Community LEGO Blogs
LEGO Blog Articles Submitted by the Brickpicker Community
259 blog articles in this category
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Hello, I'd like to tell you about an idea that I had. I'd like to make June 25th Give a Sick Kid a Brick (Break) Day. This would be a day where we can give to a little served cause. It might not even cost you a dime. I don't know how many of you have had a sick kid. My child's been to the emergency room more times than I can remember and admitted to the hospital for observation 3 times. The children's hospital is just as dreary, just as stark and joyless as an adult hospital. Somehow it see
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The LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona is set to have their grand opening on April 22, 2016. They are located in the Arizona Mills Mall 5000 S. Arizona Mills Circle. Tempe AZ 85282. Tickets are $22 for a single day admission, and you have to book a time for entrance. An individual annual pass is available for $65, or $60 per person for a family of 4 or more. The incentives for the annual pass holders include a 10% discount in the LEGO retail store and a 20% discount in the cafe as well as skippin
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In a 2 day competition, the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona conducted a unique job interview searching for their new LEGO Master Model Builder. In the food court of the Arizona Mills mall 46 applicants participated in a build off to find the most qualified person for the job. What is a Master Model Builder? They are the person that creates the models and displays that decorate the location. They are the face of the LEGOLAND location, communic
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Many Lego-related blogs are written about modern sets. This especially applies to investment-related blogs. In a series of articles I try to generate enthusiasm for some of the more interesting vintage Lego sets. We enjoyed building them as kids, whereas probably more often we jealously admired them in our best friend's collection or in the Lego catalogue we devotedly picked up in the toy store. This is primarily a blog of nostalgia. However, investing in vintage Lego can be an interestin
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It happens to the best of us..... You haven't built a LEGO set in a week or two. It's a slow day, you're bored, and you've got some spare time on your hands. You glance lovingly at your secret stash of LEGO sets and notice the pristine Pet Shops 10218s sitting on the shelf. They're mocking you - daring you to break those beautiful seals. Grabbing a set off the shelf, you carefully open the package before dumping the glorious contents onto the kitchen table to g
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When I first got into LEGO as an AFOL I was looking at all of the Star Wars sets that I had missed and how much they cost. It became necessary to figure out a way to get the sets cheaper or make more money. I knew that some people must be making money buying bulk lots and taking out the stuff they wanted and selling the rest. That seemed like 2 birds with one stone. I looked at the bulk lots on Ebay, realizing that most of what I would get from these guys were common pieces. So I started
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For decades, the problem with collectible toys has been degradation of the materials. For most toys made in the past 40 years or more the main component is ABS plastic. ABS plastic breaks down and changes color as it ages. This process can be accelerated via exposure to UV rays (sunlight or fluorescent bulbs), Heat, and chemical reaction to other plastics. Most collectors have fought a losing fight to prevent their lighter colored plastics from turning yellow (or green if there is a blue
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Hello. My name is Elaine, and I am a Lego addict. I have often said this in jest, but I’ve started to realize that it is not a joke. I woke up this morning, and the first thing I did was check Brick Picker for the deals buzz. As soon as I had put the kids on the bus, I started planning my buy of the day. Since I went to see “The Force Awakens” (again) last night, I was feeling like I needed some more Star Wars sets. I took to the web, and made a plan to go to TRU (since it was Thursday) t
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INTRODUCTION The LEGO Group has developed numerous Star Wars sets over the past 16 years, but the most coveted, and generally most valuable, are those with the Ultimate Collector's Series (UCS) label. What exactly, defines the term Ultimate Collector's Series? Brickipedia provides this definition: "The Ultimate Collector's Series, or UCS, is a sub-theme of sets. UCS sets are meant to be more detailed and aimed at
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For as long as I can remember, people have been puzzled by my interest in many things that were “for boys”, and I have been equally puzzled by why toys have a gender at all. As much as I am genetically and physically female, I have never been one to adhere to the likes and behaviors deemed appropriate to my gender. I am a builder and a creator. Both of my parents worked as computer engineers (although I used to think they worked on a train), so my brain and its nurturing were focused heav
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Recently, Arizona news outlets had stories about 50,000 LEGO bricks being dumped at a local shopping mall. Was this some weird Santa sighting? No. Did the ghost of Ole Christiansen manifest all of the bricks there? Sorry. It was in celebration of the beginning of construction of a LEGOLAND Discovery center at the Arizona Mills Mall. Arizona Mills is located in the city of Tempe, part of the larger Phoenix Metropolitan area. The attraction is scheduled to open in S
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A Look at the Arctic Sub-theme With summer almost here it's time to take a look at the new sets and analyze their investment potential. One of the most intriguing sub-themes out there this season is the Arctic themed line of sets from the City theme. Unlike most other city sub-themes that are available this wave and have new sets released regularly or every other year (such as Police, Traffic or Trains) the Arctic line hasn't been seen since 2000 (under the Town theme) and in those fourteen yea
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Hello guys, My second article will discuss Architecture Sets! As a reminder, the first one summarized my experiences with buying second hand lego sets and bulk. Even though the conclusions were probably predictable to many veteran BrickPicker, for me jumping in the water of the secondary hand lego market was the best way to learn where the culprits are of this trade. For those who are not interested in discovering the tips, I can summarize by telling you I live by the NICHE rule now: Net Incomin
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Licensed Sets: The Issue with Investing. It's common knowledge (and a common complaint) that sets from licensed themes often cost quite a bit more than those that are non-licensed. It makes sense of course, The Lego Company has to pay for the right to make sets based on characters that they didn't create and those who buy those sets of course have to pay their share in turn but the higher cost is still, especially for investors, a bit of a difficult pill to swallow. Investors must also face the
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"OUR EXCLUSIVE" Those two little words on Toys R' Us' website in regards to the Grand Emporium (10211) sparked a minor uproar recently among Lego investors. What does this mean? Will it change the Emporiums expected immanent retirement? Will 10211 languish forever at inflated TRU prices post EOL ala' Vampyre Castle? Should we all dump our large and exclusive sets in favor of poly bags and mini figures? Breath people, take a step back and chill. I, humbly, submit that it will have no impact what
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"Should I invest in the Fire Brigade?" "Yes." "No." "Maybe so." "It has been available for way to long. Collectors and investors already have all that they need. You will have to wait a LONG time before the set appreciates." "It is a modular. That alone will make the set a winner. " I have seen this conversation take place in the Brickpicker forums many times. The most common reply that I saw said something like "Everybody's brother (and dog and cat and pet gold fish) has one of these.
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This blog follows on from my previous blogs presenting the top 20 sets in terms of secondary market price growth according to the data we have available here on Brickpicker. Apologies as I’ve been a bit slack and missed the last data update that was in January and had data up to the 10th of Jan. As such this update will be based on values as at the end of Feb-14. This means comparisons in the “Last Rank” column of the tables will be comparing movements from the Nov-13 positions. Again, here a
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Lone Ranger Lego... Just wanted to let those three little words sink in for a second. Most on this site would agree that this line, with a couple exceptions, is not among the best of choices to place your investment dollars. I tend to agree with that sentiment. I am also a fan of building sets and as such this line is pure gold. The sets are reasonably priced, have great builds, and come together as a group nicely. For the record I have grabbed a few of these sets at an extreme markdown
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You've heard of it on the news, in the papers, and online. It created overnight millionaires while making others broke. Governments are afraid of it and the public is confused by it. But it is here to stay. What am I talking about, you ask? Crypto-currency In 2009, an anonymous online entity, going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, released a tremendously well-researched and thought out paper;explaining how an online, peer-to-peer, currency which would not be regulated or backed by any governmen
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So you've spent your time researching the best sets and held them past EOL. You've watched their value climb and the time has come to start selling them on eBay, all is well until one day you get your first angry e-mail from a less than pleased buyer. What to do, What to do... There is no way that you can spend any amount of time selling items on eBay or any other platform without the occasional issue popping up. While some of the forums may make it seem that every single transaction is a major
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I have never liked Chess as a kid or as a teenager. It was just one of those games that looked boring and bland. A game for nerds. However in the past several years after buying my first iphone, I could not find a app that suited my needs. Ultimately I needed an game that required some strategy and would never get boring. A game that I could improve on over time and a game that would pass time while I was playing it. That game ended up being Chess. At first, I was VERY BAD at Chess, and in some
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If like me you’ve ever struggled with the temptation that having a closet or room stuffed with shiny new Lego sets for investment presents in terms of building and playing or displaying them, this short blog may help! Rarely have I succumbed to this temptation. I tend to try and keep my collecting hobby side of the Lego game separate from the investing side. There is occasion where I have dipped in to the investment pool to provide a last minute gift for a young lad or lass, or when I really j
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Photographing LEGO minifigures, boxes and sets can be a difficult task to do correctly. It can mean the difference between selling or not selling an item on eBay or similar sites. Before I found out how to create this light box, it was a time consuming process to set up a good lighting system, take pictures of my minifigures, and list them on eBay. When I was in a time crunch, I would just put the minifigures flat on a piece of paper, which did not look the greatest. This light box is easy t
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I deal with bulk Lego more than any other type, I find it relaxing, I get to spend some quality time with my seven year old, and it is very profitable so long as you don't over pay or spend to much time on it. Time, time is the killer of an otherwise perfect lot. While there is no single solution to speed the process of finding value in a lot, there are several ways to speed up the process of sorting and building, thus finding the value quicker. Take the lot below, it is roughly 20-25 pounds of
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Welcome to the fifth and final installment of a series started by Comicblast called “The Superior Market - eBay vs. BrickLink”. If you haven't read the previous articles, I suggest you start at the beginning and read Comicblast's initial articleshere ($0.00 to $9.99 and here ($10 to $24.99). The third installment can be readhere ($25 to $49.99) and gives further background about the purpose of these articles and my approach to continuing the analysis. The fourth installment is here ($50 to $99.9
