It's interesting how strongly Lego has been able to move into selling what I'd call collectable sets. There's little notion that a set like the camera is a children's toy (or even that you'd build something else with it).
I grew up building random stuff using a hodgepodge of incomplete Lego sets that my parents got from car boot sales. Later they bought me some new sets as well, but sooner or later all the pieces ended up in the big box anyway.
I don't think I would have become a programmer, if not for those weekends when I would sit in front of a desk-sized box of bricks with no instructions and imagine what I could build.
35 years later, I still browse the local Lego store from time to time. But most of the sets I find nowadays are only intended for a single configuration, usually associated with a specific IP like Star Wars or Harry Potter. Too fragile, too many stickers and custom pieces. I'm glad that the proceeds from these collectible sets help Lego stay profitable in the smartphone age, but God I miss those random Lego weekends. Brb, gotta ask my dad whether he still has that box of old bricks in his attic.
I've purposefully bought a lot of the old lego technic universal building sets second hand for my son. They come with multiple ideas and the type of design is less finished and more prone to modifications.
I want my son to play with legos by creating his own designs, not by following a set and then shelving it
They still sell large boxes of general-purpose bricks at toy and grocery retailers around the United States. They likely don’t sell nearly as well, but every time I’ve gone to buy legos there has been one “plastic tote” box of legos for sale, no instructions just bricks.
Adults and collectors can pay more and "nerdy" or "childlike" subcultures are viewed as mainstream.
Both of these are symptoms of the fact that societies are growing older - the median age of the US was 35 in 2000 and is around 40 in 2025. Similarly in the EU the median age was around 38 in 2000 and is around 44-45 in 2025.
Additionally, tastes change and childhoods change. For the younger generation, Minecraft and Roblox is their Legos, and for the generation before the "Lego" generation it was Erector and Mecano sets.
The norms and tastes of a boomer who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s is somewhat out of touch with younger generations, just like how someone who grew up in the 1920s or 30s was out of touch with someone growing up int he 1970s or 80s.
In 2026, the 1980s is as far back in history as WW2 was in the 1980s. Legos weren't a defining part of most childhoods globally, and there's no reason to assume they still would be.
Younger generations will wax nostalgically about Minecraft or Roblox in 20-40 years as well.
I'm not hip but I am much younger than much of HN (heck my sibling is in their mid 20s), but even I'm getting old and increasingly out of touch.
And that's what happens - tastes change and mindsets change.
People who were born in 1993-97 are already planning to or are already married, and planning to have their first child (the median age for a woman having their first child in America is around 27-28 [0]), and have a different set of tastes and views than someone who was at a similar stage in their life in late 2000s or early 2010s.
Based on the references I see on HN, a large portion of commenters seems to be in their 40s to 50s, with some younger straddlers in their late 20s or early 30s.
It's interesting how strongly Lego has been able to move into selling what I'd call collectable sets. There's little notion that a set like the camera is a children's toy (or even that you'd build something else with it).
I grew up building random stuff using a hodgepodge of incomplete Lego sets that my parents got from car boot sales. Later they bought me some new sets as well, but sooner or later all the pieces ended up in the big box anyway.
I don't think I would have become a programmer, if not for those weekends when I would sit in front of a desk-sized box of bricks with no instructions and imagine what I could build.
35 years later, I still browse the local Lego store from time to time. But most of the sets I find nowadays are only intended for a single configuration, usually associated with a specific IP like Star Wars or Harry Potter. Too fragile, too many stickers and custom pieces. I'm glad that the proceeds from these collectible sets help Lego stay profitable in the smartphone age, but God I miss those random Lego weekends. Brb, gotta ask my dad whether he still has that box of old bricks in his attic.
I've purposefully bought a lot of the old lego technic universal building sets second hand for my son. They come with multiple ideas and the type of design is less finished and more prone to modifications. I want my son to play with legos by creating his own designs, not by following a set and then shelving it
They still sell large boxes of general-purpose bricks at toy and grocery retailers around the United States. They likely don’t sell nearly as well, but every time I’ve gone to buy legos there has been one “plastic tote” box of legos for sale, no instructions just bricks.
In the US yes. Recently I was in China and was supposed that both lego stores I visited didn't have them. Only available when ordering online.
> children's toy
Adults and collectors can pay more and "nerdy" or "childlike" subcultures are viewed as mainstream.
Both of these are symptoms of the fact that societies are growing older - the median age of the US was 35 in 2000 and is around 40 in 2025. Similarly in the EU the median age was around 38 in 2000 and is around 44-45 in 2025.
Additionally, tastes change and childhoods change. For the younger generation, Minecraft and Roblox is their Legos, and for the generation before the "Lego" generation it was Erector and Mecano sets.
The norms and tastes of a boomer who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s is somewhat out of touch with younger generations, just like how someone who grew up in the 1920s or 30s was out of touch with someone growing up int he 1970s or 80s.
In 2026, the 1980s is as far back in history as WW2 was in the 1980s. Legos weren't a defining part of most childhoods globally, and there's no reason to assume they still would be.
Younger generations will wax nostalgically about Minecraft or Roblox in 20-40 years as well.
Millennials grew up in the 1980s.
"Boomer" means "old" (ie. 40 and above) now.
Wow, your very hip.
I'm not hip but I am much younger than much of HN (heck my sibling is in their mid 20s), but even I'm getting old and increasingly out of touch.
And that's what happens - tastes change and mindsets change.
People who were born in 1993-97 are already planning to or are already married, and planning to have their first child (the median age for a woman having their first child in America is around 27-28 [0]), and have a different set of tastes and views than someone who was at a similar stage in their life in late 2000s or early 2010s.
Based on the references I see on HN, a large portion of commenters seems to be in their 40s to 50s, with some younger straddlers in their late 20s or early 30s.
[0] - https://www.axios.com/2025/05/07/birth-rate-states
I tried reading the article on an iPad and then got scroll stuck in the oicture carousel. Oh well.
Try using reader mode (rectangle with two lines below). That got over the pictures.
Stud.io is great for making custom models. wish it got ported to linux...
Debian has leocad, but I haven't tried either of them.
Ah its on nixos as-well, seems nice! my .io model didn't work though.
(2023)
Some more discussion then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38653456
I wish the Polaroid exposed film.
ETA: I know how hard that would be with bricks -- would need a custom piece for a light enclosure.
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