> many sets feel like display models than something you can play with

That’s what I thought when comparing to my childhood sets, but it doesn’t stop my kids from loving them and playing with them.

My kids are learning a lot of cool building tricks from the advanced sets that I never thought of as a kid. Lots of angle pieces, hinges, and creative building.

That's probably the biggest change in the last few decades, they went from never doing anything out of the ordinary to SNOT (studs not on top) for "adult model" sets only (first in the trains I believe), to now where advanced techniques are used even it children's toys that aren't models.