The internet has been a buzz with news of The LEGO Group’s upcoming new sets, including set #60134 – Fun at the Park. This is a great little set, perfect for us toy photographers because it includes more than 10 mini figures, and a few accessories we haven’t seen before like a hot dog bun and a baby stroller.
Everyone is talking about this set because it includes a mini figure in a wheelchair. While this is not the first wheelchair mini figure from LEGO, it’s the first one featuring a young person rather than an older Duplo figure. This is being hailed as a victory for disabled kids who can now play with LEGO bricks and will see themselves reflected in their imaginative play. The advocacy groups Toy Like Me and Wheels4Lego appear to be claiming victory for this revolutionary new accessory we can all play with. (Considering there’s normally a two year lead time for new sets at LEGO, its hard to image that a campaign that only ended in December of 2015 could really be responsible for a set announced a month later.) The thinking behind the young adult in a wheelchair is that it will help all children view someone in a wheelchair as normal and help to break down stereotypes about people with disabilities.
While this is all fabulous and I applaud LEGO Group for being so responsive to its fans, I can’t help but think that LEGO is first and foremost a building toy. If you want a wheelchair to play with, build one. A quick search of YouTube reveals no shortage of videos showing you exactly how to build one. Is not the foundation of the LEGO building block to have the power to build your own creations limited only by your imagination?
Wheelchairs I built after following a tutorial on Youtube for “Les Assassins en Fauteuils Roulants (A.F.R.)”, May 2012.
My reservations regarding this set are the same ones I had regarding set 21110 – Research Institute. You know the one everyone made a fuss about in 2014 because it featured three female scientists. While this is a cool set, I love the chalkboard and the dinosaur skeleton; I felt that anyone with a few spare mini fig parts could have made those female scientists. They were assembled from commonly available mini fig parts. If I (or my child) need a female to play with, we make one, be it a scientist, a fireman, an astronaut or a robber. Its part of the joy of Lego, if you don’t have what you need, you make it. You don’t have to rely on the big toy company to solve your problems for you; you can solve them yourself.
Again, I applaud Lego for being responsive to its fan base. The LEGO Group will end their partnership with Shell when the existing contract expires because of a Greenpeace campaign, they will no longer be asking builders why they are buying their bulk LEGO so as to not imply censorship because of a campaign launched by Ai Wei Wei and now they are releasing a young boy in a wheelchair due to a campaign for more diversity in their mini figures. These are all example of their willingness to change, but I can’t help but wonder if we are not the real losers here.
These seem like hollow victories to me, akin to putting a color overlay on your Facebook picture to show support for a cause or human tragedy. What have we really gained? If we want to help the environment and we think big oil is responsible, then we should stop buying LEGO which is an oil based product. If we want our children to be more respectful and understanding of people with disabilities, shouldn’t we be leading by example? Why do we look to big companies or government to fix our problems, why can’t we show some initiative and create our own solutions? The LEGO Group has given us the building blocks we simply have to use them.
I for one will be buying this set, not because it has a wheelchair (although that’s cool), but because of the hot dog bun. I can imagine all the photos that will be created using the Hot Dog Guy and that bun. I can’t wait to see someone post a photo of a hot dog family by creating a Mr. and Mrs. Hot Dog and their baby wiener.
~ Shelly
What is your favorite part of “Fun at the Park”? Will you buying this set when it comes out and if so why?
Oh… I haven’t noticed the hotdogbun before you mentioned it.
I would definitely buy it (If I have the money), I missed the last time LEGO made a set with minifigures.
The wheelchair is a great thing, but I do agree with you (also on the scientist set) that people are being lazy and rely on LEGO to make the things instead of trying to make themselves.
But I do applause LEGO for finally making babies (the newest cmf) and a toddler in this set, so far we had to rely on babies from third parties.
I guess the reason why LEGO are beginning to make some of these new things are not because of these groups, but because of third parties that makes printet elements AFOL is missing or a scooter.
Sacha, I think you’re correct in saying that LEGO must be feeling the pressure of the third party supplies. I too am glad a “real” lego baby is on the horizon. I think this set will be a must have for any mini figure collector!
I see the points you are making here, but I think that your filters have had a large influence over what you are saying here. I see the wheelchair quite differently. (I’m going to make some assumptions here because I’ve never met you, but we have talked before. If I assume something that is not true, please point it out.)
For me and you, we wake up in the morning and go do our thing. We walk around. If we want to go do toy photography we walk, or hop in our car and drive. We use our phones that have cameras when on the fly, or we grab our fancy DSLR that we have because we could afford to buy it. If we see a toy we want, we buy it, up to our own means. But, we are doing OK enough to even be able to decide how much we can spend on toys as adults. As icing on the cake, pretty much all toys represent our life. They can walk, talk, see, hear, smell, … They don’t have anything they have to deal with on a day to day basis.
For some people, the way we live is something to aspire to. Some will reach us. Some will exceed us. Some will never come close.
For me and you, toys always have and probably always will represent us. For those that exceed us, the same, and they probably get to play with toys me and you will never own.
For the people that will never be like us, well, they can purchase a toy, go to YouTube, find a tutorial, and then follow a tutorial about how this toy you bought can be modified to represent how you live your life every single day. That is assuming too you have the means to buy the extra pieces you need to build, ‘you.’
We do not have a shared experience with wheelchair bound and so it is very easy to say, well, build one, that’s what Lego is about. I would phrase this another way and ask, how would you react if everytime you bought a Lego minifig, you had to go back to the store and buy the legs separately because they weren’t included?
Alice, I know my post sounds pretty cold, as if I have no empathy for the disabled or for really anyone that is not like me. But actually I tend to err on the other side. I never show people the extent of my LEGO collection because I’m well aware of the financial disparities that are within our community based on both age and finances. Same goes for my camera gear. I play more on G+ these days and I have talked with kids in India where even finding a place to buy a mini figure is a two day journey; that was eye opening.
I certainly don’t mean to minimize the struggles that wheelchair bound people have, at any age, but if LEGO is going to truly be representational of all the different people of the worlds, where do they draw the line? Why do we expect large corporations and governments to acknowledge us and by so doing make us feel special, unique, worthy? It doesn’t matter who you are, by embarking on the LEGO band wagon, it will always mean going back to the store for something, be it legs, the right hair, the right accessory, a new set, the right part to build the perfect car… Lego is first and foremost a building toy. I know in our world the mini figure looms large, but in the greater world of LEGO it is a small backwater. This set, which is primarily mini figures, is a rather new phenomena in LEGO history. The only other sets I have come across like this were their educational sets. Maybe we are seeing LEGO expand its line to put more emphasis on the mini figure?
I knew this wouldn’t be a popular post, I didn’t expect it to be. I believe that no company should be expected to represent everyone fairly (Barbie and Bratz come to mind). I realize that now that LEGO is one, if not THE biggest toy company in the world, it’s a large target and these type of activist campaign are only beginning.
Thank you for your comment, I appreciate your point of view. 🙂
Awesome Set.
Good job Lego!
Absolutely!
Hot dog family already (brilliantly) done!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBCJTqBhDl_/?taken-by=zombiesimon
Ha! That IS brilliant! I missed this one, thanks for bringing it to my attention Leila! Leave it to the toy photography community to bring the initiative! xo
I will probably buy this set even though I’m one of the folks who has already made many of these items on our own. I think LEGO sees what the AFOLs are doing, particularly if our creations are getting a lot of attention on social media, and adapt our ideas.
Lyn, Yes I am sure I will be purchasing this set as well. It’s rare to get that many figures in one set. I hope the price is reasonable. I hope you’re right that LEGO is noticing what we’re doing. This is one indication, that and the hot dogs in the latest ninjago sets. Only time will tell how much they are paying attention.