We are Lego Maniacs. We started at Hockessin Public Library with piles of pieces at our disposal for a couple hours every other week. My younger son, Isaac, could hardly walk, but had no interest in the big blocks on the floor. He wanted in on the action at the tables full of colors and tiny shapes. Builders had to break down their creations at the end of each session and we always helped to clean up with the teenage volunteers. The boys developed a sense of impermanence about Lego. It shouldn’t gather dust. It should be put to work on a new, or at least modified, creation.
Isaac is nine now and a wizard with bricks. From structural integrity and color coordination to collaboration and flat out creativity, he is always building with magic. It was his idea to include a staircase down into our as-yet-unnamed UFO project. I built the trap doors and left space inside for him. Now he’s got the stairs in place and working on his scene. In the hours since taking these pictures, the stairs have been strengthened and lowered so the doors can close more fully.
I plan another post devoted to a tour of our UFO.
His older brother, Westen, is the storyteller. He takes elements from comics, audiobooks (presently Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology), videogames, and movies and works them all together to create worlds full of characters. His latest modification is to an Overwatch set. He kept the mech frame and color palette and added lots of textures, rockets, and, why not, a battle axe. While experimenting with Bionicle elements, he learned some tricks to help me to beef up the stabilizing legs for our UFO.
Isaac never seems to break from playing and exploring new techniques. This late-day build started with interlocking gears, acquired a studs-not-on-top (SNOT) knob, added wheels and belts, then got dressed up with Isaac’s gigantic initial. It is far from finished (he was reluctant for me to share it at this stage), but it showcases his skill in design and engineering.
We’ve spent a lot of time in our workshop. The afternoon light pours in and we get lost in audiobooks and building.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason