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    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      For my next voyage into the land of fantasy Lego themes we will probably never see, but I can still dream of, I wanted to do one of my favorite shows of all time: Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Yes, this is definitely a tougher theme because it is a bit of a cult show and is not really a Kid's show (though it appears on Cartoon Network). However, we can always dream and hopefully there are enough Aqua Teen Fans here to know how awesome these sets would be – and how broke I would be. As well, I do think kids would think they are cool because they are animated and look very much like toys anyway. And, there are also somewhere near a billion different characters that comes and interact with the Aqua Teens – each more weird than the next. All of these guys would make insanely awesome minifigures.
      So if you don't know about Aqua Teen Hunger Force, you should pretty much quit whatever you are doing and watch all 9 seasons straight through. I'll wait...Done? It is a 11 minute Adult Swim original show about three fast food items who are supposed to be detectives, but quit because the money was bad. Along with them, they have a next door neighbor, Carl Brutananadilewski who is a lazy, creepy man who is pretty... woman crazy? The show itself generally has no plot and ends in one of the main character's or supporting character's deaths, which is never permanent between episodes. It is an amazing show for one-liners and is highly quotable for any fans. So, here goes my ATHF series!
      The Aqua Teen's House

      This would be one of the smaller sets as the Aqua Teen's house is one that is fairly small, and has been destroyed at least 30 or 40 times in the series. However, everyone loves buildings and this is definitely an iconic one if you watch this show because of all the different shenanigans that go on inside of it.
      In my eyes, this would have a removable roof (since it has come off many times anyway) so that it could also be a bit of a play-set Inside, you would have the whole modular home with Meatwad's particularly dirty room, Flylock's room with his bed and computer, the kitchen and the living room with the chair and TV in as below (If you are wondering, Shake doesn't have a room – as he makes clear in the Episode titled “Dirtfoot”:

      Of course it would have the signature “get out” written on the side of the house, the door would be shaped like Shake, and the garage would open up to a small Lego “Danger Cart:

      This set would come with the following minifigures as well:
      Meatwad – he would look exactly like a ball of meat, probably just one piece Frylock – He would be a 3 pieces, the box for the fries and the fries themselves along with the jewel that attaches to his back. It would also be cool for him to have a VCR under the jewel (if you have seen the movie, you will get it) Master Shake – Shake would be the cup, the top and the straw along with his hands. He should also have some pistachio flavored ice-cream in him. Can you imagine that minifigures of these guys wouldn't be fun?

      Carl's House

      Carl's house is a little bigger that the Aqua Teen's house, so it would be bigger modular with two floors. They would most likely have to make it open from the side or the back of the house. It would also come with a mini pool outside for all of the Aqua Teens to get into so Carl could come outside and tell them how he has been calling the police, but they just hang up now. The pool itself would have flames coming up the side of it so, as Carl once said, it will “like it's tearin' ass around the back yard”.
      Inside the house, the downstairs would have Carl's giant TV and his Giant's memorabilia all over the place (Aqua Teen Hunger Force is set in New Jersey by the way). Upstairs, it would have Carl's room with a rock-star wig (Carl is into rock music) and a large tanning machine with it set to “Jamaican”.
      This set would only come with one minifigure as unfortunately Carl lives alone. But it would be a pretty sweet minifigure:

      They could also have a duplicate outfit for him that would include his red jeans that he wore to the '69 tour of Bryan Adams and Foreigner, along with the mystical foreigner belt that could turn his head into a connect 4 set (Just go watch “Revenge of the Mooninites”).
      The Mooninites Ship

      If you have ever watched ATHF, you know that the Mooninites play a pretty big role in the show. Though they are only in 7 episodes and the movie, they are the most recognizable characters past the Aqua Teens themselves and will make for some pretty sweet minifigures. The ship itself is pretty simple because in reality, the mooninites are only 2D.
      The ship would therefor be a little on the thin side, but would have the recognizable Blue and Purple color scheme, and have the stands that could retract for the ship itself to fly. It would also have a cockpit for the mooninites to get in so they can send their... um farewells to Earth. Kids would like this set as well – who doesn't love spaceships?
      The minifigures would be the two mooninites themselves. They would both come with small ray guns as well and would also be very thin giving the 2D effect. The two mooninites are Ignignokt on the left, and Err on the right.

      2 Wicked

      If you are not familiar with the show at all, Carl is pretty into style and being a Lady's man – except for dressing up and speaking politely. Either way, to go with his pretty sweet pool, he has a car that has been pretty spruced up that he calls “2 wicked”.
      Everyone who loves Lego loves cars, so this being a souped up small sedan would be pretty cool. The engine coming out the top and gleam of the wheels. As well, there would be the purple racing stripe on the side and the “2 Wicked” painted on to make the car really look sweet.
      It would come with the following minifigures:
      Carl Shake (as he is always trying to drive it and several times has had to drive Carl in it for some incapacitated reason or another). The Rabbot – he was in the very first episode ever and is a pretty awesome character, perfect for a minifigure. He famously jumped on Carl's car and smashed it to pieces (of course int he next episode it was perfectly intact again.)
      The Last One

      This is directly from a great episode of ATHF entitled “The Last One” (it was the final episode of season 2). As I had mentioned before, the Aqua Teens have encountered a lot of different villains – pretty much a different weird character in each episode – like the Rabbot I spoke of, the mooninites, etc.
      In this episode, they all come together to try and figure out how they are going to defeat the Aqua Teens. Unfortunately, none of them are very smart so it just turns into a large bout of stupid ideas general idiocy.
      Since this is a gathering of all the weird characters, it would be an awesome minifigure set. It would come with a floor and a stage, like in the picture above. It would also have the curtain and the speakers and podium for the mooninites to stand on. There would be the sign “welcome villains” at the top. The rest would be minifigures:
      Ol drippy – A large piece of mold and penicillin that was spawned out of a large mess Shake made in the kitchen:

      The two frat aliens – These are two fairly inebriated guys that are all about being friends and calling each other “Bro”. One of them has a dad that owns a dealership, so he feels pretty entitled.

      Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future – he is a robot that was created in the future and has come back to the past to warn the Aqua Teens of things that happened in the past that will cause problems in the future. Unfortunately, all of his stories are long and drawn out, and actually never happened at all.

      Happy time Harry – An extremely irritated man with only one hand that has a lot of bills and alimony to pay. He general is not very “happy time” because life has not been good to him.

      5 Brownies – These are brownies that have mutated into flying monsters and generally just say “Click Click Click Click Click”

      And the mooninites of course.
      The Plutonians Ship

      The plutonians are another set of characters that are involved with the Aqua Teens in several different episodes and in the movie. They are supposedly form Pluto and they have a very large intricate ship. Unfortunately, they are also extremely dense. They try to steal cable from the Aqua Teens in the first episode together and in the movie they are trying to steal a weight machine from the Aqua Teens called “the insanoflex” that should provide them with all the women of the earth eventually.
      As you can see, the ship is pretty big and cool looking so I think it would make a good set. Along with it, the plutonians would make some really good minifigures:

      Those are headbands they are wearing to keep sweat out of their eyes – Ogelthorpe on the left and Emory on the right – although Oglethorpe wears his around his neck to keep sweat off the rest of his body. Their spikes also emit soap in certain cases.
      Minifigures would include:
      The plutonians The 3 Aqua Teens as they get brought up to this ship on several occasions. So there you have it. The dream is done. Would anyone else like these sets? I am probably crazy... Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods. Thanks for reading!
       
    • MartinP
      The 6211 Imperial Star Destroyer is a medium sized set from the Star Wars theme. The set has 1,367 pieces. The set retails for $99.99 USD. That means the Price Per Piece ratio is seven cents ($0.07 USD) per piece. There is another ratio that we use and that is the Price Per Gram Ratio (PPG). The set has a weight of 2.45 kilograms, or 2,450 grams. This means the PPG ratio is about four cents ($0.0408 USD) per gram.
      The set has nine minifigures, which are Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, Imperial Officer, 2 Emperor Royal Guards, 2 Stormtroopers, and R2-Q5, and a MSE-6 droid. The set comes with some accessories for the minifigures. Darth Vader has a lightsaber. The Stormtroopers have blasters, and the Emperor Royal Guards have spears.
      The set was released in 2006 and retired in 2008. The set may have been sold in store after the set retired due to inflated prices. I remember seeing this set in a store in 2009 for $129.99 USD. That is $30 USD above the retail price.
      The set has a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.17%. That is above the CAGR for the Star Wars theme and the overall CAGR for all the Lego themes. The CAGR for the Star Wars theme is 9.27%. The set is 7.9% above the CAGR for the Star Wars theme. The average CAGR for all the Lego themes is 11.36%. This set is 5.81% above the average for all the Lego themes. Let's look at a simple chart showing the sold listings for each month for the new sets.
      June 2012: 11 July 2012: 12 August 2012: 14 September 2012: 16 October 2012: 15 November 2012: 31 December 2012: 53 January 2013: 19 February 2013: 13 March 2013: 12 April 2013: 19 May 2013: 22 Over the last year, there were 273 new sets sold on eBay, which has an average of twenty (20) new sets per month. All the data shows that there are people who want this set. When there are people who want a particular set, they will pay a good deal of money to get it. All of this makes the set a potential investment winner. Here is another chart for the sales trend throughout last year.
      June 2012: $281.40 USD July 2012: $254.27 USD August 2012: $219.47 USD September 2012: $238.81 USD October 2012: $255.00 USD November 2012: $264.23 USD December 2012: $253.17 USD January 2013: $268.26 USD February 2013: $281.87 USD March 2013: $269.13 USD April 2013: $275.37 USD May 2013: $303.18 USD According to the chart, the set has gained $21.78 USD in value over the past year. That is $1.82 USD every month. If you look closely, the set lost a lot of value last summer, but the recovery took almost a whole year. It took eight months before the set hit the June 2012 price. Then it lost value again. But, in the last month, the set has gained 10.10% in value, which is $27.81 USD. The set has gained more value in the past month, than in the past year. That is amazing. This is one of the reasons this set is a potential investment winner.
      Now, the set is currently valued at $303.18 USD, which is 10.10% up from last month. The set has gained $203.19 in value from its retail price. This means the Return On Investment (ROI) for the set is 203%.
      I would recommend to buy this set, but not at a high price. The set may go down in value like it did last summer, but I still recommend buying this set. The set has a good CAGR of 17.17% and a good ROI of 203%. Also, the set is on a upward trend in value. Overall, I think that this set is a great investment with many great investing factors.
      Thanks for reading!
       
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      I have done several articles about selling on Ebay, and several other BrickPicker members have as well. You can tell by just trying to sell on Ebay, or reading there articles that selling on Ebay includes quite a few different choices about how to list: Do I offer Free Shipping? Buy it Now or Auction? When do I end the Auction?
      I have been doing a lot of different articles touching on each of these and I wanted to touch on another big one that I felt could have an impact on sales and also offers a lot of different pros and cons. Should you offer returns on your Ebay listings?
      As a buyer in any marketplace, returns seem like something that you always want. I frequent quite a few flea markets and such and I know I am a lot more careful about what I buy there because they don't offer returns. In general, I want to get the item a little cheaper because I know I am taking a chance. But does that logic apply to Ebay?
      I think most people that have been on Ebay from its conception know that there was a time when returns mattered quite a bit. In the first days of Ebay, there were a lot of people committing fraud as there is with any new marketplace. To protect themselves, buyers started targeting items that offered returns and Ebay encouraged this. This meant that it definitely mattered if a seller allowed returns.
      However, Ebay eventually came out with this awesome buyer protection system quaintly named “Ebay Buyer Protection” which pretty much should be called “We only care about Buyers on this site so we will do whatever we can to protect them even if it's their fault” (sorry I have run into this as a seller as I am sure many of you have). Anyway, once this was out, it wasn't such a no-brainer to offer returns. Most people would see they are protected from poor listings, bad selling practices, and just general bad listings by Ebay themselves. So does offering returns really benefit the seller anymore? Will people still purchase an item with no returns allowed?
      A quick note before our discussion about Ebay Buyer Protection. In case you aren't familiar with this, it allows a buyer to open up a case with a bunch of different options like “item not as described” or “haven't received item” and if the seller doesn't make good on it, in 99% of cases Ebay refunds your money whether the buyer is right or not. When the buyer is right, it's 100% (This is in my experience).
      So for this article, I decided to go through the pros and cons of offering free shipping with a very fine toothed comb, and then do a little bit of Ebay research to help us make an informed decision about offering it.
      Pros
      First off, one would think that offering returns allows a buyer to feel a little better about the purchase. I think this definitely makes a big difference if the item is priced a little higher than market value in a Buy it Now (BIN) listing. If the item has something slightly wrong with it, I think this matters a lot more as well. For example, I chose to offer returns on an item I was selling where the box had been damaged and the minifigures had been pilfered. I felt that this was going to create a feeling of “nothing to lost” since seeing a box destroyed like that can make someone feel weird about the contents.
      Another plus would be Ebay's filtering system. On the left hand side, Ebay allows a buyer to filter listings by “returns accepted”. I don't have a direct access method to all of Ebay's internal data, but I would assume there are some buyers who filter out any items that don't allow returns or otherwise it wouldn't be there. Think about it in this manner: Let's say you got big time burned on an Ebay purchase because the listing was misleading and you didn't read it closely enough (An example: I was buying a Lawn Mower bag system for my Lawn Mower which includes a bag and the frame to hold it on the mower. Unfortunately, the seller's picture showed it with the frame in it, but the listing just said “Lawn Mower Bag”. I purchased it and was disappointed.) You would think that there is a good chance if this buyer purchases something again, especially a very expensive retired Lego set, that they would possibly filter out any listings that don't accept returns so that they are not burned again.
      Offering returns does also make you look very professional. What do you think of a store when they have a large sign that says “No Refunds or Exchanges”? You generally, you probably assume there is a reason they don't allow them.
      Cons
      One pretty obvious con to offering returns is the fact that you, the seller, can get burned by a buyer. In terms of Legos, I believe I have seen several people here complain about Ebay buyers not reading their listings when they say something like “No Minifigures”. If you offer returns, the buyer can ask for a return and be fairly justified to Ebay even though you made it completely obvious in the listing that the item didn't include this. Unfortunately offering returns sometimes protects the buyer further than Ebay protects them from their own buying stupidity. From my anecdote in the last section, that seller did offer returns, but after speaking with him I felt he made the error in the listing without any malice and his price was still relatively good for the bag, so I didn't return it. I hate when buyer's do this so I didn't want to even come close to being one of those.
      Another implied con from our pros above is that your listing could be filtered out in an Ebay search. We don't know how many people click these, but I think especially if you are selling a Lego set that hundreds of others are as well, a buyer may look more and more to find the perfect listing. Because Ebay offers that check box right over on the left side, this is a very easy way for a buyer to just quickly filter down listings to find the best one to buy. If you are selling a very rare Lego set, I doubt this matters near as much.
      Another big one people forget is Buyer Fraud. I have had this happen before and it is something that a lot of people don't even think about. Here is the situation: A buyer purchases an item from you and then comes up with a legitimate reason to return it (or legitimate enough in Ebay's eyes to return it). They then deny the free shipping label from Ebay buyer protection or they ask for the refund and return outside of the normal case system and ask the seller if they can return it and they would pay free shipping. In the times I have seen it I will get a message saying “I purchased this item from you a few days ago. I unfortunately just had a family problem and will need to return this item as we are very strapped for money. I would be happy to pay the return shipping”. In this case, the seller will feel bad for them and allow them to return the item because they are not really out anything but the shipping and don't want negative feedback.
      Unfortunately what actually ends up happening is the buyer never sends the item back. The seller has already refunded the money to them because they needed it, but the item is never received. When the seller contacts the buyer, they will offer a fabricated/photo-shopped shipping label showing they sent it and always saying they couldn't pay for tracking. Eventually the seller has nothing to prove they never got it and the seller is out. I have had this happen twice to me and have had to change my practices accordingly (luckily it was two very cheap items so I was not too concerned. Price of doing business).
      The last obvious con would be – a seller can return it. This costs you money and time. No one wants to have an item returned to them because of the ordeal of shipping and the feeling you get when you sell an item.
      We all also know that we are pretty anal about box condition. If shipping hurts it in any way, you are in trouble.
      Ebay Analysis
      For this analysis, I did several things. I wanted to find three retired sets that sell quite a bit each month on Ebay and draw some conclusions about Ebay's return offerings and how they actually affect your listings. I think Auction and BIN listings are both relevant. In an auction, this will attract more buyers if you concede that some people are concerned with whether a seller allows them or not. In BIN, if you have it listed fairly high, the buyer is taking a chance on the item so offering returns gives them a little more of that warm feeling when pressing the button.
      For these three items and my information, I came up with the following criteria:
      New listings: Though I definitely think this affects used listings, I feel that there are too many other factors to draw a good conclusion from the data. I am trying to get the listings as close as possible to each other to compare. Had to have at least 10 Auction and 10 BIN listings that accepted returns and 10BIN that didn't accept returns. For the Auction price, instead of finding ones that don't accept returns, I am using the average price for comparison that is found on BrickPicker. Three separate themes just so we get a little variety. No add-on's or exclusions, sealed new listings only. For this as well, shipping is averaged in. We have a control with calculated shipping because it is going to my address each time. Because of this, I filtered out international sales as well.
      I came up with these three sets:
      4867 battle at Hogwarts 10212 Imperial Shuttle 10219 Maersk Train Auction listings
      For this, I took the average of all the auction listings that accepted returns that were shown on Ebay (last three months of data) and then compared them to the BrickPicker average:
      4867 Battle for Hogwarts:
      27 Auction listings that allowed returns: $83.78 average
      BrickPicker new Price = $82.68
      Percent above BP average = 1.3%
      10212 Imperial Shuttle
      12 auction listings that allowed returns: $362.87
      BrickPicker new price = $354.69
      Percent above BP average = 2.3%
      10219 Maersk Train
      10 auction listings that allowed returns: $216.87
      BrickPicker new price = $210.46
      Percent above BP average = 3.04%
      Percent average above BP value = 2.2%
      Buy It Now Listings
      For this I took the average of the top 10 sold BIN listings for each: listings that accepted returns and listings that did not
      4867 Battle for Hogwarts
      BIN with returns accepted average = $109.67
      BIN with returns not accepted average = $101.76
      Average percent gain by offering returns = 7.8% gain
      10212 Imperial Shuttle
      BIN with returns accepted average = $430.05
      BIN with returns not accepted average = $413.62
      Average percent gain by offering returns = 4% gain
      10213 Maersk Train
      BIN with returns accepted average = $252.14
      BIN with returns not accepted average = $239.57
      Average percent gain by offering returns = 5.2% gain
      Percent average gained = 5.7%
      Analysis: For our auction listings, I expected a minimal gain and that's exactly what we got. That seems to suggest that maybe there is that last bidder looking over the listing and decides to put one more bid in for a dollar more because they see that if anything is off, they can return it. This is nothing to base your whole decision to allow or disallow off of, but I think it is something to think about.
      For the BIN listings, I think it's obvious it matters quite a bit more. If you are offering your item for quite about above everyone else's because it really is MINT, or you just like making big money, this only adds a bit of comfort to the buyer who is about to overpay for the item. 5.7% is pretty substantial.
      Final Thoughts
      So looking at the pros and cons, I would lean towards allowing returns on items. We established that there is a good chance you will get a little more money out of your listing, especially if you are listing something in a BIN listing for more money than it's normally worth. Ebay makes it hard for the seller to really enforce a return policy anyway, so it's easier to just offer it and make sure your listing will get top price.
      But, you should definitely protect yourself. First off, always charge a restocking fee and always put that buyer pays shipping. In extreme cases you can always go back on this, but you don't want to be paying out of your own pocket for a buyer not reading your listing. Also make this very clear in the listing that the buyer pays shipping and the restocking fee will be collected.
      Also, don't ever accept a return outside of Ebay's system. Make sure you only offer the return once you get the item back and require that the buyer buy tracking on the item when it is sent back. This will protect you from any bad situations.
      Note: I am going to research more and see about writing an article looking at used set data. At the moment, I can't find enough controls to make it good statistical information.
      What do you all think? Does any of this information make you feel different about offering returns?
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      In part 1 of this set, we examined the 5 smaller new Star Wars sets to look at their pros an cons and, most of all, their future investment potential. In the second part, I will be examining the larger sets in a little bit more detail. We all know that the larger Star Wars sets may not always be big gainers, but usually offer the most potential for a theme that has so many smaller sets. 3 of these are remakes, so we should have some good past data to pull from.
      AT-TE 75019

      From the Lego website:
      Win the Battle of Geonosis™ with the AT-TE™!
      As the Battle of Geonosis™ rages on, the clone commander boards the heavily armored LEGO® Star Wars™ AT-TE™ with Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Coleman Trebor. Take them deep into the battle with the AT-TE’s lifting handle and cool poseable legs. Open the cockpit to put a minifigure behind the wheel, then fire the 2 moving laser cannons and rotating top-mounted projectile cannon with dual flick missiles! Lift the top hatch for extra flick missiles! Climb the access ladder through the opening rear hatch to reach the cargo box with thermal detonators. Lead every LEGO Star Wars battle with this ultra-tough space tank. Includes 5 minifigures with weapons: Battle Droid™, Battle Droid Commander, Mace Windu, Coleman Trebor and a clone commander.
      Includes 5 minifigures with weapons: Battle Droid™, Battle Droid Commander, Mace Windu, Coleman Trebor and a clone commander Features lifting handle, poseable legs, opening cockpit with space for a minifigure, moving front and rear laser cannons, rotating top-mounted projectile cannon with dual flick missiles, opening top hatch with extra flick missiles, and opening rear with access ladder and cargo box with thermal detonators Weapons include 2 Lightsabers, 2 blasters and a blaster rifle Take aim with the laser cannons Load the projectile cannon and fire the flick missiles! Activate the thermal detonators Build awesome battle scenes from Star Wars™: Episode II Attack of the Clones Recreate an even bigger Battle of Geonosis™ with 75015 Corporate Alliance Droid™, 75016 Homing Spider Droid™ and 75021 Republic Gunship™ Measures over 8" (22cm) high, 16" (43cm) long and 11" (29cm) wide My Analysis: This is a re-re-make, something that has happened a few times if you count different sized sets, but hasn't happened very much with 3 sets made almost exactly the same size. We will look at this in a minute, but for now, let's look at this set as if it's something completely new.
      The set is pretty impressive and we all know that the AT-XX machines are very popular and have done well in the past. It has 5 minifigures. 3 are no-name army-building minifigures in the Battle droid, the battle droid commander, and the clone commander. The Mace Windu figure is a little better as it is an exclusive redesign. Mace is a pretty popular Star Wars character so the redesign will definitely help the value of the set later on. Colemon Trebor is a new minifigure which is exclusive to this set. He starred in episode 2 when he and Mace Windu were trying to rescue Amidala, Anikan, and Obi-Wan. He unfortunately died at the hands of Jango Fett, but did have enough of a role that he is a recognizable character to anyone who is a fan of the movie. His inclusion in this set definitely brings up the sets value.
      Another stable in these Genosis themed sets have been flick missiles and this one doesn't disappoint with two of theme. It also has thermal detonators and thermal detonators. The missiles and lasers all rotate around, the legs move, and there is a cockpit that opens for a minifigure to drive the ship. There is also a back access into the vehicle with a ladder. This set clearly offers a lot of playability.
      So how does it really differ from the old sets?
      4482 Had only 4 minifigures and they were all clone troopers. There was really nothing special about the minifigures in the original. The AT-TE itself was obviously a little older looking. It did have an opening for the minfigures to fit inside on the top and the firing cannons did turn around, but there were no flick missiles and no back opening with a ladder. The set was 648 pieces with a $.11 price per piece retailing at $69.99.
      7675 was released 5 years later in 2008. It has 6 minifigures. It has the rotating cannons as well as two missiles that actually fire as well. You can open the hatches to see extra seats inside the unit and ir also has the cockpit like the new one. Honestly the set doesn't look tremendously different from the new one as far as the AT-TE is concerned. None of the minifigures were exclusive or redesign exclusives, so the new set does have a slight advantage there. The redone set includes 798 pieces and was also $.11 per piece. It included a STAP as well which this set does not have.
      The newest AT-TE design includes 794 pieces and is also $.11 a piece. Honestly, I would say it is probably right on par with the original. If I had to give the edge to one, I will always go with the newer as Lego has proved they consistently improve sets as years pass. I might have to build both to know for sure (a great excuse to do so).
      My Investment Analysis: I think there are a couple of things that go into this. To find the possible value, we should look at the old AT-TE sets, and any other Star Wars sets that have had 3 comparable remakes. First up, the original and its redesign:
      4482 – 11.29% CAGR, 10 years old, Current price $204 or 191.5% Return over retail.
      7675 – 17.83% CAGR, 5 years old, Current price $204.39 or 131% Return over retail.
      Looking at these two, they are pretty similar. I think that in 5 more years, 7675 will most likely be sitting right where 4482 is now with around 11% CAGR and almost a 200% return over retail. SO this data looks good for us.
      But, how have triple similar remakes done?
      X-wing – 7140 in 1999, 7142 in 2002, and 4502 in 2004.
      How did 4502 do? - 12.39% CAGR and current price of $143 which is 186% return over retail in 9 years.
      Actually, the X-wing had a fourth similar set, being 6212 in 2006. That was where the set fell off with just a CAGR of 1%.
      Millennium Falcon – 7190 in 2000, 4504 in 2004, and 7778 in 2009
      This one is a reach because two of the sets had close to 1000 pieces and the last had less, but it still was a comparable re-remake.
      7778 – 16.34% CAGR, current price of $73.25 at 83% over retail value in 4 years.
      Slave 1 - 7153 in 2002, 6209 in 2006, and 8097 in 2010.
      This one I think offers really good data since it is a more recent tri-make.
      8097 – 13.51% CAGR, current price $117 at 46% over retail in 3 years.
      So what does this tell us? Well, it shows steady growth despite 3 iterations, provided there is improvement in the set. Since this current AT-TE has not had a new one in 5 years and has new minifigures as well as the one exclusive, I think it can be hypothesized that it will follow in the footsteps of the two originals combined with the data for the other re-remakes. This would put it right around 15% CAGR after 5 years. This would put it's five year value at $181 exactly, or 101% return over retail.
      In summary, a solid set to keep an eye on and pick up as a long term investment.
      Jabba's Sail Barge 75020

      From the Lego Website:
      Help Princess Leia and R2-D2 escape from Jabba’s Sail Barge™!
      Princess Leia and R2-D2 are secretly plotting their escape from Jabba’s Sail Barge™ prison. Help them to sneak past the guards, Weequay and Ree-Yees, while Jabba the Hutt gets distracted by musician Max Rebo! Find a way to slip through the opening side windows of the floating Sail Barge, then get past its hidden pirate cannon, deck cannon and 2 flick missiles! This essential LEGO® Star Wars™ set features wheels, fold-down sides, removable deck, jail, kitchen and Jabba’s throne. Includes Jabba the Hutt, R2-D2 and 4 minifigures with weapons: Princess Leia in slave outfit, Max Rebo, Weequay and Ree-Yees.
      Includes Jabba the Hutt, R2-D2 and 4 minifigures with weapons: Princess Leia in slave outfit, Max Rebo, Weequay and Ree-Yees Features hidden pirate cannon, deck cannon with 2 flick missiles, opening side windows, wheels, fold-down sides and removable deck for easy access to the jail, kitchen and Jabba’s cabin Weapons include an axe and a blaster Move Jabba’s Sail Barge™ with rolling undercarriage wheels Find the hidden pirate cannon Arm the deck cannons and fire the flick missiles! Remove the deck to play inside Recreate this iconic scene from Star Wars™: Episode VI Return of the Jedi Measures over 8" (22cm) high, 16" (43cm) long and 8" (22cm) wide My Analysis: Unfortunately, the first thing I see when I look at this set is over-priced. I saw this set inside TRU and I wasn't that impressed from the look of the box for it to have a retail price tag of $120. It's $.14 per piece, which usually means some really large pieces or a lot of minfigures, but even with the 5 minfigures plus Jabba, I don't see anything special to make it that much. For now, we are judging it on its own merit and not as a remake.
      On the plus side, the set has a lot of cool nuances with it: It is on wheels so it moves easily, the sides fold down and the deck is removable. It has a Jail and a kitchen which are cool play-ability add-ons. It also has, you guessed it: flick missiles as well. There is also a hidden pirate cannon inside it. The R2D2 looks interesting as it is a slight redesign of the serving version in the first one. The Jabba figure is the same as in the Palace set current out (9516), but he is still pretty impressive with a moving head and body. The Leia is a nice plus as it is a slave redesign and looks a lot like the outfit from the movie.
      The last three minifigures are the important ones here as they are all exclusive to this set and really well done. For those of us who like collecting the more obscure Star Wars characters, this is a big plus for the set. These include Ree-Yees, a three eye'd onlooker, Weequay, a guard type character with a very mean gruff look, and my favorite Max Reebo which is the small blue elephant looking character. He is the leader of the Max Rebo band in the movie that works for Jabba. I think he will be the most sought after minifigure from this set as he is very memorable and a nice change of pace from the guards and troopers in other Star Wars sets.

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
      How does this set compare to the original? The original minfigures are a little more memorable with R2D2 and Slave Leia being the same, but including Luke, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Bobba Fett, and a Gammorean Guard. On the other hand, if this one included all these minfigures, it wouldn't have really set it apart form the original, so I think the new exclusive minifigures were the right move for TLG.
      The original was a much better deal at $.10 per piece with just 70 less pieces. It also included the skiff and the Sarlacc where as now you have to buy those separately. This definitely hurts the set. On the other hand, the new set is much more updated being 7 years newer and has a lot more playability and detail to it. The Jabba figure is much better as well. If I had to lean one way, I would say the new set is better, but only if you get it for $100. I think at $120, the set is just too over priced.
      My Investment Analysis: We all know this is an iconic part of Star Wars and we know that this set will be popular because of it. So looking past that, I feel like there are two major pieces of data we can look at to see if this set will be a good investment: 1. How did the first Sail barge do? 2. How do similar remakes do?
      First off, the original Sail Barge:
      6210 Jabba's Sail Barge: 22.93% CAGR, current price of $319.13 for 325% return over retail after 7 years.
      So what does this tell us? It will gain. This new one is better and has some new minifigures. But will it be as good? I doubt it. This is for several reasons. The biggest is the price. The higher the retail price, the less over retail it can gain. Because this set is about $20 over priced, the returns will suffer because they are calculated looking at the real retail price. So let's do a little bit of math.
      If $100 is the right price for this set, and $120 is overpriced, then using ratios, the original set's overpriced retail price would be $95.99. If we look at it's gain from there recalculated, it would be 18.3% CAGR as reversing the CAGR formula we have (319/96)^(1/7)-1. So, if we think the new set will match the old one, we would expect 18.3% CAGR after 7 years, which is still pretty acceptable.
      So how about the re-make angle of it? Using data I compiled from my set review on Jabba's Palace, we saw that in 2 out of the three cases I sited, the second iteration did better than the original. The only other was the clone tank which suffered a bit from being too similar. If we look at the data I compiled for the AT-TE, the 2nd iteration of the X-Wing and the Millennium falcon, the second iteration also did well though they were remade. What does this tell us? That if the set is good enough, being remade wont be a huge factor in whether it is a winner or not.
      So final verdict? Well, I think this set is still going to suffer from two things that will hurt it in its case to match the original. The price and the fact that the original had the skiff in it. I think the set will still do very well as all of these Jabba sets go together, but I would safely predict about 15% CAGR using the $120 retail price tag. This is still a good gainer and those factors could actually work in the sets favor if it doesn't get targeted and becomes a sleeper. At 15% CAGR, that would put this set at $241.24 in 5 years.
      The X-Factor would be if it is not heavily discounted, but you manage to get it at somewhere around $90. If the set is heavily discounted, it will sell too much and hurt the secondary market profits. However, as it currently sits, some people will walk away at that price, especially investors. If you find some intricate ways to get it down to $90, you are going to definitely make money.
      In summary, for the right price, it will be a solid investment. Either way, you have to have one to build!
      Republic Gunship 75021

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
      From the Lego website:
      Rescue the heroes with the LEGO® Star Wars™ Republic Gunship™!
      Race to Geonosis™ in the awesome LEGO® Star Wars™ Republic Gunship™ to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala before they’re overpowered by 2 Super Battle Droids™! Aim the 4 ball gun turrets with minifigure cockpit, then open the front compartment to grab the flick missiles and restock the 8 top-mounted launchers! Open the side and rear doors to deploy the swoop bike! Use the lifting handle for easier flying-action role-play! Includes 7 minifigures with weapons: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Clone Trooper™ Captain, Clone Trooper and 2 Super Battle Droids.
      Includes 7 minifigures with weapons: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Clone Trooper™ Captain, Clone Trooper and 2 Super Battle Droids™ Features 4 ball gun turrets with space for minifigures, flick missiles, 8 top-mounted flick missile launchers, side and rear doors, swoop bike and a lifting handle Weapons include 2 Lightsabers, blaster pistol, blaster and a blaster rifle Aim the turrets and fire Restock the flick missile launchers! Open the cockpits and put the minifigures inside Recreate awesome battle scenes from Star Wars™: Episode II Attack of the Clones Build an even bigger Battle of Geonosis™ with 75015 Corporate Alliance Droid™, 75016 Homing Spider Droid™ and 75019 AT-TE™ Measures over 7" (20cm) high, 18" (48cm) long and 16" (43cm) wide My Analysis: Now here is a set that looks like it's worth $120! I love the minifigure cockpits on this ship. It adds tons of playability. Plus you get 8 flick missile launchers! Child's dream; parent nightmare. The set itself looks really impressive and is right at $.10 per piece. I saw this one in TRU($150...) and it looked soooo much more impressive than the other new Star Wars sets that were next to it on the shelf.
      As for the minifigures, we get a plethora of them. The Anakin Skywalker is an episode 2 redesign as well as is the Obi-Wan minifig. You also get Amidala in Geonosis attire. It also comes with two super battle droids which are one of my favorite droids and it's rare to get two of the better did figures in the same set. You also get a clone trooper captain and a clone trooper pilot. Though I really like all the minifigures in this set, I think it hurts it that there are no real exclusive minifigures. On the other hand, one of the new Geonosis sets had to include all the core characters, and of all of these, I don't really see an undesirable minifigure int he set. Most people are going to be buying this set for the ship itself anyway.
      So how does this set compare to the original? The original was actually slightly overpriced. It had only 693 pieces and 7 minifigures and was priced at $90. In this set, for only 30 dollars more, you get almost 500 more pieces! I think that is really going to factor into the value of this set later on. The newer set also looks a lot more sleek and stylish as well. The original set's minifigures didn't include any core characters – 4 clone troopers, a clone commander, and a “jedi knight” so that is a plus for the new set. On the other hand, the old set had a Droideka which, to me, is a pretty desirable minifigure. Overall, I would say the piece count is going to make this newer set the better set. This is a big ship in the movie – only fitting we get a big ship as a Lego set.
      My Investment Analysis: We have talked about remakes and how well they do already. I will spare you more analysis here. We will just agree that the set itself has more effect on the value then whether it has been made before. What becomes important is how popular this ship is, and how well the last comparable set did. The results are below:
      7163 – 693 pieces. 8.93% CAGR. Current price of $225 for 150% return on retail over 11 years
      4490 – 102 pieces. 9.34% CAGR. Current price of 17.07 for 185% return over retail over 10 years
      I think this definitely establishes that the ship is fairly popular and desired. 7163's CAGR is not amazing, but it has been around for 11 years and was still fairly successful looking at its return over retail. Looking at this new set, I think it should be able to match the set because of the large piece count for a relatively better value, the impressiveness of the set, and the better minifigures. I don't think it will be an amazing gainer, but I think it could match 15 CAGR after 5 years (This would most likely make it like 7163 being at 9% CAGR after 10 years). At 15% CAGR, in 5 years this set would be worth $241.36, or a 101% return over retail.
      Two things to be aware of. First, I see way more value in this set that Jabba's Sail Bridge at the same price. This is definitely important to remember when comparing investments. Secondly, I would say this set has a lot of sleeper potential. I would definitely keep track of how popular this set is while it is available. I think it could get a little over shadowed by the Jabba set because of how well the last Sail barge did. If it does, it may really surprise people!
      Ewok Village 10236

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
      From the Lego website:
      Recreate classic scenes at the Ewok Village!
      Travel to Endor™ and visit the treetop home of the Ewoks. Just like in Star Wars™: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, this recreation of the Ewoks’ forest dwelling is packed with cool functions, including the tree-trunk hideout, secret Lightsaber stash, spider web, net traps, slide, catapults and an elevating throne. Use the rammer function to take out the Scout Trooper’s speeder − just like in the movie! Realistic details include rope walkways, vine and leaf elements, kitchen, food storage area, bedroom and a planning room. The Ewok Village set is the perfect addition to your LEGO® Star Wars collection. Includes R2-D2™and 16 minifigures with weapons: Luke Skywalker™, Princess Leia™, Han Solo™, Chewbacca™, C-3PO™, 2 Rebel soldiers, 5 Ewoks™ (including Wicket™, Teebo™, Chief Chirpa™ and Logray™), 2 Scout Troopers and 2 Stormtroopers™
      Includes R2-D2™ and 16 minifigures: Luke Skywalker™, Princess Leia™, Han Solo™, Chewbacca™, C-3PO™, 2 Rebel soldiers, 5 Ewoks™, 2 Scout™ Troopers™ and 2 Stormtroopers™ Features tree-trunk hideout and secret Lightsaber stash, spider web and net traps, slide, catapults, elevating throne, speeder rammer function, kitchen, food storage area, bedroom and a planning room Speeder also included Weapons include a Lightsaber, 3 blaster pistols, 2 blasters, 2 blaster rifles, 2 spears, bow and a crossbow Also includes 2 staffs Collect hard-to-find Endor Princess Leia, C-3PO, Luke, Han Solo and Wicket Ewok minifigures! Fend off the advancing Imperial forces Amaze the Ewoks with the elevating throne! Avoid the spider web and net traps! Destroy the speeder with the rammer function! Take refuge in the tree-trunk hideout Shoot down the slide and join the battle Fire rocks at the enemy with the catapults! Measures over 1" (35cm) high, 21" (55cm) wide and 13" (35cm) deep My Analysis: Wow! I can't even imagine someone could say something negative about this set. It just looks incredible from all the pictures I have seen of it. It really captures the feel of the Ewok's village from Return of the Jedi. I love the wooden bridge between the two sections of trees as well as the rope ladders that lead up to the trees. It also comes with a speeder bike, spider webs and net traps which add a lot of play-ability. On top of it all, you get a whole set of Ewok weapons!
      This really follows in the footsteps of the Death Star 10188 as a giant playset. Normally, larger sets are collector's editions and aren't really geared towards children as much. However, the Death Star broke that mold and this one is right there with it. 16 minifigures! Get someone this for Christmas and their birthday! They wont need another Lego set for a long time.
      The Ewok Warrior and Teebo the Ewok are exclusive minifigures with the rest of the Ewoks only appearing in the other two Ewok attack sets. You also get a shiny gold redesigned C3PO that is only in one other set. The Ewoks have really only been featured in two sets before this, so this is an area of Star Wars that has been fairly untapped. I think the Ewoks are a character that really resonate with casual Star Wars fans. My wife saw this set and her mouth dropped. She wants it as much as I do!
      So any downsides? Well, it is a little pricey at $250, although that really hasn't stopped the Death Star from selling. I think the set itself is worth it because it is so impressive and unique, but it may stop a few people from buying it. Also, it isn't a deemed UCS set, which means it may not sound quite as collectible to people. Other than that, I can't see a whole lot wrong with it at all. I can't think of a lot of other ways they could have made it better.
      My Investment Analysis: So this is the hard part. How do we even come close to predicting what this set is going to do? Well I am going to take a crack at it.
      First, let's take a look at the Ewok line:
      7139 Ewok Attack – 8.27% CAGR. Current price $31.13 for 140% return over retail in 11 years.
      7956 Ewok Attack – -5.26% CAGR – Just recently retired
      The original Ewok Attack showed solid gain for a battle pack type set. The newer one was just recently retired, but has held its value fairly well and has gained for the last few months. It had a relatively high retail price as well. Either way, there is definitely some interest here, and like I said, a limited number of sets.
      As far as Endor, we don't have a lot of retired Endor sets to compare it to, but 8038 The Battle of Endor is one that is slightly comparable on a lower level. It has seen a modest 5.67% CAGR, although it was just retired a few years ago.
      Honestly, there just is not a whole lot out there to compare this set to. It is a Lego Exclusive and really it is usually pretty hard to go wrong with those. I think the higher retail price could actually help it in the end because it may not be targeted near as much when there are things like the Tower Bridge 10214 and Haunted House 10228 that are less expensive.
      In the end though, I think I would be really surprised if this set doesn't see UCS type value. I would love to compare it to a UCS set, but most of those retired sets are giant ships and this is completely different. Really the best thing to compare it to is 10188, which as I am sure most of you know, is not retired yet. The uniqueness of this set is something that this theme severely needs and I think this set brings it. If I had to put my finger on it, I would expect that we could see 20% CAGR after the first 5 years which would put the set at $622.08. But I think it has tons of positive and negative gaining potential. Wait and see is hard sometimes!
      Remember, this is only a pre-pre-pre-prediction. There are a lot of things that could effect this set's value. If it sees a limited run, it could sky-rocket. If it stays forever like the Death Star has, it could be really damaging. I would definitely wait awhile and try to get a good deal ($200 seems about right) before I jumped on it. But honestly, with it being a Lego exclusive, I don't see a whole lot of sales coming for it. This, in the end, may be the best thing for those of us who decide to put it away until one day it brings the Star Wars Lego Theme back to the prominence it deserves.
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      For any of us who are into Lego investing, we know that the phrase "Lego has brand new Star Wars sets!" is not really deserving of the exclamation point. In fact, according to current BrickPicker data, there have been 346 Star Wars sets as of the writing of this article. Saying these sets have been "mass produced" is a little bit of an understatement. Yes, in the past, it seemed that just buying a Star Wars set meant solid returns. Now, this is not true anymore with all of the remakes and clone sets from the original, the lack of new movies in the series, and the mass producing Lego has seemed to do with this theme. The theme CAGR has even fallen under the mean CAGR for a Lego theme of 11.26%. It is hovering around 9%.
      Does this mean that Lego Star Wars is not a good investment anymore? Of course not! It just means we have to be much more careful about what we consider a good investment in the theme. So this is part 1 of my look at the fall sets in the Star Wars line and if any of them will be big winners, or if they will continue the trend of tapering off as a solid investment.
      Note: For this, I am doing 5 sets in part 1 and 4 sets in part 2. The sets are done from smallest to largest.
      Mandalorian Speeder 75022

      From the Lego website:
      Attack with Darth Maul in the Mandalorian™ Speeder!
      Get to the rendezvous point in the LEGO® Star Wars™ Mandalorian™ Speeder with the treacherous Sith Lord Darth Maul minifigure with mechanical legs. Plot the Mandalorian takeover and take on anyone who gets in your way with hidden flick missiles, rear weapon storage and elevating cannon! Then, face off in minifigure combat with his legendary Darksaber! Includes 3 minifigures with weapons: Clone Wars Darth Maul and 2 Mandalorian Super Commandos.
      • Includes 3 minifigures with weapons: Darth Maul and 2 Mandalorian™ Super Commandos
      • Features hidden flick missiles under the hood, rear weapon storage and elevating gun
      • Weapons include a Lightsaber, Darksaber and 2 blasters
      • Collect Darth Maul with mechanical Clone Wars legs
      • Unleash the hidden flick missiles!
      • Elevate the gun and aim to fire!
      • Battle with the legendary Darksaber
      • Relive the excitement of Star Wars™: The Clone Wars animated TV series
      • Measures over 3" (8cm) high, 7" (19cm) long and 4" (12cm) wide
      My Analysis: This is a cool little set at just over $.10 a piece. It is from the clone wars series, so it was never featured in the movies. It includes two identical Clone Wars Commandos which are redesigns and look pretty cool. I think the helmets they are wearing are pretty cool too being full-faced.
      What this set really has going for it is the Darth Maul with the cybernetic legs. If you haven't followed the series, after Darth Maul was cut in half in the end of Episode 1, he fell into the melting pit. The story goes that he was found 10 years later with cybernetic, spider-like legs as he had lost his lower half. He evidently favors two light-sabers now instead of the dual one he came to be known with. He is exclusive to this set, so I think that will make this set really have a decent amount of value. There are a lot of Darth Maul fans and I think they will want this little set because of him.
      In regards to playability, the ship can seat two characters and it has hidden flick missiles. One of the light-sabers is the legendary Dark-saber as well, adding to the uniqueness of the set. How well have sets including an exclusive or first run of a redesigned Darth Maul done?
      3340 Minifigure pack – 20.71% CAGR 13 years old
      7663 Sith Infiltrator – 8.33% CAGR 6 years old
      7961 Sith Infiltrator - -8.74% CAGR 2 years old
      The values for this set are all over the place, although we can possibly throw out 7961 because it was overpriced at $.15 per piece and, though retired, has still been fairly easy to find. I think this Darth Maul will be better just because he is so different from all the other redesigns. My Prediction is a healthy 10% CAGR after 5 years. This would put the set at $40.24 at that time. Not record breaking, but healthy growth.
      My Investment Suggestion: Just look to score the Darth Maul by either getting the set cheap and parting it out, or buying it separately. It is the only big thing going for this set. The figure could be worth $30 in a few years if there isn't another set including him with cybernetic legs.
      Corporate Alliance Tank Droid 75015

      From the Lego website:
      Battle the LEGO® Star Wars™ Corporate Alliance Tank Droid™!
      Build the great Battle of Geonosis™ where the Separatist forces are advancing on the Jedi Knights and their clone army with the LEGO® Star Wars™ Corporate Alliance Tank Droid™! Help the Clone Troopers™ to repel the Droid’s crushing track tire and 2 flick missiles! Then fend off the Battle Droid™ and infamous bounty hunter Jango Fett. Includes 3 minifigures with weapons: Clone Trooper, Jango Fett and a Battle Droid.
      • Includes 3 minifigures: Clone Trooper™, Jango Fett and a Battle Droid
      • Features large track tire and 2 flick missiles
      • Weapons include 2 blaster pistols, blaster and a blaster rifle
      • Fire the flick missiles!
      • Navigate any terrain and crush your enemy with the rugged track tire!
      • Recreate awesome battle scenes from Star Wars™: Episode II Attack of the Clones!
      • Recreate an even bigger Battle of Geonosis with 75016 Homing Spider Droid™, 75019 AT-TE™ and 75021 Republic Gunship™!
      • Measures over 4" (11cm) high, 7" (18cm) long and 3" (9cm) wide
      My Analysis: This one is a little hard to figure out. Yes, Lego has been doing a lot of Star Wars clones, but this set was just released 4 years ago. The original just had two clone tropers and two droids while this one comes with 1 of each and a Jango Fett. The ship does look a little updated and better detailed and it does include flick missiles this time. The set has better value as well, with the old set having 219 pieces at $24.99 and this one having 279 and only being $19.99. $.07 price per piece is pretty hard to find for Star Wars sets.
      Either way, the first set has really done nothing in the aftermarket at all as a fairly no-name non-iconic ship and there is really nothing here to make us think this one will be any different. I think it will probably be worth building, especially because you are getting quite a deal compared to other Star Wars sets in price per piece. Jango Fett is an exclusive redesign, but I don't think it is anything to get too excited about.
      My Investment Suggestion: The original Alliance Tank Droid 7748 didn't even breach 2% CAGR. Though I like the set and will probably have one to build, I would stay away from it as an investment unless you find it on clearance for less than $10. It might be worth keeping an eye on Jango Fett, since he has only been in a few more expensive sets and this is a re-design, but I see nothing here to really be excited about. Nice set, but an investment nobody.
      Homing Spider Droid 75016

      From the Lego website:
      Take on the Homing Spider Droid™ in the Battle of Geonosis!
      As the Battle of Geonosis™ rages on, Jedi Master Stass Allie and a Clone Trooper™ spot a deadly LEGO® Star Wars™ Homing Spider Droid™ in the distance. Overpower the droid before it attacks with its articulated legs, rotating head, elevating lower gun and top-mounted flick missile! Then, take on 2 Super Battle Droids™! Includes 4 minifigures with weapons: Stass Allie, Clone Trooper and 2 Super Battle Droids.
      • Includes 4 minifigures with weapons: Stass Allie, Clone Trooper and 2 Super Battle Droids™
      • Features articulated legs, rotating head, elevating lower gun and top-mounted flick missile
      • Weapons include a Lightsaber and a blaster rifle
      • Move the legs, rotate the head and fire the flick missile!
      • Use Stass Allie’s Jedi powers to stop the attack!
      • Recreate awesome battle scenes from Star Wars™: Episode II Attack of the Clones
      • Build an even bigger Battle of Geonosis with 75015 Corporate Alliance Droid™, 75019 AT-TE™ and 75021 Republic Gunship™!
      • Measures over 7" (20cm) high, 10" (26cm) long and 7" (19cm) wide
      My Analysis: This set is really intriguing to me. In general, we have learned from past Star Wars sets that the weirder, less prominent, but unique ships from the Star Wars movies and the Clone Wars series have done relatively well. The AT-OT, AT-TE, and the Clone Turbo Tank come to mind. The set itself looks really interesting with the large Spider droid that can move its lower gun around, rotate its head, and of course, has a flick missile. It's almost exactly $.10 per piece which is always pretty good for a Star Wars set.
      On top of this, it has a new (really, absolutely new!) minifigure in Stass Allie who served as a Jedi general during the clone wars series. Though maybe not a household name, an exclusive minifigure always helps. I think it helps as well that she is female as the Star Wars line really lacks female presence past the Queens and Princesses. I would say it is possible she will be in newer sets though, so this will be more of a “Wait and see”.
      This is a remake, so it is hard to say what effect that will have as it really isn't a whole lot different from the old set, 7681 The Separatist Spider Droid. It does have a few more pieces for the same price, but one less minifigure. It doesn't have the super battle droid which was really the best piece in the set. However, 7681 saw some really great gains in retirement even though it is only 5 years old and I would venture to say this set looks a little better and has a little more playability with the exclusive minifigure and the flick missile. 7681 saw 32.95% CAGR, so if this new one does half as good, it will be a win.
      If you are starting to see similarities in these sets, they are all meant to be Genosis sets which will help each set's value in the long run. Anytime sets go together, it is good for investors.
      My Investment Suggestion: I think this set has huge sleeper potential. Obviously, the old spider droid was a sleeper as well as there aren't many $30 sets that make it to 4 times their retail value in 5 years. Because of how many sets are coming out in this theme at one time and how many bigger sets are being released (the New UCS X-Wing, Ewok Village, etc.) this one most likely will be overlooked again.
      The first set was technically a limited edition set and was a TRU exclusive and with this one not being, I would assume it won't do as well. At the same time, people who now can't afford the limited edition set will want this one instead. The original had one exclusive minifigure in Commander Fox and this one has Stass Allie. There are enough similarities in the sets to be able to accurately compare them.
      Looking at all that, I see a safe prediction of 15% CAGR for this set down the road meaning it should definitely be on your radar as a potential sleeper. If it sees limited production for some reason again, it could go up even more. 15% CAGR would put this set at $60.34 in 5 years. Not bad to see a 100% gain over retail.
      Duel on Genosis 75017

      From the Lego Website:
      Defeat Count Dooku™ and recover the plans for the Death Star!
      Stop Count Dooku™ from leaving Geonosis™ with the plans for the Death Star! Use the Force to help Jedi Master Yoda™ jump into the air, dodge the Sith Lord’s Force Lightning attack and bring Dooku to justice. Don’t let him destroy the lair and escape on his speeder. Includes 4 minifigures with weapons: Count Dooku, Yoda, Poggle the Lesser and Dooku’s Pilot Droid™.
      • Includes 4 minifigures with weapons: Count Dooku™, Yoda™, Poggle the Lesser and Dooku’s Pilot Droid™
      • Lair features falling lamps, tower handle and hidden compartment
      • Also features Dooku’s speeder
      • Weapons include 2 Lightsabers
      • Accessories include Death Star plans decorated tile, walking stick and a Force Lightning element
      • Unleash Dooku’s Sith Force Lightning attack!
      • Pull the lever and topple the pillar
      • Hop on the speeder and outrun the Jedi!
      • Hide the Death Star plans in the hidden compartment
      • Collect the redesigned Yoda and Poggle the Lesser minifigures
      • Lair measures over 5" (15cm) high, 15" (40cm) wide and 6" (17cm) deep
      • Dooku’s speeder measures over 1" (4cm) high, 4" (12cm) long and 1" (4cm) wide
      My Analysis: Yes! Finally we get to something a little bit unique among all the remakes and Star Wars vehicles. I love the Star Wars line, but until this set and the Ewok Village which will be discussed in part 2, I have felt like every year we were just getting more and more of the same.
      This set is really a straight up throwback – Lego hasn't made a Star Wars “duel” set since 2002. I think that will really help this set a lot. It's something that is definitely different from the other sets that are currently out there and are gong to be out there. The set also has 2 exclusive redesigns to it in Yoda and Count Duku, a redesign that it only shares with 1 other set in FA-4 (will be included in the next SW advent calendar), and a new exclusive minifigure in Poggle the Lesser which is an awesome minfigure with wings shown below:

      What sets apart this “duel” set from the originals as well is the terrain that comes with it. It has falling lamps and handles and hidden compartments for enormous playability. I also really love the Death Star plans on the decorated tile. It comes with a speeder as well for a quick getaway. This set is so much different from the other sets out there, I can't imagine it won't be a big success and a big investment winner.
      My Investment Suggestion: Let's take a look at what some of the other duel sets look like right now:
      7101 – Lightsaber Duel – 10.94% CAGR, 14 years old, $.12 price per piece retail
      7103 Jedi Duel – 12.48% CAGR, 11 years old, $.12 price per piece retail
      7200 Final Duel 1 – 13.32% CAGR , 11 years old, $.23 price per piece retail
      7201 Final Duel 2 – 6.52% CAGR, 11 years old, $.27 price per piece retail
      Looking at these, all of them were very good investments and all of them were very cheap. This is a little different since this is set is $40. However, the set has a ton more to offer. It actually has dueling terrain instead of just the dueling characters. It is at a very reasonable $.10 price per piece retail and is not a remake – something the Star Wars theme really needs. Add on the exclusives and I think this set is right on the edge of sleeper/target status. As an investor, ignore this set at your own risk.
      My thoughts are that this set will see 20% CAGR after 5 years as a safe bet looking at how well these sets have done and how much better this one is. If that is true, it's value will be $99.53. This would definitely be a nice change of pace for us Star Wars investors. If you find this set discounted, buy it! What more could you want in a set?
      Jek-14 Stealth Starfighter 75018

      From the Lego website:
      Capture Jek-14’s™ Stealth Starfighter!
      Pursue the rogue clone, Jek-14™, in his amazing Stealth Starfighter with retractable landing gear, opening cockpit with space for a minifigure, folding wings, rotating and elevating blaster cannon, R4-G0™ astromech droid, storage compartment with holocron and 2 flick missiles. Will Jek-14 escape the Separatist Bounty Hunter™ and the Republic Special Forces Clone Trooper™, or has his power grown enough to face them? Includes R4-G0 astromech droid and 3 minifigures with weapons: Jek-14, Separatist Bounty Hunter™ and Special Forces Clone Trooper™.
      • Includes R4-G0 astromech droid and 3 minifigures with weapons: Jek-14™, Separatist Bounty Hunter™ and Special Forces Clone Trooper™
      • Features retractable landing gear, opening cockpit with space for a minifigure, folding wings, rotating and elevating blaster cannon, R4-G0™ astromech droid, storage compartment with holocron and 2 flick missiles
      • Weapons include a Lightsaber, blaster rifle and blaster
      • Also includes an energy shield
      • Press the levers and fold the wings for flight mode!
      • Fend off the enemy with the flick missiles and blaster cannon
      • Open the storage compartment and reveal the holocron
      • Measures over 3" (10cm) high, 13" (35cm) long and 13" (34cm) wide
      My Analysis: This set is a little hard to figure out. First off, ignoring the investing angle, it looks pretty cool, but very overpriced. $.13 a piece is not really bad for a Star Wars set, but when I look at the box I just don't see shelling out $70 for it. The ship does look pretty cool with the black and red color scheme, but looking at the set I really think $60 seems a lot better. I think it will really have a tough time selling at that price. I saw it the other day in TRU (it was marked $99.99 LOL) and I just didn't see enough to warrant the price tag.
      On the other hand, we have something that may be a first in the Star Wars line for the last 5 or 6 years: 4 exclusive minfigures. Yes the ship is from the Clone wars series and so there are a lot more characters from that which haven't been introduced, but it still rare to get this many new minifigures in one set. Jek-14, shown in the first picture below is pretty cool looking. He is a good change of pace form the other minfigures in the Star Wars line with his white suit and white handled light saber.

      The special forces clone trooper is really cool too. He has a round shield that is pretty unique and his garb is a very extravagant blue which is very unique to this theme:

      The other two figures are a little less intriguing though. The separatist bounty hunter looks too much like a guy in camo-garb to me and his white helmet seems a little out of place. The R4-G0 is another no-name droid that sort of looks like all the others. I won't complain about new minifigures, but he is nothing to get excited about:

      The ship itself does have some extras. Again, Lego has included some flick missiles for our enjoyment and the ships wings fold in. I really like the sets that have moving wings and multiple positions. It allows kids to play in different ways with the sets. For me, it allows me different ways to display the ships – sometimes I open all their wings and sometimes I close them all.
      My Investment Suggestion: More information needed. There is really not a lot we can compare this set to with all the exclusive minifigures. A lot of the current clone wars ships have not retired yet so we don't have a lot of data to compare it to. If it were an old popular ship with 4 exclusive minifigures, I would say definite home run, but the obscurity of the ship and the high retail price make me really wonder about it.
      I would say about 6 months after this set comes out, we will have a lot better data. If these minifigures stay exclusive to the set, it could go way up. If no one buys the set, it may go down in value. Either way, I would say don't bite on this set unless you get it for under $50 and honestly I would wait a while before I even considered it. It does have some sleeper status, but we have to see if it even draws the attention of builders before we consider it to be a good investment.
      This concludes the first installment of the new wave of Star Wars Lego Ships. Part 2 will include the 4 bigger sets of the series including the Jabba's Sail Barge remake an the much anticipated Ewok Village.
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      If you buy a lot of Lego sets, you know Amazon.om is a great place to get them. They usually have some of the best prices out there, they have excellent shipping terms with Amazon Prime and with their super saving shipping, and they price match everything (they actually price match everything, TRU, rather than just stating that they do…).
      But there is another way on Amazon to get some pretty good deals, and if you are not utilizing it, you are making a big mistake. It’s called the Amazon Gold Box “quick pick” deals.
      Amazon has a deals page that everyday updates with deals all throughout their product category. This page has Gold Box deals (special deals site wide), lightning deals (special deals that pop up for a limited time), and a “quick picks” section. This “quick picks” section is a set of deals that are specifically picked for you – they aren’t available to everyone! Basically, they take an already discounted item, and if they think you will like it, they place it in this section and add a special extra discounted coupon that you would not get if you just searched for the item yourself. Here is Amazon’s description from the website:
      Quick Picks
      Products selected every day especially for you, paired with limited-time coupons that offer additional savings.
      You only have a Quick Picks section if you have an Amazon account and have purchased an Amazon item before. After making your first purchase, a few days later your Quick Picks section will appear. You can get to it by going to www.amazon.com, signing in, and then clicking on “Today’s Deals” over in the left hand corner. The corresponding page will have Gold Box site-wide sale items at the top. If you scroll down, near the bottom you will see your Quick Picks section. Here is a picture of what this looks like:
       

      You can only purchase an item out of your quick picks section once per day. It can present up to 6 items, so you have to make sure you choose wisely! Amazon uses everything that you buy from them, everything that you rate and review, and any other things on their website you designate that you own, to understand your interests and know what deals to present to you. It isn’t perfect, but it is a great system for getting coupons on things you may want without having to do much at all!
      So as a Lego collector/investor/builder, how do you manipulate your Amazon account so that you can ensure you will always be getting Lego sets – and especially the Lego sets you want? It’s actually fairly simple. As I stated before, everything you ever purchase from Amazon is in their system as an item you own. Because you own it, they assume you are interested in it. Using these items, they take similar items and assume you are interested in those as well. For example, if you purchase a Lego Death Star 10188, Amazon might assume that you would also like a Lego Star Destroyer 6211.
      Unfortunately this works both ways. I purchase a lot of other items through Amazon that are for my House, or car. I purchased a Refrigerator filter through Amazon, and a few days later Amazon had me down as a filter junkie. I don’t want all of that stuff in my Gold Box when I could be saving money off great Lego sets.
      So we have to tell Amazon specifically what we are currently looking for and what we are not interested in at all, even if we did at one time buy it. So here are a few ways to do that:
      Amazon Checkout Cart
      One of the ways Amazon selects what should be in your Quick Picks is through items you have placed in your cart at one time. If you actually place items in your cart that you want, even if you don't purchase them, Amazon remembers that you liked that item and makes recommendations based on it. So an easy way to manipulate this is to add a bunch of Lego sets you would like to your cart. Even if you don't buy them, it will help signal to Amazon that you would like them to start putting what you want in your Quick Picks.
      Obviously, along with this, anything you actually purchase is used for recommendations as well as it has been in your cart. This can be a problem if, like we talked about before, you buy non-Lego stuff. There is a way to remedy this and it will be discussed below.
      Amazon Wish-List
      So if you have ever fooled around in your Amazon cart, you will have seen a little link at the bottom of each item in the cart that says “save for later”. If you press this button, that item is transferred to something called your “Amazon Wish-List”. This is a great feature, because if there are deals on your item, Amazon will alert you that something on your wish list has changed price. But along with this, Amazon takes a big peek at your wish-list to tell what you are looking for. The more Lego items you have on your wish-list, the better your chances of getting Lego items in your Quick Picks everyday. I generally add every Lego set from every one of the themes I am looking for so that Amazon will know that I like Lego, and that I like it from these certain themes (there are over 100 Star Wars Lego sets in my wish-list).
      Amazon Recommendations Page and Item Reviews
      This is the place that really makes a big difference. So, do you want to know what Amazon currently thinks you are a fan of without having to wait for your next set of Quick Picks? Go to www.amazon.com and then click at the top left where it says “<username>'s Amazon”. Now you will see a new page come up and in the middle a the top will be large lines of items in different departments that Amazon has picked for you. This is shown below:

      These are currently all the departments and all the items Amazon thinks you like. See anything you don't want? Mine has dog and cat food! Who knows what I bought to make them think that.
      Well, if you want to edit your items, click on the link under the section that says “see all recommendations in <department name>”. When you click this, you will get a page of items that Amazon thinks you are interested in.
      For each item, you will notice under the name you can click whether you own it, or you are not interested. As well, to the right, you can rate an item as well. This is how you really narrow down the stuff that shows up in your Quick Pick's. Amazon is pretty bold and assumes you like all these items for some reason or another. So, any item you don't want, just click “not interested” until those are all gone. You can continue to do it until the section as gone as well! Once you have gotten rid of those, you can fully help narrow down Amazons recommendations for you.
      On top of this, the reviews are really helpful as well. You want Amazon to know you really like Legos? Give a bunch of sets in your favorite themes 5 Stars! The “own it” button is there as well. You have to be careful with this though. The rumor is that if you press this button, Amazon is not likely to recommend that set to you. So you can manipulate this in your favor. If there is a theme you don't particularly love, but one set you want, tell Amazon that you own all of those sets and give them 5-stars. Make sure you leave out the one set you want. You have now effectively told Amazon “That is the only set I need to complete the collection”.
      So even with all of this – you still are going to make purchases that are non-Lego (which is a sad thing) and these are going to influence Amazon until you remove all the items, right? Well, here is a trick. After you purchase, go back to your recommendations page and click on a section of recommendations like we discussed above. At the top you will see something that says “recommendations based on items you own”. The “items you own” will be a link. Click this, and Amazon will show everything you ever purchased. If you don't want something to be considered as part of your recommendations, just click the check box on the right that says “Don't use for recommendations”. Now you are protected from buying something for a pet, and looking at discounted cat food until the end of time!
      Further Manipulation
      This method is hit or miss, but can definitely work to a certain extent. So, say there is a particular set you want. First, remove everything but this from your wish-list. Then go to your recommendations and remove every set from it (or own them all if you want). Now highly rate the item. I have not tried this, but there have been several others that have used this method to get a certain set on discount.
      Remember, if you have bought this item before, or told Amazon you own it, make sure you find it before hand and un-click the “own it” button. Otherwise, chances are Amazon won't put it in your Quick Picks.
      Gold Box Quick Picks Deal Sharing Thread
      One of our most valued members, FCBarcelona101 started a thread for sharing Gold Box deals. Basically, if you have sets in your gold box that are good deals and you don't want any of theme, you can post in this thread: http://www.brickpicker.com/forum/index.php/topic/4499-amazon-gold-box-deals-sharing-thread/page-3?hl=gold
      Someone else may respond and if they want the deal, you can work out to let them purchase it using your account. This way, we continue to share great deals with each other.
      So go get your Amazon Gold Box recommendations set up right now and make sure to come back and report your results. If you find or know of any other methods to manipulate your Gold Box deals, make sure you post them in the comments section.
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      For my next try at being a Lego design star, I wanted to tap into something that could be a massive theme for Lego. It has been mentioned many times and I think most of us are pretty flummoxed that it hasn't happened yet – though we all probably agree it eventually will. This theme is Video Games.
      Now there are hundreds of thousands of great video games to choose from, so in this article I only wanted to look at one. This is probably the most recognizable video game character of all time and probably the most popular video game character of all time: Super Mario.
      So there are tons of things that could be included in this theme and it was really hard to narrow it down. I had a lot of problems trying to find things that I thought would really work well as Lego sets, and trying to decide what would be the best iconic sets that could be made. This is what I came up with:
      Yoshi's House

       
       
       
       
       
       
      One of the most memorable non-Mario-Brothers character's in the Mario games was Yoshi, which was Mario's pet. He has been popular enough that several other video game lines have been based off him alone. A lot of us remember Yoshi's house from the Super Nintendo game, Super Mario World. Near the beginning of the game, you could stop off at Yoshi's house to get a Yoshi by jumping up an feeding the small younger Yoshis until one of them grew up (those are some serious apples). Everyone knew that once you had Yoshi, you were pretty much unstoppable.
      This set would be a smaller 200-300 piece set that would include a large elongated green-leaved tree. There would be Lego apples hanging from it at different spots that were detachable in some measure. It would come with the following minifigures:
      Mario 1 big full sized Yoshi for that Mario could actually ride 3 smaller Yoshis that would sit on top of the tree. Their mouths would also open and close so that they could properly communicate that they were hungry Who wouldn't love this set? It would appeal to Lego fans as a minifigure value set, and it would appeal to pretty much any video gamer that ever played the games. And what kids don't love Yoshi!?
      Mario's Tunnel and Cave

      I am going a little bit out of the box here - and someone who does have a creativity gene could try and name it. Everyone remembers the tunnels form the Super Mario game. You have just won a castle and jumped on the flag, and a tunnel opens up in front of you. “TinkoTinkoTinko”. And then Mario pops out from the bottom of the pipe and he is now in a dark cave with some different looking... cave turtles? You hear “duh duh, duh duh, duh duh”...“duh duh, duh duh, duh duh”. It is a pretty iconic part of the video game.
      For this, I think I would look awesome as a diorama. The bottom of the cave would a full large, dark gray Lego floor. It would also have sides and a ceiling, they just wouldn't come out as far so that there is a ceiling, but room to play with the set. There would be some Lego rocks, hills, and some how they would find a way to suspend Lego blocks for Mario to jump on. There would also be the entry pipe coming down from the top, as well as another pipe or two on the bottom for those possible secret areas.
      This would include these minifigures:
      Mario – a different design with a more cave-worthy outfit. 2 Turtles for Mario to jump on. 2 spike turtles – the guys that have very sharp spikes so that you can't jump on them. Kids would have a great time re-creating the Mario game and making Mario defeat the evil turtles! Maybe they could even add something that would play music so you could here that great theme in the background.
      Mario Kart Raceway

      So, yes this is a little out of the original Mario line as Mario Kart came later, but it is a stable for any Mario gamer. Though there were other party PvP games, this game really cemented PvP and battling as a staple of any video gamer's fun.
      This would be a little outside the Lego box, but it would be a Lego racing set. Like the Lego trains, this would include a Lego track for the cars to race on. The cars would be completely made of Lego, but would also take batteries so that they could move by themselves. The set would come with Lego remotes as well (that also take batteries) that allow anyone to race the cars around the track. The track would also have some nice Mushroom terrain to decorate with.
      And what is Mario cart without some hazards right? So the cars would have Lego attachments (I know I am outlandish) that would include a few shells and bananas. These could be launched at any point in time to try to keep the other participant from winning the race. This set would include:
      One Mario Kart One Luigi Kart A Luigi minfig A Mario Minifig Can you imagine how much fun you would have with this?
      Princess Peaches Castle

      My favorite Mario game of all time, and what I would call the most complete and memorable video game of all time, is Super Mario 64. Peach's Castle was in a ton of Mario games – evidently she just has a knack for getting into trouble I particularly liked the castle's look in this game. It really looks like someone took one of the nicer castles from the Castle theme and touched it up with a bit of Lego Friends. Everyone loves Castle sets so we all know this would be a big hit.
      I think it would be great if it had the moat and the drawbridge from the game. It should also have a few trap doors, secret entrance ways as we know there were those times where Mario got himself locked out of the castle. The Castle would also open up on the front so that it could become a play set as well.
      The minifigures would include:
      Mario Luigi just for good measure Princess Peach 2 Bombombs – I always really liked these guys and they were around a lot in Super Mario 64. A Goomba – Can you imagine how much fun people will have playing with something called a Goomba? A large Chain Chomp – you have to have a chain chomp I am not ashamed to admit I would play with this set.
      Bowser's Castle

      Alright, so yes I know it is a little repetitive, but Lego has a pretty serious history and track-record of making impressive buildings. Can you imagine how amazing a Bowser's castle could be? Lego could really make it an intimidating and impressive set.
      This one wouldn't open up, it would be more about a large display piece. It would have the Bowser Logo on several parts of it, along with spikes everywhere. The front of the Castle would be a large Bowser mouth opening to swallow whoever dare entered his realm. There would also be plenty of Lego fire protruding from the Castle.
      Minifigures would include:
      Mario – Gotta have a redesign since he is in every set Luigi – Mario needs a backup 3 Koopa Troopas in Bowser garb Bowser himself – A gigantic Minfigure with flames coming from his mouth and spikes on his back. Needs to be as big as the rancor. What do you all think? Did I pick the right stuff? Do you all think this theme would be winner?
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods. Thanks for reading!
    • Quacs
      Looking at the world from the ground is a lot different than in a hot air balloon. On the ground, you see details, colors, and textures of everything in front of you. In the air, you see what the overall landscape looks like, and all of those small details combine to form a picture of the earth's terrain and landscape that we cannot see from ground level. These overhead views can provide a weath of information about the nature of the area's weather patterns, climate and even its inhabitants.
      As illuminating as this aerial study can be for our understanding of the environment we live in, analysis of the Lego product landscape is equally illuminating for Lego investors. With almost the entire 2013 product line either on the market or in the release queue, now is the perfect time to step back and review the 2013 Lego product line in totality to see if we can find any trends or nuggets that may give us a more accurate picture of where Lego's designs have been, and more importantly, where they may be going. Finding trends among this year's sets may help us with current and future investment decisions, so let's jump right into the 2013 trends I've found noteworthy:
      The Year of the Remake

      In fashion, there's an old saying: "What's new is old, and what's old is new." The same holds true for Lego sets as remakes abound among this year's releases. It seems that 2013 has provided us with more remakes than usual. Of note are the following sets with their predecessor in parentheses:
      10240 UCS Red Five X Wing Starfighter (7191 USC X-Wing Fighter)
      10937 Arkham Asylum Breakout (7785 Arkham Asylum)
      79107 Commache Camp (6746 Chief's Tepee)
      79109 Colby City Showdown (6765 Gold City Junction)
      79110 Silver Mine Shootout (6761 Bandit's Secret Hideout)
      41999 Co-Creation Model 4x4 Crawler Exclusive
      60012 Coast Guard 4x4 & Diving Boat (7726 Coast Guard Truck with Speedboat)
      60013 Coast Guard Helicopter (7738 Coast Guard Helicopter & Life Raft)
      60014 Coast Guard Patrol (7739 Coast Guard Patrol Boat and Tower)
      60020 Cargo Truck (7733 Truck and Forklift)
      60022 Cargo Terminal (7734 Cargo Plane)
      Yet to be announced, but still rumored for 2013 release:
      10241 Maersk Container Ship (10155 and 10152 Maersk Container Ship)
      60031 City Corner (7641 City Corner)
      Not included in this list are all the new Castle sets which are pretty much all rehashes of prior Castle sets. Including these five, there are a whopping eighteen sets in 2013's model line that are rehashed versions of older sets. That's a big number, and I wonder if we'll see this trend continue into 2014 and beyond. While this is pure speculation, this could be one of TLC's prongs of attack in their war on resellers as pushing remakes will devalue the previously released sets. For a comprehensive discussion of this phenomenon, see this article by BP member Grolim linked here.
      New Themes

      2013 brought us three new themes: the controversial Legends of Chima, and two new licensed themes: Disney's The Lone Ranger, and Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot (thanks to BP member Mikeur86 for his Lone Ranger Evaluation Corner article). While the investability of these themes have been poked and prodded over the last 6-8 months, it's important to note that while The Lone Ranger and TMNT themes are likely "one and done" themes, Lego has invested heavily in Legends of Chima, so expect to see more Chima sets released in 2014. Expect to see the next wave of Chima released in January 2014.
      In addition to the new themes, it appears we have two new collectible themes that may be flying under the radar. Lego has released a new set called 10250 Year of the Snake, an homage to the Chinese Zodiac calendar. This Asia-only release is a really neat set, and indicative of TLC's attempt to crack the East Asian toy market. While Lego has had a strong presence in the Japanese market for years, China's burgeoning population and market potential has caused Lego to build a new factory in China and step up their marketing efforts in this area of the world. Year of the Snake is proof of this. 2014 will likely see a Year of the Horse model as Lego continues its appeal to the Chinese toy and collectible markets.
      2013 also saw the seasonal polybag market expand with new seasonal polybags at a higher $8 price point that depicts scenes typical of the seasons with appropriately garbed minifigures. These seasonal polybags and Year of the Snake subthemese appear to be aimed at collectors, so if they take off these first version sets could become valuable.
      Redefining the Creator Theme

      Lego fans have grown to love the Creator theme for its sets that include instructions for multiple builds, and its model-like sets depicting any number of animals, vehicles, houses, etc. However, this year Lego has introduced an extension to the Creator theme entitled Creator Expert. This appears to be the first subtheme to Creator, and includes four high profile, exclusive sets that kick-off this subtheme with a bang: 10232 Palace Cinema, 10233 Horizon Express, 10234 Sydney Opera House and 10235 Winter Village Market, as well as the Asian exclusive 10250 Year of the Snake. These new exclusives have also helped to expand the Creator theme, from 15 in 2012 to 21 in 2013. Expect this line to continue to grow as the Creator Expert subtheme gets future exclusive models added. I would guess that as sets like VW Camper and Sopwith Camel are retired, their replacements will be added to the Creator Expert subtheme. This additional branding can only help the appeal of these exclusives and lend some structure to the entire Lego product line.
      The Year of the Boat

      After the announcement of Friends Dolphin Cruiser earlier this year, I began to think there were an incredible number of boats slated for 2013 release. Now that the 2013s are all either on shelves or announced, I've found I was right. Here are 2013's boat offerings of significance:
      41015 Friends Dolphin Cruiser
      60005 City Fire Boat
      10241 Maersk Container Ship (assumed late 2013 released)
      60015 Coast Guard Plane
      60014 Coast Guard Patrol
      70006 Cragger's Command Ship
      76000 Arctic Batman vs. Mr. Freeze
      76006 Iron Man Extremis Sea Port Battle
      79008 Pirate Ship Ambush
      This list doesn't include any of the smaller Coast Guard and City boats that were released this year as well as these smalls typically rotate through the product line periodically. In comparison, there were only three substantial boats released in 2012: 3817 Sponge Bob Square Pants Flying Dutchman, 9446 Ninjago Destiny's Bounty, and 9499 Star Wars Gungan Sub. After this boat explosion in 2013, I would guess that TLC will likely go back to 2012 levels for boats. For boat enthusiasts, 2013 will be the year to target for your Lego collection. For Lego investors, don't assume boats will be back with a vengance in 2014.
      A new license?
      http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5044981320320609&pid=15.1&w=169&h=126&p=0
      This year, Brickset released the names of new Lego polybags that would be released throughout the year. Among them was one I found very curious: 40200 BMW. A quick look at Brickset's 40200 page shows little information about release dates and locations, but it does show a picture of the polybag itself: 

      While the polybag model doesn't appear too exciting or cutting edge, the fact that BMW has agreed to a licensing deal (however small) may open future opportunities for large, more iconic BMW licensed vehicles in the future. With BMW's ownership of the Mini brand, this could open up any number of iconic Mini vehicles for TLC to recreate as models. Lego's BMW license has me hoping for some future BMW or Mini vehicle sets for the Creator Expert subtheme to pair with the VW Beetle and Camper.
      While there are probably hundreds of smaller trends that have come out of 2013's set lineup, these appear to be the most significant. As we start our descent back to earth, don't forget that for every trend we may think we've found, a surprise from TLC could be waiting around the corner that nullifies today's appearance of a trend. Constant scrutiny of the market will provide us the information we need as investors to make properly informed decisions. As always, invest accordingly.
    • Ed Mack
      I just wanted to remind members the Blog Article contest in ending at midnight on July 31, 2013. I also want to tell members to not forget about the SET REVIEWS as a way to earn BrickPoints. With the new BRICKPOINTS STORE feature now active, members can earn LEGO sets without spending a Penny or Pound of their money.
      I wanted to point out a wonderful review of the 10188 Death Star submitted idunno101. Reviews like that can earn 200 or more Brickpoints very easily. The review was an nice mix of pictures, data and analysis. So keep this in mind when you want to earn some quick BrickPoints...
       
    • DoNotInsertIntoMouth
      Craigslist can be a really irritating place for anyone looking to buy or sell something. Whenever I set up a listing, I always dread getting the emails from people asking if I will take half my price or if I will trade for a “engine that don't work real good, but has a lot of good parts”.
      Is there any way to avoid this on Craigslist? We all know that selling locally is by far the best way to sell. As long as you don't have a store, you don't have to charge the person tax nor shipping at all so you can sell the item for a better price and make more money from it. And no fees! As well, you don't have to deal with keeping up with listings other than just answering email and meeting someone who wants to purchase your item.
      So how do you effectively write a Craigslist Post so that you make sure you sell stuff as quickly as possible, get the best money for your item, and avoid the the people who seem to hang around Craigslist just to make it worse for others? Here are a couple of good rules to follow when creating one:
      Make a title that is quick and to the point. Tell them exactly what the item is and whatever important details you want them to know. Some people write their listings very vague, possibly thinking that more people will look at them. For example “Box of Legos”. Yes a lot of different people might look at this listing, but everyone that emails you or calls you is wasting your time unless they purchase it. It's not like Ebay where people bid themselves and someone takes care of all the transaction exchanges and processes behind the scenes. Instead, list exactly what you have in the listing. “Large box of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings Lego Sets – Includes <set numbers>”. This will keep away anyone who is not interested in the listing. List a price in the “price” field– not just inside, especially if you are just listing one item. It is very irritating to a buyer when they can't figure out what you are asking for something until they click inside the listing. Plus again you will keep away the people that are out at that price range in the first place. Put your location in the location field and put your exact location in the listing. Making people look at your listing or have to ask you just to find out where you are is a waste of everyone's time. If you are selling a Lego set for $10, people who live 30 miles away from you are not going to be interested. Add good pictures to your listing. This is an absolute must. If the item has condition issues, or certain details you want to show, or you want them to see the best parts of your bulk items, you need to have good pictures of it. Again, the more vague it is, the more people that are going to look and then ask you questions. You want only people who are interested, so don't hide anything about your item. If you do, you are going to be sorry when you meet up with them and then they don't want it. Add a description to the listing that is short, concise, describes every single detail of what you are selling, and lets the buyer know whether you are firm or willing to talk. Again, this comes back to eliminating the non-serious buyers. If you put in your listing that you are firm on $500, you will hopefully keep away all the people that are trolling around with $100 offering it on everything they can find worth 5 times that amount. Make sure you write your post in complete sentences and use correct capitalization and punctuation. Everyone here knows what I am talking about. “Yeah I got these Legos a while back and I want to get rid of them my kids are not wanting them anymore but I paid a good amount for them so I'll take like $100 bucks because I got a bad back now and I need the money to make sure I can take care of my car that broke down the other day thanks” (I made that up but you get the picture). This is important past just not looking immature. If a seller sees something like this, they are going to come to you thinking they are dealing with someone that lacks professionalism and could be taken. You want to portray that you are not playing games. The more serious and professional your posts are, the more serious and professional people you will get. Leave a preferred method of contact. I like email much better than phone. Make sure the buyer knows how to get to you and make sure you respond to anyone who answers you. These people could look at your listings in the future and if they recognize your listings and you never respond, they won't keep contacting you. If you do these things, you should have about as positive an experience selling Legos on Craigslist as you can. You won't always be away from the crazies, but you avoid that 11.25% Fee-bay charges you.
      Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.
       


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