David Nezelek
Cibbuano
TyronneThe evolution of Lego Men
January 9th 2009 07:33
For me, though, LEGO was a necessity... it provided the tools to build spaceships of unimaginable ferocity, easily stronger than the limited lasers of Transformers, or the earth-bound Tonka Trucks.
The Lego men suffered greatly at my fingertips, though, the guinea pigs for a wild kaleidoscope of scientific experiments and shuttle launches. I built a Lego nuclear reactor once, and dropped a Lego man inside, giving him diabolical powers.
Gizmodo notes the evolution of the Lego man, from humble, simple beginnings, to the recent tie-in with the Star Wars franchise.
For example, it wasn't until 1989 that the faces of the Lego people changed with the Lego pirates:
"First changes in faces introduced with the Lego Pirates. They maintain the basic expression but add extra features, like eye patches and beards."
By 1999, Lego started using themes for all their products, including Adventure themes, Monsters and the start of the Star Wars collaboration. It was around this time that I noticed the decline in the freeform nature of Lego...
... I bought a small Lego set for a little cousin, but when he put it together, I was dismayed at how predictable and unsatisfying it was. The kit was for a spaceship, but was 4 or 5 pieces that fit together one way, with a couple of add-on guns.
What? This is what Lego evolved into? Fancier little men, blinking lights and little creativity? A sad path for one of my favourite playtime toys.
I suppose that was necessary for Lego to compete with the shinier toys... the evolution of the Lego people shows this bow-down as well - the little people have curved further and further towards licensed franchise derivatives, instead of maintaining their own identity.
Ah, well. That's why it'll be Vintage Culture, the Lego men of old...
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Comment by Jarrah
Back to the Eighties
I've seen that site before - classic.
I used to love Lego, probably the best toy there was.
I usually don't like to be like an old man and say 'when I was a kid...these kids these days don't...'
Because its all been said every generation. After all, they just play Lego on Playstation instead.
But, it is a shame, because I got so much enjoyment out of creating whatever the hell I wanted too and I pretty much get the most joy from doing that now too!
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...