Fellow Lazy Penguins, I know that once in your lifetime you have owned (or stolen one from a friend) a Lego piece. Did you know that Lego is Danish? (Denmark in Europe, if you want to refresh your memory). It was first built in 1949 and it comes from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means “play well”. I do recall playing as a little lazy penguin with my fellow lazy penguins but was never good at it (very lazy to put parts together). In this very post I am going to show you the 10 most expensive Lego sets you can find around the globe – have a look and if you feel like commenting, let us know if you have or had any special Lego set. 1. Cloud City Lego Set | Insane Lego collector spends $15,000 on a single piece2/22/14 12:54pmAccording to the Press Democrat, 20-year old auto glass repairman, and parkour instructor, Andre Hurley paid Caleb Raff, owner of The Brick Hutt Lego store, $15,000 for a one-of-kind, platinum Avohkii Mask of Light. The piece is from the discontinued Lego Bionicle line.
This is believed to be the most expensive Lego piece ever sold. Hurley already had the solid Gold Hau mask from the Bionicle line, which he bought for $3,000. Only five were ever sold. Hurley is considered one of the world's foremost Bionicle collectors.The Press Democrat reports: The Platinum Avohkii Mask of Light was the grand prize in the Cartoon Network's Toonami Sweepstakes in October 2003. An 11-year-old Santa Rosa boy, Chase Koches, won the mask, along with a number of other prizes, including Bionicle toys and Lego sets, a DVD player, Nike Bionicle athletic shoes and a 36-inch flat-screen television.In 2003, the mask had an estimated value of $7,000. It stayed with Koches until 2012, when he decided to sell it for needed cash. In the fall of that year, he sold it to Raff, who then put it up for auction on eBay.Raff got offers of more than $15,000, some of them coming from overseas.Raff and Hurley started negotiating a sale last fall. During that time, Raff said he made a connection with Hurley and held off from selling to others so that Hurley could come up with the money.
for $12,500.According to reports, the brick was awarded to certain longtime Lego workers in Germany from 1979 to 1981.Read the full story here. You're reading Leg Godt, the blog with the latest Lego news and the most awesome Lego models in the web. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Listen, Lego has always been cool, but the big success of The Lego Movie has only reminded us all that the brick-building line is more than just a toy -- it’s a way of life! The bottom line is we at IGN love Lego -- always have, probably always will. And while there are so many awesome Lego sets out there, past and present, the following 10 are the Lego sets that truly rocked our world. Imperial Flagship While Lego has been doing pirates since the 1980s -- as well as Pirates (the Johnny Depp kind) more recently -- this beauty is surely the, ahem, flagship of the theme. Like most of the items on this list, the Imperial Flagship makes for a great display piece (assuming you’ve gotten past the whole “I’m too old to play with Lego publicly” thing).
It’s also a nice reminder that not all Lego collections need to be based on franchises. 9 Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon Look, there are a lot of excellent Star Wars Lego sets, and there are a lot of excellent Star Wars spaceship Lego sets. Some would say the Star Destroyer should be on this list, or the Super Star Destroyer, or the Imperial Shuttle (sorry Peer!). But in the end, you gotta go with the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon! There have actually been about seven different Lego takes on the Corellian freighter, but the Ultimate Collector's set from 2007 and its 5100-plus pieces takes the prize. It also cost $500 at that time, which makes it the most expensive Lego set (in retail) ever. 8 The Batcave Lego has given us some really nice superhero sets over the years, with the company creating both Marvel and DC collections. But this Batcave set from 2006 is one of the finest examples of this partnership. Also called The Batcave: The Penguin and Mr. Freeze's Invasion, the set features over a thousand pieces, a chamber for Bruce Wayne to magically switch into his bat-costume, a bat-computer station, a vehicle repair bay, and of course several minifigures (good guys and bad).
A different Batcave set was released in 2012, though this one remains a favorite if only because it was a nice preview of what the Lego Batman video game would be like two years later. 7 Technic Grand Prix Racer As part of the Technic Lego theme, the Grand Prix Racer -- which came out just last year -- isn’t simply a building set, but also features moving parts and “realistic functions” like independent all-wheel suspension, moving pistons, and steering capabilities. You can also power it up by adding a motor set (sold separately!) to this two-foot long baby, or convert it into a race truck. As for where you can play with this thing, you might need the Technic Mobile Crane to build some roads… 6 Galaxy Explorer Spaceship! While Benny “the 1980-something space guy” from The Lego Movie finally did get to build his ultimate spaceship during that film’s climax, for those of us who were around way back when, the original version of that vehicle still holds fond memories. The Galaxy Explorer, first released in 1979, was a jewel in Lego’s Space line of the era, though it must be noted that Benny was apparently not a part of that ship’s original crew, who were red and white spacemen.
But for those completists who need the movie version too, Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! set is coming this June. Read on for more Lego goodness...Remember when you were a kid and your parents always told you that Lego was far too expensive. Of course, you didn’t believe them, and more to the point, you didn’t really care. But when you grew up you realized that Lego is quite frankly, incredibly and extortionately expensive. Well, I’m about to burst your bubble yet again with the most expensive Lego sets. Lego for the past 15 years has set an average increase in value by 12% for the year after release. It also comes to no surprise though that Star Wars has made our list more than once, considering it is one of the most valuable franchises in the world.Team GB Olympic Figures A collection of Team GB mini figures was released in 2012 to coincide with the London Olympics. The nine characters include a gymnast, a tennis player, a weightlifter – and even a Speedo-clad swimmer.
The £99.99 complete set is out of stock, which has sent the price of the collection as high as $550. If you look up a picture of them, quite frankly they don’t even seem that overly impressive. If anything this makes us remember to never underestimate the value of what many can see to be just a pile of junk. One man’s trash in another man’s treasure. Who knows, with the upcoming Olympics in Brazil, keep an eye out for any seemingly short stocked Lego mini figures. This little house set was released in 2007. Market Street is one building out of a group of eight that create the Street set. Others include the Fire Brigade, the Pet Shop, and the Cinema. This 1,248 piece set sold at retail for $89.99 but has now gone up to $4,000. So with a quick calculation, it’s pretty easy to figure out that selling that off would net you over $3900. I’d urge you to think of all the stuff you could buy with that kind of influx of cash. However, with the complete set, although I can’t find any specific numbers, imagine the outrageous value you can create.
The Imperial Star DestroyerThat was the other great thing about Lego, the fact that it seemed to have permission to make licensed goods from a vast multitude of intellectual properties ranging from Star Wars to Indiana Jones. However, even a brief and cursory look over Lego collectors well tell you that the most highly sought after sets are out of production Star Wars sets. If you’re going to start collecting, this is where the big boys choose to invest your time. The Imperial Star Destroyer was about $250 when it launched, but now its price has raised to a phenomenal $2,100. Not bad considering what a lot of people would call a waste of time. Also, this ship is cool as hell. Anyone who has seen the original Star Wars will remember the opening scene with the Star Destroyer hunting down the small Rebel transport ship. Cinematic, and build-able magic at its finest.Mr. GoldThis is the definitive way to figure out whether you are a premier Lego collector or not. Mr. Gold is simply a little Lego mini figure in a suit and is painted entirely gold.
In fact, Mr. Gold only cost around $3 when he released. So what makes him so valuable? Well, the gimmick around this mini figure was that only 5000 were every made of Mr. Gold. This has made the little unassuming figure a majorly important piece of Lego merch that every collector worth his salt will keep an eye out for, and you should be too. You never know what you might find at a yard sale one day. Maybe they’ll never know what a valuable little Lego man they have managed to get their hands on.The Rebel SnowspeederThis iconic vehicle from the Star Wars franchise has seen its way into cinematic history, but it's also found its way into the history of Lego collecting too. On sale between 2003 and 2005, this model has become coveted after for its apparent rarity, and would field you a very neat $2,340 if you managed to get a legitimate model and sell it. And who could be entirely surprised? Apart from the fact that it was very rare, this is the vehicle that Luke Skywalker flew to famously take down an AT-AT at the battle of Hoth.
You don’t get much better than that.Y-Wing Attack StarfighterBattle the forces of the Empire with the Y-Wing Starfighter! Named for its unusual shape, the classic fighter bomber of the Rebel Alliance played a key role in the defeat of both Death Stars and the downfall of the Galactic Empire. Exploding with incredible details, the Ultimate Collector Series Y-Wing starfighter which originally only went for $120 now can be worth well up to $1,800. Not enough to buy you the actual Y-Wing, because of obvious reason but definitely enough for you to consider selling. A true fan favoriteThe Second Death StarBut we’re certainly not finished with the Star Wars franchise just yet. No, in fact, there are still many more to come. Seeing as there is now even more interest in the Star Wars franchise due to the new films releasing, I’d only expect the prices of these Lego sets to increase drastically as years go by and interest peaks. Selling a legitimate copy of The Second Death Star will field you a very neat $1900 from an avid collector who is prowling Amazon for it.
By far the cooler of the two Death Stars although perhaps not the most iconic, The Second Death Star is an under-appreciated gem that some people would gladly spend thousands of dollars to get a Lego set of.The Maersk Line Container ShipWe’re away from Star Wars for the time being for perhaps the oldest entry and goal of any Lego set collector, The Maersk Line Container Ship. Sold originally in 1974, at a glance any normal person would think that it isn’t worth very much at all, but that’s how it is. These people would miss the extraordinary opportunity, because selling a set of The Maersk Line Container Ship would net you over $1700 from any reasonable collector. If anything, this Lego set teaches us perhaps one of life’s greatest lessons. Never, ever, judge a book by its cover.The Eiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower was at one point the tallest building in the world. In fact, some people thought it was such a monstrosity that they hated it with unbridled passion. One artist hated the world famous tower so much that he went up it every day and conducted his work from the platforms so that he wouldn’t have to look at it on the horizon.
It’s become a symbol for Paris, and in 2007 Lego released their incarnation of the iconic building of brass. This Lego set has the distinct pleasure of being the tallest Lego set ever created to this day, stacking up with over 3000 pieces to over 42 inches tall. This Lego set did justice by the real life counterpart, and if you did happen to want to sell it, you would be well within your rights to request a price of over $2500 due to its rarity and esteemed standing in the Lego hall of fame. That will buy you a first class ticket on Air France.The Taj MahalFrom perhaps the most iconic building of France to the most iconic building of India, Lego are certainly doing their rounds around the world to find the greatest buildings designed by man to model their esteemed Lego sets over. Just like The Eiffel Tower set was known for being the tallest set ever designed by the smart people over at Lego, The Taj Mahal is known to be the largest set and perhaps the most complex of them all, boasting a total amount of pieces of over 5000 pieces.
That’s quite hard to even consider in your head. It must have taken ages to actually build the whole structure, however, one very good reason for trying to hunt down this set is for the price at which you can sell it at which can usually exceed over $3000. Now, I realize that there are some major Lego enthusiasts out there, but I don’t know who would spend $3000 on a Lego set. Very popular with Oligarch children.Ultimate Collector’s Millenium FalconI promised we’d make our way back to Star Wars, and here we are. This set has the great privilege of being officially the most valuable Lego set in the world. Likely a mixture between the fact that it is the second largest set that Lego have ever designed (behind only the previously mentioned Taj Mahal), the incredible amount of detail that has been put into the design which would make any Star Wars fan almost melt with excitement and the fact that it is infamously rare to find. The set cost upwards of $400 to purchase when it was new, but if you want to get a set now you’re going to have to fork out over $6400, sixteen times the price when it was new.