Remake of older Lego sets a bad investment?

[Cashmoney-0]

As Star Wars Lego sets are among the more popular sets, Lego has recreated some of their older sets into newer models. For example, the Sandcrawler came out five years ago, maybe longer than that, became retired, and now a new design of the Sandcrawler has just been released in 2014. Would investing in the 2014 sandcrawler be considered a poor investment opposed to investing in a set which has no duplicate, such as the Death Star? Also after the the new 2014 sandcrawler, did the older model lose value as a collector can acquire the 2014 Sandcrawler for a cheaper price? I am aware that some collectors are interested in having all the sets, but maybe a fair amount of collectors are only interested in having one type of set, like only one Sandcrawler. What do you guys think?  

[@rtisan]

For SW sets, it`s generally not the best of investments. Lego releases "new" models of sets, but only tweaks a few things, giving the average buyer little reason to buy an older one, they`de rather just get what is on the shelf. For Lego this works very well because the work is much less then designing a whole new set, yet they still make pills of money. For investors/collectors though, once a newer version is released, the older ones have usually lost favour with buyers for the reason I just set. Also, they one pay a premium from you for an old model either. The only people that appear to go after sets released in years past are  serious collectors who missed it. So to answer your question, it`s usually better to buy a newer version (on sale though) and sell before yet another update is released. In the case of UCS sets though, Lego has not really repeated themselves all that much, so the market remains very profitable. In the case of the Sandcrawler, it`s 2 months old, it`ll be around for at least a couple years, when it does retire it will more than likely be a long time (5+ years) before Lego updates it again, that`s about the amount of time from the earlier version if I remember correctly. In that time money/value goes up and you`ll probably want to sell then. 

[Ed Mack]

All bets are off with the new movies coming out next year.  The STAR WARS theme has shown some life of late, with many older sets increasing in value once again.  If it is a quality set, new or used, old version or new version, the theme as a whole can explode in value IMO with the added interest from the new movies.  STAR WARS fans are passionate.  LEGO STAR WARS fans are even more so...

[MrMorden]

Ed is making a good point. Also with the movies comes new ship designs. And they are planning for more than 3 movies! There will be other things like cartoon series etc. I predict this will result in increased time between remakes as there will be so much more material.

That said you have to have some sense of timing with the star wars theme and look at how often things are remade and adjust.

[glenbart]

If the newer one is bigger and better then I see no problem with investing in a remake, ones that immediately spring to mind are jabbas palace and cantina. Also, with the batman remakes, batmobile, batwing, the sets are very similar and one is another batcave and one a set with catwoman, but being rebranded as superheroes, I think it would be difficult for someone collecting superheroes to not get these sets too. Also, there is a chance superheroes will become more collectable than the original lines.

Ones that throw a bit of a curve ball are MF's and x-wings, whilst I think the latest MF is better than previous ones (no, not including 10179) I prefer the dagobah x-wing, MF's appear to do ok, though each time a new one comes along you get a bit of a rumble on the price and you might think that huge asteroid is not so safe, it slows down the growth but they do become rarer every year. Those x-wings tho are sitting minocks.

[inversion]

Remake is good if it is a substantial improvement. Would love to see a big Cloud City.

 

Also some sets have a constant demand, so in those cases I would rather talk about model updates. We will always see a regular MF, X-Wing or Batcave, they are the same as CITY Police Headquarters, Creator houses and castles. This is not bad, complaining about an X-Wing is the same as doing so about a new police HQ. We collectors are the minority and the children will always need these important key sets. For us there are the exclusives.

[TheOrcKing]

We will always see a regular MF, X-Wing or Batcave, they are the same as CITY Police Headquarters, Creator houses and castles. This is not bad, complaining about an X-Wing is the same as doing so about a new police HQ.

On that note, I would actually rather go back to buy some of the older Police or Fire Stations over the newer ones because I feel like those were better overall. Plus they used an actual baseplate or two whereas now all they use is a few regular plates which just are not the same.

[glenbart]

I don't think an x-wing is quite comparable to a police station that has been reguarly re-produced for the last 40 years... just yet. Agreed, kids and adults will always want to have an x-wing. But the current set has limited growth due to the earlier models plus there are 2 UCS versions, so the x-wing is a good example of the remake debate as bought up by the OP. Also, as yet buying the latest x-wing would not have been a good investment now being available from lego shop at home for over 30 months, which is some going for a

[glenbart]

On that note, I would actually rather go back to buy some of the older Police or Fire Stations over the newer ones because I feel like those were better overall. Plus they used an actual baseplate or two whereas now all they use is a few regular plates which just are not the same.

The one with old grey ariel was one of the best. I made one with new white bricks once.

[inversion]

I think the current MF has one thing going for it, this may be the last MF we see with an entire cast of original trilogy characters.

Just as it was the last when the new trilogy came out. Don't underestimate the OT fanbase, that stuff will always be on the shelves as long as LEGO produces SW. The sets that will certainly disappear will be Episodes I-III.

On that note, I would actually rather go back to buy some of the older Police or Fire Stations over the newer ones because I feel like those were better overall. Plus they used an actual baseplate or two whereas now all they use is a few regular plates which just are not the same. 

I agree with you, but I think quality issues won't really affect investment value of regular sets (maybe only in the long run, 20 years...). When a child moans about wanting a specfic set (for example MF)  father will just buy the latest one. Nevertheless, I just wanted to emphasize that the "oh, a re-release again, why don't we get new sets?" statement is as pointless regarding SW main ships as police HQs. 

[glenbart]

Just as it was the last when the new trilogy came out. Don't underestimate the OT fanbase, that stuff will always be on the shelves as long as LEGO produces SW. The sets that will certainly disappear will be Episodes I-III.

The MF will be in the new movie, when Lego gets round to making the MF (I don't think it will be in wave 1 of episode 7 sets), you will get han and chewy, possibly Luke and leia, maybe the droids, but more likely to include new characters, but it's just a guess. The MF will be 30 years older, so maybe it won't look exactly the same anymore.

Of course OT will be on the shelves, 1-3 doesn't appeal to half of star wars fans.

[Cashmoney-0]

Thanks for the responses! The OT definitely cannot be underestimated as their will always be fans, not so much for the new trilogy. So with the new movies coming out it is very possible OT sets might not be produced as much as they used, which in turn might drive more of a demand for them. I think some of the more interesting sets out right now are Jaba's Palace and the Rancor Pit, as these are the only separately sold Star Wars sets that can connect. I know Harry Potter sets used to sell individual sets when put all together could make the Hogwart's castle, but Star Wars has only done this as far as I know with Jaba's Palace and Rancor Pit. Usually I would only try to invest in UCS sets, but the connecting sets might be unique and fetch a high price later on down the line. Does anyone else agree? 

[glenbart]

Thanks for the responses! The OT definitely cannot be underestimated as their will always be fans, not so much for the new trilogy. So with the new movies coming out it is very possible OT sets might not be produced as much as they used, which in turn might drive more of a demand for them. I think some of the more interesting sets out right now are Jaba's Palace and the Rancor Pit, as these are the only separately sold Star Wars sets that can connect. I know Harry Potter sets used to sell individual sets when put all together could make the Hogwart's castle, but Star Wars has only done this as far as I know with Jaba's Palace and Rancor Pit. Usually I would only try to invest in UCS sets, but the connecting sets might be unique and fetch a high price later on down the line. Does anyone else agree?

Personally, ok, we have 2 connecting sets, which one do you get first, JP all the way, do you go for the rancor pit too, not necessarily, maybe you never get the rancor. Out of the two sets, which do people want more. JP. Rancor pit will add value to JP because it's a connecting set, having a JP will make you want the ranor pit, so this does make the sets winners. I got JP for 67.50, the cheapest I've seen RP is 40, it's borderline insanity from number crunching, is the money better put towards JSB?

If you are one of these bods who spenda thousands a month it easy just to get the lot but for those counting every dime its not so clear cut.

[MartinP]

On that note, I would actually rather go back to buy some of the older Police or Fire Stations over the newer ones because I feel like those were better overall. Plus they used an actual baseplate or two whereas now all they use is a few regular plates which just are not the same.

I am currently taking inventory of a Fire Station from 2007. It included baseplates, but they are small, and I would prefer bigger ones.

[jaylay]

IMO, we are nearing the end of remaking Star Wars ep. 1-6 sets. with the coming new cartoon series, spin offs, and the new trilogy, we will see a plethora of new ships and characters. TLG will be too busy designing, marketing the new stuff. sure we might get a reincarnation of tie fighters, x/y/a/b wings or MF but i doubt it will look the same.

but to answer the OP ide grab the newest set as it usually is nicer!

[TheDarkness]

It certainly will be a mixed bag coming up. I expect Lego to scale back the PT big time, and maybe we will see a small selection of OT sets. 
Could be a good time for investors. 

[jaylay]

TLG can not wait to get the green light and designs of the upcoming new stuff from Star Wars!

[glenbart]

Not sure, Lego have a lot of star wars sets and the size or the range seems to grow each year. But surely episode 7 wil be 50%, 1-3 25% likewise OT 25% of the whole range. Maybe we will get glimpses as soon as this time next year on E7 sets.

[@rtisan]

TLG can not wait to get the green light and designs of the upcoming new stuff from Star Wars!

Cha-Ching!! It`s very likely demand for older sets could increase dramatically around the release date, so something else to keep in mind for people considering StarWars. 

[glenbart]

I doubt we would see something like an E7 x-wing and a OT x-wing on the shelves at the same time. I can't wait for the new jar jar binks set...

[jaylay]

before ep. 7 .... we will soon get our hands on the new Star Wars Rebels sets from Lego as soon as this winter season!!!!

[mscheaf]

I bought a new ATAT and a new Star Destroyer just to build. Got the ATAT for $85 shipped and the SD for $95 shipped NISB. Do you think it would be worth my time picking up any more at a similarly discountedprice now or would it be better just to wait a while since these are so new? Also interested in the cantina (nice minifig collection) and the MF since they seem to do well over time. I really liked the little hologram emporer brick with the SD. Has that been in any other sets?

[Cashmoney-0]

They have had a hologram emperor before. I personally like the 6211SD better. The cantina could have been designed so much better but I still think that will be a somewhat coveted set. There has been a lot of ATATs and were surprised they keep making new models. MF will probably be the best bet. Everyone likes them and I wouldn't be surprised if people attempt to collect all the new designs of it.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

They have had a hologram emperor before. I personally like the 6211SD better. The cantina could have been designed so much better but I still think that will be a somewhat coveted set. There has been a lot of ATATs and were surprised they keep making new models. MF will probably be the best bet. Everyone likes them and I wouldn't be surprised if people attempt to collect all the new designs of it.

 

The figures make that set... again. Its going to do well just because the price point is great and the figures are great.

 

And honestly the no minifigs version of this has sold pretty well for me.

[Cashmoney-0]

I realized collectors who want the mini figs will usually just buy the minifigs not the whole setespecially if the sets aren't impressive. Out of all the remakes right now the MF it's hard to go wrong with. I would definitely buy the MF.