We all revert back to childhood when it’s Christmas, and anyone who loved Lego as a child hopes, on Christmas morning, to pick up a brightly-wrapped box that emits that familiar rattle.
As people grow up, though, the way they play with these gifts changes. Adults tend to build the models and then maintain them, fully-created, in s display cabinet, or on a shelf. The enjoyment adults get from actually making the models is an end in itself. They don’t actually play with them in the same way children play with their toys, they simply collect them.
Very often, these grown-up toys are related to specific sports, or television series, or to films. Children might build a model one way, then dismantle it and make something else, but the Lego toys collected by hobbyists are for keeps. Every little boy has seen Star Wars, and the story strikes a chord in every little boy’s heart that stays with him even as an adult. This is why the Lego Star Wars range has been such a huge success in recent years.
The first sets from the original trilogy were released in 1999, and Lego Star Wars was the 23rd intellectual property to be franchised by Lego. Since 1999, there has also been the Clone Wars set of collectibles, as well as The Phantom Menace, Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones and many others. In total there are 188 characters to build so far, with the promise of many more.
Of course, not all collectors and hobbyists are Lego Star Wars fans, or into boys’ toys, either. There’s a thriving adult market for Hello Kitty merchandise as well. Hello Kitty started in Japan in 1976, and since then the cute cat-for-all-seasons has spread worldwide, garnering fans of all ages, who buy everything from the figurines, to baking sets to clothes.
There’s also My Little Pony, which appeals to girls and boys. Boys who enjoy the tales of the sharing, caring little horses are known as “Bronys”, and the love affair doesn’t end with adolescence. After all, who really wants to grow up?
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It must be my age but i grew up with Lego being my number 1 toy. I collected a crate full and constantly I’d be in my room building things out of it. I was heartbroken when my mum gave it to charity. Admittedly i was in my mid 30’s by then.