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The other day I got another "You still play with LEGO?". I replied with: "No, I design and build models made from LEGO." That didn't seem to help much. I'd like to start a list of ideas and suggestions on how we might improve how other adults view (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.ambassadors, lugnet.lego, lugnet.announce, lugnet.general) !
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(...) I just don't care what other people say. Much simpler than trying to change their minds. Tim (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general) !
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(...) I actually have done a lot of thinking on this topic-why, I am not sure why--but I have. I am a talker as some of yall might know and am always bringing up my little sideline business of personalizing LEGO for mainly adult LEGO builders. It (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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I've had that same kind of question asked of me before. My response differs on the way that they ask it. For example, the question, "You still play with LEGOs? What are you a little kid or something?" would be retorted to with, "Well, if I made (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Next time, either say: "You still watch grown men chase a ball around a field?" or something similar. (...) That's a tall order. Outside of sports, are there any other hobbies that truly bridge the child/adult gap? When a brand has spent (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) First off, I'll offer you the suggestion that the answer isn't "no", it's "yes!" Not to get all psychological, but if you answer "no", but still claim some sort of personal association with Lego, their assumption may likely be that you're (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Well, I've been doing something for the last two year I'd like to share and I think it works because I'm sill doing it. OK, so some people have thoughts about us playing, building, being fans of, whatever of LEGO but I've found it's easy to (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I usually answer something like, "Oh,yeah!" with a big grin on my face. While they are a little stunned I add something like, "I tried model railroading/shipbuilding but it was too limiting." That really seems to click a few light bulbs (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I have been asked these questions numerous times by co-workers...especially after we put an ad up on the bulletin board saying we wanted to buy used LEGO. Usually when they ask if we still play with LEGO, Stacy and I enthusiastically reply (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I usually just reply that I don’t "play" with LEGO - I design and build. If they can’t understand that... well, their problem... That being said, I think that TLC could do a bit more to get adults into LEGO. For example, take a look at their (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Hmm, perhaps it's the people I associate with or just something about my age but I don't usually seem to have this problem. Most times when the subject of my lego habits comes up the response is more in the "whoa sweet!" line, and maybe a (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I don't generally mention payments that the club receives for shows because our members aren't actually _paid_ to participate. We try to reimburse stuff like parking and any applicable admission costs (though we always try to make sure we get (...) (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) TLC is still trying to come to grips with the fact that we _do_ still collect. You'd think it would be a no-brainer. I mean, here's a company that leaves bowls of bricks out on their conference tables that you are _encouraged_ to play with (...) (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I think it may have a lot to do with your own feelings towards others. As I read your post, I'm not sure of the tonal inflection of the person saying "you still play with LEGO?"--is the inflection one of disgust, or one of excitement? That in (...) (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I'm not sure that's really a fair assessment-- or, rather, the tone implies that everyone else at Lego was clueless until Jake showed them how it's done. But that's not really the case. I think it was more true that certain groups within the (...) (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I generally don't worry about it too much. Most people that I meet actually don't find it that odd. If anything, they find it a quirky but acceptable hobby. I actually get stranger reactions from people when I tell them that I paint miniatures (...) (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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In lugnet.general, Dave Sterling wrote: SNIPPY (...) Then I ask them how much pain playing with Lego inflicts on wildlife and they don't have an answer.... ;-) (yeah, Lego isn't that good for the environment, I know) Tim (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Bring your minifigs to work! I remember "Bring Your Minifig To Work Day - Dec. 13, 1996" If you search Google Groups, you'll see my posting with the above title. I brought in 45 minifigs that day. :-) Jeff (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) It's easy. When somebody asks, "You still play with LEGO?" you say, "Yes." (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) The image of an adult playing, designing or building with legos will always be what it is, regardless of how much it wants to be glorified as a design specialty. In and out of the professional environment. We did some desk accesories for Lego (...) (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Thoughts? Any other ways to improve the hobby image of LEGO? When I'm looking for Lego's at garage sales a lot of the people will say they aren't selling them because their kids are still playing with them. I answer that I understand since I'm (...) (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Indeed. They rendered the cypress tree extinct, after all. Cheers Richie Dulin CO Legeaux (16 years ago, 15-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) What on Earth for? I can't say I've ever found how other adults view my hobby to be a problem. I don't go out of my way to tell people what I do with my spare time. If they do find out, I just shrug it off with 'everyone needs a hobby' or (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general) !
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(...) What on Earth for? I can't say I've ever found how other adults view my hobby to be a problem. I don't go out of my way to tell people what I do with my spare time. If they do find out, I just shrug it off with 'everyone needs a hobby' or (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) ?????? (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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Good thread with a lot of responses I relate to. I'll tag on Dave's since he scratched the most on what I wanted to add... In lugnet.general, David Eaton wrote: (snip) (...) The comparison to model railroading is one I have long used to describe our (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) Tommy, I believe the joke is in reference to the extinction of this tree: (URL) which was last seen in the wild in 2001 and now exists only in captivity. -Hendo (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) I've had three Vikings and two Town guys with a box truck I built with my company's logo on it on my desk for a year or so now. Starting about a month ago, a co-worker started bringing in little green plastic army men (non-Lego) so she could (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Ouch, but taking your own advise, I shouldn't care what you say...right? Actually, I don't loose any sleep over anyone thinking that I'm childish or odd in some way because LEGO is a hobby of mine. The purpose of my post was to spur creativity (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) You learn fast. (...) That's not something I'm interested in. I make my preferences known by buying the sets I like, and not buying the ones I don't like. (...) I'm unlikely to do either. And I have no idea what posters have to do with this. (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I think it's all in your attitude. And by "you" I don't just mean you, Scott, but AFOLs in general. If you talk about it with confidence and pride, people tend to respect that. If you talk about it with any timidity or shame in your voice, (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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Simple. reply with: "I used to do lots of crack, and now i build with Lego!" Steve (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Wait, I reconsidered my answer to this... get yourself one paid project under your belt, and then you can tell people you get paid to do it. Their attitude will instantly change from mocking to jealously. (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) This is a little off-topic, but I gotta agree with Mr. Eaton here. I don't think it's fair to blast LEGO for "not catering to the adult market". If we do a real quick review of sets geared more towards adults in the past 5-6 years I come up (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) This is so true Bill! Just this morning, one of the girls in our finance department stopped by my office to show me a link to a LEGO movie she had found online. I get stuff like that forwarded to me all the time from various co-workers. Even (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) (URL) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) Or even "Definitely! Don't you?" (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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Hi, Thanks for bringing this up, it's nice to see some action on Lugnet again. It's become a lot easier fo me to be be accepted as a LEGO builder now than when I was a teen or in my early 20s. Partly that's because my peers are older and aren't all (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Ouch again! Bob does bring up a good point (even if it was an obvious one.) Kids are the primary market for TLC, so it’s a good thing that no one has suggested that this change. Leg Godt, (that means Play Well, in case you forgot) Scott (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) ... and 50% of the time, it's a link to Amy Hughes' church. Well, except for one guy who sends me fresh and new content. Steve (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) Yea, I've been sent that link a few times myself and had a neighbor describe the church also (though that neighbor was also using Bricklink before I shared that I was into LEGO). I have actually not yet had anyone react badly (even cashiers in (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) An excellent thought, Bob. Motivational posters are a great way to extend LEGO's respectability with adults. Imagine a poster of a wall of white 2x4 LEGO bricks, with a single gold brick in the middle, with the caption "...because you don't (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) An excellent thought, Bob. Motivational posters are a great way to extend LEGO's respectability with adults. Imagine a poster of a wall of white 2x4 LEGO bricks, with a single gold brick in the middle, with the caption "...because you don't (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) You mean like Legofan? (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) You mean like Legofan? (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) If people can't accept your hobby who cares, if they belittle you for it their not worth knowing, everybody has different habits/hobbies/interests so why be concerned with what others think if you are happy doing what you do just do it. To be (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) To be honest, in my opinion there’s nothing particularly "adult" about those sets - they’re just models (albeit rather impressive models) with a high brick count and an even higher price tag. What I would really like to see, is the possibility (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) YES but LEGO wouldn't be around if they don't make some profits right? How at production cost would they survive. (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Well, if you include a margin for profit (which does seem fair), this *does* exist - it's called Pick-a-Brick, and you can do it on-line via S@H. Yes, I *know* it doesn't have all the elements, or all the colors... but it has loads more than (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Let's take a moment to ask, what's wrong with "Play"? Why do we get so defensive about it? None of my friends who play basketball feel the need to qualify "Play ball" with some explaination about how they "design and carryout team sports (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I didn’t say that they should stop selling the normal sets. I just asked for an additional service above and beyond that... But of course you have a point regarding the need for profit. Perhaps such an offer should be available only to certain (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) But that's exactly the point. It's not that they weren't aware of us at all. It's that they thought we were an inconsequencial fraction of the total market, and thus not worth catering to at all. And strictly in terms of the total customer (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Well, let's check the math on this, shall we? Now, you'll have to excuse me, but I'm going to reorder your list by year of release, because it'll help me to make my point, but I will not be omitting anything: (...) 2008 (...) 2007 (...) 2006 (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) That's exactly it. If you're looking for black 2x4 bricks, the market is flooded with them, so BL prices have settled pretty low (and the rarer parts in a given set help offset those low prices so that sellers will still find it worth parting (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) I think that's not quite the point that was being made. The point is that selling individual bricks to individual consumers is *grossly* more expensive for the company, not that it's cheaper, and hence would need to sell sets to keep their (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Well, or maybe it's me generalizing from getting lucky once. Looking at PaB, 1x14's are currently 28 cents per piece. On Bricklink, right now, I can find them for as low as 15 cents, but not in anything like the quantities I'd needed. In fact (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Both halves? Do adult fans represent 50% of the market? Cheers Richie Dulin CO Legeaux (16 years ago, 18-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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When it comes to Lego I'm with Tim... ; ) God Bless, Nathan (16 years ago, 18-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Yes! Me and the rest of you... Well in appreciation terms anyway. God Bless, Nathan (16 years ago, 18-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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(...) Honestly, my impression of the Lego hobbyist community is that there was a boom in growth of AFOL purchasing around 1998-2000. My honest-to-god guess is that AFOLs weren't worth marketing to back in, say, 1992, but we WERE worth marketing to (...) (16 years ago, 18-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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(...) Actually, it's not a recent trend - it's a rediscovered trend. Look at the 39x Hobby Model sets from 1975 & 1976. They were clearly aimed at adults. Paul Sinasohn LUGNET #115 (16 years ago, 18-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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"Allan Johansen" <f2k@chaotica.dk> wrote in message news:K7CFDy.4I0@lugnet.com... [ ... snipped ... ] (...) How much more money would you spend or would you simply spend your money differently? Exrapolate how much you might spend to a 1000 people? (...) (16 years ago, 18-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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"Purple Dave" <purple_daveAThotmailDOTcom> wrote in message news:K7CvLF.3no@lugnet.com... [ .... snipped ... ] (...) [ ... snipped ... ] I had breakfast with Jake one time when I was in Dallas (probably 4-5 years ago) and he told me the story of (...) (16 years ago, 18-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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