“because I can see how it’s like turning a switch and once the switch is flicked, it’s too late. I think it would be very easy to be the guy at the cocktail party that for the first couple of minutes the conversation is really interesting and then after that nobody wants to hear what you’re saying.”
It’s a half truth. The full truth would mention that I’m not sure I can build anything that I would want to show anyone yet. But he laughs knowingly in response, and I know that I like him.
Andreas was born in Hanover, Germany. He tells me about the first set he can remember. His father, a minister, returned from a trip with a small red double-decker bus; Andreas was hooked, and began to build and collect LEGO train sets. At thirteen he outgrew the hobby, just like me, wanting to sell his collection to purchase an Atari. But his mom stopped him, encouraging him to put the sets in storage.
“They both remember the memories and just how much time you spent with them,” says Andreas.
“—how important it is to you...” I chime in. I don’t even realize I’m responding in the present tense.
And seven years later, he was glad his mother had stopped him from getting rid of his LEGO sets. LEGO has a way of leaking back into your life, and Andreas found himself drawn to the few pictures that were on the Internet in the early nineties.
“It was harder because the community wasn’t as established at the time. There was RTL, but people just exchanged information that way. There wasn’t as much trading,” says Stabno.
What’s the harm in getting a few sets out of storage? he asked himself. Stabno sold the famed Yellow Castle set and began to trade for train sets, the ones that were missing from his collection.
“It started small, I was buying at garage sales and selling on eBay,” he tells me. That sounds familiar. I tell him of my recent garage sale find. I’m delighted because he thinks I got a bargain. LEGO Star Wars minifigures always command a premium, plus sets at garage sales are rare, especially considering that the few local BrickLink store owners are always scouring the area on the weekends.
“You’ll have to compete with me for sets,” he says, and I can’t tell if he’s joking. I ask him if he ever worries about becoming obsessed again or if it’s too late; but before he can answer, I offer a potential justification for why this might not be a bad thing.
“It always starts small, but then it grows. But you’re not smoking or drinking or gambling. You’re just addicted to LEGO. It’s a vice, only one that’s not bad for you.”
“Well, it’s a plastic. It’s nontoxic... ,” he trails off. We both laugh, but I’m slightly uneasy at the idea that buying LEGO could become a compulsive habit.
And with that, Andreas launches into his story of acquiring the Airport Shuttle set, which is considered the Yellow Castle for LEGO train enthusiasts. The red monorail on an elevated gray track was introduced in 1991. Set 6399, MISB (mint in sealed box), is selling for $1,600 on eBay at the time of our conversation. That’s an average of $2.15 for each of the 743 pieces included.
So when he should have been studying for an actuarial exam, Andreas found himself traveling by train to pick up a LEGO train.
“The Airport Shuttle is kind of the Holy Grail of the town sets and train sets. People really like it, and it was one of the few things missing from my collection. I found an ad in the newspaper that somebody in Indiana was selling his collection. I called him and he had the Airport Shuttle. And the price he wanted for that set was $150, what I would have paid for just the monorail. I had to have it, and I asked if he could ship it to me. And he told me that he didn’t feel comfortable with that, but would be in St. Louis soon. ‘Would you meet me in St. Louis?’
“He was maybe eighteen, and his parents drove him to St. Louis. I met him in the parking lot of the train station. I had
It’s a half truth. The full truth would mention that I’m not sure I can build anything that I would want to show anyone yet. But he laughs knowingly in response, and I know that I like him.
Andreas was born in Hanover, Germany. He tells me about the first set he can remember. His father, a minister, returned from a trip with a small red double-decker bus; Andreas was hooked, and began to build and collect LEGO train sets. At thirteen he outgrew the hobby, just like me, wanting to sell his collection to purchase an Atari. But his mom stopped him, encouraging him to put the sets in storage.
“They both remember the memories and just how much time you spent with them,” says Andreas.
“—how important it is to you...” I chime in. I don’t even realize I’m responding in the present tense.
And seven years later, he was glad his mother had stopped him from getting rid of his LEGO sets. LEGO has a way of leaking back into your life, and Andreas found himself drawn to the few pictures that were on the Internet in the early nineties.
“It was harder because the community wasn’t as established at the time. There was RTL, but people just exchanged information that way. There wasn’t as much trading,” says Stabno.
What’s the harm in getting a few sets out of storage? he asked himself. Stabno sold the famed Yellow Castle set and began to trade for train sets, the ones that were missing from his collection.
“It started small, I was buying at garage sales and selling on eBay,” he tells me. That sounds familiar. I tell him of my recent garage sale find. I’m delighted because he thinks I got a bargain. LEGO Star Wars minifigures always command a premium, plus sets at garage sales are rare, especially considering that the few local BrickLink store owners are always scouring the area on the weekends.
“You’ll have to compete with me for sets,” he says, and I can’t tell if he’s joking. I ask him if he ever worries about becoming obsessed again or if it’s too late; but before he can answer, I offer a potential justification for why this might not be a bad thing.
“It always starts small, but then it grows. But you’re not smoking or drinking or gambling. You’re just addicted to LEGO. It’s a vice, only one that’s not bad for you.”
“Well, it’s a plastic. It’s nontoxic... ,” he trails off. We both laugh, but I’m slightly uneasy at the idea that buying LEGO could become a compulsive habit.
And with that, Andreas launches into his story of acquiring the Airport Shuttle set, which is considered the Yellow Castle for LEGO train enthusiasts. The red monorail on an elevated gray track was introduced in 1991. Set 6399, MISB (mint in sealed box), is selling for $1,600 on eBay at the time of our conversation. That’s an average of $2.15 for each of the 743 pieces included.
So when he should have been studying for an actuarial exam, Andreas found himself traveling by train to pick up a LEGO train.
“The Airport Shuttle is kind of the Holy Grail of the town sets and train sets. People really like it, and it was one of the few things missing from my collection. I found an ad in the newspaper that somebody in Indiana was selling his collection. I called him and he had the Airport Shuttle. And the price he wanted for that set was $150, what I would have paid for just the monorail. I had to have it, and I asked if he could ship it to me. And he told me that he didn’t feel comfortable with that, but would be in St. Louis soon. ‘Would you meet me in St. Louis?’
“He was maybe eighteen, and his parents drove him to St. Louis. I met him in the parking lot of the train station. I had
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