I initially declared Geocaching as my guilty pleasure. The hobby / sport / activity did me joy (still does) However, it didn’t fit the definition: an activity, habit, food, etc., that a person feels shame or guilt for enjoying, often because they feel they will be judged by others.

I wouldn’t feel guilty about doing it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: I am a loud and proud Geocacher. I decided that can’t be it …

I, then, shuttered at my next thought, I DO have a guilty pleasure!

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Childhood Toys

I’m a Gen Xer, a self proclaimed a Xennial, a micro generation on the cusp of the Generation X and Millennial demographic cohorts (born in 1976) My toys were: G.I. Joe action figures, Transformers, and LEGO®.

I can’t remember my first LEGO® set but I do remember one of my first Christmas gifts: a red racecar with one minifigure. From then on out, I would request, almost beg for LEGO sets when shopping with my Mom at Fred Meyers, etc.

My childhood friend, Chris, and I would tote around these LEGO® themed plastic suitcases to each other’s homes. Our constant theme was to create the largest spaceships, motherships with parts and pieces we had from bulk.

LEGO® sets weren’t an accessible toy for middle class families such as mine in the 80’s. Minifigures usually accompanied a set instead of stand alone. And in the 80’s, those minifigures were not as elaborate as they are today.

We drew our inspiration from NASA, science fiction, and Japanese anime, such as Robotech, and the Super Dimensional Fortress (SDF-1) or Starblazers and the Argo.

We would spend hours, if not days, discussing our newest build concept to increase the size of our ships yet have stability. SIGH to be a kid, again …

Other Interests

My limited earnings as a teenager were shunted into other interests such as music, cards, sports, and girls. My last purchased LEGO® set was the Imperial Flagship (Number 6271) I only discovered this because of a Throwback Thursday photo of my Mom and I where it was on the shelf behind us collecting dust. I know I didn’t keep the box, and most likely donated it once I moved to college.

FUN FACT: a current unopened box set is approximately 3,000 USD.

My passion would fall subservient to the others interest for many years.

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First Loves Die Hard

One day I was Geocaching in the Bellevue, Washington (state) area. One geocache in particular contained a curious LEGO® mini-figure. It was a minifig in an unicorn costume! (LEGO® Series 13) My heart wanted to take it without trading, but cooler heads prevailed.

That said, the experience inspired me to purchase the LEGO® City Advent Calendar 2018 (number 60201) at my Costco warehouse. I also had the self discipline to not open it until December 1st. The act itself was insignificance but it re-ignited my passion for LEGO®, and more specifically minifigures.

Bricks & Minifigs

I decided that since there’s a brick and mortar building for almost every niche product, so I Google searched LEGO® minifigures. Lo and behold in the results page was 2 locations for Bricks & Minifigs. My brain immediately short-circuited.

WHAT THE WHAT!

I grabbed my car keys to drive to the only Bricks & Minifigs in the area: Monroe, Washington. I entered the store with adult money. That’s right, DISPOSABLE INCOME.

An hour later I happily walked outta there with 14 minifigures. Five of them were avatars of Arturo, Montse, Jorge, Charrina, and myself. Five of the Indiana Jones series: Indiana Jones, Henry Jones, Marion, Elsa, and one of the Brotherhood of Cruciform Sword. The last four were miscellaneous.

I Didn’t Start The Fire

I started something I can’t stop. In fact, I didn’t want to stop. I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to … my guilty pleasure of collecting LEGO® minifigures.

About this time, I also received an Amazon Gift Card, so I bought even more minifigs. The owner of the Woodinville Comic Stop, Michael, gifted even more minifigures! And I started buying LEGO sets that had a high number of minifigures included.

LEGO® FEVER

The only words I can use to describe what happened next was LEGO® FEVER.

I created a separate Instagram account for my LEGO® minifigure, Falconer Swarlos [a physical avatar of my Geocaching player name] For inspiration I started following lucwenz, and brickpanda. As far as this world, they are the standard of LEGO® minifigure photography. I wanted to elevate my photography game and in a hurry.

Next, I subscribed to The MiniFig Club. It was a monthly subscription which they mail you random legs, torsos, heads, and head pieces with accessories. A bonus gold sealed bag contained that months’ special piece.

I continued with following several FB Groups, such as AFOL [Adult Fans of Lego], LEGO MOC [My Own Creation], and other lesser known Instagram accounts that occasionally posted a cool photo. Lastly, I subscribed to email newsletters to various LEGO® theme websites such as Jay’s Brick Blog.

I had such an influx of minifigures that I wanted them displayed in themes (e.g. Marvel), and documented in an organized way so I created an Excel Workbook! The CMFs [Collectible Minifigures] had names so that was easy enough, such as Han Solo, Wyldstyle. However, my customized minifigures that I created from the batches of TMC shipments didn’t have names … that is until I gave them one, along with a class / occupation.

My listed collection quickly became double digits, then triple digits. I sat back in my office chair, and lamented, “Jesus Christ, what have I done? I’ll stop collecting at 200.”

That. Did. Not. Happen.

By the time, I was packing up for my move to Arizona, my inventory was 30 some odd sets, and nearly 300 minifigures. Instead of providing TMC a forwarding address, I canceled it.

Now What?

There you have it. My guilty pleasure is collecting LEGO® minifigures to photograph them in humorous scenes. Whenever my mentor says, “You should treat yourself”, just know I’ll be browsing Bricks & MiniFigs cases, or scrolling through websites in search for the latest and greatest minifigs to buy.

I can’t stop, won’t stop.

Did you guess this was my guilty pleasure? What’s your guilty pleasure, and can I guess it? Lemme know in the comments below.

‘los; out