Lego 4002016 - Limited Edition Employee Gift

[paul_delahaye]

I searched and could not find another topic discussing this (or suggesting we cannot discuss this).  Obviously this week it's been anounced that Lego has issued a limited edition set to all it's employee's, and it's very based around 50 years of Lego Trains, with reconsturctions of some of the most classic sets of the decades including mini models of metroliner, emerald night, monorail, christmas train, blue train and western train.

A large number of these have appeared this week on ebay (99% surfacing from Hungary) and all priced around the £250 mark, and it's no co-incidence that there is a factory in hungary so many employee's will have sets which they may have chosen to sell.  I suspect this has annoyed Lego that so many of their employees are profiteering from what was a Christmas gift.  

For fans, this does provide a route to market for those willing to part with serious money for a 1000 piece set, but the discussion point is it morally right to sell these sets?

One ebay seller appears to have a box containing 3 of these sets.  Again, you start wondering, even if Lego did give 1 set to each employee, how would the person on ebay, have 3 sets, neatly packed in an outer Lego shipping carton?  It makes you wonder if they are aquiring these in other ways?

How many have opted to try any purchase one of these limited sets?  They certainly seem to be selling on ebay at this price point.

 

Paul

 

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by paul_delahaye

[JopieK]

It seems to be a nice set for train fans... Too bad LEGO only made it for Employees and not for AFOL train fans: http://www.bouwsteentjes.info/exclusieve-lego-4002016-50-years-on-track-employee-gift-2016-opgedoken/

[xboxtravis7992]

Oh gosh, I am super envious! That Monorail too (sure it is a static model and not on the original track, but it is the first official Lego monorail in years...)

Dang.

[JopieK]

You can say that again travy ;) interesting to see they skipped the "Gray era".

First and only set that has the 50254 wheels in red according to bricklink!

[koalayummies]

It is kind of lame that they'd opt to try and profit off of a gift but then again Lego customers do the same exact thing with the free giveaways going so far as to make several trips to Lego stores in just a couple days knowing full well the 'one per customer' clause and then turning around and selling them for outrageous prices online. This years Lego Santa Snow Globe giveaway is already listed between $40-100, there has to be a few kids out there that really wanted that but couldn't get their parents to take them to the store for a few days while they sold out to the scalpers. 

Maybe they're really not bad employees, Lego just releases a few extra and tells them "see how much you can get for this on the internet" 

[JopieK]

I'm quite sure that LEGO does monitor such a things. Why do you think they put a red bogie plate in the Christmas set of this year? Apart from that, the employees are apparently free to sell them. A little bit the same with the LIT sets...

[koalayummies]

I forgot to comment on the actual set. It is super cool. If I was given that I could never sell it. I would also mull over opening it for a while but eventually would have to crack the seal and build it. The 1991 Metroliner and '87 monorail bring back childhood memories, both awesome sets and the whole set is Lego history. 

[fred67]

Well, while I think it would behoove TLG to sell sets like this to fans, I also think that it's nice they give special things to employees, and no matter what those things are people will want them to be sold to the public.  I would be happy enough if the instructions are posted and we are able to bricklink parts we don't have (minus stickers, of course).

 

[PeteM]

52 minutes ago, JopieK said:

You can say that again travy ;) interesting to see they skipped the "Gray era".

Yes, I noticed that too - I suppose 7740 and 7745 never really hit iconic status outside of fans of the era (mind you, I don't really get all the love for the Metroliner so what do I know!)...

[dr_spock]

Nice little 4 wide(?) trains.  I don't think they are too hard to reverse engineer from pictures.

Not all employees of LEGO are LEGO fans.  They are hired for the skills needed for the particular job which may not include needing to know every set numbers and year release.   I don't think it is much different than a company giving employee stock options which can be sold too.

 

 

[3797]

No one mentioned that ~250€ to 350€ is a lot of money for most people in Hungary. That's probably what TLC pays them for a month of hard work. I can totally see why they're selling those sets.

[Dario]

Some unboxing pictures in my flickr album: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65661907@N03/albums/72157675794168782

 

 

[koalayummies]

Less bokeh, more depth of field. Close down that aperture. 

[JopieK]

Very nice Dario, welcome at Eurobricks and the Train Forum. I like the set. The small wheels probably will cost a fortune as separate parts (or will be impossible to get).

[Duq]

These days it's not unusual to dump your unwanted xmas gifts on eBay so why would there be a problem with LEGO employees selling their xmas gift?

If, as seems to be the case, some of those sets have left the factory in Hungary outside of the employee gift process then that's a problem for LEGO that they need to fix. If you would know for certain that the sets haven't yet been given to employees (and I know they haven't been handed out in Billund) and you would buy one on eBay then you would be knowingly purchasing stolen goods...

As for the set, I would love a copy but €300 seems a lot. It is really odd that the golden age of LEGO trains has been overlooked. I think 7740 or 7750 should have been in there, possibly at the expense of the western loco, the Metroliner or the monorail.

[eliminator]

It's really too bad Lego didn't offer this as a limited-run set for the AFOLs.

I suppose the reality is it would probably confuse parents as to the compatibility with current PF train sets.

 

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

On 12/6/2016 at 3:45 PM, Dario said:

Some unboxing pictures in my flickr album:

Thanks! Really wanted to see the models up close.

I'm suprised they didn't include the Santa Fe Super Chief. Does it involve any licensing?

[Sven F]

One of the best employee gifts so far,  it's a great idea.   Not sure the 2016 Christmas train is much of a milestone for trains though.

[mh84]

3 hours ago, Sven F said:

Not sure the 2016 Christmas train is much of a milestone for trains though.

Maybe that was last train released ever…

[dr_spock]

11 hours ago, Sven F said:

One of the best employee gifts so far,  it's a great idea.   Not sure the 2016 Christmas train is much of a milestone for trains though.

But it is Christmas and this set is employee Christmas gift.  Probably why it is in the gift.   

7 hours ago, mh84 said:

Maybe that was last train released ever…

 

 

[fred67]

I don't understand the dislike of the new Christmas train... it's far better than the last one.  Maybe not prototypical, but definitely looking a lot more like it should look like (a toy) than the previous one.

Should it be immortalized is a set like this?  Probably not.

 

[rob-ot5000]

On ‎12‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 0:46 PM, dr_spock said:

Not all employees of LEGO are LEGO fans.

 

Not to mention that not all LEGO fans are train fans.

[Littleworlds]

The set looks very cool and yes - I can understand it makes quite a number of people jealous! 

Then again: is it right to sell such a thing on ebay? Prices and wages in Hungary are significantly lower than in middle/western European countries, so I can see the incentive when you can sell such a set for over 200 € or so. Still. It isn't a nice move and it might eventually lead to TLG stopping giving away such gifts completely, or replace them with less desirable off-the-shelf sets.

Also: if one seller has several of these sets for sale, then that's a strong indicator that there were irregularities with the distribution of these sets and I'm sure TLG will be looking into that as well.

[KlodsBrik]

This set is looking gorgeous ! 

As long as we´re able to get the instruction´s from this set, I´ll be fine. But offcourse if an employee offered me the set as a gift i wouldn´t mind either. 

[Rockmaninoff]

On 12/6/2016 at 3:45 PM, Dario said:

Some unboxing pictures in my flickr album: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65661907@N03/albums/72157675794168782

Hi Dario, thanks for posting the pictures. I'm attempting to put together just the part inventory in LDD so that I can potentially look at piecing together the set either from pictures or if instructions are ever released.

Can you clarify on some of the things I'm looking for? The reflection on the parts list make the count hard to tell for some of the pieces:

First parts page - left side
Column 1
5x of the white 1x1 cheese slopes?
4x of the white 1x1 bricks with 1 stud?
4x of the white 1x1 Technic bricks?
Column 2
6x of the white 1x2 tiles?
2x of the white 1x2 lattice slopes?

First parts page - right side
Column 1
4x yellow 1x1 tiles?
1x yellow 1x1 bricks?
2x yellow 1x2 plates?
16x yellow 1x1 plates with clips?
Last column
6x of the top item (2x2 with wheel hubs)?
6x of the second item (angle plate 1x2/1x4)?

Second parts page - left side
Column 1
4th down -- what is that? 2x 6174917? (missing)
How many black whips? 2x?
Column 7
reddish brown plate 2x2 rocking? 6167644

Second parts page - right side
Column 1 (all light bley?)
1x 1x4 bricks?
2x 2x4 plates?
3x 2x4 plates with holes?
8x 1x4 plates?
Column 5
Warm gold blade 4L? or 3L?
2x 1x1 round plate in silver metallic? Or round plate with hole?

Thanks, I know it's a lot of questions but your help is super appreciated! I'll be sure to upload the LXF when I'm done.