August 1-14: Free LEGO Plants set with purchases of $35 or more, while supplies last. These are the first LEGO elements made from plants in an initiative that launched earlier this year.

August 1-12: Free LEGO Unikitty Castle Room (5005239) with purchases of $25 or more, while supplies last.

August 1-31: VIPs get Double VIP Points on Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures (75952) and Hogwarts Whomping Willow (75953).

August 7-8: VIP Monthly Mini Model Build is a Snail. Registration starts on July 15.

August 15-31: VIPs get Early Access to a new exclusive LEGO set. No word on what this set is but it’s possible that it’s the teased LEGO James Bond Aston Martin set.

August 18 & 25: LEGO Life Meeting

August 20: Minifigure Swap Monday

August 22: Build and Take Toucan model. Registration starts on August 1.

Edited July 2, 20187 yr by Lordoflego

James Bond early access will be this month, I reckon.

In August it´s more likely to be the Harry Potter set.

Will any collector care about (and in a few years pay for) the "Plants from Plants" (40320) promo set, being the first release of a LEGO product made of the new material? Not sure about this one because ultimately it's... well... just some very unspectacular plant parts - new material or not. Opinions?

 

https://zusammengebaut.com/lego-pflanzen-aus-pflanzen-40320-mit-bioplastik-elementen-ab-1-august-erhaeltlich-53810/

Highly doubt it.

I am happy with it as a free accessory set (never enough plants), but investment potential is zilch imho.

Not a set for collectors but an interesting promo for LEGO to trumpet along the "Eco- safe'" lines.

Plants Promo appears gone in USA 08/08/2018 9:30 CST...

On 7/5/2018 at 8:13 PM, Frank Brickowski said:

Will any collector care about (and in a few years pay for) the "Plants from Plants" (40320) promo set, being the first release of a LEGO product made of the new material? Not sure about this one because ultimately it's... well... just some very unspectacular plant parts - new material or not. Opinions?

 

https://zusammengebaut.com/lego-pflanzen-aus-pflanzen-40320-mit-bioplastik-elementen-ab-1-august-erhaeltlich-53810/

I think the real question is whether or not any collector will invest in LEGO sets made from plants.  What is the long term stability of such a product?

6 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

I think the real question is whether or not any collector will invest in LEGO sets made from plants.  What is the long term stability of such a product?

The uncertainty regarding durability of the new material is indeed a new risk factor for investing. But as long as your buy-sell window doesn't exceed 5-10 years you should be on the safe side.

10 minutes ago, Frank Brickowski said:

The uncertainty regarding durability of the new material is indeed a new risk factor for investing. But as long as your buy-sell window doesn't exceed 5-10 years you should be on the safe side.

I agree, yet I have major issues with this change.  Quality and longevity of the ABS LEGO brick was never in question.  A brick from 60 years ago has weathered the storm quite well and still will fit and look like a current brick.  The new plant based bricks have a potential to breakdown at some point sooner than 60 years.  I am no chemist, but a quick search on the internet will tell you that these plant based plastics are designed to be biodegradable...not a good thing for the long term viability of any toy or plastic product.

This may well be a rare item if "Project Plant Plastic" doesn't take off, but who wants to open a box of green dust or slime in 5 years time? It reminds me of the compostable clear cellulose "plastic" that Marks & Spencer started to use for their fruit & veg packaging - that was short lived. Don't shoot me down for being negative again, but I think this is a really bad idea which is all LEGO seem to come up with these days - LOL.

You could always boil it up to make soup or a pesto for a LEGO themed party I suppose.

I don't mind all the FUD about these new "bioplastic" bricks, but it is important to note that I'm quite certain these are all the softer PET parts, none of them ABS at this point. Made from ethanol produced from sugarcane rather than fossil oil. Lego's assurance that these won't break down is almost certainly true as it's just replacing one source of a chemical for another.

59 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

I agree, yet I have major issues with this change.  Quality and longevity of the ABS LEGO brick was never in question.  A brick from 60 years ago has weathered the storm quite well and still will fit and look like a current brick.  The new plant based bricks have a potential to breakdown at some point sooner than 60 years.  I am no chemist, but a quick search on the internet will tell you that these plant based plastics are designed to be biodegradable...not a good thing for the long term viability of any toy or plastic product.

 

59 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

I agree, yet I have major issues with this change.  Quality and longevity of the ABS LEGO brick was never in question.  A brick from 60 years ago has weathered the storm quite well and still will fit and look like a current brick.  The new plant based bricks have a potential to breakdown at some point sooner than 60 years.  I am no chemist, but a quick search on the internet will tell you that these plant based plastics are designed to be biodegradable...not a good thing for the long term viability of any toy or plastic product.

So, maybe THIS is the end of LEGO investing, making the old ABS sets even more valuable in years and decades coming. Good for collections already gathered, bad for new investing entrants.

21 minutes ago, keymomachine said:

I don't mind all the FUD about these new "bioplastic" bricks, but it is important to note that I'm quite certain these are all the softer PET parts, none of them ABS at this point. Made from ethanol produced from sugarcane rather than fossil oil. Lego's assurance that these won't break down is almost certainly true as it's just replacing one source of a chemical for another.

Yes, I realize that these are the components made of polyethylene.  I work with those products everyday and they are quite durable, yet after 5-10 years, they get brittle and fade.

 

42 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

This may well be a rare item if "Project Plant Plastic" doesn't take off, but who wants to open a box of green dust or slime in 5 years time? It reminds me of the compostable clear cellulose "plastic" that Marks & Spencer started to use for their fruit & veg packaging - that was short lived. Don't shoot me down for being negative again, but I think this is a really bad idea which is all LEGO seem to come up with these days - LOL.

You could always boil it up to make soup or a pesto for a LEGO themed party I suppose.

I think it's a big marketing scam.  The LEGO Group always wants to say it promotes "green" ventures such as this so it can charge more for their products.

13 minutes ago, Frank Brickowski said:

 

So, maybe THIS is the end of LEGO investing, making the old ABS sets even more valuable in years and decades coming. Good for collections already gathered, bad for new investing entrants.

The thought has crossed my mind.  It might be the end of LEGO if they don't get the chemistry right.

13 hours ago, Ed Mack said:

The thought has crossed my mind.  It might be the end of LEGO if they don't get the chemistry right.

Are they rellay planning to also replace all the "hard" (ABS) bricks and not only the soft ones? Is there any official statment on that?

36 minutes ago, Frank Brickowski said:

Are they rellay planning to also replace all the "hard" (ABS) bricks and not only the soft ones? Is there any official statment on that?

I'm pretty sure that they are "testing the water" with the promo set and maybe even sneak a few bio-bricks into regular sets. I'm sure they'll get bad feedback soon enough if there's a problem. Aren't bases made of a different material as they seem to be softer, or is it just me out on my own again?

I opened a box and I can’t tell any difference (today) between the new and old. Durability is the question and only time will tell...


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