jhammill24 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Hello everyone, Thought it time to reach out and introduce myself. I just got into LEGO within the last 10 months. It started as a bit of a hobby to pass the time in Greenland. My friend lived next to me in the dorms and he is a huge AFOL. He really peaked my interest when he told me about the value of certain LEGO sets. We'd literally spend hours talking bricks. He showed me pics from brick conventions, his 3rd place winning massive Black Pearl that he made, and all sorts of stuff that I found fascinating. At first, I was just interested in having a fun hobby where I could use my hands and find some peace. Very soon I was enticed by the challenge of using bricks as an investment vehicle. At the end of the day, if an investment doesn't pan out...it can always be built. Anyway, my favorite build so far was R2-D2...did that in Greenland. I purchased a couple Hoth sets to build...made sense seeing how I was in the Arctic for a year. I built a Technic 9392 and quickly developed a crush on Technic. Plus, I've worked a lot of construction in my career as a military engineer. I really just started to buy sets I thought would be fun to put together. SW was a big part of my childhood so I definitely favored those sets at first. But those hours of conversation and brick building with my friend really influenced me. I asked him a blunt question, "If I'm going to spend $1,000 on LEGO tonight as investments...what should I buy?" He mentioned Fire Brigade 10197, Haunted House 10228, Winter Village Cottage 10229, and Tower Bridge 10214. That was November 2013. I was hooked. I slowly purchased some larger sets over the winter and spring. Solely as long term investments. SW 10221 & 10227, Grand Emporium 10211, and some more of my previously purchased sets. When I returned to the US I went a little crazy...my brickfolio can be found here: my.brickpicker.com/jhammill24. You can probably see that I'm expirementing with some smaller, kids friendly sets to see how they perform in the near future. Did I mention that I have 4 kids? They love LEGO! We have a great time building sets together as a family activity. It's great for their motor skills, concentration, and problem solving. If they only knew of the sets I have hidden in my closet they'd overthrow me and open every box. I like to visit the LEGO shop and ask them which sets they think are the coolest and that kids would want the most. It has been helpful in identifying potential winners based on the features my kids highlight. We will be starting our own family business buying and selling LEGO in the very near future. So I'd love to hear any advice on the topic. I'd love to teach them basic math/business/research/investing principles with bricks. I spend a ton time reading the articles on brickpicker.com and getting info on sets at brickset.com. I scan through ebay and amazon several times a day to see what the vibe is. I really can't get enough of LEGO. I'm trying to control this addiction but everytime I look LEGO is releasing new sets... I'll try my best to hold-off for special VIP bonuses or Amazon sales. Just know, I'm in this with you... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Mack Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Nice post...Welcome to the site. Sent from my iPad using Brickpicker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrcKing Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Quite the introduction, jhammill24. Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedsausage Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome Mr. Hammill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome to Brickpicker!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brickcrazyhouse Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 hello Glad to here you're raising the next gen of builders. My family is all builders but its just me, the old lady and two cats. If you could grab some pics of that black pearl and post them it would be greatly appreciated. edit: link not working (at least for me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naf Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome! I've been a huge Lego fan for years, but have just started to get into a few of the technic sets myself. Did I mention that I have 4 kids? They love LEGO! We have a great time building sets together as a family activity. It's great for their motor skills, concentration, and problem solving. If they only knew of the sets I have hidden in my closet they'd overthrow me and open every box. Oh yes, mine too. Little do they know that my Lego stash is in a room right next ot their play area lol. Good thing it has a lock and key. My brickpicking has definitely benefited them though, I usually give them some of my clearance finds to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhammill24 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 LOL. My sets are mostly hidden by clothes in the closet. I'm going to run out of hiding places rather quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitroKing Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhammill24 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 If people want to see pics of the Black Pearl my friend built: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=63336&st=25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicblast Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome to BrickPicker, Jeremiah! That's quite a story you have to tell, and I see you've already picked out a really good amount of winners! Hope to see you posting in the forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@rtisan Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome to the forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciglione Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome Mr. Hammill. Have fun here at the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neosphinx Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Another soon to be member for Legoholic Anonymous. Welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobo1969 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWO2SEVEN Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Welcome! Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorymike18 Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Wow, the Black Pearl is AMAZING! Very nice build! I grew up as a lonely kid that was into military history, American Revolution, Civil War, etc. and really loved sailing ships. So this really stands out to me. I'd love to see what you could do making a model of the HMS Victory, or the USS Constitution! Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmdt Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Welcome! I am also a new lego hoarder/addict and when my son sees a lego set he likes, he now asks, do I already have this set but you just haven't given it to me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorymike18 Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 ^ Awesome! I see myself there in a year or two... Right now my oldest is still young enough to not realize what I'm up to with all these pieces! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locutus001 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Nice introduction! Must be great to have 4 kids when you're a LEGOholic ^.^ I'm already looking forward to having kids hrhr :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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