Leaderboard

for all the leak-taking on it, GE's are selling within hours of listing on amazon at prices over 2x MSRP 16 months out from EOL. if that's "less less gain", i'll take it. The Tumbler is going to do very well next year when the 10 year anniversary of Ledger's passing and Dark Knight release whips up some Millennial teenage nostalgia. selling it now is good if you have to pay off your credit cards and get a free dinner a Chili's. it will be painful to read "What Set Did you sell today" thread next year and in the future though...

I have not followed this thread religiously at all. I have glanced here and there at the negative comments and disappointments expressed by my fellow brickpickers, but I just haven't had the time to really check this upcoming SW UCS exclusive out for myself. I've glimpsed photos of the box art and a few other images posted online. That was really the extent of my knowledge of this upcoming (and highly anticipated) set. Then a few minutes ago I watched the official Lego designers video and I saw the entire thing unfolded before my eyes.... (Keep in mind the following: my wife is out of town on a work trip. I've spent the evening binge-watching "It's Always Sunny..." on Netflix and enjoying the second half of a really fabulous pinot noir) This...thing... is a trainwreck. It's a hodgepodge scrapbook stitchwork monster of a UCS set. It's Victor Frankenstein on quaaludes after Igor burned the lab to the ground and ran off with one of the villagers. It's Fonzie on water-skis. It's "The Last Airbender" on a 72-hour loop across every channel. It's an email from a co-worker who can't differentiate between "their," "they're," and "there" and somehow manages to incorrectly appropriate all three of them in a single paragraph. It's like reading the last 36 hours of the 10188 thread without any mod intervention and continued in perpetuity. Okay, maybe the last one was too far. Nothing was worse than the recent nerd-fight on the 10188 thread. Still, what a disappointing set. All hyperbole aside, it's really too bad that the design team chose this over a new UCS Cloud City or a UCS Mos Eisley (or a dozen other options!). If they wanted another play set, they could have done so much better with a different scene. And if they were married to the idea of Hoth, that's fine, but it's a shame they couldn't construct a cave-like enclosure with x-wings, etc to "anchor" the whole play set instead of it being ten different battle packs spread out on the floor. Sigh. Back to my pinot.

Finally built my 1st building modular set. Well, two of them. Building the "1932" area was a pain. Very unique technique but painful.

The origins of this set have been uncovered by a Disney archivist. They found an unreleased, 1991 straight to video film by the same name in the Lucasfilm vault. Now we can understand how an assault by two could be successful. From the promotion materials: The action is heating up on the ice planet Hoth! When trooper Kesva Pelon (Steven Seagal - Above the Law, Hard to Kill) discovers that his ex-wife, Toryn Farr (Kelly Le Brock - Weird Science), joined the Rebel Alliance, became chief communications officer for the base on Hoth and has been abducted by a ruthless wampa, he must take matters into his own hands. But Kesva wouldn't dare assault the Hoth base alone! He is joined by longtime Imperial Academy friend and the Galactic Empire's finest speeder bike pilot, Squad Leader Brase McRol (Chuck Norris - The Delta Force, Missing in Action) Together, they are a two-man wrecking crew, leaving death and destruction in their wake. They must act fast if they hope to rescue Toryn and punish the Rebel scum for letting her be taken! "Norris and Seagal are an action tour de force!" - LA Times

The universe of LEGO Star Wars is changing. Some of the changes may be too subtle to notice at first, but it began more than a year ago. Before we look into the changes taking place now, and influencing the future, let us take a look at the way things have always been. Historically the LEGO licensing of the Star Wars brand has always been consistent. Star Wars had a three-year cycle between movies starting with The Phantom Menace in 1999, the year that LEGO acquired the rights. There were theatrical releases of Star Wars films in 2002, 2005, and 2008. Three years was sufficient for LEGO to create new sets and visit new ideas. Enough time passed to fully explore the themes presented in each film, and supplement them with Original Trilogy sets. In 2008, The Clone Wars presented an opportunity for an ongoing series to promote and stimulate sales of sets. The continued Media support gave the creators time to revisit and update older sets. The continued use of the same, or similar vehicles, allowed The LEGO Group to refine older designs, while simultaneously experimenting with a few new concepts. TLG created sets based on The Old Republic and The Yoda Chronicles. Those sets that performed poorly post retirement. Star Wars: Rebels received a limited number of sets. Presumably LEGO learned from the lower popularity of Intellectual Properties that were not live action Star Wars films. Each time that Lucasfilm expanded the brand, LEGO was there. (Look for the Freebuilder sets on clearance at stores near you within the next year) There was no pressing for LEGO to completely turn over all of the available products. They could phase out the previous film slowly to prepare for the next one. Original Trilogy sets could bridge the gap between the last of the previous film and the first of the new. That's most of LEGO Star Wars history. Before we proceed, let's take one last detour to the not-too-distant past. December 2014, the Millennium Falcon 7965 and X-Wing 9493 retired after nice, long runs: the TIE Fighter 9492 had also retired only a few months prior. The resellers were prepared for steady gains, because collectors that missed out were scrambling to find something that would fill a collection. It should have been at least 2 years before the next version of these iconic, and frequently remade, ships hit stores again. June 2015 rolled around and a very similar Millennium Falcon was leaked. The steady growth stalled and then fell. A new X-Wing and TIE Fighter also accompanied the Falcon, and the values stalled (momentarily) for their recently departed relatives. In December 2015, a bunch of Star Wars sets that had only been out for a year unexpectedly retired instead of reaching the average 18 month life span. In my opinion, the one year life cycle will not be an anomaly, it will become the new normal. We live in a universe where Disney is going to be releasing one Star Wars movie a year for the foreseeable future. For the first time in LEGO history, a new film will demand new product every Christmas. Long time collectors will want the new ships and characters, and new collectors will want whatever is most current. Turnover will be accelerated. I foresee the last of the Rebels packaged sets retiring in June 2016. Going forward, I believe that we'll see predominately Sequel Trilogy and Anthology sets. Refreshes will come, but they will be aligned with the film releases. Rogue One should facilitate the return of classic Original Trilogy sets. So, people who went deep on AT-ATs should be prepared for a quick return of this popular vehicle, and plan accordingly. The new version will probably have Stormtroopers and/or Scouts instead of Snowtroopers. We are less likely to see the return of Clone Wars or Prequel Trilogy sets. Some PT will be released, but they will be fewer and further apart. The fans that were kids in the PT era will have aged and become AFOLs in this new universe. They may be on the lookout for neo-classic PT sets. I'd almost expect some movement on these in the coming years. People who snapped up discounted Jedi Interceptors, Grievous Wheelbikes and other "Hero" vehicles with main characters should see good returns. The 75019 AT-TE and the 75021 Republic Gunship which featured prominently in both the Clone Wars and two of the Prequel Trilogy, are likely to gain demand. LEGO has also shown they are willing to release variations within a year; with the release of both 75102 Poe's X-Wing and 75149 Sacking of Jakku, we will have 2 concurrent X-Wings on shelves. (Although my force sense says that the Sacking of Jakku will be a store exclusive.) Some people are even speculating about a third X-Wing, a classic one, for the launch of Rogue One. Although I think that's less likely to happen in 2016. In summary, my intuition tells me that we will see faster turnover (to keep up with the new films), fewer sets from movies that do not feature events or vehicles in the new films, and potentially faster remakes of popular ships specifically because they will be featured in an upcoming films. We're also less likely to see Prequel Trilogy sets in heavy rotation as Disney moves forward with OT era and ST era sets. What does this mean for the future? "Difficult to see . . . Always in Motion is the future." We will need to look at new factors. Look for the one offs. If there is an important character that doesn't make it out of the movie alive, any set with that character will become a key later on. If there is a vehicle that is used prominently in a single film, it will become desireable later. Rey's Speeder will do nicely post retirement. It is well made, represents the vehicle nicely and is unlikely to be used in another film. It's also a cheap set that many will have ignored. It will be revisited eventually, because LEGO is never completely done with remakes, but it will be years, unlike the TIE Fighter, X-Wing, Millennium Falcon, AT-AT, etc. Will the old Han in 75105 be enough to lift that set up when another Millennium Falcon will (almost) definitely be out in 18 months? It's possible. . . Looking at recently retired, or in production Prequel Trilogy sets the Jedi Interceptors (75038, 75135) and Grievous Wheel Bike (75040) are likely to be steady gainers. The Naboo Fighter (75092) and Sith Infiltrator (75096) will probably fly under the radar for a little while before picking up steam when fans realize that they missed their last chance at retail. Did anyone notice that the AAT 75080 quietly retired? Scene builders will want some of these, and won't be able to get them from retail. The Republic Gunship and AT-TE (75019 and 75021) will probably be highly sought in the near future. Only time will tell if my predictions are right. I feel strongly that the old model has been destroyed by the (Disney) Empire. For better or worse, we should anticipate changes. In the past, OT sets were the safest bets, but with the anthology films coming, we'll see more and more of those. In addition, We'll likely see some movement on a few sleeping dogs. Imagine a Han Solo film or even one about Boba Fett without a hint of Jabba the Hutt. Unlikely I think. Now, imagine those disappointing Jabba's Palace and Sail Barge sets when TLG makes a smaller "Encounter with Jabba" set. Really, it is better to anticipate change than to be caught unaware and have to catch up. If nothing else, it's all food for thought. One addendum, premium sets like the UCS sets will always have their place and demand. That is unless The LEGO Group continues to dilute the brand with inferior playsets or future remakes. May the bricks be with you . . . always. View full blog article

Because clearly no one liked the Simpsons - It's no wonder that it was canceled so quickly.

Sales really slowed down after the holiday season but it has started to pick up slowly but surely. This week I've sold: eBay: x1 41510 Series 2 Lunk Mixel - $13 w/free ship x6 75920 Jurassic World Raptor Escape - $79 each w/free ship; paid $42.51 x1 8883 Power Functions M-Motor - $16 w/free ship; paid $8.01 x2 Iron Man Silver Centurion Polybag - $43 each w/free ship (both to same buyer); free from Gamestop Amazon: x1 75049 Star Wars Snowspeeder - $60 + $5.44 ship credit; paid $22.47 x3 10697 Large Creative Box - $80 each + $7.02 ship credit; paid $32.10 x1 75920 Jurassic World Raptor Escape - $75 + $5.33 ship credit; paid $42.51 x1 60061 City Airport Fire Truck - $60 + $5.14 ship credit; paid $10.85 x2 Star Wars Millennium Falcon Microfighter - $36 each + $4.50 ship credit; paid $10.91 x1 Series 4 Complete Set of 9 Mixels - $55 + $4.92 ship credit; paid $33.39

75055 ISD for 64 @WM. It was hidden deeply in the outdoor sports area. Guess someone must forgot where he/she hided it.

And finished my third Green Grocer 10185 but this one I built mirrorred to mix it up a bit. Was quite fun to build that way.

Ebay 79108 Stagecoach Escape $48 shipped.

You ever build Haunted House? It's an excellent display piece that holds its own against any of the modulars.

Did you need oven gloves to handle it?

The point of a price match is not to obtain an item at a cheaper price . Retailers allow it so that one doesn't have to go to the competition and they also get to keep their customers happy and satisfied .

Not me Nope... I passed on these today, just like you. I made plenty of $ on these already. No need to anger the gods.

Speaking of price matching. I wish TRU online would PM RRP...

YMMV: 8% in eBay Bucks on every qualifying item of $50 or more (ie. 4x eBay bucks) The Promotion starts at 5:00AM PT on February 25, 2016, and ends at 11:59PM PT on February 26, 2016.

Finished the NYC Skyline late last week but did some rearranging in my office today. These used to sit on a window sill and once my office cat almost sat on the Statue of Liberty I decided that it was time to move everyone. I got another 2 shelves down at the bottom so once the new Capitol Building is out he'll have a nice home next to the imperial hotel...now I just have to decide if I want to build a Villa Savoye...I got 3...so I probably will at some point...

GE's sell quickly at that price. i sold 5 last week at that price too. unloaded 50 Tie Interceptors Microfighters on amazon in the last month for $24.99 fbm, bought for $5 last year. shipping is $2.60 anywhere in the us. 25 microfighter Millennium falcons for $34-39 fbm. favorite is when someone buy's multiple Microfighters from me and amazon charges them $4.99 for each item to ship and i can still ship up to 3 microfighters in 1 box first class. 3 Fallingwaters for $225 fbm. 1 Haunted House for $415 fbm. paid $149 for it during the great walmart exclusive's "sale" from 2 years ago when they were giving you a $30 gift card for buying the set at MSRP. i can remember when they had SSD's on that deal too - doh - where's that time machine?

People keep talking about $600 or $700 sets. We don't even have a $400 set right now. Seems to me that the GBHQ could have been, but they didn't want to go that high. Seems like the sweet spot for LEGO sets is around $200 and 2000 or so pieces. Remember, the 10179 sold at MSRP for $500 and had to be discounted down to $400 for people to buy. I don't know if LEGO wants to produce such an expensive set because it can actually make consumers think that LEGO sets are too expensive and cater to only the wealthy. I don't think the world wide economy supports such a set at this time.

Don't criticize the poor 75098 designers when there skills and creativity is not quite they're but their trying! /sarcasm /bad-grammar Enjoy!

Well, that explains why my $20 Venom polys aren't selling.

10211 - Grand Emporium - $324 (FBM) 42000 - Grand Prix Racer - $230 (FBA) 5560 - Pink Brick Box - $58 (FBA) Series 7 - Bunny Suit Guy - $34 (EBay) Series 11 - Female Scientist - $14 (EBay) I guess for the SFLL in me. I finally sold my SKILZ Mulit-Sport radars for $50 each after a $5 buy-in. They sold much faster than I thought they would.

50x Cowler Dragon Polybags $150 + shipping. After taxes, fees, shipping made about $70 on $64 target clearance for $1.19 ea. Keeping it rolling while everyone chases Poe and batman

Found 2 Slave I at mrsp . Grabbed them with 10% and GC stack . Also saw this for the first time :

Managed to get a used copy for £70, few bits missing, but nothing too terrible and mostly in good condition. Only the second modular I’ve built, other being GE (and excluding HH), decent enough built, but still not really won over by it.

Babies R Us GC from Ebay on Monday.

matched fremeyer.com (it is clearly stated they do that in terms and conditions on the price match policy) on the falcons. however POS would not apply the 10% CC discount on pricematched items. got a three way call going with TRU/Synchrony and the bank reluctantly issued a 10% refund as their terms do not specify that 10% discount does not combine and is unrelated to coupons/pricematch/sale/clearance. its only related, and should only be related, to using their CC. i was told to call them when still in the store next time issues with 10% TRUTH arise. YMMV of course. BTW, the reason i called them is that the store would not budge on the discount and i didnt want hold up the line waiting on the manager.

What I have learned hunting Target deals the last few months is that the clearance %-age depends on the demographic of the area the store is in. Most stores discount clearance by 30%, but some stores go to 50%. So when I looked around I found $41.98 in most locations, but only one had $29.98. I scooped those up, even though it was a 15 mile drive. I don't think the 30%-off Targets will go to 50% anytime soon.

http://www.brickpicker.com/target-inventory/ use DPCI 204-00-1714

Got around to putting the minifigs together. Overall fairly happy with what i was able to make given how difficult some of these characters are to make with LEGO's current parts inventory. They aren't perfect, but i think at least for Lex/Alan/Ian they are pretty recognizable. Didn't plan on making Muldoon, but i had this custom shotgun that looked just like his from the film and found enough parts to make him somewhat believable. He doesn't fit into this scene however, but maybe i'll do something fun with him and a Raptor in the bushes... Not happy with: Tim in general, i can't find a good torso piece. Ian's headpiece isn't "cool" enough, but i had trouble finding a flesh-tone face with cool sunglasses. Front and back of Alan's shirt has writing on it, but it's not very visible from the front. Lex's neck is yellow, but it doesn't stand out too much. Thanks to @TheOrcKing 's suggestion, i will probably make a lawyer figure, but do not currently have the pieces as finding a tan suit is sort of hard. Professor Lupin has a great one so i might have to go that route. If anyone has any suggestions for better pieces just let me know!

Since I have no shot at ever buying anything at Fred Meyer, I would never try it.

I don't think I say this enough but I love mark Hamill. https://spidercrimes.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/mark-hamill-appalled-he-wont-be-getting-oscar-for-force-awakens/

Their mark-up is all over the place. Just like their policies.

Why create a new thread when I can rename "update and improve" the title of this one?

The one thing I am certain of, if there is a new UCS MF, it is not going to be released in 2016. Why release it this year when Disney can wait 1 more year and release it as a 40th anniversary set? Mo' mo' mo'

Tell me about it. I just get a price match, earn Rewards dollars, and pay with discounted gift cards that are readily available at higher discount than one finds for LEGO, Target, Amazon, or Wal-Mart. But they don't carry my bags to the car for me. Jerks. What stores am I missing that offer price match, will apply other discounts, and regularly have other discounts that apply towards your LEGO purchase? The only one I can think of is Target, but their "other discounts" that apply to LEGO are a once-in-a-blue-moon event.

Great read! I was just telling my family a few days ago "My gut tells me Rey's speeder is going to do well after EOL", its got some nice greebling to it, and is an iconic ship in the new series. 19.99$ is a steal. Only the future will tell. Thanks for the write up Oken.

My order from 2/12 was most definetly a return. The tell tale sign was the packing tape they used in place of the standard seal codes . Everything was where it should be and it got added to the "To Be Built" queue

Sounds like the Sea Cow forum a couple months ago. Who knows anymore with this stuff.

I hear you. Short life, great display piece unlikely to be remade, big fanbase, yadda yadda yadda. Does it pass the CEO´s office display piece test, though?

Don't be such a negative ninny. You know damn well, once the retirement rumors start making their rounds, it'll dry up as all the newbie investors and new people will gobble them up since it'll be the new hot retirement product. Kinda like the Tumbler...part deux.

I'm just gonna watch this one go back to $269....

75102 - Poe's X-Wing from Amazon's order yesterday arrived today - 03R6 This ship is here!

Walmart. This was my first time in a long time hunting, usually it's Internet or Lego store, decided to hit couple walmarts, ended up stopping at 3, nothing major, no SW on sale/clearance but found those: Snow plow truck 60083 $9 furry creatures 31021 $5 plus architecture studio arrived today from LEGO Shop at Home for $127.98 with 2 free NEXO Knights polybags

Had a coupon and points bonanza at KMart.com. 5 x 75094 - Imperial Shuttle Tydirium - averaged out to $54 each

This thing looks like as if somebody took a dump among the exclusives. It's pathetic.