It All Started with Lego Set 110

[Buzzetta]

It went from Lego to Star Wars to comics. Those that know me already are well acquainted with my love of the plastic brick.

 

I must have been about three years old when my grandparents surprised us and announced that they were taking us to Disney World. Shortly before the trip I became very sick and it was questionable whether or not we would even go, let alone postpone the vacation. After all, my grandparents wanted us to see Mickey Mouse but wanted us to do Disney at full capacity.

 

I was the first grandchild and my maternal grandfather, Andy Buzzetta, who I have made mention of before, brought me something that completely changed my world. He brought me my very first Lego set. My grandfather, a WWII combat veteran, was not a cruel man or a stone faced hard man by any stretch of the imagination. But, as my mom told me, he was a bit distant at times when they were growing up. He was VERY strict and demanding but always loving. We began to understand the motivations behind this years ago as Tom Brokaw explored "The Greatest Generation" and this seemed to be common among WWII veterans where there seemed to be a distance between their own children and themselves, but they grew very attached to the grandchildren. In fact, he opened up about certain aspects of the war to me when I would ask him about it when I was in second grade, shortly before his passing, which was something he never really spoke about to my mother.

 

Anyway, when he heard how sick I was, he came to visit one day with a gift in hand. He doted on my brother and I. I unwrapped it and there before me was a toy that was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was my first Lego set. My parents and grandparents explained to me that with that set I could build anything I wanted. To me that was the game changer. Build anything I wanted? I most certainly did. My grandfather crafted most anything out of wood in his workshop. I was now given that opportunity with plastic bricks. With that set, began a love for the plastic brick that has lasted into my late 30's.

 

Now, back then Lego made basic bricks with few specialized elements. There were basic rectangular bricks and a few doors and windows. There were pictures, but no instructions. It was up to you and your imagination. Those bricks were eventually absorbed into my collection and I could not tell you which are pieces from the original set. However I made it a quest to track down what that original set was and to find a box complete with tray and liner. I knew that I would have to source the parts myself.

 

About a two weeks ago, I finally found it and sourced the vintage parts, quite a few of which are no longer in production, to recreate a complete sample of my first Lego set. I present to you, Lego set 110.

 

See more journals by Buzzetta

[Buzzetta]

 

 

 

[Jeffro.]

Very cool. This was one of my earliest sets

http://brickset.com/sets/912-1/Advanced-Basic-Set-with-Motor-6

[Hibou]

I like the history of how you got into these... I admit that I don't know much about Legos but I see that they're insanely popular and some of these new sets are very cool!

 

"About a two weeks ago, I finally found it and sourced the vintage parts, quite a few of which are no longer in production, to recreate a complete sample of my first Lego set. I present to you, Lego set 110."

 

I find it amazing that you were able to do this!

 

Congratulations!

[webeloobie]

I had the exact same set! My parents gave it to me for xmas when we lived in Monterey, CA between 77 and 79. The blue and red door was so cool to me and I built so many buildings just so I could use that piece. I also have a distinct memory of building the blue and black car on the back and played with it for hours and hours.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Vikingreed]

Such a cool story!

Thank you for sharing.

It is awesome you were able to piece together that original set.

[Rune]

Good to see the old Danish Lego having such impact

 

I don't remember my first set - but I do remember getting the 497 Galaxy Explorer and I was not the same boy afterwards "To boldly go where no boy has gone before"

 

 

This still brings tears to my soft eyes:

 

 

And:

 

 

Right now the kids are more fond of Minecraft Lego, this is basically what they got for Christmas 2014 - they have their own Lego room, for now:

 

 

 

[vader2001]

It's awesome that you have that memory with your Grandfather.

 

My wife got me started with my brick obsession with Lego. I started late collecting Lego. My wife and I walked through the Lego store at the Mall of America and I saw General Grievous set 10186 and I said that was a cool set. Well she bought if for me for our anniversary. It lead me to have a part time job at the lego store for 3 years. I quiet working there last May, but I still have a few friends that work there.

 

If you haven't tried bricklink.com you can get almost anything Lego related there.

 

 

[Jeffro.]

They only have 4 or 5 dates per year but if Lego Kidsfest comes to an area close to you, it's very fun.

[Buzzetta]

Many thanks...

 

Sourcing the bricks was easy thanks to eBay (the parts I needed were actually cheaper than what I saw at Bricklink at the time)

 

Jeffro - you should definitely get that set again.

 

Vader - I also have the new Arkham Asylum and am glad I pulled the trigger on it as soon as I saw it. People are paying an insane price for it now.

[Brandon Shepherd]

Great story, reading your journal reminded me of the legos handed down to me from my older brother, He's in his early 40s now and I'm in my early 30s. I vaguely recall when he first gave me his collection in the late '80s, needless to say, I made a big mess in the guest room and my mom decided I was not quit old enough yet. Fast forward a few years later and I got a second chance. Of course, all I heard from my parents was how my brother spent hours playing with them and how his creations were ineradicable... Typical middle child ordeals.

 

As I got my own sets to build and destroy, the vintage legos and mine became mixed. Several years ago I had some time on my hands and decided to try and separate my brother's bricks from mine. I became compelled to do this after my mom made a comment about how my brother and I would have to fight over them. I went through each brick and went from memory and observation to separate. The 70s plastic was not quite as glossy as my late '80/early '90s bricks, the old bricks also had more scuffs, and also, I never had any sets with the classic space man with the chest logo that easily fades. All is well now and my brother and I have what are mostly our original legos again, i think.

 

Thanks for posting a great story and starting a great conversation. I have not bought a lego set in years but I want to again, I think it would be therapeutic after a day spend giving instructions to others at the office, to just sit there and follow the visual instructions and accomplish something outside of work.

[Mickey7]

That's a nice story about your first Lego. It's certainly a major accomplishment putting that set back together again.

 

I recently started a search for a couple Lego sets that were my first as a child (a few Classic Castle & Space sets). They will probably be a little challenging to find, but I'm sure not as tough as that Lego 110 box was to find.

 

Congrats again. (thumbs u

 

 

[surfer99]

What a cool story Buzzetta, thanks for sharing! It reminds me of the times I used to play Legos with my two boys. We would dump out their Lego tubs and just go to town for a couple hours. I don't know if we had more fun following the instructions or doing a free for all to see who could build the coolest or fastest car thingy. We also made a few trips to Legoland CA after they first opened. SO much fun!!!

 

 

[Timely]

Good to see the old Danish Lego having such impact

 

I don't remember my first set - but I do remember getting the 497 Galaxy Explorer and I was not the same boy afterwards "To boldly go where no boy has gone before"

 

 

 

Awesome! I had that lego set as a kid. Well, actually my brother had it, but I played with it A LOT!

[guatoman-migration]

great thread! I got back to lego because of the marvel sets.

do you know if there are any sites where you can post fan pics of your own lego constructions?

[Buzzetta]

great thread! I got back to lego because of the marvel sets.

do you know if there are any sites where you can post fan pics of your own lego constructions?

 

Absolutely...

 

Check out these sites and their links:

 

eurobricks.com

 

brothers-bricks.com

 

FBTN.net