Blog And News Articles

Welcome to first monthly entry of the Top 10 Selling sets as listed by LEGO S@H. As you may remember, this blog started as a weekly posting, but we figured it would be better to compile the data throughout the month and publish it all in one time. This reduces the probability of having less than 10 sets every other week. How does this Blog work? While the LEGO Shop at Home best sellers list is updated daily, we will be updating it every month (Hopefully by the end of the 1st week of the next month). The list includes only sets. Minifigures, keychains, Pick a Brick and other products are excluded. I am keeping an Excel spreadsheet with…

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…

I haven't reviewed a microfighter before. I like Star Wars. I like Star Wars vehicles. I think these are cute. I have avoided doing the reviews because they didn't fit with my collection. The Resistance X-Wing Fighter had something different about it. LEGO Microfighters are small, and don't take long to build. Hopefully my self indulgence with the pictures amuses you. If not, I apologize. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75125 Name: Resistance X-Wing Fighter Theme: Star Wars Parts: 87 Price: $9.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At 9.99 the price per piece works out to almost $.115 each. This is on the high/middle side of pricing for a licensed s…

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 …

The Proposal Looking at one and done themes, both in terms of one wave and an availability of one year (and change), can an investor learn anything? Short answer: maybe. Long answer: maaaaaaybe. I'd like to spend a little time talking about the Castle theme. Availability from brickset.com lists May 28th, 2013 to December 22nd, 2014. Yes, I know this might be stretching the aforementioned 'one and change' but actual production was likely much closer to one year with the later EOL date the result of stock being depleted after the final production run. Let's get started... The Forums The Castle 2013 thread was essentially a discussion of why the 2013 was infer…

Looks like Lego has some GREAT events and offerings planned for April. Both AFOLs and KFOLs will be happy. If you are unable to visit a Lego retail store, be sure to checkout their website at shop.lego.com for select offerings. Some highlights... Various polybag and promo items based on money spent or themes: 1960s Mr. Freeze minifig and Elves Sira’s Adventurous Airglider. Note: The Mr Freeze polybag is available with a purchase of $75 of more from April 1 to 15. New sets (e.g. Angry Birds) will be on-sale. Events for children include a minifigure swamp, Bumblebee build, Superhero builds and club meetings. Maybe best of a…

Welcome to this week's Best of Brick Classifieds: Star Wars Edition. The twelve featured sets have the lowest pricing available among Amazon, eBay and Brick Classifieds vendors. I have included sets from a variety of price points and Star Wars sub-themes. Click on any of the hyperlinks to view the individual set listings or click here to search all Brick Classifieds Star Wars Sets listings. Thanks to all Brick Classifieds Vendors for taking the time to offer such outstanding prices on their sets, but especially to the Vendors with the sets listed below. 1. CMStevens: LEGO Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon #10179 $4500.00 …

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 …

The Pitch: I was listening to Sting's 'Demolition Man' and patting myself on the back for getting some Demolition Site sets about $60 CAD off retail when I thought others might be interested in my thoughts on Sting and Lego. Seeing how past construction-type sets fared seemed like a good point of comparison, and I had a suitable soundtrack. Unfortunately, the lyrics are a bit foreboding considering I am advocating for Demolition sets, but if nothing else they forced me to be a bit conservative in my future estimates. http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-6100272-City-Demolition-Site/dp/B00NHQFECI/? The Demolition Site (60076) looks a little 'kidd…

Is it really that good? is the question I intend to answer from my point of view in this blog. Lego set 75060 depicting Slave I in UCS style has been jubilated on every Lego related forum, in every review. So, conscious of these reviews and opinions, is the build still going to be great? Can we believe the hype? If you're like me, you already know my answer because the first thing you did when clicking on this blog is scroll down to read my conclusion. For those who are not like me and want to read the whole article, I tried to write down my thoughts and feelings (immediately) after each step of the build. I won't tell all surprises and advanced building methods I encount…

There have been many recent articles, all over the web, in local papers and on the radio. They're saying that LEGO investing is better than gold. It's sensationalist. It excites the imagination. It sounds easy. These articles point up the sets that have increased in value many times above their initial costs. Dreamers sweep store shelves expecting instant returns and easy money. Conventional wisdom says that you'll never lose money on LEGO, it will always be worth at least what you bought it for. What if it's not? I'd like to take a journey through the dusty backrooms of stores and the dark corners of investor's storage areas to look at some themes that proved to…

Issue 17 of Blocks Magazine is now with subscribers, and will be in shops on Thursday 18th February. This month, we dive headfirst into LEGO’s latest Big Bang theme, with full reviews of every Nexo Knights set, plus an in-depth interview with LEGO Designer Mark Stafford – who reveals a few tantalising secrets behind the space-castle mashup, and gives us some hints as to its future direction. Elsewhere, we head back to the glory days of Castle, with a detailed look at the 1984 Lion Knights range, and showcase an incredible collection of Doctor Who builds from Thorsten Bonsch – as he unveils his latest timey-wimey creation exclusively in Blocks. T…

Looks like Lego has some interesting events and offerings planned for next month. Get the kiddies ready (including your inner kid). Some highlights... Double VIP points on all purchases between March 7 and 22. The Classic TV Batcave becomes available to non-VIP members starting March 1. Various polybag and promo items based on money spent or themes. Themes include DUPLO (a duck polybag), Ninjago (mini dragon polybag). Look for the annual Easter set (40202: Easter Chick) Events for children include bunny, DUPLO and Superhero monthly builds and club meetings. Maybe best of all for children...bring…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

It happens to the best of us..... You haven't built a LEGO set in a week or two. It's a slow day, you're bored, and you've got some spare time on your hands. You glance lovingly at your secret stash of LEGO sets and notice the pristine Pet Shops 10218s sitting on the shelf. They're mocking you - daring you to break those beautiful seals. Grabbing a set off the shelf, you carefully open the package before dumping the glorious contents onto the kitchen table to get your fix. You say to yourself, "I'll build just one", and six months later, your office looks like this: Eventually, you've built one of each Creator Modular Building in your collect…

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…

The LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona, opening Spring 2016, is holding a contest to find their new Master Model Builder. On January 30 and 31, they will be holding a competition in the Arizona Mills Mall food court. Applicants will asked to build themed creations. They will be broken up into groups to build for 45 minutes. The winners of each heat will move on to the Second Round consisting of 40 contestants divided into 2 heats also of 45 minutes each. The top 10 builders of those heats will return for Round 3 on Sunday. The winner of Round 3 will be awarded the job of Master Model Builder. Spectators are encouraged to come and support the contestants. It shou…

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/28/464688159/lego-will-unveil-a-minifigure-in-a-wheelchair-in-a-first?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160128

Welcome to Week 4 of the Top 10 Best Selling LEGO sets as listed by LEGO S@H. How does this Blog work? While the LEGO Shop at Home best sellers list is updated weekly, we will be updating it every Wednesday. The list includes only sets. Minifigures, keychains, Pick a Brick and other products are excluded. If not enough sets are listed on the S@H Best Sellers page, the weekly entry could be shorter than 10 sets. I will comment only on those sets that are new to the list, or that for whatever reason may stand out on a particular week. For example, if a set has been on the list for 10 weeks in a row, then it may warrant a commen…

This blog entry I struggled with the title, and considered a "while you were sleeping" title or something else to really convey how I felt about the current state of Lego investing. Unless one were sleeping, it is easy to see how the Tumbler 76023 has taken off. "The Horde" should be proud. While I am sure plenty of Tumblers ended up in the hands of little Timmy, the horde can pat themselves on the back for plowing though the last 4,000 copies that Target and Target-eBay had left in record fashion being the last retailer standing after LEGO Shop at Home, Walmart and other online retailers ran out of stock. Lets take a quick peak at some numbers. …