Review: 75338 Ambush on Ferrix
Posted by CapnRex101,
The upcoming Andor series introduces various creative vehicles, including the Imperial Mobile Tac-Pod. This armoured vessel derives from the popular Republic Gunship, although integrates sharp angles instead of curves, consistent with other Imperial designs.
75338 Ambush on Ferrix certainly captures the dramatic angles and bulky proportions of the original vehicle, also providing generous space for minifigures inside. However, this model appears surprisingly small and its price of £69.99, $69.99 or €79.99 has provoked criticism, especially given only three minifigures are included.
Summary
75338 Ambush on Ferrix, 679 pieces.
£69.99 / $69.99 / €79.99 | 10.3p/10.3c/11.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
While small and expensive, the Imperial Mobile Tac-Pod is an impressive model.
- Exceptionally detailed
- Accurate shape
- Spacious interior
- Very sturdy construction
- Only three minifigures
- Expensive, relative to size
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
While frustratingly few, these three minifigures are exclusive. Cassian Andor presents some significant changes, relative to his appearance in Rogue One, including a longer hair element which looks superb. The dark brown jacket features extensive detail and this minifigure makes appropriate use of the new warm tan skin tone, introduced at the beginning of June.
In fact, for a character with a muted colour scheme, I think Cassian looks outstanding. Luthen Rael appears equally detailed and his minifigure closely resembles Tobias Beckett from 75215 Cloud-Rider Swoop Bikes, including exactly the same hair component and exceptionally similar clothing. Nevertheless, these designs correspond with the character's appearance onscreen.
Both minifigures feature determined expressions, as an alternative to calm faces. Additionally, their weapons are unusual. Cassian wields a double-barrelled pistol from Alien Conquest, that rarely represents a blaster in Star Wars sets, while Luthen's angular blaster is often associated with Mandalorian minifigures.
Andor seemingly introduces a new type of Imperial security officer. Syril Karn belongs to this unknown group and was identified as an inspector after Star Wars Celebration. Karn's striking blue uniform would suit a police officer and the orange accents are splendid, distinguishing this minifigure from the similarly dressed Bespin Wing Guard.
However, that differentiation should perhaps have been clearer because the officers' uniforms appear darker onscreen, based upon the Andor teaser trailer. Presumably changing reference material has affected this minifigure, unfortunately. Also, the generic head seems unsuitable for an identified character, particularly given his apparently substantial role in the series.
The Completed Model
LEGO speeder bikes are often relatively large and sometimes unnecessarily so. This example measures 16cm in length, but the designer has taken advantage of that size to include brilliant detail. The shape of the outriggers is perfect and I love the flexible cable wrapped around them, represented by a whip. The colour scheme is appealing too.
Dark red highlights on the steering vanes are the only colourful feature of an otherwise muted vehicle. Furthermore, the proportions between the steering vanes, the outriggers and the main body of the bike are nicely balanced, reminiscent of the Lars' swoop bike in 7113 Tusken Raider Encounter. Despite appearing fragile, the model definitely feels sturdy enough for play.
There are seats for two minifigures and clips for their weapons on either flank, which is useful. The engine mounted underneath the seats looks good, although the bike tends to tip forwards because of that engine, when the occupants are removed. Creating a distinct shape was more important though and the speeder bike satisfies that requirement.
Imperial hardware commonly incorporates angular armour, exemplified by Star Destroyers and walkers. The new Mobile Tac-Pod therefore fits perfectly into the Imperial arsenal, although its existence is perhaps surprising when the Sentinel-class Shuttle and the unidentified transport barge introduced during The Mandalorian are already available for troop deployment. Even so, this rendition of the Tac-Pod looks fantastic.
The stocky shape appears accurate to the onscreen vehicle and I love the obvious influence from the Republic Gunship. However, this model only measures 21cm in length, excluding its forward laser cannon, which seems amazingly tiny. For comparison, 75311 Imperial Armoured Marauder is only slightly shorter, which justifiably provokes questions regarding the Tac-Pod's price.
While small, the vessel does include impressive detail. The heavy armour protecting the nose creates a sense of absolute strength and the single laser cannon fitted underneath looks good, especially since these weapons are almost always paired on Star Wars vehicles. Moreover, the integration of wedge plates across the front is excellent, leaving only very narrow gaps.
Studs and tiles are combined well across the exterior, alongside ingots which provide further texture. A few stickers are applied too, introducing yellow highlights to break up an otherwise monochrome model. Unfortunately, the decoration on the cockpit suffers from the poor colour matching that has affected various recent sets and requires urgent improvement.
Opening the canopy reveals space for the pilot inside, surrounded by stickered consoles and two control levers. Some Technic pieces remain visible, but these are disguised relatively well and I like the reddish brown seat. Furthermore, access is very easy because the whole canopy is connected using clips.
The troop compartment is similarly accessible and contains four seats, again featuring reddish brown elements to match the cockpit. The dark orange highlights are also appealing and some accessories are stored between the seats. I would rather this light bluish grey box had featured the same Imperial insignia as those found elsewhere though.
Little information about the Mobile Tac-Pod is currently available, but official images of this set suggest the wings should fold upwards for landing. Personally, I prefer them lowered, although their undersides are nicely finished. The central section of the engines rotate with the wings, so a light bluish grey Technic bush is provided to avoid the wings dropping too far.
Despite that Technic element, I still think the wings fold down too far, when compared with the original vehicle. Thankfully, there is enough friction to position the wings wherever you choose. The below image shows them at their steepest angle. The rotating laser cannon fitted between the engines is a great addition, giving an expansive field of fire and including stud shooters.
The rear armour features continued mechanical texture, with additional weapons storage within. Only two clips are actually present, which is peculiar because there is room for more, although the Technic structure occupies most of the space underneath the engines. Between these two clips and the area inside, there is adequate storage for accessories.
Overall
Following its announcement, questions were raised concerning how 75338 Ambush on Ferrix contains 679 pieces. After all, the Tac-Pod seems quite small, although its construction is also extremely dense and I think the model looks marvellous when completed, despite its size. The armoured fuselage features stunning angles, while the interior is remarkably spacious.
However, such focus on detail has inflated the number of pieces, so the price of £69.99, $69.99 or €79.99 feels expensive for a model of this size, even with Cassian's speeder bike. I think the minifigure selection is disappointing as well, only offering one Imperial trooper for this transport. Adding a couple of Syril Karn's colleagues would have greatly improved this set, which is rather expensive, but enjoyable.
149 likes
72 comments on this article
$70? Can’t wait to find out how they’re going to soak me on the new Black Panther sets.
I can get two 75300 for this price (at least until they go up in the upcoming "need 14th Ferrari" price hikes). Quite hilarious.
I am unable to find an any images to compare this against, so will have to wait until the tv series airs to see how faithful a recreation this is, but looks like there is plenty of play and internal area for the compact size so should be popular. Personally, I think the Justifier 75323 price is more out of line with other Star Wars sets than this set, but still looking forward to that review.
It looks like a fun little set, but there's no way I would pay full price for that. Plus, I'm a little speeder-biked out at the moment.
This set is a good example of what Jang talks about often - "volume of stuff" as the best metric for value rather than PPP.
Because the PPP isn't bad! But the VOS definitely doesn't look like $70. If Lego wants to up the piece count on sets by adding more detail and greebling that's OK, but ultimately it doesn't do anything to eliminate the sting of price increases.
@WemWem said:
"This set is a good example of what Jang talks about often - "volume of stuff" as the best metric for value rather than PPP.
"
Agree, piece count isn't even on the box outside of north america, so volume is a much better metric.
$70... did they move April Fool's to July?
This set to me seems quite expensive for the size, and I wish that, for the price they want, they could get simple design choices such as the printing on the legs with even simple fabric markings. I understand that they might not have had the final concepts when the set was designed, but I don't think that's an excuse in this case.
Not a bad set for £35.
It looks neat, but thankfully I have no interest in this particular source material so I can skip it.
@CapnRex101 what's the new skin tone? I know Medium Brown was new earlier this year in the Hogwarts set and some Friends sets. But that figure isn't medium brown and I can't see any other new colours in 76399?
It's amazing how similar Luthen Rael looks to Tobias Beckett (in minifig form)!
Wow, $70?!? Have to pass on that price.
@Bagelwolf said:
"It's amazing how similar Luthen Rael looks to Tobias Beckett (in minifig form)!"
Literally thought it was the same character at first.
“Man, why’d they make Woody Harrelson look so old?”
I can appreciate t model itself, but this really feels like an answer to the question "Is it possible to go too far when designing a set to a price point?"
It's not helped by the fact we currently have no attachment to any part of this: characters, vehicles, nothing. The last time I saw this much love and effort to into something so utterly culturally irrelevant was Avatar land in Disney World.
This should have been 20% simpler and 50% cheaper
At £70 this is one of the most overpriced Star Wars sets we've had in a while - it's totally unjustifiable! I really hope that LEGO have a serious re-think on their recent pricing strategy - otherwise they're going to alienate a lot of long term fans. At most this is a £50 set.
Looks good but it really does look a bit small. But maybe it is the shape that is deceiving
I love it! It looks like an LAAT crossed with a minivan. This is probably the first Star Wars set to interest me in years, but the price is reminding me why I abandoned the theme altogether. Not even tempting at 20% off...
@Paperdaisy said:
" @CapnRex101 what's the new skin tone? I know Medium Brown was new earlier this year in the Hogwarts set and some Friends sets. But that figure isn't medium brown and I can't see any other new colours in 76399 ? "
Sorry, I am muddling up my new skin tones for 2022. Cassian Andor's head is warm tan, the same colour as Din Djarin's head from 75325 The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter, as well as a couple of mini-doll parts.
I have updated the review. Thanks!
@WemWem said:
"This set is a good example of what Jang talks about often - "volume of stuff" as the best metric for value rather than PPP.
Because the PPP isn't bad! But the VOS definitely doesn't look like $70. If Lego wants to up the piece count on sets by adding more detail and greebling that's OK, but ultimately it doesn't do anything to eliminate the sting of price increases."
Yeah, the price is robbery to be honest. Great set, but its probably going to be a shelf warmer until it hits discount with that price tag on it.
What an awesome looking set. Can't wait to get it on sale for ~$45!
I love how well designed Star Wars ships have been lately.
The builds look tight and I love 'em.
But the prices kill any interest I have in them, including this one. Shame.
@TomKazutara said:
"Where are the fanboys who will explain, that this is a fair value and the the 70,- are justified ?"
Well, ACKCHYUALLY when you compare the....
...eh, sorry, I got nothin'.
40% off the price and we can talk. No less.
Thanks for the review - I'd forgotten about this tie-in set. Price of this is seriously wrong though.
Love the new Barry Gibb mini-figure...
gotta join the price chorus. at this point, i'll just wait until they post the instructions online, then make one myself with whatever parts i have.
a little afraid what will come out for the Ahsoka series when that hits - my favorite character, and might have to fight with myself to not pay these ridiculous prices!
Is it me, or does he look like Obi-wan?
I pre ordered this, just wondering if I should have?
I’m impressed how they did those angles! Maybe that amount of detail could be used in a new turbo tank?
I still think that PPP is right in most cases, but for this set... it is outrageous. My 2015 T-16 Skyhopper has over 400 parts less and is double the size of that thing. And it was just $25 (R$120 in Brazil) back then.
I got 75324 recently and I heavily criticized its price given it has only 166 parts, but it looks surprisingly "large" after finished (the fact I got it with a smaller price also helped me in forgiving the set). The Tac-Pod is a complete rip-off. Will get it only with a big price reduction and still find it overpriced.
Totally unrelated, but do any of you know if LEGO is going to release a full list of the price increases for August (North America) before they come into effect or will it be after?
I’m assuming that the pricing for this factors-in the upcoming price hikes? Even so… :-(
The Tac-Pod is an interesting design and this Lego version seems reasonably accurate to the on-screen appearance, for an intermediate size minifig-scale set.
The detailing on the Tarn figure seems reasonable but I agree that standard bright blue was probably not the correct choice. The actual uniform looks like a grey-blue and there isn’t currently a clear match in Lego colour palette. Sand Blue is the right sort of shade but isn’t dark enough so the nearest is probably Dark Blue (officially Earth Blue).
If I hadn’t seen the RRP, I’d have guessed £40 and this was factoring in the high mark up of Star Wars sets.
I think the money people at Lego have finally lost the plot.
@Beren_LOTR said:
"Totally unrelated, but do any of you know if LEGO is going to release a full list of the price increases for August (North America) before they come into effect or will it be after?"
Not sure if it's a full list, but this Brickset article is handy: https://brickset.com/article/79374/list-of-price-increases-in-the-usa.
Love the review! Like the set. Hate the price. Wait for sale.
I suppose I am not the target audience but this is a very fine spacecraft. To me, it looks like a miniature UCS - there are lots of weird angles in there (which incidentally generates weird lengths) and basically no gaps to speak of - very well done Lego. The canopy not being the correct colour is a big problem but it seems this is now the 'new' Lego quality standard (only the best is good enough; remember). What I don't like with Star Wars sets: it seems like they cannot do only one thing - this is about a mobile TAC-POD; why the speeder? (most likely there is a speeder somewhere in the series, we don't know, but that's almost a certainty.) Just do the spacecraft, add a few minifigs and you are done. In fact, put the gigantic (the speeder is as long as the spacecraft) ugly speeder in a smaller set so that kids can buy it with pocket money. In short, I don't like the unnecessary additional build to reach a certain price threshold. I'd rather see more sets at smaller prices - but if they do it that way it must be better for them that way...
Can’t wait to order just the Tac-Pod on eBay without the speeder or special figs so it might actually be a reasonable price!
@R1_Drift said:
"I’m impressed how they did those angles! Maybe that amount of detail could be used in a new turbo tank?"
That'll be €200, please!
Seriously, when looking at this next to the Marauder, it should become obvious that the starting price point should be 50 maximum.
The ones who get screwed over most are the retail stores who won't be able to move their Lego contigents until they massively discount them until they barely make a profit- and Lego doesn't care, because they've already got their money
@iamkevinwill said:
"Thanks for the review - I'd forgotten about this tie-in set. Price of this is seriously wrong though.
Love the new Barry Gibb mini-figure...
"
Thanks, man, now I can't unsee it. When the new show premiers, all I will remember is how Andor faced a Tragedy during Saturday Night Fever, when he tried Stayin' Alive. Maybe They make it a musical show with Meaningless Songs In Very High Voices?
The pricing is always surprising: Fx rates as of 27th of July 2022. Source xe.com
MRSP______USD________GBP________EUR
$69.99___$69.99_______57.57_______68.63
£69.99____85.09______£69.99_______83.44
€79.99____81.57_______67.10______€79.99
According to this, the price is very good in the USA! And once again the UK get massively screwed.
EUR: 1.0198, GBP: 1.2158, GBP/EUR: 1.1902.
LEGO did me a favor with their next wave of SW sets. I can happily pass on all of them!
The new color is "Warm Tan?" Shouldn't that be "Warm Brick Yellow?"
Get it with a discount
Not just $70, but how does that thing even has almost 700 pieces. At first glance looks only have 300 pieces.
Here's my attempt to scream into the void (again)....
This is a rather in-depth examination of the recent LEGO price changes:
https://bricknerd.com/home/greed-or-inflation-an-economic-analysis-of-lego-price-increases-7-26-22
It's a worthwhile read.
@ickis said:
"Here's my attempt to scream into the void (again)....
This is a rather in-depth examination of the recent LEGO price changes:
https://bricknerd.com/home/greed-or-inflation-an-economic-analysis-of-lego-price-increases-7-26-22
It's a worthwhile read."
I think its an interesting analysis in that it shows the price increases are within inflation trends. But as to the reason as to why consumers don't SEE it that way requires a conversation on cost of living increases and wage stagnation that really would go off topic.
But to keep it on topic, it seems that while Lego may be matching inflation they are still failing to match the perceived value by the consumer; especially since many of remember getting much bigger sets for that same price only 15 to 10 years back. Going against living memory is a huge uphill battle, and the lack of a fourth or fifth minifigure to at least try and sweeten the deal in this particular set's case does not help.
Somebody put the razor crest in the dryer
It's as if the Razor Crest and the Republic Gunship had a baby.
I genuinely think the Tac-Pod (funny name) looks beautiful and from what I've heard, is particularly parts-dense and surprisingly heavy, but that price is horrendous. This set isn't super high on my to-get list, but that is most definitely subject to change if Andor performs well.
Thanks for the review CapnRex, as always. By the way, does the flexible whip piece become deformed/loose in any way if it sits on the bike for too long?
Nice little model and a great review. But as always there is a caveat related to price.
It's about time LEGO replicated my beloved Chevy Lumina minivan!
@Lobot said:
"At £70 this is one of the most overpriced Star Wars sets we've had in a while - it's totally unjustifiable! I really hope that LEGO have a serious re-think on their recent pricing strategy - otherwise they're going to alienate a lot of long term fans. At most this is a £50 set."
I'd say they have had that rethink in a way, the remake cycle of X-Wings and TIE Fighters (75218, 75273, 75211 as examples) were getting bigger, more parts and more expensive which saw them downsized in size and price, in 2021 with 75300 and 75301. The recent 'Slave 1' and Imperial Shuttle also got downsized presumably to hit a lower price point.
Only Lego know if this experiment has been successful and will continue with it but I think these evergreen sets should be at a price point kids (or their parents) can afford.
And again: stickers, stickers, stickers.
My passion Lego StarWars dies, the newer sets don't justify the high prices.
Lego are gonna think no one liked Andor when this doesn't sell.
Now I don't know if people will like Andor ( looks good to me but we'll see) but people don't like paying £20 more than they should
@HOBBES said:
"The pricing is always surprising: Fx rates as of 27th of July 2022. Source xe.com
MRSP______USD________GBP________EUR
$69.99___$69.99_______57.57_______68.63
£69.99____85.09______£69.99_______83.44
€79.99____81.57_______67.10______€79.99
According to this, the price is very good in the USA! And once again the UK get massively screwed.
EUR: 1.0198, GBP: 1.2158, GBP/EUR: 1.1902."
Thankyou I was going to post something along these lines, but not as detailed as yours a quick google seemed to suggest approx 70 pounds = 67 euros = 57.5 dollars. So not only are most people including me on first impression thinking thats a nice set then seeing the price and it not seemingly matching but in the UK its ridiculously overpriced compared with elsewhere.
Be plenty of those left on the shelves then. Mind you it may mean Amazon etc just knock 33% off sooner.
@HOBBES said:
"The pricing is always surprising: Fx rates as of 27th of July 2022. Source xe.com
MRSP______USD________GBP________EUR
$69.99___$69.99_______57.57_______68.63
£69.99____85.09______£69.99_______83.44
€79.99____81.57_______67.10______€79.99
According to this, the price is very good in the USA! And once again the UK get massively screwed.
EUR: 1.0198, GBP: 1.2158, GBP/EUR: 1.1902."
This is nice but a little bit misleading. Americans (and Canadians, the set is $90 CAD up here) have to add sales tax on top of that price. That can be anywhere between 5% and 15% depending on the region. The set will cost me $104 CAD here, or about $81 USD, which is £67 or 80 EUR. So, it’s overpriced basically everywhere the exact same way. Not quite, but close enough.
@Brent007 said:
"Is it me, or does he look like Obi-wan?
I pre ordered this, just wondering if I should have?
"
If you think it's worth it then that's all that matters!
Love it despite its expensiveness.
I wish I had two to convey some stormtroopers for their missions.
Hope for discounts to make this come true.
The review complains three times about there only being three minifigures. I'm really curious how many you think this set should have. Three seems like a decent number for a set with vehicles like this. I'm not sure what you expect. You say "frustratingly few"...so that makes it seem like you expected a lot more. Probably not four or five. Six? Seven? That seems ridiculous to me.
Yes, the price is out of line and too high...but ignoring the price completely if I just look at the model, I think that 3 minifigures is ideal. What's frustrating to me is people who expect every set to come with a ton of minifigures. I'm here for the models, not the minifigures. If Daily Bugle came with five or six, that would have been fine. For sets based on TV shows or movies, I would never expect to get the whole cast at once (especially not in a small set like this).
@PDelahanty said:
"The review complains three times about there only being three minifigures. I'm really curious how many you think this set should have. Three seems like a decent number for a set with vehicles like this. I'm not sure what you expect. You say "frustratingly few"...so that makes it seem like you expected a lot more. Probably not four or five. Six? Seven? That seems ridiculous to me.
Yes, the price is out of line and too high...but ignoring the price completely if I just look at the model, I think that 3 minifigures is ideal. What's frustrating to me is people who expect every set to come with a ton of minifigures. I'm here for the models, not the minifigures. If Daily Bugle came with five or six, that would have been fine. For sets based on TV shows or movies, I would never expect to get the whole cast at once (especially not in a small set like this)."
I think four or five minifigures would have been adequate, when compared with equivalent sets. 75311 Imperial Armoured Marauder and 75342 Republic Fighter Tank are both good examples. After all, the Tac-Pod is fundamentally a troop transport, so including one or two personnel similar to Syril Karn would have been appropriate, as mentioned at the end of the review.
@eiffel006 said:
" @HOBBES said:
"The pricing is always surprising: Fx rates as of 27th of July 2022. Source xe.com
MRSP______USD________GBP________EUR
$69.99___$69.99_______57.57_______68.63
£69.99____85.09______£69.99_______83.44
€79.99____81.57_______67.10______€79.99
According to this, the price is very good in the USA! And once again the UK get massively screwed.
EUR: 1.0198, GBP: 1.2158, GBP/EUR: 1.1902."
This is nice but a little bit misleading. Americans (and Canadians, the set is $90 CAD up here) have to add sales tax on top of that price. That can be anywhere between 5% and 15% depending on the region. The set will cost me $104 CAD here, or about $81 USD, which is £67 or 80 EUR. So, it’s overpriced basically everywhere the exact same way. Not quite, but close enough."
That is true. Thanks for bringing this to our (the Brickset community, not me speaking in the first person of plural) attention. Removing the VAT (which is roughly 20% pretty much everywhere in Europe and UK) we get:
US: $69.99 +tx (varying per states)
UK: £69.99/1.2 = £58.33 +20% vat
EU: €79.99/1.2 = €66.66 +20% vat
Seen this way, this pretty much looks like line one of the table above. Suddenly, the analysis is turned upside down: for high tax states/provinces, the 'relative' price of this set is higher in the US than everywhere else.
@HOBBES said:
" @eiffel006 said:
" @HOBBES said:
"The pricing is always surprising: Fx rates as of 27th of July 2022. Source xe.com
MRSP______USD________GBP________EUR
$69.99___$69.99_______57.57_______68.63
£69.99____85.09______£69.99_______83.44
€79.99____81.57_______67.10______€79.99
According to this, the price is very good in the USA! And once again the UK get massively screwed.
EUR: 1.0198, GBP: 1.2158, GBP/EUR: 1.1902."
This is nice but a little bit misleading. Americans (and Canadians, the set is $90 CAD up here) have to add sales tax on top of that price. That can be anywhere between 5% and 15% depending on the region. The set will cost me $104 CAD here, or about $81 USD, which is £67 or 80 EUR. So, it’s overpriced basically everywhere the exact same way. Not quite, but close enough."
That is true. Thanks for bringing this to our (the Brickset community, not me speaking in the first person of plural) attention. Removing the VAT (which is roughly 20% pretty much everywhere in Europe and UK) we get:
US: $69.99 +tx (varying per states)
UK: £69.99/1.2 = £58.33 +20% vat
EU: €79.99/1.2 = €66.66 +20% vat
Seen this way, this pretty much looks like line one of the table above. Suddenly, the analysis is turned upside down: for high tax states/provinces, the 'relative' price of this set is higher in the US than everywhere else.
"
Very interesting, I'll stop moaning about the perceived prices now then, I still find it strange they can advertise a product at $100 if when you come to pay (depending on state) it could be $115 but I suppose its second nature to you , must be confusing for kids pocket money purchases. I have to ask in a shop would it say $100+ taxes or would that shop in that region display $112.50 for example?
@Lego34s said:
" @HOBBES said:
" @eiffel006 said:
" @HOBBES said:
"The pricing is always surprising: Fx rates as of 27th of July 2022. Source xe.com
MRSP______USD________GBP________EUR
$69.99___$69.99_______57.57_______68.63
£69.99____85.09______£69.99_______83.44
€79.99____81.57_______67.10______€79.99
According to this, the price is very good in the USA! And once again the UK get massively screwed.
EUR: 1.0198, GBP: 1.2158, GBP/EUR: 1.1902."
This is nice but a little bit misleading. Americans (and Canadians, the set is $90 CAD up here) have to add sales tax on top of that price. That can be anywhere between 5% and 15% depending on the region. The set will cost me $104 CAD here, or about $81 USD, which is £67 or 80 EUR. So, it’s overpriced basically everywhere the exact same way. Not quite, but close enough."
That is true. Thanks for bringing this to our (the Brickset community, not me speaking in the first person of plural) attention. Removing the VAT (which is roughly 20% pretty much everywhere in Europe and UK) we get:
US: $69.99 +tx (varying per states)
UK: £69.99/1.2 = £58.33 +20% vat
EU: €79.99/1.2 = €66.66 +20% vat
Seen this way, this pretty much looks like line one of the table above. Suddenly, the analysis is turned upside down: for high tax states/provinces, the 'relative' price of this set is higher in the US than everywhere else.
"
Very interesting, I'll stop moaning about the perceived prices now then, I still find it strange they can advertise a product at $100 if when you come to pay (depending on state) it could be $115 but I suppose its second nature to you , must be confusing for kids pocket money purchases. I have to ask in a shop would it say $100+ taxes or would that shop in that region display $112.50 for example?"
I am not quite sure what is the rationale in the US but in Canada, there was a time when the taxes were embedded in the price - just like in Europe now. And then people complained (what else is new?) that they did not know how much taxes they were paying because they (the taxes) were hidden into the total price. So the government decided to split the price and taxes apart (every shop had to reprogram their cashier machines - very expensive operation) so here we are. And yes, you have to do the mental calculation that the items will cost roughly 15% (Quebec and Ontario) more than the advertised price. In the shops the price is shown as $100 + tax - you don't know ahead what is the final cost (not a very hard calculation and I guess most people are used to it by now). The hardest place is the grocery store, some items are taxable some are not. It is very hard (next to impossible) to mentally calculate what will roughly be the final tally with some precision.
@Lego34s said:
" @HOBBES said:
" @eiffel006 said:
" @HOBBES said:
"The pricing is always surprising: Fx rates as of 27th of July 2022. Source xe.com
MRSP______USD________GBP________EUR
$69.99___$69.99_______57.57_______68.63
£69.99____85.09______£69.99_______83.44
€79.99____81.57_______67.10______€79.99
According to this, the price is very good in the USA! And once again the UK get massively screwed.
EUR: 1.0198, GBP: 1.2158, GBP/EUR: 1.1902."
This is nice but a little bit misleading. Americans (and Canadians, the set is $90 CAD up here) have to add sales tax on top of that price. That can be anywhere between 5% and 15% depending on the region. The set will cost me $104 CAD here, or about $81 USD, which is £67 or 80 EUR. So, it’s overpriced basically everywhere the exact same way. Not quite, but close enough."
That is true. Thanks for bringing this to our (the Brickset community, not me speaking in the first person of plural) attention. Removing the VAT (which is roughly 20% pretty much everywhere in Europe and UK) we get:
US: $69.99 +tx (varying per states)
UK: £69.99/1.2 = £58.33 +20% vat
EU: €79.99/1.2 = €66.66 +20% vat
Seen this way, this pretty much looks like line one of the table above. Suddenly, the analysis is turned upside down: for high tax states/provinces, the 'relative' price of this set is higher in the US than everywhere else.
"
Very interesting, I'll stop moaning about the perceived prices now then, I still find it strange they can advertise a product at $100 if when you come to pay (depending on state) it could be $115 but I suppose its second nature to you , must be confusing for kids pocket money purchases. I have to ask in a shop would it say $100+ taxes or would that shop in that region display $112.50 for example?"
In the US it just says $100 (well, $99.99). It does not say "plus taxes" as that is already ingrained -- we pay sales tax on every single purchase (except for a handful of categories that are exempt from sales tax) so we already know that we're paying tax when we buy something.
Taxes vary not just by state but also by city/municipality. States have their taxes and cities have theirs. We pay the sum of both.
Some states do not have sales tax. When I was vacationing in New Hampshire a few months ago I bought a new Macbook because I saved over $100 in taxes versus waiting until I got home to New York.
@Lego34s said:
"Very interesting, I'll stop moaning about the perceived prices now then, I still find it strange they can advertise a product at $100 if when you come to pay (depending on state) it could be $115 but I suppose its second nature to you , must be confusing for kids pocket money purchases. I have to ask in a shop would it say $100+ taxes or would that shop in that region display $112.50 for example?"
The shop would put the price tag as $100. When you brought it to the register, it would ring up as $106 (for a place that had 6% sales tax). 12.5% tax is unusually high, but can happen in larger cities. NYC has really high sales tax IIRC.
...and when you eat at a restaurant in the US, you would get the check at the end of your meal which adds tax (which varies by state or even city) and you're ALSO expected to add 15% to 20% extra (based on the pre-tax price) for a tip. The exact percentage you add varies depending on how good the service was, how cheap you are, if it's easier to just add a nice round number to tip (so $5 instead of $4.86), or if it's easier to just pay with a nice round number (so paying with $50 instead of waiting for change or counting out exactly $47.93 in bills and coins.)
^^Genuinely interesting reading, but I'm guessing all the rational and objective discussion will evaporate as soon as the first $1000.00 UCS set hits the streets. It can't be far off.
The sales tax in Minnesota (my home state) is 6.875%, but most cities in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area add their own, so it's 7-8%; I just add 10% mentally when I'm shopping. Clothing is exempt. Most food is exempt, but not "junk food"- but what counts as junk food gets pretty weird.
When my cousin's kids were young, I'd take them to Toys R Us and tell them they could spend $20 each, and I'd cover the sales tax to keep it simple for them. Also, I was probably buying myself some LEGO anyway!
I really like the design of both vehicles and the minifigures, but the price is $10 to $20 too high.
Still not nearly as bad as 75286 from a couple years ago though.
@TeriXeri said:
" @WemWem said:
"This set is a good example of what Jang talks about often - "volume of stuff" as the best metric for value rather than PPP.
"
Agree, piece count isn't even on the box outside of north america, so volume is a much better metric."
It's certainly on the box in the UK.
@Doctor_Hugh said:
" @TeriXeri said:
" @WemWem said:
"This set is a good example of what Jang talks about often - "volume of stuff" as the best metric for value rather than PPP.
"
Agree, piece count isn't even on the box outside of north america, so volume is a much better metric."
It's certainly on the box in the UK."
Only on 18+ sets, with very few exceptions.
I’ve seen this set on display in store and it is surprisingly attractive - it really looks a lot better than it does in pics, and you just want to grab it and play with it. It has a really beautiful-functional type design. But the price does seem ridiculous!
@Paperdaisy said:
" @CapnRex101 what's the new skin tone? I know Medium Brown was new earlier this year in the Hogwarts set and some Friends sets. But that figure isn't medium brown and I can't see any other new colours in 76399? "
It was used by Mo Morrison in one of the lego lightyear sets earlier this year.
I can't bring myself to like the price but since I really want this year to be my last year of Lego... I might have to squeeze it in somewhere. I really do like this set, and it's from a media that will probably never get sets after it's over and those usually hike in price a bit after retirement just because they're obscure.
I can't bring myself to like the price but since I really want this year to be my last year of Lego... I might have to squeeze it in somewhere. I really do like this set, and it's from a media that will probably never get sets after it's over and those usually hike in price a bit after retirement just because they're obscure.