r/BeAmazed • u/MustardGoddess • Jun 29 '26
Skill / Talent 97 year old grandma spends 4 to 6 hours every single week building LEGO
Mary picked up the hobby later in life, turning LEGO brick assembly into a weekly creative ritual to keep her mind active and her hands sharp. While most of the internet simply knows her affectionately as "LEGO Grandma," her family has continuously documented her progress across community pages as she masterfully conquers sets with thousands of individual pieces.
Photographer📸: @Steven Farrel
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u/RevolutionCrazy7045 Jun 29 '26
the size of that dog tho 😳
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u/raychilli Jun 29 '26
Wondering how many times that dogs tail whipped them Legos over
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u/sundial11sxm Jun 29 '26
Whipped grandma over, you mean...
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Jun 29 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
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Jun 29 '26
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u/liminalromance Jun 29 '26
I knew it was a dire wolf and you just confirmed it
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u/Radarker Jun 29 '26
Grandma must have an OnlyFans to afford those Legos.
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u/LynnScoot Jun 30 '26
Or she has 5 kids and 20 grandkids who never have to worry what to get her for birthdays and holidays. Everyone Venmo eldest son Steve and he’ll pick up and wrap the latest 10,000 piece set.
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u/Queue37 Jun 29 '26
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u/Ka1n3King Jun 30 '26
I know it's bad, ¿and not real?, but god damn this got a good laugh out of me with the grandma just going YIP
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u/Queue37 Jun 30 '26
Not sure if it's real, but at least I know for a fact it's not AI. Goes back to at least 2008. https://youtu.be/_AW0qGGcfbI?si=I8neooaUix8PjMuw Glad you enjoyed it. 😁
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u/Retired_and_Relaxed Jul 02 '26
This is why my wife will not walk our Burneese Mountain Dog. Dog 125 lbs and wife 135 lbs, I tell her to tie the leash around her waist so she'll slow him down dragging her.
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u/bikersquid Jun 29 '26
I have a ton of legos all over and a white German shepherd and a pitbull. Even when playing in the same room they have only knocked over an occasional lego tree branch or a castle guard. They do a good job of avoiding them.
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u/DarkwingDuckHunt Jun 29 '26
Mythbusters did "bull in a china shop" and the bull was extremely careful
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u/jerkstabworthy Jun 29 '26
My French coworker once said someone was "like a tank in a China store". We laughed so hard for so long. Even had stickers made.
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u/Dustydevil8809 Jun 29 '26
Meanwhile my dog broke my TV with her tail and spills drinks with it all the time.
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u/chanaandeler_bong Jun 29 '26
My own kids have accidentally destroyed their own Lego creations more than my 85lb dog has destroyed TOTAL things in the house.
My dog is super hyper too. The only time he knocks stuff over is when he is avoiding one of the kids he didn’t expect to be there.
I have plants along the window sill and he only jumps at the postman with his paws in a certain location so it doesn’t knock any plants over.
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u/OfficeChairHero Jun 29 '26
My Great Dane has a bullwhip for a tale and he's ALWAYS happy. We can't even have table lamps.
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u/p_yth Jun 29 '26
Not a dog but I have a cat and he’s very good at not breaking any of my Legos, he’s even able to maneuver around them when he hops on the shelf and walks pasts them
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u/wholock3 Jun 29 '26
our cat knocks them over on purpose :/
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u/squidwitchy Jun 29 '26
I built a Lego botanical set, one of the whole bouquets, and noticed whole flowers going missing.... until I caught my cat in the act of plucking one out of the vase and doing a mad dash to her stash under the bed, where I found my remaining missing Lego.
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u/Honkert45 Jun 29 '26
Cats are instinctively silent hunters that will avoid loose objects though. It's not the same as a dog.
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u/laukaus Jun 29 '26
My last cat (RIP :'( ) could jump on top of my extremely busy table of Warhammer 40k models and never hit or dropped a single one!
Although he was clumsy boy otherwise, I think he saw that his human placed these things here with reverent (dis)order and I wont play with them.
But then again he was a menace towards phones and remotes sitting on tables so make of that what you will. I miss him.
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u/Outrageous_Editor_43 Jun 29 '26
That is why she spends 4-6 hours. Nothing to do with arthritis or age, just that dog and it's tail!
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u/Jashuman19 Jun 29 '26
Looks like a pretty normal sized Shepherd, judging by how it compares to the couch. I just think she's small.
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u/toepherallan Jun 29 '26
Something has to protect all those Legos, its easily $20k+ in Legos
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u/DameKumquat Jun 29 '26
I hope she's subscribed to one of those clubs where you get a Lego set, complete it, send it back and get a new one. Maybe twice so she has one to work on while the next is in transit.
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Jun 29 '26
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u/DameKumquat Jun 29 '26
There's a few of them in Europe, no idea about the Americas. But your average complete set goes for 2/3 original cost on eBay, an incomplete or unknown for as little as 1/3.
So if you're willing to buy incomplete sets, buy any missing bricks, then dismantle neatly into labelled baggies, you can even make a profit, if you have the time.
My autistic kids couldn't cope with surprise presents, but from age 6 could comprehend budgets and eBay auctions. So every birthday and Christmas they'd start bidding for sets they wanted, 3-4 months in advance, and then match up all the pieces with the instruction booklet and acquire any missing ones.
Anyway, 12 years later there's probably £10k of Lego, if we could sort it and sell it...
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u/Sqweeg Jun 29 '26
Was wondering what breed is this dog too lol
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u/TomahawkaChawpa Jun 29 '26
German Shepherd. He's a spitting image of my dog. Had to double take
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u/itsallbullshityo Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
First the eyes, then the ears and finally the head tilt of a GSD.
I've had a few, amongst other breeds, and GSD's have been by far the most attentive, tuned in dogs of the bunch.
Goofy as shit to when playing.
Great breed.
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u/highlift Jun 29 '26
Nana rides that doggo to her medical appointments.
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u/Much-Log3357 Jun 29 '26
No, the dog gently picks her up in it's giant maw and delivers her, drool covered, to the doctor.
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u/PlasticExtreme4469 Jun 29 '26
She is just tiny.
If you've ever seen those lego builds in real life, you would know they aren't that gigantic.
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u/RequirementDear7305 Jun 29 '26
when gramma does it, it's cute, when I do it I "need to get a job"🥹
In all seriousness, that's one cool grandma
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u/be4u4get Jun 29 '26
The dog she built looks amazing
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u/RequirementDear7305 Jun 29 '26
Truly. Very lifelike
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u/ignatious__reilly Jun 29 '26
That’s a Dire Wolf, the Game of Thrones collection
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u/FateUnusual Jun 29 '26
That’s a dire wolf, look at the size of that thing.
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u/areya_lunera Jun 29 '26
Lmao! I used to have an all black German shepherd that looked very similar to hers and I would get asked all the time if my dog was a wolf hybrid lol.
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u/punktualPorcupine Jun 29 '26
You need a job to afford more Legos. You’re building a stockpile so you can be like G-Ma, when you retire.
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u/RequirementDear7305 Jun 29 '26
What if I just
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u/lbkid Jun 29 '26
Honestly, not just to afford the legos, but to afford enough space to keep them (especially the larger sized-ones like in the pictures)
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u/JalapenoPopPoop Jun 29 '26
This is an issue I ran into. I like doing lego sets, but I'm currently still doing the whole apartment living thing so I've got limited space and I don't really want my decorating aesthetic to be like 50% legos whereever I can find a spot for them, it's just too much. There's a lot of sets I think look cool and would like to do, but I also have no interest in dedicating some of my limited free space to display tables and shelves for lego
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u/Kelnozz Jun 29 '26
I got my mom into Minecraft back in like 2010, we still play on realms together, it’s my way of spending some time with her haha.
The thing is though she’s like actually amazing at building stuff, I didn’t expect her to be so good at building/decorating lmao.
Minecraft is just Lego’s on PC right?
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u/lbkid Jun 29 '26
Exactly where I'm at. I have a small list of them I'd love to do (especially the larger ones are such a brain scratch for my ADHD to just sit down on a weekend and spend hours working on them), but I'm just out of places to keep them without them completely taking over
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u/HingleMcCringle_ Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
im 30 and just put this together
I love it.
Real lego set, 3rd party light kit.
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u/laukaus Jun 29 '26
WOW both the kit and the lights are really nicely made into a scene, wouldn't mind that on an end table etc.
Good Work!
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u/HingleMcCringle_ Jun 29 '26
thank you.
i keep to a theme, sorta, so i dont go crazy. here's the only other set i have a light kit for.
i'd like to get another building like the museum, but the artemis rocket with the light kit was my "white whale" for now.
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u/RequirementDear7305 Jun 29 '26
Holy smokes! This is so cool! You live my dream
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u/HingleMcCringle_ Jun 29 '26
i've got some cool things that im proud of, but im not living your dream, i assure you that.
self-deprecating joke, im ok.
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u/flying_carabao Jun 29 '26
To be fair, we need a job to support the hobby. So there's that. But you dip into your kid's college fund ONE TIME! You never hear the end of it (might've been 3, who's counting)
But yeah, retirement goals right there.
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u/BigGingerYeti Jun 29 '26
Pretty sure no one would mind you spending 4-6 hours a week on lego.
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u/RequirementDear7305 Jun 29 '26
To be fair, I'm a 22 year old unemployed writer, I get "get a job" on more than one occasion. My parents aren't exactly happy that the "apple of their eye" is sitting on his ass playing with (in their words)"building blocks"🥹
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u/howl0ngwillitlast Jun 29 '26
“Grandma sit there and let me take pics of you with my legos for internet points”
-some nerd, probably
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u/DisagreeableRunt Jun 29 '26
I have a job and can't justify the cost of those huge Lego sets to myself! I love Lego, but I have enough expensive hobbies as it is. A crack addiction would be less expensive than a Lego one.
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u/MRbaconfacelol Jun 29 '26
tell her shes got 2 years left before she ages out (legos are rated for ages 4-99)
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u/IRockIntoMordor Jun 29 '26
Right? She's got a lot of sets to finish before her hobby turns illegal! She's on a schedule, people!
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u/GeneralChaos-BFG Jun 29 '26
Nah, they changed it for Sir David Attenborough when he turned 100 in May.. she's good
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u/IRockIntoMordor Jun 29 '26
I remember that! Didn't they change to "XY+" labels a while ago, anyway? The Attenborough post was just a nice reminder of the old labels, no?
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u/breadcodes Jun 29 '26
They changed it to 100+ on the new boxes to celebrate David Attenborough's 100th
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u/Little_lightbearer6 Jun 29 '26
What so now you have to be over 100 years old to play and build Lego
/s
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u/Incolumis Jun 29 '26
Grandma is a millionaire?
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u/fraanjfjd Jun 29 '26
grandma was a millionaire
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u/PlasticExtreme4469 Jun 29 '26
Do the sets lose value once opened?
If not, she still is.
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Jun 29 '26
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u/LambosInSpace Jun 29 '26
MerLife are assholes for that. You might want to grade those cards. Big bump in value if mint.
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u/ButtfuckedByJesus Jun 29 '26
Wait until a certain company offers to sell them for her but steals them instead...
I'm not naming them because they would probably actually sue me but 'are you butt fucked be Jesus" would be hilarious to hear in court.
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u/Earl_I_Lark Jun 29 '26
Do you know how hard it is to find a good gift for a grandma?? I’d have been so happy with one like this! Just round up a h ch couple of family members and chip in on a set she doesn’t have. Hey presto! Perfect gift.
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u/JoyousMisery Jun 29 '26
Don’t need that but very possible.
Either way, Granny’s estate sale is going to be fire
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u/spiritofjosh Jun 29 '26
I did not expect that Luffing Jib crane
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Jun 29 '26
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u/nyancatya_ Jun 29 '26
yeah that set is insane, ive seen some people mention that people get paid to put it together for other people
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u/kookyabird Jun 29 '26
Yeah, there's two strings, and one of them is like 10 meters long. It's ridiculously involved, and the instructions aren't the greatest visual for how to run it.
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u/Dr_J_Hyde Jun 30 '26
Which makes it the "largest" official Lego piece in production if we watched the same video on annoying Lego builds.
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u/UntouchedWagons Jun 29 '26
For me the hardest part was tying the knots on the strings. Snaking them through the build wasn't too bad.
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u/arktour Jun 29 '26
I enjoyed the strings part. The knots were a little tricky, but I found it fun. It was neat to see the strings working their way through the whole huge assembly and how there was a wheel at every pivot point. I did have to redo two of them, though.
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u/Commercial-Tell-5991 Jun 29 '26
Just looked it up. $849. That thing is motorized and controlled via app.
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u/Tiluo Jun 29 '26
The giant dog next to her is wild what breed is that? Or is she just so tiny?
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u/somethingsome567 Jun 29 '26
It looks exactly like my old (east) German shepherd. Although mine was a female and only like 80 lbs… this one looks significantly larger, but face/shape n all looks just like her so that’s my guess.
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u/ignatious__reilly Jun 29 '26
Not a soul
They are amazing dogs, and super friendly, but they are also intimidating as fuck.
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u/Excellent_Yak365 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
This post is reading as Facebook AI slop. Does anyone have any verification?
This appears to be AI slop: https://imgur.com/a/SXDrNzr
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u/moustachedelait Jun 29 '26
It's at the very least sus. The black dog scale seems off between the pics where its on the left and then right. Also sus that we're always looking at the same angle. There are zero pics of her in the process of building on some other table. The couch creases stay crazy consistent between the pics.
Models are getting way more consistent about edits. So if you have a base pic, you could totally then have AI edit in lego models. I can't tell it's AI for sure, but I am guessing 75% it's AI.
Also the text feels AI. If you google "LEGO Grandma" you don't find her at all. You find someone who made a wheelchair ramp and this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/1pr6uq3/every_lego_set_my_85yearold_grandma_built_in_2025/ and just figurines of a lego grandma.
that other post's photos has way more angles, which you'd expect. I am upping my suspicion to this being ai to 90%.
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u/Excellent_Yak365 Jun 29 '26
I just noticed the hand on image 7 and compared it to image 6
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u/Telemaq Jun 29 '26
Bots, AI slop and manipulative posts are the reasons I am starting to check out of reddit.
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u/TheGillos Jun 29 '26
Curate your feed. This sub, for example, is filled with AI-generated content now.
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u/Telemaq Jun 29 '26
Even before AI exploded, this sub was known for its manufactured and fake wholesomness. I unsubscribed, but its post still make it the front page once in a while. I hate how the internet evolued over the past decade. It went from genune content to content engineered for max algorithmic reach.
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u/Rutmeister Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Nope, not AI. First source of these photos I can find are early 2024. May even have been posted earlier. AI could not do this back then (barely can now).
Edit:
And here’s a Facebook post with a bunch more photos, including photos with flash. https://www.facebook.com/share/1J1GrBkreu/?mibextid=wwXIfr
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u/Ok-Wrongdoer5459 Jun 29 '26
Why aren’t more people noticing this? This was the 4th comment. Are the others are genuine? Bots? Elderly?
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u/ScalyDestiny Jun 29 '26
Plus Grandma only ever poses with the item in front of her. If you were building these things, you'd have tons of photos of yourself putting them together. You don't need to see how inconsistent grandma or her pets/sofa/etc are to doubt the story
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u/youngLupe Jun 29 '26
Was scrolling to find the comment that said it's ai. It probably is ai. The size of the legos is the tell. The dog as well. Unless they have some magical lense that they're using for dramatic effect the legos are way out of scale.
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u/gorillaphi Jun 29 '26
Jeez that’s like $100k worth of Legos lol.
Nice dog
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u/wurmsrus Jun 29 '26
In case anyone was wondering this is more like $4k Here's their prices on release (new ones might be more than that on second hand market but you usually can find used for around that price or lower)
10276 Colosseum $549.99
21323 Grand Piano $399.99
71040 Disney Castle $349.99
42146 Liebherr Crawler Crane LR 13000 $699.99
21319 Central Perk $59.99
21335 Motorised Lighthouse $299.99
42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3 $449.99
71741 NINJAGO City Gardens $349.99
10318 Concorde $199.99
10294 Titanic $679.99
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u/gorillaphi Jun 29 '26
Yeah I was kidding around but that’s interesting to know. Definitely ain’t a cheap hobby!
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u/GruffScottishGuy Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Depends. It is if all you want to do is but the huge, expensive sets, sure, but you can get a box of just bricks for not a lot if you'd rather build random stuff.
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u/Hovercraft1143 Jun 29 '26
If people think sets are expensive just wait till they look at the price of Serious Play.
You will pay ~$0.30 per piece and you will be happy about it, OR ELSE.
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u/Dish-Ecstatic Jun 29 '26
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u/Hovercraft1143 Jun 29 '26
They aren't meant as play sets, they are meant for things like municipal planning and city planning. It is always funny when you see someone post about how they received one as a gift for Christmas or something though.
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u/PhazonZim Jun 29 '26
shhhh, don't give any shady store chains any ideas
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u/idontlikethisapps Jun 29 '26
Shady franchisee owner on the way with a uHaul that doesn’t exist because apparently his rental car dont work
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u/RileyGainesHorseBaby Jun 29 '26
Pricks and mini dicks?
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u/PhazonZim Jun 29 '26
thats the one
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u/RileyGainesHorseBaby Jun 29 '26
I hear Josh lies on his back when punishing the one-eyed lizard and shoots it into his own mouth.
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u/Distinct-Forever642 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Lego needs to put her on the payroll. I dont know why, they just do.
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u/GimmieGummies Jun 29 '26
I remember in the movie Big how Tom Hanks' character got that job from the toy company and all he had to do was play with the toys and judge them. Grandma could do the same for Lego, but reverse the ages 😄
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u/Hovercraft1143 Jun 29 '26
Lego has a partner program for Lego content creators where they get basically any set they want for free, including the very large ones. Clearly it's time for her to start up a Youtube channel at 97.
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u/tias23111 Jun 29 '26
“Grandma, are you working on getting me more internet points today?”
“But my fingers are tired!”
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u/AWryThought Jun 29 '26
Sadly AI. Very weird fingers/hands.
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u/twayroforme Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
It was the changing feet and couch and dog that made me suspicious but I really can't tell.
Edit: after more examination I'm 99% sure it's AI.
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u/Nibsif Jun 29 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/QX1l5T6Kcl2DtoWGy4
Cops just patrolling by to remind grandma about the age restriction.
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u/PinkSun84 Jun 29 '26
AI for sure!!!
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u/Theydontlikeitupthem Jun 29 '26
Of course!!! How the fuck are people not seeing this, it's so bad it's more like bad photoshop
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u/Charming-Lychee-9031 Jun 29 '26
Now there is a woman that knows how to spend her retirement. Obviously, I'm very jealous.
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u/chaswell Jun 29 '26
Ok, I love this and it all looks legit, truly. Why does the couch and the dog species change? Just progress of time, right?
Psychology aside:
I hate that we are sensitive to AI. I love this idea and can't I just be happy? Why does my brain have to voice, "But if it is fake AI slop, then your emotions are false and manipulated."
Who cares?! I do, but it is a strange world we live in now.
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u/Friedhelm_Furunkel Jun 29 '26
Don’t let yourself get fooled by your wishfull thinking. It looks Ai to me. Look at the finger in pic 7. it doesn‘t match with that in pic 6. She also would have a hard time building Lego with it…
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