Lego Theraphy

I am starting to be a Lego nut.  They have been around since the 1940’s but I only became interested in the early 2000’s in my 30’s.  My wife gave me my first Lego sets which were small and were Star Wars themed.  The only thing left of these kits were the mini-figures: Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Luke in black Jedi Knight outfit, a Stormtrooper, and an Imperial Officer. 

After collecting Lego kits over the years, I was naïve to think that these kits were still available in stores. Recently, I was able to track the specific kits on the internet and where I can buy them again.  The kits are Final Duel I, set number 7200 and Final Duel II, set number 7201.  They were probably less than 5 dollars when they were first sold in 2002 and now collectors will sell them for at least twice their value as used sets.

A picture of Final Duel I is shown here.

A picture of Final Duel II is shown here.

Over the years I purchased more Lego kits for my son from pre-school to elementary school now. When I was a kid I didn’t even think these things existed. My kids are very very fortunate to have such great toys now. I tell them that all daddy got for Christmas and Birthdays were crayons and coloring books. And for the most part, it was true during elementary school ages.

I did my best to get my boy to do the kit on his own. I wanted him to get use to building things. It is a useful skill to develop over time. Many times, I end up finishing up the kit.

Even if the Lego kit was age appropriate, there are some parts that are even a challenge for adults to put together. The sockets for the Lego Bionicle joints come to mind. There are times my child completes simple kits with about 100 parts. Almost every time, it is built incorrectly but he finishes it anyways. To fix Lego kits with mistakes in the beginning, you basically have to undo the entire kit again and rebuild. I would do this without telling him, of course.

It just seems like my wife or I just buy kit only for myself. If my kid does not want to complete the kit, I don’t mind finishing the work. There is something enjoyable about building Legos. The key is ensuring you have all the parts. I’ve been buying kits big and small for the last 8 years. I’ve only had one kit that had a missing part (and that was a few days ago).

Don’t let your child open up the packaging. Even a grown up can accidentally open a bag with too much force and make all the pieces explode in many different places. Once you have opened up the pieces and put the parts spread out on a table with a light colored table you are good to go. I work my kits on a white tablecloth on a large dining table so it would be easy to find the pieces. The parts are usually tiny and darkly colored.

If the kit is large like over 500 pieces, I would just empty each the bag of parts onto a paper plate. Each plate gets a bag. The way Lego seems to bag parts is by size. Tiny pieces get put in small plastic bags. The big and medium sized parts get their own bags.

Building Lego kits has a calming effect on me. The Christmas and New Year’s break wasn’t really a break from work when you are the host of family gatherings. My son got more kits from other families but for the most part he just wants to play with the minifigures and won’t do the kit until he’s bored with the minifigs. But he always asks for help and I oblige. Working on Legos is therapeutic. Building something cool with your hands without the aid of tools just seems to relieve stress and help me escape from reality.

You can team up with your child to build Legos. You can locate the parts for him or her while your child puts the pieces together and you can reverse the roles your child permits this. This will bond with your child and you will feel good for doing this.

There are old kits that have been broken from my children, their cousins, and their friends as they go through collections that are displayed on shelves. I don’t mind. I still keep all the instructions (which are also found in the internet) and you can buy just about any part from Lego online or through Lego trading sites. The kits can still be restored to their former glory anytime.

Now and then, I purchase a kit just for me. I just wish I had more cash to buy more kits and more space to find a good home for them.  For the time being, there are plenty of old sets to fix.  Especially if I just want to be a kid again and forget everything.