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Another Lego/bricks blog

Just what we need -- another internet blog about Lego (Legos?) and bricks that are not actually manufactured by a company called Lego.

Let me preface this by saying I am not a Lego purist. I grew up with most of my sets being from Lego -- but I also had a few Tyco sets and some other ones from brands that I can't identify. It didn't matter to me who made what brick as long as it all played together nicely. So let's all play together -- nicely.

(Except for Mega Bloks or Mega Construx or whatever they're calling it these. Get out of here with that junk.)

I have approximately 500 sets as of this post, about 80% of which are Lego. The rest are a combination of BlueBrixx, Lepin, Sluban, Lele, or some other unidentified Asian brand. I love the Asian brands, not specifically because they've brought this hobby of building things out of bricks to a more attainable price point, but also because some of these companies are delivering products that Lego doesn't want to produce.

Take trains for example: I am a huge fan of trains. I grew up in a household that had a large G-Scale layout in our living room and a dedicated office full of rare and collectible things. My dad's layout was the first thing you saw when you walked into our house. We had a mix of LGB, Aristo-craft, Delton, and USA (and it all played together nicely). When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to see what train products Lego would release next. It was the first section I'd look for in every catalog or sales insert. Of course, this was back when we got rolling stock, locomotives, buildings and accessories, and track that were sold in the way that I wanted them. Today, we can't do that. BlueBrixx, as an example, sells all kinds of locomotives and rolling stock, and my layout continues to grow with their products.

Things that may make some folks grumpy:
  • Sometimes I say "Legos". Yes, I know it should be "Lego bricks" or Lego blocks". It's a habit from when I was a kid that's difficult to break.
  • I own a few Lepin sets that are copies of Lego sets. When I got back into this hobby, I didn't know what I was doing and viewed these Chinese copies as just cheap alternatives. I no longer purchase copyright-infringed sets and hope to replace the infringed ones I do own with Lego ones some day.
  • Virtually all of my train track, baseplates, and roadplates are not Lego. They're some combination of "Lego compatible" (or "Chinese") pieces. Some of my track is from TrixBrix.
  • I don't care too much about modeling to scale. All my trains are likely to be 6-wide until the day Lego standardizes something else.
  • Sometimes I put the wrong locomotive with my rolling stock. For example, I have a BlueBrixx BR 08 steam locomotive pulling Rheingold DB passenger cars. I don't like the look of the Rheingold locomotive, but I like the passenger cars -- and I love the steam locomotive. I think they look great together. I also mix and match my European and American freight cars.

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