Blog And News Articles

In this series of articles, I would like to take a look at the more expensive, most sought after sets of all time. Instead of reviewing the sets I thought I would address the parts of the sets that make them so rare and valuable. New collectors may wonder why they can't just build these popular and expensive sets out of the LEGO pieces scattered throughout their house. Inexperienced buyers may have concerns over what parts might be replaced in used sets that they are buying. People looking into bulk lots might want to know what clues in a lot would indicate that one of these popular sets are present. The first set on my list is 10212 the UCS Imperial Shu…

Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world... Time flies...It’s a little later than usual, but it's that time of year again. Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After three very...VERY...successful LEGO Raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...in which we raised over $150,000.00 for the school, another year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some more dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last three years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing. It's a spe…

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)…

Hello LEGO fans, collectors and resellers… Many of you may already know who I am, but for those of you that may have just learned about Brickpicker, my name is Ed Maciorowski and I would like to ask you for a few moments of your time. Over the past five years, my brother Jeff and I have operated the BrickPicker site at no cost to members and fans. All we ever asked from members was to click on affiliate links to help pay for the site expenses, which cost members little or no out of pocket money. Many of you have gained valuable information and insight from our data and forum community that enabled you to make money from LEGO collecting and reselling. Often, peopl…

* As I was preparing to publish this article, Ed Mack announced the Brickpicker sponsored fundraiser in benefit of the St. Paul School of Burlington, NJ. I truly encourage you all to visit the following link and make a donation; besides supporting a great cause you will be entered for a chance to win some really cool, retired sets worth thousands of dollars (and appreciating as we speak!). I truly wish the St. Paul School the best, FCBarcelona101* Read Ed’s Announcement Raffle Entry and Donation Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------…

Could it be possible that the LEGO Creator Ferrari F40 is already on it's way out the door? I am sure that most of you would say no. I would say no? How could it be, its been out for only a few months? Maybe it's an error on the LEGO Shop at Home website or maybe its a bad seller and LEGO didn't make a huge run. I doubt we will even know. If you do a quick query of 'retired' sets on LEGO S@H, you will see both the Ferrari F40 and the Mini Cooper listed there among the rest of the sets that are already retired. The Mini Cooper is no surprise, but the Ferrari would be if this is accurate. Of course it can just be bugs in their system, but why would…

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…

LEGO Ideas sets are projects that were submitted by fans and voted on by other fans. If a project got 10,000 supporters, the LEGO Group brought it under review. In the review process, they decided if the project fit their standards, if there was a reasonable chance that the supporters would actually purchase it, and if the build itself was feasible. They make certain changes to the set to make it fit more appropriately within their standards and release only a small portion of those that hit the 10,000 supporter goal. Disney/Pixar's Wall-E is a unique set, in that the designer of the set actually helped to create the movie that this set is based on. The flowthro…

Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...Feels like yesterday I was putting the 2019 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ. He is ten years old now and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten. The last four raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...have been extremely successful and I am hoping for more generosity and kind souls to take part in this year's version. Over the past four years, we raised over $177,000…

The Rebel Alliance Battle Pack is not based on anything in the Star Wars films. It's a set of expanded universe figures based upon the game Battlefront. I'm generally hesitant about battle packs, the builds are an after thought to the minifigures. The builds are forgettable and look generally like nothing you'd like to have as part of your display. I'm even more hesitant to build a Star Wars set without anything canon. LEGO has given us more of the same. In my review of 75133, we'll see if it's not just that. Hopefully it's something truly interesting. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75133 Name: Rebel Alliance battle Pack Theme: Star Wars Parts: 101 Price: $…

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 a scene from the gut-busting movie History of the World, Part 1, Mel Brooks, playing the role of Moses, brings 3 stone tablets received from the hand of God down Mt. Sinai to the people of ancient Israel. As he takes the final steps of his harrowing trip, Moses steps in front of an assembled throng and proclaims in a booming voice, “I PRESENT TO YOU THESE FIFTEEN…”, accidentally drops one of the three tablets he’s holding and quips, “Oy, ten…TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR ALL TO OBEY!” As God himself gave his fifteen laws to Mel Brooks, veteran Brickpicker members have bequeathed their own investing rules to the rest of the Brickpicker faithful. These rules can be found dotted t…

If you read my Rebel Alliance Battle pack review, then you know I was relentlessly negative and joyless from the outset. I am going to try to make the Galactic Empire Battle Pack review a little more entertaining. So, hopefully, even if this set is a disappointment, at least the review won't be. Besides, how disappointing can a LEGO set be? Welcome to LEGO STAR WARS 75134: THE EMPIRE STRIKES NEXT REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75134 Name: Galactic Empire Battle Pack Theme: Star Wars Parts: 109 Price: $12.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 12.99 the price per piece works out to almost $.12 each. This is on the high side of pricing f…

Attention all you SoCal lurkers, BricksLA is only a week away!http://www.bricksla.com/ Come support the AFOL community and see some awesome MOCs. Tickets are only $5, so this is a cheap day of entertainment for the family. And for you diehard BP'rs there are numerous vendors selling retired sets. Maybe a deal or two to be found.

Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world...What a crazy year! Covid and record high LEGO sales and prices made for an interesting year to say the least. Feels like yesterday I was putting the 2020 Brickpicker LEGO raffle together for my son Max's school, St. Paul School in Burlington, NJ. He is eleven years old now and we started this way back when he was in kindergarten. The last five raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2020 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...have been extremely successful and I a…

Convention exclusive. The two words many LEGO collectors dread to hear and several investors become giddy over. To some, these highly exclusive sets with their limited availability can be the Holy Grail of a LEGO collection. They are extremely hard to obtain, and can be very expensive unless you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. In recent years as the popularity of LEGO has skyrocketed, these exclusive sets have become even more coveted. Retailing for just $40, they can be found at conventions such as the upcoming San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) and Star Wars Celebration. These sets are small with very low piece counts (averaging around 200) whe…

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 heavily on math and science. As a child, I liked toys that were fun to me, and I am thankful that my parents never tried to limit my curiosity and affinity based upon some societal norm. I lo…

Sometimes I get random sets if I find them cheap enough. Usually they are broken down for parts, and the minifigures are sold off to defray the costs. I don't usually think much about those sets if they don't fit in with the themes that I collect. My kids have taken to watching Ninjago over and over on Netflix. I happened to have a few Ninjago sets and let them have a couple. They love them. I thought I would take a moment to look at one of the remaining sets that I have. Are the builds fun? Is there more to it than I would expect? Well, I have reviewed a Batman set with a pair of motorcycles in it fairly recently. That should give me an idea of what to expect, similar si…

LEGO is running a promotion this weekend, November 13-15, 2015. Purchase the Temple of Airjitsu (70751), and receive a free Enter the Serpent (70749) set. Enter the Serpent is $59.99 MSRP. This offer is available in US LEGO Stores and online at LEGO Shop @ Home. NOTE: Although initially available at LEGO Shop @ Home, it appears to now be in-store only. Just in case you want to see it, here is the fine print on the offer: **70749 Enter the Serpent free gift offer is valid through 11:59pm EST November 15 or while supplies last. Purchase must include 70751 Temple of Airjitzu to qualify. One free gift per qualifying purchase. Cannot be applied to previ…

Today, we are going back in time to almost three years ago (time flies!) and taking a look at one set that had the forums and the entire LEGO community talking almost non-stop: the LEGO Technic 4x4 Crawler Exclusive Edition. Unlike the majority of LEGO sets released throughout the years, the Limited Edition Crawler was designed through a fan base contest, with one of the conditions being that the creators utilized the chassis of the 9398 Crawler. The winner model was to be selected and produced as a limited edition of only 20,000 copies. Even since the winner was announced, investors and collectors were excited about the possibility of getting their hands i…

I loved the Captain America: Civil War movie. I loved the chance to get Giant-Man, Agent 13 and War Machine. I felt lukewarm about the chance to add another Iron Man and Captain America to my collection. Here was my chance to recreate the epic airport battle between 3 iconic super heroes and the 9 second-stringers that they brought along. (I say that with love since I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Hawkeye, Winter Soldier and Black Widow.) Wait, the packaging conveys so much depth of scene, but when you take away the graphic, what are you left with? Why couldn't Giant-Man have been released in a set similar to Hulk Buster? I need to look more in depth at this…

Toys R Us will be holding a building event for kids. Build and take home a mini LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Poe's X-Wing Fighter. This event will be held on Saturday, November 14 from 12-2pm. This X-Wing is Poe Dameron’s version and is slightly different from previous X-Wings we’ve seen from Toys R Us. (Credit to exciter1 for the original post) View full blog article

Below is a screenshot of Black Friday deal that Toys R Us is offering this year. Nothing wrong with getting 30% off any set. I personally like the Ultra Agents theme. The 70173: Ultra Agents Ocean HQ is a really slick looking boat and if you can grab that for $70, not a bad considering it is sold out right now on LEGO S@H. View full blog article

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…

The merging of two of our favorite things. https://gizmodo.com/artist-hides-secret-code-to-10-000-worth-of-cryptocurr-1824030024