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Best Sets

sdetskysdetsky Member Posts: 35
in Collecting
Inspired by the discussion about sets from your childhood which are underwhelming now, I thought of a very basic question which, from a quick search, I had not seen posted before: What are some of the best sets ever released by Lego (with a subset being sets released in the last 8 years as they are more likely to be found for purchase)? I am not talking about the best value (per part or otherwise) or the most likely to increase in value or the best for parting out for MOCs. I am simply talking about the best sets based on build, looks and playability. The price is also not a factor.

Obviously, there are no right or wrong responses because opinions will be different; but I have seen enough consensus on certain sets ( #10228 - Haunted House and #79003 - An Unexpected Gathering being foremost among those) to believe that there will be some commonalities.

leg0fanspanky

Comments

  • leg0fanleg0fan Member Posts: 37
    LEGO Star Wars Classic - Darth Vader's TIE Fighter
    great set
  • just2goodjust2good Member Posts: 247
    71005 The Simpsons House

    "I am simply talking about the best sets based on build, looks and playability. "

    It accomplishes all three perfectly.
  • leg0fanleg0fan Member Posts: 37
    I have to say that the LEGO Star Wars Classic - Darth Vader's TIE Fighter again...I think it bits the71005 The Simpsons House...read the reviews on the TIE and you will see :-)
  • leg0fanleg0fan Member Posts: 37
    read them at...
    http://reviews.lego.com/1360/8017/lego-star-wars-classic-darth-vaders-tie-fighter-reviews/reviews.htm?page=8&sort=rating&dir=asc
  • GallardoLUGallardoLU Member Posts: 644
    edited July 2014
    #10210 - Imperial Flagship. I got it as a prize for a contest in 2011, and at first I figured I'd just be another ship (I'm not much for pirates or other sailing craft usually) upon receiving and building it I fell in love with the boat. an absolute joy to build, play with (AFOL here by the way) and display. for a set I never even considered buying it has blown away all other ships by a huge margin.
    Pitfall69
  • VenunderVenunder Member Posts: 2,659
    Diagon Alley http://brickset.com/sets/10217-1/Diagon-Alley
    A lovely set with interesting build techniques, and with lots of minifigs.
    and
    The Mill Village Raid
    http://brickset.com/sets/7189-1/Mill-Village-Raid
    Again a nice build, with interesting animals and minifigs.
    Pitfall69
  • LegofanscottLegofanscott Member Posts: 622
    ive seen alot of people mention the best era for lego sets was somewhere around 2005-2009

    I'd have to disagree though, i'd consider NOW to be the best time for Great sets

    I know piece count has shrunk drastically, but i don't think huge piece count always equates to a better set.

    With more and more specialist parts being made and better building techniques being done each year im sure sets can only get better and more refined.

  • LegofanscottLegofanscott Member Posts: 622
    edited July 2014
    just2good said:

    71005 The Simpsons House

    "I am simply talking about the best sets based on build, looks and playability. "

    It accomplishes all three perfectly.

    I actually seen the set just the other day for the first time in person and i guess alot of people will disagree with me but IMHO it looks absolutely horrid.

    i just don't think Lego and the Simpsons works together very well, too much roundness that just can't be achieved with Lego unless a ton of specialist parts can be made.
  • LegofanscottLegofanscott Member Posts: 622
    image

    No offence to the official designer at Lego but whoever built this version did a much nicer job.
    chuckp
  • just2goodjust2good Member Posts: 247
    Legofanscott said:


    No offence to the official designer at Lego but whoever built this version did a much nicer job.

    While this one is much better, it would be much more expensive, costing at least $300-$400.

  • BrickDancerBrickDancer Member Posts: 3,639
    Yea I agree on the Simpsons house. I was super excited about it on preview and release, it looked great and fun. But when I actually built it, it was quite mundane compared to some of the other buildings (modulars, HH, WV, Creator even) that it was kind of a let down. The finished product is nice enough, but I'm just not as impressed as I thought i would be. If I didn't grow up watching the Simpsons (and a lover of licensed themes to boot), then I would actually consider selling it one day.

    It's hard to say a single set from all themes. But for Star Wars, I want to say my favorite has been the UCS Y-Wing. The greebling was just perfect in terms of amount and appearance. Was and am (still on display for over a year now) impressed by the final product.
  • bobabricksbobabricks Member Posts: 1,842
    #6985 , #10144 , #10336 are all great sets and I'm sure the new Tumbler will be amazing. :)
  • dannyrwwdannyrww Member Posts: 1,394
    Well as mentioned in the first post Unexpected Gathering would be my favorite...I also like Orthanc as it has become a centerpiece to my collection
  • sonsofscevasonsofsceva Member Posts: 542
    My boys really like Earth Defense HQ. That set is fun to build with lots of play value. Everything (especially the ADU ship) looks good, too. It is one of the few sets that has not been dismantled by them after getting bored with it.
    bobabricks
  • SanddoodleSanddoodle Member Posts: 13
    For us Tower Bridge #10214 was the ultimate building experience, the most fun.

    We especially liked the "Before" and "After" experience as shown below - going from an overwhelming chaos of bags to the beautiful finished product. It was a real challenge to build, because sorting (over 4000 pieces) is challenging.

    Yes, it has the largest number of pieces and dollars and inches, but it is also the most ingenious in design. We felt the designer should have won some kind of prize. The final appearance of the thing is just awesome.

    Our vote for second place would agree with Venunder, that Diagon Alley was especially fun to build.
  • LegofanscottLegofanscott Member Posts: 622
    just2good said:

    Legofanscott said:


    No offence to the official designer at Lego but whoever built this version did a much nicer job.

    While this one is much better, it would be much more expensive, costing at least $300-$400.

    Even at the price its at atm its still overpriced for how inaccurate it looks, id be seriously disappointed paying £180 for it as an AFOL, getting this set as a kid on the other hand would be a different story altogether.

    Don't get me wrong, the inside looks brilliant but if your an adult chances are youll be mostly just displaying it.

    The set was obviously aimed towards mainly children, i sometimes forget Lego is a childs toy first and foremost :D
  • donutboydonutboy Member Posts: 758
    The set that dragged me back into this hobby is my favourite set of recent times,
    #10185 - Green Grocer

    My favourite childhood set, which my daughter also adores, on the occasions that we get it out, is

    #182 - Train Set with Motor

    which still manages to struggle around its tracks even after 30+ years. Brilliant.

    image
    Pitfall69bobabricksbluedragon
  • spankyspanky Member Posts: 6
    I'd have to say that the 75059 Sandcrawler is the best set
  • NorlegoNorlego Member Posts: 449
    I quite like #4546. I grew up with tiny boats, so big is better.
    #7998 truck is fun to play with likewise the creator houses, but then i have daughters...
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    Since nobody has named it yet (except the OP), I have to say Haunted House.

    The build was wonderful, and easily split between multiple kids. The look is great. It was one of the few sets I saw and I felt I absolutely had to have that set for me. There is a ton of playability.
    There is a ton of possibility for scene setting as well.
    sonsofsceva said:

    My boys really like Earth Defense HQ. That set is fun to build with lots of play value. Everything (especially the ADU ship) looks good, too. It is one of the few sets that has not been dismantled by them after getting bored with it.

    I have to say t is also a set with a ton of durability. Other sets may eventually come apart in play, but this one keeps going.


  • bluedragonbluedragon Member Posts: 506
    donutboy said:

    My favourite childhood set, which my daughter also adores, on the occasions that we get it out, is

    #182 - Train Set with Motor

    which still manages to struggle around its tracks even after 30+ years. Brilliant.

    That was one of my first sets too! I love it but unfortunately the signal is broken.
  • fenderbender336fenderbender336 Member Posts: 88
    For me, the original star wars republic gunship #7163 will always be my favorite, inspire of its flaws. I still consider it to be the best Christmas gift I received during my childhood. It was very far ahead of its time, and I will never part ways with it. So for me, #7163 will always be the "best" set.
  • donutboydonutboy Member Posts: 758
    ^^ My signal is broken as well. I think it got trod on many moons ago.
  • Agent_HugoAgent_Hugo Member Posts: 7
    I may be in the minority on this, but the Midi-Scale Millennium Falcon is by far my favorite set. Fun to build, iconic, good-looking and affordable.
    TechnicNick
  • graphitegraphite Member Posts: 3,275
    ^ Did you mean Midi-ority? =)
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