My son is turning 7 and is desperate for a Lego Star Wars kit that's listed on the box as 14+. Is it too advanced for him?
So, he's 6, almost 7 and wants to build the Slave I? Tough call. Here's what I'll say:First off, he's doing great. He's building beyond his recommended range, and that's good. He's been getting experience building for a while, and is probably pretty comfortable with how elements fit together, and is used to the way LEGO lays out their instructions.Next, it's really hard to offer up advice, because each child is different. In the end, you'll be the most able to judge what he's capable of.So, the Slave I. It's complicated. The base is OK, and I'm sure your son would have no problem with that part. Then it's got a technic frame for the rear. That's rather tricky, but he can probably manage it. A lot of things for the 8-or-so age range use small technic frames, and this is just larger. Then there's the rear assembly, which has to attach to the frame. That's tough. The panels attach to the body in a very non-standard way. You've got to really understand what you're doing there, and have good manual dexterity.It also takes a long time to build. It's got about 2,000 pieces. I'm a fast, experienced builder, and it took me roughly 2-2.5 hours to build. I'd guess it takes most people closer to 4 hours to build. I'd guess you can expect somewhere between 3 and 10 hours for him to build it. In other words, it won't be done in one sitting.Finally, I'll mention this: It's not really a model for playing with. The guns on the side panels "flip outwards", which looks like a great play feature, but they're difficult to tug on. The rotary wings probably can't take much stress. If you hold it in the wrong place, the panels snap off. And the whole thing weighs a lot-- about 4 pounds (without the stand). So... once he's built it, it's not really meant to have him running around the house swishing it around in one hand with an X-wing in the other. It's meant to be a display piece.With all that said, I'm sure he'll be amazingly proud if he can build it. And it'll look great in his room. And the other kids will be in awe of his model.So, if you DO decide to get it, I would prepare to help him and build it together-- at least look on while he builds it, and be ready to show him places where he might make a mistake as he builds the model. And he may need help towards the end of the build attaching the side panels.Good luck!
How have LEGO elements changed over time?
LEGO has been carefully refining elements and eliminating design flaws wherever possible since day one.LEGO has a great article about their history with a timeline. I provide a link at the end of this answer. Here is a heavily redacted “TL;DR”.The first elements they made in 1949 looked like the above. Almost like today’s brick, but with cuts down the side, and missing the center tubes.In 1958 they arrived at, and patented, the modern LEGO brick’s design.Duplo followed a little later, then in 1977, Technic emerged.Some of the early technic elements were outright dangerous. For example, the crown gear. Connect that to LEGO’s buggy motor and you have something that’ll take off a youngster’s finger if they’re not careful.Another element that’s no longer in favor is the threaded axle.It just doesn’t have enough structural integrity to be useful. Once something was threaded onto it, there was zero give, so these broke. A lot.Some of the early Technic sets were less than inspiring. Today the sets are MUCH better. Here’s an example:The elements and the sets have changed in form, and increased in quality over the years.Motorization, lighting, and remote control features were added, which also “changed” the elements, from being static to being dynamic.Technic introduced the idea of powered motors, lights, and remote control.Mindstorms takes things to the next level, making a LEGO technic kit into a robotics exploration platform. Brilliant move.In 1998 LEGO released their first Mindstorms offering.In 2000, LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System 2.0 rolled out.In 2006, MINDSTORMS NXT was released.In 2013, LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 emerges. Linux on a brick!LEGO’s website has a timeline with The LEGO historyMike Barker has a great site you will enjoy as well: Every brick is awesome
What are the best LEGO sets?
There are too many great sets to pick one and everyone will have their own opinion about what they like and don't like. Plus with licensed sets there are elements like familiarity and nostalgia. One of my favorite sets from childhood was Fort Legoredo.I was a big fan of the western sets and had probably all of them. I also liked the Pirates a lot. I don't think anything will ever top Fort Legoredo in my heart.However, I have gotten some recent sets that are pretty good. My favorite of late is the LEGO Brand Retail Store.It's an exclusive set, so the rarity makes it even greater to own. It's not all that impressive on its own, but for real LEGO collectors and fans, it's awesome to have your very own LEGO Store!I also really like the Minecraft sets, and my favorite of them is The First Night. It really gives you the quintessential Minecraft feel. But all the sets generally pair well with each other and are easy to mix and match because Minecraft and LEGO are very similar.I have been disappointed with the newest Pirates sets. They don't feel like they compare with the old Pirates. They're bigger and flashier, but it feels like they're missing something. They might have too much going on and not enough soul. You can check out my review of The Brick Bounty for more.Follow me on the Twitter @Clayburn and let's talk LEGO.
Are LEGO spare parts random?
Consistently the same.The LEGO Group has a highly automated process for filling the bags that go into sets. Parts are loaded into large cassettes which are placed in filling machines. Bags start at one end and travel to stations. At each station, the cassette is activated to eject a certain number of parts (whatever the bag requires). Then the bag is weighed to make sure that the parts actually did get added correctly.The extra parts are those that are so light that LEGO engineers think there is a chance the weight might be off, so they deliberately add an extra to the count that the cassette is supposed to emit. It may seem random bit it is not at all random. Experienced fans when given the inventory for a set can easily tell you exactly what parts you will expect to get one extra per bag.Note that I said "per bag" because sometimes multiple bags will have the same part. There are at least two reasons for this1. A set is divided into subassemblies. (for example modulars are divided by story, multivehicle sets by vehicle, etc) Each subassembly uses bags with that subassemblies number on it. If the same part is used in multiple subassemblies, it will be in one bag for each subassembly. This is fairly common2. A set has a very large number of some types of parts, so many that it makes sense to have multiple copies of a particular bag. This is fairly rare.The extra parts are the smallest ones in the assortment... 1x1 round plates, 1x1 tiles, 1x1x2/3 "cheese slopes" 1x1 antennas, skeleton feet and arms, robot arms, and a few others always get one extra per bag.The scales are more accurate than LEGO gives them credit for, they are just being extra cautious. In my almost 20 years of opening sets since I came out of my dark ages, I've never seen a missing (didn't get the one extra per bag) part.So it's not random at all.