Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation since 03/21/2024 in all areas

  1. Snow Whites Cottage. This one started off just like Winnie the Pooh lots of very small specialized elements to build up the structure, and piece count, instead of classic Lego bricks. Look at all the extra pieces. I did not apply the stickers to the beds and the piano but might go back and add them although not really necessary. I was not looking forward to the roof but it actually was an excellent build and really made the set more enjoyable. The Dwarfs all have 2 sided facial expressions but besides from Dopey’s molded ears are all rather generic with no arm or leg printing but perhaps accurate to the source. They should have included the parts necessary for them to sit at the table like they did in Rivendell. I would think there are lots of play opportunities in this set but it is very cramped. The figs and Disney tax make this set overpriced by $40 compared to the Blacksmith and A frame both larger and fully enclosed with similar piece counts. Build 8 Play 8 if you have tiny hands Display 7 Value 6
    11 points
  2. This is a family forum. I don’t think you’re allowed to talk about your Funwhole here. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    7 points
  3. Lego has continued to raise prices, which has given the bootleg companies wiggle room on prices. Watching this consistently since this thread started all those years back, the bootleg prices have moved upwards as Lego provides them room to still be a comparable deal, and make a larger profit on top of it. Take Rivendell for example. Lego: $499.99. Bootleg: Less than 1/3 of the price. I'm sure enough people will be happy to get 3 large sets without "Lego" written on the studs, for the same price. This price difference is worse for resellers than Lego itself. Brick Bank on Amazon today: $655. Bootbank: Can be found at nearly 1/10 the price. Any set that bootleggers keep in production, is hurting product moving on the aftermarket. Sure, most buyers wouldn't buy at that price... but each person that is swayed will affect stagnation. We cater to the upper class with money to blow, but the cost of actual necessities is going up and people may still want to get their fix. I've seen enough "I'm a lifetime Lego buyer but after this, I'm hooked" posts on reddit/facebook to know that people with actual money are being swayed. I disagree with copyright infringement, but I don't blame anyone for saving money for something that they are shoving in their private residence... that someone would need to be close enough (and care enough to pay attention to) a little word written on the studs. I can't agree that the bootleg fans are about instant gratification though, as they wait months after an official Lego set release before they can get their hands on the same set. You'll see many posts about "when will bootlegs make this set" whenever a new desirable set appears. They've just decided that building something a couple months earlier isn't worth paying triple the price. A lot of AFOLs are quite vain about being able to afford expensive sets, and the bootleg fans laugh at them. If I wasn't playing with house money/damn good at finding deals... I can't say being prideful about spending multiple times more than someone else for a non-essential would be enough to make me do it. The younger generations have less disposable income, and have been raised in a culture that focuses on the experience versus the status. Getting the same exact build experience for 1/3 (or less) of the cost... all while not supporting billion dollar profits? That ticks all the boxes. Whether you agree or not, this generation is your future customers. Buying alternatives is going to be ingrained in them, and unlike previous generations... they're going to have an uphill climb with owning property and other essentials to living... I'm not sure the bulk of them are ever going to have "piss away" money to splurge on 400% aftermarket increases.
    5 points
  4. Insect Collection great set with no stickers, excellent prints, and unique part usage, look at the Sand Green Pistol. If you can find this for 20% off or more it is a definite pickup and has a good cross-over with the Botanical sets. The flower build at the base of the butterfly is top notch. 1111 pieces but a lot of them go to the stands and displays not the actual insects. You can easily remove the insects from the stands if you wanted to play with them. The building app now gives you stats. Build: 8 Play: 6 Display: 8 Value: 7
    5 points
  5. I guess I don't have any problem with all these castles being made (though I'm personally getting a bit burnt out), but I would like to see some other themes get produced on this scale. I prefer classic space to castle, and while TLG is producing some interesting space sets, there's nothing approaching the scale of these castles that has the classic space feel. I won't even talk about what a ludicrous miss that space CMF set is. But I do think a 3k - 4k piece classic space set would do quite well - it's just a shame the BL program is starting to boil down to castle, trains and modulars. At least, that's how it feels right now. Maybe a bit of recency bias here...
    5 points
  6. I could be wrong but Im not sure these are going to be that popular.
    5 points
  7. 5 points
  8. LEGO Technic Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 AR Race Car Toy 42138 $31.99 @target. Amazon matched. Limit 3 75288 LEGO Star Wars at-at Walker 75288 Building Toy, 40th Anniversary Collectible Figure Set, Room Décor, Gift Idea for Kids, Boys & Girls with 6 Minifigures Price down to retail $169.99 at amazon. Limit 60
    4 points
  9. Target has #42115 Technic Lambo Sian for $299.99 and #10297 Modular Boutique Hotel for $183.99 (20% off)....plus some other sets for their 20% off ad this week.
    4 points
  10. Will wait for actual pics to make a final judgement, but this seems like a giant swing and a miss. Seems like they tried to play homage to the space themes, but these just don't really do it for me. Definitely will get pink space baby, of course, but without any figs really going back to classic days, I'll pass on them for the most part. I like to see they continue to work with trans pieces for figures, makes me think we may get those force ghosts yet.
    4 points
  11. Two separate things here, first I am surprised at how many people post pictures on Insta and FB of their "FLego", that's what they call it, fake lego builds. There is an amazing MOC that requires 2 1/2 Rivendell that I was looking at building, but even if not buying the minifigures you are looking at $1K if buying Lego. Also, the Titanic seems to be a big target for fake Lego and most of the UCS SW ships. I haven't looked at this in years so had no idea how prolific it had become. Quality with numbered bags seems to be way up based on reviews and prices are way down with new "official" stores offering purchase options in the USA. Printed instructions and even real "Lego" boxes. These are still stolen IP, knockoffs but not sure what percentage of the market share goes to them versus official Lego sets. Second, Brick Artisan the #2 ranked MOC builder on Rebrickable and BL designer reviewed a new to me building block company, so I thought if it was good enough for him I would give them a try since they are sold on Amazon. These are all original designs not stolen IP that come in boxes better than Lego and include some very unique elements that lego does not produce. I just did a cheap trial set, The Newsstand, for $28.50 and it includes a light kit. I have never built a Lego set with a light kit only light bricks and on this one it is totally integrated into the build so that nothing is visible. All very nice high quality printed parts and a horrible minifigure. The fit and finish was very good with no missing pieces and they do have a parts replacement option although I did not have to use it. The tolerances are so good that the clutch power is so strong that parts are difficult to separate which can be a bad thing. I was thinking about picking up the Farmers Market and Lakeside Cottage but not sure if I want to spend more money on this line. ETA: Oh, I left out the best thing. Name of this company is: Funwhole!
    3 points
  12. This is in those Walmart 3 in 1 Easter Boxes and free instructions: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-145153/Luke_Bricks82/rainbow-falcon/#details
    3 points
  13. Indeed. And I'm on the bandwagon! I think the Medieval Seaside Market could serve as a nice crossover between Pirates and Castle.
    3 points
  14. I see that compressed to heck & back image and think of....
    3 points
  15. Had a stash of 21308 Adventure Time I got cheap at Kohl’s clearance. Never thought they’d be worth much. Current sales on Amazon are $120. You just never know.
    3 points
  16. LEGO Space Series Space 71046 cases $149 sets $54.99 shipped preorder We are expecting them to arrive give or take a few days may 8th sets like the last 2 we carefully open and glue back https://planetfuntoys.com/
    2 points
  17. Most people don't share the same care, and are loyal to their wallet not multibillion dollar companies. Many of the MOCs are based on licensed products that the bootleg companies have no rights to. You wouldn't download a car would you? The MOC creator didn't own the IP, so it wasn't stolen. What they did was skirt the spirt of the Ideas program.
    2 points
  18. The ick factor on fake bricks is gone. There are still some of the bottom barrel producers that have poor clutch and an oily feel (similar to Megabloks), but across the board you'd find it hard to notice a difference in quality without looking for the logo. I've come across a ton of them while sorting, and previously I could just tell by touch... but now I have to actually look at the studs. The quality really changed when Lego opened facilities in China for production, as they steal and copy everything they can get their hands on. It probably didn't take until the end of the first shift for mountains of data to be provided to the other companies there. It's never going to be 100% as good, but 95% is still an A, and the vast majority of people are going to be happy with it. It will never be lights out for Lego though, as they still sell multitudes more product, and many people are so absolutely brand conscious that they'd never buy anything else. And the move to China only helped Lego grab a footprint in a multibillion person country, which has its own brand conscious people. If you recall, around the time of the move the news was full of "China's growing middle class", and how the "China middle class will surpass America". If they had to give up trade secrets to grab that market, they knew who they were making a deal with. It's going to hurt resellers more than anyone, as the bootleggers keep sets in production for years. It doesn't help that Amazon will display bootleg sets right next to genuine sets on search results. As the reseller price rises, and the bootleg price stays the same, you're going to have more people taking pause and digging deeper. If I'm looking at having a UCS star Destroyer, am I going to spend nearly 4x the price for 2.5x less parts? This is the question our buyers will be asking when seeing these side by side. 6x the price for 2.4x less pieces? Our customer base is getting old, and the replacements are overall not nearly as brand attached, nor are they going to have the disposable income of the previous generations. And Amazon is just blatantly telling them there are other options out there, and to "click here" to explore more. I've bought bootleg animals/dinos for my kids that Lego hadn't produced yet, and it's hard to tell the difference. For example the styracosaurus and pentaceratops feel and clutch the same as the triceratops. Had a brachiosaurus for years now, as well as countless zoo creatures that Lego is still catching up on. You also have MOC artists on rebrickable licensing their designs directly to MouldKing and other brands, as they pay out a lot more than selling instructions on rebrickable. I suppose a lot of people "like" designs but rarely buy the pieces once they see the part cost. Now you can get your MOC instructions and parts in one transaction, for 1/4 of the cost of sourcing them yourself. I don't blame the MOC designers for making money, but it directly affects part resellers.
    2 points
  19. Interesting topic @Pseudoty Love the competition that F’s create for LEGO—this will push LEGO to up their game in terms of pricing, promotions, and creativity. LEGO has totally taken advantage of the consumer for way too long with their monopoly. The question, as stated above becomes, what percentage of consumers will ditch LEGO? I didn’t grow up with much, so owning an OEM LEGO set has special meaning to me—I don’t care if the F’s are one-to-one. My ability to buy unlimited LEGO to make up for the lack in my childhood speaks to all the hard work I did to change the hand that was dealt to me. I know I’m not alone on this, but I don’t think I represent the majority anymore. I’ve seen this in the timepiece game too. The Chinese Rolex super fakes are near one-to-one (dumbazz Rolex moved their machines to China in the 2000’s to save a buck and those machines were quickly replicated). Despite the one-to-one, almost all the hardworking dudes I know, could care less about the F’s because having the real thing represents something more. To the younger guys though, they’d prefer to own the whole Rolex collection of super fakes than own just one real one. The tide has turned with Gen Y and Z. It’s all about the instant gratification (why do the hard work), the need to be a superficial instagram star, and the hyper cycle of trends that creates a throwaway consumer culture. But maybe it’s me who’s been wrong this whole time. Did I overbuy into these brands marketing gimmicks, aspirational BS, and keeping up with the Jones’s that may not really exist? I kinda think Gen Y & Z are on to something—especially if the quality is becoming one-to-one.
    2 points
  20. From my understanding the quality is pretty much on par with Lego at this point, and they 1:1 copy everything. Many of the bootleg brands have switched to the numbered bag model, versus chaos building. This only aids to the brand name nostalgia. They also steal (or license in some cases) people's MOCs from rebrickable. https://www.reddit.com/r/bogus bricks/ Since the economy hit the shitter, more people have been lured towards bootlego, and many of them won't return when actual inflation dies down. It also doesn't help that previously you had to go out of your way to visit aliexpress to get bootleg bricks, but now there are a ton of sites with them. The biggest being Temu which takes your search history and shoves ad's at you regarding knockoff items at a fraction of the price. Shipping speeds are also way up on this stuff, and bootlegs that would take 6-8 weeks previously are in your hands in 1-2 weeks now.
    2 points
  21. showed the same for me. pick one of the lego's and search on amazon. Product page has the offer. Go from there,
    2 points
  22. https://www.amazon.com/promotion/psp/AVJP5GOM0MKMM?ref=clp_pc_cart_collapse_cpi_t1&redirectAsin=B0BXQ4VHDD&redirectMerchantId=ATVPDKIKX0DER
    2 points
  23. Well I’m apparently wrong as my 14 year old son who hasn’t expressed interest in Lego in a couple years wants this set. I told him it was too expensive.
    2 points
  24. I was thinking the same thing! Trying to get Castle, Pirates, and Vikings in the same universe for an epic storyline. Then there’s the Aliens from the new Space sets that will need to make an appearance (given what we’ve gleamed from the Ancient Aliens tv show).
    2 points
  25. Hello, Brick Pickers! 🤖 We are excited to offer 12% off to all Brick Picker community members again. Please use code "SPACE-FAN" at checkout on our site (minifiguresplus.com). I have linked the products with the pricing below. The price works out to the following: Box - $151.36 Set - $56.75 Free domestic shipping on orders over $75 Pre-orders will ship mid-late May. Happy space building! Jon
    2 points
  26. 2 points
  27. Very niche but they fit the bill. I love the locomotive and the boat.
    2 points
  28. A picture posted on reddit recently from a "reputable" and reliable bootleg seller. 5 Icons sets for less than the RRP of the land rover. The price differences are extreme, and all the buyer has to deal with is the guilt of not supporting Lego and the IP owner. Apparently shipping to Europe is much higher than to the USA, as we subsidize it because we love cheap Chinese crap in our consumption based economy.
    1 point
  29. This thread got me to go look at some of their original designs. They had some old west stuff, which I'm a fan of. Not sure I can pull the trigger on fake Lego. The old Tyco castle I had still haunts me. I did find this humorous on Funwhole's Amazon storefront. 97.5% chance of being complete.
    1 point
  30. Quality aside, none of the Flego brands have licenses for the IP (Star Wars, LotR, etc). So buying any of those is effectively stealing from the IP owner. MOCs are a different story. No issue there as long as they are either original or licensed to the designer. I’m all for legit competition with Lego using original ideas and quality parts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  31. Thought this was funny. Might have to consider this when I consider what to sell
    1 point
  32. Love the Rivendell extended MOC. I am planning on doing it as soon as I can get a good deal on 2x sets. Also plan on doing the "extended base" available on Rebrickable. Not sure I could ever buy FLego. It would really bother me if it ever became mixed up in the real stuff 😛
    1 point
  33. So for me Rivendell is by far the best build I have ever done, I don't do technic, but no other set has come close in build, display, play or enjoyment. I looked into doing this MOC: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-149444/Fanpeixi/10316-rivendell-extension/#details and buying a set off ebay without minifigs as I couldn't see paying another $500 and still needing over 1K pieces. I reached out to 2 people that posted the build on FB and one used all Flego and the other did a mix with an original set and FLego and said that besides the minifigures and stickers there was no difference in the parts so you would have no issues with the FLego. He sent me a link to a "reliable" vendor he used that offers the set with or without box but I couldn't pull the trigger. I watched a few videos on this vendor and they have very good reviews. I did try Flego from Aliexpress once it was Le Pin brand and at that time around 2017 it was horrible, had a terrible smell, poor clutch power, no luster, trans elements were foggy, just all around junk, oh and no numbered bags, so I just gave it away. One vendor with over 1K units sold and the price.
    1 point
  34. Amazon deal: LEGO Disney Wish: Asha’s Cottage 43231 is over 60% off when you apply the 20% off coupon at checkout. If you have amex points to use its another 40% off. Total was $9.76 per unit.
    1 point
  35. This was a little tricky and unstable for such a small set but comes together nicely.
    1 point
  36. I’m sensing a Bionicle Butt-Hurter right here, but he’s spot on with LEGO making a calculated play with Bricklink to satisfy us nichers without taking the risk of overproducing these niche sets for a broader audience—it’s kinda genius.
    1 point
  37. There is a target market for classic space theme. This does not hit that market. Is the second figure holding a pot of mashed potatoes?
    1 point
  38. Especially with the new Paz Vizsla figure coming out, will definitely stifle the growth on the set as most of it was due to his character.
    1 point
  39. 1.) Ice Planet 2002 - will be getting a few copies 2.) Mtron - will be getting a few copies. 3.) Space Tourist - will get one. The rest, meh.
    1 point
  40. I’m getting Gomer Pyle vibes from the person in the middle.
    1 point
  41. 1 point
  42. Ok, now I am really done. A+B+B+A, 10025-1, 10025-2, 10022-3, 10022 MOC Dome Car, 10022-3, 10022-3, 10022-1, 10022-2. Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...