The Unspoken Rules of LEGO Sets

Video written by Amy Muller

[freddyfox]

Another rule should be:

Don't give away your childs LEGO, even if that child is 27 years old. You ask, you could have asked..

[akaHarvesteR]

Fun fact, because most lego pieces are made of ABS plastic, they dissolve in acetone. That means you can use it to chemically weld bricks together. After the solvent evaporates you'll have a completely new and unique piece.

Mind though, that's life without parole in lego prison.

[KMB-]

At 0:28 is the LEGO display of the Prague Main train station, which is located at the main hall of the Prague Main train station. The display makers included even the display itself on the display.

[SirMola]

It's worth noting that Lego changed it's transparent pieces from polycarbonate to MABS (basically normal lego plastic with an additive) a few years back. I believe this was due to european laws. This means that new transparent pieces have the normal amount of friction, so the technique is legal now.

[klopferator]

Fun fact: Lego is the number one tire manufacturer in the world. (Of course their tires only fit Lego cars. Still counts, though.)

[BeyondtheBrick]

Illegal LEGO building will be prosecuted.

[neothermic]

Fun fact, the technic bricks shown at 4:03 are system parts, as they conform to the system - they're bricks with holes. Technic parts are usually beams (no studs on top and in odd lengths rather than even lengths). You can cross-check this with LEGO themselves, as those two long bricks are part 3703 - Brick 1x16 Ø4, 9 on LEGO's pick-a-brick, and they're listed under the LEGO System (their way of saying the System system, but that's confusing so PAB terms them as LEGO or Technic -- there's also a 3rd system that LEGO uses often... Duplo, but that's outside the scope of your video today!). If you want a technic part, the beams shown at 4:12 holding the pen are fully TECHNIC parts, rather than system parts.

Also the parts shown at 5:51 are almost all going to be MABS, rather than PC (especially if said set is from the past 5-10 years). LEGO has very few PC parts still in production. PC friction welding is almost a non-issue these days.

Props to the researchers too, as you said at 1:28 that LEGO has over 4000 distinct parts in production, and yeah, a quick cross-check with PAB's data shows 4077. That's about the part into the video where I knew your research team was going to get you there!

[johncentamore]

My kids' elementary school was a Lego test site. When new kits were developed, they had the appropriate grade level assemble it to see if it was too hard or easy for the target age group. Also had two huge Lego statues in the lobby built by the kids. One was the school mascot, the other was the US Capitol building.

[Schmeppy-]

"Or never get them permanently stuck together"...*tells you to put 2 2x2 plates together*

[csharkop]

Fun fact: any lego brick that has a stud on the side is referred to as a snot brick. Snot is an acronym of stud not on top. This differs from my childhood definition of snot brick, which was a lego that had been shoved up someone's nose.

[sketchi]

fun fact at 7:09 the smooth plate being lodged between two studs like that isnt an illegal technique
because its slightly thinner than a normal studded piece!
you can see the technique in the 10273 haunted house set for a gravestone at the front of the house

[nathanleech]

3:30 That instance of "LEGO" actually should end with an s because it is possessive, not pluralised.

[bigpharts]

There's also "please just don't eat them this time" according to my mom

[A.k.--]

The sheer amount of times the editor corrected HAI is hilarious

[AidanRatnage]

6:24 I have 14 lego sets that do have pieces permanently stuck together: the 6 Toa Mata, the 6 Toa Nuva, Takanuva and Makuta. The heads and eyes can't be separated.

[Stratelier]

LEGO actually has a very nice virtual CAD program (called "Lego Digital Designer") for building LEGO models virtually. But yeah, designing with virtual blocks definitely _does not_ communicate anything about the model's weight, structural support, or overall stability. Found that one out the hard way.

[Seed]

7:10 The plate there is legal, as it’s a flat plate and not one with studs on the top.

[gates]

For a channel about bricks I am glad to see you back to your roots.

[philcsf]

I'm wondering how much HAI Sam making Amy build a LEGO set then set in motion events that affected Jetlag Sam...

[johnathanclayton]

5:38 when the vertical piece has no studs, it's legal. That's because the flat pieces are slightly shorter than the ones with studs, so they don't flex the brick too much. The Saturn V set from a few years ago does it for the flag.