10227 - UCS B-Wing Starfighter

[d4m60d]

Hello again Guys, What do you think about the B-Wing?! I just ordered one in a german online-store with 10% discount and free shipping in germany. I pay 179,99Euro instead of MSRP 199,99Euro. Whats your opinion? Do you think this UCS will be a winner? Thanks for your answers! Greetings, Christian

[Blackjack]

Not to sound mean, but isn't that what the rest of the topic is about?

[stephen_rockefeller]

I merged the post into this one.......that is why.

[Blackjack]

Ok, thanks for clearing that up.

[AlgebraicMirror]

I can't say I'm a fan of this set. It really isn't an iconic ship from the series, I can't even recall where you see it in the movies.

It will appreciate just because it is a SW UCS set but I can't see it doing as well as other recent UCS sets like SSD, R2-D2, IS.

It's not all about movies though. It may not get much screen time on the silver screen, but it's been all over various Star Wars video games, including iconic ones like the Star Wars Rogue Squadron games on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. I've never seen this ship in a movie, but it's every bit as familiar to me as an A-wing or Y-wing due to gaming. And having seen the set in the Lego store completely built, I have to say its an incredible looking set... Better than most I've seen.

Now, I'm not a shill saying "Buy it it will sell as well as the Millenium Falcon!!" It may not. But don't assume that because it wasn't in the movies that no one is familiar with it... It got some decent screen time elsewhere. Maybe the designers thought of doing the B-wing because they are gamers.

[AlgebraicMirror]

One of the most underrated sets currently at retail. Awesome set IMO. If you don't buy a couple, you will be crying after it hits EOL and wondering why you didn't pull the trigger.

If you only have enough money for one UCS set this year, do you recommend trying to get the super star destroyer first? Is that the one most likely to go EOL soonest?

[d4m60d]

I already got the Super Star Destroyer and R2-D2! But whats your opinion about the price? I haven't seen this set in europe for less than MSRP with 199.99EUR. So what do you think about 179.99EUR price? Are there any discounts in the US for this set until yet?

[stephen_rockefeller]

If you only have enough money for one UCS set this year, do you recommend trying to get the super star destroyer first? Is that the one most likely to go EOL soonest?

My thinking is that you should indeed try to get your hands on a SSD at this point in time before the B wing. The B wing came out in October so I think you still have a good 18+ months to get one. Don't hold me to that time frame though, TLG has been doing some crazy stuff with retiremens as of late.

[TheDarkness]

How easy is it to find the R2-D2 UCS in the States? I haven't seen many of these at all in Australia, and they were a Target exclusive. These came out in time for the Fourth last year, so it is nearing it's first 12 months. For some reason I think this one is slipping past people quickly without the attention it deserves and might disappear from under our noses. I have 5 SSDs, I might buy one more if I find a decent deal for it so I can keep one for myself and that will be it on that one.

[stephen_rockefeller]

Its readily available here and was heavily discounted on amazon at the end of the last year. Its low profile now because its new.....it will get a lot of love once talks of EOL starts to circulate.

[TheDarkness]

There really hasn't been alot of fluctuation on the other amazon sites for it (amazon.com won't ship it to me ) I think the lowest it got to was 130 euros but I missed that boat. It definitely is one set I do not want to miss out not having a nice stockpile on hand when it goes EOL.

[Ed Mack]

If you only have enough money for one UCS set this year, do you recommend trying to get the super star destroyer first? Is that the one most likely to go EOL soonest?

Gun to my head...I would buy the SSD. But I love the other two UCS sets as well. Heck, you can have both the R2-D2 and B-wing for less.

[1derman]

Hey guys.. I've never seen this set in person.. Is it minifig scale? Will a minifig fit in the cockpit? I want to buy it but that for me could be a deal breaker

[exciter1]

I saw it in person and it's pretty big. Most on here say it is larger than minifig scale.

[comicblast]

Hey guys.. I've never seen this set in person.. Is it minifig scale? Will a minifig fit in the cockpit? I want to buy it but that for me could be a deal breaker

I also saw it in person at the Lego store. Much larger than expected. The thing is 26" wide, 15" high (when in flight configuration), and 17" tall on a display stand (the set is displayed where the ship is tilted at a 45 degree angle). I got this from the Lego Spring Catalog, excluding the second set of info in the parenthesis. Definitely on my "To-Buy-When-I-Save-Up-Enough-Money-List".

[nolanfan34]

I saw it in person and it's pretty big. Most on here say it is larger than minifig scale.

Concur. It really tilts me for some reason that it does NOT include a minifig with it.

[c4dreams]

Obviously a lot of us are buying this set either as an investment or for a quick flip. TRU sold 167 B-wings on Ebay this morning. There's no way of knowing, but I'd guess they probably sold around that many on their website as well. Assuming Lego sold around 200 at that price, your up to about 600 sets being sold so far. My store has 32 in stock. Multiply that by the 90+ Lego stores nationwide and now you're talking about over 3,000 sets being sold (and that's conservative). I think Ebay's sales total for B-wings for the last 3 months was 24 sets, and that included several selling for $174. So here's my question: How much is the price going to plummet on this mediocre set? Will flippers even be able to make much of a profit? I could see it going for as little as $130 for awhile. For me, even at $150, I'd be taking a loss, But I hope I'm wrong. Sell for $150 paid -$108 ebay fees -$ 17 shipping -$ 28 ---------------- - $3 loss The only advantage will be if this set goes back up to $199 retail and stays there.

[kerrmando]

If the ebay TRU sales factor into the Brickpicker price it will drop pretty low...

[emes]

This won't be something you can flip next week for a profit, no doubt about it. But your thoughts ignore that the potential market for this is many times the number that will be sold. Demand will increase gradually with time and the price will recover and eventually reach profitability.

[chinothegeeko]

This won't be something you can flip next week for a profit, no doubt about it.

But your thoughts ignore that the potential market for this is many times the number that will be sold. Demand will increase gradually with time and the price will recover and eventually reach profitability.

I agree but this won't get as high as most UCS due to the fact investors loaded up on it with the ridiculous sales today. It will take awhile to make a decent profit.

At least that is what I'm telling myself for not buying any. I think the Han figure is where its at.

[comicblast]

This won't be something you can flip next week for a profit, no doubt about it.

But your thoughts ignore that the potential market for this is many times the number that will be sold. Demand will increase gradually with time and the price will recover and eventually reach profitability.

+1. Also, I notice that very few listings are listed at less than $180, so you should be able to pocket at least $30 which I know isn't great, but hold it for a little longer for it to go back to retail, and you have quite a percentage return. For this one, waiting is key, just like when the Desert Skiff was at it's lows.

I guess, it's just like stock market strategy. Buy low, hold, sell high.

[emes]

I agree but this won't get as high as most UCS due to the fact investors loaded up on it with the ridiculous sales today. It will take awhile to make a decent profit.

At least that is what I'm telling myself for not buying any. I think the Han figure is where its at.

Also the Han Figure helps.

I'm going to speak candidly here and I mean it in the best possible way and it's not directed solely at you. We often see whining on this site about prices being too high and there not being any good deals, and then when there's a deal like this we also see whining now about the price being too low and too many people being able to buy them. Come on...

Another thing being ignored is that a lot of these B-Wings will get opened and played with, which will further limit the number of NISB available for sale.

I personally have no concerns with buying this today, and I'm most likely one of the quickest flippers here. This isn't a flip, but it's a good buy. In fact, I have 2 already that I'm into for exactly 25% off, so from a standpoint of dollar cost averaging I have to buy at least 1 today. I'm definitely grabbing 3 this morning, all being bought with VIP points and then I'm going to stop at Sephora and buy some makeup.

[StarCityBrickCompany]

History has shown that it has very little effect when it is a short term sale like this one. If someone wants the set next week & they could choose between paying 200+ or 195 for it - the 195 one will sell. Like I said history has shown this to be true (most buyers will never even know that it was on sale for 50% off), but todays newcomers will certainly flip them way too fast & for way too low a price. Any negative impact should be short lived - unless the clearance prices are extended for a while.

[redeemed763]

Average purchase price for a B wing is around $106, so that is your bottom line cost. Shipping will be a minimum of $15 for this set (I have seen people ship sets of this size for that much, don't ask me how), so that would make the cost $121, then we just need to add our 15% ebay/paypal fees to that and we arrive at roughly $140 cost, I would bet that the lowest price we will be seeing on ebay could be $150, and that would land the person who waited in line or stayed up all night to land the set a tiny profit of $10, I bet most go for the $180 range. Starbrickcompany is probably right, looking back, sets that have sales, go right back up to the presale price pretty soon afterwards.

[akohns]

Another thing being ignored is that a lot of these B-Wings will get opened and played with, which will further limit the number of NISB available for sale.

This is the very reason why the secondary Lego market isn't likely to crash like other collectables. Even though many people are buying 10179s & modulars in sealed in a box to hide in a closet for even more years, sets like the B-Wing are going to be discontinued and a few years from now people are going to happily spend $250 on a sealed one to open, build and add to their Star Wars display. Immediately that set has been devalued some.

That's one of the ways Lego is different than stocks or Baseball card because you can't truly enjoy the toy without devaluing. You know none of you guys would be in this if all you got out of it was to stare at a sealed box for a few years and make a few bucks after having done so. I'd love for some statistics on the ratio of sets sold to how many are left sealed over the following year and how many are opened and built. Some sets are opened, built, pieces lost and that set is pretty much gone forever.