Site update - 5 Aug 2017

Sorry it's been a while since an update.  Between changes at work and home along with filling BrickLink orders, I haven't had a chance to post anything in a while.  

I have received set 21309, the LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V, and plan to do a review.  I will post it soon.  

As for progress towards supporting Brick Dreams, we're at just under $70.  Thank you all for your support of this great cause.

I've received a bunch of Batman Movie and Series 17 Collectible Minifigures that I'll be adding to the store soon.  I haven't ordered any of the Ninjago movie minifigs yet, but intend to soon.  

Thanks for following and happy building!

Caught in the Madness - A Really Cool Set Collecting Dust

Some history on me... growing up I really liked the LEGO space themes.  Classic Space, Space Police, M-Tron (probably my favorite), Blacktron, Ice Planet... all awesome!  I still have all the sets too.  I used to build space bases, fly around the space ships, explore new planets, put the bad guys into Space Police jail.  Lots of fun.

When I saw that the LEGO Ideas program was putting out a set in the theme of Classic LEGO Space, I was sold.  The set was announced in late 2014 with a You Tube clip that built a story behind the set.  The set was officially released on 28 December 2014 in the US and fans like me went nuts.  I ordered one fairly quickly and soon thereafter LEGO Shop @ Home was sold out.  As you can imagine, the price on eBay, BrickLink, and other sites started to go higher.  I think everyone expected the same thing as #21110-1 Research Institute.  Released on 2 August 2014, it's run ended on 14 December 2014.  After just 4 months, LEGO ran out of inventory and they weren't producing any more.

I was able to get 2 sets.  One for me to build and one in the hopes of selling at a profit to fund my addiction... I mean building hobby.  This was good until LEGO announced that they were putting the set back into production.  The limited inventory was gone as it popped back up on LEGO Shop @ Home and then even at Amazon.com.  After a few months, Amazon.com started to discount the set.  I picked up a few more thinking they would all sell out soon and it would be great to get a few at a discount to sell.  I was wrong.  The price plummeted even after LEGO was done selling them and it has remained there as the excess inventory is still out there.  

So what is the lesson learned from my quick blurb?  2 things actually... one is that The LEGO Group has realized that short run sets that are very popular are not good for the fan base.  They have tended to (not always though) do second production runs often when they see a large demand.  This was done again with the Disney Collectible Minifigures.  So wait it out and don't spend more than you should on sets.  The second thing is if you are looking to sell a set in one of these hypes, you need to sell it early.  After the hype dies away, the market goes with it.  The key warning was when Amazon.com put them on sale (side note, as of today 7 March, they are still on sale) and then I should have known selling them would be tough.  If you can get a really good discount, then go for it.  Otherwise, hold off as it is hard for the small seller to compete with Amazon.com.  

So here they are... I have 5 that I am storing.  They have all been purchased for retail price or lower.  At this point I can't sell them and make a profit because you can get them on Amazon.com for less then retail price with free shipping.  I can sell for less than retail price, but I can't offer free shipping on them without taking a loss.  Any thoughts on what I should do?  Feel free to let me know what you think at store@bricksforbricks.com.

Set Review - Caterham Seven 620R - #21307 - LEGO Ideas

I am not a car buff by any means, but or some reason some of the recent LEGO car sets have called to me.  You can see my reviews of #10248 Ferrari F40 and #42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS for some of the other car sets.  

Onto this set.  To be honest, I've never heard of Caterham until the LEGO set came out and I had to look it up.  There are some cool videos on You Tube about them if you are like me and want to check them out.  This set is Ideas set number 14 and was released on 1 October 2016.  It retails for $79.99 and has 771 pieces or $0.104/piece which is right around average.

Here is the box.  The box is similar to other LEGO Ideas sets in terms of how it opens and it shows a bunch of views of the model.

The set contents are 6 bags which are numbers 1 through 3 with 2 bags for each number.  There is also an instruction booklet with the instructions and info on the builders.  Wait, what was that?  Did you catch that?  No stickers!!!  Woo-hoo!!!  How awesome is that?  There are a number of pieces with printed on logos and designs, but no stickers to fight with.  YES!!!

The first 2 bags are the main part of the body and then the start of the rear suspension.  Not a ton of detail yet.

The next 2 bags have both of the axles in the car and a good portion of the body.  You can see the disc rotors for the wheels that are printed on and some pieces that have printed logos.

The final 2 bags finish up the model. You can see the pieces that can be used to put the vehicle up to display it or to show it off a bit.  The details on the hood include some pieces that have printed on colors.  The black with the yellow has a sharp contrast that helps to make it stand out.  Some have complained about the color choices, but I think the black and yellow are a good choice.

Here are 2 looks of the vehicle... one of the front and one of the back.  I didn't take pictures of the removable parts, but the hood comes off and you can take the trunk off to put the vehicle jacks into the trunk.  There are some good uses of different building techniques to make the curves so it's not just a model where you stack bricks one on top of the other.  The only complaint with the build I have is of the driver and passenger side mirrors and the rear view mirror.  Either I put it on wrong or it just doesn't stay well.  

Overall what do I think?  It's a good model, fairly quick build, but quite detailed.  There are some newer piece types and the lack of stickers is awesome.  Price is slightly high, but on average with the price per piece.   I think it will be a good addition to my other cars in the collection and I'd love to get a ride in one some day.  If you have the chance to get the model, go for it.  If you can get it during double VIP points or some other promotion, then even better!

See my reviews of other LEGO Ideas sets:

-The Big Bang Theory - #21302
-Wall-E - #21303
-The Beatles Yellow Submarine - #21306

For Sale:
Back to the Future - Delorean Time Machine - #21103
$90 (w/ free shipping

For Sale:
Research Institute - #21110 - Brick Classifieds
$45 (w/ free shipping)

Set Review - The Beatles Yellow Submarine - #21306 - LEGO Ideas

"In the town where I was born lived a man who sailed to sea..."  Okay so I was not around when this song was released by the Beatles in the 1960s.  I also never saw the movie... although I have seen "Help" and "A Hard Day's Night."  I was intrigued to see this set released as the 15th Ideas set and as a fan of the Beatles, I decided to pick up a set.  So if you're interested in the set, but not so sure if you should get one or not, here's a review that will hopefully help.

The set was released in the US on 1 November 2016.  The price is $59.99 in the US for 550 pieces ($0.109 per piece... just about average).  Here is the box:

It is very colorful like the cartoon that was Yellow Submarine.  The front is the standard display of the set and it has the Ideas logo with the #15.  The back shows the functions of the set.  The box itself is re-closable (is that a word?) like the other Ideas sets.

The contents are 5 numbered bags and an instruction booklet.  The instruction booklet includes a page about the fan designer and the LEGO designer.

Bag 1 starts off with the bottom of the submarine.  Nothing too special about that part of the build.  As you can see it also comes with a brick separator.  Finally, there's a stand for the minifigures. The stand has 3x4 plates similar to the ones that come with collectible minifigure sets, but these are light gray.  This bag contains the John Lennon minifigure.

Bag 2 includes Paul McCartney and some additional parts to the submarine.  There  are some new designs on 1x1 tile circles that haven't appeared before.  Other than that, nothing new yet.

Bag 3 adds George Harrison and more to the submarine to include the front.

Bag 4 adds in Ringo Starr.  It also adds the rudder and twin screws (propellers).  The top of the craft starts too and adds some new pieces to include 1x1 tile quarter circles.  I have never seen them before, but I could have missed them previously.  Definitely a cool piece that I could see used elsewhere like trying to build signs or letters.

Here is the final build.  I like the use of the hot dog pieces to make the railing on the top of the sub.  The periscopes are fun too.  The build includes a stand for the submarine as well for display purposes.  Finally it adds (and I had to look this up) Jeremy Hillary Boob Ph.D. 

Here is a closer look at the minifigs.  All of the minifigures have 2 faces.  Most of them look similar... mouth open or closed, but the eyes are mostly the same.  I'm not sure if the hair matches them perfectly, but close enough.  I had to look up what they are holding.  Here's what I found: John - telescope, Paul - 1x2 ‘love’ tile, Ringo - round 2x2 ‘half a hole’ tile, George - submarine motor and Jeremy - Apple

Overall... I'm not sure it was worth the purchase.  I enjoy listening to the Beatles and their music, but I don't know if this set was worth it or if I'm a big enough fan to want to show this off.  The good news is that the pieces are pretty good so you can always build something else or add to a MOC.  If you're on the fence on whether to purchase this set, wait to see if you can get a discount on Amazon.com or at Walmart.  Or maybe wait for a double VIP point month.

A Fix for WALL-E

I reviewed set number 21303 here.  It is WALL-E from Disney Pixar's movie about the trash collecting robot that ends up helping to save the human race.  Anyways, the original design was somewhat flawed.  WALL-E's eyes kept spinning around and it was tough to lock them into one place.  In reading some of the LEGO fan sites out there, there were a number of reports that a fix was in place.  I wrote to LEGO customer service and received a response back that yes indeed a fix was in place.  A few days later I received a bubble envelope in the mail.  It contained the following items:

-a small parts bag
-an instruction sheet that shows how to prep the set for the fix
-an instruction booklet for the fix

The final set doesn't look much different from a quick glance.  Here it is along with some of the extra parts.

The close up here shows the new ball joint that prevents WALL-E's eyes from randomly rotating around.  In my opinion, the fix was a success and it doesn't change the set's design drastically enough to be an issue.  I also applaud LEGO's handling of the redesign.  I was sent the fix promptly and at no cost.  It shows that LEGO values their customers and wants to make sure their products are of the highest quality.  

If you've purchased WALL-E or done the fix, I'm curious to know what you think.  Please post your thoughts in the comments.

"It all started with a big..." Set Review - The Big Bang Theory - #21302

Released on 2 August 2015, The Big Bang Theory is one of the LEGO Ideas sets for 2015.  With 484 pieces, it captures the famous living room of Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter along with the 7 main characters.  The set costs $59.99 in the US, which puts it at around 12.4 cents per piece.  This makes it a little pricier, but if I had to guess, it's probably from licensing costs.  I've had the set for a while and have finally taken the time to put it together, take some pictures, and give a review.  Unless you live by a LEGO brand store, it's probably too late to get it for Christmas, but if you are expecting some gift certificates to LEGO, then maybe you'll want to add it to your list.  

Like many of the LEGO Ideas sets, the box is similar.  Instead of opening on the sides like most, it opens up on the top. The front of the box shows the completed set and all figures.  The back of the box shows some close up views as well as close ups on the 7 characters.

The contents include an instruction booklet that talks about the show, the show's characters, the designers of the set, and includes the instructions for the set.  There are 2 bags labeled "1" and 2 bags labeled "2."  It also includes some dark tan base plates and a small sticker page with only 2 stickers.

The first set of bags contains the main shell of the room, part of the book shelf, Bernadette Rostenkowski, Amy Farrah Fowler, and Howard Wolowitz, Cinnamon (I had to look up Raj's dog's name), a few extra pieces, and a piece separator.  Here are a few close up pictures.

The second set of bags contains the furniture, the other shelf, a lot of the details of items that decorate the apartment, and Penny, Raj Koothrappali, Sheldon Cooper, and Leonard Hofstadter.  Besides numerous books on the shelves, there are some globe looking objects, figurines, a DNA strand, a few white boards, and some other decorations.  The next time I watch the show, I'll have to pay better attention to the items to see how close the designer got.  

The completed set is above.  The one piece I did not add in were some of the kitchen utensils to include some forks for the crew to have their takeout Chinese food.

Here's a closer view of the gang.  I'll have to pay attention to the rug next time I watch to see how accurate it is.  You can also see the green lantern, a rocket, and a few other items.  The build itself is nothing too elaborate with mostly basic techniques used to capture the details.  There are some great bricks in this set to include the brick textured pieces and some of the pieces in that make up the decoration details.  

Here are some pictures of the minifigures.  As well as some front and back shots.  Bernadette and Amy have their pants painted or maybe they are skirts.  I'm not sure which I prefer, the painted on skirts or some of the sets where there are separate "cloth skirt pieces" that you have to attach.  The only character I think isn't quite accurate is Penny.  I'm not sure if it's her hair or her outfit, but it doesn't represent Penny very well in my opinion.  The rest of the gang looks pretty good.  All of the characters have 2 facial expressions.  I only show one in the pictures.  

Overall, my opinion is mixed.  I'm a big fan of "The Big Bang Theory" show and think the set is a great representation of Sheldon's and Leonard's living room area.  I think the minifigures are great too.  There are 7 in the set and for the most part, they look a lot like the characters on the show.  On the other side, the set is a bit pricey and the build is not very exciting.  While the details are there, but it doesn't use a lot of intricate building techniques.  I recommend this set for those that are big fans of the show and would think it's cool to have the set to go with it.  Other than that, many LEGO fans would not enjoy this set for the build itself.  It does have some good pieces in it, but I'm not sure it's worth it to spend $60 for those parts.

The Bricks for Bricks store is open.  I'm still working on perfecting it so that why there hasn't been a ton of posts on it.  You'll see some minifigures from "The Big Bang Theory" set in there if you are just looking for the minifigures.

Set Review - WALL-E - 21303

Well it's about time that I got a chance to build some more.  As you can see by the title, I assembled WALL-E which is set number 21303.  WALL-E is part of the LEGO Ideas program where fans build sets and submit them onto the site.  Then other fans can vote on them.  If a design received 10,000 votes, the LEGO Ideas team will review the set to see if they will consider it for production.

WALL-E was picked up as a 2015 set and released on 25 September 2015.  It costs $59.99 in the US and contains 677 pieces.  That works out to $0.088 per piece so around the average.  Here are a few pictures of the front and back of the box.

Like many of the previous LEGO Ideas sets, this set comes with a thick instruction book that starts with some information about the designer and the set itself.  

The set contains 9 bags along with the instructions.  The bags are not numbered like some sets are so you have to open them all and build at once.  One of the bags contains just the treads to WALL-E's tracks.  The set also contains an orange piece separator.  

The build itself was not overly challenging, but my guess is some younger children would need some help with some of the parts that are a bit more challenging to put together.  I built the set over a few nights of free time.  I completed through #38 in the instructions after my first night.

You can see most of the main part of WALL-E's structure here and the start to the door that he opens to crush garbage into blocks.  After the second night I had a good chunk of it done minus an eye and his hands.

After my third night of building, I finished the set.  Here are some pictures of the final product.

Overall, I think the design is well done.  They did a great job capturing the design of WALL-E.  Having the plant is a nice touch.  It always amazes me how people can use LEGO to construct things that look very close to the real thing.

One note is the design of the head.  The swivel is rather loose and it doesn't stay in one place.  LEGO has come up with a new design for the swivel.  It includes some additional pieces and new instructions.  If you bought the set early on, you can find the instructions and some details here.  I e-mailed LEGO customer service to ask about how I can get the new pieces and instructions.  I will do another post once I get an answer.  In the meantime, from reading the various LEGO fan sites, it looks like if you buy WALL-E now, you will get the upgraded design.  If anyone has purchased it recently, let me know.

Should you buy this set?  In my opinion a lot depends on whether you are a fan of WALL-E or not.  Those that don't know the movie or didn't enjoy it may not enjoy having this set.  As a fan of the movie, I thought it was great and am glad I got it.  The price is about on par with other sets on a price per piece ratio so not too bad.  The build is very creative and if you want to take WALL-E apart, there are some great pieces to build other designs with.  I'm sure a lot could be done with the tracks.  Another bonus to the design, there was no sticker book.  All of the pieces that would have stickers are printed onto the parts themselves.  

If you got this set and have built it, please let us know what you think in the comments area. I'm curious to hear what other fans have thought.