Bricked Up

 Among the New Year's resolutions I'm trying to keep is to cut my spending, which includes all the LEGO mini sets I've bought from Walgreens and elsewhere.  Actually, I was dead set on quitting LEGO's and other toys altogether to save money and legroom.  But something happened while spending the holidays with family, specifically when deciding the best Christmas gift for my nephew.

LEGO City: Construction Steamroller (60401)

Actually, it was recommended that I just get some putty for my nephew.  When all I could find was slime, I wound up grabbing this set from the pile and wrapping it.  But though the nephew was old enough, I found out firsthand that tiny building blocks were not his speed.  So long story short, I ending up building the thing myself and giving my family a neat little display piece for their kitchen.  Right after, I was asked a favor . . .

Opmind 5-in-1 STEM RC Robot Building Kit (Samurai/Ninja)

Front View with Remote Control

Rear View

Along with the retro gaming console from my last post, my relatives dug up this building set from the basement, hoping I could complete it for the nephew.  I didn't mind, as it give me something to do between eating, gaming, my phone and Netflix.  A very LEGO-esque off-brand toy, this had more than 100 parts, ran on both AA and AAA alkaline batteries, and even the thumb sticks on the remote control needed assembly.  It could also run on a phone app and assemble into multiple forms.

Though technically my biggest LEGO project to date, the hard part was finding all the batteries.  Much like how playing fewer video games made me love gaming again, actually working on the toys I have had also renewed my love for LEGO's.  Coming back to both hobbies refreshed, there's still one issue left to deal with.

LEGO Minifigures: Series 27/28 (71048/71051)

Series 27

Series 28

This is where it all started and, for a time, where it ended.  Since being able to buy the figures without having to buy the sets,  I've rounded up quite a few (duplicates) through the years.  Never having actually completed a set till I collected the 2nd round of Disney figures.  At which point I've quit LEGO's cold turkey.  But these latest collections have pulled me back.  I needed just 4 more figs to complete Series 27 before my local Walgreens stop selling that and now had Formula 1 Mini Race Cars in stock.  Then they put up Series 28 and against common sense and fiscal responsibility, I grabbed my first 2 (pictured above).  At this point, I'm now committed to completing one set of figures or the other; then, no more figures.  Though I'll keep building LEGO's in general.

While waiting to see how that goes, I've got more toys that I'm excited to unbox.  I hope you'll view my next blog as the Top of the Heap seems to keep stacking up.  See you next time.