Virginia_Bricks

It comes down to the breakdown of flame retardants used in plastic. ABS plastic (what Lego uses) uses brominated plastric retardents so what you are seeing in the yellowing is the bromine. Clearly the lighter the color used, the more obvious the bromine becomes. But effectively the same reaction happens in black bricks as white bricks, you just can't see it in black because the dye is stronger. The reaction occurs most commonly from UV light and heat. Where you live in the world greatly impacts this because UV light is the strongest around the equator and weakens as you head north or south. Also depends on where windows are in the room Lego exists because UV light is strongest during the middle of the day.

If we are getting Eevee in the Pokeball set it feels safe to assume there will be at least a few in that set alone. Pikachu seems like a no brainier. If this is off the original anime, the eevee could be Gary's so each trainer will get their iconic Pokemon. Onyx for Brock seems easy enough and gives some size variety to the moulded Pokemon.

UV glass is expensive, but it does the job and what museums use on artwork. I don't think any of the acrylic cases would help the same way unless they have built in UV protection.

Absolutely. I don't own many solid white sets for this reason. Yet, my 2007 Imperial Landing Craft is relatively untouched. Sure its yellowed, but not to the point you would quickly notice without close inspection. I just bought Gringotts and have the Ghost from a few years back so we will see how they fare. Is it going to stop me from buying Minas Tirith? Not likely, but I went down the rabbit hole earlier this year about Lego changing their white to see if anything they did was to solve yellowing. The new white is a whole lot less opaque so it won't let light through as much, but that makes it almost feel like it will absorb more itself. There is a redditor who has been sun exposing a piece of the new white so we might soon have an answer.

I hope they keep the upscaled carts going for a while. There is a lot to do and I think they look great.

But they follow patterns because when people can leak information is not totally random. D2C sets is harder, but a lot of the retail sets leak because the information was shared with retailers who have less care about keeping those things secret. They get that information on a regular basis from Lego in advance of set releases. Sure the Minas Tirith leak happened early because of a mistake, so something could happen with the GWP, but most GWPs leak about a month before release. Another example besides Smeagol and Deagol was HP's GWP 40770 which leaked on August 7th before a September 1st release. Yet the SW May the 4th GWP leaked a few months ago.

Smeagol and Deagol leaked March 7th, 2025 which was released on April 2nd. So a month in advance. Therefore May is the best bet since Minas Tirith doesn't release till June.

So the exact same mini-figure. Great for those who want him and not buy a now retired, but not sure anyone is really itching for more bell and fossil prints given you always get a spare in each set with them.

Not to continue almost a page of discussion on just GWP practices, but I wonder what having a new distribution facility and production facility in North America allows Lego to do. Its only the second distribution center in the US so adding 2,000,000 sqft of space is significant. Don't think it would be used to store more GWPs, rather growing existing product lines and maybe new product lines (Smart Brick).

Any chance we get another Insiders Reward Mario Kart item? So many options: Red or Green Shell, Banana Peel, Mushroom, etc... Lego has to be seeing the crazy prices that is getting on the secondary market and thinking another one might do well.

There has to be a production run limit. Like they can only run 2,000 copies per production run. So increasing the # of copies would require it be stepped (10,000 to 12,000 to 14,000). Also these decisions have to be done before the set is "released" so they aren't always sure on reception. Last year the Shire GWP lasted forever because the set had a mixed reception. This accidental leak might give them a chance to prepare better because they can tell general sentiment on the set. Also fair to note, that the Fell Beast GWP was the first true LOTR GWP so they were still figuring out how many copies to produce. It ran out fast, but they prepared better for the Shire. I think the only GWP in the US that sold out on Day 1 was the Star Trek Shuttlepod. So a theme debuting and therefore difficult to predict demand.

That wouldn't accomplish their goal: Incentivize day 1 full retail sales. If I knew I could get the GWP later, I would just wait for a good sale or at least 2 VIP. If they made the GWPs more substantial for these large sets it might still work. You would need roughly a $35 GWP to make up for not getting 2x points and honestly probably $50-60 because during Insiders Weekend you can get 2x points and a GWP or two. Personally I think all the large LOTR releases since Rivendell have been on the same par as far as design goes. A lot of people judge the Shire because of its price, but is a really well designed set for its budget limitations. You can't clearly add more interior without increasing the price substantially or evening fixing the trees would cost a decent bit of budget.

But for some people the hobby is Lego being a toy and a collectible, not just a toy. You might not interact with it that way, but plenty of people do. I mean look at Funko Pops, Pokemon Cards, Hot Wheels, and so many more toy brands. Be thankful grading and protective sleeves have so far stayed away from Lego. For some people the collecting brings as much as joy as the building. Or as a hobby it could be even worse like concert tickets or other limited release drops where you have to be on at that time and the secondary market is even more insane. Sure Lego and their marketing tactics take a little while to learn if you are trying to maximize your budget, but they are predictable. I prefer to buy directly from Lego because in the US its not uncommon for someone to return a set with the mini-figures or key pieces missing. Therefore, I know to save my Star Wars purchases for May and its promo season, Harry Potter for September, and most everything else for a 2x points event which happen 4 times a year unless I'm buy a D2C on release. I'm a planner by default so this is the way I would handle it even without the promos. I also just accept I can't buy every set I want so if I miss a promo I like, I'm confident down the road another one I will like will show up.

Really rough estimate is: Width: 64 studs, Height 60 bricks/72 studs, Depth 32 studs. Used the gate which is about 8 by 12 studs to do the width and height.

I should have just bought Gringotts during Back to Hogwarts. I had budgeted for it but was buying other sets during that time and told myself to wait till Insiders Weekend and 2x points. But I stopped staying up to midnight to buy sets on release (though I might now with Minas Tirith not to risk it) because typically GWPs don't sell out that quick. I've learned my lesson on D2C sales though typically I don't wait till they are near EOL. Last year was just my second back as an AFOL so wasn't even thinking about Gringotts when it released.