Let me start off my apologizing that I can’t embed this excellent LEGO Blocumentary into the page. For whatever reason, LEGO decided to make it difficult.
Anyway, follow the link, and enjoy part one of this LEGO video about what it means to be an AFOL (Adult Fan Of LEGO). Directed by Jess Gibson, it takes you behind the curtains of some of the most influential LEGO builders out there. Fascinating, and very well done.
LEGO Blocumentary
There were several topics discussed in this LEGO Blocumentary that I find extremely interesting:
- One AFOL pointed out how people react when you tell them you like to build LEGO. They look at you funny, and almost immediately dismiss the hobby. But once they see the things AFOLs build, they want to play, too. I find this to be very true. All my friends know about my LEGO hobby. While they don’t understand it per se, they don’t put it down, either. They accept it. And they do find a lot of what I do pretty cool.
- Some AFOLs spend a staggering amount of money on LEGO. One gentleman in the video estimated his cost at several hundred THOUSAND dollars over 35 years. I’ve bought more than my fair share of LEGO in my day, but it’s not a fraction of that. I like to call my LEGO hobby “self funding”. I almost never spend any “family” money on LEGO. If I want to buy something new, I sell something old. (If you want to learn more about funding LEGO purchases this, check out my Brickenomics posts.) I personally know an AFOL who has spent $36,000+ on Bricklink over the years, but has also sold $21,000+. It can be done!
How much do you spend on LEGO? How do you fund your hobby?
- I feel the same way about LEGO as one of the featured AFOLs; I will never throw it away. Even when I grew out of childhood, I knew to hold on to my LEGO collection. And my Star Wars collection, but that’s another story fo another time. I see this playing out every year with my children, too. Every birthday and every Christmas they get new toys. Some new plastic thing. Some things give them joy for only a short time before they’re tossed out, broken, or forgotten about. Others become cherished sources of comfort that stay with us. And then there’s the LEGO. It is my hope that their LEGO collections grow with them as they grow. They will never be thrown away. If they decide they don’t want them any more, they’ll either be packed up in case they change their minds, or assimilated into my collection.
- Being known as the LEGO Guy to friends, family, and neighbors has paid off for me twice. A good friend, and a neighbor down the street, both gave their modest collections to me. They loved them as children, and saw more value in giving them to someone who would appreciate them, than in trying to sell them. And their LEGO has been well cared for ever since.
- Like the AFOL who grew up playing Battletech and grew into Mech building, I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends, and grew to be a huge fan of anything to do with swords & sorcerers. We used to create our characters out of LEGO, as well as the dungeons we explored. While I haven’t played any D&D in many, many years, I’ve bought most of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings LEGO sets, and just about any other castle related set released since the 90s.
I don’t see LEGO as a waste of money. Ever. I see it as an investment. As long as LEGO maintains their quality control, I don’t think it will ever lose its value.
What has been your experience when people find out you’re an AFOL?
I am an Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL) and an active member of the Michigan LEGO User Group (MichLUG). I have loved LEGO for as long as I can remember. I am currently working on the following models:
– UCS Millenium Falcon
– Emmett’s Apartment Building
– Gringott’s Bank
Thanks for sharing that video! My close friends all know I love Lego. My husband and I are very fortunate to have 2 friends (who are married to each other) who are also AFOLs. Its nice to have someone to talk to who feel the same way we do about Lego. But I don’t usually try to talk about Lego with acquaintances, or I get those strange looks. My sister wonders why I spend all my extra money on Lego. But really just like one guy said, He doesn’t smoke or drink so all his money goes into Lego. Many people spend hundreds of dollars on smoking, drinking or other things and all that money is just gone. Many of my friends spend their money on clothes, shoes and make up, I would rather spend my money on something fun, something that won’t loose it’s value.
Yeah, my husband and I don’t spend any of our income on Lego too. Well unless we are buying someone in our family a birthday, anniversary gift or something. Pretty much any birthday money I get or just extra money that comes in, I usually spend on Lego. I’ve started to fund my addiction with Lego investing. I have a few things I want to sell but haven’t yet.
Everyone I know, knows about my LEGO hobby. And I’m fine with that, and so are they. Whenever anyone comes over, they ask to see my latest project or acquisition. Everyone has their hobby, and they leave it at that. That being said, it would be nice to have some true AFOL fans to talk to. That’s a big reason I finally joined up with our local LUG. It’s refreshing.
My biggest tip on LEGO investing is to buy everything and anything you can when it’s on clearance. I usually get lucky every year and score 5-10 larger sets at 50+% off. I just stick them on a shelf in my basement. Once they’ve been off the market for a while, I start selling them slowly on Bricklink. I make enough to buy my own stuff, and to make more investment purchases.