>>>Glad to see this stuff. I was in a Lego store and couldn't find anything appropriate for the kid in question.
>>>
>>>Tamar
>>
>>Yepp, it's a pain.
>>
>>Even the lego site is a problem. Try to find additional parts to the mindstorm system.
>
>The original lego was too abstract, it was a cool medium (by McLuhan's definition), you could make just about everything from the same parts. The first parts that were off the mark were doors and windows, which pushes you into building houses. Then came the wheels, exhaust pipes etc etc... pretty much instead of using your imagination you get to just assemble the pieces as shown.
>
>Luckily, when our youngest was at the age, she didn't care for any instructions and photos of samples, she veered away in her own direction and created magnificent (yet still simple) contraptions, asymmetrical vehicles (or symmetrical, where turning the driver backwards made as much sense as forwards)... and I already had a digital camera to preserve some of them.
>
>Next time we get grandchildren visiting, I think I'll just buy a few bags of random pieces and mix them up. See what they'll make.

I've starded with Lego in the early 70s. Em, let me say I do not miss the big wheels and gears of those days. One can avoid the too prefabricated parts.

It's still cool. I think every child with a bit of fantasy will sooner or later start its own creations. While I feel with the kids and know about the feeling of a glistering new set :), you will found a lot of traders that deal bricks by kg on ebay.

And hidden in the Lego world there is http://shop.lego.com/en-GB/LEGO-Creative-Building-Cube-10681?fromListing=listing and some more of those. But hey, I have a NXT to sell (daughter needs to upgrade to EV3) Bricks, gear, wheels, motors, sensors, a PLC ....

Anyway, I quit for the day. I'll be quiet about futher proceedings in respect to the OP.

Lutz