During my time writing for Blocks magazine, alongside the long-form analysis pieces, I also wrote a recurring short-form column called COLLECT — quick recommendations on a specific set or theme that I thought was worth your attention.
Rather than scatter these as fragments, I'm collecting them here as a single retrospective. Each entry is its own short piece, in roughly the order it ran in the magazine.
Toys R Us Sets
Originally ran in Blocks magazine, 2018-03-05.
BLOCKS: COLLECT: Toys "R" Us sets
After writing a recent article on the closing of hundreds of Toys "R" Us Stores, with potentially the entire company going bankrupt and out of business permanently, it made me think of all of the exclusive Toys "R" Us LEGO sets that were released over the years. LEGO and Toys "R" Us had a nice partnership for decades, producing dozens of promotional items and exclusive Toys "R" Us LEGO sets. Recent promotional Toys "R" Us sets include some of the following:
40228 Geoffrey and Friends
Bricktober Microscale Modulars
Bricktober Vintage Minifigure Collections
Monthly Promotional Builds
This list does not include sets like the 7848 Toys "R" Us Truck or other LEGO sets that had special Toys "R" Us markings on it to designate exclusivity. As I stated in my previous article, it is a personally sad day for me that the Toys "R" Us retail brick and mortar division of the company is slowly closing their doors. I have spent many happy days over the past forty-plus years in a Toys "R" Us store. It still excites me as an adult to go into these huge box stores filled with all sorts of toys and fun stuff. I certainly hope the company solves their financial issues and keeps a few brick and mortar stores open.
That being said, I do not have confidence that Toys "R" Us will remain open. All of the major Toys "R" Us stores in my area are closing, and this is in the heart of New Jersey...which is quite capable of supporting retailers in most cases. So the way I view it, there will be little chance of these and other Toys "R" Us exclusive LEGO sets being made in the future, so any of the existing Toys "R" Us sets could become more collectible and valuable.
BLOCKS_ COLLECT_ 75159 Death Star
Originally ran in Blocks magazine, 2016-10-31.
BLOCKS: COLLECT: 75159 Death Star
This is the sixteenth "COLLECT" article that I have written for BLOCKS magazine. In almost every article (...that I can recall!), I have recommended a LEGO set or two that could be a potentially collectible set in the future. That policy will change for this month with my first anti-endorsement of a set.. Let me introduce you to the 10188….errr….I mean 75159 Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) Death Star. This four-thousand-plus-piece LEGO set that sells for £399.99 / $499.99 / 499.99€ (The 10188 Death Star sold for £274.99 / $399.99 / 419.99€) and is almost a complete duplicate of the iconic 10188 Death Star. With the exception of 200 pieces, updated minifigures (plus a few...) and a box that has the gaudy Ultimate Collector Series badge, the 75159 Death Star is the same as the nine-year-old 10188 Death Star...and in some countries...45% more money than the original.
Now, I'm not going to lie to you. The 10188 Death Star was an all-time iconic set and value, thus the almost decade long production run. I was a huge fan. That being said, it is currently an outdated set, with old build techniques and design. I know it must have been a great seller for LEGO, but LEGO had years and the talent to come up with another iconic design of the Death Star that could have lasted another decade. Millions of LEGO fans were let down by this release in my opinion. LEGO has been producing some stellar exclusives as of late, but the 75159 is not one of them. With the 75159, they cheesed out. It is an expensive and tired set, that will probably find far fewer buyers than the comparable 10188 Death Star. In fact, potential buyers of the 75159 Death Star should look into buying a 10188 on secondary market sites. It is the same basic set and probably a whole lot cheaper...
BLOCKS_ COLLECT_ 75098 Assault on Hoth
Originally ran in Blocks magazine, 2018-01-04.
BLOCKS: COLLECT: Ultimate Collector Series 75098 Assault on Hoth
This will be the 30th "Collect" article that I have written for BLOCKS Magazine over the past three years. In that time and with each passing article, I have usually recommended LEGO sets that I admire and would enjoy owning and building. Well, as of this writing, that tradition will end. I will recommend the Ultimate Collector Series 75098 Assault on Hoth. The Ultimate Collector Series 75098 Assault on Hoth is a 2144 piece set that sells/sold for $249.99 (US). It was originally released back in May of 2016 and has gone out of stock at LEGO Shop @ Home back in late November/early December. While it is still available at a few other large retailers, the Ultimate Collector Series 75098 Assault on Hoth is most likely about to head into the sunset. After a short year-and-a-half production run, that is usually good news for profit potential and collectibility of LEGO sets.
While the Ultimate Collector Series 75098 Assault on Hoth sounds like a winner, I really have issues with the set. It does have some fans...no doubt, overall, most fans do not really think highly of the set. It is a hodgepodge of Hoth sets, with no real focus. It would be a nice non-Ultimate Collector Series set, I don't believe it lives up to the high standards of Ultimate Collector Series sets. Maybe its lack of fans is one reason why it appears to be retiring sooner than later. A year-and-a-half production run indicates a poor seller or some limited edition release. This is no limited edition. Regardless, even if the set is a poor seller now, once it retires, people will want it to complete their Ultimate Collector Series collection.
BLOCKS_ COLLECT_ BrickHeadz 2.0
Originally ran in Blocks magazine, 2018-04-05.
** BLOCKS: COLLECT: BrickHeadz 2.0**
A little over year ago, I wrote an article about the new (at the time) BrickHeadz theme. Several BrickHeadz sets found their way to the 2016 San Diego Comic Con and were that year's "exclusive" sets. As many know, the toys that get sold at the annual San Diego Comic Con are some of the most collectible toys released from year to year. Many are numbered and limited in production numbers, and many collectors travel thousands of miles to obtain one. I mentioned that there was potential with this theme as a potentially highly collectible one if more regular production BrickHeadz set were released. Well, LEGO has delivered, and dozens of new BrickHeadz sets have been released or planned to be released over the past year and a half.
If you follow my articles in this magazine, I often talk about the lack of "collectible" themes in the LEGO Universe. Since The LEGO Group stopped the production of Mixels, there hasn't been a small and cost effective collection of sets that would be easily obtainable by the masses. While the Collectible Minifigures theme can be considered something similar, they are not really "sets" in my opinion, but individual polybags with less than a dozen pieces in each. The Mixels were perfect LEGO collectibles, and their appreciation after retirement has excelled. LEGO fans not only wanted a few of the Mixels sets, but they wanted all of them to complete their collection. I can see a similar pattern occurring with the current BrickHeadz theme. Many LEGO fans are "completists" and won't be happy until they have every set within a particular theme. Well, there are over fifty BrickHeadz sets in existence or in production, and the numbers will continue to grow because they are very popular. My advice to you...start buying BrickHeadz sets now. Buy them all. You will thank me in five years...
BLOCKS_ COLLECT_ STAR WARS 20th Anniversary Edition sets
Originally ran in Blocks magazine, 2019-05-05.
COLLECT: STAR WARS 20th Anniversary Edition sets
This month's recommendation for highly collectible LEGO sets is an easy one. It is May the 4th as I write this article, and the LEGO Shop @ Home promotional giveaway is just too hard to pass up. The 40333 Battle of Hoth 20th Anniversary Edition set was a free set to anyone who spent $75.00 or more on STAR WARS sets. While this article might be too late to acquire a 40333 Battle of Hoth 20th Anniversary Edition set through LEGO Shop @ Home, it will not be too late to acquire the rest of the STAR WARS 20th Anniversary Edition sets. With the possible exception of the 75227 Darth Vader Bust, all the sets listed below should still be available throughout most of this year I would tend to believe.
While the 40333 Battle of Hoth 20th and 75227 Darth Vader Bust Anniversary Edition sets will be more difficult (or expensive) to obtain, all of these STAR WARS 20th Anniversary sets will be worthwhile investments in my opinion. They will probably have only a one-year production run, and each of the boxes is specially marked to signify they are STAR WARS 20th Anniversary Edition sets. Even a better idea would be to collect them all. A complete set of all nine STAR WARS 20th Anniversary Edition sets would be the most collectible, with the highest potential for appreciation.
