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What is your fondest LEGO memory?

mn280mn280 Member Posts: 3
edited November 2020 in Everything else LEGO
Is it the first LEGO set you got? The Xmas set you build with your child?  Your partners' face when you gifted them their favorite set for Christmas?

Mine was how LEGO saved my sanity during lockdown - https://100legostories.com/2020/10/19/mylegostory/ and I would to hear and collect stories from you guys too.

560Heliport

Comments

  • truck730truck730 Member Posts: 368
    Searching for our presents(Santa thought it was a good idea to hide the presents about the house- no tree aswell) I got the post office my brother the medical centre. Oh how many times could I rebuild it and the box had alternative builds too. I moved to Britains tractors next -being a country boy ,but building tractors from what little we had. Apart from a quality toy that memory keeps it in my life
    KungFuKennymn280560HeliportGothamConstructionCo
  • AstrobricksAstrobricks Member Posts: 5,555
    Watching my 8 year old nephew open the #75055 I got him for Christmas 2015. Got a fist pump and everything! :-D
    560HeliportKungFuKennyBumblepantsMr_CrossPapaBearstlux
  • pxchrispxchris Member Posts: 2,438
    One of the LEGO memories that stick out the most for me from my childhood is receiving my first "big" LEGO set as a gift from my grandma, the #6378 Service Station. This really solidified my LEGO obsession as a kid and would lead to my lifelong passion for the brick.
    560HeliportKungFuKennymn280Mr_CrossGothamConstructionCo
  • LuLegoLuLego Member Posts: 1,010
    Very lovely topic of discussion.

    The fact that we are all AFOLs would indicate that at some point in a childhood we experienced a magical moment that stuck with us.

    I’ll enjoy reading this topic.
    KungFuKennyMr_Crosskhmellymelmn280
  • NateMN2020NateMN2020 Member Posts: 41
    Love this topic! This would fall under three categories for me...

    1) sets that I received as Christmas or birthday presents... #6396 International Jetport, and #6276 Eldorado Fortress are the two that come to mind most for this category. My first big sets that were the basis for my three decade love of Lego.

    2) smaller impulse buys usually with my Grandma at K-Mart. I specifically remember and loved #6850 Auxilary Patroller, #6851 Tri Wheeled Tyrax, and #6811 Pulsar Charger.

    3) the large sets I’d look at in the store, or ogle over in the yearly Lego catalog, knowing I’d never get to own them (at least not for a couple decades...) namely #6285 Black Seas Barracuda, #6542 Launch & Load Seaport, #4558 Metroliner, #6086 Black Knight’s Castle...many many more I could list. It’s funny, I feel like the sets I never got had more of an impression on me than the ones I owned. 
    KungFuKenny560HeliportMr_CrossMinifigInSpace
  • Speedman29Speedman29 Member Posts: 2,337
    Christmas Day in the very early 1980s, I was bought one of the basic sets. I remember picking a 2x8 brick in red and a pair of wheels on 2x2 bricks and making a simple car to drive around the dinner table while the turkey was roasting away
    KungFuKennyAstrobricks560HeliportMr_Crossbpk2300GothamConstructionCokhmellymel
  • lowleadlowlead Member Posts: 689
    edited November 2020
    Far too many to mention from childhood, but in 1999 I picked up a small set from a grocery store of all places (1097 Res-Q Runner) just for fun...
    ...and I was completely floored to discover a tiny image of a LEGO X-wing Fighter in the booklet art!  That was the day I emerged from my Dark Age.  My wallet has been terrified ever since.
    560HeliportFizyxKungFuKennyBumblepantsmn280Mr_Crossbpk2300khmellymelMinifigInSpace
  • Mr_CrossMr_Cross Member Posts: 1,713
    Going into Woolworths to buy the very last #8860 anywhere near where I lived. £25, but I got 10% off because of shelfware! This was circa 1985 and the set had long gone everywhere else! I had been eyeing up this set in Woolworths for years (it felt like). I walked down the highstreet afterwards gripping that box so tightly, it was the most money I'd ever spent.
    I was also borrowing £5 to make it happen too and that was about three months pocket money iirc. I had been working on my parents for weeks to let me get it, I'd saved Christmas and Birthday money, I feared it would be sold before I got there. I was (am still) so proud.
    560Heliportbpk2300KungFuKennyBumblepantsmn280pxchriskhmellymelstluxMinifigInSpace
  • mr_bennmr_benn Member Posts: 952
    edited November 2020
    Probably the Christmas of perhaps 1984?  My parents had bought the 12V goods train #7730, but had also bought everything needed for a town such as road plates and lots of different bricks to make houses, and had set the whole thing up for me on Christmas morning - to me it was the best Lego set up ever!  I don't remember really having any Lego at all prior to that, so it really kickstarted a life long hobby :)  Still got the train!
    560HeliportKungFuKennybpk2300MinifigInSpacePeteM
  • mn280mn280 Member Posts: 3
    Hey guys - loved the detail of the stories. Wonder if you have some suggestions.
    I am collecting several stories like these (thank you bpk300) at https://100legostories.com/. I want to have stories from all over the world, even with different languages or simply just pictures. Do you guys have any ideas where I could reach more people that would want to write? And what do you think of the idea?
  • M1J0EM1J0E Member Posts: 644
    My childhood memories are going to be similar to many of yours, but perhaps my best memory is as an adult.  Spring 2009 I wind up on a trip to Seattle, & visit the Space Needle.  As you might guess, the elevator back down drops you off in the gift shop.  Where as far as the eye could see were copies of #21003 which must’ve really just been released.  

    It looked like something I could justify buying as a souvenir even as an adult, but I was genuinely intrigued by this Lego Architecture theme it promoted.  Though I knew one or two guys that still loved Lego as adults, the idea of an AFOL was completely foreign to me at the time.  Of course more Architecture sets joined it, and eventually all kinds of expert and now 18+ sets.
    Astrobricks560HeliportFizyxKungFuKenny
  • PapaBearPapaBear Member Posts: 665
    edited December 2020
    Probably when I got the 12v train one Christmas.    I played with that thing forever.  Each year, as soon as any present was put under the tree, I would shake them to determine which ones were LEGO.  It was always relatively easy to determine how many sets I would be getting.  I also remember building #6949 while watching Star Wars one year.
    Astrobricks560HeliportvanvonfullKungFuKenny
  • eggsheneggshen Member Posts: 602
    My fondest memory is using my cousins' hand-me-down LEGO parts to build an AT-ST, Bespin cloud car, and carbonite freezing chamber for my Kenner action figures. I glued them with white school glue, and they stayed together for most of my childhood. They were made of a variety of colors, like I said it was all second hand LEGO bricks. My cousins must have had a couple of technic sets because I remember also building a number of contraptions with my dad with gears, string, technic beams, and motors (pretty sure there was at least 1 blue base thing).
    I think I have a Polaroid of the Star Wars vehicles around here somewhere....
    560HeliportKungFuKennymn280
  • 8BrickMario8BrickMario Member Posts: 29
    edited December 2020
    I used to go to garage sales in mine and surrounding neighborhoods, and family friends knew to dump any outgrown LEGO from their kids on me, so I got a lot of cool parts and minifigures from those hauls. One, I had for a long time: the dress slope for the Fright Knights witch (Willa in the U.S. ). The piece was unusual because those bricks didn't have tubes in them underneath yet and were a different, smoother texture, but I didn't have any torsos that went with the dress, so it languished in my collection for some years. I thought it would have been cool to have the whole figure since I love witches and she was LEGO's first, but I just had her dress. 

    Later, when I was about fifteen or sixteen, I went to the yearly fair hosted by the local church, and they had a rummage-sale table with a LEGO haul in one of those chunky parts buckets that had a 4x4 plate-textured lid. I scooped it up on principle, but when I opened it and looked through, among the pieces was the entire top half of Willa the Witch--and it was the caped version, too! As soon as I went home, I put the minifigure together. I'll never know if the halves belonged to one Willa originally and I reunited them from two LEGO clearouts within one family, or if I happened to get each half alone from two households, but I have the deluxe version of LEGO's first witch, and a minifigure older than I am. Having her is very special, but getting her? That was magic.
    560HeliportAstrobricksFizyxmn280Bumblepantsbpk2300catwranglerKungFuKennyWesterBricks
  • mn280mn280 Member Posts: 3
    Loving the stories. I have been collecting a few more and already have 24, including from the son of a LEGO inventor in the 70's, a guy that built a wall out of a LEGO and story of a Master Builder in the Netherlands. In case you guys want to take a look - https://100legostories.com/all-stories/ and if you have anything you would like to share there, pls let me know. It may take me 10 years, but I will get to 100.
  • catwranglercatwrangler Member Posts: 1,895
    It's funny how clearly I remember acquiring many of my childhood Lego sets. I never owned any of the huge sets until my teens, when a local toy shop began to deep discount the flagship sets from various themes, but it was always special to get to pick out one of the pocket money sets when I was younger, and the Castle sets are particularly vivid in my memory. 

    Back then, the overall range of pieces and colours was so much smaller, so any new item had a greater impact: it was quite something to get my first Lego ghost, for instance, or the Robin Hood figure. And there were a couple of Christmases, aged nine and thirteen I think, when I got a few sets and enjoyed spending betwixtmas building under the tree.
    BumblepantsKungFuKenny
  • gratefulnatgratefulnat Member Posts: 432
    Spidrax said:
    That was a real joy to read, thanks for sharing!
    Spidraxcatwrangler
  • eMJeeNLeMJeeNL Member Posts: 817
    Hmmm my first real memory I recall is buying my first "big" set from my saved up pocketmoney - #6886 Galactic Space Keeper. I remember vividly putting it together on the table in the backyard of my parents house, and afterwards flying around the garden. I think I was about 7 years old by then, and already had a pretty nice collection of sets, but the first set you get get yourself... Wow!

    Also remember another set I bought myself, after some diligent saving up: #6484 F1 Hauler. One of two 9V sets I owned, and my pride and joy. One day, the husband of our babysitter saw it, and asked if he could borrow the tiny motor for showing in his classroom - he was an arts and crafts teacher. I got it back broken. I was SO angry... but my parents didn't want to make him get me a new motor. I still have the dead one in my collection.

    My most recent great memory concerns the utter joy my oldest (then 4,5yrs) had when Sinterklaas got him #60198 Cargo Train last year. He hugged the box for about 10 mins and then started building :)
    560HeliportKungFuKennymn280catwranglerlowlead
  • MrJacksonMrJackson Member Posts: 454
    I would distill mine down to 1995, getting #6597 Century Skyway at the conclusion of 5th grade. 

    A much more recent example is merely several weeks ago when I was able to build my UCS Falcon and place it in its permanent home in my Death Star Docking Bay coffee table. 

    560HeliportCymbelinemn280lowlead
  • TheOtherMikeTheOtherMike Member Posts: 10
    I still remember seeing the trailer for The Lego Movie when I went to see Despicable Me 2. I had forgotten the movie was coming out, so when Emmet showed up, I was like, "Oh yeah, they're doing that!" After the trailer, I was thinking, "Well, even if the movie sucks, seeing that was well worth the cost of the ticket."
    560HeliportKungFuKenny
  • PeteMPeteM Member Posts: 447
    My dad letting me choose #6368 from Toys R Us on the way to the hospital to meet my new sibling. Then being so disappointed that it was a brother and not the sister I thought I had been promised, that I spent the whole of visiting time sitting under the hospital bed building it. 

    Also - setting up my 12v train set every Christmas in the expectation that at least one of my presents would be something I could add to the layout - more points, or a signal, or extra carriages…
    560HeliportlowleadKungFuKenny
  • scottdd2scottdd2 Member Posts: 168
    Wow, where to start?

    Receiving #7727 for Christmas while on holidays and not being able to wait to build it so spent ages building and playing on an outdoor table near the beach.
    Buying #7725 with my own money that I had saved up.
    Getting #6399 and then finding another at a garage sale for cheap so picked up a second set.
    Sitting with my Dad in town getting lunch and going through the catalogue and seeing the new 9v train line for the first time.
    Building "huge" cities in my room then meticulously drawing out the layout on graph paper the noting the vehicles and every detail followed by some photos and making little booklets on each city.
    The big hauls when you get to spend all your birthday money and pocket money that you've been saving up and you walk out with an arm full of sets. 
     
    Then of course there's the building with my kids as they started to get into the hobby.

    Seeing MOCs come to life as you build them from LDD.
    560HeliportlowleadKungFuKennyPeteMcatwrangler
  • lowleadlowlead Member Posts: 689
    Too many to list, but one memory in particular stands out....
    I absolutely coveted the #6928 Uranium Search Vehicle - I wanted that set so bad!  Finally that summer I went to Child World at the Hanover Mall (USA, Massachusetts) and got one.  Although I couldn't open it until my birthday in August, I remember riding home on the highway in the back of our pickup truck - back when that wasn't outlawed - with the set in the shopping bag right next to me.  That was enough - just to know I had it.  Finally! =oD
    iwybsKungFuKennyBumblepantsMarshallmario
  • The_RancorThe_Rancor Member Posts: 2,619
    If I’m allowed I’d say 2 key Lego memories. Obviously the Lego Inside Tour was unforgettable and had so many experiences to remember!

    But if I go further back Christmas ‘99 was probably one of my most memorable ones in terms of Lego pressies. I managed to take a paused still of a home video including #4980 The Tunnel Transport from Rock Raiders but I also got some Adventurers and Castle Ninja that year too. Over 20 years later I’ve always loved the themes that took these as inspiration, even though I’m quite selective on Ninjago because there’s just so much of it!


    lowleadKungFuKenny560HeliportBumblepantsMarshallmario
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,833
    My fondest memory (of among many) of LEGO as a kid was my brother and I spying for Christmas presents and finding the #6384 Police Station and #6373 motorcycle shop in a large bag of other stuff. I think another was when I was really young and recalling my Mom bought me a #6606 Road repair set and just like starting at the box all the car ride home.
    lowleadBumblepantsKungFuKennyMarshallmario
  • gelkstergelkster Member Posts: 927
    Last year when my.wife brought home (31) 1-gallon Ziplocs of Lego, for which she paid $1 a bag
    560HeliportWesterBricks
  • gelkstergelkster Member Posts: 927
    edited January 2022
    Getting #487 for Christmas when I was 7 (1978) still my favorite all-time set & can build it w/o instructions 

    Christmas 1979 I got #483 & I would go under the tree & shake the box every day. I remember counting off "2 [studs] in & 15 down" to put the blue 1x4 brick in place

    & then at age 7 getting #948 & proudly completing it w/ no trouble cuz the age range said "9-14" 
    Bumblepants560HeliportMarshallmarioKungFuKennyWesterBricks
  • gelkstergelkster Member Posts: 927
    edited January 2022
    & I feel like I've posted this story before but I knew I was getting #6375-2 for Christmas 1980(?) & my mom didnt bother hiding it, she just kept it in a bag at her bedside. As a latchkey kid I was left home alone for an hour or so every schoolday morning so I'd go in my parents' room & just stare at the box cover, wishing Christmas would hurry up & arrive.

    Then Christmas Eve came & I eagerly built the set but my younger cousin got into the stickers & screwed up one of the gas pumps. I think that was the same occasion she dumped all the fishfood AND Makit & Bakit crystals into my aquarium (IN MY ROOM) & killed all my goldfish.

    Man now I feel like building that again!
    560HeliportlowleadmadforLEGOFizyxKungFuKennyWesterBricks
  • ModeltrainmanModeltrainman Member Posts: 1,316
    Alright, I'll help @mn280! Let's see... Um...Well, I was born in 1989, not expected to live, if I did, I was expected to be unable to do anything...By God's grace, just look at my threads here...
  • Sethro3Sethro3 Member Posts: 1,015
    Some of my fondest memories were going to Pamida (regional small version of Walmart) in the late 80s/early90s and just looking at the Pirates sets and Castle sets with the flip lids. I eventually would own most of those sets at holidays over the years, but just looking at them was so exciting! Boxes today are meh in comparison.

    Even just flipping through the little catalogs and circling the sets I want and going back through and continuing to look. I still have all of my catalogs from when I was a kid. I went through them not too long ago and would see which sets I wanted back then.

    Fondest memory for my kiddo. She always talked about wanting to become a doctor when she grew up, so a stocking stuffer one year was a minifigure of a female head and hair that looked like hers on a doctor body. She was overjoyed. So weird when it is such a cheap present that they love the most.
    WesterBricks560HeliportpxchrisCymbelineModeltrainmanKungFuKennycatwrangler
  • blokey9blokey9 Member Posts: 265
    The only set i had as a kid was #733 and i loved playing with it. I would build the 5 main sets, try to build the other sets pictured on the box or just spend hours building whatever. i don't have that imagination anymore. i see a box of loose parts and think meh, and move on.
    KungFuKenny
  • MCNwakeboardMCNwakeboard Member Posts: 321
    Filling out and sending in a shop at home order form and waiting in anticipation for it to randomly arrive. 

    madforLEGO560Heliportscottdd2BumblepantsWesterBricksKungFuKennySumoLego
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,833
    MCNwakeboard said:
    Filling out and sending in a shop at home order form and waiting in anticipation for it to randomly arrive. 


    I never got the opportunity to buy from the part order form, but I wish I had considering some of the parts packs they had in the 80's
    560HeliportKungFuKenny
  • scottdd2scottdd2 Member Posts: 168
    Is it just me or are the set numbers linking to the minifig or parts page not the image of the set?
  • TheOriginalSimonBTheOriginalSimonB Member Posts: 1,793
    No idea what the first set I encountered was - I know we had Duplo and inherited various bits from Cousins but I have just found this photo from my 4th birthday in 1975 and suspect the bottom of the present pile there may be the first one bought specifically for me...


    560HeliportmadforLEGOAstrobricksKungFuKennycatwrangler
  • WesterBricksWesterBricks Member Posts: 955
    scottdd2 said:
    Is it just me or are the set numbers linking to the minifig or parts page not the image of the set?
    Do you click around to the different tabs when browsing a set?  In my experience, Brickset "remembers" the last thing you looked at, and will take you back to the same page for a different set.
    560HeliportAstrobricks
  • OldfanOldfan Member Posts: 707
    TheOriginalSimonB said:
    No idea what the first set I encountered was - I know we had Duplo and inherited various bits from Cousins but I have just found this photo from my 4th birthday in 1975 and suspect the bottom of the present pile there may be the first one bought specifically for me...



    I loved those old Universal Building Sets from the 70's/80's.  My brother and I each had a copy of #113, and I made some incredible MOC's with those bricks back in the day. Good times.

    At first I thought you were going to say the the cake was chocolate-covered Duplo pieces...that would have been an interesting memory indeed!
    madforLEGO560Heliportgmonkey76TheOriginalSimonBpxchrisKungFuKenny
  • AstrobricksAstrobricks Member Posts: 5,555
    Oldfan said:
    TheOriginalSimonB said:
    No idea what the first set I encountered was - I know we had Duplo and inherited various bits from Cousins but I have just found this photo from my 4th birthday in 1975 and suspect the bottom of the present pile there may be the first one bought specifically for me...



    I loved those old Universal Building Sets from the 70's/80's.  My brother and I each had a copy of #113, and I made some incredible MOC's with those bricks back in the day. Good times.

    At first I thought you were going to say the the cake was chocolate-covered Duplo pieces...that would have been an interesting memory indeed!
    Gotta give props to the Hostess Ho-Ho based train cake! :-D
    560HeliportGrannyLEGOKungFuKenny
  • TheOriginalSimonBTheOriginalSimonB Member Posts: 1,793
    Astrobricks said:
    Gotta give props to the Hostess Ho-Ho based train cake! :-D
    Well, Sainsburys mini Swiss rolls at least. In 1975 Britain the only Hostess product we knew about was the odd mention of a Twinkie in an imported comic.
    AstrobricksKungFuKenny
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