The Joker1 Posted January 26, 2013 Posted January 26, 2013 (edited) Hi everyone, I was doing a sort out earlier and I decided to get a value on some of the huge bases I have kicking around as they take up large amounts of space and I will likely never use them. So i looked on ebay and found people are trying to sell some of the following for between £20-£30! So this is sort of for anyone who either knows if these values are right or anyone who knows about similar cases of over valueable base plates. Anyway here are some examples, Each at £20 plus... $(KGrHqF,!n8E9eWqp,1WBPlHe(Nqjw~~60_12 by Joker 789, on Flickr $T2eC16NHJGIE9nnWpUMZBQ-9r3j-)w~~60_12 by Joker 789, on Flickr mSkDvYQOG_edE2TH8qL1fgw by Joker 789, on Flickr P.S- I'm selling some of mine if anyones interested http://www.eurobrick...=0#entry1503624 Edited January 31, 2013 by The Joker1 Quote
Aanchir Posted January 26, 2013 Posted January 26, 2013 (edited) Well, keep in mind that these are fairly rare pieces, most of which only came in the largest sets of each particular line. And a lot of people have a real fondness for the way they let you vary a landscape without having to build it completely from scratch. Scarcity + demand = a considerable aftermarket value. I agree they take up a lot of space, and frankly I prefer regular plates to baseplates most of the time anyway, but I can see where these prices would come from. And no, I'm not planning to part with my raised baseplates anytime soon, thank you very much. You never know when they might come in handy. Edited January 26, 2013 by Aanchir Quote
1974 Posted January 26, 2013 Posted January 26, 2013 Well, if people are willing to pay that amount, I guess the price is right I luve those baseplates (have 20 of the last one, more 200 in total, not all raised though) and I find them exellent for making large layouts. Now, I'm more of an old scool kinda guy - recently made a large 3 x 5 (32 x 32 studs baseplate) egyptian/Johnny Thunder MOC for my kid and those raised baseplates really nailed it But I know they're not popular amongst the more advanced builders. Each to his own, I guess Sure you can get good money on ebay (not BL though), but they're a pain to ship Quote
The Joker1 Posted January 26, 2013 Author Posted January 26, 2013 Cheers guys, I may keep a few then. As you say they may come in handy. Though I could sell a couple. I maydo somthing similar to you 1974 and do a big Johnny thunder/Indiana jones style moc. Quote
Kez Posted January 26, 2013 Posted January 26, 2013 I have quite a few raised base plates and I also have the same green one as you do in the second picture, but sadly it's broken and a few others have broken that I own :-(. I think I prefer the raised base plates and I presume some of these are more valuable than the regular baseplates. Last year at the lego show in Manchester they were selling some raised baseplates at pretty expensive prices, I think the most expensive one cost £32 and people were buying them. I think your valuation is about right for most raised baseplates. Quote
Vindicare Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 I LOVE that third pic. I'm not a MOCer, but I can totally see a kick a** house sitting atop that baseplate. Quote
CorneliusMurdock Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 Some of the price on Bricklink probably also takes shipping into consideration. They are rather large, odd shaped items that may break if not shipped securely. Quote
Hey Joe Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 Those things are prone to breaking which obviously reduces the amount of pieces in circulation and drives sales (people replacing their broken ones). Joe Quote
LEGO Historian Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 I LOVE that third pic. I'm not a MOCer, but I can totally see a kick a** house sitting atop that baseplate. 6416 Poolside Paradise... a 1990s Paradisa Set.... http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/6416-1?showpic=7584 Quote
TheLegoDr Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 I love the raised baseplate. Granted, one could simply build a hilltop and a pathway and it would probably look better, but I do like the ability to have that built already and just deal with the bricks. I only have 4 (2 castle, 2 pirates), but I do like them. I should consider using them for something other than their original purpose. But those sets were just so great why would I want to destroy them... Although, I've never actually looked at prices regarding those because I never thought about buying any baseplates other than what I have in sets. Quote
antp Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 I LOVE that third pic. I'm not a MOCer, but I can totally see a kick a** house sitting atop that baseplate. Yes it is nice. Long time ago as a quick test I made a house using parts of set 4956 on that plate: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2824510 And I still haven't done something else more elaborated; one of my numerous "MOC to do" :D Quote
Aanchir Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 6416 Poolside Paradise... a 1990s Paradisa Set.... http://www.peeron.com/inv/sets/6416-1?showpic=7584 Yep, I had this set during childhood (well, technically I got it for my mom, but it "mysteriously" ended up in my collection) and loved this baseplate. Of course, one constant frustration was that its Light Green color didn't match any of the Dark Green (classic green) baseplates I had from Town sets, so it always stuck out like a sore thumb when I tried to create a town layout on my basement floor. Quote
Slobey Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 I know they're not popular amongst the more advanced builders. They're brilliant at bulking out a hill or raised landscape and building over. Saves an awful lot of bricks....... Quote
davee123 Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) From what I understand, raised baseplates are pretty pricey for LEGO to produce. They're also so large that they only fit into expensive sets, and they're often printed such that they really only fit into a single set for a given year. Hence, it's not unsurprising that LEGO has toned down their usage. It's sorta like chrome-- it's not that LEGO has abandoned it altogether, but for every expensive piece of chrome or baseplate that gets made, that means fewer elements that can go into a set. My understanding (certainly as reflects chrome, and probably baesplates as well) is that before LEGO's turnaround in the mid 2000's, LEGO focused a lot more on making sets be high quality, without caring as much what the cost was. So now, even though a set designer COULD decide to use a baseplate, they're more likely to choose NOT to, for the additional options it provides them in design. As for raised baseplates themselves, I think the first raised baseplate was the crater baseplate in 1979, which remained the only type of raised baseplate for 10 years until 1989, when the Ramp-And-Pit baseplate was introduced. Interestingly, it seems that all the raised baseplates these days are larger than 32x32-- usually 32x48. The last time a 32x32 raised baseplate was used appears to be in 2001! DaveE Edited January 29, 2013 by davee123 Quote
brodey1 Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 The thing you have to look at to gain an accurate valuation is the price the piece sells for, not what a seller is asking for. Quote
Lego Otaku Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 As for raised baseplates themselves, I think the first raised baseplate was the crater baseplate in 1999, which remained the only type of raised baseplate for 10 years until 1989, when the Ramp-And-Pit baseplate was introduced. Pretty amazing that LEGO made the first baseplate 20 years in the future when they released them with the classic space sets. I'm sure you meant 1979 ;) Quote
antp Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 Interesting indeed. I really thought these were more common in the 80s, but no: except the crater one (that I had/have), the only other one I got is the Paradisa house base posted previously, from 1992, not so far from the first non-crater ones then. (and the 16x16 platforms, but these are not really the same kind of baseplates even if listed as such on Bricklink) Quote
The Joker1 Posted January 29, 2013 Author Posted January 29, 2013 Well I never, I have learned lots of new things today. Strangely I dont have most of the sets to go with the bses? Thanks everyone who gave their imput, It has been most facinating to read :) P.S- I'm selling some of mine if anyones interested http://www.eurobrick...=0#entry1503624 Quote
davee123 Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 Pretty amazing that LEGO made the first baseplate 20 years in the future when they released them with the classic space sets. I'm sure you meant 1979 ;) D'oh! Thanks for catching that-- fixed! DaveE Quote
Studebricker Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 I wish they would bring back baseplate usage, even if it raises the price of sets. I can think of several Star Wars sets in particular where a baseplate would really work. Quote
Aanchir Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 I wish they would bring back baseplate usage, even if it raises the price of sets. I can think of several Star Wars sets in particular where a baseplate would really work. I dunno, again, I prefer the transition to regular plates. If new BURPs could be introduced that are suitable for elevating models, then that'd be great, but as it is baseplates in general and raised baseplates in particular are quite specialized, something that AFOLs normally criticize rather than celebrate. Quote
Orange Leader Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 I'm not so fond on raised baseplates either. But I think they can be useful, just like any brick that is not much welcomed by AFOLs. I think It's a nice challenge to build something with a RB and still having that AFOL quality. Quote
The Joker1 Posted January 31, 2013 Author Posted January 31, 2013 True, having these bases really does make things a lot easier,I have found the green ones especially useful as I only have a small supply of green slopes to use for mocs. Quote
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