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Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
love to throw out a question!
What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
perfect train car and posted it online.
I would love to hear!
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Sr. Producer
LEGO Direct
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Not sure if it's my "coolest" experience, but it was the start of me
re-entering the world of LEGO. Back in 1996 I was at TRU to get some HO
train track to try and fix up and old HO train set I had from my childhood,
well this TRU kept their LEGO trains on the same aisle as the other scale
trains. I found the 4559 setting there, and as soon as I saw it the
possiblities of LEGO rail-roading just blew me away. I bought the set and
took it home only to be greeted by a very strange look on my wife's face.
She just didn't understand why I bought the LEGO train set and questioned if
I would actually "stick with it". (at this time we had no children and no
LEGO in the house)
Well here it is 6 years later and I have a complete collection of 9v trains,
have a desinated LEGO room at home and run the North Georgia LEGO Train
Club. When she now questions "do I need that much LEGO stuff", I remind her
of her doubts so many years ago and tell her that I do it all out of spite :)
jt
In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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|
In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
My coolest LEGO moment (and there are so many...) is when, after I made a
movie using LEGO bricks and forwarding a copy to the Canadian head office, I
got a letter from Jack E. Chessman, the then Vice President of LEGO
Marketing, Canada (this was a while back...) inviting me up for a tour of
the Samsonite/LEGO facilities in Stratford, Ontario (that'll date me right
there).
He mentioned during my tour that everyone in the building gathered in the
lunchroom once and watched the movie and they all really enjoyed it. As I
was touring the facility, folks there were chatting with me about the
movie--how I did it and such. It was one of the best experiences of my
life, and it reinforced the idea that you don't have to stop enjoying 'the
Brick' after you hit your teens.
After that, the legal department in Denmark sent me a letter, concerned
about copyright infringements. So that was my second worse LEGO experience,
but I got over it(1). I still have the Copyright brochure they sent me, as
well as all the correspondance. The movie, on the other hand, I do not
have--the Beta tape it was on was, well, Beta, and somehow got lost during
one of the many "house clean-ups", when all Beta stuff got thrown out.
So there you are.
Dave K.
(1)"I make an epic and they give me the legal department" was a quotation
about me in my high school yearbook in regards to this very issue.
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In lugnet.general, David Koudys writes:
> After that, the legal department in Denmark sent me a letter, concerned
> about copyright infringements. So that was my second worse LEGO experience,
> but I got over it(1).
One hesitates to ask, if that was your second worst, what was your first
worst Lego experience? I hope it didn't involve a pair of rollerskates, a
cat, and a bowling ball...
-Hendo
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In lugnet.general, John P. Henderson writes:
> In lugnet.general, David Koudys writes:
> > After that, the legal department in Denmark sent me a letter, concerned
> > about copyright infringements. So that was my second worse LEGO experience,
> > but I got over it(1).
>
> One hesitates to ask, if that was your second worst, what was your first
> worst Lego experience? I hope it didn't involve a pair of rollerskates, a
> cat, and a bowling ball...
>
> -Hendo
Nope--it has something to do with a canning pot, boiling water, and my
entire LEGO collection (at the time)...
See:
http://sparky.i989.net/legop1.htm
Close to the bottom of the page.
The trauma! The horror!!
Yeah, not a good thing.
Dave K.
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In lugnet.general, David Koudys writes:
>
> Nope--it has something to do with a canning pot, boiling water, and my
> entire LEGO collection (at the time)...
>
> See:
>
> http://sparky.i989.net/legop1.htm
>
> Close to the bottom of the page.
>
> The trauma! The horror!!
>
> Yeah, not a good thing.
OUCH! That's brutal. Especially that it was the *entire* collection at the
time. I'm glad it didn't turn you off to the hobby as a result.
-H.
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David Koudys <dkoudys@redeemer.on.ca> wrote in message
news:H6pt1L.KAM@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.general, John P. Henderson writes:
> > In lugnet.general, David Koudys writes:
> > > After that, the legal department in Denmark sent me a letter, concerned
> > > about copyright infringements. So that was my second worse LEGO • experience,
> > > but I got over it(1).
> >
> > One hesitates to ask, if that was your second worst, what was your first
> > worst Lego experience? I hope it didn't involve a pair of rollerskates, • a
> > cat, and a bowling ball...
> >
> > -Hendo
>
> Nope--it has something to do with a canning pot, boiling water, and my
> entire LEGO collection (at the time)...
>
> See:
>
> http://sparky.i989.net/legop1.htm
May I suggest you redo that page into smaller pages, it takes years to load
and it gives a "time-out" leaving half of the pictures unloaded, espcially
the last ones.
>
> Close to the bottom of the page.
>
> The trauma! The horror!!
>
> Yeah, not a good thing.
>
> Dave K.
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In lugnet.general, Sonnich Jensen writes:
<snip>
>
> May I suggest you redo that page into smaller pages, it takes years to load
> and it gives a "time-out" leaving half of the pictures unloaded, espcially
> the last ones.
>
> >
> > Close to the bottom of the page.
> >
> > The trauma! The horror!!
> >
> > Yeah, not a good thing.
> >
> > Dave K.
Fixed! Thanks for the 'heads-up'!
http://sparky.i989.net/legop1.htm
Dave K
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In lugnet.general, David Koudys writes:
> After that, the legal department in Denmark sent me a letter, concerned
> about copyright infringements.
I've been wondering when they would letters to all the people who bought
LEGO movie maker sets?!
-Ted
SCLTC
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Jake (and all),
Here is my fav Lego experience:
http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39019
Jeremy
In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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Jake McKee wrote:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
I was thinking this morning about a similar question. I was going to
wait a few days before I posted about it, but since it seems topical...
I was thinking about the things I had built as a kid. You know, before
many of us had tens of thousands of bricks. I don't believe I have pics
of MOCs I built as a kid (~15-20 years ago) and I would like to remember
something about them. What did you build? Are there any particular
creations you can vividly remember? Can you describe how you built them?
Here are a few projects I remember:
1) Ghostbuster's themed creations
2) I went through a stage, where I was using marbles as Minifigs because
I didn't have enough pieces to build minifig scaled creations. Early
microfig?
3) Some toys based on the M.A.S.K. cartoon about the secret agents with
the vehicles that transformed into 'weapon platforms'?
and lots more...
What did you all build?
-chris
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Well, actually, there are two:
First, after my Castle had been included in LegoMania Magazine in 1996, I was
asked by Lego Enfield if they could use photos of my Castle in the Lego Creator
Manual. I was thrilled. They then invited me to tour the Enfield facilities.
It was an awesome experience.
Second, last summer I was at a small amusement park in Pennsylvania. I was
wearing a Brickfest T-shirt. 4 kids (probably around 11) approached me and
asked if I was "Ed Boxer". I had a fan club for the rest of the day that
cheered me while riding rollercoasters.
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Here's a story I posted a couple weeks ago to the rtlToronto group:
http://news.lugnet.com/org/ca/rtltoronto/?n=5790
I have another story in progress about one of my LEGO robots, (
http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/?n=19228 ) entitled "me & my LegWay". In
the next chapter, I'll be on TechTV. But that's been rescheduled (again)
for sometime in Janurary.
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Steve Hassenplug wrote:
>
> Here's a story I posted a couple weeks ago to the rtlToronto group:
>
> http://news.lugnet.com/org/ca/rtltoronto/?n=5790
Hmm, I'd love to read this story, but for some reason, when I look at
that article, it doesn't word wrap, so each paragraph comes out as one
really long line.
Has something gone wacky with the way Lugnet generates the HTML?
Frank
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In lugnet.general, Frank Filz writes:
> Steve Hassenplug wrote:
> >
> > Here's a story I posted a couple weeks ago to the rtlToronto group:
> >
> > http://news.lugnet.com/org/ca/rtltoronto/?n=5790
>
> Hmm, I'd love to read this story, but for some reason, when I look at
> that article, it doesn't word wrap, so each paragraph comes out as one
> really long line.
>
> Has something gone wacky with the way Lugnet generates the HTML?
I think it's something about how Steve posts.... His posts all do that, and
they break threading too. I suspect maybe he's posting via email and using a
damaged mail client.
I think if you look at it in raw mode it will wrap though.
Todd previously has filtered out certain mail client posting attempts to
encourage people to switch clients or switch to NNTP or switch to the web.
Perhaps he can be persuaded to filter out this one too?
FUT only to admin.general
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
Three days living in a sorority house, without a wink of sleep the whole time,
surrounded by LEGO:
http://news.lugnet.com/off-topic/fun/?n=8630
Dreams beget reality beget dreams ....
;)
-s
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Hard to choose between these two:
When I was twelve, there was a building contest to celebrate 25 years of
Lego (here in the Netherlands anyway). I won the local round in the Technic
category. That got me (apart from the honour) a Lego jacket (that I still
have, somewhere) and a place in the second round. That second round was my
worst Lego ambition ever: being over-ambitious I got nowhere.
A more recent cool experience was on holiday in Germany two years ago.
Driving through a little village I spotted some Lego in the window of the
local department store. My other half let me stop and go in to see if there
were some old sets. Looking around the shop there were a few discontinued
Technic sets, but nothing special. Just when I was about to leave the shop
assistant came and asked me what I was looking for. I told him I was looking
for old Lego sets. 'Follow me'... After what seemed like half a mile of
corridors we ended up in the store room. In the back there was a big set of
shelves. On those shelves there was blue train track (in box) including
switches, transformer. There were old Technic sets, old Model Team (I picked
up a 5581) but the highlight was......
Thatcher Perkins new in box! Not MISB, as it dates back to the days before
sealed bags, but still in the original box, instructions, stickers, and for
what must be the original price of 35DM (just under $20). One of the sets I
always wanted as a child, and finally, after 25 years, I got it!
Duq
"Jake McKee" <jacob.mckee@america.lego.com> wrote in message
news:H6pMCC.26F@lugnet.com...
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle • when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
Well, actually, it is in part *because* of all my cool Lego experiences that
I simply could not give up the hobby (as described in my post above).
As far as which is my "coolest", that is very hard to say. I have
documented quite a few cool Lego related moments in countless threads here
on Lugnet over the past year or two. I think the most acclaimed of those
was my Fusion Power Plant Moonbase Module.
Here is one experience I don't recall sharing on Lugnet (at least not
recently) (actually, I thought I had, but I don't see the thread now)...:
When I was a junior in high school... uh 1989... my architecture teacher was
also the faculty member who counseled the Student Council. She wanted me to
run for office in the spring so I would be involved in student government as
a senior. I didn't have any interest, but I had a reputation in her class
as a comical cynic, so I said I would run for "Lego Representative to the
Student Council." When she laughed and pointed out the "rule" that all
candidates needed forty signatures from classmates to be nominated. She
thought that was the last of me, but I returned to her class a few days
later with two pages of signatures (perhaps about 150 of our class of 300).
It was still just a big joke. Then came the day of nomination speeches,
where the entire class of 1990 assembled in the auditorium, and those
running for student offices waited for their turn on stage to give a short
speech about their platform. Of course, I thought the whole thing was a
farce because those things are really just popularity contests (usually
anyway, although my senior president was actually the smartest and best
speaker there too, not a stereotypical popular jock).
But I was a member of the drama club, and as such the auditorium was a
regular after-school hang-out for me. I was accustomed to entering the room
through the back stage doors, and on this day I did so. As I passed through
an opening in the stage curtain, I noticed there was an empty chair on the
stage that none of the candidates had taken. So I sat there, on the stage,
just for fun.
That teacher happened to sit in the nearest chair (about eight feet away) to
my left. After introducing the first candidate and returning to her chair,
she leaned over to be behind the podium and whispered, "What the Hell are
you doing up here?" I think that was the first time I had heard a teacher
actually swear at me. I just shrugged with a smile, and turned to listen to
the speaker.
Maybe forty minutes later, after each of the candidates had spoken, the
teacher stood at the podium and said to the student body, "Well, there is
just one more young man who has been sitting up here patiently this whole
time. I actually have no idea what he is going to say, but I guess he
should have the opportunity to speak."
I was floored. I couldn't believe she thought I actually wanted to get up
and speak as a candidate. It was at that very moment that I learned my
first lesson on thinking quickly under pressure, or maybe it was BSing 101.
As she was speaking I quickly formulated a line of thinking for my "speech".
I didn't realize it until I began to stand, but because my seat had been
behind the podium, very few of my classmates could actually see that I was
on stage until I stood. On seeing me rise from nowhere, the 150 teenagers
who had signed my joke-of-a-nomintation suddenly went nuts! They were
cheering and yelling my nickname, and a few even got up on the arms of their
seats to hoot and howl. In one brief moment, I had discovered the
exhilaration that rock stars claim to love so much. (One friend later noted
that it looked like I emerged from the podium itself.)
Once things calmed down, I gave a brief speech outlining how in the past
other classes had solicited companies like Coca-Cola to sponsor the class
and help raise funds for events like the prom and donate computers, etc. I
said I did not know whether TLC (well specifically LSI) were open to such
ideas but that as Lego Representative, I would try my best to find out. As
I sat down, the cheering resumed, partly because so many realized I was
somewhat mocking the system.
...As a postscript, the story kind of fizzled in the end, similar to how
Dave K's movie story did. Over the summer, I wrote a letter to LSI asking
if they would consider involvement as I mentioned in my speech. They
repsonded professionally (I still have the letter somewhere), but said they
would be unable to take part in any such program.
To make up for my inability to really be a Lego representative to my class,
every Friday of my senior year I brought in a different model and displayed
it in each class. ...Of course there's a whole other set of stories
there.... Another time perhaps... ;)
Cheers,
-Hendo
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> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
I have a few.....the first would be using all my bricks as a kid to make a
town with an amusment park (using those old large, colored lego
gears)...yeah, way back in the 70's....
Then there was the Star Wars licensing...growing up, my brother and i used
to try to make SW ships with the small collection we had (no angle plates or
anything...no grey either)
Most recently, the discovery of Dark Red bricks being offered in bulk packs.
It can really get no better than that. (ok, so I had a dream last night....)
Jonathan
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
Some of my favorite Lego stories to tell:
DaveE and the Music Center
=================================================
Shortly after my introduction to Lugnet, a curious post popped up,
requesting help in modelling a Music Center in Lego bricks:
http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=5795
The center ( http://www.indianhillarts.org/ ) was raising money to build a
new addition, so that they could finally have a concert hall. The idea was
that instead of your typical "Fundraiser Thermometer" that gets drawn in
with magic marker every week, they would showcase a model of the building,
built from Lego bricks. And the more money that came in, the more the
addition's model counterpart would be built up.
Being that it was a short 30 minute drive from me, I volunteered, along with
a host of other people and groups from around the country. However, both my
proximity and my fee (I said I'd do it for the leftover bricks) won me the
honor of doing the project. (The bricks used in the building were slated to
be put in bins for children to play with in the waiting room, or perhaps
even to be kept assembled in the model for all time)
Working (sadly) with only 3033 tubs, old-style basic-color bulk brick packs,
and a swath of black plate bulk packs, construction began. If only we had
bulk ordering in tan back then! (Tan had only made its debut on the Lego
scene some 1.5 years earlier, and was in short supply) During the course of
its construction, there were several newspaper articles, various expose's
and other events featuring the 3'x5' model.
Finally, payday came. The model was completed, the money was in,
construction began, and I came to collect my "extra leftover bricks".
However, I arrived only to find that about 60% of the extras were 'lost'.
Assumedly given to someone else who was after the bricks as well. :( I took
the remainder (some 2,745 bricks), still more than satisfied since the
'remainder' consisted of plenty of raw brick.
But the real joy came a few months later. The grand opening ceremony for the
hall was scheduled, and I attended its "unveiling". I was invited up on
stage, and, rather shocked, was given the entire model! (Thankfully I didn't
glue it!) 18,290 more bricks to add to my collection! I was swimming with
euphoria. I would never again be in short supply of black plates, grey
bricks (though maybe not!), or black bricks.
DaveE and the Nagging Mother
=================================================
In 6th grade, both my friends and my parents were convinced I was too old to
still be playing with Lego. How could I ever expect to mature if I still
played with Lego? No wonder I was a social misfit! So, one fateful day, I
succumbed to the parental and peer pressure and agreed to put the Lego away
in the attic. Where it patiently awaited my return...
Some years later, in high school, I secretly still yearned to play with my
childhood Lego. I carefully snuck Lego into my room, and hid it inside
drawers I knew no-one would look in. How clever of me! I could still build
with my bricks, and appear cool and mature on the outside-- Lego became a
guilty little pleasure.
Shortly thereafter, my mother was annoyed with me for some reason or
another. One of her peeves being my messy room. With an instinctive urge to
pester, she came into my room and announced that I needed to clean. "You've
got PLENTY of extra drawer space for all this junk on the floor! Why don't
you put it in there?!" With that, she started picking up random piles of
clothes, papers, and knicknacks, and shoving them in random drawers in my room.
I was noticeably petrified. What if she discovered my Lego? Oh, the
humiliation! I began to try and shoo my mother out, promising that I'd
clean. But my mother was not so easily convinced. She saw right through my
attempts, and realized I was hiding something. What could a teenage boy be
hiding in his room? Pornography? Drugs? Liquor? Condoms? Surely, she could
not stop until the secret was exposed!
She grabbed a Bugle Boy shirt off the floor, and opened a would-be empty
drawer in which to stuff it. But instead of an empty drawer, 200 small
smiley-faced Lego figures sat happily in a pile. She stopped dead. My face
exploded in unheard-of shades of red.
She was floored. Should she be angry? Should she punish me? What the heck
was her teenage son doing with his childhood Lego?! Confused, and mildly
embarrassed herself, she attempted to maintain her still-annoyed-with-me
facade. "Well... clean this room up!" She darted out, leaving me to wallow
in my own mortified state....
To this day, I still find myself laughing over how serious I thought the
situation was at the time...
There's probably more stories to tell... but ah well... another day!
DaveE
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More…I need more!
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
~I crave these stories…
There’s just such a level of sincerity in the
sharing of personal stories involving our hobby.
So far I've read every post (some of them twice) and even all
of Hendo’s touching thread which initiated the whole caboodle.
I'm still glowing from the smiles that were had after reading:
“I would run for "Lego Representative to the Student Council.”
…the 150 teenagers who had signed my joke-of-a-nomination
suddenly went nuts!…it looked like I emerged from the podium itself.”
And
“She saw right through my attempts, and realized I was hiding
something. What could a teenage boy be hiding in his room?
Pornography? Drugs? Liquor? Condoms? Surely, she could not
stop until the secret was exposed! …But instead of an empty
drawer, 200 small smiley-faced Lego figures sat happily in a pile.”
Oh gawd…this is too funny!
Needin’ more,
--==Richard==--
P.S. Thanx Jake for kicking-off this thread!
(((This really makes for a warmer community.)))
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The Inspiration:
I was majoring in Cinema at San Francisco State and had started my first
Production class. We were all using Super 8 cameras. I had to buy mine due
to the unfeasability of renting one from a place in SF since I live in the
East Bay. Our first assignment was to demonstrate our knowledge of simple
techniques like pans, match-action cuts, close-ups, and so on. After
completing that, I had plenty of leftover film. I immediately grabbed one
of my space MOC's and preceded to animate the cockpit opening in
stop-motion.
It took several weeks for the developed film to be returned to me via snail
mail and even then I had to wait for my weekly class to see if my efforts
had paid off because I didn't have a projector at the time. Oh, the
anticipation! My reel was loaded and the assigned work flickered to life.
I waited breathlessly. Then my ship appeared and the cockpit opened with
perfect precision. To this day, I can still remember the blast of
excitement I felt in those few seconds as the ship took on a life of it's
own.
The Project:
It was this powerful surge of accomplishment that compelled me to attempt a
stop-motion short film as my final project for the class. I wrote a little
story about spacemen unearthing an alien artifact of great power and the
consequences of its use by those who cannot control it. With the story
finished I began storyboarding and building the set. For three very sweaty
nights, I labored. I worked only in my underwear since I had two 500 watt
lights in a tiny room (necessary for focus in tight close-ups of small
objects) and I couldn't have the window open because the levelor blinds were
right behind the set and the wind would move them during shots.
On the last day of class we gathered to screen our finished work. I brought
a bottle of Bushmills's to share with my classmates because I was so
nervous. It went even better than I could have expected. There were only a
few flaws; one shot was underexposed and another I'd meant to fade to black
but had instead blown-out. Additionally, sweat had clouded my eyes and a
few shots near the end were out of focus. However, all the work resulted in
a cool little 5-minute film that worked really well overall and got a couple
of big laughs. When the film finished I got a great round of applause and
even my hard-nosed instructor was visibly impressed. So much so that I got
an "A" for the film and the course! By far, my best semester in college.
Coming Soon:
For Xmans last year, my dad gave me a program for editing of digital video
(Studio 7). This program will purportedly allow me to use my digital camera
to take still frames, which I can download to my hard drive and then use the
program to animate them. I'll be attempting to construct a new film using
my Castle:
http://home.earthlink.net/~xenobuzz/MyLegoCreations/Simmons%20Castle.htm
Stay tuned and most importantly, stay inspired!
Dave
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Jake McKee wrote in message ...
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
Well, this was my daughter's coolest Lego experience rather than mine. Dec
00/Jan 01, LEGO sponsored her to go on the Students on Ice expedition to
Antarctica. You can see the results at
http://www.lego.com/coolkids/january/default.asp
She still talks about it. Now she's at college studying Biology and
Environmental Studies... maybe eventually she'll get back there.
And yes, she took Lego with her!
Kevin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW Half-Timbered Shops kit 1400+++ pieces!
http://www.lionsgatemodels.com/cat-bwh.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
LEGO TOWN PLANNING information:
http://www.lionsgatemodels.com/COntent/Townplan/townplan.htm
BrickLink Lego parts store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Kevinw1
The Guild of Bricksmiths(TM): http://www.bricksmiths.com
Personal Lego Web page:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kwilson_tccs/lego.html
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? • snip
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
A couple years ago I went to the house of the Religious Education Director at
my church to talk about a church banner I was to make. As we were finishing
talking about the banner, I started talking to her grandson, Hudsen (who was
about 4 years old) about Hot Wheels & other toys, especially construction
vehicles (his grandfather owns construction vehicles in his landscaping
company.) I mentioned Lego, but he wasn't too familiar with them. I went home
& a day or two later the grandmother called me to tell me how excited Hudsen
was at finding an older person (I was about 26) interested in toys. She said
that I had interacted so well with him, she would like me to baby-sit him when
his mom & dad got married in the next couple weeks--I agreed. I figured if he
liked construction vehicles, then he'd LOVE my Technic bar-code dump truck
http://guide.lugnet.com/set/8479 & tow truck http://guide.lugnet.com/set/8462 .
Well, I picked him up at the reception & from the time we got to his house at
around 8pm to about 12-12:30 am, we were driving those trucks around & around
the living room & towing or dumping his other toys with the technic trucks.
That was one of the coolest 4-4 1/2 hours of simply playing with Lego I had in
a long time. A couple months after that, he & his dad, Scott (about a year
younger than I was!) came over to my house & were amazed at the rest of my
collection. Hudsen couldn't decide which of all my technic trucks were his
favorite (I'll be this one, you be that one; wait, now I'LL be that one & YOU
be this one!.) Scott's favorite was instantly the front end loader
http://guide.lugnet.com/set/8464 , which I got him for Christmas last year when
it was re-issued (I got Hudsen the re-issued forklift
http://guide.lugnet.com/set/8463, & got them both a pack of technic team
http://guide.lugnet.com/set/8300.) And they're still my Lego buddies!
Jeff
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Hello!
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old.
Yes I did:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=277718
(I was about ten and wearing strange glasses... But that's not my coolest
experience.)
I'd like to tell two stories. I don't know if they count as "cool", but they
are somewhat peculiar.
1.
In 1983 I got the set 6374 as a birthday present. I was in love. For me it
was (and still is) the most beautiful Legoland Town set I ever had.
http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6374
But when I built up the model there was a part lacking, a white 6x8 plate.
This part is needed to make the floor of the first (and only) storey. ARGH!
I didn't own then such an element in my entire collection! So I was really
frustrated.
However, a couple of days later (it must have been a sunday and we did a
sunday walk, which I normally wasn't too keen on) - well, some days later
there was - and I still count that as a miracle - a white plate with 6 by 8
studs laying on the street! It was just laying there waiting for me! It was
a very old plate, probably from the 60ies with a quadratic surface on the
bottom side, and many cars seemed to have driven over it. But at this moment
I knew: There is a God. I was happy, took the plate and back at home I
inserted it into the model. And so I would do again, if I would build up my
6374 again, even though I now own several newer white 6x8 plates.
2.
I've got a friend, Bernhard, who attended the same classes as me at the
university. In fact we even graduated from the same high school together,
but we didn't know each other very well then. But then we met again at the
university and not knowing anybody else we were both glad to see each other.
And the more we got to know each other the more we talked about
non-small-talk things. One day in the course of our conversation we touched
the topic LEGO. "Yes", both of us used to play with it, and "yes", both of
us liked first of all the castles. And "yes", both of us played with it when
we were older than 12, and "yes", still to date! Wow, what a coincidence!
I planned to build a big castle for ages and Bernhard still stored a never
finished watchtower in his wardrobe that he had aimed to complete for a long
time. This project was resumed when his girl-friend confessed that she still
had a box with her childhood LEGO on her parents' attic....
Motivated by our LEGO conversation I typed "lego" into the search box of
eBay and found lots of items. I became a member, placed a bid on a 6074 (not
complete) and won.
And I typed "lego" into the search box of google and also found lots of
entries, amongst others also LUGNET.
So my conversation with Bernhard about our childhood LEGO was actually the
restart of my LEGO addiction (even if I never really had lost this addiction
after childhood and I every year got a catalogue and a couple of sets.)
That's it.
Bye
Jojo
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
You know, I guess if I am going to ask a question like this, I had better be
ready to answer it too!
I have to say, every time I answer the question "So where do you work?", I
have a "LEGO Moment". It is amazing to me how much positive emotion exists
in people's minds for LEGO! Every time I have the opportunity to join in a
discussion with AFOLs about the hobby, or attend one of the fan events, I
have a flood of "moments".
I could quite literally write page after page of moments, but here are a few
of my favorites:
Story 1
I have been privileged in that I am able to meet many adult fans in person.
Every time that I see two people meet in person for the first time after
having developed a friendship only online, it's a moment. You can literally
see a spark when they shake hands for the first time. This person you have
gotten to ''know'' is suddenly real. It's absolutely wonderful!
Story 2
Like many of the AFOLs, I was brought out of my LEGO ''dark ages'' by the
Star Wars product line. I had heard about Mindstorms, and it sounded cool,
but really it was SW that sucked me back in. Growing up, I was a HUGE fan of
LEGO, but dropped out of the hobby before high school.
When I caught wind of the new SW line in early 1999, it was on a Friday
afternoon. Saturday morning, I woke up and immediately headed out to the toy
shops to collect the entire line. After 6 different shops (all over the
Dallas Metroplex) I had about 85% of the sets. As I was checking out at the
last store, the high school aged clerk asked me if I was ''buying all this
stuff as a present''. When I told him it was a present...for me... he
chuckled and said that he had had several other adults in doing the same
over the last week or two. This concept that I wasn't alone was like a
lighting bolt to the head.
As soon as I got home, I fired up the computer, did a Yahoo search and
discovered LUGNET. And the rest is, well, history!
Story 3
Let me preface this next story with one bit of info: I almost always wear my
LEGO Direct pullover jacket on planes. It is the perfect weight for the
plane, not to hot, not too cold. So one time I was on a plane flying to San
Diego for business and early in the multi-hour flight, I walked down the
aisle and a young boy (around 9 or 10) noticed the LEGO logo. He immediately
screamed out ''LEGO!!'' So I stopped and talked to him, his slightly older
sister, and his Dad. Turns out that they were on their way to LEGOLAND
California for the weekend! I usually carry small sets or keychains with me
on my travels, as well as CLUB apps or magazines. This time around, I had
two CLUB mags left, and one keychain. I gave all three items to the group,
and sat back down.
Once the plane landed, I headed to the rental car center and ran into the
Dad and kids again. He made a point to thank me for the magazines, as they
had kept the active boy immersed for the several hour flight!
Story 4
Getting the job offer to move to NYC and work for LEGO was a huge deal for
me. Some of my oldest memories are of playing with the brick, and when
asked, I very often told people that I was going to grow up to be a LEGO
Designer...not an astronaut or fireman like so many young boys. So like I
said, the job offer was pretty damn cool.
But I didn't really realize how big it was until I told my Mom that I had
gotten the job. She was nearly on the verge of tears she was so excited for
me. It became clear to me at that moment that I had tapped into something
truly amazing. I mean, I had gotten a great job out of college and had been
in the right place at the right time throughout my career, but this... this
was different. I realized that this was something bigger than "just a job".
Story 5
Since I have rambled on, I will make this one short. When I first launched
the Building Instructions Portal (www.bricksonthebrain.com/instructions) I
wasn't sure how well it would be received. I knew people would think it was
cool, but was unsure how many would actually use it. When the Portal hit 200
instructions (It's up to 218 right now) I checked to see how many people had
clicked through from the Portal to an actual instruction. At the time it was
just under 40,000! As of today, that number is up to just under 50,000 click
thrus! This type of shared activity, like all of the other community
developed products, software, concepts, shared building projects, clubs, and
on and on are what make this community great. I'm continually surprised at
what people working together can accomplish!
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Sr. Producer
LEGO Direct
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> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
My favorite Lego moment is waking up early one Christmas morning and finding
a King's Castle under my bed.
Building a giant medieval city with two castles, waterfall, caves, inns,
shops, etc. when I was 10, I used almost all of my peices (over 6000 - i
counted them all) All of my friends thought that it was so cool.
Rediscovering Lego, finding Lugnet, designing Lego on the computer, buying
Lego sets for my younger brothers and sisters, and sharing Lego creations
with other college students - getting others interested in Lego again
Ben
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Jake McKee wrote:
>
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
I've been reading all of these and trying to decide what my coolest
experience was. I don't have a single experience that really jumps out,
but several are notable. One factor is that while I had LEGO as a kid,
and even had a LEGO train, we somehow never got anything past the 60s
LEGO even though I certainly played with LEGO into the 70s.
Of course a good stock cool experience is the sequence which led me out
of my dark ages. It all started at one of those big "all hands" meetings
where they spend an hour telling you about the company (or division in
the case of IBM) strategy, then they bring on a motivational speaker.
Well, the motivational speaker that time was Fred Martin of the MIT
Media Lab and the speech was about personal computing (not PCs on your
desk, personal computing like electronic business cards, robotics, and
such). Of course he talked about LEGO robots and Mindstorms, and
mentioned how adults were buying them like mad. Well, I've always been
curious about hobby robotics and instantly saw the possibilities of LEGO
(despite never having owned or played with Technic - though I had seen
it). A couple weeks later, I bought a set. Then I bought a couple other
sets. Then I searched on the web and found (not necessarily in order of
finding them, more so in order of importance to me) a LEGO Titanic,
train layouts, the Pirate Game, castle layouts, and Lugnet. Sometime in
there I met up with Karim Nassar and really launched LEGO into a social
hobby.
Another cool moment was walking into the first BrickFest. Up until then,
I had only got together with folks a few at a time (and had only got
together with more than one other person just that same week when Martin
Legault's work visit to RTP NC instigated the first real NCLUG
gathering). A second part of the coolness of BrickFest was actually
getting to run the Pirate Game. Of course as Jake mentioned, the spark
of finally meeting someone you have shared e-mails with in the past.
Another cool moment was meeting Steve Jackson in person at BricksWest
2002, and helping him with the Pirate Game.
Another cool moment was three and a half years ago when I was going out
to Portland OR for a church conference. I had decided to go out a couple
days early to do some sight seeing. Since I was going to have some time,
I posted to lugnet.loc.us.or.por that I would be out there. Steve Barile
responded and we eventually arranged to meet for lunch. Somewhere in
there I realized Steve and I were in the midst of a trade so I suggested
we save on shipping. Kim Toll also joined us for lunch. This Portland
visit, and especially Steve's hospitality certainly were key factors in
my decision to choose Portland over Pittsburgh this spring. Maybe in a
way the sequence of my getting to Portland is my coolest LEGO
experience. I had actually investigated coming out here earlier, and
existence of LUGs or LTCs factored heavily into where I was looking for
jobs. The funniest part about being out here is that I think I get
together with Mike Walsh from NC more often now than I did when I lived
back there (probably not really but it sure seems like it)...
One final cool LEGO thing is that it has really revived my activity with
Model Railroading. I have been into Model Railroads since I was 10 or
so, and was making an effort to go to shows, and even built a table for
a layout, but I just wasn't going anywhere. With LEGO, I have had a
working layout (though I haven't done anything out here yet), have
participated in shows, and have built trains and structures.
Frank
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
Well, I think my coolest LEGO experience is (I still can hardly believe it
myself) when I had to made a final project for my university (in
Electronics) and it was from LEGO. It was so fun making it and when I
presented it, my prof. were in shock, like they were under some sort of
spell. And I also got a very good grade for it too, so it was all worth it.
Yaron "Webrain" Dori
www.ozbricks.net/cybersorter
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
I had trouble figuring out how I was going to respond to this question,
though I knew for sure that I wanted to do so. My problem was that I don't
have a blockbuster LEGO experience that would make other people say, "wow,
that's cool." I've never won a LEGO-related contest, or been on TV showing
off my models, or been the one millionth visitor to one of the theme
parks... the list goes on.
So, I tried to just focus on LEGO-related memories. Maybe there was a
moment in there somewhere that would qualify as cool. Now to preface this,
you have to understand that by nature I'm a rather absent minded person. I
often can't recall why it is that I hung the dog's lease on the hook
intended for my car keys, and vice versa. I'm terrible with names and can't
often remember if I worked with a person, or knew them from school or ever
knew them at all. But there are a few moments in my life that stand out as
clear strong memories.
I remember the moment I first saw the woman who would become my wife. I
remember the very first time I saw Star Wars in 1977. I have fond memories
of the day I met my first celebrity.(1) Sadly, I know where I was when I
found out that the shuttle had blown up. Happily, I remember the first time
I got to drive my '76 Cutlass that I loved so much. There are a few more,
but these ones stand out in my mind.
When it comes to LEGO I realized that I had two distinct memories that fit
into this category of firsts. They were nearly a quarter century apart, but
were so linked that I almost consider them to be the same moment, just
shared over the course of 20+ years.
The first moment is Christmas morning around 1975 or 76. As was tradition
in our house, we opened small gifts found in our Christmas stocking, before
heading for the big stuff under the tree. I can see my hands now as I
pulled the little LEGO police car (set #611) out of the red stocking. The
sound of the bricks rattling about in the small box resonates in my head to
this very day. That was the moment that a new LEGO fan was born.
Fast forward to 1998. Things have changed quite a bit. I'm working in
Stratford, ON and just days away from moving there permanently. But at the
moment, I'm in a Zellers store in London, ON. Truth be told, I'm on the
prowl for HotWheels cars. I wasn't an obsessive collector, rather I just
bought the ones that interested me. I happened upon the LEGO isle; for what
reason I don't know. And there was a 1200 piece anniversary tub for only
$19.99. I instantly forgot about HotWheels cars and picked up the tub. The
rattle was the same. A LEGO fan was reborn.
I bought the tub that day thinking that I would just use it to build a few
things in my spare time and perhaps one day get all of my childhood LEGO
together. I guess that moment, combined with the one from the mid-seventies
had a bigger effect than just that. I bought more and more tubs, buckets
and whatever sets I could afford. My collection grows to this day, though
strangely I no longer buy HotWheels cars. :)
And when I pick up a handful of LEGO bricks I still listen for that
distinctive rattle. There must be something Pavlovian about the particular
clatter that LEGO bricks make. For each time I hear it I relive my favorite
LEGO moment(s).
All the best,
Allan B.
(1) Curious star watchers might be interested to know that my first
celebrity meeting was none other than Ernie Coombs - a.k.a. Mr. Dressup. I
was lucky enough to have him eat dinner at our house one night sometime in
the late 1970's during a between-show break back when he toured with his
live act.
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
1. I remember going to the Ontario Science Center (in Toronto) when I was
quite young (probably over 20 years ago) and there was a really cool Lego
Space Display lighted up and made into a really awesome Space Diarama. You
would think that seeing this awesome SPACE display, that I'd be heavily into
LEGO Space. Alas, I have but a mere couple of Space Sets... Maybe if Lego
puts out some Legend Space Sets I will definitely have to buy them.
2. I remember going to the CNE, that's the Canadian National (EX)hibition
(in Toronto) in 1988 and they had a giant LEGO display there. Nice Creations
and a small store you could buy sets there. I really, REALLY wanted to
get the Emergency Treatment Center to go with my town police station and
town fire station as it was unavailable in my area. But alas, my parents
didn't have any money for that.... However, I was able to get 2 of them
(and a DACTA Hospital Set) since I started collecting again in 1999.
3. I was in mid-High School, and decided that I was no longer playing with
Lego so I decided to stop collecting (my first Dark Age). Then I seen some
really nice harbor sets and a 725 Basic set (the house). I couldn't resist,
so I bought both the Load N Haul and the Intercoastal SeaPort, and the 725
house. A couple weeks later, I got the Fire Control Center. My family
wasn't too impressed....however, I was able to acquire some really nice
sets at the time (in 1993 and 1994).
4a) I had just finished a little over 2 years of military service (in the
US Regular Army). I had finished Training, and a year in Korea. I wasn't
looking for a way to spend my money, but I "made the mistake" (wink wink nudge
nudge) of going down the LEGO aisle at Toys R US in Tennessee where I was
stationed at the time. I seen the Railway Express, and decided to buy it.
I know this is probably the worst train in the 9V Train Line, but it was a
good reason to end my 2nd Dark Age.
4b) A while after getting that first set, I began to surf for Lego-related
sites, and to search E-bay for LEGO. That only brought the urge worse.
I couldn't believe all the "classic" stuff I could buy there. I don't
want to say exactly how much I have spent since then, but I might mention
that since then I have increased my collection at least 10-fold.
4c) At the end of 1999, I finally decided to check out LUGNET as a user site.
I had been using it already as it had hosted Pause Magazine's Lists of
Sets from Different Themes, but decided that I wanted to use it as a way to
communicate with other Lego fans. So in early 2000, I applied for membership.
I think this has made sure I won't go back into another Dark Age (I hope) ;)
4d) In the winter of 2001, I was looking forward to leaving the active duty
Army, and the guys up here in Toronto (which I had never met) were planning
a train show. This had me really looking forward to meeting up with.
So fast forward to May of 2001 when I finally got out, I drove up to Canada
where I live, and had to design a quick layout (over the weekend) to display.
Needless to say it was quite a bit cheesy, and not very much of it was my
own design, but it made somewhat of a good impression. Plus, I had an awesome
time. Since then, I have had a really good time with them up in Toronto
(I live in the Niagara area).
5. July 2002, I went to my first BrickFest and I met a lot of very nice
people, most of which are even more enthusiastic about the brick (if you can
believe that) than I am. I had an awesome time. I am really looking forward
to Brickfest 2003 and possibly going to BricksWest hopefully next year.
Ben
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In lugnet.general, Benjamin Medinets writes:
<snip>
> 5. July 2002, I went to my first BrickFest and I met a lot of very nice
> people, most of which are even more enthusiastic about the brick (if you can
> believe that) than I am. I had an awesome time. I am really looking forward
> to Brickfest 2003 and possibly going to BricksWest hopefully next year.
>
> Ben
Yeah, and you hung out in the *castle* room the entire weekend.
I saw you on the webcam!
;p
Dave k
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
My favourite LEGO memory as a kid is going to the local newsagent (you
remember when newsagents used to sell LEGO, right?) and just spending hours
(well it probably wasn't hours but seemed like it) checking out the latest
LEGO sets, and working out how I was gonna afford to pay for my next one, or
convince my parents they should buy it for me 8?). That was where I was
introduced to expert builder sets. Mmmmmm, Technic....
ROSCO
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Hey Jake -
I don't know if I can talk about any one single coolest LEGO experience.
Some are cooler in one area, and others in another. So, I'll list a few:
1) Recently I had the opportunity to see inside the LEGO factory when I was
in Billund. I was able to see the process from granules to shipping cases of
sets. Molding, sending freshly molded parts to the warehouse, complex molds,
multi-state molds, robotic assembly of parts, assembly of bags, bags into
boxes, boxes into crates.
While that entire experience was beyond description, the one thing that
stuck out to me the most was watching minifigs be printed and assembled
before my eyes. For those who I know will ask, I forget which fig they were
making at the time. Seeing the parts getting aligned on the spiral devices,
put on the channel, and then assembled by the robot arms, making the
transformation from parts to a minifig was (for lack of a better word)
almost spiritual. We make these figures come alive in our minds when we're
building, and I got to see them essentially at their birth.
2) The first set I opened after I saw the factory was a Jedi Starfighter.
When I opened the set (that evening), it was if I was in a different world.
Instead of seeing just parts like I've always known, I saw in my mind in
that instant everything that happened in the factory to make that set.
Someone asked me if it ruined the magic, I answered that it only added to it.
3) I just got back from a train show. Its been an excruciatingly stressful
week for me, and the show this weekend was more in the way than it was a
welcome diversion. Those who were there, I regret, can attest to that. We
were all stressed out. One of the bright points this weekend though, was
seeing kids again and their reaction to our layout. This show I didn't have
the time to detail my module the way I wanted to, so the buildings and
streets were kinda bland. But, their eyes lit up when I showed them my
Harrier, Huey, and mobile crane models. I know I made a couple kids' days
when I let them behind the layout to drive the trains. While we do this
first for ourselves, its always fulfilling to see kids come alive when they
interact with our creations.
4) I don't post a lot of my own creations. Its really not why I build. I
like taking them places and showing them off in person, but since not a lot
are posted (or posted well), my latest MOCs are not well known. I do love
those moments when I am building, and inspiration hits. You suddenly break
through a wall of thinking and know how you are going to create the next
portion. A couple weeks ago, my friend Ondrew and I were frantically rushing
to get a window display done for a local shoe store. I created a cutaway
North Pole toy factory as a portion of the display. I love putting minifig
level details in creations, its my favorite part of building. My
breakthrough for those creations was when I used a generous helping of SNOT
techniques to build perfectly proportioned minifig scale vending machines
(for the elves' break area). One was selling pizza (per the tile on the
front), the other was selling multicolored tiles through a glass panel ;-)
They went together in minutes, I didn't have to spend hours thinking about
how to make them, the ideas just flowed from my brain to the bricks.
5) Those of you who know me, know that over the past few years I've traveled
to many a LEGO convention on both US coasts, and now one in Europe. The
ability to travel like this, even with the very limited resources I have,
has been one of the biggest blessings for me in ehnahcing my LEGO
experience. Each time I connect with an AFOL is awesome. When I see
someone's creations in person, and am able to touch them, talk to them about
it, compliment them, give feedback, and when I receive the same from others,
is amazing. Some of my best friends are here in the community. Some live
nearby, some live across the country, some live on the other side of the
world. Countless people here have done a lot to enhance my life simply by
being fellow LEGO maniacs, and being willing to share their enjoyment of the
brick with me.
6) This message wouldn't be complete without bringing up a LEGO experience
from my childhood. My common bond with my best friend is LEGO. I met him in
second grade, when we attended the same church. We had just gotten to know
them when on Christmas Eve of 1991, his house caught fire. Our families
became close because we helped them rebuild afterwords. When they lived at
my house, we had two LEGO collections - mine and theirs. The boy my age,
Brandon, and I developed our own stories based on how we would play.
Throughout the eleven years since, Brandon and I have played with LEGO
together. Our friendship runs much deeper than that, though. I am an only
child, and he is closer than I can imagine a brother possibly being. One
thing we've always shared is the brick, and the countless all-nigters
watching movies and building big spaceships. :-)
----
To me LEGO is very social. I love doing LEGO-related things with other
people, whether its AFOLs, my best friend, or kids. I'm really starting to
enjoy kids more too, thanks to the brick. I find often my coolest LEGO
experiences have as much to do with other people as they have to do with LEGO.
-Tim
In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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"Jake McKee" <jacob.mckee@america.lego.com> wrote in message
news:H6pMCC.26F@lugnet.com...
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle • when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
I can't think of any particular cool Lego Experience I've had in the past.
The only one I've remember just now is when I've desided to buy a Mindstorm
set to get out of my long Dark Age.
But last night was the coolest Lego Experience I've had so far.
I've got my Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer set. The box was huge and
heavy. Just sat there and stare at it for an hour, before I got back to
reality and got the guts to open the box, and had to stare at the foure
containers and the manual for another 2 hours... The manual (about 230 pages
long) is the largest Lego manual I've ever seen...
Everything is BIG with the 10030 set....
Even though I'm not a big Star Wars fan...
Regards
Øyvind Steinnes
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=Phoenix
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
I got a few that come to mind, in no particular order:
Favorite moment #1:
NWBrickCon 2002, Saturday afternoon, when doing a bit of running about and
then going into the center hall of the con seeing people. My God, the
people. It was easily one of my more proud moments as a LEGO fan. Seeing
all the people and mostly the kids, oohing and aahing over all the
creations. I remember saying to myself, "wow."
It was one weekend that will stick with me for a very long time.
Favorite moment #2, when I got this e-mail:
<snip>
Hello Mark,
We would like to add you to the Lego Mecha Hall of
Fame. Upon seeing you mecha (mechs) made from Lego, we
put your nomination to a vote. You were accepted unanimously by The Founders.
</snip>
The founders have a special space in my heart, whomever they are.
Favorite moment #3:
Being blown away at x-mas, a few years ago. When my Father in Law finally
broke the final straw, and stripped any reminants of the "Dark Ages" away,
when he surprised me with the LEGO robotic's set. That was cool.
Favorite moment #4:
Happened today actually, 12-8-02, when we (Raven and I) expaned our
collection with our first train set. I'm hoping you train heads are ready
for some mecha/space trains to come, because they are coming....
Mark Neumann
Snow Leopard Clan
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
A number of experiences come to mind, having read through the amazing
stories already presented.
(In chronological order)
1. As a kid, my sister and I won a <6622> each as the prizes of a LEGO
building comp.
2. The incredible LEGO Expos they used to have at Highpoint, then later at
Melb Central, and that have finally returned in a way to Myer Melbourne.
3. Saving up for ages to buy a <6376> at a 25% off sale at Big W.
4. Dad buying me a <8865> Test Car at a closing down sale at 50% off, and
the excitement of a couple of months later when LEGO Spare Parts service
sent me the wheels!
5. A mate looking at the bridge I made between High School and Uni and
saying "That's why you're studying Engineering" (Well, I studied Chemical
Engineering, but anyway...)
6. Seeing a newspaper item about a guy who had told the story of the Star
Wars trilogy using (pre-SW sets) LEGO and stuck it on the internet. Going to
that website, looking at the cool stuff, then deciding to look up LEGO using
Yahoo and finding, amongst other things, this website.
7. Going to my first MUGS meeting and meeting some of the amazing people who
do amazing things with the brick!
9. Reading about the cool LEGO experiences some of the LUGNETters have had,
and deciding to share my own!
Phew...
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In lugnet.general, Matthew Wightwick writes:
<snip>
> 7. Going to my first MUGS meeting and meeting some of the amazing people who
> do amazing things with the brick!
>
> 9. Reading about the cool LEGO experiences some of the LUGNETters have had,
> and deciding to share my own!
<snip>
What happened to number 8?
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In lugnet.general, Ted Welsh writes:
> In lugnet.general, Matthew Wightwick writes:
>
> <snip>
>
> > 7. Going to my first MUGS meeting and meeting some of the amazing people who
> > do amazing things with the brick!
> >
> > 9. Reading about the cool LEGO experiences some of the LUGNETters have had,
> > and deciding to share my own!
>
> <snip>
>
> What happened to number 8?
Ooops...
8. Having Ted Walsh point out that, despite the fact I majored in Maths at
Uni, I still can't count!
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In lugnet.general, Matthew Wightwick writes:
> Ooops...
>
> 8. Having Ted Walsh point out that, despite the fact I majored in Maths at
> Uni, I still can't count!
Double oops!
That's actually 'Welsh', isn't it? Sorry mate.
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
My coolest experience happens every August in my home town. Greenville, MI
is the 'Danish Festival City', and has had LEGO building contests during the
Festival for as long as I can remember. My brother and I entered and won for
(IIRC) six years in a row until we became too old to enter. The next year,
the Festival organizers asked us if we'd be the judges, and for the last few
years I've been able to watch dozens of kids build the best creations they
could - and every year I'm amazed at what they come up with.
My worst LEGO experience? Having to decide a winner each year.
-jeremiah-
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
#1
1980ish
Countless memories of me and a friend or two rumming through the big 'ol pile
on the floor asking each other "Have you seen a xxx, I need one".
#2
1986ish
Back in school after the christmas holliday we asked each other what we'd got
for christmas, all three of us had got the 8660 Arctic Resue Unit.
#3
Summer, 1984-5ish
Somehow I had got my biggest money bill ever, a 500 SEK bill, aprox $50, the
second largest bill in Sweden. As kids do I was eager to spend it on some cool
toy and when we got to the toystore and I looked and looked for the ultimate
toy. My eyes fell on the 8851 Excavator and I really wanted it.
My mother thought I was to young for the set though and talked me into bying a
large wheel loader in metal by Tonka. (being 6-7 at the time)
About a year later I had got some more money and I found the 8851 again, bought
the set and was so eager to play with it that I opened it in the car when we
were driving back home. I still can recall the ice cold feeling down my back
when I thought the tubing for the pneumatics was missing - it was "hidden"
under the instruction manual...
A few years ago the neighnour kid I played a lot with at the time told he
always was yelous of that set and his parents did not let him buy it 'cause
they thought he was too old for it (he's four years older then me).
Then, at the brink of my dark ages fading my mother in law was selling some
LEGO , among others the 8851 and the Monorail. Since I was not a die hard AFOL
then I did not care much for it. I picked the 8851 up and wanted to buy it but
found the pricetag a little fat for my wallet. That's a chance blown out the
window...
#4
Late 1999ish
A friend of the computer and the MTB e-mailed a link to some site telling about
the RIS. Early 2000 he had bought one and I went over to investigate. Still nor
sure I wanted to spend the money I went to my parents house and dug out all of
my LEGO (lot's of sets kept built on the attic, the rest sorted by color - se
#5), brought it back home, washed it all and started building once more. I soon
thereafter bought my RIS quickly followed by a sale cleanout at the local
toystore :)
#5
About 1995ish
Having a lazy day with my g/f we brought all the LEGO down from the attic and
started assembling some of the sets. To my suprise I had sorted it all by color
before towing it up on the attic. I still remember the remark my older brother
did about my maturedom... Envy I suspect :)
Best regards,
/Tobbe
http://www.lotek.nu
(remove SPAM when e-mailing)
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"Tobbe Arnesson" <StPnAtM@lotek.nu> skrev i meddelandet
news:H6uHuw.GBp@lugnet.com...
> #3
> Summer, 1984-5ish
> Somehow I had got my biggest money bill ever, a 500 SEK bill, aprox $50, • the
> second largest bill in Sweden.
?? Are the 10,000 SEK notes discontinued ??
Now what shall I do with a shoe box full of them? <g>
--
Anders Isaksson, Sweden
BlockCAD: http://user.tninet.se/~hbh828t/proglego.htm
Gallery: http://user.tninet.se/~hbh828t/gallery/index.htm
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In lugnet.general, Anders Isaksson writes:
> "Tobbe Arnesson" <StPnAtM@lotek.nu> skrev i meddelandet
> news:H6uHuw.GBp@lugnet.com...
> > #3
> > Summer, 1984-5ish
> > Somehow I had got my biggest money bill ever, a 500 SEK bill, aprox $50, • the
> > second largest bill in Sweden.
>
> ?? Are the 10,000 SEK notes discontinued ??
AFAIK, yes!
> Now what shall I do with a shoe box full of them? <g>
Perhaps use them as wall paper?
/Tobbe
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(can't believe I forgot this one since it was the coolest)
#6
2002
Back then, when I was a kid, a relative that had emigrated to US (from Sweden)
used to send us kids dollar bills for every christmas. In this manner I had
collected two $1 and one $5 before he died and the yearly christmas posts ended.
I used this money (along with a few more) when I became a proud Lugnet member.
It felt great to finally after all these years be able to use the money in a
way that toally pleased me...
Best regards,
/Tobbe
http://www.lotek.nu
(remove SPAM when e-mailing)
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> I would love to hear!
Hi all,
I will also add 3 cool LEGO experiences:
(1) This is from my childhood: There was allways one most spectaculous day in
the year: No, not X-Mas. No, not my birthday. Yes, the day the nearest toy
store got the latest LEGO catalogue! Every year in January or February i really
couldn't wait to get the "new" one and see which sets are new ... And then I
spend hours "reading" the catalogues ;-)
(2) This is a people related story: One day Bill from California asked at
www.1000steine.de if there would be some German AFOL to meet while he was on a
business trip in Germany. We exchanged some email and suddenly, one Sunday in
Summer 2001 the door-bell rings and there he was! LEGO, internet, worldwide
fun! That is just great if it comes to real-reality like that sunday.
http://www.wards.net/~bill/travel/2001/germany/lego-meeting/
(3) And a MOC-related story: After building Namibian's Desert Express as 8-wide
LEGO MOC I was asked by the train operators to build a second copy for
Transnamib Rail Company. And I should bring this copy personally down to
Namibia! Yes, I was invited for a 10 days trip to Namibia in Feb 2002, a ride
on the real Desert Express and a fantastic tour through the Namib desert. It's
unbelievable how many things became reality after just asking for some colored
pics of the real Desert Express ... Thanks to all again who made this trip
possible!
Pictures form the trip:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=12842
[In the end I also won a prize in agfanet.com 's contest:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=195688 ]
Yes, that is briefly all I could say about my coolest LEGO experiences!
Kind regards and 1000grüße
HoMa
www.holgermatthes.de
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"Holger Matthes" <matthes@fh-aachen.de> writes:
> (2) This is a people related story: One day Bill from California
> asked at www.1000steine.de if there would be some German AFOL to
> meet while he was on a business trip in Germany. We exchanged some
> email and suddenly, one Sunday in Summer 2001 the door-bell rings
> and there he was! LEGO, internet, worldwide fun! That is just great
> if it comes to real-reality like that sunday.
> http://www.wards.net/~bill/travel/2001/germany/lego-meeting/
This was definitely one of my coolest LEGO experiences. I had a great
time, and Holger's hospitality was excellent. It was the first time,
as an adult, that I had built in LEGO in combination with others, and
it was odd to me to be building with someone else's collection. (I
was an only child, and there were no other kids in my immediate
neighborhood. Except for a couple of occasions here and there, my
LEGO play was all solitary.)
But the other experience was the sequence of events that brought me
out of my most recent dark age. Ever since childhood I have gone in
and out of dark ages, but I would always be alone. I would get out my
LEGO collection, build a few things, maybe buy a few new sets, and
eventually get bored with nobody to share the hobby with. I was
stagnating.
But about two years ago, my brother-in-law told me about Eric
Harshbarger's LEGO desk, which he had seen on Slashdot. I looked at
the rest of Eric's sculptures at that time, and though to myself "Hey,
I could do that"... My wife and I had been watching Pokemon on TV a
lot at that time, so I got the idea to build Pokemon creatures. I
went to TRU and bought a bunch of the 3033 tubs (RIP) and got to work
on my first sculpture - Pikachu. I then went on to build Bulbasaur,
and an incomplete Squirtle. (I still haven't quite finished Squirtle:
I ran out of blue bricks from the 3033 tubs I bought...)
http://www.wards.net/~bill/lego/sculpture/pokemon/
I found out about the local LEGO users group (BayLUG), and took
Pikachu and Bulbasaur to the meeting. I've been active in that group
and on LUGNET ever since, and with all the interaction I've had with
other AFOL's, I don't see any more Dark Ages on the horizon for a long
time, if ever...
--Bill.
--
William R Ward bill@wards.net http://www.wards.net/~bill/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consistency is not really a human trait.
--Maude (from the film "Harold & Maude")
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Mine can only be described as a religious experience(1).
When I was a kid, I wanted a Galaxy Explorer. Badly. After what felt like
years (and more than a few false hopes), my parents finally came through for
me. I was ecstatic. I still remember running into the dining room (I knew
this was a big set!) and putting it together all in one go. I kept it together
for a few months before its gold-mine of parts went into bigger spaceships.
Even after coming out of my dark age, I took it on faith that I'd never free
enough gray plates to put it back together. I'd periodically gaze at the
instructions online, until they went away...
Shortly before the instruction DB returned, I printed out the parts inventory
from Peeron. I was stunned that I had every part I needed, ready and
waiting--except the instructions. I put the tray together, brought it into my
office, and waited.
A few days later, Brickshelf was reborn. I found a window of time, and I
grabbed it. I began to build. I had put the Galaxy Explorer together only
once before, more than twenty years ago, but after the first few steps, my
hands remembered where each piece went. This was no mere feat of memory. I
was re-experiencing the moment when I had learned How To Build. A series of
drawings in a simple stapled pamphlet had guided me through a single building
session in which I learned how to combine bricks and plates in a pleasing way.
There have been new parts, and I've learned new building techniques, but my
20+ years of building all trace back to one bright December morning.
I do not remember finishing the Galaxy Explorer the first time, but I will
never forget finishing it the second time, this past spring. After capping the
tail with a single blue tile, I raced down to meet with my advisor where she
told me the Big News(2). My professional life suddenly came into focus--or
rather, it clicked into place. What symmetry that a clear vision of my future
as an educator should be so neatly paired with a clear vision of an ideal
learning experience from my past!
-Ted
(1) I'm a devout Unitarian-Universalist and a huge fan of The Brick Testament,
in case you couldn't tell.
(2) My advisor had found a project that would pay me to finish my dissertation
research. The only catch: I had to move across the country. I put my entire
household, including every last brick, into storage. Watch what you wish for.
In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
I just needed to chime in on this one...
I am a fan of lego bricks from way back. My father was in the service and so
I was introduced to legos around 1964. The boy upstairs had them.
My parents (and their German friends) dutifully supported my interest for a
while -- but when I hit preteen and I WAS A GIRL (still in the dark ages,
remember) the support stopped. No more sets for me, not ever. "I had
outgrown legos." This was still long enough ago that I don't remember seeing
lego sets available in the States at all. We got our sets at Christmas --
bought in Germany and shipped over. So without parental cooperation I was hosed.
My brothers did share while my mother sniped.
Well eventually, much later, I had kids -- 2 girls, and bought them duplo's.
They turned up their noses. I waited a couple of years and got them lego
sets. They still turned up their noses. Oh well -- they are girls, I give up.
So a couple of years later my husband and I are Christmas shopping. He
ogle's the train set and I fall in love with Mindstorms. We sigh and wish
our kids liked legos.
He sneaks back out and gets me Mindstorms. I slip out and get him some trains.
On Christmas morning there are hundreds of dollars worth of lego's under the
tree -- none of them are for the kids -- and a bunch of them are mine all mine.
Well after that we needed more, More, MORE!
(And the kids are even willing to play if we are.)
Margaret
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<<snip>>
> On Christmas morning there are hundreds of dollars worth of lego's under the
> tree -- none of them are for the kids -- and a bunch of them are mine all mine.
LOL!
Best regards,
/Tobbe
http://www.lotek.nu
(remove SPAM when e-mailing)
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Wow everybody! These are some great stories!
I have a few that I would like to contribute:
1. Meeting other Mecha Builders in California.
2. Being asked by the TLC to use some of my images for the story
"The Art of Lego" on Lego.com in the Build Section.
3. A fellow Mecha Builder sent me a surprise in the mail. Queztlquatl.
4. Finding Brickshelf.
5. Finding Lugnet.
6. Every Show and Exhibit I have ever done.
7. BricksWest 2002.
8. Chelsea HS visit.
9. Getting messages from people all around the world.
10. Seeing my Super Mech-bot come to life for the first time.
11. Seeing the Jamocklaquat come to life for the first time.
12. Meeting some of the members of Dixielug in Ga.
13. Legoland in Carlsbad!
14. Big Blue.
15. Seeing Chris Snead's Levitator in person.
16. Hanging with Dave Johann.
17. Seeing Mladen's work on the Web for the fist time.
18. Seeing Brian Cooper's work.
19. Talking with Train folk at a Dinner at BricksWest 2002.
20. Meeting Dave Schilling and his Brother.
21. Meeting John Barnes.
22. Being contacted by a Tiebetan Buddist and working towards the 3D Mandala
Project, this is still in the works and if all goes well this will be my
first Commission.
23. Meeting Dan Jassim.
24. LMHoF
25. Meeting Mathew Gerber, Todd Thuma, Frank Filtz and Tim Courtney.
26. The first time I programed the Vision Sensors in my Super Mech-Bot;
I stood infront of the Robot and I moved my Right Arm slowly up. Then the
Robot started moving it's arm up. Then I moved my arm out and the Robot did
the same thing with it's arm. Then I moved my Arm back and the Robot moved
it's arm back. The Robot mimiked my every move.
27. Publishing my Web-Site.
28. Selling a Button my mother made that said "I have seen the Legomaster"
for a dollar.
29. The smiles I see on peoples faces when they come to my Shows.
30. My Praying Mantis on stage at CBGB's in NYC.
31. My Praying Mantis on the steps of Hoboken's City Hall.
32. When we were little kids, my Step Mom took all of my Brother's Lego and
used a Sharpie Marker to outline the Bottom of all his peices so we could
tell who's Lego was who's'. Then 20 years later, when I was making the RG
Mech, I found a barely recognizable black outline on the bottom of a Red Slope.
I called my Brother up and asked him if I could use his peice. He said "What!?"
33. Vector Comics.
34. Meeting Brian Sadowski.
35. Meeting Henry Lim and seeing his Stego and other works in Person.
36. Actually making a Romantic Contact because of a Lego Show I did.
37. Speaking with Francie Bereger (years ago)
38. Having people call me " Legomaster" before I evan met them.
39. Sitting back and looking at the completed Gomgile for the first time.
40. My buddy noticed that Zaniy Brainy threw out a rather Large Lego Display.
I drove home with it sticking out of the Passenger side window of my Monte
Carlo. A Police crusier pulled up along side of me and the Officer just gave
me a funny look.
41. Having the DJ's at WSOU send Heavy Metal songs out to the "Legomaster"
over the Ariwaves.
42. Showing "Bobby Blitz" from "Overkill" a picture of my Red Robot.
He ran into his Tour Bus and said "I gotta show this to my wife!"
43. Setting up my Black Robot for Astronaut "John Glenn"
44. Finding Lego in the street and actuallu using it in a MOC.
44. Walking into the Michon house.
45. Allowing pics from my BricksWest 2002 Folder on Brickshelf to be used in
an upcomming Lego Club Mag as Advertising for the 2003 event.
46. Showing Peter Aiello the funtions of the Praying Mantis' wings and
seeing the reflection of the wings in his Eyeballs as the song "Toys 1998"
by Primus/Sausage play in the background.
47. Build-a-Bot
48. Finding Stories about me on the Web that I didn't know about.
49. Finding Lego in sock.
50. Seeing my Father utterly blown away by Super Mech-Bot. He never did get it.
51. Having the Picture of the Gomgile published in the Book, "Filters of the
Imagination"
52. Dang I never thought I would bring this up here, but a fair amount of
females have "flashed" their chests at the Super Mech-Bot while it was
recording at several Art Shows.
Well, those are some of my Cool Moments if you will. There are more, I just
can't think of them right now. Hope you enjoy them as I did.
Eric Sophie
www.mylegomaster.com
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In lugnet.general, Eric Sophie writes:
> Wow everybody! These are some great stories!
> 44. Walking into the Michon house.
> Eric Sophie
Eric-
LEGOMaster honors us with his mention <g>! I was laughing so hard when I
came across your post that the whole family had to come ask why.
(Of course, we were honored to have you visit us.)
-Ted Michon
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Ted, you and your family were so very kind, telling us stories about the
wonderful Lego Items you have in your home. I also thought it especially
cool that you and your wife are so supportive of your Sons. Everytime I set
up my Sorting bins I think about the great arrangment you folks have in your
Family room.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=69227
Hope to see you @ BricksWest 2003!
The SCLTC display will be something to look forward to I'm sure!
e
In lugnet.general, Ted Michon writes:
> In lugnet.general, Eric Sophie writes:
> > Wow everybody! These are some great stories!
>
> > 44. Walking into the Michon house.
>
> > Eric Sophie
>
> Eric-
>
> LEGOMaster honors us with his mention <g>! I was laughing so hard when I
> came across your post that the whole family had to come ask why.
>
> (Of course, we were honored to have you visit us.)
>
> -Ted Michon
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> 32. When we were little kids, my Step Mom took all of my Brother's Lego and
> used a Sharpie Marker to outline the Bottom of all his peices so we could
> tell who's Lego was who's'. Then 20 years later, when I was making the RG
> Mech, I found a barely recognizable black outline on the bottom of a Red Slope.
> I called my Brother up and asked him if I could use his peice. He said "What!?"
ROFL!
> 40. My buddy noticed that Zaniy Brainy threw out a rather Large Lego Display.
> I drove home with it sticking out of the Passenger side window of my Monte
> Carlo. A Police crusier pulled up along side of me and the Officer just gave
> me a funny look.
Hehe!
> 52. Dang I never thought I would bring this up here, but a fair amount of
> females have "flashed" their chests at the Super Mech-Bot while it was
> recording at several Art Shows.
Now _that's_ insane! :)
> Well, those are some of my Cool Moments if you will. There are more, I just
> can't think of them right now. Hope you enjoy them as I did.
As I've said before and will say again: You ARE the Legomaster!
You've had a real cool LEGO life this far Eric, I wounder what life has in
store for you...
Best regards,
/Tobbe
http://www.lotek.nu
(remove SPAM when e-mailing)
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In lugnet.general, Eric Sophie writes:
> Wow everybody! These are some great stories!
>
> I have a few that I would like to contribute:
<snip>
> 44. Finding Lego in the street and actuallu using it in a MOC.
<snip>
>
> Well, those are some of my Cool Moments if you will. There are more, I just
> can't think of them right now. Hope you enjoy them as I did.
>
> Eric Sophie
> www.mylegomaster.com
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has found pieces lieing in the street and
brought them to 'a good home'. Over my life I have probably found a dozen
or so pieces. Some were from when I was in grade school on the playground,
but the last piece I found was last month in Toronto, on a nightly walkabout
with my girlfriend. it was just there, on the sidewalk--a red 2x4.
Ahh, maybe we have this 'LEGO Radar' that just detects those little pieces
of ABS.
Dave K.
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In lugnet.general, David Koudys writes:
> Ahh, maybe we have this 'LEGO Radar' that just detects those little pieces
> of ABS.
Haha I think so too! I can easily pick out the "red square with white
lettering" among a shelf full of various toys.
One time I found a yellow 1x2 brick on the side of a heavily travelled path
at university. The Lego-yellow caught my attention immediately!
-Bryan
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> In lugnet.general, Eric Sophie writes: • <snipped>
> 23. Meeting Dan Jassim.
Hey, the honor was mine, buddy! Always looking forward to seeing you the
next time, too! :)
Peace,
Dan
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
Snip!
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
There seems to be a bunch of wonderful stories about people's Coolest Lego
Experiences! My coolest Lego experience falls into a more retrospective
moment! It was 1998 and I had only discovered the joy of building with Lego
bricks. I never had any when I was a kid. My interest was in the pirate
theme and I had only managed to build one crossbone clipper and one MOC of a
small ghost ship with parts from two sets of the time twister series. That
was all the Lego I owned. It was about 3 weeks from Christmas and I had
recently won a Black Seas Barracuda on Ebay that was mint in the box. The
set arrived in the mail and I had a whole evening to myself. I opened up my
dining table to full size and carefully sorted out the parts from the set on
a piece of felt that I spread across the table. I turned on some mellow
Christmas music, fixed myself some tea, and sat down and started building.
I think it took me about 3 to 4 hours to complete the model. I took my time
and fully absorbed myself into the process while humming familiar tunes with
the radio. It was complete Lego bliss! All other thoughts dissappeared as
did all my troubles, my worries, and concerns. It was a sublime form of
meditation whilst building. It was a perfect relaxation therapy and it left
me completely satisfied when I was done! For the first time in my life, I
was "one" with the Lego building process and I was hooked. It was a moment
I will never forget and that ship is still displayed proudly on a shelf in
my bedroom. A reminder of the how simple things can often bring us the most
joy!
Thank You Lego,
Tom
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? [...]
I'm not sure how I'd define "cool" or "coolest" experience, but I think the
most fun I've had would have to be the evening spent at Mark Sandlin's house
during NWBrickCon and a couple nights before that tipping back pints of Guinness
at an Irish pub with four space legends Sandlin, Palmer, Hafner, and Kuester.
I also couldn't believe I was in the same room with both Sproat and Lambrecht
at Sandlin's house. Plus Palmer, busy turning Mathis's train into a microfig-
scale heavy cruiser. That blew my mind. It was awesome finally meeting
Sproat and Barbara, too, after several years of enjoying their creations.
I think the most emotional experience I've had was seeing Suzanne Green's
(then Rich) minifig chess set[1] and her Legopolis layout in person in 1996
after just having seen it on the web. It was like, hey, it's *real*! And
*you're* real! Cool!
Seeing Eric Kingsley's shelf railway[2] in person recently was also very
emotional for me. It almost felt like a religious experience. Being a die-
hard space-head, I'm not a particularly big fan of LEGO trains, but I was
totally mesmerized by this one, and watched it go around the room at least
20 times. I got dizzy. It was awesome.
--Todd
[1] http://www.baseplate.com/ideas/human-scale/chess/
[2] http://www.thekingsleys.net/nursery/zgr/
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In lugnet.general, Todd Lehman writes:
> I'm not sure how I'd define "cool" or "coolest" experience, but I think the
Wait. I got it! It would _definitely_ have to be spending eight hours
photographing Lindsay Braun's 13-foot Japanese war cruiser this past August.
That was more fun than I usually get to have in a whole month.
--Todd
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In lugnet.general, Todd Lehman writes:
> I also couldn't believe I was in the same room with both Sproat and Lambrecht
> at Sandlin's house.
Wow, I'm flattered. I remember meeting Todd at Mindfest99 at MIT. Made a fool
of myself :) It was fun playing around with the 2 wheeled wire control car
later that weekend...
Still waiting for that monorail/asteroid...
--Bram
Bram Lambrecht
bram@cwru.edu
www.bldesign.org
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As a child, I remember going to a little toy store called the Toy Box in
Augusta Georgia. I would pick up every classic space Lego set box and pour
over the pictures on the back. I remember dreaming of what crafts could be
made and the imaginary worlds that could be explored with those space ships,
rovers and bases. Then! hearing Mom say (FINALLY), "We can get you one
today." OH SWEET JOY! I chose the 6901 Mobile Lab
http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6901_1 (which in hind sight seems an odd
choice...). It explored every inch of our house... each carpet color was a
different planet, each bed was a different moon.
Those two space men lost the symbols off their chest more than 20 years ago.
The axles on the wheels rusted long ago.... but, playing with that set, the
first classic space set I had the honor of having, will forever and always
be my favorite lego moment ever.
I was scratching through an old box just the other day... and I found an old
grey 1x2 brick. The classic space symbol was still there, though faded.
You could see teeth marks on the brick (didn't know about brick separators
at age 7). I smiled looking at it. It was like it was saying, "Hi old
friend, ready to go exploring?"
Chris <><
"Let no one look down on your youthfulness..." 1 Tim. 4:12
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In lugnet.general, Chris Giddens writes:
> As a child, I remember going to a little toy store called the Toy Box in
> Augusta Georgia. I would pick up every classic space Lego set box and pour
> over the pictures on the back. I remember dreaming of what crafts could be
> made and the imaginary worlds that could be explored with those space ships,
> rovers and bases. Then! hearing Mom say (FINALLY), "We can get you one
> today." OH SWEET JOY! I chose the 6901 Mobile Lab
> http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6901_1 (which in hind sight seems an odd
> choice...). It explored every inch of our house... each carpet color was a
> different planet, each bed was a different moon.
I have fond memories of that set as well. Much like you I used every
surface in the house as an area to explore. It's one of the few space sets
I remember as a set, as opposed to MOCs. That and the 6390 Space Supply
Station. Now that I'm a castle/pirate/adventurers-head I don't have many
space sets or parts. I recently traded a 6390 and some other space sets for
a BSB, and there's part of me that wishes I had kept the Space Supply
Station. I have most of a second, but it's not complete...yet. :-)
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100% behind you on that Chris.
When I was wee, I went on a late summer excursion to the mall of our suburb
on the outskirts of Toronto, Canada with my Mom, Aunt and my older cousin.
As per usual, my older cousin was in line to scoop up one of those
electronic football games that were all the rage at the time. My Mom didn't
have a lot of money in those days, so I knew not to ask for such things.
However, she saw that I would love to have somthing so she picked out the
classic 487 (Can.) http://guide.lugnet.com/set/924 for me. I still
remember how it looked in the bag and in the car on the way home. When I
sat down on the floor and opened up the box, the site of the simple diorama
on the cover had me in a land of bliss. This was to be my toy of passion
for the next 20+ years.
I put it together (after a few tries...I was pretty young) and played with
it non stop that day. I put it on my dresser by the window before going to
bed. When I woke up the next morning, the sun was beaming through the
window and shining right through those translucent yellow part, lighting it
up like a sun flare. The image is still pristine in my mind.
I still have all the parts and have rebuilt it not long ago.
Gotta love it.
Cheers,
-G
In lugnet.general, Chris Giddens writes:
> As a child, I remember going to a little toy store called the Toy Box in
> Augusta Georgia. I would pick up every classic space Lego set box and pour
> over the pictures on the back. I remember dreaming of what crafts could be
> made and the imaginary worlds that could be explored with those space ships,
> rovers and bases. Then! hearing Mom say (FINALLY), "We can get you one
> today." OH SWEET JOY! I chose the 6901 Mobile Lab
> http://guide.lugnet.com/set/6901_1 (which in hind sight seems an odd
> choice...). It explored every inch of our house... each carpet color was a
> different planet, each bed was a different moon.
>
> Those two space men lost the symbols off their chest more than 20 years ago.
> The axles on the wheels rusted long ago.... but, playing with that set, the
> first classic space set I had the honor of having, will forever and always
> be my favorite lego moment ever.
>
> I was scratching through an old box just the other day... and I found an old
> grey 1x2 brick. The classic space symbol was still there, though faded.
> You could see teeth marks on the brick (didn't know about brick separators
> at age 7). I smiled looking at it. It was like it was saying, "Hi old
> friend, ready to go exploring?"
>
>
> Chris <><
> "Let no one look down on your youthfulness..." 1 Tim. 4:12
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In lugnet.general, Gil Shaw writes:
> 100% behind you on that Chris.
>
> When I was wee, I went on a late summer excursion to the mall of our suburb
> on the outskirts of Toronto, Canada with my Mom, Aunt and my older cousin.
> As per usual, my older cousin was in line to scoop up one of those
> electronic football games that were all the rage at the time. My Mom didn't
> have a lot of money in those days, so I knew not to ask for such things.
> However, she saw that I would love to have somthing so she picked out the
> classic 487 (Can.) http://guide.lugnet.com/set/924 for me. I still
> remember how it looked in the bag and in the car on the way home. When I
> sat down on the floor and opened up the box, the site of the simple diorama
> on the cover had me in a land of bliss. This was to be my toy of passion
> for the next 20+ years.
> I put it together (after a few tries...I was pretty young) and played with
> it non stop that day. I put it on my dresser by the window before going to
> bed. When I woke up the next morning, the sun was beaming through the
> window and shining right through those translucent yellow part, lighting it
> up like a sun flare. The image is still pristine in my mind.
>
> I still have all the parts and have rebuilt it not long ago.
>
> Gotta love it.
>
> Cheers,
> -G
>
>
>
I guess the thing that was always fun about classic space (and all classic
lego themes for that matter) is the blank slate of adventure it created.
Yes we had seen Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and some reruns of Star Trek
back in those days, but in our imagination we combined themes and thoughts
and struck out to universes invented in our dreams and visited in newly
created ships by the time our Dad got home in the afternoon.
I'm not against new themes and sets with story lines of today. I'm just
thankful for that grey, blue and trans yellow canvas of Classic Space that
launced white and red spacemen to wherever I wanted them to go.
Chris <><
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>
>
> I guess the thing that was always fun about classic space (and all classic
> lego themes for that matter) is the blank slate of adventure it created.
> Yes we had seen Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and some reruns of Star Trek
> back in those days, but in our imagination we combined themes and thoughts
> and struck out to universes invented in our dreams and visited in newly
> created ships by the time our Dad got home in the afternoon.
>
> I'm not against new themes and sets with story lines of today. I'm just
> thankful for that grey, blue and trans yellow canvas of Classic Space that
> launced white and red spacemen to wherever I wanted them to go.
>
> Chris <><
Hear, hear. Those smiling yellow faces were just reflections. This thread
is what Lego and Lugnet are all about.
Cheers,
-G
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
My CLE's (Cool LEGO Experiences):
Story 1
When I was 5, my mom bought me my first set as a surprize (a LEGOLAND police
station). I didn't know what LEGO was, and I didn't have much experience
with other construction toys at that point.
Aside from being my first set, the thing that stands out most is the process
of building it. I first looked at the instructions and decided I couldn't do
it, and mom and dad wouldn't help me.
So, I went back to my room, sat down, and figured it out on my own.
I know this seems quite silly. To all of us, building a set according to the
instructions is an easy and nearly brainless activity. But when I was 5,
with no experience, it seemed impossible.
From then on, every time I've been given a difficult challenge (LEGO or
non-LEGO related), I've approached it in the same manner. I lay out all that
I know in front of me, I study everything carefully, I think through my
actions before actually doing them, and I keep the end result focused in my
mind. Even today in my career as an engineer, this process of working
through a problem helps me. Having done it first, on my own, when I was
five, has really instilled much confidence in myself about my abilities.
Story 2
Discovering the online community just a couple of years ago and
communicating with fellow LEGO fans. Also, meeting them at Brickfest and
TexLUG meetings. Brickfest 2002 was an experience I'll never forget.
Story 3
LEGO building bliss: as an adult, almost each building session in my "LEGO
room", I experience child-like happiness. It almost feels like I've been
transported back in time.
Story 4
Almost every Christmas and birthday brought that one wonderful present that
made the magical "clinking" noise when you shook it. That brought me so much
happiness and excitement.
-TJ Avery
www.texbrick.com
www.texlug.org
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Thomas Avery wrote:
> Discovering the online community just a couple of years ago and
> communicating with fellow LEGO fans. Also, meeting them at Brickfest and
> TexLUG meetings. Brickfest 2002 was an experience I'll never forget.
Hmm, I should add one here:
Walking into the baggage claim area in DC and spotting someone taking my
big box of LEGO off the conveyor and realizing he must be Thomas
Avery... Then moments after we got both my bags and Thomas had time to
explain to me that someone would pick us up, this fellow comes wandering
along with a baggage cart and a 48x48 grey baseplate with "Brickfest"
written on the back (on paper).
And another one:
Getting off the plane in San Diego and not seeing anyone waiting for me
at the gate so I head towards the baggage claim. Just as I approach the
security area, I see two people, one somewhat larger than the other
about to enter. I realize they must be Larry Pieniazek and James Brown.
Frank
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
Since I've been playing with these silly plastic bricks for over 35 years
(!), there have been a lot of 'cool' LEGO experiences.
But, if you're asking me to pick just one, I'll pick the day that the movie
"Jingle All the Way" was being filmed at the LEGO Imagination Center at the
Mall of America. The store was closed to the general public, and several of
us employees were there to be 'extras' for the day. The scene was only a
few seconds in the movie, but it took the entire day to film. Arnold
Schwarzenegger was running through the store, out the door and through the
'play area'. Just before everyone broke for lunch, the director asked if
someone could build a 'castle' that Arnold Schwarzenegger's character could
crash through as he leapt over a table. I immediately volunteered, and
spent the lunch break building four identical copies of a Duplo / Primo /
Toolo hybrid structure. After lunch they must have filmed that bit 30
times, each time Arnold would crash through my castle, sending pieces flying
everywhere. People would pick up all the parts, and bring them back to me,
and I'd give them a complete castle to film while I rebuilt the busted one.
It was a very fun afternoon, although it got a little crazy when I had two
busted castles, one complete one I was using as the pattern, and the last
copy was being positioned for the next take!
I've got a copy of the film at home, I should grab a couple of screenshots
from it just for old time's sake... :-)
During a break I got to spend a few minutes with Mr. Schwarzenegger and one
of his friends, talking about toys. It was a treat!
JohnG, GMLTC
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My coolest Lego experience? Hm..there have been so many...
Story 1: My mom's best lego experience
Christmas 1983, I can tell you my mother's best experience...in my usual
poring over the Sears Wishbook (which, after I was done, always opened up to
the Lego pages), I saw set 6980--it looked awesome(pardon the vernacular of
the 80's..). However, our family was going though a tough financial time,
and I knew the price was quite expensive for us at the time (I can't
remember, but think it was 80 bucks)...so, I told mom that "this is what I
really want, but I understand if I don't get it, I know we don't have much
money this year"...so I had convinced myself that I would not be seeing
under the Christmas Tree.. Christmas morning, doing the Santa Claus thing
and handing out gifts, I picked up one gift to me, shook it, sounded like
Lego..I opened the wrapping paper on one side (I took great pride at
recognizing sets just from the side of the box), and it looked like nothing
I could remember, until--it hit me...IT WAS THE 6980!! Well, without even
opening the rest of the package, a very happy 12 year-old leaped over the
coffee table, gave mom a huge hug and kiss for getting it. I was so happy
that Christmas!
To this day, 19 years later, that is one of my mom's favorite and most
memorable Christmas experiences..
Story 2
I had my dark age in college, and gave my Lego collection (full of classic
space) to my little brother about 10 years ago. I found that while at
college, browsing through the local Wal-Mart, I couldn't resist not having
Lego, I bought some Ice planet 2002 (Dan Allen, no comments!) and Space
Police sets. Well, it continued from there, just buying the occassional set
from time to time. I graduated college with a degree in engineering, and
moved to Atlanta in 1997. Eventually got a job working in
telecommunications, and still collected the occasional Lego set, and managed
to get my credit card debt to zero. What was more interesting is that a
Lego outlet opened up in October 1999, which was cool to check out from time
to time. Then the company hired a new set of contractors in early 2000.
Chris Seaton, The guy who sat next to me became a quick friend, and somehow,
our discussion turned to Lego..well, he said "let me show you a website,
called LUGNET!" I was amazed at some of these creations! Well, my friend
convinced me to drive us up to the Dawsonville outlet, and as it turned out,
since dropping a few hundred bucks a month to drop my debt, I now had free
income...it happened to coincide with the initial announcement of the
discontinuation of the 3033 tub.
On my way back, with a trunkload of Lego (including 6 3033 tubs), and
purchasing over 10,000 bricks, little did I know, the Lego Phoenix within me
had been reborn....
Story 3:
As a frequent customer at the Dawsonville outlet, where I had become known,
(I even gave them my business card to call me for damages and new items--I
never walked out of Dawsonville spending less than a hundred bucks). I even
made a minifig sculpture of myself! Well, telecom started feeling a pinch,
and my friend Chris got laid off in July. Chris had mentioned it when
shopping at Dawsonville, and in September, I got a call from the manager at
the Dawsonville store. Seems a new store was going in at the new Discover
Mills Mall in the Atlanta area, and they needed people, and since my number
was handy, they asked me to contact Chris, as they thought he would be a
good employee. Turns out they needed more people, to which I blurted out "I
can work part time!". A short time later, when I got the news, I called
mom and said "Mom, I'm about to fulfill a childhood dream...I'm gonna work
for Lego!"
Since working for Lego (part time), I've talked to many families and
children, and I've heard the "I've died and gone to heaven" many times, and
have seen how Lego has affected children in several positive ways. Once, on
a slow night, there were no customers except two brothers and a sister,
probably in the 4-8 range, and they spent 2 hours playing very nicely and
quietly at the Techinic play table--when the youngest one couldn't get some
part separated, she just handed it to her brother, who took them apart, and
handed it right back to her. No fighting between them, and some very
creative teamwork between them. That was definitely a cool Lego experience.
Story 4:
Since discovering Lugnet, I look at it almost daily, and have joined up with
the NGLTC, and have become very active, doing train shows, and the
Children's Health Care of Atlanta's Festival of Trees has been a highly
rewarding experience. At our building sessions at the hospital, seeing
children who have had to deal with surgeries and illnesses, I am sure that
some are in great pain, but when they see all the lego on the table, the
smiles and joy on their face when playing and creating creates a feeling
within you that you are helping these kids in a positive way.
Story 5:
Getting to meet several of the Lugnet community members at Brickfest 2002!
What a fun weekend! From the time I got a phone call from WAMALUG seeing if
I needed a ride from Dulles(thanks Claudia and Fuzz!), Finally meeting John
Barnes after sending him a bunch of motors last year, TJ's crane, of course,
who could forget the spunky Shiri Dori, Seeing Adrian Drake's Blood Moon,
Nebuchenezzer and his A-10, Helping Lindsay Frederick Braun get the Takao
together, Dropping my jaw when I saw Hoth, Meeting fellow Georgian Chris
Giddens and his classic space stuff, Jennifer Clark's crane (and Tim's
mini-crane), Jon Palmer and his Alphabet fighters, sliding my cell tower
into Chris Leach's town layout, and the look on Jon Palmer's face when he
saw my pizza cook slapping dough in my extra-large pizza to go creation
Walking into Pizzeria Uno to eat dinner, and running into Dave Eaton, Shaun
Sullivan, Todd Lehman, Suz Rich, Jim Green, and Joe Corneau.(forgive me if
I've forgotten anybody else that night). Getting to set up the Rail Racers
for Jake and Robin of Lego to play with, Figuring how to hot-wire a trunk to
get the keys out so I could get to the Potomac Mills layout, riding in
Christina Hitchcock's car with Kevin Salm and her driving past the Pentagon
and capitol buildings on the way back (what a cool view!). Brickfest 2002
will stay in my mind forever, as it was my first big lego event!
Story 6:
Yet to come, but I'm looking foward to Brickswest 2003!!
Lego has been in my life for over 26 of my 31 years, since my first sets
back in the early 1970's--the fire station (set 570),police station(370),
and hospital(363). I credit Lego for never losing sense of the amount of
wonderment,creativity, and "outside the box thinking (because they never
learned rules to limit thinking)" that children have.
sorry the post was so long, but I've had Lego as long as I can remember, so
I've got a lifetime of stories!!
Scott Lyttle
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
The Chris and Shiri show. For the folks who haven't been around that long:
I came out of my dark ages with the Star Wars releases like so many others.
But I wasn't back all the way - I bought them more for "Star Wars" than for
"Lego". But the bug was back, and I couldn't escape, nor did I want to. So
I'm on the net one day looking for Lego Gundam models, and run across a site
(I can't remember which) that had a link to FBTB. So I hit that one, and
followed a link to Lugnet. Little did I know...
So, after a few months of lurking, I started posting, mainly in .castle.
Shiri and I started talking a lot online, and on her birthday, I called her.
3 months later I was taking my first plane trip ever to go to Boston for the
weekend to see her. That's when I first met other AFOLs, Todd, Suz, Tim
Courtney, and Joe Comeau among others.
Over two years later and we're still together, and plan on staying that way.
For more information consult Jude Beaudin and Tim Courtney. I'm sure they'd
be glad to babble at you for hours. :-)
Oh, and Brickfest 2001 was fun too. :-)
-Chris
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In lugnet.general, Chris Maddison writes:
> In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
>
> > What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
>
> The Chris and Shiri show.
I'm not fond of me-toos normally, but I think I'll second that. :-)
I think if I said something else I'd have a very angry boyfriend in my
hands. ;-)
-Shiri
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My coolest lego experiances (in no particular order): (actually, these are
probobly just my fondest lego memories but hey :)
1.Getting the 6973 Deep Freeze Defender as an xmas gift from santa (I still
consider this the greatest space set & theme ever)
2.Getting the 6285 Black Seas Baracuda as a reward for learning to ride ny
bike.
3.Having my model Datsville Petrollium displayed at the ldraw.org display
at kidvention then (having done the work to get the renders) entering it in
& winning ldraw.org model of the month.
4.Discovering a couple good local parts sources and acquiring a few rare
parts from them.
5.all those years ago when I used to sit for hours hunting through my
childhood collection (now gone) for parts to make spacechips, castles etc.
and (yet to come when I get more money) 6.opening the package from
bricklink or wherever containing the parts I need to complete the 6973 I
already have instructions and a fair wack of the parts for.
If only large white airplane wings werent so hard to obtain :)
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The coolest experience for me would have to be buying whatever pieces I wanted
in whatever color in bulk. Also getting 400 piece boxes or buckets and 1200
piece tubs....Huh, Oh I must have dozed off for a second.
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I have been reading this thread for the past week now, and I really couldn't
think of any one experience that was my coolest, until it finally came to me.
About two or three weeks ago, my wife, my 15 month old son and I were
walking in a mall. I was pushing the stroller, and my wife was carrying our
son Alex on her hip. We were just walking and talking, when all of a
sudden, Alex begins to make a noise that sounds like "gogol, gogol" over and
over, and he is kicking his legs and pointing to me ( I was behind him at
the time). So, not really sure why he suddenly began doing this, I took him
and my wife took the stroller. As soon as I got him in my arms, he starts
pointing further in the direction we were walking, still making the same
noise, and still kicking very excitedly.
Well, about 50 feet farther ahead, unnoticed by my wife and myself up to
this point is a Lego kiosk in the center of the mall. Not only did he
recognise Lego from far away, he also wanted to look at it with his daddy.
I can't even tell you what a great feeling it was for me. :-)
My wife and I were both astounded. I have never played with Lego with him,
but we do play with his Duplo blocks from time to time. I also hold him up
and show him the Lego that I have on display on shelves at home.
-Andy Lynch
In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
How to begin; there are so many Coolest LEGO Experiences in my life. I will
try to choose just one:
Christmas shopping in a local mall in late 1998, I happened into one of
those upscale science/learning toys for parents of precocious children kinda
shops to browse around. Way up on the top shelf of their software section
was a row of large blue boxes that said LEGO Mindstorms on them. I knew
right away that I would soon own one of these. What I didn't know then was
just how much other LEGO I would also soon own...
My wife of course thought I was just being an overgrown kid yet again. I
know better, though. I never truly became an adult in the first place!
Uncoolest LEGO Experience: asking the clerk to get a Mindstorms set down
from the top shelf for me that day and being told that these were empty
display boxes and that they couldn't get enough of them to keep in stock.
It was four or five months before I actually got my hands on one, and the
rest is history.
I consider my discovery of Mindstorms to be my Coolest LEGO Experience
because that was the catalyst that (a) brought me out of my Dark Age, (b)
caused me to seek out LUGNET, and (c) introduced me to so many unbelievably
cool people all around the world.
- Chris.
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> I would love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
>
> Jake
Argh - just ONE ?!?!? ;-)
I'd have to say it was when I bought an incomplete <set:6985> Cosmic Fleet
Voyager and then bought the missing pieces a couple at a time until I was
able to completely build the set. Hunting for the missing parts was as much
fun as building the set was in the first place!
- Bob
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In lugnet.general, Bob Parker writes:
> In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> > I would love to throw out a question!
> >
> > What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
> >
> > Jake
>
>
> Argh - just ONE ?!?!? ;-)
>
> I'd have to say it was when I bought an incomplete <set:6985> Cosmic Fleet
> Voyager and then bought the missing pieces a couple at a time until I was
> able to completely build the set. Hunting for the missing parts was as much
> fun as building the set was in the first place!
>
> - Bob
6985? Now I feel bad--mine's sitting in my fish tank for the little fishies
to swim thru.
http://sparky.i989.net/legop1.htm
Dave K
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
>
> I would love to hear!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Sr. Producer
> LEGO Direct
Hmmmmm, Ummmmm, which age should I speak of here? Being a little more
restricted to some of the far more interesting/exciting places to go and
look at compared to overseas.... I would have to say...
* Now is.... as I have my own Lego room
Shopping is when I have the money and the sales are on (and they are decent
sales)
* When S@H became available to Australia
* When I got my first Lego set at the age of 3
* Some of the Lego expo's they had when I was younger, the real ones, ones
that were not just creative in just the buildings...
* Attending the Local Lego meets...
and much much more...
What do I hope for now? Mire bulk bricks/parts in various colours... a Lego
attraction for us to visit here in Australia...
And a Giant Lego Minifig :)
!!!
Mel :)
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee writes:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
When I was an architecture student in college, I spent more time
chatting in coffee houses and dorm television lounges than I did studying,
and the same group of people always seemed to show up for the invariably
long and interesting discussions. After hanging out with them for some
time, one of the regular guys invited me to what he called "a Builder".
Well, I picked up the required bottle of high potency adult beverage,
and walked through town to his off-campus house. When I got there, the air
was laced with Pink Floyd at an incredible volume, and I asked some folks on
the porch what the heck a "builder" was anyway. They led me inside to the
living room...
...where a HUGE pile of every concievable kind of Lego piece lay all
over the floor, and all around the house people were building the coolest
things: a cathedral; a "Heisenberg engine" (which was purported to give
unpredictable answers to your every question); a model of some chemical
structure; an incredible spaceship with what I would later learn is
SNOT-tiness. I was amazed! The coolest thing to me was the open feeling of
sharing and cooperation: people would stop working on their own models to
pitch in on somebody else's, and others would invite each person to
contribute a chunk of brickwork a community model. WOW! Here were a bunch
of adults having a blast with Lego! I wasn't the only one who harbored a
liking for the Brick!
My host said something like "Hey, dude, grab some carpet and have some
fun!", and I built this awesome treehouse (with Dragonlance and D&D in my
head) that had three levels, a rope bridge, and this cool stairway that ran
around the trunk of the tree. This thing was HUGE! And this didn't even
dent the guy's collection...there was plenty of plastic goodness to be shared.
I vowed that I would one day have a collection of Lego pieces like
that. I'm still working on it, and don't plan on stopping any time soon.
Peace and Long Life,
and Merry Christmas,
Tony Alexander
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Jake McKee wrote:
>
> Inspired by John's post (http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=39785), I would
> love to throw out a question!
>
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience? Maybe you built an amazing castle when
> you were eight years old. Or perhaps you've had a more recent experience
> like watching an FLL robotics competition where you saw kids participating
> in the most thrilling event of their lives. Or maybe you finished the
> perfect train car and posted it online.
Hmm, I may have a new coolest LEGO experience...
This year I got several brick presents for Christmas. The first one I
opened was a plastic case of used LEGO my mom had found in a yardsale.
Insider were the instructions for 6391, and a bunch of parts. There was
also a crater plate and several classic space minifigs. The 6391 is only
about 70% complete, but almost all of the important parts are present
(one red 2x2x2 mailbox, a few 1x2 bricks with garage door slot, and some
of the minifigs are missing).
The space parts at least include a significant portion of 6930.
Another present from my mom was a Tyco telephone.
I also got a few sets from my sister and nephew.
Frank
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I don't know that I can pick out a single "coolest" experience, but here's a
sample.
I've had tons of fun at various fests around the country. Meeting a bunch of
people who thought I was in my 20's or 30's (when I was actually 17) at
Mindfest in 1999 was a blast. I didn't go to a single workshop because I was
so busy hanging out with the NELUG crowd. Brickfest 2002 was also fantastic.
A space room and a model team room! I'm looking forward to the next Brickfest
already. And this time, I'll finally be able to join the after-hours fun.
It's always feels great to impress non-Lego-enthusiasts. Just a week ago, my
parents' friends were asking to see my Luna Spire. The amazing turnout at NWBC
was also inspiring.
My best experience with the Lego Company was, suprisingly, when "sebastian"
submitted my Space Plane to the Star Wars section of Lego.com.The way Kristin
and Jake, and anyone else involved resolved the sistuation was excellent. I
couldn't have asked for more.
--Bram
Bram Lambrecht
bram@cwru.edu
www.bldesign.org
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In lugnet.general, Jake McKee wrote:
> What is your coolest LEGO Experience?
Two, recent moments:
1) Attending Celebration III (a Star Wars convention) as a member of an ISD
speed-build team with my 7-yr-old son Ben. In under 24 hours we built three ISD
(two on Saturday with only a couple of hours inbetween), with a best time of
1h23m, in a public area with huge crowds of costumed people walking through. Our
team had two kids (Ben, 7, and another boy who was 6 - only one other team of
the eight even had a kid on it, I think), and crushed all the other teams in
head-to-head builds to win the whole event. I could comment about the wild
costumes, or the amazing LEGO folks hosting us, the awards, the fun of building,
and on and on. But the most memorable moments? Looking down over my son's head,
& building over his head, as my 7-year-old follows the directions to build the
mid-deck at blinding speed as an equal member of the team, and I scramble just
to keep him supplied with the right parts. Also, hugging him in wild joy when we
won every one of the three builds... especially the last!
And as part of this, getting to swoosh a full ISD around a crowded convention
hall before "splashing" it, and splitting up four complete ISDs among the team
members. Wonderful, but still 2nd to watching Ben.
2) Watching this same 7-year-old kid walk up to the podium at BrickFest 2005
to receive the 2nd place award for small Moonbase module. I was going crazy and
applauding... and you could hardly hear me over the roar of the crowd when the
other AFOLs realized a "kid" had just taken the 2nd place prize. The module was
a blast to work with him on, but the *community* made that event one of the
pivotal ones since exiting my Dark Ages.
--
Brian Davis
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