The Brickset 2016 Holiday Gift Guide, part 1
Posted by Huw,
In the run-up to Black Friday we are going to be publishing a series of holiday gift guides to help you find the perfect present.
We have chosen price points to suit all your gift-giving needs and today we kick off with sets under $25 (£20), which make ideal stocking fillers or gifts for nieces and nephews.
Read on to find out what Brickset's contributors have picked from 210 retail sets released this year in that price bracket.
CapnRex101
76058 Spider-Man: Ghost Rider Team-Up (£19.99 / $19.99 / 24.99€)
The quality of the Marvel Super Heroes range has advanced enormously this year and 76058 Spider-Man: Ghost Rider Team-Up is an exceptional example of this.
Not only does it include brilliant Ghost Rider and Hobgoblin minifigures but the Hell Cycle is highly detailed and uses some interesting building techniques to create an area of angular bodywork in front of the rider.
Furthermore, the scenery includes newspaper racks for the Daily Bugle and Front Line, the headline of which makes reference to the Vulture from 76059 Spider-Man: Doc Ock's Tentacle Trap! I love references like this one and would certainly recommend the set to any Marvel Super Heroes fan.
You can read our review here.
TheBrickPal
71012 LEGO Minifigures - The Disney Series (£2.99 / $3.99 / 2.49€ each)
LEGO is loved by people of all ages and backgrounds. So too, is the world of Disney.
Collectors and kids, LEGO fans or not, would love to find any one of these 18 fantastic minifigures in their stocking! Each character is iconic and quite detailed in both printing and molds. Recently producing a second production run, the series should not be too hard to find and buy this holiday season.
From Mickey to Stitch, Buzz to Ariel... there is something for everyone! Remember to take a look at our review and feel guide from back in May if you need to.
MeganL
41172 The Water Dragon Adventure (£17.99 / $19.99 / 24.99€)
A notable mention is 41116 Olivia's Exploration Car, but for me the clear winner for this category is 41172 The Water Dragon Adventure. It was the first dragon of the Elves wave that I built this year and still one of my favourites.
The dragon is unique because her wings flip up unlike the others. The build is easy and the set itself is filled with great parts in lovely colours.
The scenery that comes with the dragon is not quite as detailed as some Elves sets, but for the price, you get a hidden cache and a means to feed the dragon. Of course, the dragon itself is terrific.
For those of you in the US, I have seen this offered at considerable markdown recently on Amazon and elsewhere, which makes it an even better deal.
You can read our review here.
DrDaveWatford
60121 Volcano Exploration Truck (£14.99 / $24.99 / 19.99€)
For the second year running I think that LEGO have really hit the mark with their summer City subthemes, and Volcano Explorers in particular has caught my eye.
Admittedly the vibrant lime green colour scheme might not appeal to everybody, but I think that it works really well alongside the yellow, dark bluish grey and trans-orange detailing found in the sets.
Focusing specifically on this set, I am a big fan of the rugged looking truck, which features big balloon tyres and a rear-mounted retractable drill for cracking open the supplied trans-orange boulder. You also get a couple of minifigures resplendent in olive green uniforms.
Overall I think this set is a nice introduction to the Volcano Explorers subtheme, and eminently suitable for intrepid explorers both young and not so young...
You can read our review here.
Huw
31044 Park Animals (£12.99 / $14.99 / 14.99€)
I am pretty sure I always pick the Creator animals set for this price bracket and with good reason: they are good value, are great fun and provide a wealth of useful pieces. Best of all they are not marked up by licencing costs or expensive minifigures, so there is a lot of bang-for-your-buck.
As well as this delightful puppy and duck, the set builds an owl, which is almost as good as the 'A' model, and a squirrel. You can read my review here.
FlagsNZ
42047 Police Interceptor (£17.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€)
The Police Interceptor pull-back racer is a great, compact Technic set that will appeal very much to children.
It has a higher centre of gravity than its companion 42046 Getaway Racer so will tumble around easier as it races over jumps. If you have two or more children to purchase for, consider buying both racers and have some competitive fun. No batteries required.
rock99rock
31042 Super Soarer (£9.99 / $9.99 / 9.99€)
I am going ultra-frugal with this Super Soarer. For about $10, you get fantastic value for a set which has multiple build options. It is a great option for a stocking stuffer, which will not hurt the wallet too much.
Do you have any recommendations? Sets you have bought that you think would make good gifts for others?
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16 comments on this article
And the 31044 is retiring soon. Lots more products added to the UK Retiring soon lego page
Since there's really no stand out in Friends, I'd agree with MeganL that getting an Elves dragon for under $25 is pretty awesome, but the rest of the set is lacking as she noted. It's still a great gift choice though. Also 41173 Elvendale School of Dragons isn't a bad choice. It has a male Elf--always appreciated by this father--and loads of play features.
If I remove my minidoll bias, I'd pick the DC Comics Super Heroes Mighty Micros (and the Marvel Super Heroes Mighty Micros, but I think the DC ones are designed a bit better.). For a low price you're getting enough--two figures and two vehicles--to be able to have a nice play experience. And they're quite fun to look at. 76061 Batman vs. Catwoman is my favorite.
I know you guys don't cover polybags because of the regional limitations, but they always make for great stocking stuffers. In the US, Target's annual stocking stuffer offerings include 30474 Reindeer and 30399 Friends Bowling Alley.
I agree with ericjohn. Those Mighty Micros are simple and good stocking stuffers, especially for kids who like superheroes. They have great parts in them for a great price and they're "super" cute.
A second run of Disney minifigures?! Will we get them in the UK too?!
Most sets have a 1 year shelf life so a lot will retire at the end of 2016.
The Disney figures dropped off the face of the Earth a while ago, at least at every Argos, Smyths and Lego Store near me? I haven't seen them anywhere since...
Agreed on Park Animals and The Water Dragon Adventure! Others I might've picked include Sky Shark from LEGO Ninjago and Umarak the Hunter from LEGO Bionicle.
No Star Wars? =(
I find it hard to believe there will be a second run of Disney figures. I was told by Lego and Lego store that they are retired, and they are in the retired section on Lego.com. Very odd for them to do a second run after they've been sold out for months.
In the USA they we re-released to coincide with the Disney Castle, I believe.
It's been posted to TLG's Facebook that Disney CMF's are baaack.
I paid £60 for a set on eBay last month so I didn't overpay too much, considering a set will now cost £54 with the new price of £2.99. I don't understand why they show them as retired on the website. Why not leave them as 'out of stock'. Think I'm feeling a bit angry coz I'm going 'cold turkey' and not buying any Lego until 1st march (other than Modular in January). spent way too much on 3for2 offers recently.
I'd say I agree with most of the choices here, and they are certainly some highlights at this price point this year, particularly Ghost Rider and Park Animals. If your child relatives have Lego Dimensions it would be relatively easy to pick up a decent 'old' level pack at this price point too - Portal 2 and Doctor Who are particular highlights, but this may slip to the next price point.
With regards to regular themes at up to £20, I would also recommend Lance's Mecha Horse from Nexo Knights and the buildable K-2S0 from Star Wars. The latter is particularly well built if the recipient is partial to some constraction.
Disney minifigures may be a very region-specific (USA) recommendation as I'm pretty sure there aren't any around the UK and there haven't been for a while, but they were very good nonetheless.
Park animals was fantastic, i'm still holding hope there will be another similar set to this next year (like the monkey / parrot / cat ones we also have seen recently)
Seconding that rec for Lance's Mecha Horse - a good present for a kid who wants something a bit different with a bit more emphasis on Technic elements. The transformation element is really fun.
And yeah, the Creator sets in the £12.99-ish price area are wonderful presents. I'd suggest Ocean Explorer - while not in minifig scale, the interesting build and the mini-sub/crane feature more than make up for it.