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I was there and highly doubt the raffle was rigged. Never assume malice when incompetence will do, and there was a lot of collective incompetence on display at SDCC early on when it came to line management. (On the first day, there were a lot of people clustering for raffle tickets, but security wouldn't allow them to be distributed until people dispersed. Hmm, what might encourage dispersal in a large group of people waiting to be handed a ticket?) Yes, there were a couple of groups who all got figures, but a lot of families with multiple kids got skunked; a lazy shuffle in the early going can easily account for that kind of distribution. Neither I nor my brother got anything, but I know a single, childless obvious reseller who got two figures, one by luck on Friday, one by cycling the line on Saturday. And though the margin of error would be very large, a few of us got together and did the math on what we knew about the number of tickets distributed and found that our results were well in line with the expected value from a fair raffle. TLG did burn some goodwill with a lot of people; the number of raffled exclusives in years previous has been such that a dedicated fan could stand a fair chance to get one (or buy one at a not unreasonable price from someone luckier), but they cut the numbers available by around 75% this year, which is why the aftermarket is so crazy and people are so willing to assume nefarious shenanigans.

I was at SDCC and got a whole set of Super Heroes. I believe, without question, that the raffle was rigged. I don't think they only gave them to kids, but it was kid-heavy and they were intentionally trying to prevent groups from getting multiples. The whole process was very fishy. If they want to hand them to kids, fine, do that. But don't have a fake raffle. Not to mention the fact that SDCC is an adult event if they want to promote the product to kids, do it a place where the children are in mass.

I wish they would have exclusive figures that could be given away by sending in actual upc symbols cut from the boxes.....purchase x amount of sets and send in the upc symbols....what a concept!

Two things: if it's a raffle, it needs to be a true raffle IMO. Also, these items are collectors items. They are not meant for everybody to have a chance to get. That would defeat the purpose. Just because you guys want them doesn't mean you should inherently have the right to get them. If you are unwilling to spend the money, then simply don't get the item. PS. Right now this report has 0 validity to it. So there is no reason to jump to conclusions. However, if it is true this once again shows the direction LEGO is heading in with regards to investors/resellers.

8097 hands down. Nice build and very solid. Cool colors. I was able to find an open mint one for $70 and then purchased the box from bricklink. I found this link helpful while deciding which Slave 1 to buy along with the Lego Wiki pahe http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=40828 http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/8097_Slave_I

Mine is in a halfway state between organised and chaos, These first photos show the storage shelves I put into a spare room (I quickly ran out of space). The shelves are from Costco here in Australia and are Wharfen brand or something like that. They cost about $80 each and very solid and sturdy and will last a million years. This is part of my collection when we moved to our new house. These are the Storage Shelves in the LEGO Room. Some shots of them filled Lots of boxes to be sorted.... need more shelving, and another room ... More to be sorted, and room to be found My LEGO building table (Ikea Galant Conference Table, height adjustable for standing to build at) And more to come, when I get round to taking the photos. Needless to say, I don't have a LEGO room anymore, I have a LEGO house..

I could go for some POT right about now. :smoke:

Here is my other addiction

Here are some of mine

Bit difficult not to in a non air conditioned office. I was finding excuses to go into the 18 degree comms room. With apple to are paying for the little badge on the lid. Just like buying a BMW. The most expensive part of the car is the little propeller badge on the bonnet.

Without knowing all the details of different situations it's hard to speculate how things should have or were actually executed. In addition to whether or not it was the Lego groups intention or the failings of particular individuals. I don't believe the overall goal of Lego is to cheat, mislead, or deceive people. It's a shame rumors like this get generated since there is no proof so far that I've seen.

Where has Stephen been lately anyway? Oh, and congrats to FC. May your Gimli land on his back ever so gently.

True collectors know that collecting something takes patience AND money.

It is sad because they rigged it. A raffle should be random, not predetermined. I have no problem with giving them to kids, just do not make it like anyone could win then pick the winners. It just seems wrong.

Great, more power to them. The look of joy on my kid's face when he gets LEGO's from me or anyone as a gift outweighs all the potential investing/money I could possibly make reselling them. If someone in line is really truly upset that they didn't get one instead of a kid, then they need a reality check and a better life.

Hmm - its very possible and would make sense to what they were doing. Honestly though I don't have a problem with them giving them to kids over people looking to flip them. They should just say that before hand.

I just bought POT...... POT & MOS are down over 21% this morning. Apparently there is a fertilizer cartel similar to OPEC and one of the Russian companies threatened to pull out of their agreements in order to increase their market share. In doing so it will drive down the price of fertilizer. I read that it would be similar to Saudi Arabia pulling out of OPEC. I just have a gut feeling that they really wouldn

Top tip.....you don't need coins. They take bills. Top tip #2 for the "shady" amongst us---when it asked for an email address, press SKIP--that way you aren't limited in how many "offers" you get.

I'm not sure how they do it these days, but 25 years ago, a floating boat looked like this: So no, not one piece. On the contrary.

I never thought I would have ever needed to write up a topic for this but very recent events and certain comments say otherwise. Almost every day, new topics are created bringing forth attention to certain articles, questions asked, or in some cases just for fun. Sometimes, however, the same discussion gets brought up from time to time with another newly formed thread. Now there is not exactly anything wrong with that. It is only natural to make mistakes and some threads can be difficult to find without knowing the right keywords to use in a search. So as a moderator, part of our job is to put similar threads together for various reasons. 1. A single thread is much easier and quicker to find when searching. 2. Little to no confusion where any and all related future discussion can be done for everyone to find. 3. Less redundant threads to browse through means less clutter to filter through. 4. Any reply or question of yours has a better chance of being seen and answered. 5. Reduces the chance members have of answering the same question yet again. There are a few other reasons I am probably missing but I hope you are starting to see my general point. We do not merge topics as a way to annoy anyone. We do so to make this website easier to use for you. Even if it may not be a member's duty to report threads that share a similarity and could be merged with another, it is still up to us moderators and administrators to take care of the situation and we thank those who go out of their way to point such things out as it makes our jobs a little easier. Now then that is out of the way, here is what I have found to be outright disrespectful lately. Although I did not have much of a problem with the 'idea' of a thread for "Lego Jokes" when I first came across it on the list sometime the day before yesterday, the truth is comicblast and Darth Lego were correct. We already have a single and pinned thread for that subject to make it easy for everybody to find and contribute to whenever they wish. Besides the responses these two members were given for stating the obvious, that "Lego Jokes" thread ended up looking the same way the other joke topic did to begin with having a lot of the same interchangeable rhetoric, and there was nothing discernible from one or the other. Whether or not you think a thread is 'too crowded' or has 'too many pages to search through', the fact is this organization makes the site easier for everyone to find what their looking for and eliminates confusion on where to post certain replies. I would not expect or force anybody to search through a four hundred page thread manually but the choice is there as well as the search function. If you want to argue that point then answer me this, are you willing to browse through so much as ten threads discussing the same topic spread across an equal number of categories (even if they featured some slight differences)? I understand some threads do cross over and there may not be any way of merging some without the original topic discussion being lost in translation. However, there are some things that do not bear being repeated in a duplicate thread. Instead, just bring it up in a similar topic and continue from there. Contrary to popular belief, people still post in threads with a hundred or so more posts considering that is how they got to where they are now to begin with. There really isn't any kind of 'merger bandwagon' or 'merger police' and maybe it only seemed that way because a number of new topics started recently ended up being pretty much the same as something already brought up before and most are tired of doing the same ol' song & dance already. In any case just to reiterate, we do what we do to make the site better and easier to navigate for you, the members. We are not picking on anyone and there is no reason to be disrespectful towards another member for starting a similar topic or for pointing out one likewise. Opinions and facts can be given politely and without name calling. Thank you.

I have a couple from Walmart and Target. It is cute and a cheap way to get those ice cream cone and popsicle parts.To add, that ice cream cone piece premiered this year and is available in only three sets!

I just built my little sister's 7144 over the weekend when I was in Michigan. It's pretty boring but it doesn't look bad considering now far sets have come since then.

There are tons of reasons - if the set wasn't taped well at the beginning in manufacturing, sometimes they come off as they are moved, some people open them to check what's inside. I have a store near me that carries damaged items, etc. and I get Lego sets there all the time. I always open them to make sure they are complete.

I found a black pearl on clearance last year that the box was destroyed on 1 side and 1 or 2 of the seals were even loosely hanging. I went ahead and verified all contents after purchase and switched it out with a mint box that I had (from a personal purchase). When I get around selling it, I'll advertise new, sealed bags and mint box but be sure to clearly state the original box seals are not there. This is one real example of sealed, new set but opened box.

Some people may feel like they have to "prove the contents" as they assume they are selling to a builder and imagine them to be skeptical that all contents are included. They might feel that seeing the unopened numbered bags will give the builders a sense of security that everything is there. I've bought a few opened sets on CL that people said were complete and they ended up being short a piece or two. I don't worry about it partly because I have a huge reserve tub of common pieces to pull from, but also because I realize people make mistakes. If it isn't a blatant amount of pieces or significant minifigs missing, I usually think they just missed something.

This, particularly with people who don't understand the value of a sealed box. Some also open it I think and decide it is too difficult for their kid, or whoever, after seeing the pieces and instructions. My guess.

Could also be the seller opening the box to show that the set is all there and in good condition. Thats what i always thought anyway

It is possible that the adhesives on the seal dried out over time. As a result the seals would no longer be attached to the box.

Those are awesome. I'll be on the next plane to help you get organized (I have a little OCD...)

I don't have the older ones, but my 8097 is a favorite in my personal set. It was a fun build and the carbonite Han is so much cooler.

You forgot the first one, 7144. Anyway, let's see. 6209 or 8097 6209 is good and has Denger and a Bespin Guard; however, 8097 is sleeker in design and has Bossk. I'm thinking the 8097 is the winner here.

This picture sealed the deal when I was trying to decide this same question: EDIT - I know it's not the correct sets, but it just made the 8097 seem like a supreme display piece.

I'm really hoping they do a UCS one actually. But if I had to chose I'd go with Jango's

JimButcher of Eurobricks already beat you to it. Here's his review of Architecture Studio.

Just getting started...

Hello All - Here is a topic i have always wondered about, and would like to see how others store their sets. so...what does your lego cave look like? - for now, i only have a mid sized closet, but with the prosper shelving, and good organization, everything can fit as well as a lot more in the future. Heres Mine:

Are they new or used? Great collection BTW. I've heard that people are trying to get all of the LoTR sets/Hobbit sets, but all of SW sets means you have a massive collection. Great job!

Anyone else looking at the idea of Lego limiting resellers yet launching a set with a 20,000 production limit as being massively hypocritical...

I think everyone that is considering returning the sets they bought needs to calm down... Maybe they made another production run, maybe they didn't. Anything we can say would just be a guess. Sure, if they take off the retiring soon tag, return your sets. But until then, just stay calm. A heads up for people just entering the game. Sets DO NOT just go straight up in value right after retirement. There is a chance that you might have to wait a year to sell these at $80, or whatever you intend to sell them at. If you get into this game with the idea that you will buy sets that are about to retire and sell them for twice the amount 3 months later, you won't last long at all because these instances are few and far between.

So today, July 25th, is my mom's birthday. She knew I was going to get her something LEGO related and had originally wanted the Cinema Palace since I'm in college for Film. However, she hasn't built a LEGO set since I was about 4 or 5 years old. I thought a 2000 some piece count would be slightly too advanced for her right now, but I still wanted to get her a larger set. So, since today is Christmas in July I decided to play up that aspect hardcore. First I wrapped the set: Then I gave it to her: Her reaction was great, haha: I think she is going to have a blast building this set. I would normally build a set this size in 2-3 days. I'm estimating she will be done with it.... at Christmas. Perfect timing! Maybe it will keep her busy and prevent her from calling me when I go back to school. (P.S. hoping this post finally nets me a photographer's award haha.)

Feel free to laugh if you want but I think penny stocks are where its at. Its a lot of work but its low risk and there is plenty of money to be made if you know what you are doing.

Yes, I just want you guys to start getting ready for the end of some sets that are retiring, and if you keep waiting and waiting for those %30-50% sales on the SSDS and the Tower Bridge and only get one or two, because you waited to the last minute, you will have the blues for a long time, It still haunts me that I sold my 10179 Falcons when they were only selling for $1000, I am not screwing up on the TB,SSDS,Death Stars,HH, Batman Asylum,Etc. And that unconfirmed memo only had those few items on it, I am sure there will be other things Retiring, "Lego don't like when it gets leaked about a new set." But they really hate it when sets retiring gets leaked, one reason is if say the Haunted House was retiring in Dec, If I worked for lego and knew that for sure I would use my 30% discount and go buy say 50 of them, and its 2 months a year they get 50%, Lego does not want all the employees to clean all the stores out, just think about it you could become pretty rich if you new for sure about the retiring dates and you worked at a Lego Store. We got 6 months til the end of the year, save your money so when some sales pop up get the sets. And don't forget about the 7965 Falcon, I haven't really seen a sale for months, they are retiring in Dec. Next time Tru has the BOGO sale and if the price is still $139.99 which is the real actual price, I am getting more, comes out to about $115 a piece, not to bad. Christmas of 2014 these will be $200 and up.Everybody wants a falcon and 99% of people will buy this one. So if I hear anything else i will post it. "The One we really want to no about is the Haunted House"

Well, looks like some of you like my info and some don't, I am a easy going guy so what you think of my Post its OK with me, there have been thousands of rumors floating around, But the info I got well 6 months ago I said a new big X-wing and big Ewock village was coming and most didn't believe me, and I gave you guys info on whats retiring from the Wholesale Form that my buddy sent me, so he says the memo says at least SSDS,Tower Bridge and Fire Brigade are done, Death Star has 2014 next to it, which sucks. The 10220 Volkswagen had a ? mark next to it, and the Haunted House was scratched out "Whatever that means" now there is 6 months to the end of the year and anything can happen.But I figured you guys might like the hint that these should be retiring, instead of hearing about it in October and most of you are broke and then really can't stock up on a few of these sets. Even now just save your money and hope some sales pop up on these, Hopefully Black Friday have the SSDS for $275. But I think the SSDS and the Tower Bridge will do very well after Retiring. The Sets I am buying are the. 1-haunted House 2-Tower Bridge 3-SSDS only if it goes on sale 4-SW Falcon "retiring" 5-FRigate "retiring 6-Nijango "Nijango Epic battle" Retiring I am done buy VC and Helm's Deep have to many now. 7-Volkswagen Camper 10220 8-Friends Olivia's House & Summer Riding Camp 9-No Hurry for the batman arkham Asylm, its out until 2015 So go back and bash the post or maybe some will hope its right Ed

I always try and give you guys the lastest scoope on anything I hear, My friend thats gives me this info along with that 2013 wholesale order form told me the SSDS, Tower Bridge, Fire Brigade are retiring. And there is a chance the Haunted House is done also, but not 100% Confirmed yet. "And with the new Summer 2013 Catalog that just came in the mail today, Well that about confirms it. The SSDS,Tower Bridge, and Fire Brigade are not listed.So if you don't have any Tower Bridges & SSDS I would not wait forever, Hopefully Lego will have a SSDS Black Friday Sale cheap, but as me and my son both got a catalog with a 10% Coupon I will be going to the Lego store in a few days and get 2 more Tower Bridges,plus I have 2 20% Coupons to use with it, I am waiting for a sale for more SSDS, and these will be big bucks in a few years, and i have plenty Fire Brigade's. And all you guys that wished you would of gotten alot of the Dubai, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower's etc sets well don't screw up on the Tower Bridge. A well Known landmark will do very very well. "And about the Haunted House Retiring, well I am buying one or 2 a month, so in case in goes all of a sudden I will have plenty, I also have 13 SSDS, 21 Tower Bridge's, 17 Fire Brigades. "AND THE B-WING IS IN THE SUMMER CATALOG, AND MY FRIEND ALSO SAID THE DEATH STAR IS HEAR FOR ANOTHER YEAR." Still 6 months in the year and anything can change but this is the latest scoop. Ed

I am the foremost expert on LEGO displays on the planet Earth. Here are some facts... 1. All LEGO displays are glued 2. All LEGO displays are meant to be destroyed after use 3. LEGO displays can be bought on eBay and Bricklink 4. LEGO displays are cool as sh*t

This would have REALLY pissed me off. Driving far for something and being stood up is bad, but you rented a truck as well. That's pretty inconsiderate of them.

Just like Santa and Jesus will get you too if you're a naughty boy.

I'm with you guys. The returning and buying from scammers makes me embarrassed to even be associated with this stuff. Believe it or not, these actions get noticed by TLG. Supporting these kinds of activities doesn't make our lives any easier dealing with TLG or our future buyers.

But who says TLG is "blowing it" besides people on LEGO fourms? Add to that, the only people who seem vocal about this are the ones who didn't get the figures/refuse to pay the price to acquire them. We make up a very small percentage of LEGO users. And frankly, the people here who seem to be complaining, I would not call true "collectors". The complainers seem to be hobbyists. And besides, of all places to complain about this stuff a LEGO investing site is not the one. Do you know why prices increase on LEGO? Because people open their boxes or sets are not produced in mass quantities. Scarcity = profit. If you call yourself an investor, especially in this scene, you should not be complaining about people pricing these extraordinarily rare figs accordingly...