Brainslugged's Brickset Bonusball Bad Behaviour Bonanza

Brainslugged · May 2019

For this week's Bonusball, I want to know to what extremes people have gone to fuel their Lego habit. Specifically, how Lego has got you in trouble. It could be as simple as getting busted by your significant other decanting a freshly-acquired Lego set into a cornflakes box to conceal your purchase. Or maybe having to live off beans on toast for a month as your entire budget was spent on brick. Or perhaps taking a sick day off work to make a stop motion build of the Imperial Flagship (guilty!).

An example from my recent past: I was in my local Tesco feeling up newly-released Disney 2 CMFs with my 7 year old daughter. I was then approached by some sort of manager and the store security guard. I thought they were going to have a go at me me feeling up Lego, but their opening gambit was "we know you're buying discounted Lego and returning it for a full price refund. We want you to leave the store immediately and never return". Long story short is that they had just f-ed up. I'd bought a bunch of Lego sets, but then we bought them again the following week when they were reduced to half price, then returned the originals with receipt. I tried to turn it into a learning experience for my daughter by pointing out how I'd remained calm and explained what I'd actually done enough times so that I'd erased any concern of wrongdoing from their minds. Bit of an uncomfortable experience all the same - especially as I spend a small fortune at that store and am in there at least every other day

So.... the first 59 responses will each get a number. The story that corresponds with Saturday's UK Lottery bonusball will be the winner. Please save other chatter and repeat posts till after 59 responses. Note: I don't want to hear about any illegal activity. If someone's story crosses my arbitrary line into illegal or deeply immoral behaviour, the prize will be awarded to the subsequent poster.

The (probably small) prize is TBD but I will mail out worldwide. It's worth people keeping their wishlists up to date on the off chance I have something spare that the winner is after.

Good luck!

Brainslugged

paul_merton · May 2019

I remember going to Tesco with my at-the-time other half to pick up "something" from the Direct Click and Collect desk. It was unexpectedly overpackaged to such an extent that I had to ask her to go and get a second trolley. She was not impressed when she found out it was all Lego!

Shib · May 2019

My other half doesn't like to go in the loft because of the spiders...me and the spiders have an understanding ;-)

SumoLego · May 2019

I had a very zealous TRU Assistant Manager accuse me of taking street-date sensitive CMFs out of the 'back'.

They were on clearance.

Thanks for doing the draw!

Edit @Bumblepants - yes, that box was much larger than anticipated. Packing that box on my kitchen table was also a mistake that got me in some amount of trouble. My saving grace is that they were all leaving.

Bumblepants · May 2019

Probably having a box delivered to my parents home while I live overseas filled with so much Lego they struggled to get it inside. The dangers of trading with @SumoLego!

Lego_Star · May 2019

I once left purchases safely with the store they were purchased from because I couldn't carry them home nor was I able to hide them. 😳

Thank-you store that shall remain nameless for that!

Still got into trouble a little bit though... you must be alright if you went shopping for LEGO!
I wasn't, but it certainly made me feel much better. 😊

Vgang · May 2019

You can always find boxes filled with goodies in my car boot for obvious reasons! Waiting for the right time to be moved inside the house!

thanks for organizing.

FowlerBricks · May 2019

I'm constantly annoying my brother because I'll cover just about every available surface in our shared room with random Lego. XD

alldarker · May 2019

As a poor student, I absolutely LUSTED after the first 4483 AT-AT. Despite always struggling to make ends meet, I was able to scrounge enough money to buy it, but my girlfriend (currently mrs Alldarker) was most definitely NOT impressed by my spending priorities!

Tkatt · May 2019

My son has never really liked toys. As a young kid he just liked running around and tearing up the house. As an older kid loves computers and video games. So a problem has always come up around his birthday and any of the gift giving holidays. He doesn't have much he wants to ask for when relatives ask him what he'd like.

So I help him make a list that includes a few LEGO sets, knowing the whole time that after he builds a set he'll never touch it again. Then the set will be free for me to pillage for parts.

Koolbrix2018 · May 2019

Always looking for new LEGO polybags in my local Walmart, to the extent of looking for any hidden ones underneath the others, and looking behind all the other sets....

Fodder · May 2019

I always try to get to the letterbox before my wife so she doesn’t know exactly how many packages full of LEGO are arriving... Was going well, but she’s off on maternity leave right now, so is always home when the post is delivered.

Toc13 · May 2019

I would offer up an amusing story...but there just isn't one to tell.
Space & money are two of the factors that keep the spending in check & I've never felt the need to hide anything from the wife

As close as it gets is I sometimes get odd looks from store assistants when I'm the one offering suggestions to the uninitiated looking blankly at the Lego displays wondering what to buy for a small child's birthday

eggshen · May 2019

I don't like using what I consider as "family" money on my LEGO habit, so I find other ways to pay for purchases. Donating plasma can be quite lucrative, and I have a couple of apps on my phone that I use to get free gift cards.

TheOriginalSimonB · May 2019

I did once find an extra piece of headgear had ended up in a build a minifig purchase so I ended up with 4 hats not the allotted 3...

Speedman29 · May 2019

I help to run our daughters school car boot sale twice a year. I get all the cars in and parked up, then wander around to make sure they are happy and ready for us to open and to have a nose and try and find the LEGO bargains. One year a couple of lads came with their parents and set up a LEGO only stall. They had scales and bags to buy a weight of parts along with baseplates and minifigures. All the minifigures were priced at 50p, regardless of what they were. I bought £5 worth odd pieces and bases along with some series 1 CMFs, the £5 didn't even cover the BL price of one figure. I felt a bit guilty for a fraction of a second!

Thanks for hosting @Brainslugged

MugenPower · May 2019

Didn't really get in trouble per se, but more of a slightly awkward situation. I went to a store and tried pricematching an item that was temporarily out of stock at an online competitor. The cashier called a manager over since they weren't sure they PM'ed with that store. They did, but the manager wouldn't allow the PM because the item was temporarily OOS. I went back a couple of days later since I was in the area, tried again, got a different cashier who also wasn't sure they PM'ed that other store. Manager was called over and it was the same guy again! I checked beforehand if he was there when I entered the store and didn't see him but he magically appeared when called upon. Needless to say, he remembered me from the other day and I got shot down again. Didn't bother seeing if a third time would've actually been the charm.

PJ76uk · May 2019

My car has several hiding places where I can store purchases I picked up with the weekly shop on a whim or because they were on clearance!

I was over enthusiastic when the Endgame sets came out buying #76131 twice but luckily was able to return one unopened before the missus found out (or my daughter blabbed!)

snowhitie · May 2019

Thanks for hosting @Brainslugged , had to think about this one.

I'm afraid I don't have many cool stories, my husband is supportive of the hobby and I am the boss of the budget plus only became an AFOL when I had a kid/mortgage so can't go too crazy. I guess I did get very annoyed at myself the one time I bought something that was already in the cupboard (a SW or Ninjago set, can't really remember now). Ohh and buying loads of Lego Batman minifigures, what was I thinking, I'm not shifting those at all (especially since I paid almost full retail as well so really don't want to make a loss on those!).

I think the cheekiest thing I do is sometimes using a bit of next months budget to make up this months purchase, but then I make sure next month just I'm very good (or I sell some more DVD's to make up for it). Guess I'm a bit lame...

LuLego · May 2019

Stealing a piece off of my youngest son’s Lego masterpiece build as I ‘need it’ for a build of my own.

Mr_Cross · May 2019

Every time I try to sneak something into the house, my conscience gets the better of me and I own up. I used to sneak stuff into the weekly shop, but I used to restrict that trick to sets our son might like, but he now has his own fairly considerable LEGO habit... perhaps I just need to get more devious... it's going to take some Bond-villain level of deviousness to "acquire" the hugewarts castle and betrayal of cloud city and all the new space sets!

Thanks for hosting! Great question!

560Heliport · May 2019

Well, I used my lunch break to go pick up #75181 Y-wing first day. But the LEGO store is 12 miles away, and I get a 30 minute lunch. I didn't get caught.

messy · May 2019

I'm regularly reminded by the Mrs that I've had two "once in a lifetime" trips to Billund :-)

blade_guy · May 2019

We were on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday in Canada... and I commandeered an entire day to trek around TRU and Lego stores to find things I couldn’t get at home. I did get all 5 MBA sets which I was very proud of, but the shine was a little tarnished when the money I spent meant I couldn’t afford the special offer of an upgrade in the flight back to business class, being offered at a very good rate too... :-(

starwars4ever · May 2019

Similar story to @MugenPower where I tried multiple times to price match an item at TRU that was OOS at Walmart. Also tried a couple times to use a coupon at Barnes and Noble that excluded Lego, and every time I tried the manager came over, gave me a dirty look, and overrid the system anyway. Eventually got to talking with him last fall during the Harry Potter Bricktober promo and found out that he used to work at the Lego Store not too far from me. Nice guy!

nexander · May 2019

At any one time I generally have several sets in other afols houses/garages. Thankfully I have some of theirs so when I get sets I can tell the wife the sets aren't mine. After every event we do together there is a not very subtle transferring of sets to/from each other's cars, then the fun of figuring out who owes what to whom.

Running events/tumbolas is always a great excuse for having sets around too. Tbh I don't get into trouble now but that's mainly due to me giving her half the sets I get!

SprinkleOtter · May 2019

I've been called out a few times at GameStops... you fill in the rest...

Jern92 · May 2019

Back when I was studying in university, I was also coming out of my dark ages at the same time. Now living in student accommodation, I didn't have any space for Lego, given how small my room was. So when I bought my first modular building (Parisian Restaurant), I asked my friend for permission to build it in his conservatory. He had a rather large table meant for model trains, but he never got around to setting them up.

Fast forward 6 months and I had taken over the entire table, plus the dining room table, after buying everything from the Fire Brigade to the Palace Cinema, plus an assortment of smaller sets. I don't think either of us expected it to go that far! He was probably quite glad when I packed it all away and moved halfway around the world for work.

historyman · May 2019

I’ve left big purchases in the boot of the car so my husband doesn’t see me walking into the house with an expensive set. But then forgotten until he has opened the boot to take the dog out.

Wicksy80 · May 2019

My wife doesn't go in our roof space so I used to smuggle new purchases in and hide them in there. I knew when I started feeling guilty for doing it, I had to stop. All purchases are now pre approved!

mak0137 · May 2019

Once found a scratched up Captain America minifigure in parking lot outside my daughter's daycare. Was complacent in turning it in to lost and found. We moved across the country a month later. Still have that minifigure.

stlux · May 2019

One of my local supermarkets from time to time has a Lego offer where you get 50% of the set's value as store credit. Strictly 1 set per customer, however the general incompetence of that store also applies to their IT system: their self-checkout machines are not aware of the 1 set limit, and happily let you scan several...
Great for sharing the promo with fellow AFOL's!

kez · May 2019

I sold LEGO to buy LEGO, shocker! :-D

CaptainPirateMan · May 2019

No real issues here, other than spent to much a couple of times. My wife loves them about as much as I do, so it's not a big deal.

LittleLori · May 2019

My bad behaviour used to come from trying to get my family to build with me and then taking over and not letting them build. I have gotten better, -now my job is to find pieces for the rest of them and let my son free build until someone needs a part in his creation.

Polyphemus · May 2019

I discovered a slow leak in the rear left tyre of my car about 10 months ago, shortly after my mechanic informed me that the tread was getting pretty low on all four. I've been dropping in to my local service station twice a week for almost a whole year now to reinflate the leaking one and I'm a bit worried about my mechanic's response when he finds out I'm driving around on the same threadbare set because I'd rather spend the money on LEGO. I get a little nervous when it rains.

dmcc0 · May 2019

Just the seemingly standard hiding stuff in the car/loft etc here too. My wife likes to complain a lot about LEGO, but gets particularly animated when larger sets get delivered so I only get the smaller stuff delivered to the house; the rest go to the office. It would look too suspicious getting it all delivered to the office though, it would be difficult to explain why the pile of unbuilt sets keeps getting bigger it no new stuff was arriving ;)

CCC · May 2019

I bought The Hobbit Barrel Escape on the way to a funeral. I didn't think about what to do with the bright yellow bag, so I had to hide it in the bible holder in the pew.

I've also arranged (international) work trips around Lego store locations but I guess that is fairly common.

pxchris · May 2019

I can't even remember how many times I've had to tell my kid to not blab to his mama about actually how much we just spent on LEGO stuffs. She doesn't need to know every detail... right??

SithLord196 · May 2019

I didn't get in trouble per say, but the release of #75192 Millennium Falcon occurred during our honeymoon and it was such a debacle trying to purchase one that my wife and I almost missed making it to breakfast that morning.

Edit: I do sometimes get in trouble simply by my wife being an enabler of my Lego interest, mainly by wincing about the value left in my bank account the next day.

redarmy · May 2019

Sperm donation....

Well not yet anyways!

ravendragonwing · June 2019

not married or have kids.......so I have nothing to hide, LOL

Maybe, chucking clothes to make room for LEGO in my suitcase?

TheFew · June 2019

Is having a lock on my Lego room ready, so when my boy grows up I can keep him out, bad?????

Brainslugged · June 2019

I was starting to think that we could end up with a rollover situation, but it looks like @TheFew timed the final post perfectly. It also means that I dodged a bullet and don't have to send a package half way round the planet.

I had to make a last minute dash 300 miles down the country today for a family situation, but I packed a grab bag of Lego items for potential prizes. So @TheFew - let me know which one of these you'd like to receive and PM me your address:

#41303 - Puppy Playground
#40178 - Exclusive VIP set
#60178 - Speed Record Car
#71022-22 - Sealed Percival Graves
#71021-8 - Sealed Classic Police Officer
#71018-6 - Sealed Hot Dog Man
#5005156 - Gingerbread Man

BTW - I loved reading all the comments. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who spends far too much time planning how to sneak Lego into the house. Some really did make me laugh out loud. @PJ76uk has me thinking that I need to throw out my spare tyres to create some extra hiding places in our cars, but I'm going to award a "best comment" prize to @CCC for having such little self-control that he (or she) has to rock up to a funeral sporting a bright yellow Lego bag. So post here what you'd like and then shoot me a PM with your address as well. If you happen to choose the same thing as @TheFew, you'll have to wait a week for me to get back home so I can dig out an additional one.

Thanks for playing, everyone.

TheFew · June 2019

Wow. Winning is an unexpected and awesome surprise. Many thanks @Brainslugged for hosting and offering such awesome prizes.

Having been so flukey I feel a bit like a VIP, so if it is OK I will go with #40178 - Exclusive VIP set.

Thanks

PS. Probably about time I hosted one of these!

snowhitie · June 2019

Congratulations @TheFew and @CCC.
Was great to read all the comments, the funeral bag made me laugh too.

stlux said:

One of my local supermarkets from time to time has a Lego offer where you get 50% of the set's value as store credit. Strictly 1 set per customer, however the general incompetence of that store also applies to their IT system: their self-checkout machines are not aware of the 1 set limit, and happily let you scan several...
Great for sharing the promo with fellow AFOL's!

I do want to add that @stlux doesn't do anything wrong in my view :)

CCC · June 2019

Brainslugged said:

but I'm going to award a "best comment" prize to @CCC for having such little self-control that he (or she) has to rock up to a funeral sporting a bright yellow Lego bag.

It wasn't lack of self control, just good planing realising I could stop off at the LEGO store on the way (knowing there wouldn't be time on the way back) combined with a bad lack of planning about where to stash it. I realise now that I should have taken a black plastic bag with me. :-)

Brainslugged · June 2019

CCC said:

It wasn't lack of self control, just good planing realising I could stop off at the LEGO store on the way

Whatever gets you to sleep at night!

Brainslugged's Brickset Bonusball Bad Behaviour Bonanza

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