One section of a street that Andy Hung Chi-kin built runs down the side of his dining room, while his living room is crowded with everything from fire trucks to pizza delivery vans and a castle manned by fearsome knights. Then there's the windmill he made using 4,000 blocks.
At 28, Hung is well past the age when most people put away building blocks, but then he isn't hooked on just any old toy. The financial services executive is a Lego enthusiast and spends hours clipping together thousands of the plastic bricks to create miniature towns. The Lego blocks and other accessories have cost Hung more than HK$100,000 over the past few years, but he reckons it's money well spent. Lego gives him the flexibility to build all kinds of toy cities, he says.
Hung is one of many young men who have forsaken the usual electronic toys for the brick-based system created 50 years ago by Danish carpenter Ole Christiansen. Most are members of Legofigs, an enthusiasts' club founded in 2003 that now has more than 3,000 members. They meet weekly to share tips, and stage public events every few months to show off their creations, which range from bizarre spacecraft and futuristic buildings to popular anime characters.
Database administrator Antony Lau Yee-leung is one of the regulars. 'I used to feel a little embarrassed about walking into a store to buy a new Lego set, but more young adults like us are playing with these traditional toys,' he says. 'Many children prefer video games these days and don't have the patience to assemble things like we do.'
In his spare time, 39-year-old Lau runs a Lego accessories store at In's Point in Yau Ma Tei. The small arcade, which houses half a dozen similar stores, has evolved into an unofficial gathering place for adult Lego fans who drop by after work to replenish their supply of bricks and exchange information. The arcade became so popular that Kjeld Kristiansen, the grandson of the Lego founder and current CEO, paid a visit last month.
'He told us Lego sales in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia had been pretty good over the past few years, so he dropped in to take a look at the business here,' says Eddie Chow Chun-on, 29, an IT professional who runs a store selling Lego products.