THE BRICKPICKER LEGO SET REVIEW/BLOG ARTICLE CONTEST IS HERE!!!

Jeff and I are proud to announce this contest for all registered BrickPicker members. It will be based on LEGO set reviews, Evalution Corner and Blog articles. We will judge the winners on several aspects, such as overall quantity, content and quality. We will take into consideration the quantity of reviews and articles you submit and the content and quality of those reviews/articles/blogs. Just because you pump out more reviews than other members, if your content and quality are subpar or very average, we can elect someone else the winner.

The basic BrickPicker Set Review will be accepted at 1000 characters. No less. Unlike the earlier Set Review version, you will be required to submit content for each of the 10 basic categories below:

First Impression(WOW Factor) & Introduction

An introduction and first impression of the LEGO set. Does the LEGO set "WOW" you? Is it or will it be an "iconic" LEGO set? When you see this set, you say to yourself, "I just have to have one!?

Unique Parts/Minifigures

Does the LEGO set have rare or unique minifigures? Are there rare parts/colors in the set? Does the set have a large amount of minifigures or parts that make it more desirable?

Playability/Build Experience

Does the set have elements that make it an extremely "fun" set to play with or to build, thus affecting it's popularity and future viability as an investment?

Value for money(new)

Is the set a bargain? Does the set give you a "bang for your buck" when considering piece to price ratio or is the price of the set extremely high priced for the amount of pieces included? This rating also plays into LEGO collectors/investors who like to "part out" LEGO sets to make money...Could the set be used to "part out for a profit"?

Theme Popularity

Is the LEGO set from a popular LEGO theme that sells well in the primary retail LEGO market and will most likely translate to positive growth in the secondary LEGO market?

Exclusivity

Is the set an "exclusive" set and is marked accordingly so? Is the set limited in production in any way? Is the set from a Toy Fair or Comic Con or other LEGO trade show that has limited production runs?

Packaging

Does the set have unique packaging that makes it stand out from the typical LEGO set? Does the set have special markings on the box that differentiate it from other LEGO sets?

Growth Potential

What is the potential growth of this set in the secondary LEGO market? Will this set appreciate or depreciate after being retired(EOL)?

Display Attributes

Does this set when built display well? Is it a topic of conversation when built and displayed in a office or den? Does it make for an impressive or unique set when compared with other LEGO set

Final Analysis & Conclusion

Your overall final impression of the set, taking into consideration all the above factors. A final synopsis or conclusion about the LEGO set. The numerical rating is for the entire set, with a 10 being the ?perfect? LEGO set, a 5-6 being about average and a 1 being the bottom of the barrel.

Each category can range from a sentence to several paragraphs if necessary. The combined total for all the category content needs to be 1000 characters to be accepted. You will be asked to leave a numerical 1 to 10 rank for each category as well, with 4,5 and 6 being considered "average" LEGO set rankings. You do not have to own a set to review one, but it would help and this will be noted on each review. Here is a sample of a REVIEW I did for the 10227 UCS B-Wing Starfighter. It is a 5000 character review and I would consider it an above average review. You can do more or less, but proper grammar and spelling is also important.

We will take a snapshot of the current review totals and start from there. A BrickPicker member can look over their personal reviews in our new REVIEW LOG. You will have the ability to resubmit an older review and improve it, with it counting towards the contest. Jeff and I will approve or disapprove each resubmission. What is neat about the new review system is that Jeff and I will be able to award BONUS BRICKPOINTS for above average and special reviews. A basic 1000 character review will be awarded 10 Brickpoints, but we can give up to 500 Brickpoints or more for some in depth and special reviews.

The contest will start immediately and conclude at 11:59 PM(Eastern Time) on July 3rd, 2013. There will be three main prizes:

1ST PLACE: 10228 HAUNTED HOUSE or $200 LEGO GIFT CARD

2ND PLACE: 10232 PALACE CINEMA or $150 LEGO GIFT CARD

3RD PLACE: 9516 JABBA'S PALACE or $100 LEGO GIFT CARD

We will adjust all prizes to the winner's country and situation. Jeff and I understand that some members have to pay more for LEGO sets and we will adapt to each situation. We have the right to change the prizes to equivalent LEGO sets if these become retired or out of stock.

There will also be four $25 LEGO GIFT CARDS given out to those exceptional reviews in which I can convert to content for the EVALUATION CORNER. One person can win them all. Look at my reviews for an example of what I am looking for. You do not have to go through the normal review processor if it is easier to produce a large and quality review and analysis on a word processor like OPEN OFFICE(which I use). If you are doing a "special" review, you can contact me. I can guide you. What I don't want is something I have to rewrite. It needs to be quality content and properly written. I can tweak it and help with data and charts, but the overall written content needs to be very, very good.

Depending on the response, we can throw in some other prizes along the way. Maybe some "Honorable Mentions" or some other prize for some review or content that tickles my fancy. This is a serious competition and Jeff and I want the content of the LEGO set reviews to become a very important part of our site. Unlike the quality reviews on top sites like Brickset or Eurobricks, I want our reviews to focus on aspects of LEGO sets that will affect its "investment" potential and value. You can discuss anything you want, but you should have a serious investment correlation in your reviews when discussing many of the categories. The basic categories are set up like an essay, with an introduction, body & content and then a conclusion. Think of the reviews in proper English class terms and you will do well.

That's about it. Good luck with your reviews and any questions can be posted below. Winners will be announced on July 4th, 2013. Thanks.

Ed Mack

EDIT: JEFF AND I WILL ALSO ACCEPT EVALUATION CORNER/BLOG ARTICLES TOWARDS THE CONTEST AS WELL!!!

Congrats to all the winners! Let's keep the content coming!

I tried getting Ed to give me all the gift cards but he told me I don't produce enough content. Whatever  

 

Great job and congrats to you all.  There are some great writers here and the contributions to the site are very much appreciated!

I tried getting Ed to give me all the gift cards but he told me I don't produce enough content. Whatever  

 

Great job and congrats to you all.  There are some great writers here and the contributions to the site are very much appreciated!

 

Jeff... You know... if an accident were to happen and the whole site just went down... what would they do without you?

Thanks Ed and Jeff for the fabulous prizes! Also, thanks to all of the contestants for the great content...I think. I still have to read quite a few articles! Now that the pressure is less, I'll get down to reading.

Congrats guys!  I must say that I greatly anticipate the release of the Quacs/FCB article!

Congrats guys!  I must say that I greatly anticipate the release of the Quacs/FCB article!

 

You're likely going to need to settle in with a snack and a tall drink because it's loooooooong.  FCB and I hope you enjoy it, though.

 

I think anyone who actually reads it cover to cover (err...web banner to web banner?) in one sitting should receive 10 brickpoints and a massage to work out the stiffness from being in one reading position for so long.

You're likely going to need to settle in with a snack and a tall drink because it's loooooooong.  FCB and I hope you enjoy it, though.

 

I think anyone who actually reads it cover to cover (err...web banner to web banner?) in one sitting should receive 10 brickpoints and a massage to work out the stiffness from being in one reading position for so long.

 

And that might be an understatement lol

Congratulations to the winners and all who participated! You are all well deserving of your awards. Keep writing!

Congratulations to the winners and all who participated! You are all well deserving of your awards. Keep writing!

You deserve some recognition for that excellent pick a brick article. I am thinking of trying it when I go to the lego store

 

AND THE WINNERS OF THE 2013 BRICKPICKER BLOG WRITING CONTEST ARE...

 

After reviewing all the articles and blogs that were submitted for the 2013 BrickPicker Blog Writing Contest, Jeff and I came to the conclusion that three members deserved the First Place prize of a $200 LEGO Gift Card(or similarly priced LEGO set)...and they are:

• Donotinsertinmouth
• Fcbarcelona101
• Quacs

There will be no Second or Third place prizes, only two honorable mention prizes of $50 each to Grolim and Comicblast. 

 

All 5 members who won a prize wrote at least twice as much as their nearest competitors and their article quality and creativity was excellent.  There are still multiple blogs that have to be posted, one in particular, stands out.  It is a 50,000+ character collaborative creation by Fcbarcelona101 and Quacs that introduces people to the BrickPicker site.  This article will have a special location on the site so all new members can check it out.

 

So, all in all, fantastic job people.  It's been a long contest, but I think the results were worth the effort.  Don't stop writing them though, remember, you still get copious amounts of BrickPoints to use in the Brickpoints Store for writing blogs and LEGO set reviews.

 

Will the 5 winners please PM me with their addresses and choice of LEGO Gift Cards or similarly priced LEGO sets and we will get those out to you in the next several days.  Thanks..

 

 Ed

 

 

 

Again Congrats to the winners and everyone else.  I am just letting all the winners know that their Prizes have been purchased and are "In Process" of being shipped or shipped already!  Happy Purchasing!!!

You deserve some recognition for that excellent pick a brick article. I am thinking of trying it when I go to the lego store

Hahaha, there are lots of people who deserve recognition before me. Stay tuned though, I have some exciting and fresh things planned (non-articles)...

Again Congrats to the winners and everyone else.  I am just letting all the winners know that their Prizes have been purchased and are "In Process" of being shipped or shipped already!  Happy Purchasing!!!

 

Yes can't wait to get that Build-A-Zerg I ordered!

Yes can't wait to get that Build-A-Zerg I ordered!

LOL....have fun..? I got a gift card. Anyone else feel like spilling the beans on what they decided on for their prizes?

Gift card for me as well. Ewok Village awaits

Gift card for me as well. Ewok Village awaits

 

I thought about this. $250 is rough though.

 

I'm going for the Tower of Orthanic.

It was either that or Sidney Opera House, but since I already have $ 40 in points EW is the better choice at the moment. Plus, I don't have any space where to display sets anymore...

It was either that or Sidney Opera House, but since I already have $ 40 in points EW is the better choice at the moment. Plus, I don't have any space where to display sets anymore...

If anyone has doubts about his space constraints, check out the "what did you build today?" forum.

Thinking either 4x4 Crawler LE or one of Grand Emporium/Palace Cinema + Hayabusa. Hayabusa would give me all three CUUSOO sets (except Shinkaii) for the personal collection, but 4x4 Crawler Exclusive is just sick. So hard to decide...

Thinking either 4x4 Crawler LE or one of Grand Emporium/Palace Cinema + Hayabusa. Hayabusa would give me all three CUUSOO sets (except Shinkaii) for the personal collection, but 4x4 Crawler Exclusive is just sick. So hard to decide...

What would the sets be for. Investment or building?

What would the sets be for. Investment or building?

For the personal collection - I will not be using the prize gift card for investment.

For the personal collection - I will not be using the prize gift card for investment.

I would get the 4X4 Crawler LE.

Thinking either 4x4 Crawler LE or one of Grand Emporium/Palace Cinema + Hayabusa. Hayabusa would give me all three CUUSOO sets (except Shinkaii) for the personal collection, but 4x4 Crawler Exclusive is just sick. So hard to decide...

 

The crawler looks pretty good from the video that was posted. Mine got delayed though

Finally had enough creative juices flowing to start up a review for the Haunted House set. Umm, I'm just trying to figure out why the member name shown when I go to preview is coming up as buckwater? Who the sam heck is buckwater?

Am I getting punked here? :acute:

Finally had enough creative juices flowing to start up a review for the Haunted House set. Umm, I'm just trying to figure out why the member name shown when I go to preview is coming up as buckwater? Who the sam heck is buckwater?

Am I getting punked here?

 

All of my reviews showed up as marco_lc for a few months!  (I think that was the name at least.)

Finally had enough creative juices flowing to start up a review for the Haunted House set. Umm, I'm just trying to figure out why the member name shown when I go to preview is coming up as buckwater? Who the sam heck is buckwater?

Am I getting punked here?

 

 

This should be fixed now.