Sunday, January 12, 2014

It's a Lego Christmas (with a dose of Doctor Who) -- Part Two

Before we get to the BIG Lego events of Christmas, here is the first of the Lego sets that I got. These were sort of consolation Lego gifts because the Lego set I really wanted became unavailable. And was, actually, too expensive, but my kids had this plan to combine their money and buy it for me. That's actually a longer (and unimportant) story. As it turns out, though, that set was on its way to retirement, so there was no re-stocking of it as places ran out of it, and my kids waited too long to try to fulfill their plans. So I got this, which was pretty cool (and approved by Mr. Bunches):
I want to point out that Admiral Ackbar came with a beer mug. I have to assume it's a beer mug, because it's  not like the cups that come with other sets that are clearly coffee mugs. Ackbar comes with a space beer mug, and I don't really understand why. Han comes with his blaster, which makes sense, and the pilot comes with a large wrench (as seen in Han's hand because the pilot is busy about to take off), which makes less sense (because why would the pilot need a wrench?), but it makes much more sense than the Admiral and his beer mug. Unless Ackbar has a problem that we've never been privy to? What makes less sense than that, though, is why Han comes with an A-wing fighter. It's like they had an extra batch of Solo minifigures lying around so they just threw them in with the A-wing. And Ackbar. But Ackbar doesn't have his own ship, so I suppose they needed to put him somewhere. The A-wing is really cool, though, so I'm not complaining.

I also got
Okay, that's not actually true. My younger son got it, but he already had this one, so he gave it to me. It was part of his new planet Lego sets. That is not an A-wing, just so you know. Here are all of this year's planet sets together:
My daughter's Lego Advent calendar for this year:
After the fact, that is. This is the little Christmas party she made from what came in it.

Which brings us to the big Lego project for this year. My younger son, the most devout Lego enthusiast in our house (and at his school) got
the Republic Gunship! Here are some in progress shots:

But the BIG Lego event was actually a contest. My younger son and I actually received a duplicate Lego kit, so he challenged me to a race. I just want to make it very clear that I don't spend a lot of time putting together Lego kits at this stage of my life. In fact, I can't remember how long it's been since I've put one together. Probably half a dozen years, at least. But I couldn't very well say no. So we got set up:
I prepared with... tea. He prepared by sorting all of his pieces out so that he could find them more quickly. Clearly, my lack of recent experience in this worked against me. Our first time stop for progress pics:
That's my son's stuff right up front there. You can see mine to the upper left. He is clearly already in the lead.
The second time stop:
That's mine at the bottom, this time. My son's is at the upper right, and you can see that he is still in the lead. Can I come back for the surprise finish and win the race!?
Actually, no.
My son's model is finished, and mine is... well, not finished, as you can see from the picture. It wasn't as close as it looks from this shot, either. I had something like 15 more minutes of building to go. Or more. I don't remember, exactly. What I remember is that he finished way before me. But here are both Mandalorian Speeders sitting next to each other once I did get mine finished.
Clearly, I need more practice at this if I'm going to pose any kind of threat to my son next Christmas.

And that's our Christmas, or most of it, in a nutshell.
My daughter is already counting down to this year's Christmas. yea?

22 comments:

  1. Playing with Lego is the reason I had children.

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  2. I didn't know there were Lego advent calendars. I need to try to remember that next year and find them!

    The Warrior Muse

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  3. It's great that you still have enough child in you to be able to play with your children like this. It's not so bad that your son beat you at the Lego's contest, but it will sting when he can pitch a ball better than you :)

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  4. You had kids just so you could continue buying Legos, didn't you?
    I guess Ackbar likes to drink and drive.

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  5. I guess in space, there isn't much stuff to run your ship into if you've been drinking a bit much. It is mostly empty, after all.

    And the lego hall was pretty call. I can't believe how expensive those things are, I know I bring it up all the time, but holy crap, they're so expensive!

    So, I'm glad you got something cool out of it, and it's something the kids can share in.

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  6. I bet when Ackbar gets pulled over for a DUI he yells, "It's a trap!!!"

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  7. Hey Andrew. I used to have a love/hate relationship with lego. I loved the way it looked when someone who knew what they were doing built something extraordinary, and I hated the way I would step on it in a darkened hallway at 3am. My home is still not completely lego-free, which the grandsons love. They're forever making me 'cabins' and sets of steps....

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  8. Awesome LEGOS!
    Admiral Ackbar mug is for his frappuccino. "It's a Frap!"
    My son doesn't allow me to help him with his building of things, I "Do it wrong".

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  9. Not gonna lie, I have 3 tupperwares (the kind that are 4 feet long and 2 feet deep) full of Legos, and I eagerly await the day I have children so I can play with all of my old Legos without looking like some kind of weirdo.

    I love these Lego posts, but that probably goes without saying, right?

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  10. I don't think I ever played with Legos even when a child. Obviously I missed out somewhere. I did love the models at Disney Village though, I thought they were fantastic. When you can build something like that, I will be impressed.

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  11. Star Wars legos had you in mind when they made them. Of that, I have no doubt.

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  12. How fun! I love building Legos and always end up sneaking my son's away from him.

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  13. Hayley: I can't say that's a bad reason.

    Shannon: Yeah: Lego City, Star Wars, and Lego Friends. This was the first year of the Friends Advent calendar, and it was sold out by the time my daughter decided she wanted one, but she ended up really liking the City calendar.

    Anne: Oh, that child will never throw a ball better than me. My daughter, on the other hand...

    Alex: Actually, I never had Lego before I had kids.

    Rusty: Lego is SO expensive. That's why I never had any when I was a kid.

    Pat: Best comment this year!

    Eve: No one's feet like Lego.

    David: Oh, yeah, I used to get that a lot, too. From the younger boy. The older boy spent too many years breaking his and bringing them to me to fix to ever get away with me doing it wrong.

    ABftS: What's wrong with looking like a weirdo?

    Jo: Well, I did not play with them as a child. I never owned any Lego until my kids got into them.

    Michael: It was the most awesome thing Lego ever did. (And I still have some unopened sets from the first releases.)

    Pk: You should get some of your own.

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  14. Lego building competitions, huh? It sounds like life in the Leon house is quite brutal.

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  15. Jeanne: And that's nothing compared to the Munchkin games.

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  16. You're still better at it than me.

    Every time I do a Lego, I think "This time I will sort out the pieces beforehand to make it easier," but then I don't and it's never easier.

    Thanks for the Mr Bunches shout out! That gunship is cool.

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  17. I'm the evil mom. My kids weren't allowed to have legos after they left them out and I stepped on them. Ow!! But, don't feel too bad. Their best friend had a TON of legos so they played over at his house.

    The gunship is a lot larger than I thought it would be. What happens after it's assembled. Do you display it or tear it down?

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  18. Briane: I don't think it matters unless you're in a Lego race.
    It is cool.

    Elsie: My kid used to immediately disassemble everything as soon as he built it. He wanted to build other things. At some point, though, he started wanting to rebuild some of the original models and couldn't find all of the pieces, so he's quit taking things apart. He likes to keep them in their original forms. If he had his way, he's have two of everything so that he could take one apart for pieces and have the other as what it is.

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  19. The planet sets? Are they as cool as they look? Because I want them. I wonder if my niece and nephew have them... Want. want want want.
    Your blog is a bad place, every time I come here I get terribly materialistic. :)

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  20. RG: The planet sets are pretty cool and only around $10. Of course, I think they have all been retired, but you might still be able to find them on the Lego website.

    My blog is a -good- place!

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