Lego has said it is reversing its policy on bulk purchases and will no longer ask customers what they want to use the bricks for.The U-turn follows a recent controversy involving Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.In October last year, Ai accused Lego of censorship when it refused to sell its bricks directly to him.The company said its policy was to reject requests if it believed the bricks would be used to make a political statement.Ai is known for his criticism of the Chinese government as well as for being one of the world's leading contemporary artists. He wanted the bricks for an artwork on political dissidents. The artist ended up using "fake" bricks donated to him by the public for an exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.Ai appeared to react to Lego's decision on Wednesday by posting a picture on Instagram of a young boy sticking bricks onto his face, accompanied by a grinning emoji caption. When Lego first refused to sell a bulk order of plastic bricks to Ai Weiwei in September, he's thought to have kept the news to himself.
But a few weeks later, the announcement that a new Legoland theme park would open in Shanghai led the artist to reveal Lego's decision to stay away from projects that had a "political agenda". It was a surprising decision by Lego. After all, Ai Weiwei had used Lego before. He created a series of portraits of political dissidents that appeared at an exhibition in Alcatraz prison in 2014. Back in October, the artist tied Lego's financial interests in China with its decision to refuse his order. His accusation has some merit: KIRKBI, the private Danish company that owns the Lego brand also owns a significant amount of shares in Merlin Entertainment, the British company that operates Legolands around the world.China is Lego's fastest growing market and the company wouldn't want to irritate Beijing. However, as Lego might attest, few would want to battle the feisty Ai Weiwei. In a statement posted on its website on Tuesday, Lego said it used to ask customers ordering bulk purchases for the "thematic purpose" of their project, as it did not want to "actively support or endorse specific agendas"."
However, those guidelines could result in misunderstandings or be perceived as inconsistent, and the Lego Group has therefore adjusted the guidelines for sales of Lego bricks in very large quantities," it said.As of 1 January the company will instead ask that customers make clear the group does not support or endorse their projects, if exhibited in public.Lego's earlier decision to refuse Ai's request angered the artist, who accused the company of censorship and discrimination, and of attempting to define political art.The artist told the BBC he welcomed Lego's change of heart."I think Lego made a good move, I think this would be a small victory for freedom of speech." The artist also linked Lego's stance with business interests in China.The controversy sparked a public backlash resulting in supporters around the world offering to donate toy bricks.Ai set up "Lego collection points" in different cities, and ended up making a new series of artworks based on the incident as a commentary on freedom of speech and political art.
Correction: This article was changed to make it clear that Ai Weiwei's Melbourne exhibition used non-Lego bricks. Create a Just Bricks account and you'll: - Receive exclusive offers via email (no spam, promise) - Browse and Checkout much faster - Access your purchase history and change your detailsCome Play With Us! Bricks & Minifigs® is your one-stop LEGO® shop! We are the largest toy store of our kind, specializing in only new and used LEGO® items. We buy and trade all things LEGO®, from tubs of bulk to storage unit sized collections. If it’s LEGO®, we’ll take it!!Enjoy our selection of individual minifigs, bulk bricks, components and accessories. With the largest assortment of new, used and retired sets we keep your collection growing! Bricks & Minifigs is built on the principle of the 3 R'sREBUILD with thousands of pieces to choose from ensuring you'll have those childhood sets rebuilt in no time.REUSE is our way or saying that we buy, sell and trade anything Lego brand and pay top dollar for it.
REIMAGINE those sets you get from us by creating your own masterpiece straight from your imagination.This year, I have been slowly building my first Lego collection. My kids and GeekMom Jenny each have tubs of Lego bricks that belong to them individually. I felt left out after visiting Legoland with Jenny, so I started my own collection. When I started buying, I did a lot of research, so that I could get the most out of my investment in a fairly expensive hobby. The first thing I needed, no argument, was bricks. There are many ways to get a bunch of bricks at once. I started with the Lego Build and Play Box. It’s a great starter set, highlighted by its large storage box, but I’ve found some cheaper options. Here is a breakdown of the average prices I could find: 884 piece Lego Education Brick Set 779384 = 6.1 cents per brick 650 piece Lego Bricks & More Builders of Tomorrow Set 6177 = 6.3 cents per brick (discontinued and no longer available, as of 11/2016) 1,000 piece Lego Build and Play Box 4630 = 11.6cents per brick
650 piece Lego Creative Building Kit 5749 = 7.1 cents per brick 1,600 piece Lego XXL Brick Box 5512 = 13.4 cents per brick (this one has been discontinued, hence its elevated price) As you can see, the Lego Education Brick Set has some serious bang for its buck. It’s a medium size kit, with 11 sizes and 9 colors. The bricks are pretty basic, but that’s the best place to start. I get the most use out of basic shapes, because they are so versatile. Specialized pieces often have just one purpose, and don’t get used as much. The next thing I needed was a plate. Plates are the foundation that you build your creations on. It’s possible to build on a table, but plates make the whole experience simpler and more fun. Lego makes two 10″ plates, one in green for general use, and one in blue for water scenes. Generally you can find one for about five bucks. There is also an XL gray plate, which measures 15″, but it runs around $15 right now. I own just one green plate, and it is worth its weight in gold.
Honorable mention goes to the Brick Separator. Another thing that is invaluable. Saves me so much trouble when disassembling. Though these are often included in specialty kits for free. The last thing I needed was minifigs. There are hundreds of options. As a matter of fact, according to xkcd, there will be more minifigs in the world than people by the year 2019! Where to start then? This is definitely not a case for the basics. I wanted my minifigs to be special, ones I’d like looking at forever. Since Rory is my favorite character in (I mean, how could I not like a total dork with the same name as me?), I got the Series 10 Roman Commander (read: Centurion). The kids then surprised me with a pile of parts from old minifigs that they didn’t want any more. This was great because I was able to make a few that I liked, and have the ability to change things up. After that, the sky (read: wallet) was the limit. There are so many themed kits it would take an enormous amount of money to get them all.
I suggest ignoring sets like the ones, for example, because the scenes are not versatile at all. This makes me sad, because I love everything. I just don’t have room in my house for a permanent installment of Krang’s Lab, and it’s not fun (for me) to keep building the same thing over and over again. There are a couple of exceptions. If you love one of the kits so much that it’s worth its own place in your home, buy away. GeekMom Jenny has three Lego Architecture sets that have their own shelf in her office. Also, Lego Creator sets are somewhere between free form and regular kits. Each of them makes three things officially. I love the LEGO Creator Fierce Flyer 31004, which has three official builds: an eagle, a beaver, and a scorpion. The only rule of buying Lego products is to never buy something you won’t use. If that means you never buy basic kits because you’d prefer to build a Lego Delorean, that’s okay! Buy things you love, so you will get the most out of them.