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I'm putting my life in great peril by posting this, but the truth must be exposed. I came home early from work today and witnessed this dark event. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped these shots. I think they were so caught up in their blood lust they didn't notice me and...wait...I think I heard something....AAaaaggghhh....they're on me! Tiny axes and claw hands ripping my flesh.....just...enough...strength...to click...post...

This thread will be like my previous builds (links below). Intro : Since I became a fan of Lego trains last year, 10173 has been the #1 train on my wish list. I couldn't wait to get my hands on one to build. Honestly, my expectations aren't high anymore since building 10194 Emerald Night less than 2 weeks ago. 10173 was released in 2006 and available only for the holiday season so the retail life was extremely short. As of July 2014, one can expect to pay between $300 and $450 for a loose set depending on condition and completeness. Sealed sets sell for between 3 versions of the train were available (from http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/10173_Holiday_Train ) $89.99 for the 965 element basic set. $165.99 for the K2159 Holiday Train Starter Collection (included 9v power accessories, straight & curved track, and the 10173 set). $?? for the K10173 Complete Holiday Train Collection (same as K2159 but without the straight track) 7 "basic " minifigs were included. While 5 of them are still exclusive to this set, they can easily be bricklinked since the parts are fairly common in City sets. The set consists of a locomotive, tender, passenger car, Christmas tree carrier, open freight car with gift boxes / toys, and a caboose. Many people consider this the 1st of the annual Winter themed sets that began in 2009 with 10199: Winter Village Toy Shop. Like other builds, I'll will walk through the building process, take pics, discuss various topics like elements used / how, and provide a recap. Bricklink's element inventory of this set pending approval. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=10173-1 I don't own the box. Manual #1 is in my possession (below avg condition) and manual 2 was recently purchased by a friend in Poland (I won't have it until next month). I will not be using the PDF of the manuals as the scans as quality is terrible. It's difficult to distinguish back elements from each other. Here are random pictures I've found on the internet of the box. - from http://onetwobrick6.blogspot.com/2009/03/set-database-10173-holiday-train.html My previous build threads. 7780: The Batboat: Hunt for Killer Croc : http://www.brickpick...-croc-batman-1/ 7782 The Batwing: The Joker's Aerial Assault : http://www.brickpick...arison-to-6863/ 7786: The Batcopter: The Chase for Scarecrow : http://www.brickpick...-for-scarecrow/ 10123: Star Wars Cloud City : http://www.brickpick...ars-cloud-city/ 10173: Holiday Train : http://www.brickpick...-holiday-train/ 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon : http://www.brickpick...lennium-falcon/ 10226 Sopwith Camel : http://www.brickpick...-sopwith-camel/ 10181 Eiffel Tower : http://www.brickpick...l-tower-advice/ 10194 Emerald Night train : http://www.brickpick...-emerald-night/ 10196 Grand Carousel : http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/13647-building-10196-grand-carousel/ 10225 UCS R2D2 : http://www.brickpick...0225-ucs-r2-d2/ 75059 UCS Sandcrawler : http://www.brickpick...59-sandcrawler/ 21021 Architecture Marina Bay Sands http://www.brickpick...rina-bay-sands/ 21108 Ghostbusters Ecto-1 : http://www.brickpick...busters-ecto-1/

1. Live within easy distance of 4 LEGO stores. 2. Have family members willing to make a road trip for lunch. 3. Pay cash, pretend you don't know each other.

I believe this set was only advertised in the Holiday 2006 catalog. Here are pictures of that catalog (from my own collection). And a bonus pic... Sent from an iPhone using the Brickpicker app

Or it could be because you are not offering a trade benefit both sides. What's the value you put on your sets and GE? If you put current market values on your sets and $150 for GE, then you are basically cashing out on previous investment and putting them on new retiring sets. Good for you but what's in it for the other party.

I went to a garage sale today that I found on CL, and there was a bin of Lego for $125. I was able to negotiate the price down to $85. The bin included various sets from the 90's and early 2000's.

Except for GE which is in danger of not coming back, I'd hold all my big sets purchases until Aug 1 for the obvious reason.

Mine are 1334. The image shows 1332 but the description is 1334, maybe there was a change and the image wasn't updated.

I find it strange how people are scared of buying the GE at retail. eBay shows $230 shipped. So if you're scared, dump it all at a lower price. Make your 10-15% gain and move on. No shares out there guarantees this sort of a return. I just dropped two pay cheques on SSDs last month. I'm not crying. Even if I let them sit for a year, worse case, I sell at cost and call it a bad investment. I've lost way more in stocks in 2008 than spending on lego. I watched my portfolio go from $800,000 to $600,000 in a month. If I spent $800,000 on lego, I'm sure to get at least $900,000 back from SSDs. Can't guarantee anything with properties or shared. One crisis and everyone loses their home. Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker

Not me, thank you. Like my original posts, I'm all in. Think it will have a great return. Not looking back. Just trying to decide on long term FB appreciation. Do I unload this Christmas or wait for the next wave of $300 resellers to clear out...

New investors will find a way to talk up a stock so don't you worry. The more the better. This isn't a bubble unless lego makes another massive production run. When new investors come onboard, it becomes harder for the regular joe to get the GE. The world has 7 billion people and I doubt there are a billion people on BP. So lego has only taken a small share of the human pie. Wait till cars and electronic goods become junk, the owner of those will need to turn elsewhere for a hobby. If it ain't lego, it could be transformers. There aren't enough GE or SSDs to feed the masses. I'm sure you have at least ten neighbours in your neighbourhood who don't have the GE. All it takes is a bit of soliciting and you've got sales going. I only solicited two of my neighbours and now I'm their supplier as they are too busy to hit toy stores. I still have an entire block of kids to talk to. The difference between stocks and lego is with stocks, they can keep on issuing shares and diluting the value. If you think the GE run is forever until We all die, then this baby will never go over $250. EOL this year and you watch it fly to $450 in 24 months. Book it. Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker

Sell them on eBay. Break even or take a loss (not losing much) fulfill the top rated seller requirements, build feedback.

- Inside of locomotive - Finished side and front views The locomotive is an extremely simple build. Design is pretty basic will some cool uses of elements. Dark gray megaphones are nicely used (as ?) while black flag poles are horizontally slid into pairs of 1x1 windows (circle side) to look like pistons on the train wheels, the train is also small at 17 studs long. 3 pairs of non-turning train wheels are used so I assume moderate modifications are needed for powering the locomotive unless the PF or 9V motor is attached to the tender. Thanks, J A is Online - Sent using an iPad

Welcome! I was born in Oxnard!

Can breathe now. Did a store search at TRU on July 2 and only one in the country was showing 10221 Super Star Destroyer in stock. They had it sitting in the back storage room because "it's too expensive to display, and no one's going to buy it." Worked out a store-to-store transfer but didn't say anything on the forums because I didn't want anyone to swoop in and nab it. Overpaid - full TRU price $499 - and the box's condition... Well, it may have dated Chris Brown. But the interior boxes were still sealed; popped a couple open just to be sure the instruction manual and mini figs were there before I bought it. Seals were 41R2, and the set came from the Bloomington, MN store. Now I have one to keep for investment and one to play with... Er, I mean, display,

I don't agree at all. It's ok when you have some different color and the instruction book says "put here that brick which is slightly lighter green for a nice display" but here that's not the case. So it's a defect. You can be cool and imaginative about it (and that is great) but you have to understand that for some people it only means they have a brick that doesn't match with the others, and it's unacceptable, especially when we are talking about a $150/200 set. Legos are very expensive, and they have to prove in each brick the reason why it is that way. If not, well we can forget about legos and just go for the megablocks.

Picked up a 5000202-Elrond polybag, 9469-Gandalf Arrives, and 8092 Luke's Landspeeder for $35 on CL. All MISB.

Releasing small batches would be a very experience and inefficient way of running a business. I think resellers only take a small cut out of the pie; our effect is overstated on sites like BP since we are all Reese's.

I like the unlimited aspects since it allows me to primarily focus more on what I am building. It's easier for me to select a color in the palette and have every piece in front of me that way although sometimes I do need to select a different brighter shade when working with the darker tones to make out the part I am looking for. When I have a very specific idea I wish to flesh out or just randomly put stuff together seeing where it goes, I always pull up LDD and have at it. Sometimes I do run into the usual case of using a part in a color that has not been made yet or insanely rare but it doesn't happen often and I am flexible enough to find something to put in place of the one or two imaginary pieces if need be. I actually have a general idea as to many of the parts in my collection and the consistency for certain ones almost always being made in one color or another like tires being black or Technic pins can be black, blue, or gray. If in doubt there is always good ol' Bricklink to find out whether a part in a certain color exists at all. Bricklink is a MOCer's best friend when it comes to the inventory of every single set ever made. Also I like coming up with alternate designs using only the pieces that came with a set or combining a couple together to form up one model as a way to limit what I use and knowing exactly what I have at hand.

I'll say something on the positive side to make people feel better who are Lego diehard investors and GE fans. First, yes people are hoarding sets. Yes there are more investors than ever. However, I consider brickpicker.com THE AUTHORITATIVE source for Lego Investors. Looking at the home page - it says 394 people have joined in the last week and 747 users are online. I am sure there are a ton of members on this site. That all being said How many people are so madly into the lego daily deals that they follow the topic every day and get all the updates. I am one. It has netted me $18 UMB Canon's, $27 Technic MK II's and $360 SSD's. Looking at today's there are only 32 so far Yesterday's there was 45 and that thread is basically over Earth population 7 bilion Lego Movie box office revenue to date 467 million. Assuming 15$ a ticket (high end) that is about 31 million people going to see the movie in theaters let alone those who buy a copy. Lego Movie 2 on the way Lego more popular then ever Theme parks taking off What does all this mean? Do you really think the hoarding of GE is at so many sets that based on the popularity of Lego that the <100 people that follow the daily deals (I am sure thousands read it and don't post or follow) means that it is going to be a terrible performer? Fine, lets say there is 100,000 GE sets in private reseller inventory. I don't think that by the way. 7 billion people is a lot. Even if you just look at the US 313 million population, its a lot. That means over a course of years we would have to sell a GE to 1 out of every 3,130 people even if our target audience was 313 million and not 7 billion to sell out the full inventory. I like that number. My summary is, I am in the stock market too, but most every set I have ever bought (over $30) and held for 18 months I net at least 10% after all fees and business taxes. It is not a green grocer. It may not be what fire brigade will be after 5 years. But I think it beats passbook savings and is safer than the stock market for my situation. Most important everyone should do what they feel led to do. Genuinely. Savings Account. Stock Market. Lego Investing. Everyone has there own set of circumstances, risk factors and situations. One should not put down the other. GE is a winner in my opinion.

100% exactly my thoughts especially for weathered stone, painted /. stained wood, and brick walls. those never match exactly in real life. as long as the bricks aren't discolored, it's all good.

Sorry my bad. Buy lego. Sell lego. Guaranteed $$$ for everyone. Everything is awesome.

I know it wasn't done on purpose, but for me, I prefer those color variations if I'm building something that is supposed to be old like a castle wall or haunted house.

To me its tough to agree or disagree with a comment like this. To say LEGO quality has gone down over the years to me is not really fair. You are making comments as if you are an executive there and know exactly what is going on when you don't. Over the past few years, LEGO's popularity has soared to heights that most companies could dream of and with that becomes new levels of scrutiny. They are producing more pieces than ever with different types of pieces and different production facilities. Overall I think they are doing a pretty darn good job keeping up with the demand and still producing a fine toy. This reminds me of years ago when Sony was the biggest player in town for all types of electronics. After a few years of dominance, you would hear things like "Sony TVs are garbage, they have the most recalls and support incidents". The thing most people were not accounting for was that there were a 100+ Sony TVs sold to every 1 of any other brand. That means there are more of them to go to service. Mega Bloks is where LEGO was years ago, I am sure they would have the same production issues as LEGO if they were having the same success. LEGO customer service would be happy to send a you a few replacement bricks for you to make your $200 set look perfect.

Basically the Extended mode gives you access to every single piece in every color available in the program. I think Regular mode is supposed to be more of restricting your access only to pieces actually made in those colors where Extended gives you free range over it all. I notice when in Regular mode that when you pick different colors to sort by, the selection can grow or shrink substantially. If you pick a color in Extended, the parts list never changes; just the color of every piece displayed.

Basically. If you are a hardcore reseller, LEGO S@H is a minor retailer in your arsenal. LEGO S@H works more for the small time/dabbler, who likes to pick up a promo set to resell or save a few bucks on Doble/Triple VIP points. If you are a sharp reseller, eBay can replace many of these items. Over the past month, I have bought numerous "exclusive" sets on eBay at discounted rates. How? eBay ran Quadruple bucks for weeks which equaled 10% off. Also, eBay gave me $20 off coupons to use. Also...I paid zero tax. I negotiated with the seller and saved even more. Who needs LEGO S@H?

I'm starting to feel a little troll-la-la'd here. I am not quite getting how someone could be on this site for weeks and not find the Daily Deals thread, not to mention all the other threads, not to mention the direct advice to buy elsewhere, and fail to realize that there are a lot of other places to buy LEGO. Neocacher, if you're sincere, you are ignoring a great resource and need to educate yourself - stop buying now and spend at least ten hours or so reading a variety of investment threads on this site. You can thank me later. If you're just having some fun with us, well played, as generally I spot the smirk faster than this.

I wouldn't let this get you down. I am a newbie as well and have bought all of my stuff on sale at Target, eBay, and on Amazon. I never seem to know about deals on the Lego website. I'm always late. It also helps if you like Lego as well. When I say that, I mean to like it for non-investment reasons. If you love Lego and you love investing in Lego, I think that's one of the keys to being successful investing. If you are just doing it to make a quick buck and have no interest in it otherwise, then I can see how you can get turned off and just give up on it completely. Good luck with your investing!

So you boycott them and lose potential future earnings yourself? Doesn't make sense. Swallow your pride, learn from your mistakes, read the forums and learn from other veterans on this site and buy LEGO sets at cheaper prices than LEGO S@H. I have thousands of LEGO sets and over 95% are bought from sources other than LEGO S@H. Good luck...