Blog And News Articles

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…

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…

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…

Lego recently issued their Designer video for this new set. Enjoy the video and try not to get slimmed. Please share your thoughts about this set in the comments section. Note: Amazon and other online retailers don't seem to have this in-stock yet. Lego's own Shop web sites does have it in-stock though. Links are below for purchase. LEGO: USA | UK | CAN View full blog article

The winter wave of Star Wars LEGO sets has begun to hit. The Force Awakens sets are front and center, just the way that should be expected weeks after the movie is released. Since they are here, it is time for a review. In this installment, we'll be looking at the set that is the turning point of the movie that brings our heroes and villains more firmly into their roles, the Battle on Takodana. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75139 Name: Battle on Takodana Theme: Star Wars Parts: 409 Price: $59.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At $59.99 the price per piece works out to a bit under $.15 each. This is on the high side of pricing for a licensed s…

A short time ago in a toy store not too far away . . . I was looking at this set on Force Friday and wondering if this set was worth getting. I haven't seen Star Wars the Force Awakens yet, so I don't know if this is Poe's primary fighter, or if he loses it 20 minutes in, like Obi-Wan and Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. It's $20 more than the previous X-Wing 9493, which I felt portrayed the X-Wing adequately. I knew I was likely to get this eventually when it went on sale, but I fear I fell to the dark side. As a countdown to the Force Awakens, I will be writing at least one Star Wars review each week. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75102 Name: Poe's X-Wing F…

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 …

Dorling Kindersley's first Lego Star Wars dictionary of sets was published in 2009. The 2nd edition with recent sets hit the book stores in 2014. It now appears a 3rd edition is planned for this year if the Brickset latest "new" inventory is correct with this new ISBN value (see picture below). These DK books are a wonderful visual guide to practically every Lego Star Wars and exclusive set with concise information and photographs. As a special incentive, 1 exclusive minifigure have been included with each edition to-date (both had a Luke Skywalker "A New Hope" variation). The 3rd edition should highlight the latest Ulimate Coll…

Good news for Lego Ideas completionists and set 21301 fans, the Birds set is being heavily discounted by Lego store and shop at home web sites. The latest US-based sale seems to be working as shop at home is now sold-out and inventory is drying up at their physical mall stores. This is also a good sign this set is near retirement. I like this set's investment potential compared to most sets since Birds doesn't seem to be heavily hoarded by resellers and the production run seems limited like others in the Ideals theme. While 21301 is not a flashy set, it's a fun build and looks great displayed. The newly discounted price of $35.98 is also an attracti…

Looks like Lego has some interesting events and introductions planned for the first two months of 2016. Some highlights... The "massive" (using my Liam Neeson voice) 75827 Ghostbusters HQ is now on-sale along with the 10251 Brick Bank. Series 15 LEGO Collectible Minifigures are on-sale starting Feb. 1st. Various polybag and promo items based on money spent. Themes include Nexo Knights, Elves, Disney Princess and Friends. Events for children include monthly builds, club meetings and a neat minifigure swap with employees. One build event includes a Star Wars Snowspeeder. Double VIP points for the 21006 Architecture Wh…

Both Ed and I would like to thank each and every one of our members and guests for allowing us to have the best year ever. It was an amazing year of new opportunities and expansion. We launched new products and hit milestones that the two of us joked about hitting not too long ago. Brickpicker just celebrated its fourth full year of existence and we couldn’t be happier that early in our fifth year we are oh so close to registering 55,000 members. Because of the success we have had, Ed and I were honestly blown away when I received an email through our contact us form that I honestly thought was a joke at first. I couldn’t believe that someone was contacting us to…

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…

This really isn't going to be a fluff article about how awesome Brick Classifieds is, but more of a small message that people are starting to take notice of it. Launching any new site is not easy at all. Google and other search engines don't even know you exist, so obtaining new customers via organic traffic is tough. Vendors that do list products don't have a lot of feedback so it's hard to show history and trust. So you might say, ok, what is so good about this? Those that have stuck it out and continued to post new quality listings with solid descriptions, real photos and priced their listings right have done well, real well. Brick Classifieds has been liv…

I happened upon some of the new 2016 battle packs almost an entire week before their street date. I was excited to get a jump on them and to increase my personal armies. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75132 Name: First Order Battle Pack Theme: Star Wars Parts: 88 Price: $12.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At $12.99 the price per piece works out to a bit under $.15 each. This is on the high side of pricing for a licensed set. There are 4 minifigures a First Order Stormtrooper, a First Order Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper, and 2 different First Order Crew. The Heavy Gunner and the open face Crew are currently exclusive to this set. …

I happened upon some of the new 2016 battle packs almost an entire week before their street date. I was excited to get a jump on them and to increase my personal armies. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75131 Name: Resistance Trooper Battle Pack Theme: Star Wars Parts: 112 Price: $12.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At $12.99 the price per piece works out to a bit over $.115 each. This is on the high/medium side of pricing for a licensed set. There are 4 minifigures, all of which are, surprise surprise, Resistance Troopers. Okay, I stretched a point. The guy without the helmet is a Resistance officer. I cannot tell for sure at this time, but I …

As a countdown to the Force Awakens, I will be writing reviews on Star Wars LEGO sets this week. Today, we are going to be looking at a set that I have opened a fair number of previously. I have only built it once before, but at the time I felt like that was enough. Luckily I had a couple that I bought on discount to fill in on a day when I wanted to bang out a quick set and a quick review. I made an "artistic" decision with this set to portray the minifigures involved as building the set. Hopefully it's more amusing than annoying. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75078 Name: Imperial Troop Transport Theme: Star Wars Parts: 141 Price: $12.99 Before w…

* 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------…

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has finally arrived in cinemas, and to celebrate we’ve assembled the best builders in the galaxy to construct seven iconic saga scenes, from the classic trilogy to the new film. We also take a look at the Star Wars Battle Figures, and compare Darth Vaders new and old in a showdown of galactic proportions. Elsewhere, we find out how LEGO can be used with prosthetic limbs to improve the lives of child amputees, how Britain’s most outspoken toy retailer is preparing for the Christmas season, how to bring your minifigures to life and why not every LEGO set is a solid investment. There’s much more besides, as animation expert Stev…

The 2015 Target Exclusive Minifigure Gift Cube is now available. Four minifigures are available per cube, with Lightning Lad (DC Super-Heroes), Kai (Ninjago), Sir Fangar (Chima), and Scuba Diver (City). This set is available to purchase separately for $9.99, or you can get it free with a $50 City, Ninjago, or Super-Heroes purchase. The DCPI for the set is 204-00-1716, which can be used to check the in-store inventory Brickpicker Target Inventory Tracker. The item number is 49153007, and can be ordered online here. The 2014 Target Exclusive Minifigure Gift Cube performance can be found here. It retailed for $15.00. These were hard to come by in the initial fi…

Welcome to the first entry of what I would like to think of as a revamped Evaluation Corner article. The idea behind this new format is to offer a little more historical and analytical data when evaluating sets for potential investment, in a more visual way. Hopefully you will like it; be sure to add your feedback or comments! Historical & Theme Analysis The topic of this first article will be the recently released The Brick Bounty – 70413. The “Pirates” LEGO theme has become one of those recurring ones we expect to pop up in stores every few years. It really needs no explanation; kids love pirates and AFOLs really appreciate a well- designed LEGO ship. So…

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…

The article I am sharing is not an in-depth article by any means, but I know there are a lot of you that like to take a peak behind the curtain and see how all your little bricks and figures get made. Bloomberg Business visited the Kladno LEGO Factory in the Czech Republic and it looks like quite an operation. I could only imagine how it would feel to be let loose in one of these factories for a day. I am sure it would be like visiting Willy Wonka, just not as strange, but then again, you never know The article's opening paragraph reminds us that it wasn't that long ago that "LEGO was losing nearly a million dollars a day". I wonder how often they wou…

It's the holiday season, so pour a glass of eggnog and get your ginger snaps close at hand. Actually, are ginger snaps a holiday thing? I have no idea. Maybe I should just talk about the set. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 10245 Name: Santa's Workshop Theme: Creator (Winter Village) Parts: 883 Price: $69.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At $69.99 the price per piece works out to just under $.08 each. This is much better than the licensed sets that I am used to dealing with. There are 6 minifigures. Without a lot of experience with creator or city sets, I feel like most of the body parts are reused. In addition to all of the minifigures there …

I want to make a blog post that summarizes the Black Friday deals. A lot of the talk is going on in the Daily Deals thread, and we will try to bring deals over into the content here so that it is easy to see what might be out there. The reason I turned the summary into a blog is because for any comments, the deals are on each page and there will not need to be searching back 10 pages to see what was missed. This list will be available all the time. I am hunting through the Daily Deal thread to find the deals, so you will continue to see this update. BLACK FRIDAY LEGO SHOP @ HOME DEALS - A list of everything on sale @ LEGO starting tonight …

The holiday season is officially on! This year, we have one of the best seasonal GWPs we have ever offered, free shipping on all orders, and plenty of discounts on some fantastic sets! (Please note that some of the product sales start Friday and others begin on Monday). Gingerbread House GWP on orders of $99 or more. Valid: 11.27.15 – 11.30.15 while supplies last No Code Required Free Shipping on all Orders Valid: 11.27.15 – 11.30.15 No Code Required Brick Friday Sale Items! Valid 11.27.15 - 11.30.15 while supplies last table.tableizer-table { border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; …