2019-07-06 15-03-03 ILCE-6500 DSC02358 DxO (48514822261)

Lego fandom is the

fan community A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

that exists around the

Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...

toys. While Lego is primarily seen as a children's toy, there are a significant number of adult fans of Lego (AFOL).

Adult fans of Lego

Adult members of the Lego fandom are called adult fans of Lego (AFOL). Many AFOLs design complex sets, known as MOCs ("My Own Creation"), using computer software such as

LDraw LDraw is a system of freeware tools for modeling Lego creations in 3D on a computer. The LDraw file format and original program were written by James Jessiman, although the file format has since evolved and extended. He also modeled many of the ...

or MLCAD for their planning. Such sets are often intended for public display during various events and some have attracted media attention, such as Sean Kenney's model of the

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, a and construction of 45,000 pieces, created over a period of three years, or Mark Borlase's Star Wars

Hoth Hoth is an ice planet in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and has also been a setting in ''Star Wars'' books and video games. Description Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote s ...

diorama of 60,000 bricks and four-year construction time. Many AFOLs have dedicated "Lego rooms" in their houses. Activities of more dedicated AFOLs go beyond creating Lego models, and include attending Lego conventions, participating in online Lego communities, and less often,

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

, writing

fanfiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...

or drawing

fan art Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals. As fan labor, fan art refers to ...

. Large AFOL conventions include events such as Brickworld,

BrickFair BrickFair is a Lego convention and exhibition held annually in the Eastern United States. It was first held in 2008 at Tysons Corner, Virginia by Todd Webb, and in subsequent years, the flagship Virginia convention has been held in Chantilly, typi ...

or Bricks by the Bay. Many AFOLs self-identify as "

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

s" or "

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...

s". In the United States, in the mid-2010s, most AFOLs were white, college-educated males in their 20s or 30s, although as time goes, the age of the average member of the community is steadily increasing, as more people who grew up with Lego become middle-aged or older. AFOLs usually played with Lego sets as kids, and rediscovered the hobby at some later time in their nostalgic adulthood. The LEGO company recognizes the AFOL community as an important part of its customer base and maintains a number of outreach programs connecting it to the fan community. In some cases, entire official Lego sets can be seen as intended not for children but for adult fans.

References

{{Lego Lego Fandom 20th-century establishments

Adult fans of Lego

See also

References