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MAB

Eurobricks Archdukes
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  1. MAB

    Fake LEGO elements

    MAB replied to brickie's topic in Community

    Charmed, I'm sure. According to BL they lasted into the 1990s too, so not just my childhood but my early adulthood too.
  2. MAB
    There is already a thread in the TOWN section about this.
  3. MAB
    I can open the blogs. Here is what I see opening the Dodge Charger blog.
  4. MAB
    It is up.
  5. MAB
    If you already have one then you know it's capabilities. If you need another then only you know if it is worth it for you. If you search for buwizz and sbrick you will find a number of threads with applications.
  6. MAB
    There is no definitive answer to this, it really depends what you want it to do. I have the original sbrick from Kickstarter and find the responsiveness fine, plus there is a decent app and it is also possible to control from a pi with a Bluetooth module added. I find the four ports enough for everything I do. Some people complain about the battery box size and that buwizz with its built in power is more space efficient. However I use a custom (cut) Lego cable to connect to a smaller RC car battery. That way, the sbrick can be buried in the model and only the battery needs to be removed for charging. And you can have spares pre-charged.
  7. MAB
    Plus dual moulding is essential for those characters since they don't wear capes. I'm not a fan where decoration is printed on the front and sides but not the back, whether it is footwear or tunic. If they wear a cape at least it can be covered.
  8. MAB
    Yes, they have updated their statement on it. It is not surprising really. Ideas sets have really taken off and become large value, large run sets so don't need to offset costs to other themes.
  9. MAB
    You also need to take the extra off the Cantina too to bring that down to no minifigures. Although the Disney Castle figures are worth way more than that, Mickey by himself is worth more than that. Not valuing figures (either financially or play value or display value) is probably why you don't see the value in the Cantina compared to the Castle. It isn't just a Cantina plus a few vehicles. There are many minifigures, and some never done before plus new versions of others. Some of those brand new ones will be selling for $30+ on the secondary market, that is how high people value them. For example, Zuckuss (sw1020) from the recent Anniversary Slave-I, never done before, goes for about $40. It wouldn't surprise me if the minifigures alone could be sold off for about $180-200 and another $20-30 for the dewback.
  10. MAB
    How terrible. You can look up value on bricklink for used or brickset for newer unused sets. But it will be down to your insurance company rules, what sort of evidence do they require. Do you have proof of purchases (online credit card statements or similar) or photographs of the items in situ and are these acceptable? Did you declare a value for the collection when taking out insurance and so on.
  11. MAB
    Because of the number of minifigures. Minifigures are significantly more valuable than parts. Add the current cost of 16 CMFs, so $80, to the Disney Castle or alternatively take off $80 from Cantina. Let's do the latter. Then you have $350 for Disney Castle (~4000 parts plus 5 minifigures) compared to $270 for the Cantina minus 16 figures (~3100 parts plus 5 minifigures). $350 / $270 gives a price ratio of about 1.30; 4000/3100 gives a parts ratio of about 1.29. Once the value of minifigures is taken into account, they are very similar. But of course, if you prefer Disney, the Disney set will be more appealing. If you prefer SW, the SW set will. If you prefer one big build, the Disney set. If you prefer more action based play, the SW set. If you prefer character based play, the SW set. If you don't value minifigures at all, the Disney set.
  12. MAB
    So buy the Disney Castle and don't buy this one. Problem solved. You can go and play with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Tinkerbell in their big, fairly static castle and Star Wars fans can play with the 21 minifigures, swoosh the vehicles, play with the dewback and so on in this large Cantina set. They are completely different sets. Not just in license, but in play and display style. The Castle is great if you like big buildings but not much in terms of characters. The Cantina is great if you enjoy minifigures, swooshing vehicles, but also have a great backdrop for them even if it is smaller than the Disney castle. The difference of 16 figures is going to cost you probably $60-80 to buy Disney CMFs to fill the Castle, more if you want specific ones or to avoid duplicates and so use the secondary market. The difference in part count between the two sets is about 800. And the difference in financial value depends on what the parts are. Small parts could be pennies, larger ones more than 10c per part. I don't think they are that far off each other in terms of cost value - but it depends how much play, display and financial value you put in minifigs compared to parts.
  13. MAB
    If you are looking at relatively small sticker sheets like that one, it is also worth creating a new wanted list with just the stickered parts in it. Then you can price up how much it costs to get the stickers already attached to the parts compared to the sheet price. Obviously only any good if you don't mind used parts / stickers.
  14. MAB
    Yes, true. I think LEGO SW collectors are used to and also willing to pay this sort of price, based on sales of other similar sets. I expected it to be higher than $350. Yet sells well, suggesting it is not overpriced to the customers that actually buy it. Although I imagine when they priced it 4 years ago, they increased it compared to what it would have been if it was just a 2 year set, knowing it would likely be around for 7-8 years like the last one and that it would be embarrassing to change the price during its retail run.
  15. MAB
    I don't think the price is at all off compared to similar sets like the 2016 Death Star. This is $350 - 21 figs - 3187 parts. It is approximately 7/10 of the price of the DS. So mutliply by 10/7 and you get the equivalent size of this set if it cost the same, so $500 - 30 figs - 4553 parts. The Death Star was $500 - 27 figs - 4000 parts. So this set appears better value than the DS. It has the equivalent of 3 figures and 550 parts more than the DS if they are scaled to the same price.
  16. MAB
    Similar here. It needs a rebuild to fit a certain space and I'd probably want it to show the interior only with the majority of the minifigures from this set. Then do the landspeeders (plus Luke's) and dewback and "these are not the droids" outside in another section.
  17. MAB
    Other marketing slogans: How many 1x1 parts do you need in a washing machine filter to block it? Find out with our new range. Can you ruin a pair of jeans and LEGO at the same time? You can now.
  18. MAB

    10275 Elf Clubhouse

    MAB replied to JintaiZ's topic in LEGO Town

    Surely in a LEGO City the brick built reindeer are the real ones, the moulded deer is the cheesy rooftop decoration! :-)
  19. MAB
    I don't know, although Ideas has really taken off so maybe they no longer need the smaller first run. I remember back when the exo-suit and female minifigure set first came out, then both went out of stock for quite a while before coming back into stock. That might have been the realisation that they needed to increase initial production numbers. It was surprising they didn't do more Mars Rover as that was popular. It lasted about a week or so in the US although about 3 months in the UK/Europe. Maybe they had agreements on the numbers that would be produced with NASA and couldn't make more.
  20. MAB
    It doesn't really matter if it is resin or ABS, the decal should affix equally well. I'd be tempted to go with the Clone Army Customs one if you are using a CAC rangefinder as this will guarantee a perfect fit of the rangefinder in the helmet hole.
  21. MAB
    I think the sweater prints in the SW calendar are just as good, if not better, for a City setting. Perfect for a SW fan celebrating Christmas.
  22. MAB
    I think short legs would be fine for Tweety Pie as it gives the impression he is smaller. Gandalf is twice the height of Frodo yet they made traditional figures work. Although a small mould would be fine although lack some detail.
  23. MAB
    I guess the difference is merchandise. LOTR had quite a lot of collector merchandise including dolls and figurines and so on. I wonder how much Dune will have and what market there is for it.
  24. MAB

    10275 Elf Clubhouse

    MAB replied to JintaiZ's topic in LEGO Town

    I liked the market stalls, they make a nice traditional Euro style Christmas market. Although as a set it was a bit weak. It was like a combination of the GWP sets we used to get in late November about 2012.
  25. MAB
    I think the 60th anniversary was coincidental. Most people think of these as AFOL Designer Sets rather than LEGO 60th anniversary sets.
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