> like the fact that Legos are sold as pre-planned structures and not generic building blocks
This is completely tangential, but to be fair they're sold in both ways. I'm what most people would call a grown man, but I still can't help myself (or my girlfriend sometimes) and we pick up the odd set.
You can still buy large sets of mixed blocks, as well as the models. I've got a few models posted around my place because I enjoy them, but we also have [at least one] classic creator kit[s]. Even as a "grown up" it feels good for the soul sometimes.
I hear you, but this isn't a new conundrum in creative fields/play.
Artists' studios have long worked in a similar way, employing others to continually emulate an original ideal that an artist would ultimately brand.
I understand it's a little different, but we don't regret people admiring da Vinci as much as they do. People haven't stopped painting since the works of masters, and in many cases are inspired to see what is possible— and people still paint as a creative act. With reference to Lego— I covet that Apollo Saturn rocket model, and I'm often in awe of some of the creativity and skill that has gone into many of the models designed in their studios.
I grew up in the age of Lego models, though less sophisticated than they are now— I did start with my mother's early 70's sets.
Maybe the issue lies elsewhere— not that the predesigned models exist at all, but the consumerist motivation to just buy up those [models] for children instead of first exposing them to the basics without any other aspiration and gradually increasing exposure. I mean, that's how we've done painting for a long time— the kids get finger paints, wax crayons and cheap newsprint first. Then later they can see some master works, and maybe get a paint-by-numbers to see that their hands are just as capable of producing the same with the right practice.
Well I have to say that I’m really not tackling it haha.
My girlfriend and I share a one bedroom apartment and it’s a touch small (having downsized for reasons not our own).
I do keep a series of bookshelves along one wall that are largely filled with books but leave some space for other things like a couple of models. Others sit on the TV stand. They’re just kind of peppered in places where they won’t get in the way but are still viewable
When I was a kid ~25 years ago it wasn't the "classic" blocks I was jealous of my friends for having though. It was something like the Forbidden Island (6270) set as shown here:
The 90s LEGO sets were maybe the golden age. Classic pirates were maybe some of the best that there ever were. I salivated over those sets back in the day
This is completely tangential, but to be fair they're sold in both ways. I'm what most people would call a grown man, but I still can't help myself (or my girlfriend sometimes) and we pick up the odd set.
You can still buy large sets of mixed blocks, as well as the models. I've got a few models posted around my place because I enjoy them, but we also have [at least one] classic creator kit[s]. Even as a "grown up" it feels good for the soul sometimes.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/classic/