When I was young, LEGO were construction toys. The box picture was only a starting point, a "Hello World" to show what can be built with pieces in that box. I would build it, sure, but then I would take it apart to build something else from my imagination. Then I would take that apart to build something else, and repeat. In that past era, majority of pieces were generic bricks. What could be built were low-resolution approximations, and specialized parts were few and far in between.

Over the past several decades, LEGO has evolved away from that type of usage. What's inside a LEGO box have become more and more specific to what's pictured on the outside. Specialized parts help build higher fidelity models but are difficult to repurpose for other creations. One example of this trend are the wheels of the new Perseverance rover kit 42158 that I just assembled. It has specialized wheels for that distinct Mars rover look, instead of using generic LEGO wheels like they did for their earlier Curiosity rover kit 21104.

This trend towards more specialized parts meant that after I build a LEGO kit according to instructions, I am less and less able to reuse those parts for something else of my own imagination. As a result, some kits are put on static display, others are disassembled only to never end up usefully deployed in any other context. And it's not just the physical shape of the pieces, they also use colors outside of LEGO's standard color palette. While building WALL-E kit 21303, I was very impressed that none of its pieces jumped out at me as a specialized part. I thought the whole kit (minus the decals, naturally) were built from standard LEGO. I didn't learn of my mistake until I took WALL-E apart and started sorting parts: WALL-E's body was neither LEGO's standard yellow nor their standard orange. It was a different shade in between!

Here are three small 1x1 pieces on a white beam, each representing one of the colors. To the left is standard LEGO yellow, to the right is standard LEGO orange, and between them is WALL-E orange which is neither of those colors. As another point of comparison, standing behind the beam is a LEGO figure. Standard LEGO yellow for head and hands, and standard orange for the torso. Neither of which match WALL-E orange. I'm not well versed enough in the LEGO lineup to know if this shade of orange is used in other kits or created specifically for WALL-E. I do know I don't have anything else in this specific shade of orange.

But it's not just the specialized parts and colors. The biggest reason for my migration away from LEGO is 3D printing. Ever since I got up and running on 3D printers, it has been my preferred tool for turning my imagination into plastic reality. I don't have to be constrained by the selection of LEGO parts I have on hand, and dimensions are not constrained to multiples of a single LEGO stud. And if a part breaks, it's a lot easier to reprint a part than it is to replace a specific LEGO piece.

Ironically, one of my earliest 3D printing projects were trays to organize my disassembled LEGO pieces. I got all of my LEGO neatly organized and set up for future creations, only to never touch them since. (I'm laughing at myself in hindsight.) Putting Perseverance rover kit 42158 rekindled my love for LEGO and that satisfying tactile sensation of clicking LEGO pieces together. Since I haven't used LEGO as construction sets for years, and it's growing ever less likely in the future, I might as well reassemble these kits back to the picture on their boxes. And if I'm doing that, I might as well start with the prettiest of them all: LEGO Emerald Night.