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Well, modern architecture aficionados are willing to pay quite a bit for a well-done, detailed model of an iconic building like the Villa Savoye or Robie House, but the more broadly famous buildings like Big Ben or the Empire State Building are targeted more at a tourist crowd. They need to be small and relatively cheap so that they can sell well as souvenirs.

Seriously? No one has reviewed these two yet? Okay then. First up is 21000 Sears Tower, the very first set in the Architecture line. I got this set for Christmas of 2009, so the box had been sitting around for quite a while before I ever photographed it. It shows. Ignoring the frayed edges, though, it's pretty high-quality packaging for a set of its size - thicker cardboard, with sophisticated, adult-oriented design, setting the standard for the entire theme to follow. As you can see, this is an earlier edition, before the set's name was changed. ("Willis Tower? Oh, I was into it back when it was the Sears Tower.") Here's the parts assortment, minus the sole extra piece, a black 1x1 tile. With the exception of the printed nameplate, there's not a single remotely rare part in the bunch. Needless to say, this isn't a theme you collect if you're after valuable pieces; aside from the nameplates, the Sand Green cheese in Brandenburg Gate, and the Robie House's Dark Red concave 3x3 roof tile (at least, before it showed up in a Ninjago set), all of these sets can be built with parts available elsewhere. It's a quick build, and that picture on the side of the box shows exactly how it all comes together, so it's not really necessary to show an in-process shot. Here's a page of the instructions, though: From this you can see that the set dates to before TLG switched back to white outlines for black parts, but since there aren't any dark grey pieces in the set, color differentiation isn't a problem. You can also see (I hope - it's kinda blurry) that the printed nameplate isn't actually listed in the inventory - Instead of three blank black tiles and one printed, it just shows four blank ones. The final set is, I'll admit, that scourge of complexity-craving AFOLs, the hated Stack-o-Bricks. The use of jumper plates to center the structure is the most advanced building technique on display here. But honestly, that's intrinsic to the design of the building itself. The Sears Tower is square in plan, subdivided into a bundle of nine smaller squares that are extruded straight up to varying heights. It's a form that lends itself well to a pretty simple interpretation in LEGO bricks. So that 10+ age recommendation probably has less to do with difficulty and more to do with the fact that your average nine-year-old prefers ninjas in monster trucks to the Second Wave of Chicago School architecture. Not that there's anything wrong with ninjas in monster trucks. So hop in your dragon-shaped flying schooner (that... that's a thing, right?), and let's move on to 21001 John Hancock Center: The box layout is much the same as the Sears Tower, even down to the piece count. Speaking of which: Note the nineteen jumper plates, which are key to accomplishing the distinctive form of the building. But do they succeed at this daunting task? Let's read on! At the correct angle, the effect is pretty successful. I was skeptical at first, but as with pretty much all sets, I liked this a lot better once I had physically built it as opposed to just looking at pictures. It uses many of the same parts, at roughly the same scale, as 21002 Empire State Building, but achieves the opposite effect. Where the half-stud jumping on 21002 was a literal interpretation of the building's right-angle setbacks, here the technique is used to evoke a gradual slope. At such a small scale, it's very tricky. The model alternates by narrowing first along one axis, then the other, and back again, so that the transition is rather abrupt if viewed straight-on but much smoother if seen from an angle as above. One other little detail, something I learned about from the building information in the instructions (don't know why I didn't know it before), is that white 1x3 plate - it represents a band of lights on the real Hancock Center that, on special occasions, change color. So I plan to swap that out for, say, orange on Halloween, green on St. Patrick's Day, and red, white, and blue 1x1s for Independence Day. And now, the family portrait: Since it would be pointless to try to rate these based on parts, price, or (ha) minifigures, I'll just give each a grade without revealing anything about how I arrived at it, just like any good architecture professor. Sears Tower: A- John Hancock Center: B

It will be released in September (presumably the 1st) for $69.99.

That does look very nice! I mean, I'm not a fan of le Corbusier but I might still need to get this. Looks like the set is by another new designer, too, but I can't quite make out the name.

Coming September 2012: Clearly the Villa Savoye. My sources say it's 660 pieces, but I don't have any other new info at the moment; does anyone else?

I might be interested in just getting a Series 1 insert - I have at least one minifig from each series except the first, and though I've thrown out most of the packets without a second thought, I've saved one of the paper inserts for each series.

I'm also waiting for some pictures before I try to make any judgments. I'm leaning toward "probably official, with some things misinterpreted and/or lost in translation." Someone a few pages back mentioned how the Series 5 Graduate was initially misreported as a judge; I agree that that may be the case with some of these.

If it's "between you and them," why are you posting in a public forum about it rather than PMing the ambassadors? If you don't want to draw criticism for your words, don't put them online for all to see.

Like others, I'd recommend Avengers sets. Since the minifigures from that line are highly valued, you can get the vehicles sans figs quite cheaply on Bricklink - the Quinjet is going for less than half its retail price if you get it without the figs, and the jet and base from Hulk's Helicarrier Breakout can be had for $18. And if you can wait until later this fall, the Master Builder Academy Level 4 sets look to be a good source of useful dark blue parts as well.

I'm guessing that now that the project has hit 5,000 supporters, the next official message from TLG will ask you to specify one particular set to be the first one produced - much like the Modular Western Town, where mb_bricks put it to a vote to decide on the saloon. Will you set up a poll as well, or do you already know which set you want to be first?

Love these! Your Sam especially is spot-on, but all three are awesome. I wish they made the Sleepyhead hair in black; I've been wanting to make a Castiel fig and that would be perfect for him.

I'm almost certain we'll get a Wolverine mask eventually. I think the mold could probably be used for a comic-book Hawkeye as well.

I was wondering the same thing. I contacted customer service to ask when it will be available in North American stores but was told they can't reveal any information about it yet. This press release does quote a MSRP of USD $34.99, so at least we know it will eventually be available stateside.

I'm inclined to think this is just echo-chamber wishful thinking, but then, that's also what I thought of LotR at first. It does seem unlikely that they would release two civic buildings in a row though, so I'm still betting on a restaurant since we haven't seen a hospitality building since Cafe Corner.

Here's what the Superman costume looks like in Man of Steel: It will probably be dark blue [Earth Blue] in LEGO form. I hope they print on boots, too, since the lack of red briefs would make the legs look very bare otherwise.

The zombie chef and butler are exclusive. The Vampyre Bride isn't exclusive but the only other set with her is the big expensive castle, so she's still likely to be pretty valuable in the secondary market.

The missiles on the helicopter in Wolverine's Chopper Showdown are integrated into the design in a way that really makes them look like they belong there. The chopper actually looks kind of naked without them.

If I recall correctly, Cloud City's Boba Fett was the first minifig with arm printing. That could be an additional factor in the collectibility of it. As for the broader question of whether these price increases can be predicted, no. Lots of people like to think of "the market" as some kind of objectively rational force of nature, but really, it's just people spending money. And let's be honest, there is no force in the universe less rational than people spending money.

I was hoping someone would make a skycycle! Nicely done.

I wish they had used this set as an opportunity to produce more lime green 1x1 plates, since those have only been in one set to date, but I do love that other rare-ish parts are in such abundance here. Great review CopMike!

I don't think the Team GB series has anything to do with it, but depending on how successful the Beach pack ends up being, there might be more like that in the future for the other CMF "sub-themes," like the space figs, musicians, or circus performers.

There's just one Avengers set that I really want to see:

Great review! I'd like to pick this up at some point as Creator houses are probably my second-favorite theme, but I'm still holding out hope that it's only $39.99, not $49.99 like the Toy Fair pictures showed. I have no problem with it having "only" one minifig, since up until last year's Log Cabin, Creator houses didn't have minifigs at all.

It is on CUUSOO, actually - a fact I only just now realized. Check it out! Sonicstarlight doesn't seem to be one for self-promotion so I guess it's up to the rest of us to get the word out about it.

Because they're not based on real people.