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I remember when the leak for this LEGO set first surfaced. "What? Princess Leia wears purple and green? Admiral Ackbar is in it? Is this a new B-Wing?" It excited me inasmuch as any new Star Wars set does. Plus, we didn't know that it was called Resistance Troop Transporter. As images got larger, my enthusiasm diminished. When it hit the stores, and there was no other new Star Wars to buy, I was back on board. So let's take a look at the set that never made the Kessel Run. Let's Review. REVIEW: SET DETAILS Set #: 75140 Name: resistance Troop Transporter Theme: Star Wars Parts: 646 Price: $69.99 Before we get to the build, let’s talk value. At $69.99 the price per piece works out to a bit over $.10 each. This is on the low side of pricing for a licensed set. There are 4 minifigures. The minifigures are unique to this set. THe Resistance Trooper with suspenders does not have any unique parts, but the combination is unique. BOX CONTENTS Some people may wind up picking up a set that is open box or, want to verify the box contents before beginning a build. For this set, there are 5 numbered baggies, a large sticker sheet, and an instruction book. THE BUILD AND EXECUTION Bag 1: I felt that the build started out a bit weird. It felt a bit like I was building a ground structure instead of a ship. I wasn't really seeing the final product coming together in my head. I have no idea, even after completing the build, why it made more sense to have several axels connected together here. I feel like a bracket on either side made just as much sense. Ah, now we're getting somewhere. Now there's a rounded thing with stickers on it, very much not a small hut. Well, I guess it could be a space hut, but, those spring shooters on the left give some hint as to it being more. Before anyone writes to point out, it took me a few more steps to realize that I had placed those gray pieces in the wrong position. I promise that I fix them in the next picture. The Resistance troopers are exactly as boring as ever. They do have the Pewter/Pearl Dark Gray blasters that I liked in the First Order Troop Transporter Bag 2: You continue to make walls, walls with studs facing out. You really get the clue that they are going to do decorative panels here. You add some curved pieces to the top. Now we're starting to make it more spaceshippy. Oh yeah, spaceshippy is definitely a real word. The hinge pieces on the top sides are interesting. I wasn't really thinking of what came next, so it piqued my interest You also make a series of fins for the back of the craft. Finally, you add decorative paneling to the front. Bag 3: We find out fairly quickly that the roof sections are attached to the hinges, and pegged in place by another rounded piece. Underneath we add the curved slider pieces. Then we build a pod of some kind. It uses car hoods to define the shape. Sand green clips? weird choice in my opinion, but that can't be super common. I don't know if those things are supposed to be rockets or what. The fin is just another thing that a spacegoing box doesn't really need, but helps it look spacey Bag 4: We are gonna cockpit the heck out of this thing. Oh yeah, we're gonna make that cockpit like no one's business. What started off looking spacious is starting to look a little cramped. I don't know what happened with my picture of the dial mechanism, it looked fine in the camera, but when I loaded it to the PC, it was blurry. Suffice it to say that the dial in the next picture and the technic liftarm that you can see in the following picture are a part of the same mechanism that is used to open the cockpit. This is necessary because there's so much stuff built up around it that it's difficult to open manually. 3 stickers just for the cockpit canopy. I thought for sure that the pilot wanted to see where he was going. I may be wrong. 11 stickers just for this small portion of the overall set. That's ridiculous. Now you make a door. Big sticker there. It's actually starting to come together. looks pretty solid. Admiral Ackbar's got a coffee mug. Can someone explain to me why he's usually got a coffee mug? I realize its a joke, but they could have also given him a fish. Bag 5: What's left? Well, a ship needs thrusters. Not only do you make the thrusters, which are actually a very simple design, but you're also making cowlings to cover the thruster ports. After you get propulsion worked out, it's probably a good time to add weaponry. Here, we build the weapons pod. Finally, Here's the whole thing. Pretty good size. Still reminiscent of the old school B-Wing. And of course there's Old Princess/General Leia. REACTION Something about this set just didn't grab me. It's an interesting enough build. Some of the details were nicely done. It's miles ahead of the build of the First Order Troop Transporter. The figure selection is dull. I think that maybe if they had really done anything in the film, or if this ship had been utilized as more than just background scene filler, I'd have more love for this set. As it is, I never really cared for the B-Wing and this just hits the same notes for me. All of the figures have back printing. Ackbar is the only one with hip and leg printing. Leia's got a Dual sided face wrinkly serious and wrinkly happy. I think this is the first time that her hairpiece was made in that color. FINAL THOUGHTS With 4 unique figures and an interesting build of a design that was featured in the film, there are things to recommend this ship. My personal ennui aside, I do feel like whoever builds this set will be glad that they did. It's a troop builder set, a display piece to go with the Resistance troop battle pack. The biggest detriment to this set is that it got limited screen time that included no action. Leia will be the part of this set that most casual collectors will want. The good news is, I doubt she's going to be showing up in many other sets. I don't think she'll maintain the early $30 price on Ebay for long. If I am right, after this set retires, she'll probably come back to that value. It's a solid set that doesn't need a redesign as badly as the First Order ship. This one will hopefully be used again in the Episode VIII. I could only speculate here. It might not see a reissue then, if they have more vehicles to choose from. I'd think this set would go up in value later on. The specter of the B-Wing 75050 hangs heavy over this though. No one really got behind the closest cousin to this set, and I'm afraid that it will follow in the same footsteps. Early and continued apathy for this set could be longterm gold though as collectors later on try to complete a collection. It's hard to tell for sure which way collectors will jump. General Leia may have the cache to lift this thing out of obscurity. I would recommend packaging this with a C-3PO Polybag and a Resistance Trooper Battle pack to garner more excitement. Or alternately the Battle on Takodana. Find it on Amazon Check out other 2016 Winter wave sets here: LEGO REVIEW: Star Wars First Order Battle Pack #75132 LEGO REVIEW: Star Wars Resistance Trooper Battle Pack #75131 LEGO REVIEW: Star Wars battle on Takodana #75139 EXTRA PIECES

After the recent Telegraph article going viral all over the world stating that LEGO bricks and sets were better investments than Gold over the past few years, one has to wonder what other investment vehicles do LEGO bricks outperform. With the recent roller coaster on Wall Street and foreign markets, a question presents itself...Are the LEGO secondary markets and LEGO collecting and investment in general, more stable and profitable over the long haul than other more high profile investments? Let’s analyze some data… With 2015 coming to a close, the final financial year-end data on stock markets, crude oil and gold prices is available. Take a look at the major stock market and commodity returns for 2015 stated in an article from the USA TODAY: A quick analysis indicates an overall poor year for most major indexes and benchmark commodities. Only the tech heavy NASDAQ escaped the carnage and posted positive gains for the year. Now, compare the above chart to the “average” LEGO set returns over the past five years and this is what you find: Now, when I say, ”Average LEGO Set,” I am referring to the “mean” appreciation of all LEGO sets in our database. The Return On Investment is calculated from the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). There are thousands of LEGO sets in our database that get aggregated into these figures, some new and available at retail, but most retired and no longer available at primary retailers. The data shows a very consistent pattern for LEGO sets over the past five years. Even when other major investment vehicles were having a hard time getting into the black in 2015, LEGO sets held their ground. In an overall bad year for investing, LEGO bricks and sets still appreciated close to historical levels. Themes like Jurassic Park, Mixels, Speed Champions, Ideas and Lord of the Rings all had banner years, while Friends, Monster Fighters, Minecraft, DC Comics and Marvel Super Heroes themes all took a huge hit. There are many sets that appreciated very well, while others stagnated or fell in value. Just like stocks, the trick is picking the right sets. Now, before everyone goes out there and dumps their stocks, bonds and gold for LEGO sets, a potential LEGO investor needs to realize the pitfalls of investing in little ABS plastic bricks. First off, they are difficult to store and take up a lot of space. LEGO boxes play a large role in their values. The better the condition, the higher the value in most cases. They are susceptible to moisture and sunlight. Boxes are large and delicate, and a person can easily fill up a small room with a moderate LEGO collection. Another issue with LEGO investing is their expense. Their impeccable quality comes at a high price. They are very expensive toys. Period. Unlike stocks, bonds and gold, they are not liquid. A person has to sell and ship them to realize profits. This takes time and effort. Buying LEGO sets is easy. Selling and shipping them is not. Speaking of selling them, many LEGO secondary market sites such as eBay and Amazon charge high commission fees...ranging anywhere from 10-15% (Unless of course you sell on Brick Classifieds with ZERO commission and fees). This takes a huge bite from your appreciation. Granted, if you choose wisely and pick the right LEGO sets to invest in, these negative factors can be overcome, but many people do not choose wisely and end up failing at this endeavor. So are LEGO sets a better overall investment and more stable than stocks, bonds, gold and crude oil? At this point in time, probably, if you choose the right LEGO sets to invest in and buy and sell them with some creativity and frugality. What they seem to be is more consistent. Take a look at the chart below: A quick glance indicates a rather steady growth pattern for LEGO sets, while the various stock market indexes are quite turbulent. Even when stocks were down, LEGO sets yielded in the 10% range. Pretty solid. While the LEGO secondary markets will probably never take off into stratospheric levels like stocks did in 2013, there are multiple individual LEGO themes and sets that could explode in growth at any given time. To find those sets, one needs to research the markets and study the products. It also takes effort to find deals on LEGO sets when purchasing and work to properly list, package and ship LEGO boxes. Experience also matters. While a novice can make profits from investing in LEGO sets, it often takes experience in buying, selling, packaging and shipping to maximize profits. LEGO investing is no longer “easy” money as it once was, but if you educate yourself, make prudent choices, adapt to changing trends and get a little lucky, you can still see solid profits...