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From SBS.com.au
By Patrick Abboud
April 1, 2014
Adult Fans of LEGO: Why LEGO is fun at any age
Dean Niclasen and Shelly Timson are bonded by their passion for LEGO and there
are 25,000 Adult Fans of LEGO just like them across Australia. The Feed’s
Patrick Abboud gets exclusive access to go inside the secret world of AFOL.
Dean Niclasen is 46 and Shelly Timson (otherwise known as ‘brick bunny’) is 36.
They’re bonded by their passion for the plastic blocks otherwise known as Lego.
There’s 25,000 more Adult Fans of LEGO just like them across Australia and
globally there’s around 250,000 people in the adult LEGO community.
Mr. Niclasen and Ms. Timson often go to AFOL meet-ups run by fellow obsessives
around the world.
Ms Timson says it was an amazing experience to discover that other adults were
still interested in LEGO. “There is that thought... ‘am I the only one out
there?’,” says Ms Timson. “When I did find that there are adults doing displays
and building with LEGO it was a bit like a gay coming out of the closet... It’s
one of those things you sort of go, Oh my god! There’s a whole world out there!”
“I’m not strange. I’m not alone. I’m not weird so it’s been quite a relief.”
“I don’t go a day where there isn’t LEGO in my life.”
Mr. Niclasen suffers from a hereditary condition known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth
disease which can affect stength and coordination.
But despite the challenges of his condition Mr Niclasen says it hasn’t stopped
him from building things with LEGO.
“LEGO only goes together in a precise way, which means that the lack of
coordination has no bearing upon my ability to make stuff out of LEGO,” says Mr
Niclasen. “It wasn’t a single point that it turned from hobby to obsession... it
took a few years.”
“I would think conservatively I would have 200 or 300 thousand bricks available
in my own personal collection for building with, and that’s still expanding all
the time.”
Rob Deakin started an AFOL meet-up group where grown up LEGO lovers come to
construct to their hearts content.
Mr Deakin says AFOL’s tend to be in their 30s when they start to build large
scale models.
“LEGO to me is everything,” says Mr Deakin. “it’s great brain activity... it’s
so relaxing... and it’s a great way to meet people of like minds.”
“Think of it like soccer - it’s a major movement around the world and so
naturally... there are lots of adults that are still into it.”
And to win respect every AFOL must learn to speak Lego fluently. There’s a large
glossary of terms that make up the official AFOL language,
For example: Dark Ages means that period in a LEGO fan’s life when he or she
sets aside LEGO in favor of school, dating, motor vehicles, and other non-LEGO
pursuits.
Sigfig translates to: The minifig version of a LEGO fan that he or she uses in
online communities as an avatar. Sigfigs may or may not resemble the person
physically, as LEGO fans used to interacting with each other online discover at
LEGO conventions.
SNOT refers to: Studs Not On Top. A building technique that places LEGO elements
on their sides or even upside down to achieve the shape or structure the builder
wants in their creation.
And the list goes on and on.
But It’s not all fun and games though. There’s more than 150 huge international
conventions every year that AFOL’s spend months work months prepping displays
for. Sometimes there are even cash prizes to help AFOLs with the purchase of the
expensive bricks.
“Building with LEGO can be extremely competitive,” says Ms Timson. “There are
some out there who are just out to one-better other people.”
“it’s finding new uses for old pieces, which more than anything else, it’s a
real buzz to sort of get that and go, “Oh, I can do this!”
“There’s a lot of talent out there.”
(check the site for pictures)
www.sbs.com.au
SBS2Australia channel video: YouTube
-end of report-
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