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An Analysis & Opinion Of LEGO GWPs (Gift With Purchase)

Anything for free is always a good thing, but what if I said it wasn't free as we know it?

LEGO is known for giving out gifts with purchase or GWPs for short for meeting a certain monetary threshold, buying a specific line of sets or in some cases, locked behind one specific set.

While it is technically free, it also isn't free because you have to spend hundreds of dollars to even get it. What do you do if a GWP you want is locked behind a line of sets or a specific set you can't afford? This isn't me complaining either but I do think GWPs could be structured a little better.

The only other solution to getting a GWP you want that LEGO has sold out of is going on the secondhand market like e-Bay and paying a premium price for something that's either under 100 pieces or up to 300 pieces and there are some GWPs I've seen on e-Bay that I want like the Cosmic Cardboard Adventures, Eiffel's Apartment, and the Marvel taxi.

While I do understand the policy of "While supplies last," LEGO stores should allow you to purchase the GWP (at least in my opinion) for a reasonable set price if there's nothing you want or nothing in that set line you want and so on.

As far as the GWPs locked behind specific sets like the new LOTR Barad-dur (releasing on June 4th) or the Marvel taxi given with the purchase of the Avengers Tower at release, I don't really have a solution outside of going on the secondhand market if it's only the GWP you want.

For the GWPs that aren't locked behind the purchase of a specific set, there's a simple solution LEGO can implement if they ever wanted to: Allow people to purchase the GWP for $25 that way LEGO gets a purchase and the customer gets the GWP. In a contrasting matter, something like this definitely upsets those who spent hundreds of dollars to get that GWP for free whereas someone could purchase a cheaper set that doesn't meet the threshold plus another $25 to get the GWP, but that's where another solution lies.

Lower the monetary threshold (on some GWPs). Ones that have a threshold of $100 are fine, but the ones that are a threshold of $200+ should be capped at $250 max. Currently, LEGO's GWP is the Alien Space Diner with purchases of $100 or more which I think is a fair price for a GWP that's 239 pieces.

Are GWPs a bad thing? No. I believe they're a great incentive to get you in the door or on the website to find sets you want and also get a "free" set, but there should be modifications with how GWPs work going forward just as long as those modifications benefit the consumer in the long run.

[demobatbricks]

LEGO Sets Too Overpriced For Their Own Good

When it comes to consumerism, you expect good value for your hard-earned dollar. When it comes to LEGO, this isn't always the case.

While most of the time sets have good value at release, the latest price increases have been a deterrent to basic consumerism. Most of the time, sets have decent to good price value for how many pieces you get but there are cases where the price doesn't always equal the piece count or it's just too overpriced and not a qualitative build experience.

Here are a few examples in my opinion of such case. Note that this is solely my opinion.

Hulkbuster (PCS: 4049/$549.99)

Released in November 2022, the Hulkbuster released to some negative reception by both Marvel and LEGO fans. The only saving grace (if you can call it one) is that it pairs with the buildable Iron Man figure which can fit inside the Hulkbuster but that's about it along with a Tony Stark minifigure.

Everything about this set screams overhyped, overpriced and an utter disappointing build experience. It's currently 30% off and priced at $384.99. Even at 30% off, it still feels like a rip off.

Black Panther (PCS: 2961/$349.99)

Hyped with excitement at the potential of a Black Panther set, fans would expect the trend of helmet sets to continue, which would've been a better idea than what we got.

What we got was a gaudy bust of Black Panther that released on October 1st, 2022. While an accurate representation of Black Panther, the final result looks lackluster for the low piece count and high price demand. A simple helmet build for $60 or $70 would've gone over a lot better than what was given.

X-Men X-Jet (PCS: 359/$84.99)

With the return announcement of X-Men '97, LEGO prepared to capitalize upon the X-Men. With the rumor of a possible X-Mansion set floating around and the release of the adamantium claw set, LEGO released the X-Jet...for $84.99 and it only has just over 350 pieces.

I do understand at least a good portion of the pricing has to do with the Marvel license and leg printing of Wolverine and Rogue (which I consider a positive), this is unreasonably priced with how small it is. If it were something like the GOTG's The Milano in terms of piece count, I could see LEGO's perspective on the price or even the Quinjet that goes for $99.99 I could also understand but $85 for something that I think should be $49.99 max is one of the biggest price & piece contrasts I've ever seen.

The build doesn't look horrible by any means as one of its' positives is four minifigures in which two have leg printing (though you could make a case for Cyclops being able to have leg printing) and the sticker placements are understandable in some cases. My issue obviously is the obscure price point for such a low piece count.

Eiffel Tower (PCS: 10,001/$629.99)

If the Colosseum was considered repetitive, then you can add the Eiffel Tower to that list of repetitive builds that also look drab and also overpriced.

While it is considered the largest LEGO set piece wise, with the exception of the base 90% of the build has you do the same thing for each part of the tower. The set was released on Black Friday in 2022.

Two other issues come into play with this set: 1. Who's gonna be able to afford something like this and 2. Where are you gonna place it because I highly doubt this is going in someone's LEGO city. This is something you're either gonna need to place on the floor when entering a LEGO room or on an extremely sturdy shelf that can hold a lot of weight. Also, this set locks behind it an interesting GWP when it released which was Eiffel's Apartment which could only be acquired by getting the Eiffel Tower. Now the only way to find the apartment is on the secondhand market.

While it isn't as impressive, the Paris architecture skyline does feature the Eiffel Tower in mini form along with other famous Paris landmarks and locations so while you won't get the large and hulking structure of the 10k piece tower, you'll get a more affordable version that includes the Eiffel Tower.

To conclude, these are only my opinions and should not be taken as fact as some may agree with this assessment and some may disagree but that's the nature of an opinion.

I wish everyone an awesome day and an awesome building experience.

[demobatbricks]

LEGO Walt Disney Tribute Camera Review

Lights, camera, action! With the release of the Disney 100 dedicated sets, so too came a camera dedicated to the history of Disney with its' many references.

Does the camera recapture Disney's history and Walt's hard work or fall short of the mark? Let's find out.

Design & Build

Consisting of 811 pieces and six bagged instructions, the build starts with the Walt Disney minifigure, the clapperboard display stand and the mirrored image display that attaches to the stand. For the most part this section is fairly simple and turns out great once completed.

Bags 2 through 6 is where things get interesting. Instead of starting the base of the camera with the legs, the build continues with the middle section of the camera that holds both the legs and the upper portion of the camera together.

The middle section is built using a mixture of system and technic parts and was an interesting choice to start with that instead of building from the bottom and going up as the build goes on along with the rest of the minifigures consisting of Mickey, Minnie, Dumbo and Bambi. The black & white look of Mickey & Minnie match the feel of the old timey camera which is an added plus instead of recycling the standard Mickey & Minnie minifigures seen in other sets. They all sit nicely on the clapperboard with the exception of Bambi which wasn't molded like a traditional minifigure.

The next part of the build is the legs and the stand that the legs clip into to hold everything together. The legs are a tad simplistic and repetitive but that works into the build's favor as while you build three of them, it's pretty much the same steps to build them with the same piece count needed for each step. The small stand is build using a nice mix of system and technic pieces which give the previous sections the stability needed to be locked into place.

Bags 4 through 6 are the construction of the actual camera which holds some nice features which include the option to place Walt into the camera itself which is an awesome touch. The construction of the lenses is unique as there's the mini rotating lenses an old school camera would have along with the main lens.

The final section consists of the building of the "100" (The 1 is removable as well to make it look like a standard camera) atop the camera and the attachment of the film strip on both the top and bottom ends and contains references to classics and recent Disney films like The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, The Lion King, Frozen and Encanto. The film strip is an awesome addition to the set as it pays homage to Disney's history. The strip can be a little finicky to attach but it isn't anything overly difficult.

Final Thoughts

At $99.99, this is an excellent value for what kind of build you get whether you're a Disney fan or not. The build isn't too overly difficult by any means nor too repetitive with the exception of constructing the tripod legs. The clapperboard and mirror picture mini build turn out excellent and give a spot to display the minifigures. The film strip which comes in a separate box is a neat nod to Disney's history with a quality selection of films.

Pros:

+ Film strip is an awesome addition with quality Disney films

+ A simplistic enough and yet fun build

+ Walt, Mickey & Minnie minifigures look dedicated to time period

+ Awesome value for what you get

Cons:

-Camera can be a little wobbly if touched or moved

Score:

Design & Build: 5/5

Difficulty: 2.75/5

Fun Factor: 5/5

Final Score & Grade:

12.75/15 (85%) (B)

Recommendation: Buy

[demobatbricks]

LEGO Ideas BTS Dynamite Review

What do you get when you mix LEGO with one of the most popular K-Pop bands to ever exist? You get something known as Brick-Pop.

As the 47th Ideas set in the line, LEGO has brought the power of its' creators along with the popularity of K-Pop to do their best to faithfully recreate the band's music video.

Did they bring it to life in brick form or fall short of the standards BTS' music holds itself to? Let's find out.

Design & Build

While simple on the outside, what makes this set pop is its' details on the inside.

Starting with the minifigures, they all look unique and accurate as well as faithfully recreated to the music video itself. The ones that stand out in my opinion are RM, Jin and V. RM's blue hair mold is neat as well as his black & white star shirt pop out. Jin's torso design is neat with the light magenta and yellow-brown polka dots as well as his hair piece. Finally while basic, V's green suit and pants work well for him. The lack of leg printing on the minifigs isn't a detriment in this case as they mostly wore basic pants that didn't require any extra printing.

Onto the set itself, two of the standout features are two of the separate builds which are both built in bag 1. One being the ice cream truck and the other being the detachable stage. The ice cream truck on paper looks like a basic build of any truck seen in a set like Home Alone's Oh-Kay truck but the thing that makes it unique to BTS Dynamite is the creation of the ice cream cone atop the roof.

The other unique separate build is the detachable stage. The stage is built using standard black pieces, technic pieces (including gray gear pieces) and beige technic-like inserts. The inserts are unique as you use seven of them for all seven of the band members to stand on and with the movement of the gear wheels, they all move in unison with one another atop the stage which is one of the best features of the set as if they're performing a concert and is attached onto the back of the set.

The main build itself which consists of the record shop, the disco and the donut shop both look and feel accurate but seemingly unfinished. It's accurate to the look of the music video but when fully built, it's aesthetically unfinished as you only get the front view of everything with no attachable back portion or detachable sections as everything is held together by large plates on the bottom. Both the donut shop and the record store have potential to be possible MOCs for creators if the set itself came together via technic inserts to separate everything but doing that could take away from the authenticity of the music video as that's what the original creator of the set was going for.

The more underrated section of the main build is the large donut atop the donut shop. The donut looks great and spins 360 degrees and the build of it is awesome. Other separate builds of the palm trees and the traffic cones feel like they're just there for aesthetic purposes but don't subtract anything from the build.

The stickers included weren't bad decisions either especially the ones that spell out donut but some of them like the records/CD stickers could have easily been printed on like some of them were. The clear stickers in the record store aren't a bad design choice either but could definitely lead to a fingerprint mess.

Final Thoughts

Overall, BTS Dynamite is a neat set but may only curtail interest in a lot of builders and only be for die hard BTS fans. To me, that wasn't the case as I had my eye on this for a little while. Despite not being a BTS fan or ever listened to K-Pop, I enjoyed a lot of the build even if it does look unfinished in a particular way but its authenticity to the music video will bring in BTS fans with its faithful recreation. At $99.99 for 749 pieces, you aren't getting a bad value for what you get with the entire band recreated in LEGO form and the details of the set are awesome.

Pros:

+A faithful recreation brought to life

+Neat separate builds of the stage & ice cream truck

+Overall great build

Cons:

-Build does look unfinished

-May only interest hardcore BTS fans

Score:

Design & Build: 4/5

Difficulty: 3.25/5

Fun Factor: 4.85/5

Final Score & Grade:

12.1/15 (81%) (B)

Recommendation: Buy

[demobatbricks]

Who & What Is DemobatBricks: An Introduction

Welcome one and all to DemobatBricks. Just who am I though you ask...

Well I'm a LEGO builder, an AFOL and a fan of Stranger Things amongst other things in pop culture. I've been building LEGO on a semi-consistent basis since late 2021 when I re-ignited the hobby with The Upside Down set and have built both smaller and bigger sets along the way.

My goal is to give you unfiltered reviews of what I build and inform you of both the positives & negatives of a set and give you my thoughts on if it's worth it to purchase.

That's pretty much it. I welcome anyone and everyone and I hope you enjoy your stay.