daisy

I find it slightly amusing that the author of that article appeared surprised to find that gender is "hardwired" Uhh..yeah it is encoded in our DNA. Being such a technological society I always find it fascinating that we tend to be so low tech in our understanding of biology. Being male or female isn't a simple matter of anatomy, it affects physiological processes throughout our body from our feet to (more importantly in this case) our brains. Science is only just touching on the massive differences between male and female neurological function. Whether one looks at it from a design or evolutionary perspective this makes sense. If everyone's energy was focussed on the hunt humanity would not survive, equally if everyone's energy was focussed on nuture, humanity would not survive. Of course like any physiological process there is a continuum, some people more strongly demonstrate gender traits than others. This likely is strongly based on hormone levels, and neuropathway development "nature". But of course is also affected by parenting and society "nuture" So yes some girls will prefer star wars, cars whatever, but most girls will not. And most girls will prefer social, nuturing type play but some girls will not. (Though I would argue that even girls who are more toward the "boy side" of traits, will be more "girly" than most (not necessarily all) boys, and vice versa) the past problem has been that kids falling toward the middle in one trait or another were repressed. ie. no dolls allowed for boys, no trucks allowed for girls. Sadly some people seem to think that the answer is to declare boys and girls the same. In order to support the smaller group of children who have been unjustly repressed, we now must repress the majority of children. Kids are smart, they aren't going to fall for it. My 2 girls play with lego because of lego friends. And yes they now play with more than just "friends". But my oldest the girly one - likes the others lego as an adjunct (and is starting to get interested in the idea of a lego castle). I don't think she would prefer lego if she didn't have friends. My youngest is the "tomboy" she likes cars and space guys. But she too has a strong draw to friends, because a girl with an ATV and a corvette (oops convertible) is pretty cool. She might have played with lego anyway with the right exposure. (though she still isn't drawn to the conflict stuff) The people who rail against lego friends really frustrate me. I don't tell my youngest daughter she can't play with cars or be a mechanic or astronaut someday. What right do they have to demean my oldest daughter because she is drawn to pink and purple and might want to be a baker or a hairdresser or a mommy. She is not less worthy because she demonstrates strong female traits. It does actually seem though that those who made a fuss about Lego friends have actually largely failed as they brought exposure to them. Maybe it will be enlighening for them. Celebrating diversity in general would do a lot more for those in the marginalized middle than attempting to enforce homogeneity.

Thanks The list and the pab cup tips are helpful.

Thanks for the advice. Good point bigger the brick more expensive it gets in a PAB cup. I am planning on filling a PAB cup or 2 anyway, since I wouldn't be getting to a lego store but once a yr or so. So was wondering if there were some specific thing to grab up that are often available. Had a feeling greys/tans were in high demand, can't seem to find them in to many sets. Maybe I will build a pink castle Daughter would love it (she is a pink fan), maybe less competition for those bricks, since there are couple pink buckets out right now. (Which we will have) Pink and grey look nice together. then i can build up my greys and tans over time - and it would be good practice for building a "real" one. (I like to build houses & cabins too so those colors are always on my radar)

I want to try to build my first lego castle. My daughter wants a castle themed birthday party later this summer. I think it would be fun to build a lego castle for it. Unfortunately i don't see much out there in current castle sets, so I think I will have to come up with my own. (I did pick up an inexpensive little bricks and more castle set so at least I have a knight and a castle door/windows) I am pretty much a novice so it won't be anything massive. But i will be making a trip to chicago in the next month or so and get to visit the legostore PAB wall. So what would be the best finds /really important bricks for castle building? (BTW If there is already a thread on this please direct me, I did a search but couldn't find anything)

Really like your race cars! Love how it fits the figure so perfectly. Nice job

Very nice, really like the brickwork. My great grandfather was a coalman. My grandmother often told me about his work. This is lovely. Love the idea of forgotten jobs. Looking forward to seeing more.

That is really beautiful. You said you are having a hard time finding merchandise. Do you have a perfume counter? (I didn't see one in the picks)

aww..Legogal, you made me giggle. I will be buying lego just for me, tomorrow for my 38th birthday. I am very excited! I am hoping to eventually build some fabulous moc's and impress my brother lol. Of course he still has access to lots of lego, as he has 4 boys ages 2 to 10 who love lego. And I generally add to their collection on Christmas.

Ok i am going to be such a girl and say the lime building is so adorable. Like the pink accent line. Really makes it seem like an icecream shop. Thanks for explaining the danish for ice cream... as an english speaker the big "is" on the building still makes me giggle, but is not perplexing now anyway Red building? boat rental/rides office, travel agent, seafood restaurant, harbor museum - not sure what would be appropriate for denmark Very nice

Thanks for the hello's Oh i completely agree. Though all lego might not be for all girls I will be buying myself a creator set for my birthday My youngest daughter about 3 - only really wants friends sets if they are vehicles. I am looking forward to when she is old enough for lego spaceships and racecars. I think she will favor those. Also my almost 5 y/o loves castles and would swoon over royal joust. Sadly she is too young, and it is a bit pricey for her savings. So i better not let her see it. Wish there were smaller castle looking sets to expand her interest beyond friends - but we have plenty of friends to buy so it is OK.

This is fantastic. Love the color. the yellow to red is the coolest, but I can see how they could be great in other colors too. Just great! Yes this would be a fabulous set. My youngest daughter would just have to have it!

Thanks I forget I can look at the instructions online. (I am quite the novice. ) That is an interesting idea. Do you mean make my own version w/o the set? Or modify the set to be like the cabins we stayed in? (I was already planning on modifying it at some point) My ultimate goal is doing my own designs mostly. But I have a lot to learn. Fortunately i have many years of playing lego with my little girls to practice. Problem with doing it without the set is the only 1x bricks I have any quantity of are bright red and blue. Though I imagine there could be another way to get a hold of brown (or green - some of the cabins we stayed in were painted green)1x bricks. We will be at the PAB wall at the lego store, but how likely are they to have the bricks I want? (We live 3 hours from the nearest lego store so I won't be getting there often) hmmm...

Sounds like I can't go wrong either way. Thanks so much for the advice. Interesting note about the log cabin being likely to disappear sooner. I think I will get that first. But i do really want the lighthouse now. Technically I can "afford" them both, but I think my husband will think I am off my rocker if I buy them both. But he doesn't fuss about what I spend my birthday money on. So now y'all have me devising a plan. Buy the log cabin first. Have 20 dollars bday money left over. We are planning a trip to Chicago in may or June. We will definitely be going to a Lego store. It wouldn't be too hard to justify buying the lighthouse at the lego store, paying for part of it with my left over birthday money - and the rest as a special lego store/vacation treat. Hubby knows I really like lighthouses and we will be w/ his best friend who has lots of Star wars lego, so it will be easier to make it seem "normal"

Very very nice. Really like the colors, especially the awning and the tile work below it. (and the 2nd story curtains) Great details. Such a cool idea. The antique shop looks so properly crowded. Had fun checking out the variety of antiques.

Really like how the orange looks with the blue. Like the simplicity of the look, but bits of great detail here and there. I was just noticing that there are no green building in the original picture. But I realize it is inspiration. Hoping you have fun building the lime one. should look nice next to the orange.

I quilt. I know it doesn't sound like it is related to lego, but it really is. Both involve working with shapes and colors to make a piece of art. Lego is much more convenient now that I have small children. No pins! I can fix it if it comes apart, and I can take it apart and reuse it when I am done with it.

Well, my husband taught sunday School in college this would be great for a class. The jr hi class I teach would think this is awesome. Actually this is a great idea. Thanks for the inspiration, as my moc skills improve I might try something like this w/ jr highers.

This is really nice. I especially like the blue building. I agree with the white windows though(for the upper stories). Would give it a more light and seaside feeling. I like how you have been including the little umbrella tables like in the original photo. Looking forward to seeing more

This is really great. The whole thing is cool but I especially like that you used a fisherman at the last supper. And the angel is fantastic! (So cool you didn't use a stereotypical white feathery one) What a neat idea. Building something like that would be a great way to share the Easter story with kids.

Thanks for the input. I really love lighthouses, so it is oh so tempting. But I do already have furniture ideas for the cabin. It reminds me of the one room cabins my family vacationed in when I was little. And it definitely appeals to my practical side

I am a new FAFOL I became interested (and bordering on obsessed lol) since my daughter fell in love with Lego friends. I have started building vignettes and small rooms. Our current lego selection is somewhat limited. We have several small friends sets, (olivia's treehouse is the largest). I am also blessed to have my hubbies old lego sets (Exxon station and 733 universal) It's great, but I am pretty much limited to bright red or blue for walls. My birthday is this weekend and I finally have an opportunity to buy a lego set all my own. (I have never had my "own" set) I am limited to under $50 (U.S.) I originally was going to get the friends cafe, but now that I have been building more, it would be nice to learn some more challenging building technigues, and have more house/room building bricks. I am trying to decide on a creator set. (seems to be what is in my price range) The lighthouse is really neat. I grew up near the great lakes and have lighthouses throughout my home, so if someday I take a building hiatus I could display it. The log cabin looks like a great value for what I am looking for (I could get some other small sets then too) Lots of nice brown bricks and a room to furnish. I think it is between those too, but any other suggstions would be OK. Any recommendations

We will definitely want the camper and the 3 $10 sets of the summer releases. It is very convenient for me to have adughter who loves these and has a late august bday. Really like the building parts. But I wish they would come out with a little more clothing and hairdo variety, the summer releases seem to have basically the same clothes and hair as the January ones. We are going to have a whole troop of olivia and stephanie clones soon. I don't know if I could justify the $ for the advent calendar, but oh to give those mini dolls some sweaters.

Hi! I have been lurking here for a couple of months. I was going to wait to register until I bought my first lego set all my very own, but decided I need help in choosing it. (I see there is a thread for that elsewhere) I am a new FAFOL. I never had any lego of my own as a kid (late 70's/80's). My big brother had all the lego in our home. Since he had so much no one saw any reason to buy me any (since I am a girl) But he didn't share very well and I never had the opportunity to just build. I remember wishing there was lego for girls. Finally 30-some years later my dream has come true, just in time for my almost 5 and almost 3 y/o daughters to fall in love with lego. We have had regular duplo for years, but it wasn't untill my girls got the duplo bunny and cakes sets for this past Christmas that they really started playing with them. When my oldest saw the new Lego Friends she adored them, and has been playing with lego every day since she bought Stephanie's outdoor bakery. I dug out my husbands old lego (Exxon Station and Universal 733), and we got a few more smaller friends sets. I have started building vignettes and small rooms. It is so fun to have something that I enjoy to play with my girls. (and to play with by myself after they go to bed ) Your forums seem like a lot of fun with tons of info. You have some fabulous moc's here and I really enjoy the thorough reviews. BTW my real name is Debbie, but I chose "daisy" after the lego friends bunny my daughter got in a set for Easter. It represents the bunny duplos that peaked my girls' interest as well. I also happened to be born on Easter and rabbits are my favorite animal.