than Vassal! There's a thread around somewhere where you post and then a Mod will update you - Eurotrash helped me out with mine. See you on the boards!

Read this: http://www.listener.co.nz/commentary/the-internaut/dear-lego-where-are-the-women/ and accidentally vacuumed up a part. :( Bye bye, 1x1 round tile.

Award winning NZ scientist Siouxsie Wiles wrote a short open letter to TLC on her website: http://sciblogs.co.n...letter-to-lego/ asking if TLC could again address the gender imbalance issues in their products, this time CMFs, and proposes an hitherto unthought of solution. It hit NZ current affairs mag http://www.listener....-are-the-women/ and I wonder if it will spread? My query is - what do you (as an AFOL or PFOL or whatever) think of the idea of two faced minifigs, with female on one side and male on the other? Personally I think if it is restricted to non-licensed themes and just appears in the CMF series then bring it on! But I would feel strange picking up a Batman that could turn into a Batwoman, and I'm not sure how it would work in classic themes like City - surely just a better representation of women (with better facial expressions) would suffice? Edited: A word.

There are sooo many! My biggest niggle is that there are no mini-dolls (not one!) and as they are slightly taller than figs it's pretty important to have at least one in the model to get the scale right. Friends sets can sometimes look a bit cartoony with figs. Also more Friends colours and shapes - like the pink curved roof pieces.

Hey all, quick question on the Friends theme: which 'wow factor' set should I buy for my 51/2yo this Christmas? She has dyspraxia so is at the younger end of the Friends target age range but was able to build 41013 and 3186 without any frustration and has a few larger City sets, so I think she's ready for a decent building. Summer Riding Camp is out of my price range! Also: Any thoughts on Lego storage and sorting systems?

http://friends.lego....-new-in-town-e8 - this 'mini episode' has the carousel in the background several times, although on review it is very plain and features swans (which is pretty clever of TLC, if you ask me), not horses like yours which was reminiscent in detailing to GC - although your lighting idea was the best! Here's a pic where we can see 2, yes two, carousel's at the World Petacular! Which has to be the worst name for an A&P show, ever.

I know right?! Though we should take the female distribution with a grain of salt, apparently. I would be well peeved if I didn't score a Wyldstyle - love that do - but why is she not in her iconic hoodie? Which I love? Ah well. I am super excited about Gail! Gail and her red, pony tailed helmet. I used to believe this kind of mold was impossible - now TLC has no excuse for all their female firefighters and other helmeted women. Yay! Great overall review Wild Fang, so detailed as usual. One thing though - I'm not sure how integral the cat lady (or Gail) are to the plot of the Lego Movie, the feel I'm getting is that there are very few major female roles in the movie. It seems more likely to me that TLC wanted to keep their fig series somewhat gender balanced, and so grabbed whatever quirky female characters the film had to offer.

Hi all! I was hoping I could get some advice from Friends followers on which big set I should be purchasing this Christmas - for my 5 1/2yo girl. I do most of my own Lego construction through LDD as we don't have a lot of money for me to spend on actual Lego - but LDD doesn't cut it for youngsters, and she's asked for a 'big big big' Lego set this year. (And a Lightening McQueen car bed, but we're going to ignore that one - it's way too heavy for Santa's sleigh!). I've already hidden away the campervan. Personally I'd like to explore those delightful tan bricks, but they come in several large Friends sets, so I'm stumped. I've read all of Pandora's reviews and she makes them all sound so good, I'm still stuck! I know the obvious answer is the Summer Riding camp, but it's unlikely we can afford that this year, even if I find it on special or secondhand. If you all think it's the best, and with a little help she could build it, then I may revisit it as it's got the grown ups, home life and school life I know she'd love. We've currently got a whole bunch of small sets, the largest probably being Emma's Horse Trailer or Olivia's Treehouse, and she loved building Emma's car (she's a bit vehicle mad) so while I know this will be a big jump build wise, I think she's ready. The alternative might be to buy her a couple of medium builds (pet salon, cafe etc), which would be cool too - but won't be the 'big big big' set every little kid desires. Her play is mostly role-play, with the occasional stop to build a bit she needs for that play, so from observation I know she'd love more grown ups, and another horse would help. And if you're thinking the Vet, I did too - but it's completely sold out. Will Olivia's House be retired soon? You can still buy it here, but it'd be awful to miss out (I just overpaid for Olivia's Workshop as I couldn't not have such an iconic set!). I've included some poor quality (sorry) phone-cam pics below of what she's currently building/playing with, as you can see it's pretty family-centered stuff (if they had a daycare or preschool set on the shelves I would not need to start this thread!) but I also hope you just enjoy the photos. (And yes, I know we need a bigger Lego table!) The MOCs on EuroBricks are so amazingly intricate (The Monde! OMG, the Monde!) and well thought out it's easy to forget Lego was and is a kids toy, and this is how a 5yo girl plays with Basic bits, City bits and Friends. (Minifigs and minidolls get along fine - figs are boys and 'old people' and dolls are Mums and Sisters. No joke.) I love her attention to detail - check out the pink, blue and green pram, last photo, bottom left. The wheels had to be different to car wheels, clear bricks were required for a viewing window to 'check on baby' and no modern buggy would be complete without a roof! Also the handles were changed multiple times till we found a way both figs (that's Nana pushing 'baby' - a minifig head on a yellow 1x1 round brick wrapped in a ribbon) and dolls could use the buggy. Too cute, right? Also, we need a better Lego storage system (you may have noticed we currently use the 'floor' method). Thoughts?

Neat truck! I love the details - the vege in the back, the long wing mirror bars and yes, the neatly applied number plate sticker, I am one of few who truly appreciates a neatly placed Lego sticker. I think he's done a great job and he should keep it up!

Good question Bubble! Has anyone got or seen any display pics of the two together?

I know right? I was pleasantly surprised by the difficulty level of Friends. My 5yo girl easily completed a small City fire engine I thought would entertain her for ages; but really struggled with one of the Friend's animal polybags - Squirrel's Treehouse - which required upside-down building and hinges and all sorts of stuff I did not expect for a $6NZD set. I think Friend's really comes under fire a lot for being 'simplistic' but it's really not. And I also think we're all pro-Friends here on the Town forum. I think we're so used to defending Friends we start taking things the wrong way when they may not have been intended in such a way - a mistake I think I made above, El Garfio. Can't we all just be, well, Friends?

Hey, what happened to the Friends TV show thing? I found the two episodes listed above and my daughter devoured them, but nothing new seems to be available?