** DINO-MITE !!!**
**Will the new Jurassic World sets take a bite out of the exploding DINO sets?**
Dinosaurs and LEGO bricks...two of my all time favorite interests. In fact, some forty- two years ago, I was the only child in Kindergarten to bring a two-foot plastic Tyrannosaurus Rex model, with glow in the dark teeth and claws, to class for Show and Tell. I was a five year old that was way ahead of his time. I had a passion for Dinosaurs before they became "commercial" as the saying goes. About the same time, my parents introduced me to LEGO bricks by purchasing me my first LEGO set, the 710 Wrecker with Car, to keep me entertained for a family trip across the United States. Some three thousand miles later, I fell in love with the LEGO brick as well. Fast forward four decades and I am still intrigued by both Dinosaurs and LEGO bricks. What's better yet, LEGO has developed LEGO sets designed around Dinosaurs, with their LEGO maxifigure Dinosaur replicas acting as the centerpiece of each set.
There are many LEGO themes that garner all the attention from LEGO collectors and investors...STAR WARS, Advanced/Large Scale Models, and Modulars, to name a few. With the exception of a few savvy LEGO collectors, very few LEGO enthusiasts will ever consider Dinosaur-based LEGO sets as a smart investment or valuable collectible LEGO set. That philosophy might change. Take a look below at the seven sets from the DINO theme released a few years back:
The small DINO theme was comprised of seven fun and playable sets that included at least one large Dinosaur maxifigure in each set. Raptors, Triceratops, Pterodactyls and of course Tyrannosaurus Rexes, were all represented in beautiful ABS plastic models. As mentioned previously, these Dinosaur maxifigures were the focus of the individual sets and were their most valuable component. An example of the potential value of maxifigures is the large brown and green Tyrannosaurus Rex from the 5887 Dino Defense HQ. It is currently selling for more than $100.00 on the LEGO secondary market sites, which is higher than the $99.99 MSRP of the MISB set it was sold in. Amazing. The value of a LEGO minifigure and/or maxifigure cannot be underestimated in the world of LEGO collectibles. While many LEGO collectors and investors scoffed at the idea of investing large sums of cash and credit into LEGO sets designed for play and children, these DINO-themed sets outperform many of the tried and true themes that are typically used as investments. A quick glance at the data indicates many of the DINO sets have doubled or tripled from their MSRPs from a few years ago. What is even sweeter is that many of these sets were heavily discounted at some point, so their Return on Investment (ROI%) could be even higher, depending on the purchase price.
What does this all mean for the value of the DINO-themed sets, with the release of the new Jurassic World movie and the correlating LEGO sets hitting the retailer's shelves? Well, from a negative perspective, the older DINO sets might plateau or decrease in value, being that there will be another very similar series of Dinosaur themed sets available, at a much cheaper cost than the DINO sets selling on secondary market sites. The new* Jurassic World* theme also has seven sets and the designs are almost a carbon copy of the original DINO sets, which is another reason why the interest in the DINO theme might wane. On a positive note, the Dinosaur maxifigures are different from the earlier DINO versions. It is possible that LEGO fans and collectors, especially ones like myself who love Dinosaurs and are anal completists, would want to obtain the entire LEGO Dinosaur maxifigure collection. With the new movie's release, there could be a renewed interest in LEGO Dinosaur products, and the older versions might see a bump up in price because of the added hoopla surrounding the movie. Either way, a savvy LEGO collector and investor should pay close attention to these new Jurassic World sets and consider them as viable collectibles. Unlike forty years ago, the Dinosaur products of today are a top draw in any form, and when produced as a LEGO maxifigure, they become not only a fun toy, but truly valuable as well.
