Review: 40698 Books Are My Passion
Posted by Huw,Last year LEGO Ideas hosted a Singles' Day building competition, Me, Myself, I, which was won by Fr_An's entry, Reading, Reading, Reading.
Her winning model has now been turned into a set, 40698 Books Are My Passion, which will be a gift with purchase at LEGO.com between 28th October and 11th November, when you spend over $130 / €130 / £130.
Summary
40698 Books Are My Passion, 285 pieces.
An exquisite and detailed vignette of an idyllic scene
- Final model almost identical to competition winning entry
- None
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The model is built upon a 12x12 stud base and is about 13cm tall. A minifigure sits in a leather chair, with a table beside her on which a cup of Earl Grey tea rests. A leafy pot plant completes the scene.
The bookcase is stuffed full of tomes with colourful and varied spines, and a quill pen and letters are scattered on the bottom shelf.
The piece used for the two boxes stored on top, Open box 1x3 is relatively rare, having been utilised in just 7 sets until now. It first appeared in Harry Potter sets, for wand storage boxes.
The bespectacled minifigure looks suitably studious and the chair suitably comfortable!
As you can see, it's extremely faithful to the original submission: the ladder is shorter, the lamp is not present, the globe is different, and a pot plant has been added. Overall, I think fan designer Fr_An will be very pleased with the way it's turned out. I prefer the more realistic and subdued colour of the black book the figure below is reading, although I concede that the lime green one in the set adds a splash of colour.
It'll be a gift with purchase at LEGO.com from 28th October until 11th November when you spend over $130 / €130 / £130.
168 likes
92 comments on this article
This is exactly what an ideas set should be, keeping the same aura and look with a few improvements. Might pick this one up secondhand
Such a lovely little set!
...I do feel, however, that a negative point for it should be:
"Expensive (and\or annoying aftermarket) hoop to jump through; you can't just simply buy it."
Such a lovely little shame.
Excellent little freebie... hopefully it won't sell out before the Botanical Garden arrives!
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!
It’s the facts that the chair is leather and the tea is an Earl Grey that make this little set so great ;-)
Nice review Huw :-)
Great set. Hope it makes it stays in stock until Nov 1st so I can get it with botanical gardens
I like the addition of the plant. I am disappointed at the change to the globe piece. Regardless, my wife is a book lover and this will be a stocking stuffer for her.
I'll be picking this up 2nd hand for sure.
Negative is the globe piece. This is the second ideas set that lego used the much lesser piece. Why?
I'm guessing that the globe Anna used is no longer in production: it was last seen in a set in 2018.
Love the build. I wonder how hard it would be to make the ladder sliding like it is on the original.
@Huw: is the back entirely flat? I'm wondering if this would make a great bookend if it had some weight added in (maybe like one of those old ship weights from the 80s)?
@sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?
@squiz18 said:
"Great set. Hope it makes it stays in stock until Nov 1st so I can get it with botanical gardens"
Yes... Banking on most people hanging on for 1 or both of the 2 big November releases!
What a great little set. The mix of colors / textures for the book spines looks terrific and is very effective. Lego has gotten good at making bookshelves in the past few years!
@bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
These shelves are what https://brickset.com/article/47549/review-10270-bookshop needed.
I am surprised at the high threshold for this, but hopefully it means that it'll still be available for to buy with 21353.
@sjr60 said:
" @bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
"
Do they though?
Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg
@thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg"
I try to do that too
although in this case I wouldn't mind too much because it gives the chair a nice "well loved by a cat" look
@thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg "
I generally do too, but appreciate when reviewers don't try to hide the flaws so you get a better idea of what you're getting.
As a side note, I recently bought the Orient express and a large number of the 1x8 tiles in that had sprue marks under the tile on the inside, so it looks like Lego are at least making an effort to move the injection points so they are not as visible, i've been noticing it on a few 1x1 tiles here and there recently too
Charming and adorable build but I suspect most avid collectors will be able to recreate this on their own with their existing collections so doesn't strike me as a "must have". A sweetener at most if someone was already planning on getting something expensive (since I've run out of organs to sell, that's not me this time).
@xoddam said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
"
Do they though?"
This year, they’ve made about 115 sets in the $0-25 range, about 115 in the $26-50 range, about 100 in the $51-100 range, and about 60 in the $100+ range.
So, completely unequivocally, yes. And that ratio of distribution holds pretty steady for 2023 and 2022 as well.
@fakespacesquid said:
" @xoddam said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
"
Do they though?"
This year, they’ve made about 115 sets in the $0-25 range, about 115 in the $26-50 range, about 100 in the $51-100 range, and about 60 in the $100+ range.
So, completely unequivocally, yes. And that ratio of distribution holds pretty steady for 2023 and 2022 as well."
https://www.lego.com/en-gb/categories/price-under-20-gbp?page=2&offset=0
@fakespacesquid said:
" @xoddam said:
" @sjr60 said:
"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
"
Do they though?"
This year, they’ve made about 115 sets in the $0-25 range, about 115 in the $26-50 range, about 100 in the $51-100 range, and about 60 in the $100+ range.
So, completely unequivocally, yes. And that ratio of distribution holds pretty steady for 2023 and 2022 as well."
All well & good, and certainly true (thank you for doing the counting!)
What would be nice & ideal would be the subject of this conversation (40698) being available for £/€/$25, rather than being made artificially scarce as a way to tempt to whales (used purely in an economic sense) to part with large sums of money when big-money sets are released.
But I have complained far too many times in the past about artificial scarcity in these pages. Perhaps I should stop cranking that particular dead mower; TLG aren't likely to listen this time either.
@thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg"
Me too!
I also align all the ingots so that all the LEGO logos are in the correct orientation and readable.
@bananaworld
Apparently, according to some on here, this is Lego's Modus Operandi and is perfectly acceptable
@bananaworld said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @xoddam said:
" @sjr60 said:
"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
"
Do they though?"
This year, they’ve made about 115 sets in the $0-25 range, about 115 in the $26-50 range, about 100 in the $51-100 range, and about 60 in the $100+ range.
So, completely unequivocally, yes. And that ratio of distribution holds pretty steady for 2023 and 2022 as well."
All well & good, and certainly true (thank you for doing the counting!)
What would be nice & ideal would be the subject of this conversation (40698) being available for £/€/$25, rather than being made artificially scarce as a way to tempt to whales (used purely in an economic sense) to part with large sums of money when big-money sets are released.
But I have complained far too many times in the past about artificial scarcity in these pages. Perhaps I should stop cranking that particular dead mower; TLG aren't likely to listen this time either."
Based on past experience this GWP should be available on Bricklink or other 3rd party sites for around $25 as you desire. This isn't an IP based set with anything exclusive in it. Should be easy to get for not much cost.
I personally really appreciate the GWPs, I would not purchase much direct from Lego without them. It is a good tool in their marketing tool box. So long as you aren't buying everything day one, you should typically have something you desire for purchase when a desirable GWP comes along. Also $130 isn't a terribly high spend for a GWP.
This lady is kind of a big deal. She has many leather-bound books.
this set would be very surreal if it were "Books are my poisson" and probably a lot more fun.
@Ridgeheart said:
"This lady is kind of a big deal. She has many leather-bound books."
Go on then...explain (I know I shouldn't ask)
Leatherbound suggests antique editions and expensive, or scholarly works maybe, suggesting a good profession.
@ohrmazd
Especially if the books were about fishing.....
@daniellesa
I am aware of the significance but not why it relates to this set - hence the question
@bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?
"
The blocking function on this site is nice...
@shedjed said:
" @bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?
"
The blocking function on this site is nice..."
LMAO I just looked "comments from this user are already hidden"
Not sure why there is a decapitated, blood-stained head on top of the book shelves.
@ShinyBidoof said:
"Not sure why there is a decapitated, blood-stained head on top of the book shelves."
It belongs to the last person who interrupted reading time: )
@Belboz said:
" @daniellesa
I am aware of the significance but not why it relates to this set - hence the question"
Perhaps it's something to do with the title. As a bookworm myself, I know I would love a 1st edition of my favourite novel and I have many different copies of it already, though none of them are that valuable.
"LEGO design is my passion."
@daniellesa said:
" @Belboz said:
" @daniellesa
I am aware of the significance but not why it relates to this set - hence the question"
Perhaps it's something to do with the title. As a bookworm myself, I know I would love a 1st edition of my favourite novel and I have many different copies of it already, though none of them are that valuable."
There will be some outlandish reason - there always is with Ridgeheart!
BTW, I have a few first editions of more recent novels but nothing antique. If I spent less on LEGO, I could probably afford more rare books......
:-))
@Belboz said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"This lady is kind of a big deal. She has many leather-bound books."
Go on then...explain (I know I shouldn't ask)
"
Stay Classy San Diego
@Palvone said:
" @Belboz said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"This lady is kind of a big deal. She has many leather-bound books."
Go on then...explain (I know I shouldn't ask)
"
Stay Classy San Diego"
Thanks for the information. Having never seen the cr...sorry film......I didn't get the connection
So cute!!! If I don't get this, I'm going to see what I can build that's similar.
Litteraly one book in Book oriented set
lmao
I can just imagine how cute it looks next to real books on a real bookshelf.
@99Sharkbait said:
"As a side note, I recently bought the Orient express and a large number of the 1x8 tiles in that had sprue marks under the tile on the inside, so it looks like Lego are at least making an effort to move the injection points so they are not as visible, i've been noticing it on a few 1x1 tiles here and there recently too"
I noticed that too, got a second copy of 31152, so now mr. Space Astronaut is held company by Space Dog. But I noticed just of the black 1x8 tiles used in the stand was different from the others.....but not necessarily in a good way. Yes, the mold mark is indeed hidden underneath. But at the same time the tile just doesn't look "flat" but was very much showing the structure underneath. So since I didn't need all of them anyway, I just used the old one and put the mold mark on the back where I won't be looking at.
Will be curious to see how this works out with other colors. As it looked now, I'd say very much not an improvement.
As for this GWP, I do quite like this cute little vignette, yet at the same time I kinda wonder if this needed to be a set. Apart from the globe and those boxes this very much feels like something you could make from some lleftover pieces. Maybe not exactly the same, but just give it your own spin.
It is a shame they don't use gender neutral torsos and extra heads/hair in GWP like this where it doesnt represent a specific person, to make it more broadly appealing. I can understand keeping it female if it was meant to represent the designer but they changed the hair colour from the original submission (which was missed in the list of differences).
@WizardOfOss said:
"As for this GWP, I do quite like this cute little vignette, yet at the same time I kinda wonder if this needed to be a set. Apart from the globe and those boxes this very much feels like something you could make from some lleftover pieces. Maybe not exactly the same, but just give it your own spin."
Je verpest nu 30 berichten over GWP vs verkoop hem als set.
Globe is €0,27 on PAB
Lego nailed it with the minifigs. Definitely look like people who read books.
@99Sharkbait said:
" As a side note, I recently bought the Orient express"
Does it now come with the correctly spelt City name tiles and gold stickers, or do they still have to be ordered from Customer Services?
Could be builders tea.....
@watcher21 said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"As for this GWP, I do quite like this cute little vignette, yet at the same time I kinda wonder if this needed to be a set. Apart from the globe and those boxes this very much feels like something you could make from some lleftover pieces. Maybe not exactly the same, but just give it your own spin."
Je verpest nu 30 berichten over GWP vs verkoop hem als set.
Globe is €0,27 on PAB"
Olie op het vuur! Beide kampen zitten fout! ;-)
This is really nice though a marked downgrade from the original. I'm surprised. How're you supposed to read without a light?
The ladder is worse, and now provides no structural support for the bookcase. To me, it looks like our sad, little, argyle nerd is about to be conked by a falling ladder and then crushed by an unsupported bookcase.
I also liked the original submission fig. It was less stereotypical. The bloody head on top of the bookcase (thanks @ShinyBidoof ) does not provide the counterpoint that the nice globe did.
Nevertheless, this is a very enticing, fun set.
I'm surprised it's so accurate!
That head-shaped globe though...
And I *just* placed an order that cost almost $125. Tempted to send it back when it gets here and remake it when this is available, since there was something I forgot to order anyway. Sure, I'd lose a lot of Insiders points, but that is a really charming little GWP. Also, I'm not the only one who hears Patrick Stewart's voice in their head when they read the words "Earl Grey," right?
@bananaworld said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @xoddam said:
" @sjr60 said:
"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
"
Do they though?"
This year, they’ve made about 115 sets in the $0-25 range, about 115 in the $26-50 range, about 100 in the $51-100 range, and about 60 in the $100+ range.
So, completely unequivocally, yes. And that ratio of distribution holds pretty steady for 2023 and 2022 as well."
All well & good, and certainly true (thank you for doing the counting!)
What would be nice & ideal would be the subject of this conversation (40698) being available for £/€/$25, rather than being made artificially scarce as a way to tempt to whales (used purely in an economic sense) to part with large sums of money when big-money sets are released.
But I have complained far too many times in the past about artificial scarcity in these pages. Perhaps I should stop cranking that particular dead mower; TLG aren't likely to listen this time either."
Go to a store, buy a large set. Get the GWP. Get back to the end of the line. Return the large set, while keeping the GWP. They will deduct its value from the refund. Two can play the stupid GWP game.
@sjr60 said:
" @99Sharkbait said:
" As a side note, I recently bought the Orient express"
Does it now come with the correctly spelt City name tiles and gold stickers, or do they still have to be ordered from Customer Services? "
I just got another copy, and it has the correct gold stickers for the coaches, but still has the misspelled city names.
@Huw said:
"I'm guessing that the globe Anna used is no longer in production: it was last seen in a set in 2018."
While the globe print hasn’t been used since 2018, the piece was used this year as a hamster cage in a friends set, and it seems unlikely they couldn’t resurrect a print even if it was somehow retired.
Edit: The set was 42601 Hamster Playground
This is a wonderful set. Lego means "play well". This set doesn't inspire me to play with Lego, but it does inspire me to read, which is close enough to play!
@ZeroGravitas said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @99Sharkbait said:
" As a side note, I recently bought the Orient express"
Does it now come with the correctly spelt City name tiles and gold stickers, or do they still have to be ordered from Customer Services? "
I just got another copy, and it has the correct gold stickers for the coaches, but still has the misspelled city names."
Thanks. I guess if I get it I'll at least open the box even if I don't build it immediately!
@thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg"
Nope. I'm particularly irritated by double-cheeses, since they stopped producing them in left/right variants, and they _all_ have the gate mark on the same end now. This makes it impossible to orient some of them so they don't show. At least with the single cheese having it on the back wall, it produces a uniformly symmetrical look that gets repeated wherever that side is facing out, but doubles only show if the wrong end is visible.
@UProbeck:
You only align the logos on the ingots? Not every part that has logos and some degree of rotational symmetry?
@dimc:
The irony is that's one of the two people who really pushed for the block function to be added. I noticed a considerable drop in responses to either of their posts immediately after it went into effect, which I take to mean they got blocked by more people than they themselves blocked.
@Belboz:
I _thought_ I had a first edition copy of my favorite book, but when I checked to be sure, it was something like the third printing. But even the first edition would have been MMP, from an author most people have never heard of, and who is still alive. I _do_ have a first edition of the sequel to that book, because I made a point of picking up a copy on day of release. Regarding the earlier book, I'd still like to get a first edition copy, plus a new reader copy because mine is kinda worn out at this point.
would this fit into the modular bookshop?
@ClutchPowers7306 said:
" @Huw said:
"I'm guessing that the globe Anna used is no longer in production: it was last seen in a set in 2018."
While the globe print hasn’t been used since 2018, the piece was used this year as a hamster cage in a friends set, and it seems unlikely they couldn’t resurrect a print even if it was somehow retired.
Edit: The set was 42601 Hamster Playground
"
Yes, I bought the Hamster Battle Pack for the hamsters, to add them to Lulu's army from DC's League of Super-Pets. And I was really hoping the orange hamster ball would work with Jack-Jack from The Incredibles, but it's just a bit too small for him to fit inside.
Now, I don't know if the globe was made out of polycarbonate like the original use as Sandy's bubble helmet in 3831 most likely was, but with the switch to MABS it shouldn't matter anymore. It might not have before, anyways. The pins and holes that hold the two halves together are certainly very precise, but if made out of the same material, it might not matter if the material used is changed. The collar is a fairly loose fit, both vertically and horizontally (it's a pretty wobbly helmet), so there's a fair amount of fudge factor built in.
@Huw said:
"I'm guessing that the globe Anna used is no longer in production: it was last seen in a set in 2018."
That's a shame. The piece currently in use reminds me of a chopped head splattered with blood, maybe from LOTR.
If LEGO wants to use a smaller piece, a printed Technic Ball Joint would look much better.
Every continent except the Americas seems to be missing from the globe in the official product images
@rick77 said:
"Every continent except the Americas seems to be missing from the globe in the official product images"
At the angle the globe is placed, the Americas would be visible from behind and this set is designed to be looked at from the front., hence pictures showing it from the front.
@jokailblinnis said:
" @Huw said:
"I'm guessing that the globe Anna used is no longer in production: it was last seen in a set in 2018."
That's a shame. The piece currently in use reminds me of a chopped head splattered with blood, maybe from LOTR.
If LEGO wants to use a smaller piece, a printed Technic Ball Joint would look much better."
They have jigs set up for printing on both sides of minifigure heads. Aren't most printed technic balls only printed on one side?
I don't mind the high threshold price as I found lots of the other entries more interesting and would rather build mocs of those.
@ZeroGravitas said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @99Sharkbait said:
" As a side note, I recently bought the Orient express"
Does it now come with the correctly spelt City name tiles and gold stickers, or do they still have to be ordered from Customer Services? "
I just got another copy, and it has the correct gold stickers for the coaches, but still has the misspelled city names."
If you contact customer support about the misspelled cities, with proof of purchase, they send you replacements with the proper spelling.
That's what I did when I got the set. They also sent me the stickers as well.
I like the idea but the ladder is off. It was so in the initial design and they kept it like that.
Not looking to get past the threshold for this.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I'm not the only one who hears Patrick Stewart's voice in their head when they read the words "Earl Grey," right?"
You're not, I hear it too, I'm also partial to an Earl Grey, hot.
@bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?
"
Out of all the GWP sets people have complained about this year, this is the one that can absolutely just be ordered straight from Lego at any time with a Pick-a-Brick order without any compromises like Ringwraiths torso or Fellbeasts plastic sheet wings.
@Anonym said:
" @bananaworld said:
" @sjr60 said:
"(...)
Of course another plus point is that it sets the GWP whingers whinging. Always a great pleasure to see!"
What an unpleasant comment.
Have you considered that there are people who can't regularly make the large discretionary purchases necessary to obtain such GWPs, but could afford to buy such lovely little sets if they were available as a normal product, rather than seeing them go for inflated prices aftermarket?
"
Out of all the GWP sets people have complained about this year, this is the one that can absolutely just be ordered straight from Lego at any time with a Pick-a-Brick order without any compromises like Ringwraiths torso or Fellbeasts plastic sheet wings."
@elangab said:
"
Go to a store, buy a large set. Get the GWP. Get back to the end of the line. Return the large set, while keeping the GWP. They will deduct its value from the refund. Two can play the stupid GWP game."
Thank you for your sensible suggestions.
My gripe, as mentioned earlier, is the hoop-jumping required. Fiddling about with a PaB order or return is not as easy as simply buying the set off-the-shelf at a LEGO shop, or, with three clicks, getting it delivered to a local Amazon locker.
@bananaworld said:
" My gripe, as mentioned earlier, is the hoop-jumping required. Fiddling about with a PaB order or return is not as easy as simply buying the set off-the-shelf at a LEGO shop, or, with three clicks, getting it delivered to a local Amazon locker."
Learning how to make or use CSV and XML partlists to buy pieces separately is an essential skill if you ever want to buy pieces on their own and once you know how to do it, it is as easy as making three clicks.
With Lego allowing you to upload CSVs directly they have made it as easy as you could possibly ask for, and even before that there was Brickhunter.
@Anonym said:
" (...) they have made it as easy as you could possibly ask for (...)"
I'm not sure if you're trolling or just perhaps not quite understanding my preferred method of buying a product.
They have not made it as easy as I could possibly want; as easy as I could possibly want would be that it's simply one product that requires a simple action to buy. If the method you describe is so easy, why do they sell any pre-packaged products at all? In this reductio ad absurdum world, everyone could just instead upload their spreadsheets to LEGO.
So, for one last time, so you see how what you've described is still additional hoop-jumping?
Once again, a GWP that would've been even better as a normal retail set. I don't know why TLG is seemingly so averse to offering small & affordable sets made primarily for adults. Surely something like this would sell extremely well, perhaps better than the sales numbers seen from locking it behind a large paywall.
@Nokturn said:
"Once again, a GWP that would've been even better as a normal retail set. I don't know why TLG is seemingly so averse to offering small & affordable sets made primarily for adults. Surely something like this would sell extremely well, perhaps better than the sales numbers seen from locking it behind a large paywall."
It’s the winning entry of a building competition hosted on the Ideas site. The advertised prize was that your entry would get turned into a GWP. Hands are kind of tied in this specific case. Deviation would invite lawsuits.
@bananaworld said:
" @Anonym said:
" (...) they have made it as easy as you could possibly ask for (...)"
I'm not sure if you're trolling or just perhaps not quite understanding my preferred method of buying a product.
They have not made it as easy as I could possibly want; as easy as I could possibly want would be that it's simply one product that requires a simple action to buy. If the method you describe is so easy, why do they sell any pre-packaged products at all? In this reductio ad absurdum world, everyone could just instead upload their spreadsheets to LEGO.
So, for one last time, so you see how what you've described is still additional hoop-jumping? "
Lego sets always need some kind of customization to be good or perfect. For that you need to buy single parts, and for that you need to submit spreadsheets already. So for most products you do submit spreadsheets anyway, so you may as well submit spreadsheets for the whole thing and be happy when they do a product that is perfect right out of the gate once a year. This is where I am at with my purchases at least, submitting a PaB order every few months. If they could just make an infinite amount of boxed sets for sale every year I am sure they would.
The whole complaining about items needing to be boxed and in stores is really strange when at the same time there is also a lot of complaining that people don't MOC with their sets enough but I think and hope there is no overlap between those two crowds.
Great looking set so I will definitely be looking for a way to add it to my collection. I also like the double functionality matching the subject matter as it looks like the set is designed so that it can be used as a book end as well! (right hand picture at the top). Hmmmm.... On second thought I may need to track down 2 of these then! :)
@bananaworld said:
"Thank you for your sensible suggestions.
My gripe, as mentioned earlier, is the hoop-jumping required. Fiddling about with a PaB order or return is not as easy as simply buying the set off-the-shelf at a LEGO shop, or, with three clicks, getting it delivered to a local Amazon locker."
That is true. As TLG is not our friend, but a company with a goal to produce as much income as possible, with yearly growth - GwP is here to stay, so you'll have to work around it if there's a set that you like.
For the one offs that I do like, and if there's zero sets I want to purchase during the promotion, I just find it easier to purchase from FB marketplace. First week is the ones trying to maximize profit, week two you can find posts from people who couldn't care less and just trying to sell it for something. After a month it goes up again as stock is down. Works for me, but it depends on where you live I guess.
@PurpleDave said:
" @thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg"
(…)
@UProbeck:
You only align the logos on the ingots? Not every part that has logos and some degree of rotational symmetry?
(..)
"
You are right. I align all the logos if possible. I also align the parts as good as possible to get right angles and parallel lines. It always sends a shiver down my spine when I see pictures with poorly aligned parts.
Of course this is a lot of work (and you can call me a bit crazy) but I think it’s worth the effort.
Lovely set! Definitely true to the original fan design. I agree that shortening ladder and losing the lamp are improvements. I think the original globe is far superior, though - and I agree with Huw that the original book is better too.
@Anonym said:
" @bananaworld said:
" My gripe, as mentioned earlier, is the hoop-jumping required. Fiddling about with a PaB order or return is not as easy as simply buying the set off-the-shelf at a LEGO shop, or, with three clicks, getting it delivered to a local Amazon locker."
Learning how to make or use CSV and XML partlists to buy pieces separately is an essential skill if you ever want to buy pieces on their own and once you know how to do it, it is as easy as making three clicks.
With Lego allowing you to upload CSVs directly they have made it as easy as you could possibly ask for, and even before that there was Brickhunter."
Give it up. Some people would still be whinging if the set was personally delivered to them by Niels B. Christiansen!
YSAAC
Lovely little set.
Not a fan of the 'globe', pity the one used in the submission is out of production.
@thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg"
No, You are not. Huw's attitude here has left me feeling dissappointed. :)
@Briczk said:
" @thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg"
No, You are not. Huw's attitude here has left me feeling dissappointed. :)"
Do you rue Huw's views on sprues? Are you blue due to Huw's views? Stew on through on coups on Huw, or move on. It's the thing to do.
@Ridgeheart said:
" @Briczk said:
" @thor96 said:
"Am i the only one who tries to hide the sprue marks visible on tiles and slopes like here: https://images.brickset.com/news/114342_P1090019.jpg"
No, You are not. Huw's attitude here has left me feeling dissappointed. :)"
Do you rue Huw's views on sprues? Are you blue due to Huw's views? Stew on through on coups on Huw, or move on. It's the thing to do."
Thanks for poem, I will try stay calm and brave!
@bananaworld said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @xoddam said:
" @sjr60 said:
"
Fortunately Lego make countless lovely little normal sets, so not a problem.
"
Do they though?"
This year, they’ve made about 115 sets in the $0-25 range, about 115 in the $26-50 range, about 100 in the $51-100 range, and about 60 in the $100+ range.
So, completely unequivocally, yes. And that ratio of distribution holds pretty steady for 2023 and 2022 as well."
All well & good, and certainly true (thank you for doing the counting!)
What would be nice & ideal would be the subject of this conversation (40698) being available for £/€/$25, rather than being made artificially scarce as a way to tempt to whales (used purely in an economic sense) to part with large sums of money when big-money sets are released.
But I have complained far too many times in the past about artificial scarcity in these pages. Perhaps I should stop cranking that particular dead mower; TLG aren't likely to listen this time either."
They should do what they did for 40490; it was a GWP for about a month and then became normally available. Then people waiting for large releases could have a nice bonus, and the rest of us could buy it normally.
Actually, there is one downside of the set - it's GWP. It's perfect as a gift to any friend who likes books or so, yet it's behind a curtain of GWP and FOMO:((((