My Wishlist of Sets Retiring in July
Over 130 sets are slated to retire this summer, July 31, to be specific. Did you even know Lego retires sets mid-year? This trend is becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Now that those details have been clarified, it leaves an important task for all of us to complete soon. We all need to take a hard look at our wish lists and make sure we have a plan to secure these sets before they are gone from retail shelves forever. At the time of writing, we have less than 5 months to come up with such a plan.
Disclaimer: Retirement dates can and will change as we move through the year. So a set on the July retirement list may have its date extended. On the flip side, a set not previously on the summer retirement list could have its date moved forward to July, thus shortening its retail lifespan with very little notice.
Before getting into my favorite sets, let's review some basics about retirement dates. There are several ways to check a set's slated retirement date. Here are the 3 main sources of information I use to make an educated assessment:
Lego.com retiring soon badge - If a set has “Retiring Soon” on the Lego.com detail page, it is a really solid indicator this set is retiring. However, not all sets scheduled to retire this year receive the badge on their site. If you see this badge, great, if not, keep researching.
BrickTap list from Reddit - A very accurate list of all Lego sets and their respective retirement dates. However, this list is only updated monthly
The Brick Dynasty app - This app includes daily updates of retirement dates. There are many other features in the BD app like wishlists, stock checkers, and Brick Leads (paid version feature that shows clearance prices at several retailers).
My top wishlist sets
Jaws 21350- dun-dun, dun-dun, dundundundundun…time is running out to acquire this iconic moment in cinematic history. If this set retires before you buy it, you're gonna need a bigger savings account.
I can’t wait to add this set to my collection.
Super Mario World: Mario and Yoshi 71438 - A beautiful throw back build of the pixelated 16 bit Super Nintendo characters with some really cool play features.
Piranha plant 71426 - Another amazing Mario set retiring in July.
Jedi Bob’s Starfighter 75388 - Featured in the Disney+ special Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy. I really enjoyed season 1 and have season 2 queued up ready to watch. There are some other very notable Star Wars sets retiring in July but the likelihood of Lego creating another Jedi Bob set is unlikely making this a must have.
Jedi Bob, aka Bobarian Afol, is a minifig worthy of any Star Wars fan’s collection.
Statue of Liberty 21042 - While this is not the first Lego created Statue of Liberty, IMO it is the best and most realistic version to date. If you want to see how Lego has evolved over the years, here is a side by side of the current build 21042 and a version that was part of Lego 5526 Factory Skyline set from 2005.
While the 2005 version does well with the pieces that were available at the time, the more recent 21042 looks amazing comparatively.
Honorable mention:
21348 Dungeons and Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tail- While not my cup of tea, this set looks amazing. Fans of D&D will regret not buying this set while it's readily available. Those that miss out will pay handsomely on the secondary market after retirement.
This set will catch many by surprise when it disappears from store shelves this July. With 10 unique minifigures and just over 2 years on the market, 21348 will be sought after for many years to come.
Not all of the sets on my personal wishlist will command high prices after retirement but I figure if it's a set I really want, why not buy it while I can get it at a discount rather than pay MSRP or greater a year from now.
In order to maximize your lego budget, please take the time and review sets on your wishlist to see if they retire this July or December. Make those sets a priority and watch for discounts, GWP’s, and double Insiders points as we approach the summer and holiday season. If you want to read about my approach to buying Lego in order to maximize my budget, click here.
Happy hunting
One random thought
I’m not a fan of the new 21366 Lego Ideas Floating Sea Otters set. It kinda looks like a meatloaf….or floating excrement.
Until next time AFOL’s….