2012 Sets at TRU

thebrickster

Has anyone found them at his/her local TOYS'R'US branch yet?

YC Edited Verbiage 11-3-11

dougts

looked today, nothing (Tigard, OR)

wagnerml2

Had my online order cofirmed shipped today. Got the Camper and the cargo helicopter.

tdhbr

Not at Glendale, AZ store as of yesterday, 11/2.

sidersdd

My order for Dino Ambush Attack (5882) was just shipped.

NeilJam

I am working as part of the overnight stock crew at the closest TRU to me, and the LEGO section is my primary area to work in each night (Yeah!!). If I see any new sets come in I will be sure to mention it here the morning after I put them on the shelves.

sidersdd

^ Much appreciated. What specific store do you work - or region of the country if you don't want to give that out?

NeilJam

I work at the Robinson Town Centre TRU, near Pittsburgh, PA.

pantenkind

^ I have a question I have been curious about for a long time. Occasionally I will go into TRU and there will be a set that has been retired for some time on the shelf. I typically check the store once a week or so and know it was not there before. My question is how do these sets pop up? Are they misplaced in the stockroom and then found or are they actually shipped to you at that time? It doesnt happen alot but to give you an example about a month ago I went in and there was a v-19 torrent sitting there. I figured since your an employee you might be able to bring some light to this situation for me.

Rollo_Tomassi

I always assumed it was the main warehouse just clearing out old inventory.

bmwlego

^^pantenkind-
I just came across the same SW set at my local TRU this week and though that it was strange that such an old set would turn up. Are you in NY y any chance? I didn't even bother to check the price because I was pretty confident that at TRU it would be more than MSRP.

pantenkind

Nope, I am in Illinois. I actually bought it because they had it on sale for like 30.00 under normal retail. Couldn't pass that up.

fyrmedhatt

This seems to happen at TRU, I saw a copy of the Twilight set from 2008 there less than a month ago. I assume it's just a spare from the store room or something. Just too bad I don't find Cafe Corners and Town Plans sitting around on those shelves.

NeilJam

I can't say for sure why older sets turn up randomly at TRU as I've only been working there for just over a week now. The sets could have been stashed somewhere in the store's overstock area (the very high shelves that can only be reached with a ladder) or the stockroom. I doubt they would come from a distribution center, but can't be sure that they don't

GIR3691

My local TRU in CT underwent a renovation over the summer and some super old items popped up, including a Hasbro ATOC Slave 1 (2002), Twisted Metal for Playstation (1995) and Jeopardy for Sega Genesis (1992). If there was any LEGO, I didn't see it, but it's not unheard of for random inventory to pop up long after the item has sold out. What's really cool is you can sometimes get a sweet deal on it if it's no longer in the system and they don't know the retail price. The video games listed above were so old I got them for free (they were throwing them out, but both were sealed in package!)

AScaryOctopus

^Wow.
A couple months ago at this little hobby store, they were cleaning out their storage for some more space. They found a ton of 2006 Batman stuff, and I got the old Batcave, Hunt for Killer Croc, and the one with Two Face for $120 all together! I will say that the boxes were definitely not in mint condition, however. On eBay or Bricklink, I'd be lucky to get any of those sets without a box for the amount I payed for that much.

On topic: I have yet to see any of these. There is not any on eBay at the moment, and since a couple always end up getting stolen from TRU shipments early, it's either a mistake or they are better at keeping them safe.

sidersdd

I received my Dino Ambush Attack set. There's a new tranquilizer gun which is cool looking, and lime green syringe. I'll try and get pics up on my flickr feed tomorrow.

sidersdd

Keep checking TRU.com. Some sets continue to pop in-stock briefly. Just ordered the police dog van (4441) and Ninjago Venomari Shrine (9440) - can't wait to see the new brick element, asps, and 1x1 round tile.

Ma1234

LEGO brand stores received shipments today. No need to wait for TRU stocks if you have a LEGO Store nearby.

jwsmart

@sidersdd Excellent. I'm anxiously awaiting pictures of the Dino sets.

On another note does anyone know how the TRU price matches up with MSRP? If the pattern from last year holds true, it will be a while before the non-licensed themes get marked up...

sidersdd

I just checked my Lego Store (Indianapolis) and they said they haven't received them yet, nor received word that they are for sale yet.

llanowarsoldier

Expect 2012 sets to be available at Lego Stores come Black Friday. I remember seeing the 2010 Fire sets that weekend along with the older ones also. I picked up both Fire Stations that weekend.

asherkobin

None at Bellevue, WA TRU or Bellevue Square Mall LEGO Store.

Ma1234

LEGO Store Glendale was stocked full of Dino, City police and City vehicles from 2012 if anybody is in LA.

georgebjones

Sacramento, CA LEGO store is getting Dino, City and one other, unforgettable theme tomorrow.

NeilJam

I just noticed that in the LEGO catalog available for free at TRU there is an ad saying they would have the 2012 Ninjago sets in December. Maybe they will get the other new sets at the same time. Not sure if this catalog was mentioned elsewhere on this forum.

I'm still hoping I will be assigned the task of assembling any displays for the new sets when they do come in.

jwsmart

@NeilJam - All the models I've ever seen in a TRU were glued. I have a feeling that LEGO ships them, but I can't be sure of that.

sidersdd

Keep checking TRU.com. Some sets continue to pop in-stock briefly. Just ordered the police dog van (4441) and Ninjago Venomari Shrine (9440) - can't wait to see the new brick element, asps, and 1x1 round tile.

My order was cancelled.
@Ma1234 - are the 2012 Ninjago sets being sold at the LEGO brand retail stores?

grr1231

last year we got Pharaohs quest sets last year around this time, but I havnt seen the new ninjago sets.

grr1231

wow my grammer sucks!!!

wagnerml2

Just got my Cargo Helicopter and the Car and Camper. Built the Helio tonight. Nice build! My son is loving it at the moment!

Ma1234

I've picked up five so far - car/caravan, garbage truck, police car, robber's pickup and copter. Love them all, truly great sets. But is it just me, or are the intructions suddenly dumbed down? Its rare to add more than 2-3 pieces per step, and the helicopter alone has 86 steps, not including sub-constructions! Very annoying. The garbage truck is 51 steps and the camper trailer 49!

NeilJam

It seems like the instructions have been "dumbed down" for some time now. When building some sets from the past couple years I've noticed that there were lots of steps where only a couple pieces are added, even though many of them could have been combined without making it confusing.

aplbomr79

Just in time for Christmas - Yay! I was running out of small City sets to purchase for my boys. Now I can restock my 'gift storage closet' with a number of great sets... it was getting pretty thin.

I was not a big fan of the most recent City Sets -but did purchase a few boats and the horrendous Shipyard. I was down to just 14 sets (most held over from the Farm Theme). I am still waiting for my oldest to become brickmature in order to appreciate BBB (and not just tear it apart like he does with every other set).

Thank You TLG.

LegoFanTexas

What is BBB?

Ma1234

True, but it is really worse this year. Build a set and you'll see. The simple pickup truck in 4437 - an awesome design, BTW - is 35 steps!

It seems like the instructions have been "dumbed down" for some time now. When building some sets from the past couple years I've noticed that there were lots of steps where only a couple pieces are added, even though many of them could have been combined without making it confusing.

LegoFanTexas

I recently built a few older sets from 2000-2003 timeframe, the 8001 Battle Droid, 8002 Destroyer Droid, & 4481 Hailfire Droid.

The instructions for those sets were much harder to follow than the current sets, which I do agree are almost too simple.

But consider for a minute the target market... My 6 year old son does well with the simple instructions, but some of the harder ones really are hard. He does great with the City sets, he built 3367 Space Shuttle all by himself with only 2 or 3 minor mistakes... The Creator sets are harder to build, more complex instructions and ways to put things together. 5867 Cool Cruiser gave him no end of trouble and finally he gave up on it.

Ma1234

But it was the same target market in the early 1990s, and I had no problem building the more advanced sets back then at that age.

I recently built a few older sets from 2000-2003 timeframe, the 8001 Battle Droid, 8002 Destroyer Droid, & 4481 Hailfire Droid.

The instructions for those sets were much harder to follow than the current sets, which I do agree are almost too simple.

But consider for a minute the target market... My 6 year old son does well with the simple instructions, but some of the harder ones really are hard. He does great with the City sets, he built 3367 Space Shuttle all by himself with only 2 or 3 minor mistakes... The Creator sets are harder to build, more complex instructions and ways to put things together. 5867 Cool Cruiser gave him no end of trouble and finally he gave up on it.

Rollo_Tomassi

I was in my TRU today getting a couple Creator Houses for my neighborhood and saw a few of the new 2012 City sets and also the Dino sets. They only had a few new ones, the Chinook copter, the gold mine breakin, and the 4x4 set.

Yellowcastle

Only found the 3 small Dino sets and ambulance in NoVA Toysrus stores today..

bmwlego

Massapequa NY TRU has 2012 police car, police dog van, garbage truck, car/caravan, ambulance, 4 Ninjago 2012 sets, small creator blue car, yellow plane, $20 creator plane and 3 of the Dino sets.

LegoFanTexas

But it was the same target market in the early 1990s, and I had no problem building the more advanced sets back then at that age.

That is true, but Lego made fewer parts back in the early 90s, didn't they? Fewer molds, fewer colors, and simpler designs. Did they have the larger Creator sets back then like they do now?

krklint

Found most of the 2012 City line in Miami, Fl, today... for anyone in the area, try the Cutler Bay store!

NeilJam

Most of the 2012 sets that have been released so far are now on the shelves at the Robinson, PA TRU. I put out almost everything that is not listed as Not Yet Released on Brickset last night, including 6 different Dino sets and many City ones. One exception - the store did not get any of the Recycle Truck sets that I know of.