Blog And News Articles

Brexit vote pushes up cost of Lego Lego will raise its prices by 5 per cent next year, blaming the falling pound in the wake of the Brexit vote. The Danish company will increase the prices it charges British retailers from New Year’s Day, but said it was up to shops to decide whether to pass on the cost to customers. Lego, founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, has become the latest company to raise prices after the referendum vote on June 23 to leave the European Union. In October, the food manufacturer Unilever threatened to increase the price of its products to British retailers by 10 per cent. This would have affected Marmite, Hellmann’s mayonnais…

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I know that I am either supposed to be super excited by every new thing or super critical of them. Isn't that the way that fandom works? Love the innovation or hate the fact that it's not just like the stuff that I loved when I was 7. I'm cautiously optimistic about Rogue One. The Hovertank however struck me as a bad design. It's dull and boxy. It makes me think of nothing so much as a much more boring version of the Republic Fighter Tank. I got to thinking about it, and maybe I was judging it too harshly. So, I got one to build for myself and see if it turns out to be better than I expect. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75152 Name: Impe…

Today, we are happy to report that our second book "The Collectible LEGO Minifigure: Values, Investments, Profits, Fun Facts, Collector Tips" is now available for purchase. This was a fun book to put together since we were able to work with the Lego community to obtain fun photos of Lego minifigures in action. In the coming weeks, we will be announcing winners of the contest that we had when we first introduced that this book will be published. The first review of the book has been published by Huw over at Brickset and he states that "Nevertheless, it is a fascinating book that will appeal particularly to minifigure collectors." Huw Millington and Dr. Dave Watford h…

So the past few days have been exciting since LEGO finally slapped a "Retiring Soon" label on the list for the 10188 Death Star. Everyone should jump for joy and start yelling for the money to come rolling in right? Maybe, but it might be short lived or will it. According to the new database entry at Brickset, there is a new Death Star coming and it is listing as an Ultimate Collector Series model. So is this a totally new model, or another version of the old? Is it really "The Death Star" or "The Starkiller"? The new Starkiller base as it is referred to in Episode VII is described by the official Star Wars site as "An ice planet converted into a stro…

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 interesting and fun pastime. The quest to find rarer sets, to restore incomplete sets and to assess your recently purchased lot of bricks can be exciting, relaxing and rewarding. In this …

Interesting write up in the NYT about the planned Legoland outside of NYC. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/business/regional-theme-parks-growth.html?action=click&module=In Other News&pgtype=Homepage&action=click&module=&pgtype=Homepage

new series soon, cheer

Some people probably wonder if I'm averse to going outside the comfortable zone of Star Wars sets. There's a whole universe out there of LEGO themes and sets that have nothing to do with Star Wars or Super Heroes. Well, I wanted to start with the daddy of the modular sets, the one that began one of the most expensive (on average) series of sets out there. LEGO Modulars are an offshoot of the standard Creator line. Introduced in 2007, this sub-theme consists of large, detailed buildings targeted at adult collectors. The retail price tag of the sets and the 16+ age range tends to discourage the younger collectors. The very first set in the line was the Cafe Corner. Thi…

For The Distinguished Lego Batman Collector: 76052 Classic TV Series Batcave Review Welcome to my new feature, For The Distinguished Lego Batman Collector! Like most AFOLs, I've been a Lego fan for nearly my entire life. When I rediscovered Lego when my son turned four, I was really surprised to see the development of detail in the minifigures, and in particular the licensed figures. And staring at a shelf of Lego sets in the store, my favorites were the Lego Batman sets. I was hooked. Naturally, I've begun collecting Lego Batman sets, minifigures, DVDs, and Character Encyclopedias, and I'm even on the hunt for that Lego Batman Board Game! The colle…

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 skipping the line and going right in to the center. Pass holders do not have to pre-book. I was able to get in early as part of a soft opening that they hosted for their annual pass …

LEGO has released a version of the Droid Escape Pod twice previously. In 2001 and 2012, they released sets called Droid Escape (7106 and 9490.) Each time the set has been visited, it has gotten more expensive. Accordingly, the number of separate pieces has increased in each set. This set should be the most detailed and complex of the sets released to represent this scene. In 2001 the set only had the droids. In 2012, the Escape Pod came with the droids, 2 Sand Troopers and a speeder. This time, we get 2 droids, 2 Jawas and no speeders. Most people were content with the fairly recent version. Most collectors would have preferred something else take this slot. I have n…

I never had a LEGO system scale AT-ST. I got a UCS one from a comic shop, but that's not really the same. Even when I was a kid in the 80's, this was never my favorite vehicle. Now I look at my AT-AT and feel like it's missing something. The AT-AT is missing its little brother AT-ST. I was so excited to find out that this vehicle was coming for Rogue One. I really needed to fill out my display. It doesn't matter what minifigures are with it, as long as it fits with my Original Trilogy stuff. I didn't want to backtrack and find the 2007 system scale version because a set that's a decade old usually looks like a set that's almost 10 years old. This set looks good on the box…

https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/lego-moving-north-american-headquarters-boston/BHZ2Z6TQOBAWDOXENSBOG7ATUU/ Does this mean anything? Just bad news for Enfield, CT I suppose.

The Avenjet Space Mission is yet another Super Heroes set, where some random vehicle is thrown in to give the LEGO Group something to hang a bunch of minifigures on. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad set, just that it may not be something that fans really care nothing about. I really badly wanted some of the minifigures with this set, so I went ahead and got it. I figured there would be some out there who wondered if this set was worth getting. Let's review. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 76049 Name: Avenjet Space Mission Theme: Marvel Super Heroes Parts: 523 Price: $59.99 BOX CONTENTS Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box …

As with most Lego promotions, you must spend a required amount of money to get the 'free' item. Many folks also use promotion stacking on http://shop.lego.com which is the process of spending just enough money to earn multiple promotional items. After waiting too long to order products at shop.lego.com to obtain the popular 40252 Mini VW Beetle promotion (sold-out online), I visited my local Lego mall store. This store had current promotional sets available including 40252 and the 40265 LEGO Friends Tic Tac Toe set. The purchase requirements were to spend $50+ for the VW Beetle set and $20+ in Friends items for the Tic Tac Toe polybag. Both are popular items…

Yesterday I was contacted by the website Tech Insider to help them list the Top 25 most valuable sets of All Time. It was good timing too since I did run the price guide numbers recently. With no real big surprise, Star Wars led the pack with getting 10 sets into the list. I think the one surprise is getting a set from 2015 in there with the Bat-Pod. No one is really sure how long that will remain in the list and if aftermarket builders will do a good enough job on the "fakes" to kill that market. Good old Mr Gold is still going strong after a few years and holding onto a value greater than $1,500. If you are lucky enough to have every set on this list, you …

Here is the list of current and upcoming polybags in the LEGO world. If you've found a polybag that's not on this list, or have any update to give us, please note it in the comments below. This information is put together from a number of different sources on the Internet, including real world reports. Availability in your area may vary. This information is US-based. These are from within the last 12 months. Polybags Currently Available Set # Theme Set Name Locations 30256 Chima Ice Bear Mech Target …

I listened to this on NPR on my way home for work: https://www.npr.org/2017/12/05/568624246/grinch-bots-attempt-to-steal-christmas-by-driving-up-toy-prices This troubles me because a reseller might use a specific algorithm to track a product, but that does not mean that a bot will purchase thousands of that product once launched, leading to price/ product manipulation. There seems to be a pretty big disconnect between perception and reality. Nowhere in the article does it mention that most retailers put reasonable limits on online orders or that banning people, or I guess bots, occurs. Anyone got any Hamilton tickets?

I'll dive right into this article by discussing the investment potential of the "comes in black" 76023 Lego Tumbler set. It appears production was stopped for the $199.99 76023 Lego Tumbler set months ago about the same time Lego slapped the infamous "retiring soon" tag. European and US Lego Shop At Home websites have either sold-out (red font for those who track that) or removed this set's page entirely. In the US, only Amazon and Target have stock currently. According to Brickpickers who try to track inventory like @trekgate502 , the current inventory at those 2 online retailers could be gone by the time the 4th NFL Wild-Card game finishes this Sunday. Regardless o…

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, communicating with the press and the public alike. They run the minibuilds for the kids and special events, as well as creating seasonal and special displays. I was informed that in November they will be creating a new Star…

Many Bothans died to bring us this information. The official Xbox website has launched a page showing screen captures from an upcoming entrant into the LEGO Star Wars game series. This time it is Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The date given for the release of this game is 6/28/16. Players will be able to play as their favorite new and classic Star Wars character. One screen capture shows Han, Leia, and Chewbacca as they appear in the 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium set. What that means about playing older movie scenes has not been shown yet. Warner Brothers games has not officially announced the forthcoming game Is this the releas…

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lego-china-copyright/toymaker-lego-wins-chinese-copyright-case-against-brick-imitators-idUSKBN1E1157?utm_source=applenews Don’t believe this has been posted elsewhere on these boards yet - but it looks like GREAT news, with possible longterm impacts on the knockoff market!

IKEA and Lego teaming up for playable storage options. I have no idea what this means. https://geekculture.co/bygglek-is-what-happens-when-lego-and-ikea-kick-off-their-collaboration/ Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker Forum

I was looking at the sets listed in this article for inspiration for the next set breakdown article. I first looked at 3450 Statue of Liberty but I quickly realized that it was basically more than 50% rare pieces and more than 50% high occurrence pieces. I wasn't excited by that set. I thought I might see what readers wanted to see.

Welcome back to another installment of For the Distinguished Lego Batman Collector! Next on tap is a review of the three sets of DC Comics Mighty Micros: 76061 Batman vs. Catwoman, 76062 Robin vs. Bane, and 76063 The Flash vs. Captain Cold. Full disclosure: I was pretty excited about grabbing these at my local Lego Store. These chibi-style mini-builds are DC's version of Star Wars Microfighters and, as any distinguished Lego Batman collector might be, was excited to see chibis appear in Batman form. As usual, first the basics: there are three individual sets here: 76061 Batman vs. Catwoman includes 79 pieces, 76062 Robin vs. Bane includes 77 pieces, and 76063 …