In order to compile a list of the biggest and most challenging Lego sets, it was necessary to narrow down the criteria. First, the sets have to be mass produced by LEGO. In other words, we’re not considering any giant custom sets like the 6-meter Death Star Trench or insane 150,000 piece recreation of Helm’s Deep from Lord of the Rings. Second, we excluded expandable sets such as the Modular Building series that you can keep adding on to like the Town Hall (10224), Green Grocer (10185), and the newly released Palace Cinema (10232) that can be combined together to lay out enormous Lego city scenes. Furthermore, to define what we mean by “biggest” the list considers those Lego sets with the largest amounts of pieces and/or final completed size of the set. As far as “challenging,” most of the sets listed below are suggested for builders aged 16 or older, although I’ve personally seen kids half that age cranking out 1,000+ piece sets with hardly any difficulty. Some of the sets listed below are still available at Lego stores worldwide, while some are out of production.
But you may find retired sets listed for outrageous prices on Amazon or eBay, though, those ones are arguable the best LEGO sets. Once Lego stops selling an item, or if produced in limited quantities, third parties grab those products and jack up the price depending on demand. You’ll find Lego sets a purchase limit per customer on certain items. Last week we created a list of must-have movie-themed Lego sets. Now, here’s a list of the most challenging and biggest lego sets, ordered somewhat subjectively but with consideration of total number of pieces combined with level of difficulty. By the way, the number in the parenthesis represents the Item Number in case you decide to go on a hunt for one of these Lego sets. It’d be hard to argue against Lego’s Star Wars Collector’s Millennium Falcon as being one of the most challenging and largest Lego sets (it also probably ranks as our #1 LEGOs for adults). The $499 Millennium Falcon is suggested for ages 16-years and older but younger kids can probably get through it with some supervision.
The highly detailed scale model is made up of a whopping 5,195 pieces but only 5 mini-figures including Luke, Princess Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and a stormtrooper. Why the set doesn’t include C-3PO and R2-D2 mini-figures is sort of a mystery (weren’t they on the Falcon during the mission to rescue Leia?), but nevertheless the ship itself is more than enough to focus on. The Collector’s Millennium Falcon was released in 2007 and retired in 2010, but remains the most-expensive mass-produced Lego set to date. If you need a little break from science fiction-based Star Wars sets you can jump into an architectural project building the Taj Mahal. The $299 set gives you more bang for your buck than the Collector’s Millennium Falcon, boxing a total of 5,922 pieces (about 700 more than the Falcon). What also makes this set a bit more of a challenge for builders is that all the pieces are all generally the same color. This makes it especially difficult for those who like to dump all their Lego pieces into a pile rather than build bag-by-bag.
Puzzle builders will attest to the difficulty of puzzles that don’t vary too much in color or patterns. The Lego model of the famous Taj Mahal palace in India was released in 2008. The Super Star Destroyer is a massive Lego set with 3,152 pieces and five mini-figures including Darth Vader, Admiral Piett, Dengar, Bossk and IG-88. You’ll spend most of your time building the interior structure of this ship (which in the end you don’t even see), but the results are an extraordinary detailed rendition of the massive ship from the Star Wars saga that measures almost 50-inches and weighs almost 8 pounds. The Super Star Destroyer sells for $399 US.Only 8 weeks till Christmas 2014, we know! Mums and dads, it’s time to hit the shops. With only eight weeks till Christmas *SCREAM* you should really be thinking about making a start on your Christmas shopping, like now. And if you’re shopping for kids, help is at hand, as Good Housekeeping have just released their list of the most-wanted kids toys for Christmas 2014.
And it’s good news on the money front, as the top toy is the Loom Testers Friendship Loom Bands Set (yes, apparently they’re still a thing), costing just £9.99, which scored 84/100. Check out the runners up below. And whatever you do, stick to the list, because the only tears you want on Christmas day are tears of joy. Loom Testers Friendship Loom Bands Set, £9.99 Loom bands are still the must-have gift (Picture: Toys-R-US) 1. Nerf Demolisher, £44.99 2. Furby Boom Crystal, £65 3 My Monopoly, £22, 80/100 4. Transformers Chomp and Stomp Grimlock, £90 5. Frozen Ice Skating Dolls, £29.99 6. Teksta T Rex, £49.99 7. Lego City Artic Base Camp, £69.99 8. My Friend Cayla, £54.99 10.Kidizoom V Tech smart watch, £34.99 11. Transformers Mega One Step Bumblebee, £28 12. Lego Benny’s Spaceship, £79.99 13. Doh Vinci Style and Store £20 MORE: 11 amazing 2014 Christmas advent calendars for grown-ups (and they involve vodka and make-up)
Our community, 152 want it Our community, 180 want it Happy Holidays - The Christmas Game Our community, 331 want it Our community, 364 want it Our community, 978 want it A LEGO Christmas Tale Our community, 469 want it Our community, 580 want it Our community, 382 want it 50 Years on Track Our community, 218 want itBy Kristen Klein for Bridal Guide With "The Lego Movie" out in theaters (and a sequel already in the works), our favorite childhood toy is enjoying its moment in the spotlight. And, naturally, that makes us think about how to incorporate it in a wedding. These couples came through with plenty of fun and quirky ways to include the interlocking bricks and mini figures in their Big Day celebrations. Check out all the great Lego-inspired wedding ideas in the slideshow below.Check out HuffPost Weddings on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.This year, I have been slowly building my first Lego collection. My kids and GeekMom Jenny each have tubs of Lego bricks that belong to them individually.
I felt left out after visiting Legoland with Jenny, so I started my own collection. When I started buying, I did a lot of research, so that I could get the most out of my investment in a fairly expensive hobby. The first thing I needed, no argument, was bricks. There are many ways to get a bunch of bricks at once. I started with the Lego Build and Play Box. It’s a great starter set, highlighted by its large storage box, but I’ve found some cheaper options. Here is a breakdown of the average prices I could find: 884 piece Lego Education Brick Set 779384 = 6.1 cents per brick 650 piece Lego Bricks & More Builders of Tomorrow Set 6177 = 6.3 cents per brick (discontinued and no longer available, as of 11/2016) 1,000 piece Lego Build and Play Box 4630 = 11.6cents per brick 650 piece Lego Creative Building Kit 5749 = 7.1 cents per brick 1,600 piece Lego XXL Brick Box 5512 = 13.4 cents per brick (this one has been discontinued, hence its elevated price) As you can see, the Lego Education Brick Set has some serious bang for its buck.
It’s a medium size kit, with 11 sizes and 9 colors. The bricks are pretty basic, but that’s the best place to start. I get the most use out of basic shapes, because they are so versatile. Specialized pieces often have just one purpose, and don’t get used as much. The next thing I needed was a plate. Plates are the foundation that you build your creations on. It’s possible to build on a table, but plates make the whole experience simpler and more fun. Lego makes two 10″ plates, one in green for general use, and one in blue for water scenes. Generally you can find one for about five bucks. There is also an XL gray plate, which measures 15″, but it runs around $15 right now. I own just one green plate, and it is worth its weight in gold. Honorable mention goes to the Brick Separator. Another thing that is invaluable. Saves me so much trouble when disassembling. Though these are often included in specialty kits for free. The last thing I needed was minifigs. There are hundreds of options.
As a matter of fact, according to xkcd, there will be more minifigs in the world than people by the year 2019! Where to start then? This is definitely not a case for the basics. I wanted my minifigs to be special, ones I’d like looking at forever. Since Rory is my favorite character in (I mean, how could I not like a total dork with the same name as me?), I got the Series 10 Roman Commander (read: Centurion). The kids then surprised me with a pile of parts from old minifigs that they didn’t want any more. This was great because I was able to make a few that I liked, and have the ability to change things up. After that, the sky (read: wallet) was the limit. There are so many themed kits it would take an enormous amount of money to get them all. I suggest ignoring sets like the ones, for example, because the scenes are not versatile at all. This makes me sad, because I love everything. I just don’t have room in my house for a permanent installment of Krang’s Lab, and it’s not fun (for me) to keep building the same thing over and over again.
There are a couple of exceptions. If you love one of the kits so much that it’s worth its own place in your home, buy away. GeekMom Jenny has three Lego Architecture sets that have their own shelf in her office. Also, Lego Creator sets are somewhere between free form and regular kits. Each of them makes three things officially. I love the LEGO Creator Fierce Flyer 31004, which has three official builds: an eagle, a beaver, and a scorpion. The only rule of buying Lego products is to never buy something you won’t use. If that means you never buy basic kits because you’d prefer to build a Lego Delorean, that’s okay! Buy things you love, so you will get the most out of them. One last thought: If you are buying for your kids, let them help pick out the pieces they want. Our kids keep a running list of which sets they might like to have. This is mostly so they know what they want to buy with monetary gifts, and so we know which sets to buy them as a surprise or as a gift.