I also had Legos, you're right :) - I loved LEGOs, both me and my brother used them, but it seems we had different inclinations from a young age, I loved building things while he used them as a stage and made them act :) (now he's into the publicity business)
I doubt I read as much as you did - I spent much of my unsupervised time taking things apart that I shouldn't and building really silly shit in my dad's shop. The effect is in the same vein as your reading abilities: I feel confident in my abilities to repair or build almost anything, even with no previous domain experience.
