The most recommended sets

bricking

I can see lots of great sets recommended.
Three have caught my eye recently:
• 10193: Medieval Market Village
• 2507: Fire Temple
• 7066: Earth Defense HQ

I'm sold on these so I don't need any more convincing but I think this could be a useful discussion thread for recommending the best of the best.

As you can see I'm not following any particular theme. But these are good examples of great sets that aren't too pricey. (meaning I'm sure we'd all like all the modulars & all the master builder sets if money was no object)

Apologies if this is rehashing old ground. (I did search around to see if I could find a similar thread.)

LegoFanTexas

10188: Death Star
10214: Tower Bridge
10212: Imperial Shuttle
10217: Diagon Alley
10210: Imperial Flagship
10231: Shuttle Expedition
10197: Fire Brigade
10211: Grand Emporium
10218: Pet Shop
8053: Mobile Crane

Yes, most of those sets are expensive, the Mobile crane being the only $99 set on that list.

That being said, you can buy three $50 sets, or a single modular set, and the question becomes what is really most impressive? I personally would rather have a single modular set, more parts and amazing build.

Of everything I've built recently that WASN'T retired, the Death Star was the most impressive. Yea, it is $399, but wow what a build!!!! The Tower Bridge is a really close second, and it is only $216 on Amazon right now, a downright steal.

As for the smaller, cheaper sets... Being 35 years old, I've found the 500 part count kits to not really interest me, they go together too quickly, don't do enough, and are really meant for kids to play with using their imagination. I have three kids, so they enjoy them just fine, but I'm more of a display builder, I don't have time to both build *and* play. :)

Si_UKNZ

Have a look at the Brickset 'top rated sets' list, this is based on many thousands of votes
(you can find it in the 'data mining' section).
http://www.brickset.com/list/?TopRated

LegoFanTexas

That "top rated" list is nice, but too many older sets are in there that are going to be hard and expensive to locate.

If you could sort that list by year, it would be more useful. Almost everything on the first page is out of production, some of it by a long time.

I am happy to point out that among recent sets on that list, my favorite the Death Star is right at the top of the list! The MMV is also current and right at the top, as the OP suggested. The Fire Brigade is also near the top of that list.

Si_UKNZ

^ Not really hard to get or expensive necessarily, I picked up black sea barracuda for £50, which is comparable to what you pay for new sets, if not cheaper. I also picked up Vladeks fortress, the creator ferry, etc, for roughly RRP, and I agree that these sets deserve their place in the list, and the effort to locate them.

Also try this.. and then sort by rating:
http://www.brickset.com/search/default.aspx?year=2011
(simply edit the

LegoFanTexas

That sounds like a good price. Was that new in box?

I suppose I'm thinking of that, because I generally don't buy anything that isn't new in box, used Lego is not my cup of tea. :)

Take a look at this one:
http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=7662-1

Nice set, only a few years old (2007). But the cheapest you'll find one on eBay or Amazon is about $500.

That is a lot to spend on a set with 1,326 parts in it, even if 20 of them are mini-figs...

AScaryOctopus

Care if I put in some? Note that these sets aren't exactly recent.

7419-1: Dragon Fortress
5986-1: Amazon Ancient Ruins
5988-1: The Temple of Anubi

As you can see they are all oldies, but goodies, each with good minifigs and beautiful design.

LegoFanTexas

Interesting, I just looked at those three and what surprised me was the price per brick, was that normal back then? I have been under the impression that Lego had gotten a lot more expensive recently, but those sets are over 10 cents a brick.

bricking

^^ 5988: The Temple of Anubis Awesome! Is this the only lego hot air balloon?

akunthita

I absolutely love the Earth Defense set! Two others I would add to the list is the Maersk Train and the VW Camper...(c;

brickupdate

I would add Emerald Night to the list. I'm not a train collector normally, but this set is a really nice build, and a phenomenal looking train.

collect_that

^^^ @bricking 7415 Aero Nomad is also a hot air balloon and is a pretty cool set!