Congratulations, fellow LEGO fans—it’s International LEGO Day! (…in Australia! Yes, we are a little early for the rest of the world for a few hours, but we’re emphasizing the international part of the day this year.) On January 28, 1958, 65 years ago, LEGO submitted the patent application for the bricks we know today. We’ve already seen all the places in the world where BrickNerd contributors have obtained LEGO, so join us as we celebrate LEGO Day with some of our best stories of shopping for these coveted plastic toys!

Just before the “store unboxing” of the flagship store at Leicester Square, London in November 2016

I’ll start us off by telling a couple of stories of my own (I would, wouldn’t I? I like telling stories). I live in Norway where we, for some reason, still don’t have and never have had a LEGO Brand Store. The silver lining, if you could call it that, is that any visit to a proper LEGO store becomes that little bit more special because it’s not a regular occasion! That means there are lots of good memories of these store visits for me, and it’s difficult to choose just a couple.

A proud (and quite a bit younger!) Are with his model on display at Westfield Stratford.

I’ve mentioned a few in earlier BrickNerd articles: that time when I was allowed to fill a Pick-A-Brick cup with minifigure parts at the Watford store in the UK, and the pride I felt when one of my models was put on display in the Westfield Stratford store in London. I could also have mentioned attending the pre-opening of the flagship store at Leicester Square, which I was lucky enough to be invited to.

It’s very often crowded at Leicester Square, but thankfully not *this* crowded. From the opening in 2016.

But one of the most memorable stories is this first one. I’m sure some of you remember a world before the Internet (yes, I’m that old), where you’d walk into your local toy shop in January and find fantastic new LEGO sets on display, sets you’d never seen before—because the channels where new sets these days are discussed to death before they ever reach store aisles just didn’t exist. I miss that excitement. But I briefly relived those memories when I walked into the pop-up Brand Store at LEGO World Copenhagen back in February, 2020 and saw this:

LEGO Night Mode, which I discovered at LEGO World Copenhagen in 2020. What is this sorcery??

In the end, “LEGO Night Mode” turned out to be nothing more exciting than a test done by the Lead User Lab to gauge how the public, and probably the fans in particular, would react to seeing official LEGO lighting kits on the shelves (you can read more about the Lead User Lab in our interview with Tormod Askildsen), so in the end, there really was nothing to be excited about… but for about an hour, until we found out what was going on, the AFOLs displaying in the Fan Zone could treasure that feeling of finding something that nobody knew existed before we walked into the store that morning!

I have to mention one other story too, and that’s one of the funnier moments I’ve had in a LEGO store. If I’m not too badly mistaken it was at Westfield Shepherd’s Bush in London (the London stores are pretty much my local stores!). I walked in just to have a look at what was on offer, browsing the Pick-a-Brick (PAB) wall and the Build-A-Minifig (BAM) bins, when I noticed one of the employees was looking at me with big eyes, as if he’d spotted… well, a celebrity!

Now, I work in television and I have experienced being recognised, especially back in my local TV days—but to be recognised in the UK was, to say the least, a bit odd. Then the young guy came over to me, pointing at my T-shirt—which I’d bought from the TeeFury website where pop culture-inspired clothing has been available since 2008. This is the T-shirt in question:

And then he said, with genuine awe in his voice: “Wooooow. You’re one of THEM!” Obviously referring to “the masterbuilders”, he actually assumed this was an official title, and that I was some sort of genius builder who had earned the right to wear this particular shirt of honour.

I almost laughed out loud, but figured that would probably be very rude. So instead, I just smiled and said, “yes!” As you do. For the rest of my store visit, the employee followed me around like a puppy, at my service for whatever I might need.

Am I a bad person for thinking this was funny? I hope not! But enough about my experiences. Let’s hear what the other BrickNerd contributors have to say, and it turns out I’m not the only one who’s received the royal treatment! In Aiden Rexroad’s case, however, he wasn’t mistaken for something he’s not…

Bionicle Celebrity

“Earlier this month, I was visiting a LEGO friend in Minneapolis to play in the snow and, of course, play with LEGO. We made sure to stop by the Mall of America store. Initially we just browsed the PAB wall and filled a cup to share, and then we began exploring the rest of the store. We got talking with an employee while playing with some Stuntz sets on display, and showed him what we normally build.”

The Bionicle crew! Ari/Buttloaf builds on the left, Petter/GZB_mocs in the middle, and Aiden on the right.

“He immediately called over his coworker and said that this was their “Bionicle guy” so we were intrigued because that’s our thing. Even better, upon hearing our online names he went “oh hey, I follow you on Instagram!”—and then he told us who he was, to which we responded with the same thing! It turned out we had all interacted before online and just happened to meet in person. So we briefly chatted and complimented each other’s builds, grabbed a picture together, and then headed out.”

Not bad, huh? But not content with two contributors being recognised in a LEGO Store, we bring you yet another story of being famous, this one featuring Noah Hennings in the lead role.

King of Passports

“Not too long ago I was on the search for some particular BAM minifigure elements while traveling in the States, when I was approached by an employee. She asked if I needed any assistance and when I turned to speak with her, she noted that I, quote, “sounded familiar”. She wasn’t sure from where, but she was determined to remember where she’d seen or heard me!”

“I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just showed her the particular torso element I was searching for and inquired if they had any more in the back (as is customary with LEGO stores, they usually have an extra bin in their inventory room with additional BAM pieces). She took one of the torsos with her and scoured the extra elements they had.”

“While I was waiting, looking around the shop, another employee recognized me as well and asked me the same question! Super confused, I thought perhaps somebody was pranking me and started looking for a hidden camera—but there wasn’t one. Then the first employee came back and I went to purchase the pieces. However, before paying I asked if I could get my passports (emphasis on the plural) stamped… and that seemed to get the attention of both of them.”

Noah’s incredibly impressive passport collection, which got him recognised at the LEGO store.

“I pulled out the four passports that LEGO has currently made and they immediately knew who I was! That felt creepy and funny at the same time, somebody knew me by my passports...? Apparently I had shown them in my friend’s vlog, and I was the only person the employees knew about who had all of them.”

“We talked for some time and I got to show them the different stamps I’ve collected from my travels and add their stamp to the collection. In return, they told me that they were also getting into the MOC building scene, showing me the stuff they were working on. Super wholesome! They even gave me some polybags to give out to my siblings when I got home.”

That’s a proper claim to fame—most of us have to make do with only one passport (up until January, 2020, it was even illegal to have dual citizenship in Norway!) or at most two, but four! Way to go, Noah. What’s that? You have another story? Careful so you won’t turn into me! Alright, bring it on.

Luck of the Irish German-American

“Almost 10 years ago, my family and I took the trip up to the (now unfortunately closed) LEGO Store in Birmingham, Alabama to acquire some recent releases that my brother and I had been saving for. This was before the multi-release windows we all now are accustomed to for LEGO sets, when looking in the catalogue was your tablet and going to the LEGO store was like taking trips to the cinema. They were special, you’d want to stay as long as possible.”

“LEGO stores were where young builders of that time, like myself, felt at home away from home. We walked into the Riverchase Galleria mall, and as per usual, the excitement skyrocketed. Stepping foot into the ABS kingdom we were greeted by the friendly staff, among whom was the one and only Stefan Formentano. My brother and I were eager to tell him what we came for, and spoke of how proud we were to have points on our VIP card to spend—it was only about $5-10, but nonetheless priceless for us.”

The LEGO Store in Birmingham, Alabama, before it closed. Photo via Wesley H. on Yelp.

“The sets of choice were set aside, and we took another look to see what else was currently available. Checking the PAB wall for elements to use in our LEGO city, putting minifigures together at the BAM tower, all the knick-knacks… and then it was time to purchase our items. We made sure to bring our magazine because advertised was the 40108 Balloon Cart promotional polybag which you’d receive when spending over a certain amount.”

A pretty rare LEGO Store employee! Image via worthpoint.com.

“Unfortunately, Stefan informed us that they didn’t have any left at the shop and probably wouldn’t be receiving any more. Discouraged, we were ready to accept our fate when Stefan said he just needed to check something in the back. We waited anxiously by the door, hoping that he’d come back with two more Balloon Carts—but instead, he brought out something even more special: two LEGO Employee Minifigures! Of course we found these to be suddenly cooler than the sets we were purchasing because we now had the ability to make our own replica of the Birmingham Store for our city!”

“It wasn’t until years later when moving back to my home country that we realized just how special and valuable these minifigures were. As a kid, you don’t really care for the value, yet we still kept them clean and pristine as that’s how we were taught to look after things). To this day, they stay safely stored away, to be cherished in the future.”

As I may have mentioned before, I’m a sucker for rare minifigures. Now I need to figure out what I can trade Noah for that lovely employee… and speaking of minifigures, it’s time for Simon Liu to give us a story—which incidentally involves collectible minifigs!

The CMF Feeling Expert

“I don't remember with which CMF series it started, but at one point employees at LEGO stores here weren't allowed to help customers identify collectible minifigures. But my local store got around this rule easily whenever I was in the store! Every time someone asked for help to identify a CMF, the employees would just point to me and tell the customer to nicely ask ‘that guy’.”

“I was of course always happy to oblige—and my assistance always came with a Simon Guarantee: I promised that if I got the minifig wrong, I'd buy it off them. And I never had to buy anyone's CMF!”

That was really short and sweet, so while Simon’s at it, let’s have one more from our favourite Torontonian—this time about forcing somebody to go from a set builder to a MOCer!

A dented 7962 Star Wars set. Picture via eBay.

“Before LUG meetings we used to hang out at LEGO stores a lot, we'd go in check for discount sets (box damage) or grab bags (remember those?) and leisurely fill up PAB cups and chatting with various other LUG members. I was usually one of the first people there and one time I grabbed a dented set, 7962 Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba's Podracers.”

“My friend Brad, who at the time was a set builder and hadn't yet ventured into building custom creations joined us, saw my dented podracer set and mentioned how he wished he’d been there sooner. I looked him in the eye, handed to him and said: You can have it, on one condition: after you build it, I want you to build a MOC with it. He agreed, and has been MOCing ever since!”

I don’t know if that technically counts as blackmail, but way to go, Simon! One more builder added to the big family of MOCers. And while we’re on the topic of introducing someone to the hobby… here’s one from Ann Megacolormix, whose first trip to a LEGO store sent her down a familiar path.

Discovering the Magic of LEGO… With a Little Help From Harry

“I was the same age as Harry Potter himself when the first books, films and LEGO sets came out. And just like Hagrid opened the magical world to Harry through the "Leaky Cauldron" pub, I discovered the wonderful world of LEGO with my first ever LEGO Harry Potter sets after a trip to a LEGO store—bringing home more than I could ever have imagined: my love of LEGO started with this very visit.”

4722 Gryffindor House, with cardboard backdrop

“I really admired the sets from the first "Wizarding" line. Now, those sets are considered quite old, and that puts even more charm into them for me. Some of them, including the first LEGO sets I owned, featured cardboard backgrounds that recreated the walls of the castle, and the combination of paper and bricks looks like a 3D illustration from the magical book. The current LEGO brick-built Harry Potter books with stickers, “Hogwarts Moments”, kind of remind me of them… perhaps they were some kind of predecessors!”

If you’re a regular BrickNerd reader, you’ll know that Ann is no stranger to creating magic with LEGO bricks—her articles contain some fantastically creative LEGO photos, and no less than four of them are (surprise!) Harry Potter-themed. Which neatly brings us to Tom Gion’s story!

Leaking for a Good Cause

“I was in a LEGO store in early to mid-2018 to pick something up and overheard a lady who was looking for Harry Potter sets. The theme had been discontinued for several years at that time, but I guess she was remembering the older ones and assumed they were still available. She was pretty disheartened to learn that the theme wasn't active anymore. I, however, had seen leaks on Instagram recently and knew about the then-upcoming new releases such as 71043 Hogwarts Castle.”

What the lady was looking for (left) vs what Tom told her she would soon be able to buy (right).

“I had a real moment where I struggled: "Can you discuss leaks in a LEGO store?"—a conundrum I probably took way too seriously, considering I didn't work there. I eventually told her about the upcoming sets, quietly, as if it was some big secret I shouldn't have been sharing. She was grateful and went on her way. I felt like I had violated the law.”

But you had, Tom! Come on, revealing future releases among the aisles of LEGO’s own store! Oh well, I guess it was for a good cause. And on the topic of good causes: if slowly luring your family into the LEGO hobby isn’t one, I don’t know what is! Right, Brian Everett?

Bringing the Family Along

“I picked up the LEGO hobby in late 2018 after my daughter received Friends set 41350 Spinning Brushes Car Wash as a gift. It didn't take long for me to get hooked after that, with sets 41340 Friendship House and 41335 Mia’s Tree House… but even though I shared my hobby with my kids, neither really gravitated towards the hobby, if I'm honest. So for several years it was a hobby I mostly pursued myself, and even sometimes caused a stir as it began taking over parts of our basement (something many of us can probably attest to).”

“That is why a trip to the Disney Springs LEGO store this past June is so very memorable to me. My entire family wanted to go to the LEGO store, without me ever bringing it up first! We all made custom minifigs at the Minifigure Factory station. It really was a highlight of our Disney World vacation!”

Brian and the kids, who voluntarily came to the LEGO store with him! And yes, that’s a real dragon. Right?

Awwww. That’s really sweet, Brian! And you didn’t even risk getting your family stuck a long way from home when visiting the LEGO store. Doug Hughes, on the other hand…

First Things First!

“Years ago my wife and I were visiting her extended family in Florida for a warm Christmas experience. I mostly rolled with the family plans but I got my one big request in: to have the in-laws take me to the Dadeland Mall LEGO Store on the way to the airport heading home! Little did we know the traffic would be horrendous in Miami...”

Your average Miami traffic jam. Or was that Mozambique? I get them mixed up. Photo by A Verdade on Wikipedia.

“By the time I was dropped off at the entrance to run in and avoid parking I was getting quite nervous about the timing. Of course the mall was huge and confusing so by the time I got to the LEGO store I had to rush fill my PAB cups like it was a race! Luckily it was a happy ending as I got my PAB… and we only just made the flight.”

Man! I was biting my fingernails by the end of that one. I don’t know if I can take much more… but luckily, we’re approaching the end of our LEGO Store Stories roundup. We’ve saved the best for last though: here’s our resident Nerd-in-Chief Dave Schefcik with a fitting finale.

The Orthanc Heist: How I Almost Stole From A Kid On His Birthday

10237 Tower of Orthanc. How very tempting

“A few years ago, I used to display LEGO on my desk at work and my colleagues expected me to have every new big set built a day or two after they came out. I was really excited for 10237 Tower of Orthanc and it was rumored that there weren't that many sets delivered to stores—I even called to confirm this. Plus I wanted it! It was one of the tallest sets of all time and looked like an Architecture set from a film!”

“Seattle has three LEGO stores so I didn't worry much but headed out in the morning on launch day. A friend and I went to our regular store (one that really valued AFOLs) and they didn't have one left! They were only sent four. (This was before people were crazy and lined up early.) We headed to the second store in Bellevue to try our luck and no dice. They called the third store and were told they still had one left on the shelf, but they couldn't hold it for us because there was only one… and a kid was looking at it intently.”

“We hightailed it north to the last store in Lynnwood and got there to see presumably the same kid holding onto the set as he went around the store looking at things. It was obviously his birthday (12-ish years old)—we could tell from the helium balloon—and his parents were letting him choose anything in the store to purchase. He was wandering around, but Orthanc was clearly a top contender since he was walking around with it. My friend and I cautiously watched his every move and secretly hoped something else would catch his eye.”

“He stopped at the Ewok Village and set Orthanc on the ground to look at the village. It would be awkward to just swipe something from his feet, so we waited and watched. He put the Ewoks back on the shelf, lifted up Orthanc and then ventured over to the Nexo Knights section where I think a lion-headed castle—if there is such a thing—caught his eye. He again put Orthanc on the ground to consider the castle and chat with his parents who clearly just wanted him to choose something since they obviously had been there quite a while. They urged him to make a decision and suggested he make a minifigure while collecting his thoughts. The parents put back all three sets on the shelf and then headed to the BAM bar with their son.”

The Build-a-MINIFIGURE bin. A welcome diversion!

“That's when we swooped in, swiped it off the shelf, went to check out, paid for it, and left in under a minute. As we were making our hasty exit, I glanced back and the kid was looking around the Lord of the Rings area for it somewhat quizzically, then made a move for the Star Wars section instead. Success! We were literally giggling about the heist all the way home, justifying our actions by saying anyone could have just picked it up off the shelf and purchased it not knowing the circumstances. We built it straight until about 2 a.m. that morning until it was finished. It is still one of my favorite memories ever of just building a set with a friend.”

Now that’s a pretty good way to end this roundup, don’t you think? Oh wait—I’m getting a message over the intercom just now… it seems we just got one last contribution from El Barto! We’ll let him get the final word. Thank you for reading, and happy LEGO Day!

“The only story I have is when we took our son to the LEGO Store in Seattle for him to pick out his birthday present. Some guy snagged the Orthanc Tower set he wanted! Can you believe that? He only set it down for a second...”

What is your best LEGO Store story? And would you let Dave anywhere near the sets your kids want? Let us know in the comments!

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