Ever been at a LEGO convention and had to endure the awkwardness of meeting new AFOLs, with no idea of where to start the conversation? I know I sure have. OK, partly that’s because it was in Finland and my Finnish doesn’t go much further than ‘I like your LEGO model’. Still, if you’re looking for an ice-breaker question to get to know your fellow hobbyists a bit better, then take inspiration from our weekly TBB Asks feature! This week, TBB Asks if you have any favourite bits of LEGO memorabilia that aren’t LEGO bricks. Yes, even outside the world of bricks there is loads of LEGO swag to be had, some of it quite rare!
Let’s see if any of our staff have anything special in their collection – or indeed, if our readers do. Let us know if you’ve got some cool collectibles in the comments!
Kimberly: So my girl friends and I all have matching Lego GOAT T-shirts featuring an embroidered original goat. Nothing says classy like an embroidered t-shirt.
Steve: Too many to name! But truly it must be my Legoland stocknagel [the metal badge in the picture below].
Bre: Well first of all, I had no idea that we’re amongst LUP royalty, apparently. How do I get in the will to inherit one of those shirts, Steve?!
As for me, I have a couple of unique/rare things, and a handful of fun items that are not rare but I thoroughly enjoy them. I also like the VIP coins because… Shiny. And I frequently wear my VIP flatbill, which I have bought a bunch of other random patches for in addition to the included ones.
Kyle: I still have all the big includes from the 90’s sets like the UFO mask and the Time Twisters time TV.
[Author’s note: the one pictured above isn’t Kyle’s – it belongs to appropriately-named Flickr user Alpha Draconis, who wrote a fascinating review of this sealed copy over on Eurobricks. It’s still really cool, though.]
Theo: The only non-brick stuff I really have is books. That said, one of the Dorling Kindersley books published circa 2008 was basically how I found out about MOCs, AFOLs and the LEGO community (and by extension sites like the Brothers Brick!), so it holds a special place in my heart.
So it’s not a competition… But if it was, I think Steve has definitely won this week. If you like LEGO merch (and some serious throwbacks), do go and check out his Flickr album. But if you’ve got anything that you think beats his stocknagel – let us know in the comments!