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Okay, this is just awesome. I love the hot dog stand. It includes the new hot dog bun. The Hot Dog Guy suit is being reused and I love the "take a picture" stand.

I would like to personally thank Huw over at Brickset.com for posting about this LEGO raffle on his homepage. He has always helped out Jeff and I and we are very grateful...

Brickpickers, I need 6 more easy-peasy likes. Page 15 of this forum! Or just like this post, doesn't matter

Now this Creator set offers a lot of bang for your buck (however much that will be) between the main model of a camper to the alternates with a home then fancy yacht. Far out.

Promobricks.de has provided us with pictures of the B-models (from the boxes, no live photos): TLG is trying hard to get us all to buy two of the 42055! It seems the processing plant has an actual working sorting mechanism.

All plastics degrade or "age" over time. The chemical formula of ABS plastic makes it susceptible to chemical oxidation with air. All ABS plastics will undergo this reaction unless coated with some kind of protectant to provide a barrier between the plastic and air. This is true of all ABS plastics, not just Legos. Technically, ABS plastic is what we call a "glass" or "amorphous solid" in chemistry. Thus, like all glasses, ABS plastic will also undergo physical aging, which makes the plastic stiffer and more brittle. This physical ageing can be reversed by heating it up to the glass transition temperature, which is in the range of 85 to 125 C, depending on the exact composition. Thus the softer and less "viscous" nature of the plastic can be restored, though the physical ageing process begins all over when the plastic is cooled to normal temperature. In contrast, the chemical ageing cannot be reversed in ABS plastic. I have not studied this in detail, but I strongly suspect that the hydrogen peroxide is reacting with the surface layer of oxidized plastic making it soluble in the hydrogen peroxide solution. Thus, what you are doing is really removing the outer layer of the plastic revealing a fresh surface that has not been oxidized. As the OP experienced, the oxidation process continues on the new surface. All uncoated ABS plastics will undergo this reaction, it's just more visible with lighter colors. This phenomena is also seen in old Macintosh computer cases, and unpainted toy train cars made of white ABS plastic, or clear toy windshields or lenses for lights. I've got translucent clear Lego pieces from the 70's that are now a light amber color. In toy trains, if the windshield or windows of an old engine are not an amber color, you know they have been replaced with a reproduction part. I believe the effect of the sunlight is only to speed up the reaction by splitting the hydrogen peroxide molecule causing a faster reaction with the surface of the plastic. The same increase in reaction rate can be accomplished with a more concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution. Also, hydrogen peroxide slowly decomposes over time to make water and oxygen. Thus, you can't store it indefinitely, since the concentration decreases with time. Lower temperatures decreases the rate of decomposition, so we store our hydrogen peroxide solutions in a refrigerator in our chemistry labs.

Probably I'm not the only one surprised by the early retirement of several quite recent Star Wars sets. I decided to make an overview of all non-polybag Star Wars sets in Europe and in the United States. The list below is the result. It is divided in subs '2013', '2014', 'January 2015', 'during 2015'. At least in the Netherlands you can find toy stores that still have some of these retired and Shop-at-home-sold-out sets, some even from 2013. Hopefully you will find this list useful in your shopping efforts. Collecting and investing conclusions: below list. This list was last updated 25 March 2016. Updates can be seen under the list. 2013 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75000 Clone Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 705 days 75001 Republic Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 743 days 75002 AR-RT $19.99 Retired product Retired product US: 707 days 75003 A-Wing $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 701 days 75004 Z-95 Headhunter $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 707 days 75005 Rancor Pit $59.99 Retired product Retired product US: 717 days 75006 Jedi Starfighter & Kamino $9.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 350 days 75007 Republic Assault Ship & Coruscant $9.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 431 days 75008 Tie Bomber & Asteroid Field $9.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 340 days 75009 Snow Speeder & Hoth $9.99 Not on the site Not on the site UK: 119 days 75010 B-Wing Starfighter & Endor $9.99 Not on the site Not on the site UK: 152 days 75011 Tantive IV & Alderaan $9.99 Not on the site Not on the site UK: 179 days 75012 BARC Speeder with side car $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 732 days 75013 Umbaran MHC Mobile Heavy Cannon $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 743 days 75014 Battle of Hoth $49.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 352 days 75015 Corporate Alliance Tank Droid $19.99 Retired product Retired product US: 487 days 75016 Homing Spider Droid $29.99 Retired product Retired product US: 486 days 75017 Duel on Geonosis $39.99 Retired product Retired product US: 487 days 75018 Jek-14's Stealth Starfighter $69.99 Retired product Retired product US: 489 days 75019 AT-TE $89.99 Retired product Retired product US: 494 days 75020 Jabba's Sail Barge $119.99 Retired product Retired product US: 519 days 75021 Republic Gunship $119.99 Retired product Retired product US: 516 days 75022 Mandalorian Speeder $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 485 days 75023 Star Wars Advent Calendar $39.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 83 days 75024 HH-87 Starhopper $39.99 Retired product Retired product US: 533 days 75025 Jedi Defender-Class Cruiser $89.99 Retired product Retired product US: 501 days 10236 Ewok Village $249.99 Available Out of stock US: exp. 30 days 10240 UCS X-Wing Red 5 $199.99 Retired product Sold out (US: 893 days) 2014 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75028 Clone Turbo Tank $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 441 days 75029 AAT $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 337 days 75030 Millennium Falcon $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 440 days 75031 Tie Interceptor $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 439 days 75032 X-Wing Fighter $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 438 days 75033 Star Destroyer $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 340 days 75034 Death Star Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 618 days 75035 Kashyyyk Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 617 days 75036 Utapau Troopers $12.99 Retired product Retired product US: 615 days 75037 Battle on Saleucami $14.99 Retired product Retired product US: 632 days 75038 Jedi Interceptor $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 607 days 75039 V-Wing Starfighter $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 283 days 75040 General Grievous' Wheel Bike $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 650 days 75041 Vulture Droid $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 364 days 75042 Droid Gunship $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 642 days 75043 AT-AP $59.99 Retired product Retired product US: 617 days 75044 Droid Tri-Fighter $29.99 Retired product Retired product US: 676 days 75045 Republic AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannon $39.99 Retired product Retired product US: 658 days 75046 Coruscant Police Gunship $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 664 days 75048 The Phantom $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 452 days 75049 Snow Speeder $29.99 Retired product Retired product US: 490 days 75050 B-Wing $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 476 days 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter $59.99 Retired product Retired product US: 482 days 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina $69.99 Retired product Retired product US: 471 days 75053 The Ghost $89.99 Retired product Retired product US: 483 days 75054 AT-AT $99.99 Retired product Retired product US: 472 days 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer $129.99 Retired product Retired product US: 452 days 75056 Star Wars Advent Calendar $39.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 37 days 75058 MTT $89.99 Not on the site Retired product US: 511 days 75059 UCS Sand Crawler $299.99 Available Available JANUARY 2015 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75060 UCS Slave I $199.99 Available Out of stock US: exp. 7 Apr. 75072 ARC-170 Starfighter $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 325 days 75073 Vulture Droid $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 331 days 75074 Snowspeeder $9.99 Available Available 75075 AT-AT $9.99 Available Available 75076 Republic Gunship $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 305 days 75077 Homing Spider Droid $9.99 Retired product Retired product US: 330 days 75078 Imperial Troop Transport $12.99 Available Available 75079 Shadow Troopers $12.99 Available Available 75080 AAT $24.99 Retired product Sold out (US: 346 days) 75081 T-16 Skyhopper $24.99 Retired product Retired product US: 330 days 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype $39.99 Available Available 75083 AT-DP $49.99 Retired product Retired product US: 323 days 75084 Wookiee Gunship $69.99 Retired product Retired product US: 332 days 75085 Hailfire Droid $19.99 Available Available 75086 Battle Droid Troop Carrier $39.99 Available Available 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter $39.99 Available Out of stock US: exp. 21 Apr. 75088 Senate Commando Troopers $12.99 Available Available 75089 Geonosis Troopers $12.99 Available Available 75090 Ezra's Speeder Bike $19.99 Retired product Retired product US: 347 days DURING 2015 Number Name Price in USD Europe United States Miscellaneous 75091 Flash Speeder $29.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75092 Naboo Starfighter $49.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75093 Death Star Final Duel $79.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75094 Imperial Shuttle Tyderium $99.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75095 UCS Tie Fighter $199.99 Available Out of stock Av. from 3 May US: exp. 3 Apr. 75096 Sith Infiltrator $89.99 Available Available Av. from 2 Aug. 75097 Star Wars Advent Calendar $39.99 Retired product Not on the site US: 58 days 75099 Rey's Speeder $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75100 First Order Snowspeeder $39.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75101 First Order Special Forces Tie Fighter $69.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75102 Poe's X-Wing Fighter $79.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75103 First Order Transporter $89.00 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75104 Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle $119.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75105 Millennium Falcon $149.99 Available Out of stock Av. from 5 Sept. Exp. 3 Apr. US 75106 Imperial Assault Carrier $129.99 Available Available Av. from 1 June 75107 Jango Fett $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75108 Clone Commander Cody $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75109 Obi-Wan Kenobi $24.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75110 Luke Skywalker $19.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75111 Darth Vader $29.99 Available Available Av. from 5 Sept. 75112 General Grievous $34.99 Available Available Av. from 9 Sept. All data were first gathered on the 25th of January 2016, except the Ewok Village and Red 5, which data were gathered on the 27th of January 2016. Data thereafter amended corresponding to the updates listed below. References: Brickset, Brickpicker and Lego Shop at Home. Exp.: "expected shipping in case item is out of stock". Av.: "first date of availability of a set". With retired sets, the number of available days is given. Green: more than two years availability. Orange: one to two years availability. Red: Less than one year availability. Updates 27 January 2016 10236 Ewok Village and 10240 X-Wing Red 5 were added. Thanks @fossilrock for the tip. 75058 MTT: changed from 'retired' in Europe to 'temporarily out of stock, retiring soon' in Europe. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' in the US to 'out of stock, expected shipping Feb. 10 2016". 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'out of stock' to 'available' in Europe. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'out of stock, exp. 29 Jan.' to 'exp. 9 Feb.' in Europe. 75079 Shadow Troopers: changed from 'out of stock, exp. 30 days' to 'exp. 7 Feb.' in US. 75094 Tyderium Shuttle: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75099 Rey's Speeder: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 29 Jan. to 'available' in Europe. 28 January 2016 10240 X-Wing Red 5: changed from 'temporary out of stock' to 'retired' in Europe. Note: was only 'temporary out of stock' for a few days; previous status: 'retired'. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'out of stock, expected shipping Feb. 10' to 'exp. Feb. 12' in US. 75075 AT-AT: changed from 'out of stock, expected shipping 29 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75101 First Order Special Forces Tie Fighter: changed from 'out of stock, exp. shipping 29 Jan.' to 'available' in Europe. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'temporary out of stock' to 'available' in Europe. 29 January 2016 10236 Ewok Village: changed from 'temporary unavailable' to 'available' in US. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 12 Feb.' to '13 Feb.' in US. 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 7 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. 26 Jan.' to 'available' in EU. 75079 Shadow Troopers: changed from 'exp. 7 Feb. US' to 'available' in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Mar.' in US. 75096 Sith Infiltrator: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to '17 Mar.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 13 Feb.' in US. 30 January 2016 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 11 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'available' to 'temporary OOS' in EU. 31 January 2016 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. 11 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 6 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 1 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 1 Mar.' in EU. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 13 Feb.' to '14 Feb.' in US. 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' to '14 Feb.' in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 17 Mar. to '15 Feb.' in US. 75096 Sith Infiltrator: changed from 'exp. 17 Mar." to '15 Feb.' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' to 'exp. 6 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 13 Feb.' to '14 Feb.' in US. 2 February 2016 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 9 Feb.' to '8 Feb.' in EU. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 6 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'temporary unavailable' to 'available' in EU. 3 February 2016 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 15 Feb. to '14 Feb.' in US. 75096 Sith Infiltrator: changed from 'exp. 15 Feb. to '14 Feb.' in US. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 8 Feb.' in EU. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'available' to 'temporary unavailable' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'available' to 'temporary unavailable' in EU. 4 February 2016 10236 Ewok Village: changed from 'exp. 9 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 75058 MTT: says 'temporarily unavailable, retiring soon' but when clicking on entry it says 'sold out' in EU. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 8 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 75078 Imperial Troop Transport: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb. to 'available' in US. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: changed from 'exp. 8 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 76096 Sith Infiltrator: changed rom 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 10 Feb.' in EU. 75107 Jango Fett: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75111 General Grievous: says 'temporarily unavailable' but when clicking on entry it says 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 5 February 2016 75058 MTT: changed from 'temporarily OOS retiring soon OR Sold out' to 'Sold out' in EU. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 19 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 14 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 10 Feb.' to 'exp. 10 Feb.' in EU. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'temporarily unavailable' OR exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' in EU. 6 February 2016 75058 MTT: changed from 'sold out' to 'not on the website' in EU. 7 February 2016 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 19 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb. OR 19 Feb.' in US. 8 February 2016 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 1'9 Feb.' to 'exp. in 30 days' OR '18 Feb.' in US. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in EU. 9 February 2016 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. in 30 days' OR '18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 10 Feb.' to 'exp. 25 Feb.' in EU. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' to 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 10 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75060 UCS Slave 1: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype: changed from 'available' to 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. in 30 days' in US. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 17 Feb.' OR exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' in EU. 11 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. 26 Feb.' in US. 75060 UCS Slave I: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. 26 Feb.' in US. 75085 Hailfire Droid: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 17 Mar.' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' OR 'exp. in 30 days' to 'exp. in 30 days' OR 'exp. 18 Feb.' in US. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' to 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' in EU. 12 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 26 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'exp. 26 Feb.' to 'available' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 18 Feb.' to 'exp. 30 days' in US. 75107 Jango Fett: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75108 Clone Commander Cody: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75110 Luke Skywalker: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75111 Darth Vader: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 75112 General Grievous: changed from 'exp. 16 Feb.' OR 'available' to 'available' in EU. 14 February 2016: no changes vs. 12 February. 13 February not checked. 15 February not checked. 16 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'available' to 'exp. 29 Feb.' in US. 75059 Sand Crawler: changed from 'exp. 1 Mar.' to 'exp. 24 Feb.' in EU. 75060 Slave I: changed from 'exp. 19 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype: changed from 'exp. 30 days' to 'exp. 29 Feb.' in US. 75085 Hailfire Droid: changed from 'exp. 17 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: changed from 'exp. 30 days' to 'exp. 29 Feb.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: changed from 'exp. 25 Feb.' to 'exp. 24 Feb.' in EU. 17 February 2016: no changes. 18 February 2016 75059 Sand Crawler: from 'exp. 24 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 22 February (19-21: not checked) 75059 Sand Crawler: from 'exp. 29 Feb.' to 'exp. 5 Mar.' in US. 75082 Tie Advanced Prototype: from 'exp. 29 Feb.' to 'exp. 5 Mar.' in US. 75093 Death Star Final Dual: from 'available' to 'exp. 6 Mar.' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: from 'exp. 29 Feb.' to 'exp. 10 Mar.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: from 'exp. 24 Feb.' to 'available' in EU. 1 March (22-29: not checked) 75059 Sand Crawler: from 'exp. 5 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75082 Tie Advanced prototype: from 'exp. 5 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75093 Death Star Final Dual: from 'exp. 6 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: from 'exp. 10 Mar.' to 'exp. 14 Mar.' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: from 'available' to 'exp. 13 Mar.' in US. 25 March (2-24: not checked) 10240 Ewok Village: from 'available' to 'exp. 30 days' in US. 75034 Death Star Troopers: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75035 Kashyyyk Troopers: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75036 Utapau Troopers: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75037 Battle on Seleucami: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75040 General Grievous' Wheel Bike: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75043 AT-AP: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75044 Droid Tri-fighter: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75045 Republic AV-7 Anti-Vehicle Cannon: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75045 Coruscant Police Gunship: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75049 Snowspeeder: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75050 B-Wing: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75051 Jedi Scout Fighter: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75053 The Ghost: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75054 AT-AT: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75058 MTT: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75060 Slave I: from 'available' to 'exp. 7 Apr. in US. 75072 ARC-170 Starfighter: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75076 Republic Gunship: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75077 Homing Spider Droid: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75081 T-16 Skyhopper: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75083 AT-DP: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75084 Wookie Gunship: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75087 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter: from 'available' to 'exp. 21 Apr. in US. 75090 Ezra's Speeder Bike: from 'sold out' to RETIRED in US. 75095 UCS Tie Fighter: from 'available' to 'exp. 3 Apr. in US. 75102 Poe's X-Wing: from 'exp. 14 Mar.' to 'available' in US. 75105 Millennium Falcon: from 'exp. 13 Mar.' to 'exp. 3 Apr.' in US. Conclusions and perceptions (attention, SPOILER ALERT as regards which vehicles aren't featured in the new Star Wars movie!) In 2013 there were 26 new Star Wars sets. All have been retired or at least can't be found on LEGO Shop at Home anymore. In 2014 there were 30 new Star Wars sets. In Europe all of these but the UCS Sand Crawler have already been retired. The Sand Crawler is out of stock until tomorrow (expectedly). The Sand Crawler is also the only available set in the United States. The 'sold out' sets will probably retire soon. Whether the Sand Crawler (the last surviving Star Wars set of 2014) will be retired soon, isn't clear. On the one hand, it's a special set (UCS). On the other hand, it isn't featured in The Force Awakens. I recommend you don't wait too long to buy this set, just to be sure. If you happen to find any 2013 or 2014 sets on the shelves of your local toy store, now is probably your last chance to get them. Beginning 2015 there were 20 new Star Wars sets. Remarkably, 9 of them have already retired, 1 sold out (in Europe). Several of the other sets being out of stock and none of them having specific reference to the new movie, it seems likely the remaining half of these sets will be retired soon. If you can find a retired 2015 set in your shop, now is the time. These will probably become collector items, having only been available during 1 year. Out of those sets I personally have highest expectations of 75083 AT-DP. During 2015, 21 sets were issued. 7 of them deal with subjects found in the new movie. For easy reference, these are marked blue in the above schedule. Half of these sets are out of stock in Europe. I personally see this as an early retirement warning (especially for the non-Force-Awakens-sets), but opinions on this may differ. For the sake of completeness: no sets exist for numbers 75026, 75027, 75047 and 75061 to 75071. According to Brickset, 75057 is going to be a 2016 Marvel set (?) and 75098 is going to be a 2016 Star Wars set. View full blog article View full blog article

WOW!!!

Iron Man Silver Centurion poly - $28 FBA 75018 - Jek-14 Starfighter - $110 9395 - Technic Pick-Up Tow Truck - $130 9525 - Pre-Vizsla's Starfighter - $78 75019 - AT-TE - $168 10697 - Creative Box - $100 60022 - Cargo Terminal - $200 9474 - LOTR Battle of Helm's Deep - $244 9449 - Ultra Sonic Raider - $139 41051 - Merida's Highland Games - $32

Good morning, and how is the happiest moderator on the block on this fine Wednesday morning?

That's a great link right above, lets revive this forum a little BPs! if you got your money on bundle #5, you may just be getting my bricks too anyway, as cheap as I am, as lazy, as....as NOT-participating-in-SH.T as I am, I'm going to make a little version of Mos_Eisley $-4-likes idea, give this post 10 likes and I'll spend $10 on raffle ticket, up to 50 likes/$50! Let's go. (I'll pay on last day of the raffle Ed) And on the side, buy some tix too! Plus like Mos_Eisley post that I provided...

Alright, I'm selling likes! I've already bought some raffle tickets, but just for fun, for every "like" this post gets from members who joined before the time of this posting, I'll spend an equal amount on more tickets, up to $250. If it gets beyond that, I'll figure out how much more I'll spend. Let's set a like record!

Official name I am unsure of. Here you go anyway....into the danger zone.

Where Are They Now? is an ongoing blog series dedicated to analyzing specific high-profile Lego sets that have been targeted for investment and sold out / retired a year or more in the past. The idea is to review and summarize a wide range of investment factors surrounding the set a few months before, during, and after it stopped becoming available at retail prices... then look at the financial performance of the set thus far, and perhaps discover a clue about future growth and/or similar sets yet to retire. I absolutely have to begin with the Lego exclusive set that blew the doors off the investment world in Fall of 2014: Town Hall. Released: March 2012 Last Available (US): October 2014 Months Availabile: 31 Retail Price (US): $199.99 Pieces: 2766 Minifigures: 8 A Little History The modular building series, starting in 2007 with Cafe Corner, quickly became extremely popular with both AFOLs and investors, rivaling Star Wars UCS as the well known "Top of the Line" Lego sets. Those first two buildings, including Green Grocer, were only available for a little over 2 years each which helps explain their astronomical appreciation. However, by the time late 2014 arrived, a pattern had obviously been established in most investor's minds that the rest of the series was sticking around approximately 4 years per set. Fire Brigade had departed in late 2013 after 4 years, Grand Emporium was several months past its 4th anniversary (and expected to retire), and Pet Shop had been available for 3.5 already. Virtually no one had Town Hall on their radar as a candidate for retirement at the time. A few savvy individuals opened their eyes in Spring 2014 when it went temporarily out of stock, but the vast majority were non-believers and focused their attention and wallets elsewhere. Popular Opinion This modular series centerpiece was also a poor seller in comparison to its brethren as it sat "gathering dust" on store shelves. Partial evidence of this fact was observed by many (including yours truly) that seal codes on these boxes were commonly a year or more old, while others in the modular series had been produced only a few months or even weeks prior to being offered at retail. Apparently Town Hall just wasn't selling. Take a look at the date stamps on posts 6 and 7 in the official Brickpicker thread to see how ignored this set was. Several possible reasons for the lack of popularity, especially as an investment, include: The $200 (US) price point - significantly higher than the other modular options available at the time. A large box that takes up significantly more space than other modulars. An arguably "ugly orange" / "boring" design, with less aesthetic appeal than many would like. Clear expectation that it would be available for at least another year. Now, Pay Attention... On Oct 1, 2014 Town Hall went to backordered status at LEGO Shop at Home, then Toys'R'Us online went out of stock. The next day, Target sold out, and Lego status when to Sold Out as well, followed by Walmart (all according to reports made in our Town Hall thread). Eyebrows were officially raised, especially given the then-recent quick disappearance of Haunted House, when many expected that set to stay widely available through Halloween. But still a large number of investors thought it was unwarranted panic, citing the double VIP point promotion as well as the in-and-out of stock "dance" that Grand Emporium had been doing for much of the year without actually retiring. That's when our illustrious troll-guru leader Ed Mack dropped an atom bomb disguised as a feather, on page 7: "Very soon, this will be the busiest thread on the site." Part Nostradamus classic, perhaps part self-fulfilling prophecy, this statement became more than true and the thread exploded over the next few days as investors and end users everywhere slowly but surely realized the huge ugly orange wedding chapel was actually going away... and maybe... just maybe... they wanted one (or several) after all. Last available on Oct. 4 from Lego US / Canada, occasional small batches of stock popped up at various retailers, both online and physical, for over a month... but you had to be very lucky or a truly dedicated soul (wearing out your F5 key or weaving scripting magic) to catch one of these opportunities. There was a final production run in weeks 38-39, corresponding to late September, that trickled out (primarily to resellers) during October. It seemingly was not too extensive, however. Show Me the Money! Meanwhile, eBay prices shot up into the $300-$350 range within a day.The Brickpicker Price Guide reflected this huge surprise retirement factor as New 10224 values reached $400 before Christmas and climbed steadily to the $530 range in Spring of 2015, before leveling off for several months. Some investors were happy to buy in at over 2x MSRP, predicting continued growth in late 2015, which simply hasn't happened. Still, the set currently shows a 25% CAGR, outstanding by almost any measure. New prices have seemingly stabilized around $550 on Amazon, $500 on eBay, and $450 on Bricklink for the time being. Brick Classifieds currently follows suit. A substantial increase in Used values occurred on eBay (U.S.) from around $250 to $400 late last summer, continuing up to $450 now. It should be noted that the rest of the eBay world seems to have an approximate 20% premium on New over Used sets, a much wider gap than the U.S., and certainly closer to "normal". However, average Used sales over the last six months are $400 on Bricklink as well, proving strong demand for opened Town Halls. Perhaps end users hit their financial limit later this year, choosing to accept pre-owned copies at nearly half the price instead... so many doing so, in fact, that buying competition drove the Used price up to nearly New values. Another factor could be that this set is quite difficult to piece together, reportedly commanding about $500 for all pieces and instructions (no box), before adding multiple shipping and handling charges. Do we assume New prices will begin the inevitable climb upward again soon? Or will Used values dip back down a bit first as Americans realize the relatively small difference right now? One would think the gap should widen again, one way or another. From a longer-term perspective, will there be another huge increase in Town Hall values at some point in the next year or two? Or will it simply rise steadily, seeking four-digit sales (then returns) closer to 2020? No one can say for sure, but it IS going to gain value again. The only questions are how fast and how far. Several seasoned investors believe this is one of a very small number of "special" sets released in the past few years that have the potential to reach the $1000 mark. Some optimists were even hoping it would approach that threshold in late 2015. The one wild card in the game which could completely invalidate such bullish predictions is the possibility of a remake. I certainly don't see that happening, but I doubt anyone could have guessed over a year ago that Winter Toy Shop would be remade, either. If Lego ever decided to duplicate Town Hall, the value of 10224 would obviously drop like a rock. What to Do with Mine? If you are holding and can afford it, my personal advice is to keep holding. The relatively low supply of this set compared to so many other exclusives should make it an even bigger winner in the long run. Simply out-waiting sellers who are happy to take 3x their buy-in is a path to more profit for the rest of us. As more and more of these get bought and opened, a sealed Town Hall will become more of a collector's item, vaguely similar to Cafe Corner and Green Grocer before it. Of course it will never catch those sets in value, but it is a virtual lock for the "bronze medal" of modular building investments. On the other hand, if you are a buyer who missed out... seriously consider looking for a current "deal" (whether new or used), and get yours soon. It is only a matter of time before this set keeps rising in value, and if there is another big jump, you will avoid several hundred dollars of regret by acting now. I believe we are in a temporary "lull" with Town Hall's value (especially New), and if so, the more buyers that take advantage of it, the sooner the lull will be over, financially benefiting those who do. I definitely do not recommend picking up this set at current prices as a pure investment anymore, however, as fresher and more predictable opportunities are widely available. The Big Picture: Above all, realize - if you don't already - that Town Hall in many ways kicked off the maelstrom of CHAOS representing a marked change in Lego retirement (and production) schedules. Many investors "learned their lesson" when caught empty-handed with(out) this set, and adjusted their strategies to accumulate target stock numbers on subsequent exclusives earlier and more gradually. Of course, some were doing this already, and happen to have been proven smarter in this particular case. One only need glance at Pet Shop, Death Star, Tower Bridge, and T1 Camper Van to see that a strategy which works best for one set may not work for others, however. Whatever your budget and investment angle, use the retirement of Town Hall as a reminder that anything can happen, and that when the truly unexpected occurs, historical gains may be had. Additionally, avoiding the herd/horde mentality is proving to be more and more of a wise choice, starting most noticeably in the months prior to the day of infamy when 10224 became the busiest thread on the site! Special thanks to the following individuals for suggestions and editing help: jaisonline View full blog article

No way Lego would retire the White House before the election... [emoji56]

It's a closed group with about 70k members, most popular threads get 40 or 50 likes occasionally in the hundreds

Sold three Bat-Pod pieces....to a guy in Singapore....where I am going next week for work. So I am going to just bring them instead of shipping to the Portland address where it was going to get shipped overseas. Saves us both some money. Small world for sure. :-)

At least they were nice enough to seal up the bags for you.

Pictures have emerged of the German attackers

Here is the primary topic of conversation for this latest addition to the Architecture line, Buckingham Palace, which will retail for €49.99.

This new lighthouse looks not much different than the former from a few years ago.

nothing is retired forever. maybe this is what it takes to get 21103 to the next level. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/27/the-delorean-from-back-to-the-future-is-back-in-production.html

I'm not talented when it comes to moc's and the things I see here are way over my head. But from time to time, I do try to build something when sales are calm. Mind you this is a work in progress. This is what I wanted to build. The palace of Morocco. I had opened up Battle of Alamut and found it a nice set, but ... well... too small. So I went for something bigger. The front gate is the first thing I built. I didn't order any special bricks and my inventory of loose bricks is modest. The front gate is almost complete. Inside there is a square which I will do last with some sort of pool. Not sure yet. And to both left and right there are riaads. The outside of the riaad looks like this, it's the side of the moc. Second floor will be a copy of the ground floor if I have enough small bows.I'm missing 1 of the orangy pillars so pretty grrrr about that. Still searching. The palace itself And from the back. Not sure I will close the back wall as it will be very dark if I do Is my third day I'm working on it so plenty of stuff still to do

Brickset members doing a great job of getting us to $25K. I think there could be a shot to get to $30K. That would be most impressive. Think of all the happy little kids faces On the day the blizzard started here, my wife and I got go visit the school for a dinner and it was really nice for Ed's son to show us his classroom. He did it with pride. All the kids really enjoyed being there and helping out. Everyone knew everyone. It was really nice to see.

Impressively matches the real deal for the scale I say. Yes.

This is the princess set i talk about in upcoming blog......stay tuned lol

Let's keep the questions of someone's parenting skills out of the conversation please.

Definitely, this is a great grass-roots cause. Sadly, due to money constraints ATM (I'm a casual worker currently getting a measly 8 hrs a week with a wife and kid) and the low AUD, I only managed to get one ticket. However, I'll see if I can make an extra ebay sale or two before it ends and get more

The upcoming Batmobile answers the question of "What if the Batmobile were designed by a Hot Wheels artist?". It is rather slick and tactical in appearance. By comparison though it makes the Tumbler look, well, fat. Hmm, perhaps this is the result of the Tumbler going on a diet. Haha.

Four words: first official LEGO baby....and wheelchair! ....Okay, that was six and the newborn in a papoose for Series 15 would technically be the first far as concept goes but this one is a real infant with arms & all. I imagine this little guy will be a new standard popping up sporadically down the road in the likes of City and Creator (between houses & modulars) however this starting point should be special.

Btw my wife posted a pic with a minifigure wearing the baby from the tribal woman in a baby wearing group. 325 likes in 25 minutes. All the moms went nuts and need to have one. Up your prices if u are selling

To echo what others are saying and to perhaps add a bit. The cons I see are: the hulk is identical to the one in the hulk buster set (msrp of $29.99). So there is no appeal even at its discounted price of $35 for the hulk. captain America is the same as a more expensive set (quinjet city chase), but the bigger issue here is all the captain Americas that will be released with the civil war sets. so now you are left with a henchman who was identical to the one in a $19.99 set (hydra showdown); baron Von strucker who was completely forgettable in the movie; and a quicksilver figure who looks more like Brody from the original point break than a superhero. add to that a boring car and part of a gate/tower, it's just an awful lot of meh here. And ask yourself why the retailer best known for ignoring msrp in a bad way (tru, the markup King) would so easily discount their exclusive 30%. Tells me it's moving like sludge. Lastly, and putting aside the potential hoarding of a set like the hulk buster, how do you not spend $5 less at msrp ($29.99) get the same hulk big-fig, an exclusive ultron and scarlet witch and the hulk buster. Essentially the sets in the same theme at lower price points are just better, and that's what makes this such a stinker. but who knows, maybe i am wrong and in two years everyone will wish they stockpiled Brody and mr. Peanut (strucker)...

The thing that gets me the most is I always take high-res pics of everything I sell. They usually average around 8MB (even after cropping). This means you can see every detail on whatever it is I'm selling. I've blocked him, so I don't have to deal with the headache.

Sold a TFA Black Series wave 1 complete series tonight. About 5 minutes after the sale, I get this from the buyer; " Can you please pack this with care. I am going to have it graded. Thanks." I'm thinking, "Greaaaat." Thought about cancelling it because people like that are not going to be happy with anything you send them. 4 minutes later he sends this; " Sorry can I please cancel this order? I suddenly see a crease on the top corner of finn's box on your listing. You can charge me $5 for the inconvenience." 3 minutes later I get this; " Sorry please cancel this order, I won't be able to have finn graded with the crease on the top box corner. I am hoping for your consideration. Please do not ship. Thanks " Of course I cancelled it. He did me a favor, really. ******** is the name if you would like to avoid him. Nevermind. I guess it's frowned upon to inform other sellers of buyers like these. If you'd like his username, feel free to PM me. Mod edit: Deleted name of eBay user

5x Darkseid at Walmart. $40 13x Duplo Batman Batcave $20 2x Tumbler

credit to hothbricks

Do you think Mos_E would notice if you added a second "Like This" Button?

Don't let Mos Eisley off the hook!!! PAGE 10

As a St Paul School parent, I am overwhelmed by the support for this cause and the money Ed and Jeff have helped raised through this fundraiser. It really speaks to how special SPS is for our families to give so much of themselves to help support our school! Thank you to everyone who hs purchased raffle tickets! Thank you for understanding how special SPS is to our families. http://www.stpaulbrl.org

I imagine this will be nice for Friends collectors, but overall I think it's a stinker. They couldn't even make new colors for the 6x6 dishes that cover the ferris wheel seats. The big ferris wheel has green, yellow and purple.

Keep hating the cow, it runs on hate...churns hate through its large, steampunk engines and keeps on rocketing towards a prosperous future.

I second the 5 wows @Migration, so is that 10 wows then? I might not have enough room...He'll have to go on the other side where I moved the Lincoln Memorial, The UNHQ and Brandenburg Gate...hopefully there's enough space.

Some beautiful soul out there thought hey I'm gonna buy a MF and use my 5 year old 2011 LEGO bags and reseal some Megabloks, Tyco, and Cobi blocks (doing a piss poor job at that I may add) and send this back to Target instead. Why pay for something when you can be this much of a low life and return it. I mean it does require hard to work to be able to buy your kid or yourself something nice. Why bother with that hard work when there are alternatives such as this... And yes that is the Salvage tag that was removed from the middle of the box. You know the one someone said they "must destroy" to keep brand integrity up. Seen many switch outs in my business this one just was one of the more flagrant ones on a LEGO item.

So I just finished running the numbers off of the Bay/paypal. This is for all of 2015: 100 Total sales gross proceeds of 16,518.xx fees include shipping, packaging materials, gas for transportation when allowed by the IRS, ebay fees, paypal fees...does not include time spent (3588.xx) Cost of product (7053.xx) Net profit 5703.xx....80+% return on original investment (I have not calculated the CAGR yet) I am still a small fry. This is the first time I crossed 100 sales in a year. This season included selling out of deloreans, republic gunships, selling a few 9398 acquire from the UK, and some duds I was happy to escape with some profit like Orc Forge and Apple tree house (very thin margins on those). Some sets were held for 3+ years others a much shorter time. Fun time but I was little disappointed in the returns. Last year I grossed about half of that but my ROI was nearly 100%. Don't read too much into it....A lot was set selection. Some of my combined listing got eaten up with shipping costs. (I am based in the Midwest and I had a lot of west coast sales) I Rarely use calculated shipping but I am rethinking that strategy.