Brick Barbarian

Lego Manor Von Barron Haunted House Set 10273    Pharoah has heard our pleas! Finally, Lego is giving us a Creator Expert Haunted House. This set is supposed to compliment the roller coaster, carousel, fairground mixer and Ferris Wheel. The question is does it compliment those previously released sets?      Lets take a look at the insanely popular Haunted House from 2012. At $180 dollars, it was the high price point set of the Monster Fighters line. It was built in a modular style. The gothic worn exterior reminded fans of those old spooky gothic mansions right out of a Lovecraft story. At the same time, the house blended in with the modular buildings. It was the perfect fit for a city street. Every time I looked at it, I expected Herman Munster to walk out the door with his 10 gallon lunchbox.     Fans have longed for a reboot of this set. Prices on sealed Haunted House sets have more than doubled at $368. Even in used condition they have appreci...

Lego Animals     Ah yes, animals. We all love them. Farm animals, wild animals, and domesticated animals have all filled our hearts with joy and wonder. In the Lego world animals can provide some serious bucks as well.     To be clear, I am going to take a look at Lego animals that come in the regular sets. Animals that come in Duplo sets will be a separate discussion at another time. Let's do this.      The first animal, the goat, came out in the Village Mill Raid set back in 2011. To date, this is the only mini figure scale goat Lego has ever done. How much has this little guy appreciated? He currently resells at 31 dollars a pop. The retail price on the set he came in was 70 dollars. Granted, his value is high because Lego has not done another goat. In any case, if you have one hang on to him.          A couple of years ago, I was going to buy one off Bricklink. At the time, the goat was reselling at around 20 dollars...

   This is the one I bought for my son back in 2000.  Lego Haul Slave 1  20th Anniversary Edition  I bought the   first Lego Slave 1 for my son when he was really tiny. He did manage to build it. Of course all these years later, the mini figures are MIA. Luckily, he still had most of the parts in a bin including the black brick with the frozen Han Solo printed on it. A few years ago, he donated the bin to me. He declared he outgrew them. I just smiled. Like we outgrow our favorite childhood toys right? As a tribute to him, I decided to make it my mission to get every Slave 1 set built and on display on my shelf. Well, the 20th Anniversary Slave 1 did arrive yesterday. Some sets, you don't invest in. Rather, you build. This is one of those. My son won't be here physically to help me build this one. He is out of state. I miss him, and I think this build will remind me of the joy I saw on his face back in 2000 when I bought the first Slave...

Lego Investing Slave 1 20th Anniversary             Yes, it has been 21 years since Lego made the leap and got the Star Wars license. While The Phantom Menace was not 100 percent satisfying for fans of the original films, it did do one important thing. The new Star Wars movies inspired a new generation to fall in love with Star Wars. Over 20 years later, Lego is still cranking out Star Wars sets. This line accounts for almost half of all the sets Lego releases a year. Yeah, as Ron Burgundy would say, "its kinda of a big deal."      To celebrate the 20 years of acquiring the Star Wars liscense, Lego released sets featuring some of the classic molds and prinings of the original Lego Minifigure designs from that era. Fans are very happy about that, as am I.      The question in this article is what is the resale value of this set? There is a lot to like. It is a smaller scale detailed build of the UCS Slave 1 that re...

Brickmania Kit PT 109 Review          Yes, I did break the bank and purchased this set at Brickfair VA in 2019. I think I walked past the set at least a dozen times at the show. Finally, I decided it was now or never. I knew the set was not going to be restocked any time soon. It was near the end of its print run. They only had two copies at the stand. At a retail price of about 2000 dollars, it was the most I had ever spent for any Lego or Lego Market build. The only question is was it worth it?     Everything about this set was as close to Lego excellence as it could get. The instruction manual was easy to read and follow. The box was durable and well packaged. The colors in the instruction manual were crisp and distinct.     This was a complicated build. I worked on it on and off for six months. There were times, I had to step away from it not out of frustration, but because the unique design began to fill my imagination. It pr...

My Bricklink Store       What are my thoughts on running a Bricklink store? Well, if you are not passionate about Lego, you should not open a Bricklink store. It really is that simple. Passion for the endeavor itself is the number one Lots of  hours running a Bricklink store. prerequisite to any new venture. When people pursue a new venture just because they think it will make money, the venture almost always fails.  The Case for Passion 1.  Passion is the needed fuel to propel any new buisness. Liking what you do will keep you going through those lean first few years. Chances are you were already doing it on the side, because you like it. It grows into a buisness over time.  2.  Passion allows you to learn all the details of your product . The more information you have leads you to make informed choices. If you have no passion for what you are doing, your efforts will be hollow. You won't grow, and your buisness will...

    Lego UCS A-Wing Fighter     I remember the first time I ever saw the A Wing. I was a kid watching Return of the Jedi in the theater. I saw this hot rod looking fighter zipping around like a sports car. It had a sleeker design then the rest of the rebel fighters. The pilot even had a green jumpsuit (green being one of my favorite colors.) I was so thrilled sitting in my theater seat imagining I was an A Wing fighter pilot. How about some love for Aryel Crynyd. (Played by unaccredited Hilton McRae.) He was the heroic A- Wing pilot who crashed into a Super Star Destroyer disabling it in a blaze of glory.     Fast forward to 2020, and Lego has given us the UCS A Wing!     Well Lego has done several A Wing fighter sets over the last ten years. This is the first UCS A Wing we have gotten. I suppose the big question is does this set live up to others in the UCS line, and my answer is heck yes!       I thought I was done with the S...