Brick Update

With the LEGO Snowtrooper Battle Packs #8084 disappearing from shelves, I figured I should grab a bunch of snowtroopers now before they become less commonplace. These 20 arrives in the mail this week, ready for battle:

I suppose this can’t go unmentioned, but I find it “interesting” as to how Toys R Us prices their LEGO. They typically price their sets higher than MSRP prices. So a $40 set at Target, Amazon, LEGO Store and everywhere else, will likely be $45 at Toys R Us.

This gets much worse as the holidays approach. If you watch LEGO prices at Toys R Us from September thru December, you will see a steady increase in prices. For some sets, the pricing is more extreme than others. This is also the season that Toys R Us offers it’s most extreme sales and rewards.

As a collector, I certainly can’t complain. I am aware of the price differences, and can make my purchases accordingly. But sometimes I get bummed that a parent or grandparent ends up spending 50% more on a regular LEGO set simply because they bought it at Toys R Us. They are unaware that they could save a lot of money, just by shopping down the street at Target.

I went into Toys R Us today to use up $25 of “Rewards Dollars” they had given me. Yes, this is a nice bonus about shopping at Toys R Us during the holidays. Let’s take a look at some of the prices.

I was surprised to find two of the new Super Heroes sets in stock, especially since Toys R Us currently has a sale: $10 off a $50 purchase. This was the last Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape, which I picked up. MSRP is $40, Toys R Us is charging $45, not as bad as I expected:

They had about five Batcave’s in stock too, but they were charging $20 more than MSRP at $90. So even after the sale discount, you are still paying $10 more than MSRP:

One of the more shocking price increases is the Harry Potter Quidditch Match. It retails everywhere else for $20, but Toys R Us kept raising the price from Sept to Dec, ending up at $38. That’s almost double what you would pay anywhere else:

Here is a set that Wal-Mart just sold for $5.90 in their great 50% off sale, and has been available everywhere for regular price of $12. At Toys R Us, they had TONS in stock for $17.

They had many of the new City sets in stock, most at a little above retail – usually a $5 price bump:

Another Harry Potter price bump: adding $15 dollars to MSRP of Hagrid’s Hutt:

For Hogwart’s Castle they added $20. At $150 they still have it in stock when many others are sold out:

They still have a whole bunch of Mill Village Raids even as others sell out. $10 price premium here.

They had one Hillside House in stock at $10 more than you can get it elsewhere.

Apple Tree House and Log Cabin:

I have seen this Tower Bridge sit on the shelf for weeks now. They actually created a sticker for it. No price premium but the box is now developing a sizable whole in the bottom left corner, in addition to the other damage that is hard to see in this photo:

The new ambulance set:

A $17 premium on Fire plane which should retail for $60:

Heavy-Duty Helicopter had a 20% price increase:

A mere $5 price increase for Robber’s Hideout:

I don’t remember seeing these before – some kind of special edition card in a “custom made” display stand:

In the end, I bought the Super Heroes Fun House along with Ninjago Venomari Shrine set #9440 in order to reach the $50 threshold for the discount.

Thanks!

There have been reports of LEGO on sale at Target, so I figured I would check it out. I have always found Target to be a mixed bag in terms of sales. They don’t price consistently across stores in my experience, and their stock level is always pretty low to begin with. This visit was no different with some items that others have reported at 50% off, scanning as full retail at the store I went to. Let’s take a look:

As usual, there sale aisle is a complete disaster. I found three Star Wars calendars, all of which had been opened. A woman later put one in her cart, and I pointed out the problem, and she put it back on the shelf.

This is the set they had the most of, and which I ended up being the most interested in. For $5, you get 3 minifigs, the dark red bike, some cool bricks and elements. They had nine of these.

The Cars 2 stuff was on sale – a pretty good selection.

Others have been reporting TONS of Pharoah’s Quest on sale at 50%. This store had a few of the bigger sets:

Both of these had damage to the box. Nothing huge, but puncture marks and wrangled seals.

Others have reported Portal of Atlantis being 50% off at their stores with loads of stock. This store had two in stock, and they scanned at full price. I would have bought it at 50%.

Oddly, these Army Men polybags rang up at full price as well.

Another Atlantis set still warming the shelves:

I ended up with the nine Pharaoh’s Quest sets. Just too good of a deal to pass up:

The regular LEGO aisle was pretty sparse. The still had the large Harry Potter Hogwart’s castle set ringing up at full price, as did all their Harry Potter merchandise. The Pirates of the Caribbean stuff scanned at full price too.

I was surprised to see so much Alien Conquest still on the shelves:

Their LEGO offering was pretty minimal. None of the newer sets:

All the red Ninjago sets are gone:

Some of the newer City sets. I’m just now noticing that they had Bank Transfer in stock too.

Just a couple Dino sets:

My first sighting of a proper Super Heroes set on the shelf, the Catwoman set.

All in all, a typically weird Target experience!

The MOC I am working on requires a significant number of minifigs, and two packages arrived today with goodies:

Individually packaged minifigs, a nice touch!

Here they all are, about 45 in total, plus an extra 20 helmets:

A bunch of Russian soldiers from the Indiana Jones series:

More tan soldiers. I already have about 30 of these, but couldn’t pass up adding 5 more to my collection:

A bunch of Irina Spalkos from the Indiana Jones series:

Plus one Star Wars fig I didn’t already have and the helmets:

Stay tuned for what this MOC is!

I have recently started working on a MOC again, the same one I was building last year. And I was thrilled to see a new part/color combo for 2012, the dark tan slope 75 2 x 1 x 3.

It’s only available in one set, and that set only includes two of this piece, it’s the Ninjago Venomari Shrine #9440:

I managed to get a hold of 80 of these pieces via BrickLink (see photo above), which is great since the set is still so new. Stay tuned for the fate of these pieces!

It is looking as though LEGO is discontinuing most of their Kingdoms lineup, with Lord of the Rings coming in later in the year. As these sets disappear from store shelves, the King’s Castle seems to be in high demand in the aftermarket. While this is a fine set, with very retro LEGO appeal, there are so many other castles that are not too dissimilar in LEGO’s back catalog.

I have been considering how the Mill Village Raid set is really unique, and given that it is being retired very quickly, how well it will do in the aftermarket once it’s retired. I own two of them, here is a comparison to Medieval Market Village:

The latter set has been out for years, to rave reviews, and much speculation about it’s value once it retires. But Mill Village Raid seems like a sleeper hit. You get so many animals, a very cool set with similar building styles to that of Medieval Market Village. I am looking to pick up at least one more of these. I never did end up with a King’s Castle – it just seemed like yet ANOTHER set with those large molded castle walls.

Later in the year, I may actually get a chance to build a Mill Village Raid, I will report back then!

LEGO Friends have arrived at Toys R Us, an interesting line that for many collectors, is notable for the individual colors and new pieces. I didn’t see the tree house, but most of the other sets were on the shelves:

They had a prominent display right in the front of the store too:

Nice to see Mill Village Raid still in stock, I plan on picking up two of these with the upcoming TRU $10 discount on $50, plus my reward dollars:

A few lingering Alien Conquest sets still remain:

I saw this beat up Tower Bridge weeks ago on the shelf for full price. Now it’s even MORE beaten up:

Some City sets:

More City:

Same deal with this Imperial Shuttle – in horrible shape, and at full retail price:

Still tons of the hoth battle packs available:

And they can’t seem to get rid of Prince of Persia either:

That last remaining Burrow is still on the shelf, of course with TRU’s huge markup:

Same with the $38 Quidditch Match:

Tons of Series 5 Minifigs too. The new Ninjago sets seem to be FLYING off the shelves though (seriously, they had so much more than this not too long ago):

Can’t wait until more 2012 sets hit the shelves!

Well, it looks as though we have entered the long cold winter of LEGO buying, where we were spoiled by amazing sales all Fall and early Winter, and now they dry up.

Sure, new sets are being released, and that is super exciting. But all of those week after week deals that have us collectors spending all of our money, that is over. Exhibit A is what is left after Wal-Mart’s amazing 50% off sale after Christmas.

What’s left on the shelves, no more sale items:

But, new sets are arriving. First up: FRIENDS:

The good news is that this gives me plenty of time for building all the sets I bought!

Last year, the LEGO Store had a pretty amazing 50% off sale. This year, I enjoyed the countdown to the sale along with members of the BrickSet.com and ToysNBricks.com forums, but alas, the sale was not as good as last year. I had planned to visit 3 different LEGO Stores today, but didn’t even go to one.

But… Target and Wal-Mart made up for it. Okay, let’s dig into the haul:

Target only had a few sets on sale for 20-30% off, but their holiday items were 50% off. Included in them were the Harry Potter Polybags:

They still had a bunch of Kingdoms Target Practice, and I grabbed all they had:

The regular toy aisles were an absolute disaster:

The discounts were really underwhelming:

They had a bunch of Star Wars Advent Calendars, but still $33:

My Target pickup after visiting two stores:

The first Wal-Mart I went to always has a small LEGO section. The Star Wars advent calendar was 50% off, so I picked up two:

Their clearance section was even more of a disaster than Target:

The second Wal-Mart I went to was amazing. They were stocked and organized like it was still September:

While nothing was marked on sale, if you scanned items, you would find that many of them were 50% off. Here is my cart that I quickly filled up:

A closer look at the aisles:

My final selections. I almost bought so much more. In the end, I got some Hoth Battle Packs, Kingdoms sets, a Pharaohs Quest set, City of Atlantis, and a whole bunch of Mace Windu’s Starfighters:

Until next Dec 26th!

I stopped by the LEGO Store and Toys R Us just as Hanukkah was starting, and a few days before Christmas, and found lots of out of stock LEGO merchandise, and some empty shelves.

The Toys R Us I went to had two LEGO aisles:

I was surprised to see a Hogwart’s Castle on the shelves, though with the TRU markup, it’s quite expensive:

Another surprise, At-Ats, which I know are harder and harder to come by:

With the Kingdoms line being retired, all they had was Mill Village Raid:

They still had $29.99 advent calendars in stock:

Moving on to the LEGO Store:

The Kingdoms selection here isn’t much better:

I can’t remember if I have seen this airport before:

They seemed to have all of the new City sets in stock:

Long gone are the Emerald Nights and Imperial Flagships. No Fire Brigade or Winter Toy Shop:

They still had some Tower Bridges in stock, as well as Maersk Trains:

The Super Heroes line has hit the shelves, but the regular sets are selling out immediately. Very limited selection for Harry Potter as well:

Side by side display of Queen Anne’s Revenge and the Black Pearl:

The winter sets:

They still had Endor sets in stock, I expect these to be retiring soon. They had most of the big sets in stock: Death Star, Imperial Shuttle, Super Star Destroyer. But the AT-OT Dropships were gone:

They still have plenty of Alien Conquest, another theme that is retiring. But the biggest set: Earth Defense HQ was gone:

Technic:

Creator. Plenty of Apple Tree Houses in stock:

Dino, Cars 2 and the new Sponge Bob sets:

Cute little set, but this ship is no replacement for Imperial Flagship:

And finally, they still had Brick Calendars in stock. Cute little set: