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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 …

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…

I've built both the A-Wing and Darth Vader's TIE Fighter before. Neither build had previously done a lot to excite me. I remember building 7150 TIE Fighter and Y-Wing back in 1999. That particular build colored my perception of Star Wars LEGO for the next decade and change. I also built 8017 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter which was miles better and 75003 A-Wing Starfighter. None of them really excited me enough to keep. I wish I had held onto them in order to compare and contrast, but that's the breaks. I didn't really need another Darth Vader or another Sabine Wren without her helmet. It feels overpriced. The original retail for 75003 was $24.99 and 8017 was $29.99. But their…

I couldn't really get behind the Mighty Micros sets. Something about the short legs and the goofy expressions didn't click with me. At least the Microfighters have normal sized minifigures. But I kept looking at those goofy expressions and I could sort of dig them. I like Captain America, and the idea of a Unique, goofy Captain America half appealed to me. I kept picking up Captain America Vs. Red Skull and putting it back because I didn't relish the thought of spending money on something soooo goofy and juvenile. Eventually I felt like I had to, just so I could give it a real shot and not let my prejudices take over. This review will take a look and see what I actually t…

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…

According to a story by Andrew Paul, Contributing Writer to Comicbookresources.com, the next wave of DC Mighty Micros will be released January 2017, and include three new superhero/villain pairs: Batman vs. Killer Moth Superman vs. Bizarro Wonder Woman vs. Doomsday For more on this, check out the Comicbookresources.com story here. Thoughts on the new pairings? Please feel free to share in the comments section below. View full blog article

Good news fellow Lego fans. We are getting a Finn Stormtrooper polybag (30605-1). That means no more switching minifigure heads to reenact Finn and Poe being best buddies while escaping the Star Destroyer. Details will emerge about soon enough about how to acquire it. Most likely a Lego or Toys R Us promotion. It could be a Lego promo for the May the 4th weekend. I do expect this minifigure to have demand especially if the sand stains print remains exclusive. Source : http://brickset.com/sets/30605-1/Finn-(FN-2187) View full blog article

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…

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.

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 seems worse because the child doesn't have the same acceptance as an adult in the same position. What an adult endures, a child fights. Shots, procedures, nurses, doctors and speciali…

For me, one of the LEGO sets that I most want in my collection, but am least likely to get is the 10123 Cloud City. In Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, a lot of the action takes place in Bespin's Cloud City. Strangely LEGO has been reticent to release sets that correspond to this location. (Maybe we'll talk about the similar lack of Dagobah sets sometime later.) When LEGO announced the Carbon Freezing Chamber 75137, many thought that it would replace this set. In the minds and hearts of many, 75137 is just a pale comparison to a small part of 10123 Cloud City. LEGO Star Wars fans groaned, and owners of the original rejoiced. Cloud City is 698 pieces and …

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An image has been found online of a new, upcoming Star Wars polybag of Rebel A-Wing pilot. There's no news yet of where or how to get it.Astute fans may notice that the figure more closely resembles a B-Wing pilot, but this character is based upon the design for Star Wars Rebels.The original report was available on hothbricks.com. More news when it is available. View full blog article

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…

LEGO opened its largest store to date on Wednesday May 11, 2016 at the Shanghai Disney Resort in China. Lego said in a statement the Chinese market was "one of the best performing markets in 2015". Lego is also setting up a factory in China which should be operational in 2017 in Jiaxing, 100 kilometers from Shanghai. Links to Reuter and Baidu for video and pictures from the opening day. View full blog article

More often than not, the main question LEGO investors are trying to answer is “When is this set retiring?”. As we all know, once a set is retired is when it really has the potential to start growing in value, so it is not surprising that the EOL question is as common as it is in the forums. However, focusing entirely on currently available sets may be causing investors to miss on a potentially lucrative market: sets that have already been retired for quite some time. It is not the first time I write about this, and I know some of other members like fellow Mod Grolim used to bring up quite often in the earlier years of Brickpicker, but taking a look at my last articl…

Lego has some nice offerings planned for May including the annual Star Wars "May the 4th" weekend events and products. If you are unable to visit a Lego retail store, be sure to checkout their website at shop.lego.com . Some highlights... Star Wars May the 4th includes a free exclusive minifigure (First Order Stormtrooper) with every Star Wars $50+ purchase Earn Double VIP Points on selected Star Wars purchases. A free Force Awakens poster is also available. New sets : The much 'beloved' UCS Assault on Hoth will be available. Additionally, an exclusive set is planned to be released on May 18th. According to rumors, it could be the 10253 …

To differentiate this from the more serious reviews this (and any others like it) will have an "OUTSIDE THE BOX" title. It seems like not many people really like this set. Reviewers are down on it, prices are down, heck, I didn't even want it for myself. I found one at a price that was too good to pass up, so I thought, why not? Since it's a set that I wasn't super excited about to begin with,I thought that the Rhino and Sandman Super Villain Team-up was perfect for an outside the box review. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 76037 Name: Rhino and Sandman Super Villain Team-up Theme: Marvel Super Heroes Parts: 386 Price: $39.99 BOX CONTENTS Some people …

New calendar is up. Tonight starts the LEGO May the 4th Star Wars Event. To start with, you at least get 20% off most Star Wars items. On top of that you get your Double VIP points on all Lego Star Wars products which ends up being a decent discount. Based on discussions in the forum, it appears that many are starting to eye up the 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tydirium. Free shipping on all orders with no minimum. Free 30602 First Order Stormtrooper (pictured above) with your order of $50 or more of LEGO Star Wars products. Double VIP points on all LEGO Star Wars products. Free LEGO-fied Star Wars The Force Awakens poster with all LEGO St…

The universe of LEGO Star Wars is changing. Some of the changes may be too subtle to notice at first, but it began more than a year ago. Before we look into the changes taking place now, and influencing the future, let us take a look at the way things have always been. Historically the LEGO licensing of the Star Wars brand has always been consistent. Star Wars had a three-year cycle between movies starting with The Phantom Menace in 1999, the year that LEGO acquired the rights. There were theatrical releases of Star Wars films in 2002, 2005, and 2008. Three years was sufficient for LEGO to create new sets and visit new ideas. Enough time passed to fully explore t…

LEGO hasn't released much for one of the flagship titles of the Marvel comics universe. Marvel Super Heroes X-Men vs. Sentinel is only the second set featuring those popular mutants. 4 Popular characters, an iconic vehicle, and the most notorious instruments of government sponsored mass murder in the Marvel Universe should lead to one of the best sets that LEGO has produced for this theme. Let's take a look and see how well they accomplished what should be an amazing set. Let's review. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 76022 Name: X-Men Vs. The Sentinel Theme: Marvel Super Heroes Parts: 336 Price: $49.99 The general consensus is that this set is overpriced. The …

A Polish online retailer have posted images of 3 upcoming Capt. America Civil War sets. The sets appear to contain a nice array of vehicles, play sets, minifigures and a brick built version of gigantic Ant-Man. Some Marvel characters such as Black Panther and Crossbones will finally make their minifigures debut. It also appears The Quinjet gets it's third remake since 2012 while other minifigures are refreshes or carryovers from previous sets. While unsure of their investing potential at this time, I do think most of these sets will be highly popular. Source = http://www.extraklocki.pl/katalog/klocki-lego-super-heroes/marvel/3,9,id,desc/? …

As a countdown to the Force Awakens, I will be writing at least one Star Wars review each week. Full disclosure, I have already built one of these previously, and I was not a fan. I found one at a significant discount, wanted a few more troops, and felt like writing a review because I had a joke in mind. I didn't think it was fair to write a review on a set that I built over 2 months ago, so I refreshed my familiarity with this set, and took plenty of pictures. I think my understanding of what works in these pictures is starting to get better, so hopefully you agree. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75103 Name: First Order Transporter Theme: Star Wars Parts: 7…

Thomas Kirk Kristiansen will succeed his father as the new vice chairman of LEGO. http://www.wsj.com/articles/legos-billionaire-owner-names-son-as-successor-1461789032 LEGO’s Billionaire Owner Names Son as Successor - WSJ.pdf