Old v's New?

monkey_roo

Not sure I have seen this specific question or discussion expressed but given the chats about favourite themes and a lot of retro reviews etc. it go me thinking about old v's new Lego from a collectors perspective.

i am a collector in the classic definition of the word and one of the things I collect is Star Wars figures and fortunately over the years I have acquired a full house of original figures, I do like some of the modern figure sub themes and have them, but on the whole, it is vintage or bust. It is the older figures that hold the value and are the most desirable.

now in my Lego collecting world it is the exact opposite. I find that older versions of sets, even none themed sets hold little or no appeal, I played with Lego as a kid as much as Star Wars figures yet the 'romantic' pull of the old recapturing my childhood just isn't there. I have even gone as far as selling off all my 1999 Star Wars sets because the newer versions of the ships and figures are just so good they make the older ones look rubbish (to me).

so I was thinking about how people view their Lego collecting, is it a case of 'I must have everying in a theme no matter the number of version', or do people upgrade to the latest and greatest models and offload their older ones? Or are there purely classic collectors that think all Lego post 80's never happened (Star Wars figure collectors in joke. Sorry).

just curious

Yodalicious

I came out of my first dark age right around the time the first wave of the Star Wars theme came out and I bought nearly everything those first couple of years. I love them still today and would never think of getting rid of them.

That said...

I won't go back and fill in the sets I missed, because, as you said, they don't hold as much of an appeal anymore. The sets aren't all that attractive compared to the newer ones and the builds aren't all that great.

So I'm a mix--would never get rid of my old stuff, but have no desire to go back and buy the old ones I missed to complete the collection.

natro220

Not sure if your question is specifically geared toward Star Wars.  I grew up playing with pre-Star Wars Lego (late 80's, early 90's), so the nostalgia factor for me is more towards Space (M-Tron, Blacktron, Futuron) Town, Pirates and Castle from that era.  When I came out of my dark ages, the first thing I did was buy up the classic sets from that era that I really truly wanted.  Were they better than what Lego was currently putting out at the time?  Probably not, especially on the minifig front.  But the little kid inside of me still had to have Black Knight's Castle, Airport Shuttle, Black Seas Barracuda, and Mega Core Magnetizer.  Would I go crazy and buy up every set from that era, for collecting's sake?  No. 

monkyby87

Yodalicious said:

I came out of my first dark age right around the time the first wave of the Star Wars theme came out and I bought nearly everything those first couple of years. I love them still today and would never think of getting rid of them.

That said...

I won't go back and fill in the sets I missed, because, as you said, they don't hold as much of an appeal anymore. The sets aren't all that attractive compared to the newer ones and the builds aren't all that great.

So I'm a mix--would never get rid of my old stuff, but have no desire to go back and buy the old ones I missed to complete the collection.

This is generally my opinion.  Unless I really liked the theme (aka Pirates and Wild West), I probably wouldn't go back to an older set if newer ones have been produced.  I don't really collect to have an entire collection, I just collect ones I like.  That goes for most themes, not just Star Wars, though it's the best example of updating sets.  I too would not get rid of any older sets, as I still enjoy building them, but anything I missed out on I likely won't try too hard to find.

Yodalicious

^ Exactly my thoughts. Star Wars is still going strong and constantly updating old sets. However, not all themes do the same. For instance, I collected all of the LotR/Hobbit sets and am glad I did as there is little to no chance they'll be rehashed down the road. Of course, the comparison isn't apples to oranges as that entire theme was made within only a couple of years of each other while Star Wars had carried over a number of years and LEGO build/minifig styles.

Harry Potter is another good example. I love my original Potter minifigs, but when I put them next to the new ones they definitely leave something to be desired.

matticus_bricks

My collecting habits are all over the place. Sometimes I prefer new sets and minifigures and sometimes old. I did sell all of my Harry Potter sets from the first two movies as if I do decide to collect Harry Potter (I'd have to find really good prices), I'd prefer the newer versions by far to the ones I had when I was a child. But I'd also prefer to collect classic Space sets from the 80s and 90s than any Space sets from about 1997-present. I can't really think of any retired themes where I would make it imperative to collect every set. With new sets, there are themes I'd like to collect them all, but that's too expensive to be realistic, expect occasionally CMFs. Basically, I just pick the ones I like best. 

madforLEGO

I am a kid of the 80's so I always have a soft spot for the Town, Castle, and Space stuff of the 80's, and really that is my collection consists of. Plus, I think it is safe to say the quality of parts was far better in the past than now.
While many sets are amazing now, specifically Creator expert and Mod sets, and the part selection is astounding, when I think of LEGO I still think of those old 80's sets in terms of what really is 'LEGO' for me. Especially since more parts and stickers now seem to have quality issues (and I would be surprised that those issues will get any better anytime soon.

Yodalicious

There are almost two different discussions here: 1) as it relates to licensed themes, and 2) as it related to the classics--Town, Castle, Space. I definitely feel different about how I collect the classics as I grew up with LEGO when they were all there was than I do about the newer stuff.

For instance, I wasn't a fan of anything Galaxy Squad had to offer because it was too much of a departure from classic Space to me.

monkey_roo

Interesting views, I wasn't specifically thinking in terms of licensed v's non-licensed, we have seen plenty of non-licensed updates over the years, City is constantly evolving, castle has updated time and time again, now pirates and arguably galaxy squad was a space theme, although less as it was in the 80's, in fact wasn't the first space theme an extension of city, I remember old catalogs showing space ships launching from city's?

i guess and 80's police station looks nothing like a 90's one and even less like today's. Some licensed themes update a bit, Star Wars, batman/super heroes being the obvious ones, but others are one offs and never will, cars, toy story, LoTR's etc.

i guess all that does make for a real mixture of approaches. I see the one off themes that grab interest and sell as being finite and if they are never updated they are what they are, but for the rest it is always about getting the latest and greatest :), which I assume is what Lego wants, repeat custom.

jdylak

Definitely old city sets for me. No real originality now. Rehases galore. I could go on and on but I'm on a lunch break now.

ryjay

New

bionicle212

It depends on theme for me. For star wars I prefer 2005-10 era sets the most,  after 2011 or so I started to lose interest in the new sets. Mostly due to rehashing and cost. 

However for my other favorite theme bionicle,  I'm good for about any. There are years that I like more than others,  like 2006 and 7, but there's not a year that I severely disliked.  And I like the new line of bionicle to. So just bionicle in general makes me happy. 

xwingpilot

Having only come out of my dark a few months ago, I would have to say that new LEGO is far superior to old LEGO. I was a KFOL in the '80s, but there are so many things I prefer about LEGO today:

• The LEGO Star Wars theme
• UCS sets
• Flesh-toned minifigures with detailed printing
• SNOT parts and building techniques
  
• Studless Technic (much more of an 'engineering' feel to it)
• The LEGO Friends theme and minidolls (my daughter absolutely loves these)

My collection is all OT Star Wars so far, and I'm very glad to have come out of my dark ages right at the time Microfighters Series One and the re-designed UCS X-Wing was still available. I'm certainly looking forward (not back) to add to my collection...

Aanchir

I definitely think the new looks better. It sometimes astonishes me how much older Star Wars sets and figures sell for, and it's sometimes a tempting prospect to gather and sell my old Star Wars sets to replace them with the far superior new ones. Though I have yet to follow through with this.

Now, there are definitely older sets I'd be hesitant to part with — the original six Toa from Bionicle, for instance. This is generally out of nostalgia, though, not because I consider them any better or more valuable than the stuff we get in sets today.

I can't think of any instances when I've gone out of my way to buy an old set that I need to "complete my collection", either... though this might be partly because I've usually had the luxury of getting the sets that most interest me when they were still current, so in a lot of themes if I miss out on a set it's by choice.

The only older LEGO I currently have ambitions of acquiring to fill the gaps in my collection are things like the handful of Ninjago Serpentine figs I missed out on, and those aren't really all that old, all things considered.

SumoLego

jdylak said:

Definitely old city sets for me. No real originality now. Rehases galore. I could go on and on but I'm on a lunch break now.

Normally, I would agree... except that they just released a pot-o-potty truck.  (A thunderbox on wheels is awesome on so many levels.)

Lego does an excellent job mixing in clever sets with the standards.  Swamp police, artic, salvage, space, rescue...

chuxtoybox

I wish I was collecting LEGO in the early days of Castle and Western and even Space. Even though I was a big SW fan as a kid, I think today if someone gave me a choice, I would take the whole line of Castle from day one to today than all of the SW sets ever made.
 I'm more nostalgic and would probably value earlier SW sets than todays and wish I had early HP.