LEGO
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | LEGO; Lego |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Ole Kirk Christiansen |
| Date(s): | 1932- |
| Medium: | Building Toy; Model Building |
| Country of Origin: | Denmark |
| External Links: | Lego.com |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
LEGO is a popular building toy that has inspired fannish activity among many, including communities, forums, conventions, fan films (brickfilming), terminology, fan reviewers, and fan models.
In addition, various LEGO toy lines, video games, films, and TV series have inspired sub-fandoms, even among non-builders. Examples include Bionicle and Ninjago. LEGO modelling can also be a form of fancraft for other fandoms.
Terminology
There is Lego terminology for both fannish activity or fans and various pieces and building techniques. Various fans have made glossaries for the large number of terms.[1][2]
- AFOL: Adult Fan of Lego
- ALE: Adult Lego Enthusiast
- ALH: Adult Lego Hobbyist
- Collector: Someone who collects sets (relative to building from whatever you have). There's room for overlap, though.
- Minidoll: A newer design of minifigure that resembles a doll. Mostly found in the Lego Friends and Elves sets.
- MOC: My Own Creation.
- Parts Monkey: A builder who is mostly interested in the features of the parts, compared to the overall build.
- Sigfig: Signature Minifigure. A minifigure a fan uses (often as an icon) to represent themselves online
Lego Ideas
LEGO IDEAS is a relatively recent addition from the LEGO company that allows fans to submit MOCs for consideration of production by LEGO. Registered fans vote on fan models by "fan designers." A model that receives 10,000 votes is reviewed by professional Lego Designers.[3] Multiple Lego Ideas sets designed by fans have been produced by LEGO; however, some that reach the 10,000 mark are rejected.[4]
Lego Ideas is an interesting example of large companies encouraging fannish participation and viewing it as a potential source of profit. There's a crossover in fannish activities, since some LEGO Ideas submissions are models for media or celebrities with fandoms.
Example Images
Lego Youtubers
There's a significant overlap between the Lego Fandom and YouTube, to the point where rec lists for YouTube channels can number in the dozens or above.[5] Lego YouTubers may review sets, show of their own designs, or build sets on camera with commentary.
Some YouTubers have gotten significantly popular that their fans take on fandom characteristics. For example, Brickitect is a Lego collector who films videos with his son, Clark. Their channel has enough of a fandom that there are t-shirts for sale with the Brickitect logo[6] and the series has its own terminology, such as "minifingers."
Archives and Communities
On Reddit:
- "/r/lego". Archived from the original on 2022-06-26.
- "/r/legomeme". Archived from the original on 2022-04-24.
- "/r/MyOwnCreation". Archived from the original on 2022-06-08.
Resources
- Brickset: a fan-created catalogue of Lego sets that runs on affiliate-advertising.[7]
- Brickipedia a fan-run wiki for Lego products
References
- ^ The Brother's Brick Glossary
- ^ "The Brick Blogger Glossary Page". Archived from the original on 2021-10-05.
- ^ "Lego Ideas: How it Works". Archived from the original on 2022-06-22.
- ^ Mexico City & Lego An example of a rejected set.
- ^ "100 Lego YouTube Channels for Lego Fans". Archived from the original on 2021-01-17.
- ^ "Brickitect on Teespring".
- ^ "Brickset: About". Archived from the original on 2022-04-22.