Lego fandom

Lego fandom is the fan community that exists around Lego toys.^{[1]: 164 [2]: 248–249}

Cosplay of Emmet Brickowski from The LEGO Movie (2014)

Adult fans of Lego at a Lego workshop event

Lego workspace of a Lego enthusiast

While Lego is primarily seen as a children's toy, there are also a significant number of adult fans of Lego, known by the abbreviation AFOL.^[3]: 119

Adult fans of Lego (AFOL)

Adult members of the Lego fandom are called adult fans of Lego (AFOL).^{[4]: 221 [5]: 227} Many AFOLs design complex sets, known as MOCs ("My Own Creation"), sometimes using computer software such as LDraw or MLCAD for their planning. Such sets may be intended for public display during various events, and some have attracted media attention, such as Sean Kenney's model of Yankee Stadium, a six-foot-wide (1.8 m) and five-foot-long (1.5 m) construction of 45,000 pieces created over a period of three years, or Mark Borlase's Star Wars Hoth diorama of 60,000 bricks and four-year construction time.^{[3]: 123–124} Many AFOLs have dedicated "Lego rooms" in their houses.^[3]: 124

Activities of more dedicated AFOLs go beyond creating Lego models, and include attending Lego conventions, participating in online Lego communities, and less often, cosplay, writing fanfiction or drawing fan art.^{[2]: 248–249}

Large AFOL conventions include events such as Brickworld, BrickFair, or Bricks by the Bay.^[3]: 123

Many AFOLs self-identify as "geeks" or "nerds".^[3]: 123 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.^{[3]: 121–122} AFOLs usually played with Lego sets as kids, and rediscovered the hobby at some later time in their nostalgic adulthood.^{[3]: 123, 125}

The Lego Group 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.^[2]: xxvi In some cases, entire official Lego sets can be seen as intended not for children but for adult fans.^[6]

Abbreviations and jargon

Lego fans have coined a large variety of jargon, many of which are acronyms or initialisms. The Lego Group also uses some of these terms.^[7][8][9]

• AFOL — adult fan(s) of Lego^[10][11][12]
• BAM — Build-a-Minifigure,^[13] minifigure pieces sold at retail Lego Stores with occasional exclusive parts
• BI — building instructions^[10]
• BURP — big ugly rock piece^[10][11]
• CC — classic Castle,^[10][11] a popular retired Lego theme
• GWP — gift with purchase,^[9] usually an exclusive set
• LAN — Lego Ambassador Network^[12]
• LUG — Lego user(s) group^[10][11][12]
• LURP — little ugly rock piece^[10][11]
• MF — minifig,^[10] a Lego minifigure
• MOC — my own creation,^[10][11][12] a build made without following official Lego instructions
• PAB — Pick-a-Brick,^[10] pieces sold in bulk at retail Lego Stores
• SNOT — studs not on top,^[7][11] referring to a brick with studs e.g. on the side or bottom
• UCS — Ultimate Collector Series,^[8][10][11] a Lego theme of detailed display builds aimed at adults

See also

• LUGNET
• The Art of the Brick