A seemingly credible source on EB says that the 2016 Winter Village Seasonal set will be a new Christmas Train.  We haven't had a decent real train in a while, and with last year's rehash set there are Winter Village collectors eager for something new.  If they do this set well, it will be an investment winner due to the double category demand.  If you are still hanging onto 10173's you may want to sell off any stock before the official announcement and pictures. 

6 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

I still cannot believe this thing comes with 2 fewer minifigs, 1 fewer horse, and 4 fewer tracks than 79111, which was a licensed set.  There must be very high inflation since 2013. How else could you account for the price for those 35 extra bricks?

Lego seeme to be getting greedy with many recent offerings.  "Charge more for less" could be their slogan at times.

5 minutes ago, Lordoflego said:

how long was previous winter train produced? 

7 minutes ago, Lordoflego said:

how long was previous winter train produced? 

For a couple of months in 2007.  It was a very limited set. Maybe Not quite as limited as The Zombies but still pretty short and only available at their website.

4 minutes ago, jaisonline said:

Lego seeme to be getting greedy with many recent offerings.  "Charge more for less" could be their slogan at times.

Must be part of the "lets become a $4 billion company ASAP" strategy to combat the you know what that I outlined in the other thread

 

1 hour ago, Phil B said:

The big relevant question is: what is this set going to do to the value of 10173? I'm thinking there will be a drop - 10173 is not iconic, not a spectacular design, and with a new train out that can be modded into a PF train (by building a passenger wagon with the PF components perhaps?) there is now an alternative. Are we going to see a big correction or just a minor one? 10173 sells new in the $600-800 range now, and used in the $400s. Anyone fancy a prediction on where the price is going to go?

I think LEGO did a good job on this train given the target audience: kids who want a train around the tree. It's not an train-lovers train though.

Good question.

This is actually the 1st train refresh every by Lego (I'm 99% sure).   If anything, it will prob behave like the 1st Batcave and Sail Barge sets.  Decrease in value and then actually begin appreciating very slowly after most folks realize the original is better.

4 minutes ago, Pseudoty said:

http://brickset.com/sets/10173-1/Holiday-Train

That's exactly what I did but I couldn't see when production/sale ended. Found it now, thx.

8 minutes ago, jaisonline said:

Good question.

This is actually the 1st train refresh every by Lego (I'm 99% sure).   If anything, it will prob behave like the 1st Batcave and Sail Barge sets.  Decrease in value and then actually begin appreciating very slowly after most folks realize the original is better.

The question becomes would any new but hardcore LEGO winter sets fans pay 4x-5x for better but older train?  Presumably the new but hardcore Batman & SW fans would pay extra for older but better builds

2 minutes ago, Darth_Raichu said:

The question becomes would any new but hardcore LEGO winter sets fans pay 4x-5x for better but older train?  Presumably the new but hardcore Batman & SW fans would pay extra for older but better builds

Prob not while the refresh is still available at retail. Plus I think this train is officially part of the holiday theme while 10173 wasn't. 

7 minutes ago, Lordoflego said:

That's exactly what I did but I couldn't see when production/sale ended. Found it now, thx.

Question for the guys around in 2006-2007. Was 10173 released in Europe in 2006 and the U.S. in 2007? My wiki article above and bricklink say its a 2006 set. Brickset has it as a 2007 set. I just got done reading an old LUGNET thread from SEP 2006 talking about building the holiday train. Weird....

Nice remake.  I don't think it will have a huge impact on the 10173.  It might even bump up the old one in price because they are quite different and another Holiday Train probably won't be made for awhile.  Good news all around.

Question for the guys around in 2006-2007. Was 10173 released in Europe in 2006 and the U.S. in 2007? My wiki article above and bricklink say its a 2006 set. Brickset has it as a 2007 set. I just got done reading an old LUGNET thread from SEP 2006 talking about building the holiday train. Weird....

Take a look in my 10173 build thread. I posted Lego shop@home catalogue pics there while it was available. I believe it was winter 2006. I need to check myself.

Lego seeme to be getting greedy with many recent offerings.  "Charge more for less" could be their slogan at times.

That seems to be the current model, with online prices dropping by ~20% after the early adopters pay full price. The only problem is this is an "exclusive" and probably won't see a similar price-correction until a Lego SAH sale. Let's hope that means limited run and we can clean them out after next Christmas for a discount when it goes EOL
OR
get ready for the reaction by Lego and we will see extra cars sold separately next year or as one of the holiday promotions. The latter is an intriguing business strategy.

9 minutes ago, Sfcommando14 said:

That seems to be the current model, with online prices dropping by ~20% after the early adopters pay full price. The only problem is this is an "exclusive" and probably won't see a similar price-correction until a Lego SAH sale. Let's hope that means limited run and we can clean them out after next Christmas for a discount when it goes EOL
OR
get ready for the reaction by Lego and we will see extra cars sold separately next year or as one of the holiday promotions. The latter is an intriguing business strategy.

I would love to see a LEGO "train" theme.  It would be a huge seller.  New cars and engines released annually.  The old Sante Fe theme is a favorite of mine.  LEGO really does a nice job with train models and some MOC designs are stunning.

There always seems to be so much hyperbole thrown around when new sets are revealed, "Lego is so greedy now." There is always going to be opinions either way. I personally like this set and think that we have seen plenty of great new sets with good price points like Big Ben, Cinderella's Castle, VW Beetle and Ghostbusters Firehouse. There have also been duds like Assault on Hoth and The Village.

4 minutes ago, micbelt said:

There always seems to be so much hyperbole thrown around when new sets are revealed, "Lego is so greedy now." There is always going to be opinions either way. I personally like this set and think that we have seen plenty of great new sets with good price points like Big Ben, Cinderella's Castle, VW Beetle and Ghostbusters Firehouse. There have also been duds like Assault on Hoth and The Village.

I agree, but this set is priced high.  Trains seem to price higher on average.  That being said, this set does not look like a $100 set.

2 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

I agree, but this set is priced high.  Trains seem to price higher on average.  That being said, this set does not look like a $100 set.

People will still pay it though, cause you know, Christmas.

3 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

I agree, but this set is priced high.  Trains seem to price higher on average.  That being said, this set does not look like a $100 set.

Yes, it is high, but Including the track makes it seem ok (since it will now be seen as a train "set").

you know no one saw the free give away train 40138 as a $55 train last year either but it did

13 minutes ago, Migration said:

People will still pay it though, cause you know, Christmas.

Sure.  It's a winner, especially short term with the expected lack of supply.

I like the train, but I think it misses the mark for "around the tree" possibilities. With no PF, it makes it more of a static decoration. Who wants to push a train around the track by hand?

1 minute ago, thegooch49 said:

I like the train, but I think it misses the mark for "around the tree" possibilities. With no PF, it makes it more of a static decoration. Who wants to push a train around the track by hand?

Yep...LEGO missed out on an opportunity here.  They could have created a holiday train with a large round track and power functions to fit under any XMAS tree.  They could have priced it at $200 and sold a ton.

I like the set and will pick one up on 2x VIP + free promo (like the GBH ). At $100 price point I would like to have had the option to add PF. Guess you could always make a custom coal car with PF. Might need to buy two to do that (or BL parts), and $200 + the cost of PF is a little had to swallow, given they could have made it a PF and added more cars and tracks for $150, like the high speed rail.

The set is ok, but it certainly isn't an inspired thing of beauty.

If you have the LR one, the Toy Story one, and a few spare parts - you could probably build a better one yourself.

Definitely agree with the PF around the tree feature will be cool. Lego should of made a separate package for the cashier to up sell it when customer take the train set at check out. That way you can cater to those that just wants to stick to the static display or those that can dish out more dough for the pf.

Guess the rumor tag can be removed now. Shouldn´t be long till we get a DS reveal either,