mum from Wellington starting with Lego

Officially the Lego is for my 3 1/2 year old son - but I'm finding that I'm pretty keen on it all myself. I think an obsession may have begun! :<3: Hopefully I'll be able to get my husband interested in the Lego too so I don't feel bad about spending up big on the stuff.

I used to play Lego's with my brother when I was a kid (in the 80's). He had lots of Lego. I particularly remember him getting a fire station set from duty free. And I know we had a bit of Fabuland too.

So, the range in the shops right now doesn't seem all that appealing (maybe I don't *get* lots of the stuff because I'm not a bloke). I enjoy building anything though. We've only got a few sets from the shops, one order via bricklink, and some small trademe stuff on its way.

I'll go and check out the posts in other threads to see what tips you guys might have about keeping this an affordable hobby.

Welcome aboard
Get into some of the bigger sets, they appeal to pretty much everyone, you just have to be able to justify the spend as they arent cheap
Good luck getting the husband involved too, get some car or train sets and the guys are usually hooked

Welcome to ANZFOL! Great to see some more NZ members popping up. LEGO is a brilliant hobby to be in to, and there is a strong online community - you're in the right place!

If you ever need any assistance, don't be afraid to yell out.

Welcome along!! Good to see someone else buying for their kds!!! TIC!

Thanks for the welcome guys

My new problem is how to stand waiting for christmas/kids birthdays in January to open some of the stuff. I shall have to start inventing present worthy occasions!

I guess 2nd hand stuff is fair game for playing with straight away though. I am kicking myself for the time last year I turned down buying a thick handful of lego road baseplates at a garage sale when I didn't have $20 on me.

Chaucey wrote:So, the range in the shops right now doesn't seem all that appealing (maybe I don't *get* lots of the stuff because I'm not a bloke). I enjoy building anything though. We've only got a few sets from the shops, one order via bricklink, and some small trademe stuff on its way.

I'll go and check out the posts in other threads to see what tips you guys might have about keeping this an affordable hobby.

A lot of the range in the shops doesn't appeal to many Adult lego fans, but you can always build your own, also don't dismiss entire themes as often there are gems amoung the dross. I build mostly towards my train layout, so the town stuff is most interesting, but Indiana Jones had some good vehicles, and I sometimes buy castle stuff for the more neutral toned bricks. The exclusive sets (see Lego.com) like the modular buildings are always good.

Keeping it affordable is difficult down here as Lego treats us pretty badly, we get high prices and pay high shipping. For some stuff it ends up cheaper to order from the US lego site (you have to have a US shipping address) and then ship it from there. I use a re-mailer to do that.

Take a look at whats going on in the online community such as brickshelf, flickr, The brothers brick etc. I'm sure you'll find others with similar interests. I find a lot of the stuff teens build (start wars armies for example) pretty boring but over time you get pretty good at filtering out anything you don't like.

Welcome to ANZFOL