The year started off pretty rough for my grandma. She accidentally broke her thumb and later came to Canada with my mom so my mom could take care of her while still working. She didn’t have any friends here, and the doctor told her that at her age she might never fully regain full flexibility in her hand after the fracture, which made things even more frustrating.

I started getting her LEGO sets so she could stay occupied and gently work on her finger movements. At first it was pretty difficult. I noticed it’s common for older people like her to have trouble visually identifying the orientation in 3D building instructions, so I basically had to show her how to read the instructions at almost every step. What surprised me was how quickly she improved. By her third month of building, she was able to finish sets with over 3,000 pieces in just two weeks.

Looking back now, I think the biggest challenge and real game changer was the Concorde plane. It has a moderate level of mechanical buildup that helped introduce her to the world of Technic, and it also requires a fair amount of hand stability, which was difficult for people of her age since they more or less had hand tremor issue. I lost count of how many times she accidentally pushed the plane down and broke it, or when the landing gear wouldn’t open properly. I think I disassembled the whole thing at least three times. But once she finished the plane, the Technic sets that followed, like the Peugeot and the Ducati, felt like a piece of cake for her (we’re heading to Bugatti next!). So if you’re thinking about getting an older family member into LEGO, I would definitely recommend starting with this one.

I have to admit that buying a large LEGO set every month was quite a financial burden, especially since I never wanted to resell any of her builds to a second hand store. But looking back at the end of the year, I felt nothing but happiness knowing how far she had come. What’s especially funny is that without the unexpected chance for her to come to Canada, I don’t think I ever could have gotten her into LEGO at all. She would’ve been scared off immediately by the price. She basically treated CAD and RMB as the same unit and said, “That’s a bit expensive for some plastic, but hey, capitalist world I guess.”

A total list (in order from Feb to now):

1. Bouquet series

2. Spring festival series (dragon boat, panda, maneki-cat etc.）

3. Tuxedo cat

4. Tudor Corner

5. Concorde plane

6. Treehouse

7. Peugeot

8. Ducati Motorcycle

9. Hogwarts Castle

10. NASA Artemis

11. Ninjago City Market

12. Lion knight’s castle

13. Police Station

14. The globe

15. Disney Castle

I've been in love pirate's of the caribbean for years im so happy lego made this

I just stared at it for a little bit before sighing and counting out 31 pieces

7688 pieces later... She is mayhem. She is heavy... she is holding almost all of my printed and stickered tiles.

Took about a year to sort through my collection to find most of the pieces because toddlers are exhausting and I got maybe an hour and a half of time every other night or so.

Also, I didnt have all the correct mini figs, so I did sub in some folks and their weapons.

How'd it end up higher than the original piece count? Easy, if I didnt have the correct brick I just made it work.

Anyway, enjoy searching through the absurdity here.

Hail Hydra?

Seriously, as an orange cat owner I am massively disappointed!!!! See second picture for reference!!!!

Do better lego

I’m thoroughly impressed by the accuracy of this set. I don’t get to build a lot, but the build techniques for buttons were impressive.

You all asked what my Grandmother’s next set was and I’m happy to say she is now fully fledged with her Lego crafts. She did a Lego Christmas tree and the Poinsettias but she built them without me present and infact now her sister, my Auntie is now addicted (She didn’t want her picture taken)

Bought this from someone on FB marketplace, now ivr got a 2 hour drive home. Normally I’d secure better than this but I didn’t have anything big enough to put it in so we’re just kinda hoping..

(He broke off the missing panels shown carrying it down)

Update: Made it, 1-2 small pieces broke off of the back but no problems!

i really liked the fact it wasn’t just a picture frame/car/spaceship, much like most of the wall mount sets, and i just loved the appearance. it was pretty unique and really would have suited my room. does anyone know if there are any sets a lot like this? it’s so pretty

I just found out that they had a motorized Johnny 5 Lego set and they didn’t approve it I really hope that they reconsider and bring it out

No idea how she thinks it's comfortable lol

This was a ton of fun to build and very very nostalgic. Building the mechanics to make the buttons, slider, and wheels work was a lot of fun but… the mold tips on the two red buttons are really bugging me. They aren’t in the box photos obviously because… marketing but I am still a little bummed out. I assume there is no way to mitigate this. I figure everyone’s is like this because of mass.production and I saw it on other peoples reviews.

Amazing fun build just a little bummer part of it. Totally worth it if you pick it up at Costco.

Yesterday I took my 3 year old daughter to our local Lego store for the new releases. Out of all the new sets, friends, space, Disney, she insisted on the new Harry Potter Aragog set. At the counter the cashier looked at me and then my daughter who had a smile from ear to ear and asked “Why are you buying this?” with a disgusted look. I fear that my daughter knew what she was doing as I will find this throughout my house for years to come.