4 hours ago, doejaster said:

Wow, didn't expect so much feedback!  Not sure if the choice is easier or not at this point, haha.  Seriously gave me a lot to consider and I appreciate all of the view points.  A lot of good suggestions here and many sets I had not considered (like Speed Champions, SW figure builds, Minecraft, etc).  I'm debating how much I can get away with pushing the limit of "$30 value", haha considering some of the sales and discounts available.  At the moment a lot of the advice towards Hulk Buster has made that one stick out, as well as the Vader or Grievous builds.  

Thanks again all, appreciate the opinions  

3 minifigures, a bigfig and a larger Iron Man suit are definitely great for play value.

One more pitch: 10696 Classic Medium Creative Box $28.99.

Kind of boring, I know, but about the safest bet out there if you want to make sure the recipient will like it.  Fits nicely in the desired price range. And who here would turn down a free box of classic Lego?  Has a nice plastic storage box - can easily fit more inside if you have a storage problem (and who doesn't?). The perfect gift for a Lego fan that-you-don't-really-know-what-his-preferences-are.

19 hours ago, meganr said:

...Just a general thought... I think sometimes people assume a teenager is too mature for "toys", but I think they are often actually into it, but feel pressure to be "cool" and say they are not.

Yea, 14 is really hard when you may not know the individual personally... 14 is 2 years away from driving but not so many more years away from the childhood toys, the Grevious figure does stride the line pretty well from a building "toy" to an uber-geek "display" than no one would question it's maturity (well almost I suppose)  it's a good compromise that has a coolness and not likely to cause embarrassment.  still at 186 parts it's a short build & not really reconfigurable like a technic set would have the potential for.  (maybe toss in some LEDs and wiring stuffs to make it educational :-)

honestly just go to a lego store if you can and let them know you need a set for a 14 year old boy for 30 dollars or less and what its for theyll find you something

5 minutes ago, Know a lot said:

honestly just go to a lego store if you can and let them know you need a set for a 14 year old boy for 30 dollars or less and what its for theyll find you something

Yes, we all have LEGO Stores in Siberia.

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