The Medieval Blacksmith set was the one I was going to suggest! That is a good choice. Also, they are retiring it at the end of the year, so if you want it, get it soon.
this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
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Where can I see which sets are being retired?
There’s a pinned post on r/legoleak. (Not sure if ok to post Reddit links…)
for a fun building experience, I recommend https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/galaxy-explorer-10497
additionally, although they won't advertise this very much of the set, but it has online building instructions for TWO alternate builds!
The original Galaxy Explorer was my first large set as a child, I purchased this one because of that. I ended up loving it so much I picked up two more boxes so I can do alternative builds with it.
That set is absolutely a great experience to build!
The Galaxy Explorer is a fantastic build, and even better finished product (imo). I love just randomly swooshing it around the place; and I'm 27 years old.
I had fun with the DeLorean from Back to the Future
I buy secondhand - cheaper, and the way every lego set has a short lifespan, much more choice this way.
How is building LEGO an investment?
There are people who buy Lego sets and keep them sealed in hopes that their value on the aftermarket will rise drastically once it's not being produced anymore.
I guess it's not as stupid as Beanie Babies
Look on Kijiji, marketplace, etc.
There's someone selling unopened sets on Kijiji in my neighbourhood with a 20% mark up because you can't get them anymore.
Personally I don't think it's work the capital or space to store for the odd $40 but different strokes I suppose.
I don't know if one gets brigaded here as well as on reddit, but if you actually want to have a good building experience, with better quality bricks and don't care about the sets as an investment, go to brick alternatives. Mouldking has a ton of cool star wars sets that are much cheaper per piece.
I stopped buying LEGO™ for years now, the alternatives only get better and LEGO™ only gets worse. The only reason to buy LEGO™ nowadays is to keep the sets closed and hope they get even more expensive in the future... They even stopped B-Models. They know their customers...
I have been collecting LEGO for decades and other than a few instances (brittle brown and reds) I have not noticed LEGO getting worse. More expensive, but not getting worse.
I have definitely noticed it. Clutch power and stability is still great as ever, but ugly mold marks, color mismatches, scratches on larger transparent pieces out of the box, low quality of prints on pieces and misprints in instructions are all things that have noticeably increased for me over the last years.
I hadn't heard of that brand before. Is it possible to tell the difference between their bricks and Lego bricks?
Quality wise? Barely. LEGO bricks are of course branded but that's the main difference by now. They are compatible with each other as well if that's what you're asking.
Ah yes I meant in terms of quality. It's good to hear that they're as high quality as Lego bricks, and being compatible is also a plus. I remember having alternative bricks when I was younger and the quality was noticeably worse so I'm glad they're improving.
Mouldking is one of the best when it comes to quality of the alternatives, I would say on the level of LEGO™. I'd suggest trying it out, they even sell on Amazon and are not that expensive.
As the other commenter said, they are of similar or better quality than Lego, but be aware that they also feature a higher clutch power generally. That sounds like a good thing initially, until you need to connect two parts of a build with a lot of studded connection surface between them, or try to get two stacked plates apart again. They're still great, it's just something to be aware of. I personally prefer the lower clutch power of Lego, it feels more nicely balanced to me.