I was nine-years-old when Lego was first sold in the UK in 1959, and as a result, I never had any of my own when I was a child. My late sister – who was twelve years younger than me – did have some, and I remember making things with and for her, but I was a member of the Meccano and Bayko generation, and never quite 'got into' Lego.
During our last Christmas cruise, Sue and I had some onboard credit left unspent on the last day, and looking around the ship's shops we found a Lego Architecture kit on sale for almost exactly that amount ... so we bought it. The kit was numbered 21034 and was one that highlighted some of the tourist sights of London, including Tower Bridge, the London Eye, the Elizabeth Tower (AKA erroneously but generally known as Big Ben) , the National Gallery, and Nelson's Column.
Last weekend there was very little worth watching on TV on Saturday evening so I decided to break open the Lego kit and build it. The result looked something like this:
The whole process took me a couple of hours ... and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I can see why some of my friends are devotees of Lego, and I will certainly be on the lookout for further examples to buy and build.
I looks as if I have a new hobby to pursue ... and I am sure that I will find some way in which I can integrate it with my wargaming!
Hello there Bob,
ReplyDeleteYou will not be surprised to learn that some of my first wargames armies were fashioned from Lego. I used the eight stud brick for infantry, the six stud brick for cavalry, a two stud brick for artillery with two single stud crew.
A distinguished forerunner to the wooden block armies!
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
DeleteI’m sure that you are not the only wargamer who has used Lego blocks in that way. I’ve certainly seen them used to recreate Kreigspeil-style wargames … and the first ever Matrix Game I took part in used Lego figures as playing pieces.
All the best,
Bob
LEGOs are a bit of a godsend for me. My son has ADHD and its been very hard to find medication that works for him without side effects. Anyway, LEGO models are one of the few activities he focus on for long periods of time, doesn't get all flustered and angry if things don't go well when building them, and has a great sense of accomplishment when he completes the model.
ReplyDeleteChris,
DeleteI can understand why your son finds building Lego models helps him to concentrate on a task for much longer than usual. Having made my first Lego model, I can attest to how enthralling an activity it can be,
All the best,
Bob
Lego a long with Wargames have been my life long companions. When my wife and I were first married Lego was her equivalent of a bouquet of flowers to me. They gave my son and I a mutual project to share until he was a teen. This past Christmas I was given Lego for the first time in almost twenty years. This was flowers and an architectural building that gave me many happy hours building. I marvel at the engineering of the new pieces and the overall assembly. Greatest toy ever.
ReplyDeleteWEK 3,
DeleteThanks for sharing your wonderful story! I imagine that it was a great way to bond with your son as he was growing up.
From such a simple concept, Lego has developed into something more than a mere toy. I’ve even seen the idea has been used as the basis of a fast building technique in places where housing etc., was needed quickly.
All the best,
Bob
When I first retired, I did a side job switching furniture around for a couple of women. Their house were full of Lego kits, including a large Blackhawk helicopter and a very large model of the Titanic. You actually had to get very close to realize it was a Lego kit. They started building them during Covid, and got hooked on them. Perhaps I should check them out.
ReplyDeleteJhnptrqn,
DeleteI have a friend who is a very senior scientific adviser to the UK government, a high powered and stressful job. He makes Lego kits as part of his decompression technique, and has built a Saturn V rocket, a miniature piano, and working guitar … and is currently building Titanic.
All the best,
Bob
And some are wargaming with Legos. There is not only 'Brick Wars', but I've seen people making different models in different scales for wargaming.
ReplyDeleteRoger,
DeleteYesterday I saw a YouTube video of someone who built an entire World War II wargame using Lego. It was very impressive!
All the best,
Bob
My wife loves building Lego kits and has had a great time with their botanical selection. She's branched out into other adult kits and uses them as a means of relaxation after work. One of my boys enjoys the architecture kits too.
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved we decided to leave our 25lbs of Lego with my oldest son. Given the weight and the value of Lego at the time it was quite literally a treasure chest worth a few thousand dollars.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteI’ve seen the botanicals, and they look much more realistic than I would have expected. I can see why your wife would find them therapeutic to construct.
25lbs of Lego is a lot of Lego! I’m not surprised that you housed it with your oldest son.
All the best,
Bob
Bob
ReplyDeleteWhen my daughter was small, we got her a DUPLO set - nice chunky pieces for littl'uns. Later 'upgraded' to LEGO. She got a lot of mileage out of them. She's now domiciled in Oz (Queensland) with a family of her own, so we sent her the whole kit and caboodle.
When I was young I had a 'Betta Bilda' set. Apparently an Airfix product. I used to make armies, navies and even airforces out of these. Making houses and such was OK for a while, but to me seemed a bit .. erm ... sterile. This was before I knew that war gaming was an actual thing.
Do you know, I wish I had those Betta Bilda bricks now. Just the thing for war gamers; and - here's a thing - the buildings can be 'rubbled'! The plastic, by the way, is a deal harder (and more brittle) than the LEGO plastic. I gather Airfix stopped making them more than 50 years ago.
Oh, well... In the meantime, I'll scratch my construction itch with balsa, cardboard and assorted junk... (writ wi' a grin).
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI’d forgotten the Duplo was the entry level for Lego!
I never had Airfix’s Betta Builder, but seem to remember that it was as well engineered as Lego but made of a harder plastic. I am amazed that you were able to make anything military using Betta Builder, but I suppose that even nascent wargamers are always looking to repurpose kits etc., so that they might be useable in a wargame.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
DeleteYou shoulda seen my battleships! Of course, modelled for floor action, so probably about 8 to 10 inches long, and maybe 3 wide. Of course, it was not possible to achieve anything but the most approximate hull shape.
Fought mostly single ship actions, using marbles (flicked as marbles should be, not thrown) as projectiles. The brittle plastic took fearful punishment, though, and the long 'bricks' sometimes broke.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI once built an ACW casemate ironclad using my Bayko set and armed/crewed it with Airfix ACW field guns and gunners. I used the roof pieces to create the casemate … and I thought that it was wonderful. (In truth, it was awful … but who cares!)
I would have loved to have seen your models, which I’m sure would have looked far more convincing than mine did.
All the best,
Bob
I had some of the basic Lego bricks when I was a kid. Occasionally bought a set later on as an adult. And then got back into them more and more, during covid, as many people did.
ReplyDeleteI do find it fun and relaxing to follow instructions to build various sets. I have also seen plenty of videos where people use Lego in their gaming, and have dabbled a bit in that myself. So far, mostly playing around with building smaller easy things, such as catwalks, various crates and other small items, and buildings/interiors. The latter, mostly just existing sets built as designed, and repurposed.
Fitz-Badger,
DeleteCOVID certainly seems to have encouraged an older demographic to take up modelling - including making Lego models - again.
I have yet to use Lego in my own wargames, but it’s certainly something that I am thinking about. I understand that a Spanish manufacturer makes a Lego-like product designed for people who want to model castles … and it strikes me that anyone wanting to wargame a siege would find that particularly useful.
All the best,
Bob
I have a few friends who are heavily into Legos, although I have not yet been bitten by the bug. There is a fair amount of wargaming being done with them and I think a very interesting set up for 3x3 Portable Wargames could be made with them.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteI suspect that it would not be very difficult to build oneself a Portable 3 x 3 Lego Wargame. I understand that the nearest shopping centre/mall to the part of London in which I live has a Lego store that sells bricks etc., by the bagful, and I hope to pay it a visit next time I am there.
All the best,
Bob