It wouldn’t be a proper Force Friday—otherwise known as the day that Disney unleashes an unprecedented wave of Star Wars-related merchandise on the world—without new Lego sets. Sure enough, Lego is in on the action with seven new playsets. As with the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, hitting theatres on Dec. 19, the sets are specifically crafted to appeal to core fans who loved the hallowed original trilogy. But each also features a new twist, with varying degrees of modern sensibilities included. Here’s a round-up of the new line. Be warned: Some potential spoilers of the upcoming movie follow. Not much is known about Rey, the female protagonist of the upcoming movie, although director J.J. Abrams has said her surname has purposely not been revealed. Hmm, could she be a Skywalker? Regardless, Rey and her speeder are the entry-level set of the new Lego line at 193 pieces and $19. The hover bike looks like a mix of the speeders used by scout troopers in Return of the Jedi, if they were crossed with a semi truck trailer, or maybe even a pod racer from that prequel movie with the kid and Jar Jar that we’d all rather forget.
The vehicle packs dual stud shooters and an opening storage hatch, as well as two mini-figures: Rey herself and someone called Unkar’s Thug. Who is Unkar and why does he have a thug? Of the handful of details to dribble out about The Force Awakens, we know that the First Order is a military group that sprung up 30 years after the Empire fell in Return of the Jedi. Abrams has described it as what might happen if all the Nazis who fled to Argentina after World War II got together to carry on the fight. The fact that the troopers have a snow speeder indicates there will probably be action on an icy planet. In The Empire Strikes Back, it was the good-guy rebels who used snow speeders to trip up the giant AT-AT walkers. Will the bad guys turn the tables this time? The $39 Snowspeeder features a forward storage compartment, several stud shooters, and transparent wheels so that it looks like it’s actually hovering. It also comes with two First Order Snowtroopers and one Officer.
There doesn’t appear to be any sign of a grappling hook, though. This one looks familiar, not just because it’s obviously a TIE Fighter, but also because Lego has released a number of similar models before. It’s a relatively small set at 517 pieces, a cross between the basic TIE released back in 2001 and the mammoth 1,685-piece Collector’s Edition that launched earlier this year. Lego TIE fighters are tough to make interesting because of their symmetry—those wings just aren’t fun to build. The First Order’s entry, at $69, is a bit different since the cockpit accommodates two pilots. You also get an Officer and Crew member, because additional mini figures are really the only way to make a TIE Fighter set interesting. Who or what is Poe Dameron? Who knows, except that he’s an X-Wing pilot in the upcoming movie who gets wrapped up with some of the other main characters. And oh yes, he flies a cool-looking black-and-orange X-Wing. This is another set that Lego has already done in one form or another, at least six times.
This 717-piece, $79 set does have something new going for it, aside from Resistance ground crew and pilot mini figures. It’s got BB-8, the astromech droid that is already looking like he’ll be as beloved a character in the new trilogy as R2-D2 was in the original. Here, you can have him in tiny Lego form, which is cheaper than getting the Sphero version also announced for Force Friday. If any of the new sets are reminiscent of the forgettable prequel trilogy, it’s the First Order Transporter. Resembling a real-world military amphibious lander, it’s pretty clear Abrams really is drawing inspiration from the Second World War. The only thing missing is Private Ryan. But it also sort of looks like one of those Clone carriers from those movies where George Lucas went nuts with the CGI. The $89 Transporter comes with a whopping seven mini-figures: two Resistance soldiers, two First Order Flametroopers, two First Order Stormtroopers and Brienne of Tarth… er, rather, Captain Phasma.
Kylo Ren’s 1,005-piece shuttle may be the most interesting set in the new lineup, and the second-most expensive at $119. For one thing, it’s all grey, which is pretty old-school Star Wars. Just about all the best vehicles in the original trilogy were grey. It also kind of looks like the Emperor’s shuttle from Return of the Jedi (which was white), but with a little bit of TIE Fighter sensibility thrown in. That’s suitable for the bad-ass dude with the tri-pronged lightsaber that inspired so much controversy. Other than that, the shuttle has a ton of playability with folding wings, front, rear and bottom storage bays, and spring-loaded shooters, not to mention six mini-figures: Kylo and First Order leader General Hux, plus a First Order Officer, two crew and Stormtrooper Officer. The new Millennium Falcon is very much a reissue of an older product with a few changes. At $149, it’s also cheaper than most previous versions. The new Falcon has a touched-up laser turret and radar dish, plus a secret compartment for—what else?—smuggling.
Perhaps the biggest draw, at least for collectors, will be the Han Solo and Chewbacca mini figures. Sure, there are plenty of sets that feature both characters, but none of them when they’re old. The grey-haired Han is almost worth the price of admission alone. Also included are Rey, BB-8, and Finn (the profusely sweating guy in the Stormtrooper outfit from the trailer). Rounding out the mini figures are Tasu Leech, a member of a gang called Kanijiklub, and a non-descript fellow gangster. Uh, Chewie… we’re home? Want more Force Friday action? Check out our interview with legendary Star Wars collector Steve Sansweet below. LEGO Rare & Hard to Find! The LEGO Batman Movie LEGO Books & Accessories 3 & 4 YearsToys”R”Us, Babies”R”Us are registered trademarks of Toys”R”Us (Canada) Ltd. Use of this site signifies your acceptance of Toys"R"Us Website Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.This series of articles explores the practical economics of buying, sorting and selling bulk Lego.
I will help assess what it takes to make real money by describing my own experience buying a large used Lego collection on Craigslist for a discounted price, figuring out what sets I had, sorting the bricks back into the original sets, acquiring the missing pieces and reselling for a profit. Along the way, I’ll call out some of the hidden costs and benefits for Lego enthusiasts. LEGO as an investment? Before I go deeper into the details of my project, I should point out that investing in Lego can be a big business for some folks. which helps people invest in Lego, although they focus on investing in unopened/new sets. On that site, you can see the current value of any Lego set (based on Ebay and other sources). It also allows you to record and track the value of your portfolio of Lego sets as if it were a stock market. I have purchased a couple Lego sets as a small-scale investment to support my hobby, but I don’t want to build up a large enough inventory to make it profitable.
A couple ways to make money selling Lego: Most people invest in unopened Lego sets, hoping to sell them in a couple years when they are no longer available for a healthy profit. (Some of the most sought-after sets have doubled in cost in just two years, and that isn’t accounting for the possibility that you may have initially purchased the set at a discount.) Some folks try to find sets at a discount and resell them immediately for a profit. Others buy used Lego bricks and sets and try to sell for a profit. (This is the focus of this article.) What is Lego worth? Before you buy anything, you need a basic knowledge about how much used Lego is worth. The following is a rough guide based on my experience: New Lego sets have a MSRP of between 8 and 12 cents per brick. That said, most sets can be purchased for between 10 and 40% off if you are patient, take advantage of rewards programs and sales. (Many of the large “Exclusive” sets which adult fans want are much harder to buy at a discount.)
Used Lego sets in good condition are worth between 50% and 75% of retail prices while they are still available in stores. 6 – 12 months after they are no longer available, used sets usually catch up with MSRP, and can slowly increase in value if they are in high demand. The rule of thumb for unsorted Lego is between 6$ and 12$ per pound. If the bricks are sorted by color or include lots of desirable pieces, they are worth more. The value of Lego Minifigures varies greatly. Rare minifigures from a popular theme like Star Wars can sell for 5-10$ a piece. More common minifigures sell for about 1$. can yield much higher prices, but it requires a small warehouse to store your bricks and seems like an unbelievable time commitment. Based on these factors, I decided that buying a used collection containing older sets which I can sort into complete sets would be the best approach for me, especially if I could get it for a really low price. Deciding what to buy If you are looking to buy used Lego, you have a couple options: Ebay, Craigslist and Garage Sales to name a few…
I prefer Craigslist as you don’t have to worry about shipping, and you can see what you are getting before making a payment. My goal was to buy a collection containing many sets which I could sort out and sell for a profit. I also hoped that the collection would include some themes which interest me. (In my case: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Architecture.) Buying a profitable collection: I looked at dozens of used Lego collections on Craigslist listings before I made my first big purchase. I live in Seattle which has a lot of Adult Lego enthusiasts, so it’s harder to find a great deal here. Since I was traveling to the east coast for the holidays, I checked Craigslist in areas we were visiting and found some better collections for sale than anything I’d seen in Seattle. The collection which I bought on Craigslist wasn’t very detailed and included only two blurry photos. The listing said that it included the “6211 – Imperial Star Destroyer” set which was released in 2006, plus “some other sets”.
The original craigslist post is gone, so I can’t show you exactly what was listed, but I can say that the listing under-represented the size of the collection. As the listing was a bit unclear, I sent the seller the following clarifying email: “Are there any minifigures in the box? I am trying to determine if there are some nearly complete sets that are just missing instructions or not.” As they say, it never hurts to ask! In response, I got a lot more info than they put in their original Craigslist post: “There are mini figures in the collection as most of it came from sets. The sets were broken down and the boxes / instructions were thrown out. Here are just a few that are in the container: LEGO Star Wars Clone Turbo Tank (8098) LEGO Star Wars General Grievous Starfighter (8095) LEGO Power Miners Fire Blaster (8188) LEGO® Power Miners Claw Catcher 8190 LEGO Power Miners Titanium Command Rig (8964) That last one was $200 alone..
Obviously everything is broken down into 1 pile. Ie, they are not separated by set into ziplocks etc.” Getting this much new information was great for me, since I had more information to help make a buying decision than other potential buyers. At this point I was confident that this would be a profitable purchase given the 150$ asking price. At the very least, I could resell the Imperial Star Destroyer to recoup my costs. I made arrangements to buy the collection, and was blown away by the two massive Rubbermaid bins which they game me. (This created two problems outside of the scope of this article: Figuring out how to get 60+ pounds of Lego back to my home in Seattle, and figuring out how to keep my wife from killing me for buying so much Lego on vacation!) Tips and Tricks to buy the right collection: I’m hardly an expert, but the following are some helpful tips to help make sure you get a good deal.People sell used Lego collections every day. You need to find a great deal if you want to make any money.