A simpler time
When there were no phones, no girlfriends, no desires for anything except the next great adventure.
These are my little monsters. Legos were everything to them because they came from the U.S.A., sent by their loving Aunt. I think I wrote about the yearly Christmas trip to the customs offices to pay the 'Toy fine' for having American products in that nasty box from the northern continent. My sister would have to detail every gift and how much it was worth, then send pictures of each (in hopes that the officers would not open the gift wrapping).
It took days to build the kit like on the picture, a feat that was rarely done more than once. The boys would search for the right pieces and examine each one.
As every new piece was added, the vehicle went through a test drive where all the functionality of it were tested to the hilt. I had to grab a picture of the progress quick, hands a blur as pages are flipped and parts compared. As soon as their hands were out of the frame, I took the shot in order to have these kinds of glimpses into the past. They were Lego Jonesing every morning to continue. I could tell when they were awake because I would hear their little hands digging in the piles of parts.
Now it is play time with one vehicle complete. Next comes the battle to see how many opponents the hydroponic pincers could demolish.
A lot depends on the driver though. He needs to mean, a bit like a jungle ape but with the right frontal attachment zone. Plastic accessories need to be considered. I was able to conduct an interview with the beastly mega-dude for a moment while the opponent was being built. My snoochers explained every aspect of the coming battle to me.
Let us take a look at the driver of the first challenger. He appears to be a factory assistant or something. His vehicle has a good bumper but does not seem very resistant when it comes to taking on pincers. Yeah, I would be hiding behind a windshield too Jack!
The challenger is hoping that the low, flat front end will be able to avoid the seemingly horizontal pincers. The problem with that is that they are able to rotate ever so slightly.
If you have never had Legos and a couple of expert builders, you will never know the fury of these battles. After all possible challengers were destroyed, the new inventions started appearing over the weeks and months. So many odd combinations and adaptations of the many cool parts they had accumulated.