Blog And News Articles

As a countdown to the Force Awakens, I will be writing at least one Star Wars review each week. This polybag was available for free with a $40 qualifying LEGO Star Wars purchase from Toys R Us. Some stores allowed buyers to purchase some for $3.99, but not every store did, and not even the same quantities. EDIT: Toys R Us appears to have shipped more of these to some stores and increased the price to $5.99. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 5002948 Name: C-3PO Theme: Star Wars Parts: 3 Price: $3.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At $3.99 the price per piece works out to $1.33 each. However, it's ridiculous to do the 3P math on a…

I have to admit that I am a fan of this ship. When I came back into LEGO collecting as an adult, I wanted Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter. I loved Star Wars, and I loved this ship. Sadly, it turned out that it was only available in the exclusive 7283 Ultimate Space Battle. I spent a lot of money bricklinking that set, only to be disappointed in how flimsy the build was. Eventually I got rid of the whole thing. I liked 9494 Anakin's Jedi Interceptor and 75038 Jedi Interceptor, but wondered if LEGO would ever revisit Obi-Wan's ship. As soon as this set was announced, my hands twitched to get one to build and review. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75135 Name: Obi-Wan's Jedi …

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…

https://youtu.be/UFPNWZeeXQw Lego Pneumatic Engine. What is it?  How to make it? The first it needs to finish Lego fake cylinder like in this video https://youtu.be/HcHneyewATE or https://youtu.be/0aZvWva41Ek. The second - to add o-ring to Lego piston like in this video https://youtu.be/wZu-l32Dajw or

Welcome to another BigBlueDogBricks post that will surely set the Lego investing world afire: today size matters, as we delve deep into the largest sub-theme sets to see what ol' Veegs thinks will be worth targeting. As always, you (hopefully) know your region best and also read the Daily Deal thread so when these sets can be had with a solid discount you are ready, metaphorically, trunk popped, to throw Lego sets in. So why are these large sets often my bread and butter as an investor? Perhaps a couple factors: Benefits of Large, Non-Exclusive Sets 1) Kids get the smaller sets for lesser occasions and want the biggest one for Christmas. Sometim…

With so many total sets available and #chaos in full effect as predicted by J-Mack, I thought it would be useful for new(er) members to the site and to Lego investing on the whole to take a look at how a short or shorter than expected run can greatly impact the value of a set. Without further adieu... The Mine 4204 June 1st, 2012 – Nov. 29th 2014 CAGR: 0.05% I loved 4204 The Mine. It had a lot going for it (at least in my eyes) – cool subtheme, unlikely to be remade, and lots of potential buyers seem to like construction vehicles and sets in non-technic sets. I'm sure they like them in Technic, too, but based on sets released, traditio…

I am not a little girl. I know that may come as a surprise to some. I have never built a LEGO Friends, Elves or Princess set, but I have helped my daughter build a couple. With that in mind, I asked my little girl to help me with this set. I thought it might be valuable to get the insight of the target market for the Water Dragon Adventure set. She was excited to help me, and her younger sister tried to "help" as well. So, in this review, we're going to take a look at the stuff that interested a 6 year old girl about this set designed for 7 year old girls. Is LEGO doing a good job reaching their target audience? REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 41172 Name: Th…

In last week's Summer 2016 rumor news, we mentioned that one "insider" thought we would be getting a Vader's Tie Advanced refresh. It now appears that upcoming 75150 Death Vader TIE Advanced is based on the Rebels television show. Take a look at the screen grabs below. A low resolution image was uploaded to Twitter and imgur.com earlier today. I do believe the leaked images (if true) are prototype boxes as 3 of the 5 images have 442 listed as the element count. The $99.99 (brickset.com price) set is #75150 and will include an A-Wing plus 4 minifigures. An A-Wing pilot can be seen on the box image as well as Sabine (no helmet). The im…

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…

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…

We all love lists, right? Welcome to what I expect to be a new weekly blog entry for Brickpicker: Top 10 Best Sellers at LEGO Shop at Home. As most of you know, LEGO’s online site includes a feature showcasing the Top 25 selling sets, updated on a daily basis. While this list is definitely a small sample, I believe it can help us gauge what’s popular with end consumers at any given time, so that when retirement time approaches we have at least an idea of how well a set sold through it’s lifetime. I will also be excluding (basically skipping) those entries on S&H that are not sets. For example, if a baseplate is currently sitting in place number 5, I…

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…

I like Super Hero sets. I think there's a lot of people who do. Well, ok not so much the sets. A lot of people like the minifigures. DC and Marvel Super Heroes sets by LEGO tend to be heavy on lame playsets or jets or bank trucks. There's also a lot of motorcycles. If it's a Batman set, there's almost never anything new. In76053 we get not one, but 2 Motorcycles. I kind of shake my head and try to figure out if it's worth doing a review. Well, let's just see, shall we? REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 76053 Name: Batman: Gotham City Cycle Chase Theme: DC Super Heroes Parts: 224 Price: $19.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 19.99 the …

I have had the privilege of meeting Dr Dave Watford along with Huw Millington of Brickset fame during several of my work excursions to London. They were always gracious enough to come to take a ride into the city to meet with me when time was available. Not only are these two extremely nice gentleman, it is very evident that they know their LEGO. In all honesty, I would be shocked if you can find something to stump them on. Dr Dave works Huw on Brickset, is a Features Writer with the magazine Bricks and he has his own LEGO blog called Gimme LEGO. Dr Dave's blog articles are always detailed with strong solid points and educational, I highly recommend it. For th…

The Sandcrawler is without a doubt one of the most iconic vehicles in the entire Star Wars universe. Ever since C-3PO first spotted this gargantuan transport, Star Wars fans have been very attracted to the idea of owning their own version, along with its extremely popular operators, the Jawas. Back in 2004 released its own version of the Sandcrawler. That set remains a pretty accurate version of what we originally saw in the movies, and for a long time it was also a very expensive set to acquire in the secondary market. As mentioned before, a big part of its appeal was that, at the time, it was the only set to ever include the Jawa minifigures. …

After a somewhat long absence from writing articles, I decided that a good way to try and get back into the rhythm was to revisit one of my 2013 articles, The LEGO December Effect. For those of you who have not had the time to read the previous article, back in 2013 I noticed an interesting price trend for the most expensive sets: they seemed to take a big deep in value in the month of December. Back then, I decided to compile some data for a few of the most expensive sets at the time and do a comparison between their November and December value. The table below is the one I originally used. It is pretty apparent that a majority of the sets in the list dipp…

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 …

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 …

I know I bought the First Order Snowspeeder in order to get the C-3PO polybag. I wasn't exactly excited about the looks of this thing before Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens was released, but I assumed it would get more interesting to me once I saw the film. I figured I might review this LEGO set with added appreciation once I had seen it in action. So I stuck 75100 on a shelf to age like a fine wine. The First Order Snowspeeder did not make a triumphant and exciting appearance. The enclosed Snowtroopers didn't battle valiantly against anyone. 75100 sat quietly on my shelf, waiting for a time that didn't seem likely to come. When I review a LEGO set, sometimes I have to h…

So, you have found Brickpicker and probably have already bought a number of sets that you plan on selling at some point in the future. Or, maybe you are a somewhat seasoned investor that has accumulated a large number of sets and are just now starting to sell your first few items. Either way, I wanted to give you a by no means comprehensive list of best practices for listing your items for sale. Whether you list on BP’s Brick Classifieds, eBay or some other site, I think these basic first steps will help increase your sales and reduce the risk of potential issues. 1 - General Tips Before getting into more details, I wanted to provide some general tips …

I'm going to take a detour here and review something that is not a set. It's the only item that I got this week for myself that's LEGO related. I want to talk with you about the book LEGO Star Wars: Small Scenes from a Big Galaxy by Vesa Lehtimaki. First, the technical information: TITLE: LEGO Star Wars: Small Scenes from a Big Galaxy AUTHOR: Vesa Lehtimaki FORMAT: Hardcover Pages: 176 LIST PRICE: $24.99 PUBLISHER: DK First, let me say that if you're looking for a reference book of any kind, this is definitely not the book for you. There is no set information, random minifigures are thrown int…

Star Wars fans love stuff that made short appearances in the films. I remember as a kid how much I enjoyed my Empire Strikes Back AT-ST walker and the adventures my figures went on in the Twin Pod Cloud Car. I also remember my cousin's Darth Vader's TIE Fighter. I couldn't have one because I already had a TIE Fighter. Vader's TIE wasn't as much background as those other 2 examples, but it wasn't a major ship in the movie. It had a few minutes of screen time in a New Hope and then basically never appeared in a film again. It served as the template for the TIE Bomber, but that was hardly the same ship. This was Vader's ship. It wasn't a standard TIE, and what kind of havoc …

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…

I don't know about anyone else, but I like looking at bulk lots and playing a guessing game about what might be there. Sometimes I can figure it out and come out well, other times I am left scratching my head wondering what other people are seeing that I am not. I usually assume that it's a modular building and shrug it off as my lack of experience with them. However I don't have to shrug it off, I could educate myself. I begin my analysis by picking out a desirable set. In this case, I have chosen 10190 Market Street. Market Street was made in 2007 and retailed for $89.99. This set was significantly cheaper than any of the other modular sets when it was released. Th…

A long time ago in an investing world far, far away from 2016, a Lego Friends kit set the world afire. This is the story, as told by me, with mostly conjecture and wild assumptions. I've linked the data I perused. CamelCamelCamel Buy me now: Amazon The Boom The forums were surprisingly quiet in the official 41015 thread, but I do recall most of the chatter in the Daily Deals thread and the What Set Did You Sell Today thread. Camelcamelcamel.com shows the Christmas of 2013 as a sharp, powerful thrust upwards, peaking at $139.99. For a set that debuted less than four months prior to that spike, it represented a dream scenario for …