Hot answers tagged sets
22
The Millennium Falcon has been so popular there appears there are six known sets, and seven versions. Four of which share the exact same product name.
Millennium Falcon, 2000 (7190) 600+ pieces
Millennium Falcon, 2003 (4488) Microscale version with only 87 pieces.
Millennium Falcon, 2004 (4504) 900+ pieces (New minifigures with the flesh skin colour).
...
20
You're probably the only one who can answer that question, but here are a few thoughts anyway.
If you're interested in mechanic complexity and how machines work, Technic is indeed a good way to go. And as you hint, it can evolve into robotics, whether with a NXT or with anything else you fancy.
If you're after building complexity, I wouldn't recommend the ...
18
In 2008, LEGO released an exclusive Creator model of the Taj Mahal, with 5922 pieces, the most in a commercial LEGO set.
It is no longer available at the LEGO Shop, but it's still commercially available from other retailers. Here's its Amazon product page.
17
It isn't a mistake.
Lego weighs the bricks in each box to ensure that the right components are present. However, it is difficut to weigh the smallest pieces accurately. If Lego tried to get the component count spot-on there is the danger that they would miss the very rare occasions when one of these small pieces was left out of a box. It would be bad for ...
14
I once had an acquaintance who worked at Lego as a product designer (I don't remember his exact title). His job was, simply put, to come up with new sets. There are some general constraints – balancing the different Lego worlds/themes (contemporary, pirate-age, Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc.), hitting certain price points/box sizes (limiting the number of ...
13
I believe it's the Ultimate Collector's Edition Millennium Falcon (10179).
With a $500 MSRP, it was already one of the most expensive sets available when it launched in 2007. In 2012 it is rare to see it for less than $1500 used but intact, and closer to $2000 if you want it new. There may be some smaller sets that have a greater percentage gain (a set that ...
13
In addition of the already mentionned Blacksmith shop and the three first LEGO factory sets (5524 — Airport, 5525 — Amusement park and 5526 — Skyline, combined from the 10 winners entries of the contest), the following sets have been designed by fans:
10190 — Market Street was designed by Eric Brok. Eric sadly passed away a few month later.
10183 — Hobby ...
13
That part is the new Brick Separator which LEGO includes in most bigger sets:
It's not part of the construction itself, but is a tool to allow you to easily disassemble constructions. You can compare it with the older version in this question on how to separate 1x2 plates.
11
The LEGO Direct team's answer to this question is on brickset:
Since its release in 2010, 10213 Shuttle Adventure
has proven to be very popular! Although the model was designed for a
16+ target audience, our consumer call center has brought to our
intention that many younger children have been building and playing
with the model. As a result, ...
11
As you've seen, the LEGO Friends sets are the latest theme aimed at girls, and are the only ones currently in production.
Previous themes have included:
Belville (1994 - 2008) - used many standard LEGO bricks, but the figures were much larger than Minifigures.
Clikits (2003 - 2006) - a range of jewellery that can be used with LEGO System elements.
...
10
ALL parts can be used for something other than the original theme.
Here's an example of a use for the boat hull by Flickr user 2 Much Caffeine:
There's also a rather humorous saying that goes: "All parts are space parts". It's equally applicable to any other theme.
10
First, LEGO did at some point reissue some sets (the "legends" series), but then stopped doing so, and it's likely they found out it was not really that interesting to do.
The reasons why would be pure speculation, but at the very least building techniques and available parts do evolve in a way that older sets wouldn't be able to compete with recent ones. ...
10
As well as the new colours (two new shades each of blue, purple and green), there are actually quite a few new parts in the friends sets. I think this is the complete list, but it's possible I missed one or two. (Let me know of any corrections. It's a big list!)
Accessories (44)
Friends Accessories Cupcake Holder
Friends Accessories Cutlery Fork
Friends ...
9
In the UK shop, there are currently two sets:
The Unimog U 400 [set:8110] which uses the motorised "compressor" to supply the power (as opposed to the manual sprung pump).
And the Tractor with Log Loader [set:8049] which uses the manual pump:
The other sets that look like they have piston arms (such as [set:8043]) are actually using "linear ...
9
I thoroughly enjoyed National Geographic's documentary - Megafactories - LEGO:
It's one of the most popular construction toys in the world. In the age of unprecedented competition for their attention - from videogames to TVs to countless activities - children still spend over 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks. But building simple modular ...
9
If I recall correctly, it started in 2007 with LEGO's initiative called LEGO Factory, where fans were invited to compete in designing models using LEGO Digital Designer. The winners would then have their entries made into the very first fan-designed commercial LEGO sets.
Today, LEGO Factory is superseded by Design by Me. It follows a similar concept, except ...
9
It's an interesting question.
As Joubarc stated there are multiple approaches here. But from my personal experience I would recommend a graduated approach into the Lego Technic.
You should start with the sets on this page to see it you can find any kind of interest and to ensure you are not simply discouraged by the Lego Technic models.
If you enjoyed the ...
9
LEGO bricks aren't suitable for children under 3 as they are considered a potential choking hazard.
LEGO also sell a DUPLO brand of construction toys which are twice the size of regular bricks. DUPLO bricks are designed for children aged 1½ to 5 years old.
8
Your best shot is to identify individual piece and look them up on Peeron or BrickLink. Since both carry set inventories, you'll be able to find lists of sets in which the parts can be found. Try to start with more bizarre parts, chances are they are in a few models only.
Once you're sure you've found a model for which you've all the parts, build it using ...
8
With the exception of evergreen themes like CITY and Duplo, it's not easy to predict when sets are released. Based on trends of the last 10 years, I've included the last 15 train sets that have been released in a table:
At least one train set has been released each year apart from the year 2008. The table marks an average of 1.875 train sets per year. ...
8
Architecture set - White House. This is the first lego I ever built (got as a gift from wife). Loved it. Right amount of pieces, right amount of time - ~3-4 hours. Enjoyable time well spent. Recently disassembled with help of a brick tool, packaged it up and sent it to my brother so he could enjoy as well - he was a lego kid, I missed out on that when ...
8
In this forum, I found a reply from the Lego Group in response to an email asking a similar question but related to the Mars Mission games:
Thank you for contacting us and for your interest in LEGO® brand products.
Unfortunately, because The LEGO Mars Mission line you inquired about has been discontinued from our current product line, we do not ...
8
I believe that in this context DTC means direct to consumer. These sets are typically only available directly from TLG either via online orders from LEGO S@H or from LEGO retail stores.
Here's the original source and discussion for the DTC set that you mentioned and several others:
http://www.brickset.com/news/article/?ID=2900
8
It seems like you understand why there are unique minifigs, but I'll point it out explicitly anyway. Unique minifigs add character to sets, and add to playability. For example, I always wanted this guy as a kid:
Without him, my pirates were just a leaderless band, but once they have a fearless leader with a peg leg and hook, things become a lot more ...
7
Only ever throw out LEGO that has sustained actually irreversible damage, bricks that have been bent beyond repair or snapped. It so rarely happens that I can find a suitable picture. In this case, I would assume the longest plates and tiles would be more likely to be damaged.
I'd go through the painful process of dismantling the model and starting again, ...
7
BrickSet lists 6990 under the Futuron space sub-theme and 6991 in the Unitron space sub-themes.
There was also a Monorail sub-theme of City.
7
LEGO Group also did a range called LEGO Baby or Primo, which was pretty much suitable from birth.
It's not currently in production, but does come up on ebay and the like now and again, and is slightly inter-usable with Duplo and hence standard LEGO blocks.
Items ranged from things like this rattle, with chewable petals:
To the more "advanced" building ...
7
Brickset.com is an excellent website with an inventory of sets stretching back as far as 1966.
The list is not 100% complete and the site is not an official site of the LEGO groups so it relies on contributions from fans for it's updates.
The information below is from the site itself:
What's in the database? The database does not contain everything that ...
7
Some of the reasons (including some you've mentioned):
To make building easier / sturdier, so that the set is more suitable for its intended age range
The larger pieces are sometimes cheaper than the component pieces would be
The component parts may not be part of the current inventory of parts available to designers
To make the build interesting
To ...
6
it absolutely looks like the triforce of the video game series "Zelda". There also was a Zelda-Cartoon in the late 1980s / early 1990s. To this point, it seems to fit to your memory - but sadly theres no connection to spaceships, so i assume you where thinking of something else.
maybe this question would better fit to scifi- or movie-stackexchange, as it's ...
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