When will you guys add the pick a brick cups?

Not really into the gear...I did pick up the Star Wars Christmas-themed plushies though. They are great.

One of the life-sized Lego cups (which is currently the teeth cleaning swill mouth out cup) and a kitchen roll holder is the extent of my Lego 'gear'.

I have noticed lots of gear being added recently here. I like the gear. I've bought it for my kids and have one or two for myself.

I have PE770439, PE770439_1, PE770441, which I and my kid use as baseplate and storage for sets we are currently building. I found them useful to some extent, but a little overpriced as IKEA hiked the price a lot compared to the original price when they launched.

@bananaworld said:
"
I wonder why there's so much this year.

Has everyone suddenly got lots more disposable income to dispose of...?"

More than likely these were in the pipeline since the beginning of the year and just unfortunate that costs for everything starting ballooning mid-year. They were still on the hook for these items (from their contracted companies producing them) so they just release them as planned for the holiday season. There will be those that will be able to partake of these offerings so good for them.

Local store had a LEGO Grogu stuffie...and had to balk at paying CAD$25 when that would cover a third of a tank of gas (200km) needed to go visit fiance (roundtrip).

The only items categorized as 'gear' in my collection are games with minifigures, like the Castle chess sets. So I guess that's my criterion.

@FuddRuckus said:
"The price increases have hit the plushes harder than any set.

They were all previously $19.99 from Lego, and Target sold the Star Wars holiday plushes in 2020 for $17.99. Some others were $15 at Target.

Now they range from $26.99 to $38.99--except for tiny Grogu at $19.99--with the Star Wars holiday plushes listed at $30.99.

That's a $13 increase for a Stormtrooper in a Sweater -- 72.26%!"

I wonder if they are from a different source; the Lego website reviews are not great so perhaps they improved the product. Also I think some are larger than they used to be?

@Stoker_stu said:

I wonder if they are from a different source; the Lego website reviews are not great so perhaps they improved the product. Also I think some are larger than they used to be?]]

From what I've heard all the nonlicensed plushes were made smaller and kept at similar prices to what they were but all the star wars ones were kept the same size and got a large price increase

I've bought various keyrings over the years and have been given a couple of the notebooks.

I buy the some of the storage items, such as minifig heads, lunch box, & theme boxes for my extra pieces. In have also purchased other items, the silicone minifig cake mold is great, jigsaw puzzles, and a few minifig flashlights too.

I still have 789 from childhood. Still works OK.

Possibly with all the Lego shops reopening in the last year they wanted lots of new stock in-store, but seem to have gone overboard on stowage bricks, key-rings and plush figures, whereas the T-shirts, hoodies, baseball caps, socks etc. added some variety but seem to be missing, maybe they have just sold out already.

I wish we had more actual usefull merchendise.
Also where is big lego mug for adults?

Although I wouldn't touch Lego clothing with a bargepole there is quite a lot of Lego tat that I do quite like. Mainly keyrings, prints, tin signs and storage heads. My inventory of 'Gear' currently runs at 66, but probably should be 67 as I class 853967-1 to be more 'Gear' than 'Originals'. I'd like a real wooden 'Wooden Duck' to be produced in the future!

I like the Star Wars LED light keychains, and some occasional stuff. Hope Grogu returns. He's sold out.

What is this??? Green Lego Bill Cosby???!! Is this some kind of a weird and sick joke?

@audrey said:
"I have PE770439, PE770439_1, PE770441, which I and my kid use as baseplate and storage for sets we are currently building. I found them useful to some extent, but a little overpriced as IKEA hiked the price a lot compared to the original price when they launched. "
I'm especially mad about that because there was a sale on them here just before the price hike. I have a few, but I was going to get more at a later time.

I like the plushies in theory, but they've yet to make one for any character who I feel is a 'must own'. Honestly, out of Lego's current themes, I can't really think of any character who'd qualify; maybe if they went back to some of my childhood favourite minifigures, though... xD

Otherwise... the storage boxes look like they'd be useful, but I have more than enough non-Lego brand ones of those already; I occasionally treat myself to a minifigure keychain when I have need of one (or find one of a minifigure I like who'd otherwise only be available in an expensive set!); and I've always loved the video games. But otherwise I'd tend to pass.

When I was a kid, though, I would have been all over a lot of it. I wouldn't have bought the stuff just for the sake of it; but if I needed a stationary set, or whatever, and there was a choice between a plain basic version and a Lego-themed version, I would for sure have chosen the themed one. I had a few t-shirts with Lego characters printed on them as a kid, too, from annual Legoland Windsor trips (Rock Raider Sparks, Jungle Slizer, and Life on Mars Martians) that I loved until I literally outgrew them. So I'd say Lego gear can certainly have its place... but there does seem to be a rather unusual amount of it this year, yeah.

Interesting, I skimmed through my inventory and didn't realize just how much gear I have. Several books, some keychains, a picture frame, fridge magnets, a board game, a puzzle, and ice cube trays (which we used for making chocolates for our wedding--they work great for this, btw). In fairness, the picture frame and 2x4 brick fridge magnets can absolutely be used as parts, and in fact the bricks look and work identical except for the magnets present in the binding posts underneath. A large portion of my books are in electronic format, thanks to a humble bundle of Lego ebooks from a few years back.

So to answer your question, to my own surprise it looks like I do like getting gear for myself. I also think it'd be fun to see some creative use of gear in models. I could see, for instnace, the picture frame being adapted as the viewscreen of a model of the Enterprise.

@ra226 said:
"I've never heard the word "tat" used in that context (only short for "tatoo"). I shall begin to use it post-haste and thus appear hip and trendy to the younger generation."

Surely not as cool as watching Etymology videos on YubTub:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b07hITn9JFY

I’m good with leaving a lot of gear out of the database, but I would appreciate if items that have system connections were included. Stuff like the pens with studded caps or minifig keychains.

@LegoSonicBoy said:
" @audrey said:
"I have PE770439, PE770439_1, PE770441, which I and my kid use as baseplate and storage for sets we are currently building. I found them useful to some extent, but a little overpriced as IKEA hiked the price a lot compared to the original price when they launched. "
I'm especially mad about that because there was a sale on them here just before the price hike. I have a few, but I was going to get more at a later time."

When I searched for them, I also saw IKEA UK had a sale on them around Feb. However, we can only get the hiked price ones here. So, I am not going to get more. For the ones I obtained, I'm going to keep them -- they look good to display assembled set or store anything loose parts for WIP.

My son sleeps with a red Classic Space plush figure. He calls him "Spaceman". My mother's dog also has a Lego dog bed.
A shame the 2021 Target stuff never made it into the database.

The only LEGO gear I've acquired over the years are what LEGO offers on occasion as VIP GWP, like this month's fleece blanket.

Thanks to this article, I was able to mark that I own Storage Head Small Skeleton in the database, even though I bought it last year and the database inventory says it’s a 2022 item. Happy day!

I agree that not all the gear is necessary in the inventory, but any item that can be connected to System, Technic, or Duplo pieces or includes minifigures (like the various activity books) should be considered.

@ra226 said:
"I've never heard the word "tat" used in that context (only short for "tatoo"). I shall begin to use it post-haste and thus appear hip and trendy to the younger generation."

Ha, it's the exact opposite for me! Since I was a kid, "tat" has meant cheaply-made, pointless rubbish.

Must be another one of those British-English things.

I only got one keychain, but they just don't hold up well over time.

I thought Lego had cancelled the TROLLS theme.

@bananaworld said:
"
@ra226 said:
"I've never heard the word "tat" used in that context (only short for "tatoo"). I shall begin to use it post-haste and thus appear hip and trendy to the younger generation."
Ha, it's the exact opposite for me! Since I was a kid, "tat" has meant cheaply-made, pointless rubbish.

Must be another one of those British-English things."
Yes, I've always seen it as just an abbreviation of 'tatty', like the souvenirs in seaside gift shops.
Absolutely fine so long as you know what to expect, which was probably why some whinged when last year's collectable coins weren't of Royal Mint Proof quality. Just unrealistic expectations, but fine for what they were... novelties.

Have that drip, Yoda does

I still don't get why these plushies are included in the database but Scholastic books that contain official Minifigures aren't. Pretty sure most AFOL don't collect plushies simply they have the Lego license.

I've got a fair amount of gear, including a pencil case that looks like a thick 2x8 plate that I couldn't find in the database. And a fair amount of it has actual Lego in it, such as the Items that came with minifigs, or the buildable magnets.

Just ordered another bit of tat that's been out of stock for months 5007233-1 but has just re-appeared. Had pretty much given up hope of that ever being re-stocked!

@Huw said:
" @Pekingduckman said:
"I still don't get why these plushies are included in the database but Scholastic books that contain official Minifigures aren't. Pretty sure most AFOL don't collect plushies simply they have the Lego license."

Because (a) they are not sold at LEGO.com, (b) there are too many of them and no way to maintain a comprehensive list, (c) they are of limited interest and not worth the effort of gathering and maintaining the data."

I realize you're limited by the data you can import from Lego, but it would be helpful if there were an interface for people to enter text and pictures for the database for things like the books that have minifigures. The info should be subject to your approval before blindly being accepted into the database. Just an idea to allow the database to expand when Lego doesn't provide something. (Like you needed more to do? ;-) )

@legomanijak said:
"Is that Bill Cosby cosplaying as Yoda?"

That's it. Close the internet. You win.

Hmmm..."Spaceballs: The Doll"...but it's REAL...:D

Seriously, outside of 'sets' and 'parts', I'll admit I've picked up 'gear'. Heck, I just got a 'Play and Display Case' (5006157) and a 'Sorting Case To Go' (5005890), and other 'brick' storage. I have one plush based on the 'Unicorn Girl' minifig, but have been on the watch for others (like the 'Hot Dog Suit Guy').

I used to ignore the stationary things until I noticed the ruler. So, I picked up a few years back for the plates with the imperial and metric units. Things like 5007195 (which is like the ruler I had first discovered but with a minifigure) and 5005145 come with odd-sized baseplates. So, if you’re into that sort of thing, there you go. Also, there are product images that show both with green baseplates but I only ever seen to get blue.

I love gear to have little touches of LEGO here and there. Perpetual calendar. Pencil pouch. Journal. Salt and pepper shakers. I like the e whimsical AND useful to broadcast my AFOL-oholic-ism.

Overpriced ‘tat’. The plushies are made from horrible cheap material too. Ugh, no thanks.

@graymattr said:
"Keychains should always be added since they're literally just a minifigure with a screw stuck through the head. I buy lots of them and remove the metal for figures that I want but don't want to buy the corresponding set they come in."

I get keychains to use as decorations for our Lego-themed Christmas tree.