850449 LEGO® Minifigure Accessory Pack

[TrumpetKing]

This does actually look like a nice set, and I might even get it for the parts. I have all the figures, but my Hula Girl has some......"defects", that include a missing maraca and an almost scratched off flower printing that makes me want to buy this set as well.

[Flipz]

I bought this set at the Anaheim LEGO Store grand re-opening (I'm actually preparing a review of it as we speak). It is rather cool, especially if, like me, you never got a complete Surfer Girl or never got the Surfer Dude period. I'll let you all wait until the actual review is ready before giving my full thoughts.

[GeluNumber1]

I think this will be my next set. I never got any S2 minifigures, and I lost the surfboard for S4 in my parts bin. What an incentive to buy...

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Considering the quality of the VIP fig set is disappointing, does anyone know if these suffered the same fate?

[IAmWillGibson]

Take this idea, replace the figures with three Zombies [replace one of the heads with a print from a Monster Fighters set] and instead of the dune and hibachi, make it a pair of gravestones and, I dunno, a spooky fountain or a larger monument or something, and boom, sold out instantly.

[SpiderSpaceman]

Oh heck yeah! Please please please a Galaxy Patrol vs Aliens set

I'd also happily accept any sort of Medieval set.

I'd rather the Hazmat guy and a few (grey) aliens

[Phyre]

Hopefully this is a sign of similar sets in the future. Like other people have said, a monsters or zombies set would be fantastic, as would anything with the medieval or historical figures (like one with the Elf, Evil Dwarf, and Dark Knight).

[Dane]

Just spotted this new set on the lego shop website. link

It contains the two minifig surfers and the hula dancer from the collectible series plus a beach scene with a barbecue, palm leaves etc.

Edited June 2, 2012 by Dane

[Rufus]

Just spotted this new set on the lego shop website. link

Sorry, Dane, but you aren't the first to spot this. It's being discussed here. I'll merge shortly.

[Dane]

Sorry, Dane, but you aren't the first to spot this. It's being discussed here. I'll merge shortly.

Sorry, took a small look a round and did not see it in here.

[Rufus]

Sorry, took a small look a round and did not see it in here.

No worries, and thanks for the link!

[madoka]

1. Combine the Spartan, Elf and Roman.

2. Drop the price to $9, which is what three CMF cost at retail.

3. ???

4. Profit

[rongYIREN]

I'm really digging this set idea, not so much the beach theme but it'd be great for other collector minifigs. Although probably unlikely, I'd like to see an army builder pack for some of the soldiers.

[Scubacarrot]

1. Combine the Spartan, Elf and Roman.

2. Drop the price to $9, which is what three CMF cost at retail.

3. ???

4. Profit

Oh boy would it piss off the BL sellers that are currently selling those for more than that price each.

I would be okay with that. Yes, I really hope Lego does something along those lines, would buy some myself, for sure!

[Remus_Lupin]

Am I the only one who isn't mad about this idea? It's great for folk who missed out on the minifigures originally, but I have to say I think it cheapens the concept of 'collectable' minifigures to see them being re-released in various forms.

[ACWWgal2011]

Am I the only one who isn't mad about this idea? It's great for folk who missed out on the minifigures originally, but I have to say I think it cheapens the concept of 'collectable' minifigures to see them being re-released in various forms.

I'm not wild about it either but my standpoint is from a "I don't see the hype in collectable figures anymore and i can't justify the price tag of 15 dollars for 3 figures and a few small builds" view and not a "it lessens the collectability" view

[vriverajr3]

missed out on the series with those figures so ill be getting this. ill also pick up a few more just for the boards, swim suits, and shirtless torsos. pretty good deal

[Blondie-Wan]

Am I the only one who isn't mad about this idea? It's great for folk who missed out on the minifigures originally, but I have to say I think it cheapens the concept of 'collectable' minifigures to see them being re-released in various forms.

In the first place, they're still collectible - they lend themselves to collecting. That's not the same thing as rarity. They're not sold as investments. They're just meant to be collected and traded and so on. Making them more widely available means more people can collect them more easily, hence they're more collectible. If you think that somehow "cheapens" the concept, it suggests you didn't have the same concept of what the figures are about in the first place. Also, "collectable" isn't even part of the product name - they're just plain "Minifigures." We're the ones who put the "C" in "CMF." Moreover, this package doesn't duplicate the full contents of the "CMF" packets, anyway - you don't get the 3x4 bases or the little leaflets with this package, just the figure components and the other bricks.

[Gryphon Ink]

This set makes a great addition to the current Creator Seashore House, and I'm sure it was planned that way. I know a lot of AFOLs are going to be ticked off by the fact that their coveted collectables are going to be worth less, but this is a great way to expand your minifig population. There's a five-pack of CMFs out now that I'm much less thrilled with, because it gives you nothing but minifigs in an extremely random assortment. But this kind of thing, where the minifig selection is themed and it comes with some actual bricks, could be useful.

[Lance]

Nice but; WHATS THAT IN THE BACKGROUND???? *huh*

ITS THE HAUNTED HOUSE

Still, I hope more of these packs come out in the future

EDIT: Oops, it's the MBA set

Edited June 7, 2012 by Lance

[Delta 38]

Ooh, this looks nice. I missed the male surfer and dancer figures, so the fact that these are rereleases is a good thing.

It's too bad that this is another one of those store exclusive things...

[AmperZand]

Wait! The US price of $15 is actually roughly the same as the UK price of approx £10? UK Lego fans are actually getting a fair deal? Someone at TLG obviously doesn't know that it's company policy to rip off UK FOLs. They're so getting fired.

[natelite]

Wait! The US price of $15 is actually roughly the same as the UK price of approx £10? UK Lego fans are actually getting a fair deal? Someone at TLG obviously doesn't know that it's company policy to rip off UK FOLs. They're so getting fired.

UK prices are actually far better than US. The UK prices included VAT, while the US prices do not. EU prices are probably better than US prices but we don't know yet at this stage.

Actually talking about regional prices is a moot point because FX rates fluctuate so much these days that what seem like a good deal before won't be in a year's time. For e.g. a year ago EUR was 1.4 to the USD. This year's low was 1.2. As the EU price includes VAT, it's much lower than US pricing. Or take AUD, which was 0.6 to USD in 2009 and is now 1.05 to USD.

I think people are getting too worked up over what is a "fair" or "unfair" price. You should be comparing what you are getting 10 years ago vs now and see if the price has been stable or not, instead of comparing UK vs US, or elsewhere vs US. US prices when you compare 10 years ago and now has been increasing more rapidly - partly due to this animosity from EU and UK fans over what they perceived as favorable US pricing. Partly, also because of all that QE money recently and the easy money/low interest environment by Greenspan caused the USD to depreciate so much against other major currencies.

[AmperZand]

UK prices are actually far better than US. The UK prices included VAT, while the US prices do not.

In the case of this set (and similar ones such as the rock band), I agree that the UK price is better when you strip out VAT in the UK and sales tax (where applicable) in the US. But generally, US Lego prices before tax are lower than UK ones before tax. Take the Mines of Moria (a set I bought in the UK) as an example. In the US, it sells on TLG's site for $80. The same set on TLG's site in the UK sells for £58.33 excluding VAT, that's $91.58 using Yahoo Finance's FX rate. 91.58 is more than 80.

Actually talking about regional prices is a moot point because FX rates fluctuate so much these days that what seem like a good deal before won't be in a year's time. For e.g. a year ago EUR was 1.4 to the USD. This year's low was 1.2. As the EU price includes VAT, it's much lower than US pricing. Or take AUD, which was 0.6 to USD in 2009 and is now 1.05 to USD.

I think people are getting too worked up over what is a "fair" or "unfair" price. You should be comparing what you are getting 10 years ago vs now and see if the price has been stable or not, instead of comparing UK vs US, or elsewhere vs US. US prices when you compare 10 years ago and now has been increasing more rapidly - partly due to this animosity from EU and UK fans over what they perceived as favorable US pricing. Partly, also because of all that QE money recently and the easy money/low interest environment by Greenspan caused the USD to depreciate so much against other major currencies.

Just because currencies fluctuate doesn't mean that prices can't be compared internationally. The Economist popularised the Big Mac Standard, a method of comparing the purchasing power of currencies. The Standard isn't perfect for various reasons, but if we use the same approach to Lego, we see that you generally get more for your money in the US than the UK (excluding tax for both). If we take "unfair" to mean more for the same thing, at today's exchange rate, Lego is unfairly expensive in the UK. I haven't crunched the numbers to see whether that's true historically, but I suspect it is and has been for years. I'm not claiming that the UK has the worst Lego prices (Australia's and New Zealand's are even higher), just that UK prices aren't fair compared to the US's.

Edited August 20, 2012 by AmperZand

[natelite]

In the case of this set (and similar ones such as the rock band), I agree that the UK price is better when you strip out VAT in the UK and sales tax (where applicable) in the US. But generally, US Lego prices before tax are lower than UK ones before tax. Take the Mines of Moria (a set I bought in the UK) as an example. In the US, it sells on TLG's site for $80. The same set on TLG's site in the UK sells for £58.33 excluding VAT, that's $91.58 using Yahoo Finance's FX rate. 91.58 is more than 80.

Just because currencies fluctuate doesn't mean that prices can't be compared internationally. The Economist popularised the Big Mac Standard, a method of comparing the purchasing power of currencies. The Standard isn't perfect for various reasons, but if we use the same approach to Lego, we see that you generally get more for your money in the US than the UK (excluding tax for both). If we take "unfair" to mean more for the same thing, at today's exchange rate, Lego is unfairly expensive in the UK. I haven't crunched the numbers to see whether that's true historically, but I suspect it is and has been for years. I'm not claiming that the UK has the worst Lego prices (Australia's and New Zealand's are even higher), just that UK prices aren't fair compared to the US's.

what you are doing is selective reasoning. "Oh, Mines of Moria is more expensive in the UK, so it's unfair." "Just because currencies fluctuate doesn't mean that prices can't be compared internationally." - just listen to yourself. Are you going to compare carrots next or gas prices? Brent oil price is more expensive than WTI now when historically they have been pretty close. Why don't you rant and compare that too?

The Big Mac comparison is a big joke. Big Mac is a cheap fast food in the west, while they are considered rich man's junk food in parts of Africa and Asia. Why not compare those there? How about going with living space comparison? a West London apartment cost more than GBP2M, compared to USD2M in NY. By your logic, I guess lego sets are way too cheap in Britain since the price parity using living space as the basis seems to all indicate that it's way too cheap in UK.

I rest my case. Comparing lego set prices across region is a moot point. It has been and always is. If you want to compare, compare CPI and how lego in your base country price has changed vs 10 years ago.