Holy cow, this is awesome! Would love to see someone light this up with violet LEDs

Looks quite good.

I thought they may have to put the price up abit over the others.

£300, daaaaaammmmmnnnn.

The only people who will be able to afford LEGO soon will be CEO's and MP's on expenses.

Looks much more interesting than leaks suggested but that is a big big price, no thank you.

So this will (probably) be $400-500 in Australia. Yeah, not at that price. Probably should’ve been smaller, like the size of the Star Wars helmets for for $100.

Not a bad set though; just not my thing. I’m sure it would look amazing lit up.

It's not for me, but it looks awesome. Expensive, but awesome.

"can be positioned in either the distinctive “Wakanda Forever” crossed arm pose – or without"
GOODNESS GRACIOUS, LEGO, hire an actual editor already! Whoever writes those press releases shouldn't be allowed anywhere near keyboards, pen & paper, or even ancient Sumerian clay tablets.

The bust looks absolutely amazing though, a huge improvement over any of the existing SW/Marvel designs. Stellar work by the designer.

Looks terrible easy pass

I'd like to see a profile, side picture of it. To see how the jaw is built and placed. Very nice display set. Another big one.

I have a feeling they're only doing it because Chadwick died...

@Brick_t_ said:
"I'd like to see a profile, side picture of it. To see how the jaw is built and placed. Very nice display set. Another big one. "

There's a video on the Lego.com page (linked in the article) which shows the profile (they rotate it).

Yet another new set that I lost all interest in once I saw the price.

Wow. Absolutely zero interest fortunately.

This bust looks amazing. Let's hope we'll get a new Darth Maul bust, soon. :-)

WOW, but Damn the Price............should have been 75-100$ Tops

No, just no. There's no reason this has to be THAT big (and expensive), it's just cash grab with that size. Yet people will buy this anyway because of mr. Boseman and I'm not convinced LEGO hadn't thought of that when deciding to make this. I really wish I could trust them to respect his death but I just can't anymore.

I'm not saying they're advantage-taking scum, but I don't feel comfortable with this. Such a shame.

the hands by themselves look very silly, I think doing more of the torso would've been a better use of resources

the set itself is pretty interesting and unique, but that price is a decent chunk too much and I didn't care for the Black Panther movie, so it's an easy skip

I think it looks fine, but even as a big Marvel fan I'm not interested. I don't tend to go for the "statue" or real-life scale builds, and this one is huuuge. I'm sure there will be some out there who like this and more power to them, but I would've preferred a Wakanda playset of some kind. Perhaps Shuri's lab and the vibranium mine, or a Wakandan embassy to sit next to the Sanctum Sanctorum and Daily Bugle.

So I saw this on Instagram and thought of a correct price. €250, €300 to the max. No, the greedy Danes ask €350. Not a set that would interest me anyway. But still: €350 is absolute madness. In Dutch there is a saying: whatever the madman is willing to pay. Well here we go…

That head looks ugly on goddddd bro

I'll modify it so that it's Batman.

100 euro/$ too much period

This new pricing structure will definitely limit my future LEGO purchases. As much as I like the set I can't justify the price. I will have to really want a set to purchase in the future. Thankfully I have quite a few unbuilt sets to occupy my time.

Again, why is this set so big?
The helmet line seemed to prove smaller-scale display pieces sold perfectly fine. This being over $300 is just excessive.

Huzzah Lego, you've made another overpriced ornament! So much play value there!

@mr_Fikou said:
"No, just no. There's no reason this has to be THAT big (and expensive), it's just cash grab with that size. Yet people will buy this anyway because of mr. Boseman and I'm not convinced LEGO hadn't thought of that when deciding to make this. I really wish I could trust them to respect his death but I just can't anymore.

I'm not saying they're advantage-taking scum, but I don't feel comfortable with this. Such a shame."

I think this is more making merchandise of the character rather than trying to profit off Boseman himself. We still get merchandise of movie characters whose actors have long since passed away. Princess Leia, anyone?

These price increases are getting to the point where I am just thinking about being done with collecting Lego and selling my collection. This is overpriced by at least $100. What a joke.

No interest here, there's a ton of sets in the 300-400€ range that are more interesting and substantial. And not as overpriced.

While this is beautiful, I think Lego is going to have a challenge selling this alongside the helmet sets AND with the overall increase in prices. The lifestyle photos show the large scale of this set, but in isolation on the white backgrounds, it doesn't look much bigger than the main-line helmet sets.

I was looking at the pictures and telling myself "damn it's ugly" and thought "nothing worth comenting, let people enjoy it if they like it". Then I saw I saw the price and the number of pieces.Well I guess at least you will get a printed label for that kind of money. Or you won't :p

Easiest pass for me in awhile. Nothing against the movie or the bust, just zero interest and man I really don't have the money these days.

Lego if you are listening.............. Like anything some people dont like it, no matter what the size or cost, a lot of people think it looks great, but can't afford it, so Make one the same scale as the Helmets for £55 and they will sell. Maybe even do a "hands" add-on pack for £20 and give people the ultimate choice. I initially thought Wow that's great,...... HOW much? When you see it next to the nice man in the photo it does show the considerable size and therefore price, but its still £300 which for most people is a purchase that takes some thought and justification.

For this price we get stickers and pearl silver besides drum lacquered.

Great set, awful price.

At first glance I thought it was the same size as all of the other busts, which makes the most sense. But there’s really no need for this one to be this big, and certainly not for that price.

This was in demand? Ummm...okay.

I guess we know where all the DC budget went. Into anything and everything Marvel. Not that DC has much, but Marvel gets this, and DC gets a 4+ set.

I am going to be much more careful about what I buy, and how many copies I buy, of big LEGO sets going forward. My days of buying nearly every big beautiful set, often in 2 rarely 3 copies, are done. I'll collect only the Xmas sets and the modular building series, along with the occasional special (and reasonably priced) Ideas and the Bricklink Designers. Probably will cut my purchasing in half.

Luckily, this set is not remotely interesting for me. I really wonder who the market is for this.

@Eaglefan344 said:
"These price increases are getting to the point where I am just thinking about being done with collecting Lego and selling my collection. This is overpriced by at least $100. What a joke."

I’ll take it off your hands, for $100 less than your asking price

This is a great tribute to Chadwick.

$550aud - that’s hilarious!

At this stage the only people who are going to own new sets are the people Lego give them to for free to review and try to convince “us” to actually buy them.

(us being the poor saps who actually pay for the sets)

350€?

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

*breathes*

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Looks good, not great. The price makes this an easy pass.

I'll just stick with Venom that I just bought for € 41.99 .

Is this made from Vibranium?

@gylman said:
"I am going to be much more careful about what I buy, and how many copies I buy, of big LEGO sets going forward. My days of buying nearly every big beautiful set, often in 2 rarely 3 copies, are done. I'll collect only the Xmas sets and the modular building series, along with the occasional special (and reasonably priced) Ideas and the Bricklink Designers. Probably will cut my purchasing in half.

Luckily, this set is not remotely interesting for me. I really wonder who the market is for this. "

This is exactly how I feel...I like Modular / Christmas / Technic / Ideas (some) / Bricklink Designer (sadly I like many of these).

On a good note...I wasn't really impressed with any of the Ideas sets in the current round...will make it easy for me to save some money.

I'm in the "No, but I like it camp". Of course I like it- it's LEGO and it's superheroes. But the price for just a bust? I'll spend my money on other LEGO sets

I still remember that Jurassik Park gate, over 3000 pieces for 250€ and it actually looked like a 300€ set, almost 350€. That bust is really well done, but not sure who needs it that big and it really doesn't look like 350€

First response: WOW, I did not expect that. I wonder how m- OMG!!! No!
...
Seriously, who buys this stuff? Why make an XXXXL bust of Black Panther, that one super hero costume that's nearly all black.
Not to knock on anyone who wants this or can afford it. But for me personally this is just alien. I get that it's not for me. But what was the thought process in making a 350 euro bust with (clawed) hands of a nearly monochrome catsuit?

As for the Chadwick Boseman thing... That was in fall 2020. It's about two years later. Would that even be enough time for the set design process? Wasn't that usually 3+ years?
I think it's far more likely because a new Black Panther film is coming out and they want to time it to coincide with the film's release.
I think lego is just cashing out as hard as they can. I trust that they know better what they're doing than we can tell, and I doubt this has any morbid intentions behind it. So I would suggest we stop bringing it up.

@Lordmoral said:
"Is this made from Vibranium?"

I thought it was made from Unobtainium

I echo the group, the set IS cool... but I was thinking it would be around $99 when I saw the pictures, but $350?! All I can say is wow. And not a good wow. I am sure it's bigger than the other helmets, no doubt about it, but for what amounts to a bigger helmet/bust, $350 means this will not ever get on my want list. Unfortunately I, like most of us, have a budget, and with the number of big or massive sets released in the last few years, so quickly, this one will very likely take a back seat to many others. Just my two cents.

Honestly, this feels like a weird set to me. I think it looks great, and I'm not against how big it is (although the price is definitely too high I think), but I'm mostly just confused by the subject matter. Like, I get that there's a new Black Panther movie coming out, and it makes sense to do tie-in sets with that, but even then, for a 'UCS' size offering, and a bust at that, Black Panther seems like an odd choice to me, given how NOT central he feels to the current crop of 'mainline' Marvel superheros. I would have expected them to do Iron Man, Hulk, or Thor in this form factor before anyone else. Maybe Captain America or Spider-man. Black Panther would have been way down my list of expected subjects for this, at the same level as maybe one of the GotG characters? I dunno, just feels like an odd selection for this treatment. If this is the only bust they do like this, odd to have BP as the subject, and if it's intended to be the first in a line of busts like this (which would be pretty cool, I can't lie!), then odd to start with BP.

So, according to the poll, only 7% of people on here will eventually buy it. 13% if we include those who said "maybe". 87% said they would not get it. I don't remember another poll where the response was so negative (I don't remember all the polls, that said).

$450 canadian ($518 with taxes!!! - that's 395 euro!) for a bust that does not fit with other busts, that has no minifigs and has less than 3000 pieces... This is a terrible deal.

I'm ok with LEGO being expensive, but there are limits.

£299.99 and they couldn't print just ONE element.

Absolutely hilarious and pathetic. Set is alright (at £200) but not at that absurd price point. They've officially lost the plot.

"LEGO is a premium brand."

"LEGO only sells premium products."

"LEGO = premium!"

I'll start calling LEGO a, "premium product" when they stop using stickers. Especially at these price points. Insane.

Those poll results... oof

Just looked at the price...ouch.
I think this should've been about $250usd.
$350, I can put into like the Van Gogh piece and an Optimus Prime from my want list. More bang for my buck.

@MarcusDewaine said:
""LEGO is a premium brand."

"LEGO only sells premium products."

"LEGO = premium!"

I'll start calling LEGO a, "premium product" when they stop using stickers. Especially at these price points. Insane. "

Hey, did no one tell you Lego stickers are very prrrrrremium too?

All black set, no prints, with a gigantic Marvel tax? Should be quite cheap to source bits on bricklink... Recently LEGO seems to be out of touch with reality.

On the bright side, I guess I'll give another COBI set a go. The King Tiger I got was very pleasant, thinking of getting a battleship this time round. Build experience is pretty much on par with LEGO.

Wow that’s insanely expensive.

Shocking price - how does this cost the same as the Daily Bugle - with 800 less pieces

Will more than 5x copies of this snoozer actually sell???

@WizardOfOss said:
" @MarcusDewaine said:
""LEGO is a premium brand."

"LEGO only sells premium products."

"LEGO = premium!"

I'll start calling LEGO a, "premium product" when they stop using stickers. Especially at these price points. Insane. "

Hey, did no one tell you Lego stickers are very prrrrrremium too?"

Hahaha. Oh yes, I remember now.

What? Why couldn't this have been a regular helmet set? This is ridiculously oversized and even more over priced. There is no benefit to making it this big. If they wanted to go life sized, this is still too small. I'm sure a smaller one would have sold better, too.

And the press release is hilarious. There is so little to say about the boring, oversized model most of it is just stories of how great Black Panther is.

Another big, overpriced and this time even pointless set.

Hahaha... I only now realize it's $300+ set, I was sure it's the helmets one going for $60.
This is by far one of the uglier Marvel sets they produced. The "Wakanda Forever" hands pose is horrible. Bust itself is nice for a $60 helmet set.

Well then...this is somehow priced the same as the (recently increased) Daily Bugle and Ninjago City Gardens. Would've been a $200-250 set last year. I think there's a point when consumers are no longer willing to pay these prices because they represent such poor value.

Love the way this looks. If it was $150 or $200 it might've been an instant buy but $350 is a big yikes. Probably gonna end up waiting half a decade to get it and then spend twice as much. :(

@Binnekamp said:
"Seriously, who buys this stuff? Why make an XXXXL bust of Black Panther, that one super hero costume that's nearly all black.
Not to knock on anyone who wants this or can afford it. But for me personally this is just alien. I get that it's not for me. But what was the thought process in making a 350 euro bust with (clawed) hands of a nearly monochrome catsuit?"

I don't understand your problem with this set being monochrome. There are plenty of sets that are (nearly) monochrome. For example, the 1989 Batmobile (76139), which is also completely black, is enjoyed by many people. I happen to own, and enjoy, the Colosseum (10276) which is nearly all tan. The Imperial Star Destroyer (75252) is completely grey but it is by no means an unpopular set.

@merman said:
"For this price we get stickers and pearl silver besides drum lacquered. "

The only "pearl silver" parts I see in this set are the large claw pieces, which use a more flexible plastic that couldn't be lacquered like hard ABS parts can.

Well, many of us in Eastern Europe during 80s and 90s could only dream about buying big classic space sets. Sets like 6990 monorail would probably cost 6 or more months of salary and were simply unreachable. Imagine UCS Millenium Falcon set costing 6,000EUR or more. While we now had it pretty good for the past 20 years it seems we are going back to those times again. Lego was always a luxury item and now it just becomes more clear. One thing is for sure - there's definitely more adult Lego addicts today than ever before :D It's them who will keep those high prices afloat for some time.

@Amik said:
"Well, many of us in Eastern Europe during 80s and 90s could only dream about buying big classic space sets. Sets like 6990 monorail would probably cost 6 or more months of salary and were simply unreachable. Imagine UCS Millenium Falcon set costing 6,000EUR or more. While we now had it pretty good for the past 20 years it seems we are going back to those times again. Lego was always a luxury item and now it just becomes more clear. One thing is for sure - there's definitely more adult Lego addicts today than ever before :D It's them who will keep those high prices afloat for some time."

And of course, there are no affordable sets anywhere. Oh, wait! There are tons of affordable sets in almost every theme!

The existence of large sets does not cancel out the existence of small sets. Let’s save the luxury toy doomsday until they actually start to shrink the number of small, affordable sets

With a price like that I could buy a statue of Black Panther made of raw vibranium!

@fakespacesquid said:
" @Amik said:
"Well, many of us in Eastern Europe during 80s and 90s could only dream about buying big classic space sets. Sets like 6990 monorail would probably cost 6 or more months of salary and were simply unreachable. Imagine UCS Millenium Falcon set costing 6,000EUR or more. While we now had it pretty good for the past 20 years it seems we are going back to those times again. Lego was always a luxury item and now it just becomes more clear. One thing is for sure - there's definitely more adult Lego addicts today than ever before :D It's them who will keep those high prices afloat for some time."

And of course, there are no affordable sets anywhere. Oh, wait! There are tons of affordable sets in almost every theme!

The existence of large sets does not cancel out the existence of small sets. Let’s save the luxury toy doomsday until they actually start to shrink the number of small, affordable sets"

Sorry to be that guy, but they actually did. More and more themes start with sets of 20 or 30 euro or up. It's going slowly and it's not the end of the world right now. But they actually ARE skewing themes to bigger sets. It doesn't help that with the 50+ price range there's a lot more variety and a sets with 10 euro between them per theme compared to below that.

AHAHAHAHAHA...Wait, let me look again...yup, HAHAHAHAHA! $350! HAHAHAHAHA!

1. Cue Julius Fucik - "Entry of the Gladiators"
2. Enter Lego the Clown!

-"Wahahaha! BEEP, BEEP! HI, everyone! Look, kids, a $350 price! That's the joke!" *Badum-tsss*

It’s amazing! I would rather have the icons castle though if I was going to spend that much money.

@Binnekamp said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @Amik said:
"Well, many of us in Eastern Europe during 80s and 90s could only dream about buying big classic space sets. Sets like 6990 monorail would probably cost 6 or more months of salary and were simply unreachable. Imagine UCS Millenium Falcon set costing 6,000EUR or more. While we now had it pretty good for the past 20 years it seems we are going back to those times again. Lego was always a luxury item and now it just becomes more clear. One thing is for sure - there's definitely more adult Lego addicts today than ever before :D It's them who will keep those high prices afloat for some time."

And of course, there are no affordable sets anywhere. Oh, wait! There are tons of affordable sets in almost every theme!

The existence of large sets does not cancel out the existence of small sets. Let’s save the luxury toy doomsday until they actually start to shrink the number of small, affordable sets"

Sorry to be that guy, but they actually did. More and more themes start with sets of 20 or 30 euro or up. It's going slowly and it's not the end of the world right now. But they actually ARE skewing themes to bigger sets. It doesn't help that with the 50+ price range there's a lot more variety and a sets with 10 euro between them per theme compared to below that."

Not counting CMFs, most Dots, or Juniors (which isn’t 100% valid, since those are all still sets), there are 97 sets currently on the list this year for $20 or less

Is that not enough? How many do we need? 150? 200?

I thought there was actually blue/purple in the build from some of the promo shots with backlighting, so it was a bit disappointing to realize it was not. Would have looked cooler. I like Avengers and Black Panther, but not enough to buy a set.

I just don't see $350 of value there, let alone even $250.

It feels like with any sculpture set along these lines there's a point of diminishing returns where it can only get so expensive before the price stops contributing to noticeable improvements.

Complaining about the rain, will not make it stop.

@fakespacesquid said:
" @Binnekamp said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @Amik said:
"Well, many of us in Eastern Europe during 80s and 90s could only dream about buying big classic space sets. Sets like 6990 monorail would probably cost 6 or more months of salary and were simply unreachable. Imagine UCS Millenium Falcon set costing 6,000EUR or more. While we now had it pretty good for the past 20 years it seems we are going back to those times again. Lego was always a luxury item and now it just becomes more clear. One thing is for sure - there's definitely more adult Lego addicts today than ever before :D It's them who will keep those high prices afloat for some time."

And of course, there are no affordable sets anywhere. Oh, wait! There are tons of affordable sets in almost every theme!

The existence of large sets does not cancel out the existence of small sets. Let’s save the luxury toy doomsday until they actually start to shrink the number of small, affordable sets"

Sorry to be that guy, but they actually did. More and more themes start with sets of 20 or 30 euro or up. It's going slowly and it's not the end of the world right now. But they actually ARE skewing themes to bigger sets. It doesn't help that with the 50+ price range there's a lot more variety and a sets with 10 euro between them per theme compared to below that."

Not counting CMFs, most Dots, or Juniors (which isn’t 100% valid, since those are all still sets), there are 97 sets currently on the list this year for $20 or less

Is that not enough? How many do we need? 150? 200?"

In the 00s there was an even distribution with one third below 20$, one third between 20 and 60 and another third going 70$ and up. That is the reasonable middle ground between nowadays, where half the portfolio is over 70$, and the early 90s and 80s where it was closer to 2 thirds of the sets consisting of less than 150 parts.

Ah yes, a set based on the classic well-loved film about a badly CGI'd panther guy beating up another badly CGI'd panther guy in a fake mine.

For the people saying its any kind of tribute to Chadwick Boseman, please stop. He is not mentioned anywhere in the press release or advertising. His image is not used. His family do not benefit from it.
To say its a "beautiful tribute" as ive noted being said here and elsewhere, is a complete nonsense. Its an uninspiring display piece composed almost entirely of one basic colour, its hideously overpriced, and its continuing the recent trend of expensive nerd collectors sets in black'premium' boxes but still has stickers!

This set will bomb. Lego can add this to their future list of clearance sets. Should have gone with avengers tower at that price.

For that price.... put it back.

@Anonym said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @Binnekamp said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
" @Amik said:
"Well, many of us in Eastern Europe during 80s and 90s could only dream about buying big classic space sets. Sets like 6990 monorail would probably cost 6 or more months of salary and were simply unreachable. Imagine UCS Millenium Falcon set costing 6,000EUR or more. While we now had it pretty good for the past 20 years it seems we are going back to those times again. Lego was always a luxury item and now it just becomes more clear. One thing is for sure - there's definitely more adult Lego addicts today than ever before :D It's them who will keep those high prices afloat for some time."

And of course, there are no affordable sets anywhere. Oh, wait! There are tons of affordable sets in almost every theme!

The existence of large sets does not cancel out the existence of small sets. Let’s save the luxury toy doomsday until they actually start to shrink the number of small, affordable sets"

Sorry to be that guy, but they actually did. More and more themes start with sets of 20 or 30 euro or up. It's going slowly and it's not the end of the world right now. But they actually ARE skewing themes to bigger sets. It doesn't help that with the 50+ price range there's a lot more variety and a sets with 10 euro between them per theme compared to below that."

Not counting CMFs, most Dots, or Juniors (which isn’t 100% valid, since those are all still sets), there are 97 sets currently on the list this year for $20 or less

Is that not enough? How many do we need? 150? 200?"

In the 00s there was an even distribution with one third below 20$, one third between 20 and 60 and another third going 70$ and up. That is the reasonable middle ground between nowadays, where half the portfolio is over 70$, and the early 90s and 80s where it was closer to 2 thirds of the sets consisting of less than 150 parts."

I don’t think I caught your point.

My point is that there are plenty, if not too many, affordable sets for non-rich Lego fans. It is simply not relegated to the super-rich as the comments often like to claim. The fact that the set price cap was so low in the past is more of an indication that bigger sets were underrepresented in the past, rather than them being over-represented today.

As indicated by the actual numbers, there is no shortage of affordable sets and we should put that laughable premise behind us

Another niche, unwanted 18+ set. Are designers that in dark or are Disney Overlords involved? 89% said so form of no to getting this lol

This looks.............absurdly clunky.

This latest trend of sets that are trying to 'look' like a certain thing but look substantially worse than the original for 20x the price is gonna bite lego in their ass.

Another large set I certainly won't be buying as (a) I have no interest in it and (b) even if I did the price is scandalous. Please keep these sets coming LEGO to allow me to catch up a bit from a financial POV.

After seeing the designer's responses I feel bad that he is take the criticism personally. While there are some problems the set embodies I don't think the actual model is strictly bad. I wish Lego would maybe institute a policy to have the designers "log off" of social media and leave it to the public relations team so there is a level of separation. After all the manufactured outrage will pass as it always and hopefully the designer will continue making great sets. I don't want a pattern of social media "criticism" having a negative effect on designer as it does with more parasocial creators like on YouTube etc. While I think Lego as a corporation should be open to criticism I don't think it's healthy to have the individual designers exposed to the more reactive parts.

@gatorbug6 said:
"Another niche, unwanted 18+ set. Are designers that in dark or are Disney Overlords involved? 89% said so form of no to getting this lol"

I really don't know why people constantly treat these poll results as if they capture a meaningful snapshot of the Lego-buying audience as a whole. Even a site as popular as Brickset is hardly representative of the much larger audience for Lego, which includes quite a lot of people who don't necessarily frequent the English-speaking web hangouts for AFOLs.

And I don't know why the number of people who AREN'T buying a set like this would be that relevant anyway. Bigger, more expensive sets sell in lower quantities than cheaper ones (and are consequently produced in much lower quantities as a rule). This has been the case since even before Lego did $300+ sets, and I see no reason why it wouldn't hold true here. Lego shouldn't need to sell as many of these as they would a $150 modular building set, let alone a cheap $20 City set. It's a more niche product at a more niche price point, by design.

@fakespacesquid
I 100% agree. People are comparing oranges with apples and just because they're fruit doesn't make them the same. Personally, I agree when people complain about prices that seem expensive for what is included in the set itself, however, I don't agree with the anti-large and beautiful sets that only seem people will
a). want
b). have space for
c). afford.

As you noted there are more Lego sets available in each theme at a much lower prices, with play features etc. I would argue that in fact there are more of these sets than there ever has been before, Lego is releasing a LOT of sets each year.

These featured sets are the Aston Martin to the Holden, they're literally a different target audience. Some people who can afford the Aston will still buy the Holden and some will buy the Aston, most will buy the Holden, as the Aston is designed to be a smaller niche target market.

It would be interesting to see some stats, but I expect many who buy the larger more expensive sets, don't buy the smaller sets or collect the minifigures (I mean look at the aftermarket for the latter, $2k plus for some figures or misprints - people create their own markets and Rebrickable sells instructions for massive - often unstable- MOC's that cost a fortune in bricks to make). The niche is already there, and this new line just happens to be Lego's and it's not for everyone nor is it mean to be.

I can look at a set and appreciate it's beauty and realise doesn't fit A,B,C, criteria noted above and still admire it. I'm not sure why there is often backlash to these marvellous large sets, unless it is FOMO and completionists. It's almost like, if I can't have it or I don't like it, then no-one can - very weird attitude.

Again I'm not referring to sets that overpriced for what they contain (they absolutely deserve criticism) . I'm specifically referring to this set, the Titanic, the MF, ISD, AT-AT, the Aston's. Compared to the number of sets on the market, these fit a very small percentage of what's available.

@Lyichir said:
" @gatorbug6 said:
"Another niche, unwanted 18+ set. Are designers that in dark or are Disney Overlords involved? 89% said so form of no to getting this lol"

I really don't know why people constantly treat these poll results as if they capture a meaningful snapshot of the Lego-buying audience as a whole. Even a site as popular as Brickset is hardly representative of the much larger audience for Lego, which includes quite a lot of people who don't necessarily frequent the English-speaking web hangouts for AFOLs.

And I don't know why the number of people who AREN'T buying a set like this would be that relevant anyway. Bigger, more expensive sets sell in lower quantities than cheaper ones (and are consequently produced in much lower quantities as a rule). This has been the case since even before Lego did $300+ sets, and I see no reason why it wouldn't hold true here. Lego shouldn't need to sell as many of these as they would a $150 modular building set, let alone a cheap $20 City set. It's a more niche product at a more niche price point, by design."

You've hit the nail on the head. Why should the poll results be any higher than they are for an expensive set with a very specific target audience?

I think some Lego fans have an expectation/entitlement that every D2C set will have broad appeal, presumably because they feel each one is consuming a "slot" which could have been filled with something they like. It's pretty self-centered when you stop and think about it. I'm sure there will be Black Panther megafans who can't wait to buy this on day one. There might not be huge numbers of them - and that's fine.

@Anonym said:
"In the 00s there was an even distribution with one third below 20$, one third between 20 and 60 and another third going 70$ and up. That is the reasonable middle ground between nowadays, where half the portfolio is over 70$, and the early 90s and 80s where it was closer to 2 thirds of the sets consisting of less than 150 parts."

$70 in 2000 is $114 in 2022. You need to adjust for inflation if you want to meaningfully compare prices that far apart in time.

Nope. Well, maybe once it goes on Camp Nou discount.

Hilarious to watch all the increasingly angry Lego™ appologists. Give it a rest guys. You can't fight (or hold back) the tide.

No one put a gun to Lego's head and forced them to design this set or forced them to make it as big as it is or set the price so high.

If Lego or a designer is upset with our response then that's on them. .

Best bust set Lego has ever come out with across any theme. Bravo to the designer. I'm not sure where people are getting the "no prints" from because the eyes sure do look printed to me.

Seriously, I wonder how many copies of this LEGO really aimed to sell. It’s hideous and unnecessary. …LEGO, this isn’t good enough. Make some more botanical sets, and interesting things based on your classic assortments. …Nobody needs this monstrosity.

@iwybs said:
" @SaggyCloud said:
"After seeing the designer's responses I feel bad that he is take the criticism personally. While there are some problems the set embodies I don't think the actual model is strictly bad. I wish Lego would maybe institute a policy to have the designers "log off" of social media and leave it to the public relations team so there is a level of separation. After all the manufactured outrage will pass as it always and hopefully the designer will continue making great sets. I don't want a pattern of social media "criticism" having a negative effect on designer as it does with more parasocial creators like on YouTube etc. While I think Lego as a corporation should be open to criticism I don't think it's healthy to have the individual designers exposed to the more reactive parts. "

Mark Stafford also took the criticism of the big JP T-rex and gate pretty personally back in 2019. Shortly after that Huw posted an article to Brickset asking "Why so negative?""

I mean Huw had a point. I've literally seen people posting "why couldn't this have had an intorior like the N64 Block or JP Gate" so I think most people have already forgotten the "outrage" around that one.

Like I said all the superficial outrage blows over and while genuine complaints with Lego remain it sucks to see designer's getting affected by the silly stuff.

I ignored this article at first thinking this was another tennis ball sized helmet..... but a 350 dollar one.. we've really lost the plot Lego you will sell like 15 of these.... smh

@damien said:
"This is how the Star Wars helmets should have looked like. "

Not all, but definitely a Darth Vader at this size should've been made and it would've sold out.

A $350 Black Panther bust at close to life size is an unusual addition to the Lego portfolio, but there’s nothing pejoratively “woke” about it, if we assume “woke” is used pejoratively. It’s the main character from a megabucks blockbuster superhero movie. Let’s not go all culture-war on this one.

@quincy said:
"Seriously, I wonder how many copies of this LEGO really aimed to sell. It’s hideous and unnecessary. …LEGO, this isn’t good enough. Make some more botanical sets, and interesting things based on your classic assortments. …Nobody needs this monstrosity. "

Holy hell, I couldn't disagree with you more. I have quite a few Lego sets and I bought a couple of the botanical sets and am giving them to a couple of friends, they are awful - plastic flowers is just weird - although the pink frogs were cute. Dude people have different opinions stop trying to gate keep Lego.

Edit: Also "woke" is one of the most disgusting words to recently enter the lexicon. It implies other and inequity because of difference - what sort of repulsive self inadequacy lends itself to ever using that term?

350?? Too expensive…just no.

€350 for a helmet made out of plastic bricks.... €350 will buy you a high quality motorcycle helmet that can actually save your life.....

Im baffled that they think there is an audience for a 350 $ Black Panther Bust, i'd wager there might have been adequate interest in an iron man one and maybe a spider-man one, but everyone else should be a hard sell.

Put it this way 10018 (Darth Maul Bust) was half the price for just under 1k parts less.... 20 YEARS AGO! Costs and inflation have made it that things have gone up a lot in 20 years.. I feel the price is all justified. If there were the same or less parts than 10018 then I would be saying otherwise.

@SaggyCloud said:
"After seeing the designer's responses I feel bad that he is take the criticism personally. While there are some problems the set embodies I don't think the actual model is strictly bad. I wish Lego would maybe institute a policy to have the designers "log off" of social media and leave it to the public relations team so there is a level of separation. After all the manufactured outrage will pass as it always and hopefully the designer will continue making great sets. I don't want a pattern of social media "criticism" having a negative effect on designer as it does with more parasocial creators like on YouTube etc. While I think Lego as a corporation should be open to criticism I don't think it's healthy to have the individual designers exposed to the more reactive parts. "

Don't worry, I'm not taking it personally, I will comment now and then when I see disinformation or want to clarify my design intentions. I think this set is very much like the large Jurassic T-Rex set I did, it also did not look great in promo material, the size impression does not come over well and the rendered images break up the bricks flowing together and fail to sell the visual impression given in real life. Like that set, I'm confident when people see it in real life they will have higher opinions.

That said it's not even receiving a lot of criticism for the actual model, a little of the negativity is over the existence of any large Black Panther set (rather then Spiderman or Ironman (or Batman)), I happen to disagree with this, I think T'Challa is more than deserving, but it wasn't my decision so I'm not taking that personally. And the vast majority of criticism is over the price which I have zero control over.

Don't worry about social media impacting us too much, most of us don't read these early comments, we wait until reviews from people who have bought it start coming in to LEGO.com. In order to engage with fans this early, as I do, we have a course to obtain our 'LEGO social media driving licenses' which makes sure we are interacting in appropriate ways, and also teaches us not to take things personally. Also we have each others backs, I've had so many colleagues ask me if I'm okay today, which is appreciated, but as most of the criticism is aimed at inflation (and I hate inflation too) I'm doing fine. Thanks for thinking of us though, our fans are awesome.

@Nabii said:
" @SaggyCloud said:
"After seeing the designer's responses I feel bad that he is take the criticism personally. While there are some problems the set embodies I don't think the actual model is strictly bad. I wish Lego would maybe institute a policy to have the designers "log off" of social media and leave it to the public relations team so there is a level of separation. After all the manufactured outrage will pass as it always and hopefully the designer will continue making great sets. I don't want a pattern of social media "criticism" having a negative effect on designer as it does with more parasocial creators like on YouTube etc. While I think Lego as a corporation should be open to criticism I don't think it's healthy to have the individual designers exposed to the more reactive parts. "

Don't worry, I'm not taking it personally, I will comment now and then when I see disinformation or want to clarify my design intentions. I think this set is very much like the large Jurassic T-Rex set I did, it also did not look great in promo material, the size impression does not come over well and the rendered images break up the bricks flowing together and fail to sell the visual impression given in real life. Like that set, I'm confident when people see it in real life they will have higher opinions.

That said it's not even receiving a lot of criticism for the actual model, a little of the negativity is over the existence of any large Black Panther set (rather then Spiderman or Ironman (or Batman)), I happen to disagree with this, I think T'Challa is more than deserving, but it wasn't my decision so I'm not taking that personally. And the vast majority of criticism is over the price which I have zero control over.

Don't worry about social media impacting us too much, most of us don't read these early comments, we wait until reviews from people who have bought it start coming in to LEGO.com. In order to engage with fans this early, as I do, we have a course to obtain our 'LEGO social media driving licenses' which makes sure we are interacting in appropriate ways, and also teaches us not to take things personally. Also we have each others backs, I've had so many colleagues ask me if I'm okay today, which is appreciated, but as most of the criticism is aimed at inflation (and I hate inflation too) I'm doing fine. Thanks for thinking of us though, our fans are awesome. "

Very well said. And I appreciate your input. Thanks for making cool sets. I agree that T'Challa is deserving! Good point. I think I probably need to see the size next other sets, to fully understand the difference in size and scope.
I for one appreciate your hard work, and please keep making amazing sets like this. I think we are all seeing the inflation in the world and we all hope it settles down soon. But please know we live in a better world because of people like you. We get to enjoy an amazing hobby, or family time playing with interests we relate to, or collecting, or just the fun of building or creating, in no small part to people just like you. So thank you for all of your hard work, and keep the sets coming.

@Eaglefan344 said:
"These price increases are getting to the point where I am just thinking about being done with collecting Lego and selling my collection. This is overpriced by at least $100. What a joke."

Errr…… just because many LEGO sets are stupidly overpriced these days …… doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy, collect and build the older sets that you bought at reasonable prices in the past!!
I don’t get people who are saying they are “done with LEGO”, and selling their collections - just because the current ownership / management are doing something you dislike, doesn’t mean you have to rid yourself of all of their product, forever!!
And if you do, it won’t affect their bottom line, in the slightest.

The more I look at it, the more it looks like a gimp mask. So, for such a hefty price tag you do actually get a very good conversation starter. Every cloud….

Probably the easiest PASS I've ever seen, yikes so many failures in this set

• Over-sized version of pre-existing Lego set styles (Helmet/Gaunlets)
• Looks good only from the front
• Primarily black so will be a dust magnet (Could have easily adapted the purple power-up to vary it more)
• No play features
• Is not poseable
• It has no figures
• Scales with nothing
• UK pricing is ridiculous at £299.99

Bowser is £229.99. It features around 100 pieces less but it's unique, scales well, has playability features, is posable and while it lacks figures it is a figure fitting well with the Mario blockfigs. Spend your money on that instead.