One phase that isn’t included in this vid is becoming interested in LEGO because you have children that enjoy the hobby. This may morph into becoming a lone AFOL when your children grow older and are no longer interested in the hobby. (my story).
Hi Thomas, thanks for posting. Yes what you describe is definitely an entry path into Lego. I would actually say it's a common pathway into the Lego Newbie phase and then as you say you evolve with the hobby to becoming an AFOL even if or when your kids grow out of the hobby. One thing I wanted to share, make sure you keep the Lego sets your children played with as they grew up. It was such a (nostalgic) treat to see and discover my childhood Lego decades after having played with it. As my mother kindly kept it all. Food for thought. Have a superb week!
Thank you for the reply… and thank you for the tip. I am possibly a bit of an AFOL anomaly. I don’t buy LEGO sets or parts and pieces from LEGO. As with many people, we originally bought LEGO from garage sales and thrift stores, and then begin free building with them. (it wasn’t until much later that we found out that our creations were termed as “MOC’s” by the LEGO community) Then I discovered Bricklink!! (about 20+ years ago). I ended up buying tens of thousands of pieces of LEGO from Mom-n-pop stores all over the planet. (I was desperate to find Pink brick to build a castle for my daughter … Pink brick was really difficult to come by back in those days) I have saved the Pink and Gold castle that my daughter and I built about 20 years ago .
I'm definitely in the exhausted afol category, fed up with so many releases, not enough space, sets being too expensive, feel Lego have got lazy etc. I'm now been far more selective and have even sold off the majority of my huge star wars collection as this was the biggest noose round my neck. Great video, thanks!
I've become a bit exhausted in the hobby as well. I have several large sets sitting in their boxes because I know I have no space for them and recently I've been selling off my UCS Star Wars sets in favour of play-sets that are minifigure scale or close to it.
@@majora56 Same with me, stuff still boxed that I want on display but lack the room. Opposite to yourself I sold all the smaller scale Star Wars sets first, and now considering the UCS sets. I certainly need to sell the Star Destroyer, I've really grown to dislike that thing due to it basically being a massive big grey triangle that takes up a ridiculous amount of space. The UCS Venator would have been a better option on reflection. Hopefully one day we don't regret selling it all 😂
Great comment! It's really interesting how you described your Star Wars Lego collection as being a 'noose round your neck' as in feeling that weight of obligation. There's this saying that 'The things you own end up owning you' and I think this can be true of Lego where we feel obligated to collect and have the next and the next and the next set. But like you I've let go of that need, and I typically just focus on custom builds now or if I buy a set it usually a Modular building or something that I think is pretty cool or even a set that I want to mod for a future video.
@CraftedBricks I've always struggled with collecting because I'm a bit if a completist, and once I start I'm all in, which to be honest is an unhealthy and unsustainable way to collect, in my opinion. I've managed to brake that cycle now and I've learnt to be much more selective with my collecting and it has made it more enjoyable. Glad you found a better way to enjoy the hobby too, one day I'd like to take a similar route and creat my own stuff I think. I look forward to seeing how you get on with your future custom builds and mods, and thank you for the great content you put out!
@@totallyaddicted2bricks989 I'm the same, though recently I've managed to break the cycle as well and right now I only collect the best of the best in the scale that I want them in. If the build isn't as good as it could be or doesn't display well I part it out or sell it. Assault on Hoth was the first build I parted out and after I parted it out I felt so much better. I still kept the Snowspeeder, Tauntaun and Wampa as well as all the minifigures but if I already have a UCS AT-AT to store somewhere and display why bother with Assault on Hoth? At least Mos Eisley Cantina is close to minifigure scale, highly detailed and in no way disproportionate from one side-build to the next.
I like this video. It all makes sense. My brother got me back into Lego about 10 years ago, and I thought, at the time, that it would be a fun thing to do with my 8 year old daughter. So I built an “L” shaped Lego display table for us to work on. The long part of the L was my city, and the short part was her fantasy world. I enjoyed the thoughtlessness of just following instructions and not having to come up with my own ideas. It might be helpful to know that I design and construct stages for musicals, and I’m a high school art teacher. My entire life is making things, stages, lesson plans, my own art…etc. So Lego was a nice way for me to not have to think about what I’m doing. It was meditative. So I kind of circumvented the whole MOC phase. I just can’t do it. I get paid to make stuff. I don’t have time to make my own stuff. Well, I got carried away with Lego, and still am. My 18 year old child however probably never cared about it at all. You said to sell off all the little random sets that you don’t care about, but also said don’t sell your children’s sets. My child doesn’t care about them, we barely ever played with them. So my question is…what is the best way to sell off all this Minecraft, Friends, Disney princesses, Elves, Harry Potter, and all the other forgotten stuff in my house. I always thought that I would just open a bricklink store, but I am so busy with life most of the time, I’d certainly get bad feedback for being late or whatever. Is there a better way, or the best way to sell off this stuff? eBay? Whatnot? Facebook marketplace? What do you think?
Thanks for sharing your story and experience it was a great read. And I understand the appeal, joy and simplicity of building standard sets to instructions. It can indeed be a cathartic and meditative experience (as you've indicated) feeing your mind from having to do work to think/create/worry etc. As to your question for selling off used sets Facebook marketplace seems like a solid option, or a local classified site. Here in Australia we a site called Gumtree which I often use to sell my unwanted sets. Maybe there is a similar site where you are located. I would avoid eBay like the plague, the fees are way too high. BrickLink is decent, but best to only set-up if you have a lot to sell and take selling seriously. Good luck!
I'm really at several phases at the moment. I'm excited for new sets but feel smaller sets are cluttering my space, yet I will definitely jump on the latest Speed Champions releases but also exhausted that other themes are overpriced and not having the space for them, although that's largely a self-imposed factor as I limit them to only the smallest room in my house lol I also design and sell MOCs because of this to satisfy my urge to build smaller stuff sometimes... wonderful video!
I'm surprised at the positive engagement and response to this video. I'll certainly consider making similar styled videos for other Lego related topics in the future. Thanks for posting!
I’ve been in all but one of these phases. Currently an exhausted AFOL, even though I’ve not even been in the hobby 5 years, yet. Perfect idea for a video, Simon. Thanks for sharing.
No problem Joel. I think you and I are in a whole other phase or category, and that is the 'Exhausted Lego TH-camr'. Or maybe not exhausted, we just have a REAL understanding of the work and time that goes into, and is required, to build Lego for videos. It's a whole different experience to building just for fun.
I've been through these all! I'd say at the moment I'm post-exhausted. I'm re discovering joy that has been dormant in the hobby. I never full blown quit but I went a while without being particularly excited about it. I'm finding joy in holding out purchases for very special sets that have to check all the boxes: excited to build it, excited to display it and have an idea of where I'd like to display it, and can afford it. I'm also finding joy going through my backlog of unbuilt sets that have long been in storage and picking which ones would be fun to build or tinker with. And lastly I'm actually having a lot of fun dismantling sets that I'm no longer interested in displaying and either storing the sorted pieces together for future building or selling, or just roughly sorting them into my collection of sorted Lego. Sorting has been a great way to take inventory of my collection and be excited about possibility tinkering with mocs again. I've got a long-term desire to display at a show again (I displayed small mocs once over 10 years ago), but I'm not quite to that point yet.
Your story is interesting, it's superb to hear that taking a break has meant you've been able to re-enter the hobby with renewed enthusiasm! And also to be re-discovering your backlog with ideas to mod and improve sets is certainly a great idea. I hope I feel that way one day soon!
@@CraftedBricks Lego is for life 😎 I'm sure you'll find the spark again! Culling sets you're not excited about displaying anymore like you advised definitely helps a lot! Reduces the clutter and it feels more like carefully curating a collection rather than making room for toys. I hear board gamers experience something similar when their collections get too large!
Interesting video! I think I skipped the exhibitor and MOC enthusiast phases and have ended up in the exhausted AFOL phase. :) For quite a few sets released recently that I am interested in, I feel they are overpriced and/or have inferior design. So instead I make simple MOCs whenever I can spare the time.
I feel like there are quite a few us in the Exhausted AFOL phase at the moment. I think it is shear volume of sets Lego is pumping out + the high cost of most sets (relative to what they are) that is the culprit. All the best to you for the week ahead + some simple MOC building when time permits : )
@@CraftedBricks Thank you, same to you! I forgot to mention that space is also an issue. I do not have a spare room or basement dedicated purely to LEGO like some AFOLs, so most of the pieces are in storage apart from a few out for display. :D
I'm entering the "exhausted" phase, with all the characteristics you describe. As for your suggestions, I would add deconstructing sets. Get a bunch of "ziploc" bags from the dollar store, pull the set apart, and sort the pieces out by type. I don't try to recreate the original numbered bags, and I am simple...I enjoy sorting while watching a movie or listening to the radio. I've actually reconstructed a couple a year later. If you make the effort to sort the pieces and still have the manual, I've found they sell well locally albeit at a significant discount which is fine.
Nice idea regarding re-building old sets to re-experience the joy of the sets you already have. I have a friend who does a similar thing. Thanks for sharing!
I started just collecting vintage Star Wars mini figures and now am also now collecting select Star Wars sets (only original trilogy) Have spent nearly 1k in a year! 😫 Am very much in the ‘experienced newbie phase’
I'm on the AFOL category. However, not all characteristics you shown speaks to me as I'm not into custom models and investing lego products. Plus I'm more on buying sets that limits from $10 to $200 and only buy specific products for me to avoid overspending and use it for important things in life.
I don't think building MOCs is the natural progression of an AFOL. I have a friend of mine who builds MOCs and we constantly bicker around how we enjoy the hobby differently because I will only ever steer towards MODs of sets than MOCs. For me, my enjoyment of the hobby comes from the minifigures and creating the perfect display at the cheapest price. I also prefer LEGO sets over MOCs because they all display well except maybe one or two like the UCS Razor Crest which looks like a MOC more than a LEGO set.
Hi Lachlan, yes you are right I don't think everyone goes through all of these phases in a linear way. I think yes for the first 3 Newbie -> Exp. Newbie -> AFOL but the other three are really optional and depend on each person's experience and interests with the hobby. Most people for example won't get into Lego Exhibiting. Anyway it sounds like you've definitely found your groove with the hobby. BTW the next video (and it may take me ~4 weeks) is the Tie Fighter mod, I'm pretty excited about, thanks for the suggestion on that project!
Excellent video Simon. I believe I breezed through the first two classifications and am now firmly in AFOL status. Though the initial official Lego builds I did to kick start this hobby were enjoyable, I quickly learned that most of them, even the pricier ones seemed to have design and display compromises when compared to MOCs. Certainly that's my experience anyway. So, I strictly limit my focus now on just a few designers work, such as Mirko aka Star Bricks. I find sourcing the parts and sorting them out before commencing the build leads to a more satisfying experience. When the result is the final product of something like the K Project, for example, you certainly feel a greater sense of satisfaction than a bog standard UCS set pre-sorted into bags. But that’s my experience.
As always Daniel thank you for your support and well thought through and constructive comments! It's been a delight to see you evolve with the hobby. And I will need you aid for a video sooner than later, I'll be in touch : )
Ironically, the sets I connect with are the castle and space GWP’s. I don’t buy sets but minifigures from pick-a-brick and Brick Owl. I picked up the original series of Castle and display them and the GWP Forestman’s Hidout. I get to the threshold by buying said minifigures and animals for my children. I had them build the Yellow Castle and Knight’s Joust. Wish I had a Lego room but that is not in the cards.
It's been interesting to read in the comments that people post how much variance there is in what people build and/or collect. For you your focus is narrow but specialized and think this actually a healthy way to approach collecting Lego as it reduces overspending and keeps your collection feeling special and unique to you. Well done and thanks for posting!
I may be at the experienced newbie phase as I started getting back into lego in Feb last year. But I feel a do have shame and regret for buying so much in just over a year. I thought I could try my hand an 'investing' and reselling to help fund sets for my own. But I have a tendency to be a completionist (like when playing video games) and decided to collect all sets from a theme, and I chose Monkie Kid. Great theme and I've manage to collect all sets from the first 4 years. But as I spend more of my free time on lego, watching videos and searching for deals, I feel like I should probably stop spending so much time and money. But then I have the sunk cost fallacy, might as well keep going since I've put in the money etc. And now I've started eyeing Ninjago sets. I've kept tabs on my spending. And so far I've spent $14,000NZD. a 1/3 of which is intended to resell. But those gains aren't realised until you actually sell. And actually I've only opened 1/5 of the sets because I live in a small flat and don't actually have space to display, and thinking, one day my family and I will move out and have a decent size house. I feel I can't be honest with my wife
Hi Ray, thank you for sharing your story , I appreciate that. I've certainly been in your position with overspending on Lego and I still have too much of it. And also like you I don't have a huge amount of space to display a large volume of models. I mainly have my custom builds and things I've featured on this channel on display at home. The one saving grace with overspending on Lego is that for most part, you should be able to sell off the sets you don't want at a later point in time. Sometimes small / common sets don't sell, but large sets typically do. So that could be an option for you in the future. All the best and thanks again for sharing!
My re-entry into LEGO was via a third party company, CDX-Blocks (part of Coaster Dynamix). They make working and display roller coaster models. When I saw their LEGO compatible Cyclone coaster kit I immediately thought “I can make Sea World’s Corkscrew with that!” So I did and it takes pride of place in my bedroom. That started the ball rolling and an amusement park started taking shape. That’s when I learnt my most important lesson - don’t bite off more than you can chew! Flush with enthusiasm and marvelling at my cleverness, I then set about building a modified version of the Xcelerator launch coaster at Knotts Berry Farm. That was before the pandemic and it’s been stuck in development hell since I started laying track and realising it’s a two man job. At the same time I discovered Trixbrix custom narrow gauge track and built a powered train to take minifigs around the amusement park. Then the Orient Express was released and I jumped to a new genre, bought my childhood favourite set 7740, then 2x 60337 to build a custom Tangara inspired train. It’s all a bit scatter gun now and gotten a bit out of hand, jumping back and forth between projects.
It's really interesting to hear that your entry into the hobby was from a non-Lego competing building blocks product. That's one I've not heard before so thanks for sharing your story and thoughts. BTW that 7740 is a beautiful set, even though it is a vintage Lego train, it has so much charm!
I'm all over the place, but restraint to see Lego as an outing of individualism. So MOC building I might try for myself, i.e., not for publishing and/or exhibiting at a show, and that's okay. I absolutely appreciate well designed Lego themes, such as Lego Space, or some of the IP related stuff, such as Harry Potter. I encourage people to do what they like, or love to do. While I feel uncomfortable buying Lego Friends sets at the local retailer, I do buy them online and try to build all the sets. The goofiness of Friends appeals to me, which is a guilty pleasure. So my advice to AFOLs is to engage in actual meetings, not just online, to see if the Lego hobby suits you. Thank you CraftedBricks for taking on the difficult task on describing the AFOL community.
Hi Marc thanks for sharing. You had me grinning at avoiding buying Friends sets in-person! Hahaha I bought 2x of the Friends Botanical Gardens set to make a full model at some point. you are right some of the Friends sets are quite charming. Good point too on engaging with a local Lego group or club. Although I haven't been going to my clubs regular meeting for a while due to time constraints. I do enjoy it when I go, and often learn a lot seeing other peoples builds when they bring them to a meeting! All the best, cheers, Simon
I'd say I'm definitely in AFOL mode. I do have a spare room full of boxes of unbuilt lego not bc I don't want to or regret the purchases. But simply bc I don't have the time. I do have 3 very young children who I can't really build with yet bc they are too small for it. Though I have slowly introduced them to the Lego through 4+ sets and Duplo which they love a lot. And slowly I want to build all the other I have with them when they are a bit older. I also build and display many of my sets at work where I have the time and space to have them for a while.
Good points! Lack of time is certainly a factor when it comes to being able to build. And probably like me, even if you know you don't have the time to build a given set you may still buy it anyway when it is available at retail pricing, so that you don't miss the set and have it as an 'option' to build in the future. The Modular buildings fit this model for me, I've only built one of them, but I still buy each new annual release, so that I have the option if I choose to to build them all and create a Lego city.
Haha don't worry I too have a pile of shame! And the more I get into custom build the more likely that pile will stay put or I'll sell it off. It's too early to know. Thanks for sharing!
This is an excellent video and advice. You’ve earned new subscriber. I find it interesting and funny that such advice is needed for brick toys, but you’re spot on with the advice. ✌️😎
Aw that's awesome MoonShoes11, thanks for the sub! And I'm glad you found the video interesting. Given this video has had more interest than I expected I'll consider making more topical style video about Lego in the future. Have a great week!
I’m a theme transitioning newbie. I used to love Legos as a kid in the 80s so now I am coming back to the hobby and I feel that I just don’t have the room to collect multiple themes. I started off with Star Wars, but now I realize I don’t really like it as much as I thought I would. I find that I enjoy building cities that my superheroes can play in better. So I wanna get rid of all my Star Wars stuff, but haven’t really figured out the process.
What you described makes perfect sense Mike. It's that natural transition from Newbie to Experienced Newbie where you've figured out the type and line of sets you want to get more into, and what you want to drop or sell-off. We've all been there! In my newbie phase I bought a lot of small-mid sized Star Wars sets. I pretty quickly graduated to UCS and then custom builds, and sold off all of the initial purchases. Have a great week.
Hi Simon Nice vid Im at the afol stage but also im a completion with one line of sets. Some things that are bad with lego are the gwp of things or the employee gifts that are in the line i collect because they go up in price way to much. All i can say is that now there are way to many sets coming out and you just have to pick or choose so you dont get over whelm
Oh yes I totally agree with you ChilledOutBricks, there are just far too many sets coming out and it is easy to get overwhelmed / but also frustrated if you are into collecting a specific product line where you feel the need to keep-up and have the full set. As always thanks for commenting and for your support!
Thats ok Simon I dont mine helping out nice people which your just one of the few left. Im just about to start my city construction that seams to be different to the main. I only have 1 modular building because it had meaning to me. but its like life just get what you want with your means and have fun. One day something might happen where you cant do the things you loved.
Hey Simon. Good to see you back and I hope the website is going well. You had me 😳 with the term 'pile of shame', as I call it my backlog. But in my defence I've been having major buiding work done in the house the last year. Though have still been buying, but haven't been able to build or display as much because of it. So what was my backlog prior, has now truly become my pile of shame 😂 Great video by the way 👍🏽I'd say I'm definitely in the AFOL stage being 4 years back into the hobby, but I'm also partly in the Exhausted AFOL too with the amount of new releases, being more critical of sets and the prices, but more importantly prioritising the sets I actually want. That was also a good tip with not collecting the smaller sets, as they do become clutter. Anyway cheers again mate and I look forward to the next video.
Hi Emerson, great comment, thanks for sharing! I too have a 'significant' pile of shame, so I'm guilty as charged on that front. My pile includes not only standard Lego sets but some significant custom build projects where the parts are sitting safely in several large boxes. I find my major impediment to reducing that pile is: time. With work, regular life, like you I'm renovating at the moment, TH-cam work and so on, I just don't have the time to build as much as I would like. I'm glad you enjoyed in the video have a superb week ahead!
I am or was a Lego MOC enthusiast I enjoy the mental challenges I can give myself by thinking outside the box and in doing, so I need some help in doing this but Lego got upset with me and threw me under the bus I was not asking for anything to br given to me for free I was happy to pay the price my questions where just questions, but outside of their mental safety box something Lego cannot do for anyone ever making a exhausted AFOL, but thanks to their sillyness I now have other bricks to fill in that gap to bad Lego I was now thier side, but not any more, When I say I don't about Lego I say this from the aspect of a true Frenchmen that Frankly Dear I Don't Give A DAMN; Lego you just may me a stronger brick builder now I double down thinking outside the box, and that is Lego fault I work around Lego not with Lego!
Heres one, The buyer of MOC designs who gets them and then ends up waiting and waiting for the set you need to go on sale because you need 3 or 4 of them...only for the set to NEVER go on sale again and to end up discontinued, 4 or 5 times now easily, maybe far more thinking about it. Hundreds for absolutely nothing...and yet it keeps happening, just throwing money away.
Hi Neil, thanks for commenting. When you buy a MOC design don't you normally buy the parts you need from BrickLink? You don't actually need to buy sets or wait for them to go on sale, you can most definitely get everything you need for pretty much any MOC from BrickLink.
@@CraftedBricks No, buying off bricklink can be expensive so I moved to a different method. Instead you buy a design that uses 3 or 5 of one or two sets, this way everythings in the boxes and if you can get the sets on sale it makes it quite a cheap way of doing MOCs....IF you can find them on sale BEFORE they stop making them AND you remember which sets you are after. Im after 4 of the creator castle so I can build a HUGE castle or Two of the Orient Express and one passenger train will make a very nice train but six wide instead of the 8 wide Orient, so its lighter and runs better. Buying sets is cheaper than buying thousands of parts, thats if you can find the parts without having to buy from 15 different sellers some are 10,000 miles away and it gets delayed weeks in customs and sliced open so half the bricks are missing...can be hard work, simpler to buy 5 sets and know you have EVERYTHING.
I'm surprised at just how many people have responded to the video to indicate that like you and I, they are Exhausted AFOLs. I kind of can't take a break from Lego as I have this channel to keep going, but I have slowed down, which is refreshing. All the best to you!
@@CraftedBricks Thank you for that! i appreciate that! our family dont afford real lego to buy i was only able to showcase real lego because of the previous support i had with the community. and i am very thankful for that! I don't have new lego for a while now that is why i am only using images in the net i can to continue showcase lefgo as my content 😅
It is surprising how many people have responded to say they are in this phase too! I think it is the sheer volume and high cost of sets that Lego release that make us feel this way. It's too much to keep up with.
I'm definitely over the Lego social media hype train. I unsubscribe/avoid any channel sponsored by Lego, anything about Lego investing, leaks and early reviews, etc. I just want intelligent, thoughtful, unbiased coverage that isn't focused on FOMO and conspicuous consumption and money. The Lego hobby should be relaxing and fun, and coverage shouldn't be about people breathlessly shilling for Lego because they and Lego are in bed together behind the scenes.
That's certainly a strong comment and view, but, I hear you and understand. I to certainly feel over the constant cycle of the next and then the next and then the next set release and associated hype video on TH-cam. I do think though that some channels that review standard Lego sets provide a valuable service to the community, as they allow us to see the set in detail and make an informed decision on whether we should buy it or not.
@@CraftedBricks There are some great channels that discuss and review Lego. What I avoid are the sponsored channels because of their clear conflict of interest.
One phase that isn’t included in this vid is becoming interested in LEGO because you have children that enjoy the hobby. This may morph into becoming a lone AFOL when your children grow older and are no longer interested in the hobby. (my story).
Hi Thomas, thanks for posting. Yes what you describe is definitely an entry path into Lego. I would actually say it's a common pathway into the Lego Newbie phase and then as you say you evolve with the hobby to becoming an AFOL even if or when your kids grow out of the hobby. One thing I wanted to share, make sure you keep the Lego sets your children played with as they grew up. It was such a (nostalgic) treat to see and discover my childhood Lego decades after having played with it. As my mother kindly kept it all. Food for thought. Have a superb week!
Thank you for the reply… and thank you for the tip. I am possibly a bit of an AFOL anomaly. I don’t buy LEGO sets or parts and pieces from LEGO.
As with many people, we originally bought LEGO from garage sales and thrift stores, and then begin free building with them. (it wasn’t until much later that we found out that our creations were termed as “MOC’s” by the LEGO community)
Then I discovered Bricklink!! (about 20+ years ago). I ended up buying tens of thousands of pieces of LEGO from Mom-n-pop stores all over the planet. (I was desperate to find Pink brick to build a castle for my daughter … Pink brick was really difficult to come by back in those days)
I have saved the Pink and Gold castle that my daughter and I built about 20 years ago .
Yeah it is more like phase zéro. Coming back from the dark age because you buy for your children and play with them
I'm definitely in the exhausted afol category, fed up with so many releases, not enough space, sets being too expensive, feel Lego have got lazy etc. I'm now been far more selective and have even sold off the majority of my huge star wars collection as this was the biggest noose round my neck.
Great video, thanks!
I've become a bit exhausted in the hobby as well. I have several large sets sitting in their boxes because I know I have no space for them and recently I've been selling off my UCS Star Wars sets in favour of play-sets that are minifigure scale or close to it.
@@majora56 Same with me, stuff still boxed that I want on display but lack the room. Opposite to yourself I sold all the smaller scale Star Wars sets first, and now considering the UCS sets. I certainly need to sell the Star Destroyer, I've really grown to dislike that thing due to it basically being a massive big grey triangle that takes up a ridiculous amount of space. The UCS Venator would have been a better option on reflection. Hopefully one day we don't regret selling it all 😂
Great comment! It's really interesting how you described your Star Wars Lego collection as being a 'noose round your neck' as in feeling that weight of obligation. There's this saying that 'The things you own end up owning you' and I think this can be true of Lego where we feel obligated to collect and have the next and the next and the next set. But like you I've let go of that need, and I typically just focus on custom builds now or if I buy a set it usually a Modular building or something that I think is pretty cool or even a set that I want to mod for a future video.
@CraftedBricks I've always struggled with collecting because I'm a bit if a completist, and once I start I'm all in, which to be honest is an unhealthy and unsustainable way to collect, in my opinion. I've managed to brake that cycle now and I've learnt to be much more selective with my collecting and it has made it more enjoyable.
Glad you found a better way to enjoy the hobby too, one day I'd like to take a similar route and creat my own stuff I think.
I look forward to seeing how you get on with your future custom builds and mods, and thank you for the great content you put out!
@@totallyaddicted2bricks989 I'm the same, though recently I've managed to break the cycle as well and right now I only collect the best of the best in the scale that I want them in. If the build isn't as good as it could be or doesn't display well I part it out or sell it. Assault on Hoth was the first build I parted out and after I parted it out I felt so much better. I still kept the Snowspeeder, Tauntaun and Wampa as well as all the minifigures but if I already have a UCS AT-AT to store somewhere and display why bother with Assault on Hoth? At least Mos Eisley Cantina is close to minifigure scale, highly detailed and in no way disproportionate from one side-build to the next.
I like this video. It all makes sense. My brother got me back into Lego about 10 years ago, and I thought, at the time, that it would be a fun thing to do with my 8 year old daughter. So I built an “L” shaped Lego display table for us to work on. The long part of the L was my city, and the short part was her fantasy world.
I enjoyed the thoughtlessness of just following instructions and not having to come up with my own ideas. It might be helpful to know that I design and construct stages for musicals, and I’m a high school art teacher. My entire life is making things, stages, lesson plans, my own art…etc. So Lego was a nice way for me to not have to think about what I’m doing. It was meditative. So I kind of circumvented the whole MOC phase. I just can’t do it. I get paid to make stuff. I don’t have time to make my own stuff.
Well, I got carried away with Lego, and still am. My 18 year old child however probably never cared about it at all.
You said to sell off all the little random sets that you don’t care about, but also said don’t sell your children’s sets. My child doesn’t care about them, we barely ever played with them.
So my question is…what is the best way to sell off all this Minecraft, Friends, Disney princesses, Elves, Harry Potter, and all the other forgotten stuff in my house.
I always thought that I would just open a bricklink store, but I am so busy with life most of the time, I’d certainly get bad feedback for being late or whatever. Is there a better way, or the best way to sell off this stuff? eBay? Whatnot? Facebook marketplace? What do you think?
Thanks for sharing your story and experience it was a great read. And I understand the appeal, joy and simplicity of building standard sets to instructions. It can indeed be a cathartic and meditative experience (as you've indicated) feeing your mind from having to do work to think/create/worry etc.
As to your question for selling off used sets Facebook marketplace seems like a solid option, or a local classified site. Here in Australia we a site called Gumtree which I often use to sell my unwanted sets. Maybe there is a similar site where you are located. I would avoid eBay like the plague, the fees are way too high. BrickLink is decent, but best to only set-up if you have a lot to sell and take selling seriously. Good luck!
I'm really at several phases at the moment. I'm excited for new sets but feel smaller sets are cluttering my space, yet I will definitely jump on the latest Speed Champions releases but also exhausted that other themes are overpriced and not having the space for them, although that's largely a self-imposed factor as I limit them to only the smallest room in my house lol I also design and sell MOCs because of this to satisfy my urge to build smaller stuff sometimes... wonderful video!
It's good to read in your comment that you design & sell MOCS - do you have a Rebrickable profile I can check out? I'd love to have a look : )
Very interesting video, seems you nailed something that is not often covered.
I'm surprised at the positive engagement and response to this video. I'll certainly consider making similar styled videos for other Lego related topics in the future. Thanks for posting!
I’ve been in all but one of these phases. Currently an exhausted AFOL, even though I’ve not even been in the hobby 5 years, yet.
Perfect idea for a video, Simon. Thanks for sharing.
No problem Joel. I think you and I are in a whole other phase or category, and that is the 'Exhausted Lego TH-camr'. Or maybe not exhausted, we just have a REAL understanding of the work and time that goes into, and is required, to build Lego for videos. It's a whole different experience to building just for fun.
Oh, yes.
I've been through these all! I'd say at the moment I'm post-exhausted. I'm re discovering joy that has been dormant in the hobby. I never full blown quit but I went a while without being particularly excited about it. I'm finding joy in holding out purchases for very special sets that have to check all the boxes: excited to build it, excited to display it and have an idea of where I'd like to display it, and can afford it. I'm also finding joy going through my backlog of unbuilt sets that have long been in storage and picking which ones would be fun to build or tinker with. And lastly I'm actually having a lot of fun dismantling sets that I'm no longer interested in displaying and either storing the sorted pieces together for future building or selling, or just roughly sorting them into my collection of sorted Lego. Sorting has been a great way to take inventory of my collection and be excited about possibility tinkering with mocs again. I've got a long-term desire to display at a show again (I displayed small mocs once over 10 years ago), but I'm not quite to that point yet.
Your story is interesting, it's superb to hear that taking a break has meant you've been able to re-enter the hobby with renewed enthusiasm! And also to be re-discovering your backlog with ideas to mod and improve sets is certainly a great idea. I hope I feel that way one day soon!
@@CraftedBricks Lego is for life 😎
I'm sure you'll find the spark again! Culling sets you're not excited about displaying anymore like you advised definitely helps a lot! Reduces the clutter and it feels more like carefully curating a collection rather than making room for toys. I hear board gamers experience something similar when their collections get too large!
Interesting video! I think I skipped the exhibitor and MOC enthusiast phases and have ended up in the exhausted AFOL phase. :) For quite a few sets released recently that I am interested in, I feel they are overpriced and/or have inferior design. So instead I make simple MOCs whenever I can spare the time.
I feel like there are quite a few us in the Exhausted AFOL phase at the moment. I think it is shear volume of sets Lego is pumping out + the high cost of most sets (relative to what they are) that is the culprit. All the best to you for the week ahead + some simple MOC building when time permits : )
@@CraftedBricks Thank you, same to you! I forgot to mention that space is also an issue. I do not have a spare room or basement dedicated purely to LEGO like some AFOLs, so most of the pieces are in storage apart from a few out for display. :D
I'm entering the "exhausted" phase, with all the characteristics you describe. As for your suggestions, I would add deconstructing sets. Get a bunch of "ziploc" bags from the dollar store, pull the set apart, and sort the pieces out by type. I don't try to recreate the original numbered bags, and I am simple...I enjoy sorting while watching a movie or listening to the radio. I've actually reconstructed a couple a year later. If you make the effort to sort the pieces and still have the manual, I've found they sell well locally albeit at a significant discount which is fine.
Nice idea regarding re-building old sets to re-experience the joy of the sets you already have. I have a friend who does a similar thing. Thanks for sharing!
I started just collecting vintage Star Wars mini figures and now am also now collecting select Star Wars sets (only original trilogy)
Have spent nearly 1k in a year! 😫
Am very much in the ‘experienced newbie phase’
It's incredibly easy to overspend on Lego, you are not alone my friend we all do it when first venture into the hobby!
I'm on the AFOL category.
However, not all characteristics you shown speaks to me as I'm not into custom models and investing lego products.
Plus I'm more on buying sets that limits from $10 to $200 and only buy specific products for me to avoid overspending and use it for important things in life.
It certainly sounds like you have your take on this hobby figured out! I like your take on limiting yourself to sets < $200 what a great way to save.
I don't think building MOCs is the natural progression of an AFOL. I have a friend of mine who builds MOCs and we constantly bicker around how we enjoy the hobby differently because I will only ever steer towards MODs of sets than MOCs. For me, my enjoyment of the hobby comes from the minifigures and creating the perfect display at the cheapest price. I also prefer LEGO sets over MOCs because they all display well except maybe one or two like the UCS Razor Crest which looks like a MOC more than a LEGO set.
Hi Lachlan, yes you are right I don't think everyone goes through all of these phases in a linear way. I think yes for the first 3 Newbie -> Exp. Newbie -> AFOL but the other three are really optional and depend on each person's experience and interests with the hobby. Most people for example won't get into Lego Exhibiting. Anyway it sounds like you've definitely found your groove with the hobby. BTW the next video (and it may take me ~4 weeks) is the Tie Fighter mod, I'm pretty excited about, thanks for the suggestion on that project!
Excellent video Simon. I believe I breezed through the first two classifications and am now firmly in AFOL status. Though the initial official Lego builds I did to kick start this hobby were enjoyable, I quickly learned that most of them, even the pricier ones seemed to have design and display compromises when compared to MOCs. Certainly that's my experience anyway. So, I strictly limit my focus now on just a few designers work, such as Mirko aka Star Bricks.
I find sourcing the parts and sorting them out before commencing the build leads to a more satisfying experience. When the result is the final product of something like the K Project, for example, you certainly feel a greater sense of satisfaction than a bog standard UCS set pre-sorted into bags.
But that’s my experience.
As always Daniel thank you for your support and well thought through and constructive comments! It's been a delight to see you evolve with the hobby. And I will need you aid for a video sooner than later, I'll be in touch : )
Ironically, the sets I connect with are the castle and space GWP’s. I don’t buy sets but minifigures from pick-a-brick and Brick Owl. I picked up the original series of Castle and display them and the GWP Forestman’s Hidout. I get to the threshold by buying said minifigures and animals for my children. I had them build the Yellow Castle and Knight’s Joust. Wish I had a Lego room but that is not in the cards.
It's been interesting to read in the comments that people post how much variance there is in what people build and/or collect. For you your focus is narrow but specialized and think this actually a healthy way to approach collecting Lego as it reduces overspending and keeps your collection feeling special and unique to you. Well done and thanks for posting!
You nailed it! Amazing videoclip! Thanks a lot!
Awesome! Thanks for posting that it brought a smile to my face this morning! Have a superb weekend ahead : )
I may be at the experienced newbie phase as I started getting back into lego in Feb last year.
But I feel a do have shame and regret for buying so much in just over a year. I thought I could try my hand an 'investing' and reselling to help fund sets for my own. But I have a tendency to be a completionist (like when playing video games) and decided to collect all sets from a theme, and I chose Monkie Kid. Great theme and I've manage to collect all sets from the first 4 years. But as I spend more of my free time on lego, watching videos and searching for deals, I feel like I should probably stop spending so much time and money. But then I have the sunk cost fallacy, might as well keep going since I've put in the money etc. And now I've started eyeing Ninjago sets.
I've kept tabs on my spending. And so far I've spent $14,000NZD. a 1/3 of which is intended to resell. But those gains aren't realised until you actually sell. And actually I've only opened 1/5 of the sets because I live in a small flat and don't actually have space to display, and thinking, one day my family and I will move out and have a decent size house.
I feel I can't be honest with my wife
Hi Ray, thank you for sharing your story , I appreciate that. I've certainly been in your position with overspending on Lego and I still have too much of it. And also like you I don't have a huge amount of space to display a large volume of models. I mainly have my custom builds and things I've featured on this channel on display at home. The one saving grace with overspending on Lego is that for most part, you should be able to sell off the sets you don't want at a later point in time. Sometimes small / common sets don't sell, but large sets typically do. So that could be an option for you in the future. All the best and thanks again for sharing!
My re-entry into LEGO was via a third party company, CDX-Blocks (part of Coaster Dynamix). They make working and display roller coaster models. When I saw their LEGO compatible Cyclone coaster kit I immediately thought “I can make Sea World’s Corkscrew with that!” So I did and it takes pride of place in my bedroom. That started the ball rolling and an amusement park started taking shape.
That’s when I learnt my most important lesson - don’t bite off more than you can chew! Flush with enthusiasm and marvelling at my cleverness, I then set about building a modified version of the Xcelerator launch coaster at Knotts Berry Farm. That was before the pandemic and it’s been stuck in development hell since I started laying track and realising it’s a two man job.
At the same time I discovered Trixbrix custom narrow gauge track and built a powered train to take minifigs around the amusement park.
Then the Orient Express was released and I jumped to a new genre, bought my childhood favourite set 7740, then 2x 60337 to build a custom Tangara inspired train.
It’s all a bit scatter gun now and gotten a bit out of hand, jumping back and forth between projects.
It's really interesting to hear that your entry into the hobby was from a non-Lego competing building blocks product. That's one I've not heard before so thanks for sharing your story and thoughts. BTW that 7740 is a beautiful set, even though it is a vintage Lego train, it has so much charm!
I'm all over the place, but restraint to see Lego as an outing of individualism. So MOC building I might try for myself, i.e., not for publishing and/or exhibiting at a show, and that's okay.
I absolutely appreciate well designed Lego themes, such as Lego Space, or some of the IP related stuff, such as Harry Potter. I encourage people to do what they like, or love to do.
While I feel uncomfortable buying Lego Friends sets at the local retailer, I do buy them online and try to build all the sets. The goofiness of Friends appeals to me, which is a guilty pleasure.
So my advice to AFOLs is to engage in actual meetings, not just online, to see if the Lego hobby suits you. Thank you CraftedBricks for taking on the difficult task on describing the AFOL community.
Hi Marc thanks for sharing. You had me grinning at avoiding buying Friends sets in-person! Hahaha I bought 2x of the Friends Botanical Gardens set to make a full model at some point. you are right some of the Friends sets are quite charming. Good point too on engaging with a local Lego group or club. Although I haven't been going to my clubs regular meeting for a while due to time constraints. I do enjoy it when I go, and often learn a lot seeing other peoples builds when they bring them to a meeting! All the best, cheers, Simon
I'd say I'm definitely in AFOL mode. I do have a spare room full of boxes of unbuilt lego not bc I don't want to or regret the purchases. But simply bc I don't have the time. I do have 3 very young children who I can't really build with yet bc they are too small for it. Though I have slowly introduced them to the Lego through 4+ sets and Duplo which they love a lot. And slowly I want to build all the other I have with them when they are a bit older. I also build and display many of my sets at work where I have the time and space to have them for a while.
Good points! Lack of time is certainly a factor when it comes to being able to build. And probably like me, even if you know you don't have the time to build a given set you may still buy it anyway when it is available at retail pricing, so that you don't miss the set and have it as an 'option' to build in the future. The Modular buildings fit this model for me, I've only built one of them, but I still buy each new annual release, so that I have the option if I choose to to build them all and create a Lego city.
Personally I think of my “pile of shame” as either my backlog, hoard, or just collection. It all depends on the set 😂 great video!
Haha don't worry I too have a pile of shame! And the more I get into custom build the more likely that pile will stay put or I'll sell it off. It's too early to know. Thanks for sharing!
This is an excellent video and advice. You’ve earned new subscriber.
I find it interesting and funny that such advice is needed for brick toys, but you’re spot on with the advice.
✌️😎
Aw that's awesome MoonShoes11, thanks for the sub! And I'm glad you found the video interesting. Given this video has had more interest than I expected I'll consider making more topical style video about Lego in the future. Have a great week!
I’m a theme transitioning newbie. I used to love Legos as a kid in the 80s so now I am coming back to the hobby and I feel that I just don’t have the room to collect multiple themes. I started off with Star Wars, but now I realize I don’t really like it as much as I thought I would. I find that I enjoy building cities that my superheroes can play in better. So I wanna get rid of all my Star Wars stuff, but haven’t really figured out the process.
What you described makes perfect sense Mike. It's that natural transition from Newbie to Experienced Newbie where you've figured out the type and line of sets you want to get more into, and what you want to drop or sell-off. We've all been there! In my newbie phase I bought a lot of small-mid sized Star Wars sets. I pretty quickly graduated to UCS and then custom builds, and sold off all of the initial purchases. Have a great week.
Such a great analysis ! THX
Hi Simon Nice vid Im at the afol stage but also im a completion with one line of sets. Some things that are bad with lego are the gwp of things or the employee gifts that are in the line i collect because they go up in price way to much. All i can say is that now there are way to many sets coming out and you just have to pick or choose so you dont get over whelm
Oh yes I totally agree with you ChilledOutBricks, there are just far too many sets coming out and it is easy to get overwhelmed / but also frustrated if you are into collecting a specific product line where you feel the need to keep-up and have the full set. As always thanks for commenting and for your support!
Thats ok Simon I dont mine helping out nice people which your just one of the few left. Im just about to start my city construction that seams to be different to the main. I only have 1 modular building because it had meaning to me. but its like life just get what you want with your means and have fun. One day something might happen where you cant do the things you loved.
Hey Simon. Good to see you back and I hope the website is going well.
You had me 😳 with the term 'pile of shame', as I call it my backlog. But in my defence I've been having major buiding work done in the house the last year. Though have still been buying, but haven't been able to build or display as much because of it. So what was my backlog prior, has now truly become my pile of shame 😂
Great video by the way 👍🏽I'd say I'm definitely in the AFOL stage being 4 years back into the hobby, but I'm also partly in the Exhausted AFOL too with the amount of new releases, being more critical of sets and the prices, but more importantly prioritising the sets I actually want.
That was also a good tip with not collecting the smaller sets, as they do become clutter.
Anyway cheers again mate and I look forward to the next video.
Hi Emerson, great comment, thanks for sharing! I too have a 'significant' pile of shame, so I'm guilty as charged on that front. My pile includes not only standard Lego sets but some significant custom build projects where the parts are sitting safely in several large boxes. I find my major impediment to reducing that pile is: time. With work, regular life, like you I'm renovating at the moment, TH-cam work and so on, I just don't have the time to build as much as I would like. I'm glad you enjoyed in the video have a superb week ahead!
Great advice!
I appreciate the great comment! Have a superb week ahead!
@@CraftedBricks for sure you too!
So what do you call an AFoL who never had a dark age?
Interesting, and you are a rare breed if this is you! Perhaps something like 'The Eternal' (Lego Enthusiast)!?
I am or was a Lego MOC enthusiast I enjoy the mental challenges I can give myself by thinking outside the box and in doing, so I need some help in doing this but Lego got upset with me and threw me under the bus I was not asking for anything to br given to me for free I was happy to pay the price my questions where just questions, but outside of their mental safety box something Lego cannot do for anyone ever making a exhausted AFOL, but thanks to their sillyness I now have other bricks to fill in that gap to bad Lego I was now thier side, but not any more, When I say I don't about Lego I say this from the aspect of a true Frenchmen that Frankly Dear I Don't Give A DAMN; Lego you just may me a stronger brick builder now I double down thinking outside the box, and that is Lego fault I work around Lego not with Lego!
Heres one, The buyer of MOC designs who gets them and then ends up waiting and waiting for the set you need to go on sale because you need 3 or 4 of them...only for the set to NEVER go on sale again and to end up discontinued, 4 or 5 times now easily, maybe far more thinking about it. Hundreds for absolutely nothing...and yet it keeps happening, just throwing money away.
Hi Neil, thanks for commenting. When you buy a MOC design don't you normally buy the parts you need from BrickLink? You don't actually need to buy sets or wait for them to go on sale, you can most definitely get everything you need for pretty much any MOC from BrickLink.
@@CraftedBricks No, buying off bricklink can be expensive so I moved to a different method. Instead you buy a design that uses 3 or 5 of one or two sets, this way everythings in the boxes and if you can get the sets on sale it makes it quite a cheap way of doing MOCs....IF you can find them on sale BEFORE they stop making them AND you remember which sets you are after. Im after 4 of the creator castle so I can build a HUGE castle or Two of the Orient Express and one passenger train will make a very nice train but six wide instead of the 8 wide Orient, so its lighter and runs better. Buying sets is cheaper than buying thousands of parts, thats if you can find the parts without having to buy from 15 different sellers some are 10,000 miles away and it gets delayed weeks in customs and sliced open so half the bricks are missing...can be hard work, simpler to buy 5 sets and know you have EVERYTHING.
Definitely exhausted.
I'm surprised at just how many people have responded to the video to indicate that like you and I, they are Exhausted AFOLs. I kind of can't take a break from Lego as I have this channel to keep going, but I have slowed down, which is refreshing. All the best to you!
Very nice video! i am still a newbie
I think you a an Experienced Newbie or even a proper Fan of Lego, you've been into the hobby for several years now Xianne!
@@CraftedBricks Thank you for that! i appreciate that! our family dont afford real lego to buy i was only able to showcase real lego because of the previous support i had with the community. and i am very thankful for that! I don't have new lego for a while now that is why i am only using images in the net i can to continue showcase lefgo as my content 😅
I’m the exhausted AFOL
It is surprising how many people have responded to say they are in this phase too! I think it is the sheer volume and high cost of sets that Lego release that make us feel this way. It's too much to keep up with.
Great video bud
Thanks I'm glad you liked it!
I'm definitely over the Lego social media hype train. I unsubscribe/avoid any channel sponsored by Lego, anything about Lego investing, leaks and early reviews, etc. I just want intelligent, thoughtful, unbiased coverage that isn't focused on FOMO and conspicuous consumption and money. The Lego hobby should be relaxing and fun, and coverage shouldn't be about people breathlessly shilling for Lego because they and Lego are in bed together behind the scenes.
That's certainly a strong comment and view, but, I hear you and understand. I to certainly feel over the constant cycle of the next and then the next and then the next set release and associated hype video on TH-cam. I do think though that some channels that review standard Lego sets provide a valuable service to the community, as they allow us to see the set in detail and make an informed decision on whether we should buy it or not.
@@CraftedBricks There are some great channels that discuss and review Lego. What I avoid are the sponsored channels because of their clear conflict of interest.