Blog And News Articles

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) to buy a First Order Tie Fighter, using the Walmart price (20% off) plus another 10% through TRUTH and 8% back in rewards. It was only 9 am. I spent the next hour itching to buy as my loca…

According to this Lego Ideas blog entry, the approved Lego Ideas Adventure Time set is nearly complete! Here's a quick glance at the set: The set will be number 21308, and include 495 bricks with an MSRP of $49.99. Per the blog entry, seven brick built characters will be included in the set: Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Lady Rainicorn, Marceline, BMO, Gunter and Ice King. Compare this to the originally approved Ideas entry: Even though there are fewer characters, the ones in the approved set appear to be slightly more detailed than the original entry. This new set is much different than the Lego Dimensions packs that are set to be released wi…

Many Bothans died to bring us this set breakdown. Well, not really, but something like that had to be said. Actually, many people tend to confuse which Death Star the Bothans died to bring information about, and this is canonically the right one. The Ultimate Collector Series Death Star II is a pretty good representation of the object from the movie. I mean, as far as unfinished balls are concerned it really hits on all cylinders. OK, I kid, I kid. I really do like how they designed the final look, Released in 2005, the UCS Death Star II sold for $298.99. The set contained 3441 pieces. As of July 2016, used copies were selling for about $893 and u…

I have been excited for this set for a long time. Most of the time, LEGO keeps a tight lid on their upcoming products. You only officially get to know about what is coming out a month or so before it is released. This, however, is an Ideas set. LEGO implemented a program wherein they allow people to submit their ideas for consideration. The ideas need to be a fully completed MOC (My Own Creation). Public users of the site can browse all of the submissions and decide if they would support this project. If the project reaches 10,000 supporters within a year, it moves on to the LEGO Group to review. They look at the project and evaluate it a number of ways. This par…

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 …

Here is a quick guide for smooshing (feeling) the new 71011 CMF Series 15 packs. Smooshing is a term used by Lego fans for feeling the CMF packs' hidden contents to determine which minifigure is inside it. You should be able to identify each minifigure by feeling for the 1st accessory on the list below. The other accessories can be used for back-up identification purposes. Farmer: round hat, pitchfork, pig Astronaut: visor (like a big fingernail), oxygen tank Frightening Knight: ball with soft spikes, shield, bucket helmet Clumsy Guy: crutches Tribal Woman: …

There were two interesting user comments in-response to CapnRex101's August 27th article, "What's Missing? Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" on brickset.com. These comments were made by a LEGO set designer, Hans Burkhard Schlömer (aka BrickCommander). His posted comments are.... Essentially Hans Burkhard Schlömer said the initial wave Rogue One sets such as his designed, Krennic's Imperial Shuttle, will be retiring this year. Then his next comment suggested the 75105 - Millennium Falcon will be replaced by the 75190 - First Order Star Destroyer as LEGO's next "BIG" non-UCS set. Here is the list of Rogue One Wave 1 sets. 75152-1 Imper…

A happy belated New Year to all my readers, all nine of you. May this coming year bring you discounted exclusives, 80% clearance finds in out of the way stores on long retired merchandise and superb buyer feedback in 2016. I'd also like to quickly take a sentence to remind readers that the Mack's, a.k.a. The Founders, a.k.a. The Collectors, a.k.a. The Guys Who Made Me Take the Blue Pill, are still raising money for St. Paul's and it would be a darn shame not to support such a great cause. I could cite a boatload of research that supports the notion that giving money away makes the giver undeniably happier, or could chastise those that read content (including this rubbish)…

I just received this email. Wonderful news, huh? The Ground hike stings. 2017 Rates Information* Effective December 26, 2016, the following changes will take effect: Daily rates for UPS[emoji768] Ground service will increase an average net 4.9%. Daily rates for UPS Air and International services, as well as UPS Air Freight rates within and between the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, will increase an average net 4.9%. The Additional Handling charge will be assessed for UPS Air and International packages with the longest side exceeding 48 inches, instead of 60 inches. To review and download the new Daily rates today, visit www.ups.com/rates . For…

In 2003 LEGO released the Cloud City set 10123. For 13 years, there was no representation of the last third of the Empire Strikes Back. People have been asking for new Cloud City sets in the decade since. When information leaked about the Carbon Freezing Chamber, there was a lot of hope, a lot of speculation, and a lot of fans quivering with excitement. When we saw the pictures of 75137, there was an enormous outcry. How could they take an amazingly iconic set of scenes and chop it down to a half of a set with a goofy action feature? Well, I was one of the disappointed masses when I saw this set. No Bespin Luke, Leia or Lando. No gantry for a duel. There's not even a…

Would like to share and also want to hear your experience.... I started investing in Lego in Jan, 2013. I don't remember where I read this in Brickpicker forum. However, I remember some experienced member wrote something very similar to the title, "in order to sell $60,000 worth of Lego in one year, you should have $180,000 in inventory". Because I read that, I decided to actively sell for one year starting late Jan, 2015 to see whether that was true or not. According to the Brickfolio, current value of my inventory is $ 183,597.18. After almost one year of active selling, I have had $ 59,485.52 in sales, minus all the fees/shi…

In a previous review, I looked at an exclusive Star Wars LEGO set from Target, the Hailfire Droid 75085. This time I thought I would look at the one remaining exclusive set from Walmart, Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter. This is the ship that Anakin flew in Star Wars: Clone Wars. For those of you who don't know or don't remember, in 2003 between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, there was a short lived animated series called Clone Wars. This series was loved by some, hated by others and largely forgotten until used as trivia. None of the events are considered canonical anymore since the CGI The Clone Wars series was launched. All of that to say that…

US-based online retailers now have the latest Lego Star Wars sets in-stock. Each set looks to be fun builds with neat features and desirable minifigures. Battle on Takodana 75139 , $59.99 This 409 piece is Lego's first attempt at creating a scene from Maz Kanata's castle. Lego is usually "hit or miss" with playsets and set 75139 is probably a "miss" with regards to the castle itself. A small portion of the castle's entrance can be built including the main door and wall that contains a falling tree. The banner above the door is a nice touch and screen accurate although it should be one of many. Included minifigures are Finn, Maz Kanata, unmas…

When Star Wars Rebels premiered, we were introduced to a brand new smuggler's freighter that had an odd shape. LEGO released the Ghost in 2014. It retired on January 1. In order to keep the demand fulfilled, they've created a microfighter featuring the pilot/owner Hera Syndulla in Micro form. In my review, I'm going to take a look at set 75127 The Ghost. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75127 Name: The Ghost Microfighter Theme: Star Wars Parts: 104 Price: $9.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 9.99 the price per piece works out to almost $.10 each. This is on the lower middle side of pricing for a licensed set. There is 1 minifigure. (This is s…

As a countdown to the Force Awakens, I will be writing reviews on Star Wars LEGO sets this week. Full disclosure, I missed writing at least one review to meet my own schedule. So I have decided to punish myself and try to make a new review each day until the opening of Star Wars Episode VII. Hopefully they will be enjoyable for you and for me. I would like to finish out The Force Awakens lineup, but I've already built Rey's Speeder twice and parted out another one, so I have no interest in buying another one to open and build. I have little interest in the Kylo Ren's Shuttle because it's ugly, and I may or may not open a Millennium Falcon. So, unless something ch…

It looks like it's been about 6 months since I did the last one of these. I know I intended to do more, but time got away from me. It's time to get right back in and take a swing at yet another pricey LEGO set and what makes it tick, or brick. I never really thought much about the Y-Wing. It was never really one of my favorite Star Wars vehicles. It looked ungainly and not as sleek as the X-Wing. It is however a classic, used in the original series, reimagined for the Clone Wars and given life again in both Rebels and Rogue One. Recently I saw people talking about this particular set though and it was enough to make me curious about what makes this set difficult…

http://metro.co.uk/2017/08/03/lego-recalled-120000-sets-because-one-worker-packed-the-wrong-shade-of-grey-6827254/ Doh! There goes the Christmas bonus..

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…

The Ultimate Collector Series, or UCS for short, of LEGO sets tends to focus on the Star Wars brand. These UCS sets are the gold standard by which Star Wars sets are judged. They tend to have a much higher piece count and are much more detailed than the standard run of the mill sets. In 2000 the earliest Ultimate Collector Series began with the 7181 TIE Interceptor and the 7191 X-Wing. Like my previous article Brick by Brick, Breaking Down Expensive Lego Sets: 10212 UCS Imperial Shuttle we're going to be taking a look at what makes up one of these sets, in this case, 7181 TIE Interceptor. When looking at an old and expensive set that you want to buy, how do you d…

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 …

LEGO Elves was launched in March 2015. This set was released in a small second wave late that summer. I purchased this set at RRP a few days after release, but it has taken me until now to actually put it together. Below is my finished product: SET DETAILS: Set #: 41078 Name: Skyra's Mysterious Sky Castle Theme: LEGO Elves Parts: 808 Regular Retail Price: $79.99 BOX CONTENTS For this set, there are 7 numbered bags, one loose 6 X 12 dark sand beige plate, one sticker sheet, one pegasus-style horse and one thick 132 page instruction book. I liked that the book was a single binding as compared to the multiple i…

LEGO fans were given an early Christmas for about an hour on Tuesday morning, as the UCS Millennium Falcon 75192 showed up on Walmart's site for 25% off. Normally priced at $799.99, the one hour sale had the Falcon down to $599.99. It hasn't been Christmas for everyone, though, as a number of users reported yesterday that their orders got cancelled. However, a few users have reported that they have shipping confirmations for their orders. And for a brief time this morning, the set showed up once again at $599.99. Keep those eyes open, you never know when this, or any other set, may go on surprise sale in the days leading up to Christmas. Register and partici…

Rumors, rumors and more rumors. Additionally 2016 sets have been named with numbers by just2good on his YouTube channel. Many of the sets below have a MSRP of more than $75 so we should expect at least medium sized builds for playsets and large or combo packs (dual builds) for vehicles such as Vader's Tie Advanced which now is rumored to include 2 ships for est. $100. The unknown Star Wars sets could be more The Force Awakens and Rebels sets or a new Star Wars sub theme which as Lego Droids for example. Maybe another UCS style set? The Capt. Rex and Clone sets seem priced high to me given where we are in the Star Wars film / TV universe cur…

While I am getting closer to releasing a long overdue update to BrickPicker, now is a good time to release some content that I was hoping to release with the updated site. @belljohn has been talking with Ed and I for a very long time and has spent a lot of time in creating a series of Brickvesting videos that he is happy to share on the BrickPicker YouTube Channel. I am hoping to see this expand this into a bunch of different topic series and welcome any of you that are interested in working on some videos to reach out to me and we can work on it. Set reviews, investing tips, set builds, etc. It's not easy to speak for ~15 minutes, but Brook does an amazing job c…

Remember the first time that you saw Star Wars? Remember the feeling as the small rebel ship blazed overhead pursued by the massive Star Destroyer? It was so unlike anything we had seen before. When people talk about iconic Star Wars vehicles, they talk about the ones that appeared in all of the original trilogy; the Millennium Falcon, the X-Wing, Star Destroyer and TIE FIghter. The very first image though was of a ship that only had minutes of screen time. Despite that, the Rebel Blockade Runner was burned indelibly into the consciousness of fans. You may not know, the Blockade Runner was modified from the original design of the Millennium Falcon. Just a little…