Lego Haul - Christmas 2014

I tend to ask for Lego sets for Christmas as an adult.  I don't need stuff, as I am pretty self-sufficient, but my parents, my in-laws, and other cherished loved ones like to give me gifts because it means something to them.  Thank you to all who have contributed to my collection.

Here is what I got this year: 8804 Hockey Player, 8827 Butcher, 10674 Pony Farm, 60055 Monster Truck. 60057 Camper Van, 70804 Ice Cream Machine, 70811 The Flying Flusher, and 75034 Death Star Troopers.  I got pretty good haul, if I do say so myself.

The 2014 Christmas Haul

Now, blog posts like this are not product reviews.  There are plenty of those floating around the internet.  It's also not an unboxing and assembly (though I am posting pictures of such things).  Plenty of those out there too.  And I'm certainly not here to brag about the cool new swag I got.  I'm certainly not trying to be materialistic.

No, this post will cover what I plan TO DO with these sets and how they'll fit into my grand scheme of a Lego community.  So let's go through this set by set:

• The Hockey Player will go to the Winter Village.  After I got 40107 The Winter Skating Scene, I'm working on an ice rink for that area of town.
• The Butcher will go to the Restaurant for now, but once I get the new Toy & Grocery Store, I'll put him over there.
• The Pony Farm will be a new setup in the Lake Shore area.  I plan to expand on the design in the instructions and go bigger, as to fill up a 32x32 green baseplate.
• The Monster Truck will also go out to the Lake Shore.  For now, it'll just be a personal vehicle (although with another monster truck or two, I could expand the Fairgrounds, which will also be out at the lake).
• The Camper Van will be at the Lake Shore as well.  I'll probably put that couple in the Log Cabin.
• The Ice Cream Machine will cruise town selling ice cream,  Kinda obvious, but I can add more frozen treat type items to its inventory.
• The Flying Flusher will be the Plumber's truck.  That building is in the design stage.  The doctor will go to the hospital, and the portable toilet will go to the grandstand for the concert goers to use.
• The robotic drones from the previous two items may end up in the Marine Training Area.  They'll give my fighting forces a couple extra things to maneuver around/with/against.
• The Death Star Troopers will battle in the Laser Tag Arena.  Their laser gun, however, may also go to the Marine Training Area, though I'm not sure how I'll fit it in yet.

You'll see everything come around again as I get my blog posts written up and published.  But for now, just take a look at what I got here.  Thanks.

8827 Butcher and 8804 Hockey Player

 10674 Pony Farm contents

10674 Pony Farm assembled contents from bags 1, 2, and 3

Extra bricks from Bags 4 and 5 in 10674 Pony Farm

 60055 Monster Truck contents and assembled product

60057 Camper Van contents and assembled product 

Inside the Camper Van and the minifigure couple in the canoe

70804 The Flying Flusher contents and assembled product

70811 Ice Cream Machine contents and assembled product

 75034 Death Star Troopers contents and assembled product

About Me

Who are you?
Well, I'm a married man in my mid-30's living in St. Paul, MN who recently re-discovered the joy of building things out of Lego bricks.

I work for John Deere as an Infrastructure Analyst in the Enterprise Desktop Standards team. We determine what kind of hardware and software all 60,000+ employees worldwide get on their desktop computers, how the software is loaded on them, how the settings for computers are managed, etc.

I go to school at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.  I started January 2014, and I expect to be done by the Spring of 2019.

When I'm not playing with Lego's, working, or doing school work, I'm hanging out with friends I met on social media, going to Golden Gopher Men's Hockey games (I'm a season ticket holder), going to rock concerts or movies (especially Marvel Cinematic Universe films), and just being my regular awesome self.

What does your wife think of a grown man assembling things out of plastic bricks?
She enjoys it.  It gives her yet another topic to blog about and make some money through affiliate programs (she's a blogger and social media assistant).  It keeps me at home, instead of getting into trouble (gambling, drugs, smoking, womanizing, drinking, etc.).  And she understands that this is my creative outlet.  My wife is constantly amazed by the ideas I come up with.  It's great to have someone who appreciates that.

How did you get into Lego's?
I started playing with Lego's as a kid, when I was about 6 or 7.  It was one of my favorite activities until my family moved to an army base in the Pacific when I was 15.  I couldn't bring all of them with me, so some went into storage.  Money was kind of tight, so I couldn't afford to buy any.  And the stores rarely had them (if ever, because I don't remember seeing them in there).  The dream didn't die, it just went into hibernation for a while.

How did you get BACK into Lego?
I was visiting friends in the Twin Cities (I'm from Fargo, ND), and my pal Kate wanted to meet up for lunch on a Sunday afternoon at the Mall of America.  She told me to meet at the Lego store, and the rest was history.  I had no idea that there were Lego STORES.  I knew about the catalogs and ordering through the mail, but a whole store devoted to those plastic bricks?  Stick a fork in me, I was done.

But why are you writing blog posts about it?
I do it for me.  And my friends, because I'm sure they don't want to hear me constantly talk about my Lego collection.  This way, everyone can take it at a pace that's comfortable for them.  And if they have questions, I can discuss my hobby with them.

How often do you plan on posting?

I've got a schedule set up to post about one building or theme on the 15th and end of each month, starting January 2015.  I'll throw some random ones out there too, especially when I buy a new set, read an article on Lego production, or find a cool picture of something built with Lego bricks.

What project(s) are you working on?
I just want to build a large Lego town.  I started working on designs like that as a kid, and every time I tried to branch out, it always came back to the town idea.  I found it was the most logical conclusion as to why there were Castle, Pirates, Space, Racing, etc. elements all together as one.  After discovering the Lego Store and the Pick-A-Brick Wall, I found I could put together a number of large buildings to REALLY help me assemble the town idea.  It was perfect.

How big is your collection?
Too big to count, but I'd say it'd take up 200 to 300 square feet of space to set up my Lego town.  I've got maybe forty to fifty thousand bricks and nearly 700 minifigures.  Yeah, it's a bit of an obsession.  But it makes me happy.

What happens when you have kids?
Well, I'd cross that bridge when I get there, but I'd probably box everything up until the kids are old enough to play with them.  I'd teach them about my grand plan, and someday, they'll take over.  But that's a long ways away.  I'm staying focused on the here and now.

What does "Velspillet" mean?
It's Danish for "well played".  I use that term to commentate on current events in the outside world or within my own little bubble of it, usually expressing how impressed I am by a clever ploy (but sometimes pointing out a boneheaded move someone made).  Since Lego was founded in Denmark, I thought putting that little spin on the name of my blog.

Can I come over and play Lego's with you?
If you pass a stringent background test, and you do not object to a vigorous pat down upon your departure from my residence (Sorry, but with all the cool stuff I have, I just don't trust anyone not to try and walk away with something, Lego or otherwise), you can come over.  But, please, no unannounced visits.

Will you bring your Lego's over to my house?
No.  But I will come over to share my ideas and designs.  Maybe we could build something together.

Aww, you're no fun.
Yeah, well...  Lego is very serious business.