An Unexpected Auction

[Hapori Tohu]

How much would you pay for a rare LEGO minifigure? How about a minifigure of Azog, the Pale Orc, from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? Well, of the 100 that were handed out at this week's San Diego Comic Con, a single Azog minifig has collectors bidding upwards of $1,525 in one ongoing Ebay auction, while others are currently selling for $800-$900. This continues a trend of high-value minifigs, with the recent Mr. Gold figure selling for nearly $1,000 in recent days. Sound interesting? Click here for a full article and for links to the auctions, and enjoy the madness.View the full article

[Lyichir]

The buyers of these are going to be disappointed if the Azog in sets matches this one exactly. He's sure to show up in sets in some capacity, since he has not one but two new molds, and thus I reckon this Azog is not an exclusive so much as a preview, like the New York Toy Fair Superman (later released in the Super Heroes theme) or last year's Comic Con Bilbo (later released in most of the Hobbit sets).

[Brappy Hour]

The buyers of these are going to be disappointed if the Azog in sets matches this one exactly. He's sure to show up in sets in some capacity, since he has not one but two new molds, and thus I reckon this Azog is not an exclusive so much as a preview, like the New York Toy Fair Superman (later released in the Super Heroes theme) or last year's Comic Con Bilbo (later released in most of the Hobbit sets).

 

Pretty much. Yeah.

[KanohiCelt]

The people who bid on these don't mind the expense.

[dviddy]

The buyers of these are going to be disappointed if the Azog in sets matches this one exactly. He's sure to show up in sets in some capacity, since he has not one but two new molds, and thus I reckon this Azog is not an exclusive so much as a preview, like the New York Toy Fair Superman (later released in the Super Heroes theme) or last year's Comic Con Bilbo (later released in most of the Hobbit sets).

Maybe. I'm not sure about the Bilbo in relation to this guy, but the SDCC exclusive Marvel and DC figures are, by contract with SDCC, not going to show up in sets.

[Steve the Squid]

The buyers of these are going to be disappointed if the Azog in sets matches this one exactly. He's sure to show up in sets in some capacity, since he has not one but two new molds, and thus I reckon this Azog is not an exclusive so much as a preview, like the New York Toy Fair Superman (later released in the Super Heroes theme) or last year's Comic Con Bilbo (later released in most of the Hobbit sets).

I don't think Lego would screw over those fans like that, though I did hear that they were rigging the raffles so that kids would get them. Maybe they DO want to screw over those guys that got cool free stuff and then just sold it XD

 

In any case, even if they DO use the mold later, the minifig will likely not have the same print on it.

 

At brickfair, I saw some minifigures from KidFair or something like that, I don't remember the name. I think they were green lantern and captain america? Two superheroes. But they were trying to sell them for $1,200+, because they only came out once, and captain america had a special printed shield piece, in a shape that does not exist in any other set. I doubt there's a new shield coming out to replace the old shields, so I'd guess it's a one-of-a-kind mold, which has happened in sets before, so why not promos?

[Aanchir]

 

The buyers of these are going to be disappointed if the Azog in sets matches this one exactly. He's sure to show up in sets in some capacity, since he has not one but two new molds, and thus I reckon this Azog is not an exclusive so much as a preview, like the New York Toy Fair Superman (later released in the Super Heroes theme) or last year's Comic Con Bilbo (later released in most of the Hobbit sets).

I don't think Lego would screw over those fans like that, though I did hear that they were rigging the raffles so that kids would get them. Maybe they DO want to screw over those guys that got cool free stuff and then just sold it XD In any case, even if they DO use the mold later, the minifig will likely not have the same print on it. At brickfair, I saw some minifigures from KidFair or something like that, I don't remember the name. I think they were green lantern and captain america? Two superheroes. But they were trying to sell them for $1,200+, because they only came out once, and captain america had a special printed shield piece, in a shape that does not exist in any other set. I doubt there's a new shield coming out to replace the old shields, so I'd guess it's a one-of-a-kind mold, which has happened in sets before, so why not promos?

 

The only Captain America exclusive promotional fig I know of is the one from New York International Toy Fair 2012, which came with an Iron Man minifigure as well. I'm lucky enough to have attended the LEGO collectors' preview at Toy Fair that year, so I have a couple of those figs. Captain America's shield that came with that figure was not one-of-a-kind; it was the same round sheild used several times in regular sets. The promotional fig is just the only place it was ever printed with Captain America's shield pattern — in the Avengers sets, Captain America used a new mold which I'd say is far better for that character.Those Toy Fair figures are pretty cool, and a couple people have asked if I'm interested in selling them. But for me, their real value is sentimental, as souvenirs of the event, so I really don't intend to part with them.In any event, exclusive molds are never created for one-time limited release figures like this. A steel mold for LEGO production can potentially cost between $15,000 and $250,000. That means that if a new mold were created exclusively for a figure produced in quantities of 1000 or less, then that mold alone would cost TLG a bare minimum of $15 per figure to produce, and that's a conservative estimate! It's simply not practical for a free-giveaway figure, hence why there has never been an exclusive mold for such a figure.

[Steve the Squid]

Ah, I must have misunderstood the vendor when he was talking about the shield :/ It's pretty cool though that you got those figs!

 

And I didn't know that molds cost that much 0.o