As I was toying around with my father’s 1960s LEGO, it occurred to me that in my household there are LEGO from three distinctly separate eras: first from the early 1960s (my father), then from the late 1970s to late 1980s (myself), and finally from the latter half of the noughties until present day (my son). From each of these five to ten year periods a pretty representative collection of models (or at least bricks) exists. But from the in-between years, a big fat nothing. I have nothing and I know almost nothing. Adult fans of LEGO (AFOL) call these years the dark ages. I have missed the LEGO maxi-figs of the 1970s, the jelly bean knights of the 1990s, the town fading and finally returning as city and who knows what else. Yet, from the active periods there are literally dozens of LEGO models here.
This is how it seems to roll with LEGO. As a child is growing up, there is maybe a ten year window of opportunity for LEGO. It is extended somewhat upstream by the occasional LEGO attempts at babies and downstream certainly by the computerized Technic and Mindstorm products, but the basic premise still stands – you need various skills to build LEGO, but at the same time a certain playfulness to enjoy it. These requirements naturally limit the primary target market, perhaps roughly from ages 4-14, give or take a couple of years to either direction. Many teenagers will at some point find LEGO too toylike and move on to more sinister things. And so the dark ages begin.
Clearly there have been two LEGO dark ages for my family as a whole: roughly speaking the 1970s and the 1990s. Each of the periods in light is separated by some 15 years in the dark. I guess that is the length of time it usually takes for one to grow through their teens, grow up and have a child of their own. It makes sense. When a new family-member reaches LEGO age, the hobby is rekindled. This, I guess, is also a time where many adults like myself find their inner-AFOL. Without the teenage stress and hurry to be all adult, many grown-ups allow themselves to enjoy toylike things again. With children certainly, but possibly by themselves too.
So, there is much to rediscover out there, but for myself also literally decades of LEGO to discover for the first time. I like that potential, even though I have no idea where and how far my new-found AFOL hobby will take me. Maybe I will just build this one classic castle and return to being simply a LEGO parent, or perhaps there will be more. The beauty of dark ages is, you can always return to the light.
16 Responses to Dark ages
[…] as well. As a child growing up though, I remember reverting to the opposing direction as my dark ages approached: I rebuilt all the original sets I had torn up for my own creations – at least the […]
[…] Hayabusa is only the second major LEGO set I’ve built by myself after my dark ages, including the incomplete 6080 King’s Castle. I have built a lot with my son, though, just […]
[…] is one of the last LEGO sets I acquired, before entering the dark ages. It may even be the last one. Its condition is very good compared to the rest of my old collection, […]
[…] see how the 1984 black horse has simpler eyes than the white (this changed in 2010). Also note the dark ages effect: We have no Castle, Knight’s Kingdom, Ninja figures or the like from 1989-2009. Of […]
[…] from my 1989 trip to London and according to the interwebs, it was released the year prior. My dark ages began in 1990, so this was one – possibly the one – of my last LEGO sets as a child. […]
[…] I last visited, much of the park had been the same since 1970s. And still is. But when I entered my dark ages in 1990, the park started expanding with the opening of Pirate Land. Later came Knight’s […]
[…] noughties LEGO used aviator caps and wild studded headgear in some space sets. But I must pleed the dark ages there. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. Leave a Comment by […]
[…] I am not planning any major revolutions to the structure of the blog, I think I have found my groove and will continue with it this fall. Feedback is welcome, of course. I expect to revolve around specific building “quests”, like the Quest for Lion Knight’s castle, as well as continue reporting on the rediscovery of LEGO as an adult fan coming out of the dark ages. […]
[…] and 1986. The theme was replaced by simpler 9V LEGO Trains in 1991, a year after I had entered my dark ages. As always, Brickipedia has a historical summary to fill in the blanks. Share […]
[…] have been discussing the dark ages effect plenty here myself (see also this and this) and the editorial was thought-provoking. As someone who […]
[…] the dark ages were a blessing after all. Looking at the present-day LEGO, it is easy to trace their lineage back […]
[…] Lion Knights’ castle, I have been retracing my childhood LEGO hobby (see e.g. posts 1989 and Dark ages). One of my sources is my childhood LEGO collection, which luckily is pretty much intact inside a […]
[…] introduced in 1992 for the LEGO Castle theme (6075 Wolfpack Tower), BURPs and LURPs came out during my dark ages, so I became acquainted with them only after my AFOL initation. This Christmas I finally crossed […]
[…] LEGO and gotten to know the AFOL hobby. I have learned plenty of LEGO lessons too, pondered the dark ages and made some observations about past LEGO generations. It has been an interesting mental and […]
[…] – there are ninjas, skeletons, wizards and probably a token space alien though. I guess the dark ages were a blessing after […]
[…] of the train baseplate, but I didn’t really pay attention to these things back then. The dark ages can make you ignorant, it […]