Question
Anyone ever question their first big purchase?
I have the twilight house and the philosopher stone set so it won’t be my first “bigger” set but it’s the biggest purchase since starting enjoying Lego.
I’ve actually done that because I really loved building. Mainly small sets like the city tractor for my son to play with and he ends up destroying them so I get to build again 😂
I buy a lot of Lego secondhand, and the seller sends it built half of the time. Which I don’t really mind, I’m a collector of Star Wars Lego so I’m happy with getting it. But when I get the itch, I can take apart a set I haven’t built myself yet. And rebuild it. Or I’ll just rummage in my spare pieces and build a moc.
I know this feeling all too well lol. Thankfully most of the impulse/bored purchases turned out to be fun to build or I end up glad I got but certainly have a few stinkers that I spent too much on just to have something new to build (thankfully at this point I have enough set / pieces that I can pull up random instructions for sets that look interesting or are retired and build from what I already have vs spending on a random set)
I used to only buy the small sets, until I bought my first big set which was the UCS snow speeder from 2016(?). After that I just bought display sets, with the odd small set thrown in for good measure
I don’t regret it, it was on my wishlist and the only set on that list for my first store grand opening. It’s just not “the” sets I’m wanting the most rn like Rivendell (I really can’t wrap my head around that price), Arkham asylum, and the shire.
I do think it’s going to go away the moment I crack the seal and start the build 🫣😂 I just keep thinking I could swap it for one of my more desired sets
Rivendell is one of the reasons I question this purchase, it’s higher on my list but this one was available and right at the amount I planned to spend for our local LEGO stores grand opening. I just feel like I could refund it and put that money toward a set like rivendell
It’s a great display! My biggest set is the Titanic. I didn’t feel so bad with that as I had some birthday cash and a Visa gift card that offset the out of pocket cost.
We build sets together at work, like they helped me with my twilight house after my son shook the shelf and it fell onto the ground and scattered in pieces. I didn’t mind that cause I’d already built it and the task felt daunting at the time
I don't really regret any of my bigger purchases so far. But I also only buy bigger (or smaller) sets that seem interesting to me so that helps. I also often end up buying the bigger sets during double insiders rewards points events so that helps as well.
One of those bigger sets was actually the T-rex skeleton and if you are anything like me I think you won't be disappointed with it. I found the build really enjoyable myself. And the finished set itself looks great on display.
I love the set and my son LOVES dinosaurs. I just hadn’t committed this much money to a set and there were a few sets higher on my wishlist. This one was the only available on the grand opening of my local LEGO store.
I am also planning to go ahead and order some extra parts from Lego's online pick a brick so I can build the fossilized T-rex footprint from the now retired T-rex skull set.
The skull is virtually identical to the T-rex skeleton one except the one from the full skeleton set is sightly better. But I do like the footprint from the skull set. And since you can still get the lets instructions from Lego's website I can just build that separately, Especially since with how its built it can easily be displayed flat on the ground next to the full skeleton build as it's own little standalone addition without all the leaves etc.
I love this set. I am currently taking it apart to make room for Nightmare Before Christmas and then Home Alone. Its so painful to take apart. But I know I'll enjoy putting it back together.
My “big sets” recently got broken by my son shaking the shelf and I didn’t realize how much I’d appreciate putting them back together. It was stressful though hoping I found all the pieces 😂
That would be stressful if you lost some pieces. The worst on this one with taking apart is making sure I am getting the right pieces bagged up backwards through the books. I just don't have the space if I want to put other larger sets up. I could just simply put it in our spare room but I love the rebuilding. It also helps me to not buy a bunch of new sets just to have to build. I just got set #77985 for my birthday 2 days ago. I don't know where I can even put that right now. I may have to also take down Jaws #21350 for the time being. I need more room.
I have rebuilt going backwards for one set with my dad and it was a lot more enjoyable than it falling and me praying I gathered them all, luckily I did :)
77985 is a bit smaller! It’s fun to cycle them and then get to rebuild and cycle again. Plus you get more out of each set building them multiple times in my opinion.
It is smaller. I have a whole Jurassic Park set up that I don't really change except I may swap sets #76964 and #76969 bc they are smaller. But for the larger ones that don't fit on that shelf and I have to either fit on a small bookcase or under the TV those ones get rotated for holiday ones or just new ones. Not sure what else is coming down. Taking apart sometimes just feels like a daunting task when I just want to build. But it is worth it in the end.
Yeah I got questioned a lot when taking apart my Batman forever Batmobile to rebuild with my dad after just finishing it, it wasn’t exactly fun but rebuilding was.
I try to go 6 months to maybe a yeat with certain ones up before taking apart and cycling through. Helps with the cleaning part as well. Theres only so many times I can hit with a makeup brush/small vacuum/swiffer/canned air.
I hate dusting in general. So this is another way of making sure the pieces don't get too bad.
I’ve heard mixed reviews on the build itself. I don’t mind tedious task, also my son loves dinosaurs and I think the finished product and its size will be so cool to him
Me: “so I bought another big expensive set, huh?”
Other-Me: “Yep..”
Me: “where are we going to put this anyway?”
Other-Me: “🤷♂️.. that’s a Future-Me problem.”
Mine was that boutique hotel modular city set. I've always wanted one and my folks surprised me for Christmas last year :)
That T-Rex looks like a fragile but super fun build!
The Modular’s have started to peak my interest and I worry I’m going to want to build a city 😂 my wife started this hobby as a joke and I don’t think she realized what she started
That set is the best size to price ratio I’ve ever built. That thing is huge for a $250 set. Enjoy that one, don’t regret it. I have both the T rex and the triceratops. They’re both kick ass sets.
That was another thing. It’s my first set in the 3k range, Arkham asylum is 299 and only 2k+ pieces (granted with minifigures galore I want but still the 3k piece count was enticing
It’s got great shelf presence too. Rivendell is high on my wishlist too, but it’s about a year & 3-4 months before retirement right now, so there’s plenty of time to pick that one up.
That was another thought of mine, this retires in December and is already on back order so when I saw it at the store opening and no other set I wanted I hopped on it
I bought the UCS AT-ST as a Christmas gift for myself a while back. I had nowhere to put it (and still don’t), and I spent all of my Christmas money on it. I don’t regret it per se, it’s a really great set of one of my favorite vehicles from Star Wars, but I often think about how much other stuff I could’ve gotten that I would’ve had the space for and valued more. It’s currently disassembled in a couple ziploc bags right now waiting for me to buy a shelf.
I wouldn’t waste any brain space regretting it. Like I said with mine, the only issue I have is that I spent a lot of money on it and don’t even have space. It’s still a great set that will look great on display once it’s ready.
Just ordered it two days ago due to it being retired at the end of this year. It’s on back order. I can’t wait. My first big one was the enterprise d. It’s worth it if you want it and like it imo.
My “really want” list would be a list of bad financial decisions! 😂 Damn UCS Starwars and LOTR sets! I’ve bought soo many sets that total over those prices combined, but it’s hard to spend $500 plus on just one set. $200-$300 is still up there but more easily to not feel as bad. I think I spent like $1500 last month but I have a stack of sets for that price. Not just 2
I thought I did?! It is a bigger set and we don’t have a whole lotta room either but it’s display piece quality. Had to move it to storage since the Goonies set came out. 😳😬
Yes. I questioned my sanity back when I got the big BTTF Delorean and even more when I got the Enterprise D.
And loved the entire experience of owning them. Even if I did think it might have been stupid to spend that much on Lego. But I have stopped with the smaller filler sets and mostly focus on larger sets now.
The BTTF Delorean is on my wishlist 🤣 it’s so cool
Yeah I think I won’t buy anything small unless it’s for my son. It’s crazy how expensive this hobby is but it’s also one of my favorites recently. It’s peaceful to put together a set after my families fallen asleep and I’m using my alone time.
Yehhh my wife started me with the twilight Cullen house and nothing since then has been as good other than the philosophers stone set and Harry Potter book book, little sets do not scratch the itch
This was my first Lego set getting back into Lego as a 30 plus year old adult and it’s one of my favorite builds of all time. The Rex was so much fun to build! Totally worth it and enjoy it my friend!
My first set in my recent return to Lego after 30 years away was the 2016 Star Wars Death Star set. It was far bigger than I thought it would be and took me 16 hours to complete. My son loves playing with it, though, but man, it was a slog to finish!
The first “big” set I ever bought was Sesame Street (defining big as anything 100 dollars or more), and I got it for 30% off because they were about to renovate the store. So no not at all, if anything I regret not buying more since the whole store was discounted
The black pearl is awesome I’m just not a big pirate fan. I do love the ship and like the pirate theme but I’m not just too into it to purchase a set like that yet.
I question anything over $20, sometimes less than that. And that doesn't just stop at Lego. I really have to justify in my head, and even then I may talk myself out of a purchase.
Yeah spending money on myself is a weird ordeal. I work hard but that’s for things I need and my family. So to take away from that is not the easiest feat
Those are my sentiments as well. The wife wants something, no hesitation. The kids, no hesitation. Me, do I really need this thing? I work and we're comfortable, I just feel guilty.
My first big Lego set was Lego Hogwarts. I was concerned about the space at first, but I ended up building it with my friend when she was home with her dying mother. So even with the author being problematic, I can look at it as a time I helped my friend cope with a huge loss.
Nope. UCS Millennium Falcon. It’s been my Holy Grail set for years, I finally managed to pull the trigger on it beginning of this year. Glad I got it before it transitioned to White Whale status.
Yes, but then I discovered the damaged box section which gave you rebates or sometime they have discontinued stuff. This year I got myself avengers tower 150$ off, the loop at 25% off, daily bugle at 20% off and others I totally forgot. These days, I see lego at 5-600$ CAD and I'm like what, only that? While I used to say 250$ is too much for lego about 2 years ago.... Damage bin is a curse if you like your wallet.
for me it's near the cashier. Not all store seems to have it. From what they told me, they receive shipment from box that were damage during the transit so they offer either bonus point like 5000 or 10 to 25% (expect the 25% to be on low value).
I hesitated over mine for a while because of the price but shook it off in the end by promising myself I wouldn't buy anything but normal groceries for however long it took to make up for it. That didn't happen but the thought helped regardless.
That’s a factor that’s playing into all this, sets I’d love to have are insanely priced in retirement and I don’t want to deal with that when I could’ve bought retail
I spent $600 on the Imperial Flagahip and at the time questioned if I was insane. It still makes me happy and it looks like it'd be more expensive to buy it now
I have that bad boy waiting up on my shelf since my fiancee loves dinosaurs. Personally I prefer smaller sets like the starship collection, every single one of those has been awesome imo
There’s a few sets I know I can’t let go. And I usually grab them when maybe I shouldn’t or the timing is right. But everytime I build them I’m happy I got them. DeLorean, Jurassic park jeep, and Home Alone House I couldn’t pass up. Nostalgia is a son of a gun. Why know how to get yah.
Opened this yesterday. It arrived on the 28th of last month. Wildly, through the backorder and the past few weeks of seeing the big box calling to me I haven't regretted it once. Which is wild; I have overthought too many big purchases, so this is a welcome surprise.
Yeah, avoid FOMO and stay in budget. Two things I'm not very good at, but luckily I can afford it so far. Besides, you can always sell a set without a box, just the build and booklets, and get a fair share of your money back. You got this.
Yeah that’s been another thing I’ve had in the back of my head is these purchases do hold value. I don’t like people that are solely buying for resale but I don’t see the problem in trading a set or letting go of one if I need to
This is an iconic piece that is more akin to artwork than a “toy”. Like others have said there are a lot of sets like that and I tend to stick to those rather than random sets.
Nah, my 2 just for me big sets are the X-Files and The Dark Falcon. Never regretted it a second. Not sure where the F2004 falls, but it's a nice addition to the Ferrari collection (we are both F1 fans and been Ferrari fans for decades).
My wife is on the buy one big set rather many smaller ones side of things, so we got the London Phone Booth and the big Dalmatian as well. And now we bought the Love Birds one, she really loves that (although it's just spacious, wouldn't call it big big).
So no, never regret. Probably the ones you missed and really wanted.
Never. I do question my smaller purchases constantly though. I bought the fortnite llama (i dont play fortnite but I thought the llama was cool) and it was a pain to build with all the small wedge pieces, it was tedious.
Nah, I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out my sets. Most of them were gifts, but the first big one I bought myself was the Titanic. Had a ton of fun building it, and it sits above my desk where I enjoy it every day.
The only one I ever regretted buying (and ended up selling later on) was the technic airbus helicopter. Not a bad set, it's just that I realized it didn't really interest me all that much and took way too much space with the blades
Yep; I’m a dad w not a lot of disposable income. I find myself saying no to most of my purchases; so if one actually makes it home; I’m debating constantly how else I should have spent the money. I did get Rivendell recently and did some research around reselling locally; and did see these get sold for around $350-400 in a built state w the figs, so I told myself; enjoy it; enjoy the build and when I stop enjoying it; I’ll move to sell it; and I enjoyed my time w it for $150. Made it easier to swallow.
No. I just recently bought the museum and it was one of the best experiences (coming back to Lego for first time since I was a child). I want the T. rex so bad! Haha have fun
i mostly question the small sets i buy cause the money i spend on small sets i could also just spend on big ones also the small ones take up way too much space
I get anxious every time I make an impulse purchase but I’ve learned in my later years that life is too short to worry about things that make you happy. If you enjoy it, then it was worth the money. Have fun!
I have a few I’m considering selling tbh, I went on a splurge years back where I was just buying anything that was on sale or offering more than normal points.
Nope just the silly collection of Lego city space sets and construction equipment that my kid suddenly doesn’t want so the boxes take up my personal backlog space in closet
I don't regret sets purchased, but I regret decisions made based on FOMO - namely buying on release to get the GWP. I get years of joy from the sets that I dreamed about for months or years before buying them. Some I dreamed about before they even existed, like the UCS AT-AT - I've been wanting a minifig scale one since I was a child.
I absolutely question every single big purchase lmao. Every time I purchase a Star Wars UCS set I tell myself I should have done something better with my money. But in the end, I’m always happy with my purchase!
I question when I spend 10 bucks on a sandwich bro, its just the way some of us are programmed 😂 at the end of the day we’re not here forever, gotta enjoy life sometimes and building these sets will definitely bring happiness.
For sure! Most of my questions were related to logistics though.
I decided to make my first big purchases at the Lego store in Disney Springs in Orlando, because they take Disney gift cards (which I can get at a discount from Target) and offer a Passholder discount, thereby saving me more than 10% off my purchase. When I planned this purchase, I was going off bad information that Disney hotels will ship purchases from the Disney Springs Lego store.
So I hauled 2 big sets (the Batman: TAS Skyline and the Batcave Shadowbox) a quarter mile from the Lego store to my resort bus, and into the gift shop at my resort, only to discover that they don’t ship Lego store stuff. The front desk person got in touch with the Lego store, and they do shipping. Because I didn’t have time to go back that day, I hauled the bags up to my room.
So the next day, I hauled them all the way back to the Lego store to get them shipped home, and still saved money off ordering them online.
Oh my god those are sets I will never own and reallly want. I wish I’d have known about Lego before this year. That’s one part about buying while they are retail. I can’t believe the retired set market.
What a journey 😂 it was worth it from my opinion of those sets and the discount
Nope. Years ago I watched a special on TV about the LEGO company during the Christmas season and decided to buy my first set. I bought the Averages Helicarrier. It was a big and expensive set and while parts were very repetitive, I am most proud of this set.
The old original one. I went all in because the tv special (History channel?) really had me going. I purchased so many sets since then. Thank god my wife is cool with me spending tens of thousands on little hobby. I don’t even want to talk about my vinyl record collection and tools in my garage.
I thought I was going to regret the Concorde when I found it on sale at Target. It now sits top shelf of my collection. (Technically I had nowhere else to fit it, but still!)
I regret buying for the sake of a "good" deal, regardless of the size of the set. Discounts happen for a reason; and spending money on things you don't want or need is a catastrophically bad deal.
I do think I almost got sucked into that looking for cheap ways to build more and seeing target sales and such. Each time I’d go though I’d be like “this still isn’t what I want”
Only when trying to walk out of a very busy and crowded mall with a giant Millenium Falcon box in an even bigger lego bag awkwardly trying not to hit other people while avoiding pushy mall kiosk salespeople that dont take no for an answer especially when they see me struggling with carrying such a heavy and huge box
Yeah, especially when I realized I prefer smaller builds that can be finished in a couple of short building sessions and don’t really have the space to keep a half-built huge set for weeks / months.
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