Architecture sets now available in Europe

 

  • Architecture sets now available in Europe

    Posted by Huw, 18 Mar 2010 17:22. Filed under Shopping (Europe).

    21005: Fallingwater
    Architecture, 2009
    More details...
    ©2009 LEGO Group

    After last week's dearth of news, this week has been crazy! At long last the Architecture range of sets is available in European LEGO brand stores and also from LEGOshop.com. Mind you, the prices are astronomical. The biggest and best, Fallingwater, is a whopping £75 or €79 for 800 pieces, which I guess is on a par with Star Wars in terms of price per piece so perhaps it just looks worse because the box is small. However, the Empire State Building icontakes the biscuit: £20 or €20 for 77 plain bricks: that's 25p a piece!

    I'm not exactly encouraging you to buy them, am I, but let me finish by saying that despite the high prices, Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum icon(£35, €35) are very nice models and if you can afford them they are worth adding to your collection.


    21 comments, latest one posted 38 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by legofanatic2414 in United States, 18 Mar 2010 18:23

Thats really detailed. Ive personally always loved the Architecture theme. I don't want to buy them but they are nice to look at.

Posted by MisterFubar in United States, 18 Mar 2010 18:39

I have a rule that I can only pick up those sets at the actual location. So far I've managed to pick up the Space Needle and Sears Tower. The sets weren't out the last time I was at Fallingwater or NY for the other 2.

As far as Legos go, they are very expensive if you consider the piece count... but as far as souvenirs go they are worth every penny and much cooler than any other trinket or t-shirt you'll find in the gift shop.

Posted by EarthlingJJ in United States, 18 Mar 2010 19:49

I highly recommend Fallingwater! If you can afford it that is :-)

Posted by mrdoofa in United Kingdom, 18 Mar 2010 20:59

These sets look very nice but they are astonishingly ridiculously steep in price and really offer very poor value for money as they stand, however, I can see these possibly being a bit of an investment as I can imagine the values rising among keen collectors when they are discontinued.

Also, if they are selling these in europe now we need some examples of european architecture which there is plenty of superb examples of.

Posted by philo66 in United States, 18 Mar 2010 22:32

Cool!

Posted by Zrath in United States, 19 Mar 2010 01:51

Falling Water has a lot of parts, sure, but they're all teeny tiny parts!
Lots and lots of 1x1 parts: plate, smooth and cheese slope.
It looks nice but the price is crazy.
I'll wait for a sale or when I have lotsa of VIP points. :D

Posted by Chaos_Tec in Australia, 19 Mar 2010 01:58

Why are they so expensive?

Posted by BIONICLEGuy in United Kingdom, 19 Mar 2010 02:13

The new theme (I can't spell it!) has two very good sets.
Empire State Building and the Space Needle.
In other news: Huw, a huge thanks for bringing back the Prince of Persia pictures!

Posted by dafish in Germany, 19 Mar 2010 05:33

the Fallingwater is on my wish list since more than a year and I was unaware the sets were available in the US. Surprisingly, the Architecture range of sets is NOT available on the Danish shop-at-home site (I am resident of Denmark). I might have to use my US connections to get one or buy it in Germany...Absolutely cool sets!

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 19 Mar 2010 07:06

These sets are interesting but terrible value. I picked up the first 4 sets that were released on a trip to Chicago last year and they worked out a bit cheaper due to exchange rates, but I'm really hesitating to shell out £80 + delivery for the Fallingwater set. It might have a lot of pieces, but most of the pieces are tiny, and nice boxes and artistic leaflets don't provide enough added value to justify the high price.

Just more evidence that LEGOs pricing policies are increasingly aggressive, I'm afraid. Clearly they feel that they can afford to squeeze us harder given their excellent sales figures over the last couple of years. I nearly choked on my cornflakes when I saw that Grand Emporium is £140, which is £40 more than the larger Fire Brigade set. That's a 40% increase in the price of these modular exclusives in 12 months. Ouch.

Posted by meccanotwitch in United Kingdom, 19 Mar 2010 07:38

It seems that the question, about value for money, is being asked more often than ever now. Surely if Lego are making so much money, they could sell sets at a realistic and affordable price.
But on the other hand, if we are sometimes daft enough to pay these prices, then Lego will keep charging them.
I won't be buying any of these sets, no matter how nice and tempting they look.

Posted by Olamisai in Finland, 19 Mar 2010 10:42

It's possible, via bricklink, and sans printed name tiles, to build these.. but then you don't get the box and manual. I did this.. and it worked out cheaper overall than the pricing now available to us in EU.

One comment, whilst expensive, all 6 sets, assembled are excellent, and make a dramatic difference to any collection. These are clearly for collectors, and priced accordingly.

Posted by DrathMaul1997 in United Kingdom, 19 Mar 2010 16:24

They look good but are far far too expensive.

Posted by brickmatt in United States, 19 Mar 2010 19:34

@DrDave - The Grand Emporium is the same price as the Fire Brigade in the U.S., $149.99. I wonder why they would raise the prices that much in the UK. As for the Architecture sets, they are nice sets. I have only one, the Empire State Building, which I picked up at Barnes & Noble for $20. It is a nice collector's set, as are the rest, but their relatively high prices and relatively common pieces will probably put them lower on my priorities of sets to buy.

Posted by Cole! in Australia, 19 Mar 2010 22:04

I really like these new architecture sets but I live in Australia, so they have not come out yet, at least I have something to look forward to! I absolutely cant wait to get Fallingwater! It has an okay value for money at 12.329 cents per piece.

Posted by Brickmatic in United States, 20 Mar 2010 15:15

@meccanotwitch Lego is making smart business choices by segmenting the market and price discriminating. This series is a high-class product demanding a high-end price. As long as all of their products don't become premium lines, I don't mind the prices on the Architecture series.

Posted by meccanotwitch in United Kingdom, 20 Mar 2010 15:32

This is exactly what Lego want us to think, so we fall into that trap and pay these high prices. At the end of the day they are only the same parts as in any other Lego set, but probably three or four times as expensive.

Posted by Brickmatic in United States, 20 Mar 2010 16:21

Actually, now that I think about it, the cost may reflect the fact that this series is a licensed theme. I was thinking that these sets are more like art than other sets when I remembered that architecture is protected by copyright.

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 21 Mar 2010 12:07

I like Fallingwater, but I don't want to spend $100 on it. It's the only one I want from the Architecture theme, anyway.

Posted by legowomen1980p in United States, 22 Mar 2010 11:35

Artwork is all in the eye of the beholder.. what one may pay.. another may not.. I certainly be the one who will not.. let e-bay decide fair market price for this unsellable plastic scrapes.. if it was limited edition, then maybe but otherwise, I could think of far better waste of plastic..

Posted by mirandir in Sweden, 23 Mar 2010 19:56

Dang! The're not available in all of Europe. Swedish S@H doen't have 'em. :(

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