New to being an adult Lego fan

Norfolkian · February 2019

Hello!

I'm new to the forums and pretty new to Lego collecting. I enjoyed Lego as a kid, but it all got packed up once I reached my teens and hadn't had anything to do with Lego since... until a few weeks ago when I picked up the Women in NASA set, because I thought it was cool. I built it and now appear to have got the Lego bug! I've picked up a few bits from eBay and in the last of the New Year sales. It's mostly been Star Wars themed so far. I'm looking forward to building the BB-8, which I managed to pick up on sale from Asda!

Any tips or tricks for someone new to the Lego game? Where are the best places to buy from? Are there any particular sets which are must haves for someone new to collecting? Any helpful hints welcome! :)

SumoLego · February 2019

First - welcome to the Forum. There are topics that address just about every one of your questions. When it comes to buying, the members of this community are consistently posting sales, new product and odd quirks.

As an example - the Wal-Mart and Target threads lit up when the LEGO Movie 2 Brickheadz were (briefly) available. I wouldn't have bought any had I not been scanning the threads.

Second - when it comes to 'modern' LEGO, there really isn't a universal 'must have' list. There is such a variety of sets, pieces, figures, etc. that there's a niche for just about everything.

I have my themes and conventional stuff that I collect, but what I find most interesting are the folks that collect individual pieces, monochrome minifigure parts and those super-rare and unusual pieces. I'd have never considered it until I saw it on the Forum. (LEGO minifigure keychains is what brought me to the Forum!)

Welcome and enjoy!

Bumblepants · February 2019

One good idea is to browse for what sets you are most interested in and make a wanted list on Brickset main site. Then look at the year of production to get a feel for what is new and what might disappear from shelves soon. There is no foolproof way to do this but after awhile you get a general sense of the rhythm of set shelf life.

Norfolkian · February 2019

Thanks both! I will definitely do some more exploring of the forum!

Brainslugged · February 2019

Argos has 3 for the price of 2 on all toys several times a year. Some great savings to be had - especially on newer sets that might not be discounted elsewhere for a while. He kast time they did it, all the new Star Wars sets had just been released. Couldn't believe they were included in the promo. Cheapest item free so maximum savings are had if buying three sets of about the same price. Those weekends can be very expensive, but worth it if you can stomach buying a lot of sets in one hit. I'm waiting for the next one before getting all the Lego Movie and Overwatch sets.

The 3 for 2 is especially great if getting multiples of the same set as that maximises savings. E.g. three trains to get extra carriages, or battle packs. Tesco Direct used to do the same thing but that isn't around any more. Not sure if they still do it in-store.

Someone on this forum will generally get wind of upcoming 3 for 2s a few days in advance and post in the Argos thread. Worth getting in there early if wanting a new or high-demand set.

cguglielmi · February 2019

Also fairly new to this game as a AFOL, but I have discovered that BrickLink is the Devil. You can find anything you want to buy on there (sets&parts), but it comes at a cost, sometimes a big cost for the retired sets. My wallet is hurting.

Brainslugged · February 2019

Of course, if you have way too much cash and you're after a two for the price of three deal instead, you could always try Hamleys or WHSmith.

milamber · February 2019

Brainslugged said:

Of course, if you have way too much cash and you're after a two for the price of three deal instead, you could always try Hamleys or WHSmith.

He's from Norfolk. We still barter over here

Legolis · February 2019

Welcome to the forum! I still consider myself fairly new around here although it's been a year now since I joined.

One suggestion for building a collection quickly is use facebook market place or gum tree. I recently spent £50 on what I thought was going to be 13 friends/elves sets second hand. What I actually got was a huge box of lego, including the 13 sets but many more besides. Their kid had just lost interest and they wanted rid. There was the odd piece missing and some of the stickers had been applied poorly. I just used bricklink to order the few parts and sticker sheets I required. I couldn't have bought those sets for anything like £50 elsewhere.

Beyond that keep an eye on the shopping forums here on the forum, also worth setting up an alert for "Lego" on hotukdeals.

Norfolkian · March 2019

Thanks for all the tips and the welcomes! I'm looking forward to increasing my collection!

Norfolkian · March 2019

milamber said:

Brainslugged said:

Of course, if you have way too much cash and you're after a two for the price of three deal instead, you could always try Hamleys or WHSmith.

He's from Norfolk. We still barter over here

Haha. Sadly I don't currently live in Norfolk, but I did for a time.

MaffyD · March 2019

'Sadly'? I think you misspelled 'Luckily'! :-)
I'm a bit late, but welcome. Like previous posters have said, there's Lego everywhere. We have threads on:
Major supermarkets that stock Lego, Amazon deals, Lego Retail Store offers (bit of a barren wasteland that), Smyths Toys, John Lewis... the list goes on.
When buying, some people won't go near a set unless it's hit the magical 30% discount level, but I'm not that fussy. I'll even pay full retail at a Lego Store if it has a GWP (gift with purchase) that I want. Sometimes even if I don't want it. Anyway...
In terms of 'must have' sets, that's different for everyone. Just find the ones you like the look of, and go from there. It'll soon expand to fit whatever space and budget you have available! :-)
Have fun!

Norfolkian · March 2019

Thanks! Managed to get a BB-8 set at a discount in Asda, so I'm really enjoying that. And at the weekend I bought some a storage trolley thing from Hobbycraft so I can start storing some of it (our dining room table was starting to become a bit cluttered with bits and bobs I bought from eBay...)

SumoLego · March 2019

I'm finding the Facebook Marketplace to be distracting and a fairly inexpensive way to find surplus sets.

Th1nDiesel · March 2019

I concur with the Facebook Marketplace suggestions. Keep an eye out for parents selling off their kids' collections that they have outgrown; they often want rid quickly and don't always know the value of what they're selling. You have to be quick though; I once missed out on a stack of road baseplates for 50p each by around 15 minutes.

Car boots can also yield some surprising results, but I find they are few and far between.

Welcome to the forum and happy Lego hunting.

Norfolkian · March 2019

Thanks! So far people selling on Facebook Marketplace in my area seem to be fairly au fait with the value of their kids' Lego... I will keep an eye out though.

New to being an adult Lego fan

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