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!!!

Very nice review...

http://www.brickpicker.com/reviews/set.cfm?set=75005-1

That is one quality article right there, Fcbarcelona! Scratch that... those are a lot of quality articles/reviews right there! Very nice job!

Some fantastic content being produced.

Some fantastic content being produced.

You gonna get your foot in the door? :coolhmm:

There are some really good reviews out there!

There are some really good reviews out there!

Your reviews are excellent. But I can't figure out how you put out so many quality articles so fast *envious look* LOL

Your reviews are excellent. But I can't figure out how you put out so many quality articles so fast *envious look* LOL

I think we can all be proud of the content we are adding to the site, let's keep it up and by the time July is here we will have A LOT of high quality information out there to everyone's benefit!

Excellent articles fellas!:-)

Yeah, plenty of great reads. It's hard to get through them all :-)

Yeah, plenty of great reads. It's hard to get through them all :-)

That is my only problem. I can't read that fast! There are like 20+ a day and most are 8,000 characters or more!

That is my only problem. I can't read that fast! There are like 20+ a day and most are 8,000 characters or more!

I don't waste my time reading, I write! :)

Here are what we have so far article wise:

Veegs: Creator House Evaluation Corner(EC) article

Quacs: Legends of Chima EC article

Strytlr: Parting Out Blog article

Mikeur86: Avengers EC article

Fcbarcelona101: LOTR EC article

Brianl3: Pick a Brick Blog article

adewar: Winter Village EC article

Fcbarcelona101: Architecture EC article

TheOrcKing: Planet Set EC article

Quacs: LEGO Truths and Myths Blog article

Comicblast: Spongebob EC article

Comicblast just submitted a very nice EC article on the Spongebob theme. Also, Veeg's Creator House article, the first of the articles to be submitted for the contest, will be live soon...

Comicblast just submitted a very nice EC article on the Spongebob theme. Also, Veeg's Creator House article, the first of the articles to be submitted for the contest, will be live soon...Oooh I can't wait! I was considering buying a Creator house a while ago....

EDIT: I just read the article, it is fantastic! I encourage everyone to go check it out. Good job Veegs!

I know NOTHING about the Creator line. Will definitely be checking it out later.

I've really been dropping out of the race lately. Have to get back to work and keep my head above water. *much to the woe of anyone competing*

Here's an updated list of articles that were submitted:

Veegs: Creator House Evaluation Corner(EC) article

Quacs: Legends of Chima EC article

Strytlr: Parting Out Blog article

Mikeur86: Avengers EC article

Fcbarcelona101: LOTR EC article

Brianl3: Pick a Brick Blog article

adewar: Winter Village EC article

Fcbarcelona101: Architecture EC article

TheOrcKing: Planet Set EC article

Quacs: LEGO Truths and Myths Blog article

Comicblast: Spongebob EC article

Quacs: Beginner's Guide to Investing...LEGO Style

Also, Brianl3 is working on a "Top Sets for 2013" article. We will be releasing Quacs article on the Legends of Chima tomorrow. We are working on Stryllr's article now. We will try to release a new article in short intervals, in the order in which they were submitted. It is time consuming to convert from the Word to HTML format, so bear with us. Brickpoints will be awarded when the articles are live. Thanks.

Does anyone even read other people's reviews, or are we all to busy writing? ;)

Does anyone even read other people's reviews, or are we all to busy writing?

I try to skim all the reviews, but don't necessarily read all of them. I can't believe the amount of work that has been put into some reviews.

Question for Ed; is the contest producing the amount and quality you expected? It sure has past my expectations from the first time I heard about it. Nothing motivates like a couple big Lego sets.

It is almost impossible to read all of the reviews that are being written everyday. I do read all of the blog and EC articles, since there are less of those.

Does anyone even read other people's reviews, or are we all to busy writing?

I try to read all the ones that I have interest in that set or theme, or think it's a set I'd like to know more about. There are also a couple of authors for whom I read all their reviews I can as I think they do very good ones :)

I try to read all the ones that I have interest in that set or theme, or think it's a set I'd like to know more about.

That's what I do too. I might be planning on buying a set so I look up reviews for it or I want to see how much fellow investors value a certain set. You would have to spend hours and hours to read through all of the 744+ reviews.

Does anyone even read other people's reviews, or are we all to busy writing?

I usually just read the reviews that I might find interesting. For example, I enjoy some of the Friends reviews because I don't know as much about that theme. Same goes for some of the LOTR sets and TMNT.

Anyone else find themselves slowing down? I'm starting to lose momentum and consistently get writer's block when I try to start a new review. That said, I find it helps to write reviews for sets of different themes to keep it fresh. Do you guys have any methods to keep interested?

Anyone else find themselves slowing down? I'm starting to lose momentum and consistently get writer's block when I try to start a new review. That said, I find it helps to write reviews for sets of different themes to keep it fresh. Do you guys have any methods to keep interested?

Same here, but I was actually expecting this from the start. It's not only you, if you take a look pretty much everyone has slowed down some. Part is what you said, when writing reviews about the same themes you start to feel a little burned out, so it would be wise to maybe try and do one of a theme, then a different one and so on.

I think the important part is not to feel pressure to write a lot of reviews per week. Just write them when you feel like it and that way you will keep producing the quality reviews you have been doing so far. You can also set a target every week depending on how busy you are or how motivated you feel. Say, this week you set out to write at least 5 reviews, and then work towards that.

It is very hard to keep motivated if you don't have a goal that is more short term than the ending date of the contest.

Anyone else find themselves slowing down? I'm starting to lose momentum and consistently get writer's block when I try to start a new review. That said, I find it helps to write reviews for sets of different themes to keep it fresh. Do you guys have any methods to keep interested?

I think a good way to not get writer's block during a review is to build/re-build the set. I find that it keeps me interested and refreshes my memory. I have noticed a slowdown in the reviews from a few members, though. It also really, really helps to read other reviews and see what they are about, and maybe write about similar things.

I think a good way to not get writer's block during a review is to build/re-build the set. I find that it keeps me interested and refreshes my memory. I have noticed a slowdown in the reviews from a few members, though. It also really, really helps to read other reviews and see what they are about, and maybe write about similar things.

I think most of us who started writing a lot have reduced our output in some way. Just remember how it was when the contest was just announced. I know I was writing at least 2 per day, Mike was doing around 4 or 5 (or more lol), same with Blackjack. It would not be possible to maintain that level for the long time the contest is going to last.