Leaderboard

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 will replace it with the set currently in place number 6. As far as the schedule and format is concerned, this entry will be posted weekly, as daily seems as overkill to me. Also, unlike most of my other articles, I will try to keep it short and keep my comments about each set to a couple sentences (Maybe none if a set has been on the list every week). Other than that, I will shoot for Wednesday night releases of the updated entry. Hope you enjoy them! Top 10 Best Selling Sets (LEGO S@H) #1: 10251 Brick Bank - Buy Now! No surprise at the top. The Brick Bank is the newest modular and was introduced at the beginning of the year, so we can expect a rush of buyers as collectors and AFOLs look to expand their modular streets. #2: 75827 Ghostbusters HQ - Buy Now! Another of the long awaited new releases, the Ghostbusters HQ has involved in some controversy since it was announced. It will be interesting to see the reaction of buyers once reviews start coming in. #3: 40201 Valentine’s Cupid Dog - Buy Now! Much like the Bat and Snowman released by the end of 2015, this little set is one of the seasonal sets LEGO releases to match specific holidays. With Valentine’s Day a little more than a month away, it will be good to pay attention and see if there is any potential for this set in the short term. #4: 75105 Millenium Falcon - Buy Now! With Star Wars fever still in the air, this set was bound to be somewhere in the Top 5. As always, the most iconic Star War ship proves to be extremely popular, though this very same factor will probably mean a longer than average shelf life. #5: 75117 Kylo Ren - Buy Now! The new buildable figures introduced by LEGO seem to be popular with LEGO fans. I am not particularly into them, but it is no surprise that the star villain of the new trilogy occupies one of the higher spots. Even though his character may have disappointed some people… #6: 21028 New York City - Buy Now! The highlight of the new “Skylines” line in the Architecture theme. I actually really like these little sets, and with the proven performance of the theme in general, you can be sure this one will be sought after once it retires (Yes, I know it’s way too early to even think about that!) #7: 75102 Poe’s X-Wing - Buy Now! Extremely popular and great looking ship from The Force Awakens that has proven to be a somewhat successful flip for some. #8: 75139 Battle on Takodana - Buy Now! Another new release based off one of the best scenes in TFA, in my opinion. Part of its popularity may also be due to the fact that it is a cheaper alternative to acquire the Kylo Ren minifigure. #9: 21304 Doctor Who - Buy Now! Doctor Who fans can finally get their hands on the latest IDEAS set released, and by the looks of it that is precisely what they have been doing. The set is very well done, and its core fan base large and passionate enough that I think has the potential to be a top performer once retired. #10: 75114 First Order Stormtrooper - Buy Now! Finally, we close the list with another buildable figure, the FO Stormtrooper. I am somewhat surprised that this one managed to edge out the cool looking Captain Phasma, but I guess it just has more mainstream appeal. So that’s it for this week! Feel free to leave your comments below, I am also pushing to make these articles more interactive and engaging for all! Note: Be on the lookout for a new thread in the forum with an announcement about my future plans for the Brickpicker blog. I have some interesting ideas and will be including the community more and more in future entries. I will also update you on what types of articles I will be focusing on, and when you can expect them! Thanks for reading.

Yesterday I was contacted by the website Tech Insider to help them list the Top 25 most valuable sets of All Time. It was good timing too since I did run the price guide numbers recently. With no real big surprise, Star Wars led the pack with getting 10 sets into the list. I think the one surprise is getting a set from 2015 in there with the Bat-Pod. No one is really sure how long that will remain in the list and if aftermarket builders will do a good enough job on the "fakes" to kill that market. Good old Mr Gold is still going strong after a few years and holding onto a value greater than $1,500. If you are lucky enough to have every set on this list, you are holding onto a pretty nice bundle of cash, $35,277.95! So the big question is, how many sets on this list do you own? SET NUMBER SET NAME THEME YEAR VALUE (NEW) VALUE (USED) 10179 Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon Star Wars 2007 $3,987.40 $2,499.34 10189 Taj Mahal Advanced Models 2008 $2,732.93 $1,219.53 10196 Grand Carousel Advanced Models 2009 $2,593.27 $1,450.53 3450 Statue of Liberty Advanced Models 2000 $1,998.87 $1,282.00 10181 Eiffel Tower Advanced Models 2007 $1,781.60 $851.87 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer Star Wars 2002 $1,744.00 $1,030.40 10182 Cafe Corner Advanced Models 2007 $1,676.13 $773.25 10143 Death Star II Star Wars 2005 $1,656.87 $875.11 710019 Mr Gold Collectable Minifigures 2013 $1,558.88 - 10190 Market Street Factory 2007 $1,537.40 $729.13 5004590 Bat-Pod DC Comics Super Heroes 2015 $1,530.20 $700.00 10129 Rebel Snowspeeder Star Wars 2003 $1,365.53 $734.13 10019 Rebel Blockade Runner Star Wars 2001 $1,199.20 $718.33 852293 Castle Giant Chess Set Gear/Board Games 2008 $1,128.20 $513.60 10134 Y-wing Attack Starfighter Star Wars 2004 $1,067.60 $621.93 10185 Green Grocer Advanced Models 2008 $959.93 $674.27 10221 Super Star Destroyer Star Wars 2011 $881.33 $687.20 7191 X-wing Fighter Star Wars 2000 $848.87 $320.80 10018 Darth Maul Star Wars 2001 $807.13 $388.60 10187 Volkswagen Beetle Advanced Models 2008 $754.13 $423.27 10173 Holiday Train Trains 2006 $734.40 $359.47 10210 Imperial Flagship Pirates 2010 $731.61 $477.20 10175 Vader's TIE Advanced Star Wars 2006 $673.20 $387.73 8275 Motorized Bulldozer Technic 2007 $671.87 $257.87 21021 Marina Bay Sands Architecture 2013 $657.40 $353.17 Here are quick breakdowns by Theme:

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 of the availability left, the clock is near midnight folks. Time is running out so please check the Brickpicker Inventory Stock Checker. http://www.brickpicker.com/brickwatcher/lego-stock-checker.cfm#76023-1 Since coming out of my Lego Dark Age in 2012, there have been only one time I felt a set's popularity growth was guaranteed to grow after retirement (aka a Grand Slam) : 10212 : UCS Star Wars Imperial Shuttle. The Tumbler is the second set I've had this feeling about. In recent months, this set has fallen out of favor with many Brickpickers. They have their reasons. Reasons why this set is a "Grand Slam". It's Batman. This character has global appeal. Past set comparisons can help predict future growth. The initial $49.99 Tumbler set (7888 from 2008) continues to sell for a premium : $470 MISB and $244 used. Granted, this set had a very limited production run and was the only Lego Tumbler available for from 2008 to 2013. The Batmobile: Ultimate Collectors' Edition (7784 from 2007) retailed for $69.99 and grew to $432 MISB and $208 Used. 2013's Batman: Arkham Asylum Breakout has increased from $159.99 to $238 in one year of retirement. If this set performances 1/3rd as well as of the previous 3 sets, that gives us a secondary market price of $700-$800 within 3-4 years of retirement. If achieved, that growth will be considered a success. More Batman films are coming. Building this set is fun. The designer used various elements and techniques to create the Tumbler's complex outer design. Batmobiles are popular. There have been countless debates whether the 1966 Adam West version is better than the 1989's Tim Burton one and if the latter is better than the Tumbler. The Tumbler was introduced in Christopher Nolan's 2006 Batman film. He wanted something different than done in past films. The point is that any vehicle Batman drives remains popular. Lego marketed this set as an advanced model and included a UCS-styled plaque. Christian Bale and Health Ledger minifigures are included and both remain exclusive to this set. I doubt they will appear in future sets especially this Joker version. The vehicle is massive. It measures over 5” high, 15” long and 9” wide. Don't let the 1,869 piece count fool you as most pieces are Technic bricks, medium to large plates and semi-exclusive tires. The picture below shows the minifigure to vehicle scale. Many elements are still harder to find for those trying to "bricklink" this set. 9 non-minifigure elements are available in only 6 or less sets including 1 element still being exclusive as of writing this article (Pearl Gold Wheel Bearing Back). Retail availability of this set appears it will be less than 2 years since it was introduced in August 2014. I don't have many issues with this nor identified "Cons". One not is this model is meant to be displayed and not played around with by the kids. The fenders and rear roof are two of the more fragile areas. One review I've liked since the set was introduced, was written by Ace Kim's in Aug 2014. http://www.fbtb.net/2014/08/18/review-76023-the-tumbler/ In summary, The Tumbler has a "love it or hate it" affect on Lego fans. One thing for certain is that Batman fans will never forget The Tumbler when debating Batmobiles for decades to come. NOTE: Please be sure to check-out our popular forum topic and the Lego Designer Video for more information. Also included below is a link to the awesome Jay Leno's Garage episode which highlights a film used Tumbler. </p> <p>   </p> <div class="ipsEmbeddedVideo" contenteditable="false"> <div> <iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ydtGew7bWuw?feature=oembed" width="480">