There's this really expensive and exclusive Lego chess set on the market; so exclusive, it's not even available for purchase in the United States, and of course, my son has had his eye on it.
It retails for somewhere in the neighborhood of $200—sorry, I just had to cough—dollars. Even though Cole's birthday is months away yet, of course he would point this out as a possible idea. My response? "I don't have a job."
Rather than let my less than encouraging response beat down his indomitably sunny outlook, he took action and last week, created his own, playable version.
Took him hours, but he figured it out. Complete with one-of-a-kind pawns, knights, kings and queens.
The next time I'm all whining about the stuff I don't have, maybe I should just bust out the bricks. I'll bet it's possible to build just about anything.
120 Comments on “The very definition of”
Your son is pretty creative and innovative, for sure.
I saw online the other day.. can’t remember where though… someone had made an entire life-size computer desk out of Legos. It was pretty amazing.
Wow – I am so impressed – that Cole sure has an imagination and the ingenuity . . . he will go far . . . very very far!
Good job, Cole!!!
Wow, great job! I think this one is nicer than the pricier version, original and colorful and with all the appropriate figures! Great!
cole is a genius. love this!
could you please ask him to make a PAYCHECK out of those bricks? dh has been unemployed for 3 months (although he is returning to work next week) but i would send him every lego we have in our house if he could make a bankable paycheck out of them!
Just found it for you! Approximately 35,000 LEGO bricks were used to build that desk.
Here is the story: http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/desk.html
And here it is photographed:
http://www.ericharshbarger.org/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?desk_21.jpg+lego/images/desk
WOW!! He never ceases to amaze me with his talents. You are a very lucky mom to have such a talented young son.
Sarah, i will show this to cole! WOW.
I have to start saving also-this is what #2 son wants as a present for getting his master’s degree! I saw an episode of “While You Were Out” where a woman had furnished her house in legos-lego coffee table, picture frames, etc. Incredible.
Your son certainly has your creative spirit. Way to go, Cathy, for encouraging him. 🙂
Heaven knows we have enough…I need a new chair for my scrapbook room.
Gorgeous work Cole – I like your pawns. That chess set is WAY cooler than the other one.
Cathy – you can never have too many Lego bits…
Wow! Amazing what a good dose of imagination and creativity can do. Cole, you rock!!!
Wonderful Job Cole! Cathy thanks for sharing…kids keep us real. I just moved (downsized) and we had legos in the attic…some exclusive sets from Europe…and my husband didn’t care about keeping them…but I insisted…we will have grand-babies someday and we are such a throw-away society now that it saddens me. Anyhow, I showed my husband this blog post and he appreciates my OCD now with the legos…lol
Have a great day, Roberta
Your son’s creativity never ceases to amaze me. He is truly awesome.
as the mom of a son who lived and breathed Legos from the moment he could put 2 blocks together…that is absolutely stunning! Now my son is grown (and a Marine) and an avid chess player. He would adore something like this!
Impressive!!! 🙂
Please tell Coleman that some strange lady from Alberta thinks his lego creations are AWESOME. They always bring a smile to my face. Are you ever too old to start playing with lego?
I love it! He is so smart and creative. 😉
Love those Legos! great job on the chess board Cole. With Legos anything is possible! Tena
Well done Cole. Is this the one he wants? http://www.amazon.co.uk/LEGO-Castle-Chess-Set-852001/dp/B000TMB1U2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys&qid=1238685447&sr=8-1
I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve called my 12 yr old son over to the computer to read one of your blog entries about Cole & his LEGOs. Thanks for sharing Cole’s amazing creativity with us, for giving us a glimpse into your everyday life, and for allowing me to share yet another thing with my kids that is a direct offshoot of my scrapbooking hobby.
Not only is Cole’s chess set cooler than the pricey one, but it is a testament to not being given everything he WANTS. Good going, Mom. You are encouraging the greatest gift- the power of imagination and ingenuity.
That is AWESOME!
Holy clever!
Wow he did such a great job! My 10 year old is so into legos right now. I’ll have to show him the chess set! Totally awesome!
well, that is really neat! cole did a fabulous job! i actually like the set he made better than the “store” one…his has personality and delightful looking pieces…good for him! i think i would actually enjoy playing chess with that set! lol!
Incredible! Way to go, Cole! Your creativity and ingenuity will take you far in life. 🙂
Way to go Cole! Wish more kids had his gumption to do something like this when what they really want may not be attainable! Most keep begging and, yes, whining instead of doing something about it. KUDOS to COLE! I like it better than the one he wants!
That is so cool! Cole’s chess set is great. I cannot wait to show it to my Lego obsessed g’son. Thanks for the other links too.
Cole is too cool!
BRILLIANT! That’s a resourceful kid with tons of ingenuity! Kudos to him.
take it from Cole, nothing is impossible!
My boys love to look at those $200 + Lego sets OVER and OVER again on the Lego website! I will definitely be showing them what your genius Cole made as soon as they come back from school 🙂
Maybe the two of you could go into business designing Lego sets!
Cole’s ingenuity never ceases to amaze! And what a fan club he has here as well!
He is AMAZING!
Wonderful, Cole! It’s much more interesting to look at than the (cough) Other One. More power to your creative elbow!
I LOVE this. I’m gonna show this to my 8 year old daughter, who is another LEGO fanatic. Thanks for sharing!
Cole is a genius! That Lego chess set is totally awesome. Can I ask a (hopefully) easy Lego question? (My 7 year old is just getting into legos.) How do you store them? What kind of containers do you use? Do you keep the sets together or just dump all the bricks together? Other Lego moms, I would love to here your suggestions as well!
i swear that cole is a genius!!!!! i am so impressed by everything he does, incredible talent!!
AWESOME JOB COLE!!!!! ilove it!
What a brilliant child!
Sue, we have some big old bins from Target that we use… cloth bins. And usually just toss everything in together, although… cole has started a new organization project. I’ll have to share at some point. it’s kind of cool.
I just wanted to say Cole’s chess set is so much better than the pricey one! I LOVE it!!
That is so AWESOME!! Tell Cole he really rocked those Legos. My Lego fans are going to be so jealous they didn’t think to do that. (I know my son has been eyeing that chess set as well.)
Wow, that’s brilliant!
Brilliant! I like his better 🙂
Wow! My 6 year old son loves legos and is always asking and begging for more. He would love that chess set. Since I am out of work too my answer is usually no. Lots of other things we would rather spend money on. Anywho, he does the same thing as Cole. Makes what he wants out of his lego collection. He has made some crazy things and I have a book of photos with all his lego creations.
Cole is very clever! He could become a “Lego Engineer” as a profession.
But .. the iPhone isn’t the most unique
See here:http://www.ericharshbarger.org/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?desk_16.jpg+lego/images/desk
an actual working desk made of Lego bricks
Utterly, completely and totally AWESOME! Great Job Cole!!!!!!!!!
his set is way better!
Wow – I really hope that my almost 2 year old son will be this creative! Cole is just amazing!
Hi Cathy, I know I blogged about this before but you have one cool soon. He’s so creative with his legos. I bet he’s just as happy with his set as compared to the $200 one. Great job. Great kid.
Regina
Holy moly, that is totally cool. I can’t wait to show this to my sons Ryan and Sean, who were complete Legomaniacs when they were younger. Ryan, especially. He was 8 when he saved up enough $ to buy a $184 Lego monorail set! Ryan is almost 24 now, but he is going to think this chess set is brilliant.
This is so cool. Reminds me of the movie, “Searching for Bobby Fisher.”
Cole definitely fits the ingenuity definition. Sheesh has he got an imagination! Great work on the chess set. I’ll have to show my hubby since he’s into legos too.
Wow – this is fantastic, Cole has done a great job! Very imaginative especially, finding other ways to fix the problem – you have a futurestar there!
My two sons’ favorite toys (years ago) were Lego and Simcity … they would build everything they could think of, out of Lego, and were amazingly creative – and loved designing cities on the computer!
And do you know what? Now, BOTH of them are civil engineers – and they love their work. They say they owe it all to years of lego and Simcity!
you’ve got two ingenious kids there lady ! any kid who likes to not just make do with what he has but make it better ranks high up in my book. and your precious girl who loves thrift store shoppin stole my heart. my, my, my….
Wow, that’s amazing (Cole’s) My 9 year old is right here beside me, drooling all over the screen LOL
Cole did an awesome job! In fact, I think I like his set better! LOL!
cole rocks. i can’t even begin to imagine how much henry would be in love with play dates with him!
Coleman you are brilliant! It is awesome!!!
of course this is stating the obvious to you, but seriously, that kid is amazing!!!!
OH my goodness–what a smart kiddo! Tell him that his chess set ROCKS and is much better than the other one; no one else will have one like it!
Your son is Awesome!!!
I was reading this post and got to the “I don’t have a job” bit before scrolling down. I was thinking, surely Cole, with his awesome lego creativity, who didn’t love that Body Shop?, could make his own. Of course he did!!
I always love to see your closeups of Cole’s work w/ Legos. Amazing!
Cole seriously could make a career out of that…send his resume’ to Lego Land ASAP!
Your son is really creative…hmmmmmm…wonder where he gets that from???? AND I laughed my butt of when I clicked on what you would build!!! LOL! Thanks for sharing.
do you have a cool kid or what?! he is so clever….i guess the apple, well, you know 🙂
That really is ingenius! How old is Cole? I am a big Lego fan and this idea was brilliant! Be proud 😉
Ummm, I think Cole’s is WAY better than the fancy Lego one. And, if he really wants the Lego one, I think he should eBay his. I bet he gets much more than $200 for it…
Cathy, you are a terrific mother!!
By saying, “No”, or “Not right now”, you have allowed him to be creative & show what he is capable of doing for himself.
He is certainly a great kid with huge potential, but as the old saying goes, “An apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Well done Tree!!
Cathy,
Your son is totally INCREDIBLE ~ what he can do with LEGOS never ceases to amaze me! I see an architectural career in his future (possibly?). His vision and imagination is really quite brilliant.
On another note: any news on the Design Do-Over front?
HollyM
WOW. Cool!
Holly… workin on it! ; )
The boy is a genius! (and a resourceful one at that!)
He’s sure to go far in life 🙂
You’re awesome! 🙂
I love it. He could sell these. Next stop his own Etsy shop.
Thanks Cathy! I can’t wait to hear about it. If it’s half as creative as the chess set, I’m sure it will be great.
Wow. You have a smart son. I like his version much better. 🙂
i love that he found a way! that cole, he’s a smart one. and really, i like his set BETTER than the other one. very very cool.
How freaking cool is that?!?! I swear, if I ever have a kid with half the creativity, I’ll roll over and die.!! Also, I love how Cole’s set is more portable than the original… the pieces look like they stay where you place them, instead of the smooth-tiled original board… He could sell that as a Travel Lego Chess Set, and you’ll never have to work again!
I’m immensely proud of him, and he’s not even my kid!
i have to agree that cole’s set is so much better. i bet he could get much more than $200 on ebay.
question: when you store the legos in bins do you sort them in any way. my son was so into logos when cole’s age (now 25) and i saved most of them. now my grand children are into them and i have always tried to sort them in some sort or order. tired color, shape, size, and other. but they always seem to end up in just one big pile of doo doo. would really love to find a better way since i spend much more time making things with the grand kids than i did with my kids 🙁
All I can say is: LOVE IT! 🙂
Is there anything you can’t do with Lego’s? How clever he is!!
Go Cole! What a smart boy. You have taught him well. Rather than complain about something he doesn’t have, he works with what he has. And his set is so much better. Total triumph all around!
ohhhh….I should start buying some Lego sets now so that my son has something to work with when he’s old enough – I hope he’s just as creative as Cole is! I’m constantly amazed at what he comes up with and I really do like his chess set better than the expensive set…you have a pretty awesome guy there 🙂
Wow. That is so cool and MUCH better than the original set. I think you have the makings of your own creative entrepeneur!!! Maybe you should contact legos and see if they need a new engineer or product marketer on their team:)
I knew, even before I read the rest of the post, and saw the pictures, that thee amazing Coleman would build his own fantastic version. Does not surprise me in the least. way to go cole! Poo Poo on those elite lego people-who needs them!
What a great son you have!
Cole and Cathy,
Great job! I am very impressed with your stick-to-it attitude.
Did you build the base or is there some premade base out there that looks like that?
Thanks,
Mary Kate
Wow – Cole never ceases to amaze me! I have Lego sets separated in plastic bags with instructions. My 8 yr old son really isn’t into them anymore. I should ask if I could send them to Cole……!!
I am SERIOUSLY impressed by that kid’s Lego skillz. My 6 year old is just getting into the tiny Legos, and I always think of your Lego posts as I’m helping to put together Star Wars randomness.
you have one very creative kid…guess he got some of your creative genius!
Cole, your chess set is WAAAAAY better than the other one! You rule!
Love this! Reminds me of my uncle who is an amazing craftsman. He built a car out of wood with all working parts. The door handles work and the doors open. The steering wheel steers the wheels. It has a mini bar in the backseat. All out of wood. I love ingenuity!
Cole, ROCKS! One day, perhaps we will see his masterpieces on exhibit in the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. How cool would that be…?
WHOA! Nice work Cole!!! I like his version better. Legos are the only thing my 6 year-old son plays with. I’ll have to show him this when he’s home from school.
My son does the exact thing. He will disappear into his “Lego Lair” for hours and show back up with some totally amazing thing he saw online or just came up with by himself. I wish I had the creativity and patience to do that too!
Fabulous job! I think Cole is well on his way to being a professional designer.
Meanwhile, I read this and couldn’t help but think of this blog I saw a while ago: http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/i-lego-ny/.
Seems there is an inherent talent for Lego-izing anything in the world…
One day when Cole is a professional Lego Artist he might want some of these
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/27/welcome-to-lego-thes.html
Thanks for allowing us to share in the wonderful world of the Zielske off-spring.
He is too clever!!
He’s Brilliant! How cool is that!
That totally rocks! I hope Cole never loses his ingenuity! XX’s
I salute Cole and his creativity. I’m still loving the “Body Shop”…
Smiles!
Dianne
My son when he was Cole’s age wanted to be a LEGO designer and work at LEGO LAND … (In the back of his mind he still does…) … That type of creativity can not be taught! Way to go Cole!
Now there’s some ingenuity. He reminds me of his can-do mom…although you never made a Lego iphone, I’m sure you thought of it.
I would be happy to pitch in to the Cole Lego Fund, if he gives me partial copyrights on his later inventions. 🙂
wow! what an amazing little man you have there Cathy!! Impressive 🙂
I have to say . . . I like Cole’s chess set better than lego’s version.
Wow! That is impressive. While it would be a shame to sell such talented, creative work, I bet he could sell it for as much money as it would take to buy the one he has his eye on. I think the one he created has much more value though, being that it is his own creation, and one of a kind. Cole, you are pretty neat.
this is awesome. love Cole’s Lego inventions!
That son of yours is insanely clever! He never ceases to amaze me.
That’s one amazing kid. You need to contact Legos about him. They should be paying him for this stuff!
This is what I love about Legos. Endless possibilities for imagination.
That’s quite awesome. I’ll tell youse something more awesome. HEAVEN ABOVE. Beyond super-dooper awesome. These are 15 verses I love which’ll help you wiseabove. May God flagrantly bless you, my friend, and may the Trinity always put two options in thy Finite Existence (L or R) so you know the Way home to Heaven. May I meet you Upstairs and we’ll go for a beer? I’d like that.
Hebrews 9:27
2 Timothy 4:3-4
Galatians 4:16
Daniel 12:3
1 Corinthians 11:1
Isaiah 22:22
Psalms 37
Luke 13:24
Acts 17:26
Matthew 5
Romans 8:18
Colossians 3:17
James 1:2
Jeremiah 24:41
gotta whole lotta that, girl…
My son has also been eyeing that chess set. He’s a Lego maniac! He was sitting right here with me when I looked a Cole’s chess set and he thought (and so did I) that it was WAY COOL!
That is amazing. You – and he – should be proud. and thanks for sharing, I’ll give it a try next time my ds “needs” another set 😉
Just got back from Legoland (which is like crack for boys) and they had a lego chess set for sale there – it was about $50. I’m not sure it was the same one (didn’t look too close at it and went for the lego tic-tac-toe set instead).
This is SOOOO creative! I have shared the link with a few Lego loving friends!
Hm, wonder where he gets it from… you think???