As anyone who knows me is aware, I am a big fan of building blocks. The “Lego standard” for lack of a better term is what I follow. In other words, it does not matter who the manufacturer is, as long as the set is compatible with Lego building blocks then things are all good.
I have been playing with Lego since I was a little boy. I got my first set when I was five years old and I was hooked. I used to play by myself for hours on end. I had almost a hundred sets and thousands upon thousands of pieces. I had them all sorted, not only by color but also by specialty pieces.
Recently, I discovered another company that manufactures Lego-compatible sets. This company is based in Canada and is now known as Mega Brands. They were formerly known at Ritvik, and then changed their name to Mega Bloks prior to their current name. They manufacture a line of building block toys known as the Pro Builder Series. These sets truly have to be seen to be believed. Most of them are large sets numbering between 500 and 1,000 pieces. Some of the larger sets, such as the Sea Wolf Submarine and the Endeavour Space Shuttle, are over 2,000 pieces.
In around Christmas time last year (2008), my roommates little boy started to have the same affinity for Lego that I once had. Seeing that, it rekindled my passion for the product. His first Lego set was the Lego Police Station (Set 7744), a very large set that numbers 953 pieces. It took my roommate and I almost 2 1/2 hours to build after the little guy went to bed. Since then, I would buy him the occasional Lego set and we would put them together.
In April (2009), I gave him the Lego Police Command Center for his birthday. This set was not nearly as large, numbering 524 pieces. It only took me about an hour to put together. This time, I wrapped up the box but already had the set built so he could play with it immediately. I remember when I was five years old that I really did not like waiting for my father to put anything together for me.
It was around this time that I discovered the Mega Brands Mega Bloks Pro-Builder series. I was in Wal-Mart and they had a set there on sale for $9.99. It was an older set, the Army Chopper (Set 9786). I did not know it at the time, but this set was first manufactured in 2004 and had been long discontinued. What it was doing in this Wal-Mart in May of 2009 is beyond me.
Regardless, we came home and built the chopper. Myles (the aforementioned five year old) helped out, and it took us almost two hours to put together this 245 piece set. He found the pieces and I showed him where they went on the chopper. Once it was finished, I must admit to being immediately impressed with the build quality of the product. This product was built so solidly that despite its being manhandled by a five year old (and his three year old little brother), it withstood the barrage with no damage (except the top of the tail and the rotor occasionally popping off). It was at this time that I began my hunt to purchase more of the Mega Bloks Pro Builder products.
Since that time, I have tracked down numerous sets. At first, I was just building them as a hobby, and then passing them off to the kids to play with (or destroy). I then had the bright idea to save the sets until Christmas, and build them a city that they can immerse themselves into on Christmas day. I think that will make a fabulous end to an already exciting day of opening presents.
This is my project. It is big, and very ambitous. Yet it will be fun, not only to build, but to see their faces when they see a basement full of building blocks.
Within the subsequent child pages I will post photos of the sets that I build, along with some comments about each set. Once I get the city completely setup, I will also post photos (and perhaps a panoramic video).
