The LEGO Thread
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nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Does LEGO.com ever restock or once it's gone, it's gone?
On another note, I was waiting until after the first of the year to buy an Imperial Flagship but Amazon is sold out. Now it's going for $100 more than sticker.
Depends on the set - bigger sets that are out of stock are probably out of production.
The Flagship went OOP like a month or so ago, so you should have jumped back then.
You won't be getting one for cheap ever again, haha.The big sets make for a great investment, if you have the capital upfront and are willing to wait a few years to have it pay off - once a big set is OOP the price usually skyrockets. Though I'm betting that the people who bought a Death Star or 3 at $400 are cursing LEGO for never letting that thing go out.
Balls.Depends on the set - bigger sets that are out of stock are probably out of production.
The Flagship went OOP like a month or so ago, so you should have jumped back then.
Good lord there is a Used - Like New one on Amazon from Amazon warehouse and even it is higher than sticker *shakes fist*
Step 4 is a dirty, dirty whore lie.
Is there a site that keeps up with discontinuation dates?
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Not really - traditionally, a set has a 2-3 year shelf life. Fire Brigade was released early 2010, so that one is on it's way out. That's the next big set I can think of that's going away soon.
Always check bricklink.com for sets before Amazon. Sometimes, you can get a good deal on Amazon (I got my Tower Bridge for ~15% off retail), but markup is crazy because of Amazon commission. Bricklink.com is your friend. Flagship is still ~$230 on there, but that's better than ~$280 ($100 up from that sticker price you talked about!).
BattleMonkey
Member
Does LEGO.com ever restock or once it's gone, it's gone?
On another note, I was waiting until after the first of the year to buy an Imperial Flagship but Amazon is sold out. Now it's going for $100 more than sticker.
The local Lego store has 5 of them in the store and at retail price which is cheaper than what all the resellers are having.
I feel so tempted to get it but also dont want to spend that much on a Lego set.... but damn almost feel like getting it just in case I never use it, I can resell at a high price years later
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
If they have them, buy them. You can make AT LEAST $50 per ship you sell right now. It'd be silly to pass that up.
Found a store locally that has sets for sale but they were priced higher than Lego.com :\ The Grand Emporium looks fucken hot. $149.99 D:
First, welcome to the best worst decision ever!Your wallet will hate you! <3
But really, hi! First off, where to purchase! Department stores are great since they run sales and stock more current stuff. It's especially nice if you have a large toy selection at said store. Always check prices online at the lego.com website first - that's the base price (B&M stores only, not online) that you should work with. Avoid Toys R'Us like the plague, unless they're running a BOGO 50% thing. Even then, be careful - they markup their LEGO $10-20 a set (sometimes more!).
lego.com lists a few stores in Texas, so check there. If you DO shop at a LEGO store, get the VIP card. VIP cards get you credit towards purchases - every $x gives you x points. Every 'y' points nets you $5 in VIP credit. It adds up!
Shopping online, lego.com is great, as is Amazon (for sales/discounts), but ALWAYS check lego.com or bricklink.com for the going price! There are sets that are still available at your local LEGO store for $150 that sell for $200 on Amazon. Be careful!
OK, so as for what route you want to go, the first would be deciding between Technic or standard brick. If you go Technic, the Unimog is a great start (albeit a bit pricey) as it provides a higher difficulty and a really great flagship model. If you go the standard brick route, you have SO many options...There are a lot of themes to choose from, and I can't really say anything except hop on the LEGO website and start browsing. Decide what models and themes catch your eye. From there, you can start building a collection and delving into what sort of sets and techniques interest you.
The one BIG thing you have to decide is your budget. More expensive sets are, typically, "more challenging" and more detailed. But really, the challenge from LEGO is what comes after you assemble and display your set - MOC'ing (My Own Creation)! Hit up mocpages.com sometime to see what some people create. If that sort of creativity interests you, a whole new world of LEGO opens up!
Hope that helps as a base point! Once you've done a bit of research, I'm sure you can get even more refined answers from us that will point you in an even more right direction.
Pretty sure I want to go standard brick, sometimes I see the smaller sets and they look like there arent many bricks to put together. I dont want to buy a small set for like 30 bucks only to finish it in 20 mins. :\ Any recommendations in that sense?
BattleMonkey
Member
Yea I think I will go back and try to buy them if they still have them. It was a week ago but they had 5 on the shelf still at the time. Part of me would keep it just to resell later, but the fanboy in me will probably have me rip into it and build the thing... lol
Crazymoogle
Member
Props to you guys sorting, but...I've never done it. Maybe this is strange but I just enjoy the process of sifting through the sahara of lego looking for a piece. I guess it's sort of like browsing a mall or something, as I usually run into a variety of other interesting pieces.
nicoga3000 said:
That is awesome. I totally would have used that for my own wedding photos if it was on-hand. Is there a train on the bride or is it just a straight up leg piece? (it kinda looks like a 2x1x2?)
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Protip - use a box cutter to cut the tape, save the box, keep the instructions clean. Resale value on flagship sets (no pun intended) is wonderful if it's complete.
I disassembled my Medieval Market Village. If I used the dumpster diving LEGO technique, rebuilding it would take about 7 years just to find all two hundred 1x1 gold studs.
BattleMonkey
Member
Yea I never resold a Lego set so no idea how that works. I know I would keep it for myself probably, it's just a pricey set, but if I can keep it and resell it in the future if I needed, that would be good.
They sure do, but it's dependent on whether or not that set is headed out of production. Lego doesn't make formal announcements for individual sets, so hang around some Lego sites and you'll usually hear via word of mouth what's on the way out from people in the know. You can also study trends and get a feel for when a set's time is just about up.
Just as an example, all signs indicate Fire Brigade is next to be retired. It's the oldest set in it's line, it's not pictured in materials for new releases, etc. It's available now from Lego.com, but as soon as they list it as out of stock, you can count on it being gone for good.
Then there are other sets, like Fallingwater, which sell out from Lego, but will be available again once production catches up to demand. In these cases, Lego will usually list a date on their site when they expect to have more available.
For my own personal rule of thumb, I always use two years as a benchmark. If there's a set I've had my eye on but haven't picked up yet for whatever reason, and it's nearing two years of production time, I know I need to make a decision quick. It isn't a hard and fast rule, but it's been pretty reliable.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
GE is retail at $149.99 and an AMAZING set. Though, if you're looking to get into those large models, grab the Fire Brigade. Even if the GE LOOKS nicer, it'll be around longer, and FB will appreciate in value quick (if you save the box/instructions).
I understand what you're saying about set size.
Like I stated before, if you're looking to just get into set building vs custom stuff, saving up and buying the bigger sets is the way to go. Also, don't sort the pieces or use the numbered bags for set building. My pieces (as seen in photos earlier) are sorted right now for MOC'ing, but for set building, I just dump them into a bin and hunt!A few sets you should consider (higher price = more pieces = more challenge = better display!):
- 10221 Super Star Destroyer
- 10188 Death Star
- 10214 Tower Bridge
- 10197 Fire Brigade
- 10211 Grand Emporium
- 10218 Pet Shop
- 10217 Diagon Alley
- 10193 Medieval Market Village
- 10223 Kingdoms Joust
Some of those are crazy expensive, but there's a LOT going on.
Sorting is simply for doing MOC's later - having organization means less time hunting for pieces, more time building!
And the wedding dress is done with a 2x3 plate, two 1x1 slopes on the back end of the plate, a 2x2 tall slope (for the bottom of the dress), and an upper body piece. Hope that makes sense, haha. Not a special train piece sadly.
You might want to check out their Creator line. They're readily available at most stores that carry Lego, and the great thing about these sets is they typically come with three full sets of instructions, all designed to use the same bricks in different ways. So there's a lot of rebuildable bang for your buck. This Log Cabin or Lighthouse would make great starter sets.
Crazymoogle
Member
Understood. When you guys go for big builds it totally makes sense. I've never gone that pro though, it was always more of a leisurely thing so I always built freestyle.
And I do understand what you mean. A special train piece would probably have got my wife building lego, but it's cool to see the pieces exist nonetheless...
I'm going to LEGOLand in a few months and I swear by all that is right and holy, I will be walking out with one of those sets (not the Death Star, if my wife has anything to say about it)
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
I infinitely prefer the old Death Star II model:
The new one just looks too, I don't know, childish?
So you're not missing much in my opinion!
But of those, if modulars are your thing, FB and GE are awesome. Town Hall should be out by then, so that's an option, too! But the Tower Bridge is my favorite model to date. <3 Being an engineer, it strikes the right strings with me, but besides that, the design and build is SO well done:
could hold out no longer (I blame you guys). Popped over to Westfield and snagged a VW camper and the mini modulars. Was on the fence about the minis, but I figured if I didn't buy them, I'd instead want all the big modulars, and thats just crazy.
Now I need to figure out which of the bigger sets to get next.
- Imperial Shuttle
- Tower Bridge
- Grand Emporium
- Fire Station
- Pet Shop
Of the modulars, I like the Grand emporium the best, but I think the Fire Station is going out of print soonish? Not sure whether to pick that up or not. And I know I want the shuttle/bridge - the modulars are more a curiosity (although the GE is v.tempting)
edit: Not sure if I have the willpower, but might try the FB as an investment. open neatly, build carefully, then keep the pieces away from our main collection for resale if needed.
Now I need to figure out which of the bigger sets to get next.
- Imperial Shuttle
- Tower Bridge
- Grand Emporium
- Fire Station
- Pet Shop
Of the modulars, I like the Grand emporium the best, but I think the Fire Station is going out of print soonish? Not sure whether to pick that up or not. And I know I want the shuttle/bridge - the modulars are more a curiosity (although the GE is v.tempting)
edit: Not sure if I have the willpower, but might try the FB as an investment. open neatly, build carefully, then keep the pieces away from our main collection for resale if needed.
I'm all about the minifigs/playsets. I like to pose them in epic moments of glory. My Kingdoms castle is currently on display, where a jester is fighting off some forestmen while three generations of heavily armored knights battle on horseback. Every few weeks, I build a new diorama, until I run out of ideas and then I put together another large playset.
Running out of diorama ideas for the Pharaoh's Quest pyramid, but I just like the set too much to disassemble - and the Anubis guards and winged mummies are just too amazing to not have out.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
This is why I <3 LEGO so much - everyone can really enjoy it in a very specific way. The playability of a set is not something I ever look for, so my opinions are vastly different - for the better!
I really really really hope they do another Egyptian-esque theme again. I really loved that theme a lot.
@mrklaw We're only here to help.
Those Mini Mods look great, and I'll be picking them up soon I'm sure. Fire Brigade is obviously the best choice of your choices solely based off of retirement. If you could give two shits about that, GE or Tower Bridge in my opinion.$203 equivalent in the UK and we're closer to Denmark :/
TBH, most sets tend to go by a similar price per brick ratio. In the UK it tends to be around £0.10 per piece, so a 1000 piece set is about £100. Varies of course, but thats the trend over here at least.
Just jump in with a model you like the look of - maybe give us a list of sets you like and we can give our impressions in terms of value and build difficulty/enjoyability etc?
I infinitely prefer the old Death Star II model:
The new one just looks too, I don't know, childish?
I love the look of the old Death Star II as well, but I think it was more of a model, designed to sit on a shelf and look nice, whereas the new one is more of a toy, designed to be played with. I think the Super Star Destroyer has taken over from it as their giant Star Wars display set (and they both have mini Star Destroyers attached, too).
Now if only I could find some way of rationalising spending 400 on a giant Lego Super Star Destroyer (and finding somewhere to put it, for that matter)...
Which LEGOLand are you going to? I went to the one in Carlsbad, CA last year and was disappointed by the selection in the store. It seemed like the LEGO store at Disneyland was better stocked.
I just bought that set! I've had my eye on it for the last couple weeks, waiting for it to go on clearance, and finally pulled the trigger last night. It looks so cool, I can't wait to put it together!
Same in the UK. Think they stock the stores for tourists, so its usually mass market popular stuff, along with foam pirate swords and knight helmets etc.
Although late last season they started stocking the 'hard to find' stuff like tower bridge etc - but excluded them from the 10% discount you get with an annual pass :/
Chuckie
Member
bucknuticus
Member
There's Lego stores everywhere, we have 3 alone here in Ohio.
Chuckie
Member
bucknuticus
Member
Ahhh sorry, I always just make an assumption people are from the us on here, even though there's a large % whom aren't
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Not sure if anyone has seen, buuuut:
Honestly, not that impressed...Really sad that TLG opted to do SOH on a small scale like this.
Honestly, not that impressed...Really sad that TLG opted to do SOH on a small scale like this.
Chuckie
Member
Haha, that's ok
Not sure if anyone has seen, buuuut:
Honestly, not that impressed...Really sad that TLG opted to do SOH on a small scale like this.
Very unimpressed.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Rumor is for a June release at $39.99. It really is a let down after sets like Falling Water and Robie House delivered so well.
megashock5
Member
Someone posted an updated look at some of the Marvel minifigs on their website:
http://smashing-bricks.com/2012/01/13/lego-super-heroes-marvel-minifigures-sneak-peak/
As a Marvel and LEGO fan, please let the sets be good!
we have 7 in the UK too - mostly around London/the south, but also Liverpool. Germany has quite a few too. US has tons though
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
I love it. I love mini scale models as much as the big ones. In fact I think I almost like mini modulars more than the regular ones. There's certain creativity and ingenuity associated with mini models that really clicks with me.Not sure if anyone has seen, buuuut:
Honestly, not that impressed...Really sad that TLG opted to do SOH on a small scale like this.
NathanMcMahon
Banned
I've had the Death Star sitting in it's box, unopened for about 6 months now. It's killing me not opening it.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Microscale models are amazing:
These are my favorites to look at on MOCpages. They remind of Katamari, haha. Something about SOH just doesn't work with me.
The new one in Florida. Apparently, "The Big Shop" is one of the biggest LEGO stores in the US. And even if the shop is lackluster, there's a pretty amazing LEGO store over at Disney Village.
Personally, the Florida LEGOLand doesn't look that amazing to me, but I've always wanted to go to one. I think my kids will love it.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
That Disney one is where I originally came out of my dark ages, haha. It's insane. <3
BattleMonkey
Member
Oh no... I did it
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Oh no... I did it
I'm....so...jealous...
Did anyone look at you with that, "Holy shit is he buying that?" look?
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
I got several when I bought mine.
Oh no... I did it
God I hate you right now.
Wish I could justify some Lego but It'd have to be a good set I think and at that I mean good for display. Those architecture sets from what I've looked at just seem too minimal and overpriced for what they are.
Also as far as the Death Stars go, the Death Star 2 is a great model. The new one is fantastic as a playset, I love how they've managed to get all the big death star moments in there, even to include minifigs and ships is awesome.
BattleMonkey
Member
Seeing as I was at the Lego store in the mall yea... had to walk all the way to the car with it in hand as they don't have bags big enough for these big sets. The little kids were in awe as I was walking out with the big box.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
My only gripe with that set is that it's SO much grey. If I were a Star Wars fan, I'd be all over it. I'm hoping they release another huge set like the Tower Bridge for us non-Star Wars aficionados.
But congrats on the purchase! That will be a crazy fun build no matter what!
But congrats on the purchase! That will be a crazy fun build no matter what!
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