Can you explain Star Wars Death Star Legos to me, please?

Really, eventually it will just sit there. I have a sandcrawler model, and a bunch of other lego stuff that I used non stop, and one day, I just stopped. I wish I could use it again but that part of me died, or something. It makes me sad but theres nothing to do. Try to explain that to him.

So, should I keep the constraints on his little bank account? I don’t have the energy to negociate with a 7-year old. But I appreciate your take on this. How old are you now?

I will use the answers here as ammunition for his mother, my niece.

17, but I was maybe 13 when it started sitting thee, and now its just memories of earlier times.

So, if he starts at 8, would he have six years of enjoyment, do you think? And can it be dismantled for his brothers, now aged 5 and 20 months? Or will it become obsolete?

All Legos™ are overpriced, in my opinion. If you’ve given the money, then it should be the lad’s to do with as he wishes, shouldn’t it? But let this be a lesson to you not to give away such large sums to one so immature.

Maybe when he’s 17 and sending off those applications and filling out – or watching the folks fill out – financial aid forms, then he’ll have a change of heart… and a closet full of Legos gathering dust.

@gailcalled Maybe even less, I mean, I don’t know how mature he is or will be, and it can be passed down, some parents save elgo and pass it onto their kids. I would never spend hundreds on legos, unless it was NXT

In fact, get him that, introduce him to robotics and some basic programming.

What is NXT? I like the idea of an alternative, better suggestion. Would it do for a precocious 7 year old who is working on math problems two years above his grade level?

@CWOTUS: I gave all the little boys each @$100 bill for the express purpose of a savings account that I had planned to add to yearly. It never occurred to me that this issue would arise. Should I be the big, blue meanie or let the boy make a silly mistake?

Its basically lego mixed with robotics, they have motors, light sensors, a main brick that has a computer in it to put programs on, all sorts of great stuff.

@XOIIO: LInk, please. That sounds like a wonderful alternative and creative suggestion.

http://mindstorms.lego.com/Products/default.aspx

@XOIIO: Thanks. How would we navigate it to decide where to begin and what would be suitable for a super-smart third grader? Could you make specific suggestions? Thank you so much. This is a wonderful idea.

Well. I don’t have kids, so I don’t know what I’m talking about. But I imagine that any of these would be an important lesson to learn young:

(1) Saving up diligently, attaining goal of owning special lego.
(2) Saving up diligently, realizing it’s not worth it to save up for legos.
(3) Getting a toy he thinks is worth years of indentured servitude, and realizing things are just things.

Also, I am guessing this kid will have a lot of other ideas for the Gail Fund during the next 11 years.

Im 22 and i personally still wish I had a lego death star. Just sayin…

Not sure, I don’t keep up with lego anymore. this question is making me depressed :(

Honestly, 400 quid for a toy is completey inappropriate.
I would tell him flat out “no”.

@gailcalled I would say let him make the mistake. There’s time to recover from that, but you could also explain to him what the consequences will be in terms of your gift-giving: You might choose to give him the same gift, but in a way that he can’t spend it for another ten years, for example.

You might choose to give him the same gift, but in a way that he can’t spend it for another ten years, for example.

^^I had assumed, incorrectly, that this was already understood. Maybe I need to think about why my niece is considering this. To be fair, she is including the three of us in the decision.

I can easily say, “No, but how about NXT?” Or I can simply say, “No.” My niece will understand

@funkdaddy; I need to go to bed. Are you still here?

When I was 8 or 9, all I wanted was the original Nintendo. They were about $80 (“plus tax!?! why do they lie to me about the real price?” I remember thinking). My dad would rather I spend my money on something either smaller or more practical but told me it was my money and I could do what I wanted with it.

My parents paid me $2 a week for my normal chores. I could negotiate fees on “above and beyond” chores. I was a boy with a plan and that plan involved me doing whatever I needed to in order to get $80.

So I got my first wallet (velcro because it seemed “safer” since the money couldn’t fall out) and proceeded to fill it with $1 bills. When I got to $70-something dollars my parents asked me one night how much I had and we figured out exactly how much I needed. They surprised me by taking me to the store and kicking in the rest.

I’m sure there were smarter things to buy but I was so proud of that thing because it’s the first thing I remember really saving money for and the first big thing I bought for myself.

If the kid really has his heart set on the Death Star, I don’t know if a substitute will work.

to finish up

Maybe let him spend a portion of his gail funds as long as he pays them back? Or under some other terms? Make him understand the value of the money in the future but encourage him to work for what he wants now as well?

College is so far off to him he can’t see it, but he can see the value of working hard for what he knows he wants right now.

Interesting how this is a true moral dilemma, isn’t it. There is no consensus here, which I like intellectually, but I still don’t quite know what to do with my nephew (who is, interestingly, the other Milo in my life).

That Death Star one is ridiculous. I mean, I’d still probably do it if I had money to waste, but I’d just pick up some different set for less money. God, now I wanna play with Legos..

I’d let him. I honestly still play with (well, re-build) my one token expensive Lego set (Hogwarts), and I let my cousins build and play with it too. I’m now 19. My cousins also collect their own lego and one has the newer Hogwarts castle which I actually contributed the most money to because I knew he would love it and take care of it for a long time, as I have with mine. Lego never gets old. It is always a challenge to take it apart and re-build from scratch. I love it. I can imagine the Death Star being amazing. I actually really, really want the Diagon Alley set which I think is ~$300 but it’s specifically designed for older kids and is more challenging and has a lot included. If I had the money I would buy it. I might strike a deal with my cousins about sharing.

Anyway, because you have physically given him the money, rather than put it aside for him, it is his money, or at least he sees it as such, and I don’t think you can really expect a child that young to want to save it. I think even in a couple more Christmases there will be something else he wants to buy with it. I say let him have the Death Star now, and then either continue to give him the money and he can learn the lesson of saving or not, or put it aside for him yourself with like a little pledge in the card or something and only give it to him when college time comes around.

A few observations.

First, you can get it here for $298.

Second, boys LOVE Star Wars.

Third, boys LOVE Legos.

Fourth, once you give money to someone, it’s theirs to do with as they please, even if they are pleased by wasting it. If you want to give someone money for a specific purpose, you should put it in a 529 account in their name.

Fifth, saving money for something specific helps a child realize the actual value of the money…how long they have to wait and work and what not just to get enough money, if they go through that and still want it enough to part with the money, then it’s truly something they value.

Sixth, Legos may mean nothing to you, and I’ll agree they are overpriced, but think about the things you buy/collect. How many things that would seem to many others to be of absolutely no “use” whatsoever are you willing to spend your money on?

I have some insight here. I believe in getting a good deal, yet I buy a lot of CDs. Mostly I buy them used and cheaply, but there are rare items I’ve spent say 50 bucks on. Is my HDTV really worth what I paid for it? Or my video game systems? I got “good deals” on everything, but they were expensive and I didn’t really “need” them, any more than your grand nephew “needs” a $400 Lego set.

My son loves Lego sets…he has very specific ones he likes for very specific reasons (to him) that make no sense to me. He has very specific tastes in video games. He likes to fish, and has very specific fishing equipment he likes. Other than the video games, we have little in common tastewise, but when birthdays and Christmas comes, those are the things he wants, and useless and expensive though they may be to me, that’s what I get him, because that’s what he wants. If I get him something I want him to have, I don’t consider that a gift for him, that’s more a gift for me, now isn’t it? Can’t tell you how many hundreds of dollars we have in Legos and Lego video games, some of which are Star Wars, or even Star Wars Lego video games.

Now, I’m in a similar circumstance, my son wants to get an Xbox360. We have a PS3 and a Wii, not to mention regular XBox, PS2, GameCube, Nintendo 64, Super NES and a DS, along with an assortment of games and accessories for all systems. He got $75 total cash for his birthday, and now he wants to save up his money for an Xbox360 and Kinect. We don’t need it, he’s got more games than he can play right now anyway, and the majority of games that come out now days you can get on Wii, PS3 AND Xbox360, so it’s basically a redundant purchase. I’ve explained this to him, I’ve explained how he could have these other things he’s wanted for the money he has now. He’s very specific that this money is to be spent on that purpose, and even though we were at Toys R US, he had $47 on a gift card, plus his $90, and we had a 20% off coupon, which he could have applied to a PSP, which he ALSO wants, giving him MORE than enough money to get that right then and there, vs. waiting perhaps another year or two to get an Xbox360, he’d rather wait.

My point is, he has his heart and mind set on a specific thing…I don’t understand why, I don’t think it’s a “wise” use of his money, but if it’s a mistake, it’s his mistake to make, it’s his money to spend, save or waste, and it does no good in terms of teaching him the value of money if I put limitations on how he can spend it. Maybe he gets it and wishes he hadn’t and thinks of all the things he could have bought. Or maybe he buys it, loves it, and even if he doesn’t end up using it a lot, he’s happy for quite some time that he got it, and that’s all that matters.

Our tastes and what we value will change, his will, yours will, everyone’s will. Maybe by the time he’s got enough money, he’ll be over it…probably not, but if not, realize that it means that much to him, and he’ll get what he gets out of it, whether it be exultation or letdown. And $400 won’t make the difference between going to college and not.

Oh my god I just looked at it in @dalepetrie‘s link and farrrrrrr out I want that a lot. A lot a lot. It looks intense to build too, especially since it says ages 12–20. Too bad I probably wouldn’t be able to find it an Australian store.

I personally think Legos are insanely overpriced, and have seen them parents rip shelves bare of them in a matter of hours while working at Toys R’ Us during the holidays.
I used to like Legos a lot when I was little, but I never got any thing over $30. My little brother loved Legos as well, getting various Star Wars and “City” sets. I would tell him over and over that it’s a huge waste of money, and he should get something he would enjoy for longer, and isn’t quite as fragile, especially when they’re over a foot long/tall.
He realized at around 12 that Legos were sucking up money he could use on more fun things. He regrets not getting games or something he could have gotten more money back on, now that they sit around doing nothing, or are disassembled in a box somewhere.

He is only seven years old. Withholding the money from him seems a good idea, since when he’ll later on want to get a computer or money towards his first car, he’ll be glad it wasn’t spent on Legos. He will still have that $5 a week, and if he truly truly wants it, he can save up for it. Chances are he’ll lose interest on his way to that expensive finish line, and buy something else he’ll discard shortly.

You could also build that death star from parts you already have.

What’s to explain – to each his own. Personally, I think it’s a great choice.

Why on earth would a 7 year old want to spend his aunt’s money on a college fund? Get real. As for the legos, well it’s all about what has social value to him aka what his particular set of peers considers important to have, even if, to you, this thing has no value.

I am 34 and still play with my Lego blocks. Just now I pick them up when I am done so I don’t wake up to my mom screaming from stepping on one.

When I was about 12 I went around to houses asking if people needed their lawn mowed. I wanted money for a real remote control car. That was in 1998 and it was also around 400 bucks.

Your 34 and you live with your mom?

Yeah. She has health problems and I moved back down here to help with household stuff and to watch her diet.

@johnpowell Oh, alright then. Thats too bad.

Choosing between education or Lego’s, humm…....
I would probably have a talk with his mom and let her know that you value education very much and had planned on contributing to this fund every year. If it is going to be a toy fund and not an education fund, you might have to re-think your plan. MOM should have stopped this and never should have put you in this situation.

@All; This is a helpful discussion. I thank all of you for your detailed and candid views.

Can I copy/paste this page and send to my niece or does she have to sign up for fluther in order to read?

My nephew, from now on known as Milo junior, probably had some prompts from his mom about invading the Gail Fund.

Keep this going. I can brood for a few days and need everyone’s POV.

As father to a 7 year-old boy who loves Legos and Star Wars (and Indiana Jones) ... and who has personally purchased many of the sets, maybe I can help.

No, we’re not buying our son the $400 Death Star, nor the $300 Ep. III Millennium Falcon, or really any set above $70.

Here’s the thing about Lego models. They’re not for playing with in their final form (unless you glue them together). If you try to actually play with the Droid Tri-Fighter, it will instantly fall apart on you from initial contact. Legos are for building… like solving a big puzzle.

So… I refuse to glue sets together as, in my mind, that defeats the purpose of Legos. If you want a Millinnium Falcon to play with, they are many better choices. (My wife boxed up the damn Tri-Fighter so it won’t fall apart and the pieces lost—so guess how much it actually gets played with.)

For the most part, our son builds a set, plays with it a while until he’s tired of putting it back together every 3 minutes and then the pieces eventually migrate their way into the giant box of Lego pieces.

And that’s where the real magic begins.

What he spends most of his time doing is pulling out individual Lego pieces and assembling them using his imagination. He builds spaceports, fortresses, Jedi dive bombers with lasers, hooks, and a propeller in case they go underwater. He’ll commission entire armies, enlist his parents and siblings to act as generals, and then set the inter-planetary battle in motion following a unique set of rules based on cards and dice and his own logic. IT’S AWESOME TO PLAY LIKE THAT!

—

When giving money to another adult, it’s a gift they can and should do with what they will. When grandmother grandaunt gives money to her grandson grandnephew, she can have as much say as she wants in his spending it. Tell him to save it for college.

If you want to help him achieve his goal of getting a Death Star, then perhaps figure out little chores for which you can pay him cash… so he can earn the money he needs faster.

In answer to your technical question, you can send the URL for the question to an unregistered user, and it will read just fine.

For that matter, you can forward the question via the “Share” link provided – but I don’t know if you can do that yourself as the questioner. I’ll have to look at that.

Edit:
Although I haven’t actually forwarded one of my own questions, the link is there and seems as though it will work.

@robmandu : Your link is not listed at $298 but $386. Not much of a bargain.

I skimmed several of the answers, so sorry if I repeat here…

We are a Lego-crazy family. Each birthday and Christmas, there are multiple Lego sets given as gifts. While the kids change their preference for the type of sets they want (Star Wars or Harry Potter or Ninjago), the love of Legos has stayed pretty strong. Even my 12 year old daughter still builds with them. Even still, I don’t think I’d ever buy one of those huge expensive sets for a young kid.

First, the great thing about Legos is that the various sets have differing complexity levels. Would a 7 year old be able to build the Death Star? Would he really even be able to help a parent much, and would the parent be willing to do the bulk of the work? My six year old can put together sets designed for older kids without help, but not something like the Death Star.

Second, the Death Star will fall apart. Parts of it will come off during play. Who is going to reassemble it? My son has a couple of Star Wars Lego sets that hold up OK for playing, and others that seem to fall apart easily. The ones that fall apart sit on a shelf or end up being taken apart and added to the general Lego collection. It’s frustrating for kids when the sets fall apart while they’re playing, especially if he or she isn’t able to fix it.

I always considered those Lego sets to be for grown-ups or teens who still love Legos and can afford to buy something like that then build and display it. As cool as I think the Death Star is (and I always linger over it when the Lego book arrives in the mail), I’d have to be a mega lottery winner to even consider buying it for a little kid.

Sorry if someone else suggested this as well, but what if your nephew continues to save his allowance money and you and his parents maybe agree to go halves with him? That way, if he saves up for half of it, or a third of it, and for Christmas or his birthday you and his parents or other relatives kick in to pay for the rest. That is, if his parents really want the hassle of being slaves to Death Star repairs. I’m looking at my son’s AT-AT Walker, which is in a pile by the Lego table because my husband has been too busy to put it back together…

It’s a waste simply because it’s a one time thing (and not even one span of several years). A $400 lego set is going to be a complicated build, and the second it is disassembled he will NEVER be able to do it again unless he’s very responsible at 8 to keep the instructions.

That being said, he probably won’t be able to build it now. And unlike other lego sets, the deathstar is going to be a big ball of grey legos. A $400 ball of grey legos . . . are you guys in the financial place right now, that even if you had the money you are ok with spending it on a $400 ball of grey legos?

He’s 8 he will survive if you say no. I’d say no.

He will thank you in college when he doesn’t have to take classes AND work a job. . . so let him thank you now or thank you later.

Actually, I might change my answer depending on what kind of kid this is. Does he take care of the Lego he already has? Does he make sure all the pieces are still there? Or does he let it break and not put it back together and mix all the pieces up? I still have my amazing Hogwarts castle (I think perhaps one tiny piece is missing, after 10 years) only because I was so fastidious as a kid and made sure all the pieces were there and took it apart inside the box so no pieces could go flying. The cousin we bought the newer castle for did not previously take care of his legos, and I was wary, but then he passed that phase and I saw him build an entire crane all by himself and he was so proud, I could tell he didn’t want it to break up and get lost, so then he got the castle. If you know the kid is going to take care of it (not necessarily glue it together, and I disagree that you can’t actually play with the Lego once it’s built), I stand by my previous answer. If not, tell him to save and wait until he’s more responsible with the Lego he has.

Thinking about this today, and not to backpedal on my answer at all, quite happy with what I said. However, having re-read the question, I do have to ask, was the money given originally with the stipulation that it was given for a college fund? If that was the understanding, then the idea that it’s now “his” money and he can do what he wants with it does fall a bit by the wayside…if it was already understood that this money, or some portion thereof was to be spent on something particular, then it’s better to stick to that original purpose. Now if it was just “expected” but never “communicated” that this was what you wanted, then my original answer sticks. Now if it’s really important to you that the money be spent on college, BUT you didn’t say anything about it, while realizing that a 7 year old who gets money is going to want to buy things with it, the fact that he wrote to ask you if it’s OK, indicates to me that he or his parents are aware of your wishes, in which case maybe you want to suggest a compromise…such as allowing him to use a certain portion of the funds towards it, or that he can match the dollars from his allowance with dollars from the savings you gave him. Ultimately, do what feels right, but do try to see it from his point of view.

It seems like an excessively pricy choice, but having said that, I think legos are among the best toys for kids. It teaches them how to follow directions (a critical skill for Science/Math), it teaches them to think in 3 dimensions, and to build smaller groups of components that all eventually fit together into a larger project. I am in the process of designing a fence with lattice and a pergola gate for my yard, and I think having played with legos as a kid plays a big part in my ability to mentally plan how all of the various components will work together.

My mom has a giant bag of legos from my childhood, and I plan to bust it out to play with my children one day (once I start a family). So as far as toys go, I think they are much more timeless than most of the “made in china” crap that I see kids playing with today.

@mrrich724 you can find copies of the instructions online if they get lost.

I think @robmandu had a fantastic answer, and echo his thoughts.

As far as saving and responsibility, I can see both sides of the coin here. Part of me thinks that you made a mistake in not communicating earlier that this money was explicitly for college (because if you were clear this issue never should have arose) as a result, it might be awkward to say no now. I like the idea of finding ways for your grandnephew to earn the money faster by doing some chores for you, this teaches saving, handwork leading to fun rewards (which is also an important lesson—because saving should be fun), without depleting his college fund. Perhaps insisting the money be used for college, but giving him work to earn the money himself would be a good compromise?

I sent Milo junior’s father this discussion. He was amused and then fascinated.

I also discussed it with two friends of mine, both men (one who was gay and never heard of Death Star) and in their 60’s. We talked for a long time. They both took the conservative side.

My solution is to prevaricate until this Christmas, see how much Milo junior has actually managed to save and then match it.

However, if I should give him another substantial cash gift (which I probably will), I will be clearer about its purpose.

(And sadly, he does not live nearby, so I can’t have him do little chores for me.)

So, thanks again for the philosophical discourse. Is there anything left unsaid?

Just this:
That having the $400 Lego Death Star will definitely (spelled correctly) make him the coolest kid on the block and the envy of his peers, which will help to hoist him into the upper tier of social status at school (the social hierarchy begins at around this age) which will solidify in the minds of other kids just how cool he is, making him one of the popular set, thus building his self esteem and worth, ensuring that he gets dates in High School, gets into a prestigious university, marries well, and operates at the higher levels of society throughout his life.
OR
That hundred dollars could buy 1½ textbooks now (or probably ½ a textbook in 11 years).

I’m only halfway joking

Having looked a bit more into Lego™ culture, @gailcalled, I’m prepared to revisit my earlier response, based on how the boy (and the family, for that matter) play with Legos. Some kids (and parents) apparently re-purpose all kinds of Legos, including such specialized kits as this one, I suppose, to make the wildest and most outlandish – or even quite mundane – structures, playscapes, vehicles and beings.

So if he’s the artistic / inventive / mechanical type that’s likely to play “outside the box”, then maybe this should be encouraged. Depends on the boy.

@CWOTUS Being able to re-purpose Legos to build whatever you want is one of the best things about these toys. However, it would be much more economical (and you’d get a much better variety of bricks) if you bought the Legos by the pound on eBay. We were lucky to have all the Legos my husband and his sister grew up with, so we started with a good collection even before the kids (especially my youngest) became obsessed with specific kits.

There’s no question Legos are some of the best toys you can invest in. My kids just entered unique Lego designs into a local fair. My daughter built an impressive scene inspired by Robin Hood: a carriage being held up by green-clad bandits, some of whom were ambushing the travelers from the trees. One of my sons made a Lego party scene, with various mini-figures partying around a house by a beach, complete with a dock, fisherman, and a boat race. My youngest, at six years old, probably has the most innate skill with Legos. He built a dinosaur scene featuring a volcano with lava erupting out of it and the most impressive Lego dinosaur. When he showed me the dinosaur, I was shocked. You would never think a kid his age could build something like that without instructions or a reference of any kind. He even made it in a running kind of pose (to escape the volcano, of course). He can look at a picture of a small Lego model and build it just from that. I love to watch him study an image on TV from the Lego Star Wars Wii game, run to the Lego bin, get some pieces, study the TV some more, get some more pieces, back and forth, until he has a perfect, tiny model of an X-Wing. I don’t know how he can even tell which bricks to use.

And yet, I still wouldn’t buy the Death Star. ;)

No one told me about Legoland Park, near Orlando and opening on Oct. 15.

I guess that $400 would not stretch to take a family of five from NY to FL. and pay for tickets and lodgings?

What @breedmitch said was sad, but has a ring of truth to it.

Here’s the latest twist. Without telling his parents, Milo wrote an essay which was published in the Sept. school newsletter. He is 7 and ½. HIs little brother, Leo, is 20 months. I found this charming and unexpected. It is a counterbalance to the Star Wars Death Planet Legos. So now I am planning to suggest to Milo that we be pen pals. I think I will write a real letter and mail it.

To wit:

A Writer’s Notebook entry from 3rd grade

One early morning Leo was screaming really loud. Mom realized that he needed a diaper change. When Mom started changing, she asked if I would change his diaper. I said yes but I wasn’t tall enough. So I went looking for the stool. When I found the stool I realized there was no wipes! I looked in the bathroom. No wipes! I looked in my mom’s room. No wipes! When I looked to the side of the diaper changing area, there were the wipes. I got up, but Leo got away. So I went looking but first I needed a snack. When I finished my snack, there was Leo in the kitchen. Finally I finished changing his diaper!

—Milo, grade 3,

My God, @gailcalled. Get him an account here ASAP! He writes better than… well, better than too many who have had a lot more schooling than he has at 7½.

wait, wasn’t “Milo” a cat?

@ragingloli: It’s confusing, even for the family.

My daughter rescued a cat about 9 years ago and named him Milo. My sister’s daughter had her first son in 2004 and named him Milo.

My daughter moved to British Columbia in 2006 and hence Milo came to live with me in 2007.

The conversations I have with my sister get very weird, similar to the old Abbott and Costello routines?

Milo caught a mouse. What? Oh, that Milo.

Aside; my daughter’s previous cat was called Leo. My niece’s third son, the baby, is also Leo.

@gailcalled

Don’t ever name a cat Fluffy, Snowball or some other common cat name, please. I’d pity that next child in the family.

@CWOTUSL: Au contraire, the issue will be with my daughter, if and when she gets a new cat.

Milo and Leo’s brother is 5-year old Julian. I wouldn’t mind a cat called that.

@CWOTUS: Now that you mention it, there is a very nice hamster in the family who is called fluffy.

My son doesn’t do Legos yet, however, he does often want/ask for & save up for rather expensive toys.

My solution was to sell his used expensive toys on eBay. Tonight, I just listed a mini playset for more than double what I paid for it. I originally purhased it used.

I’ve sold many Thomas items for close to the MSRP, after they’ve been played with.

If your nephew is good with his toys, Legos hold their value quite well on the resale market.