Helping to identify reproduction stickers and printed elements. No minifig discussions

jaisonline · 2014-10-07T03:41:46.000Z

I would like this thread to be used for educational purposes. As Lego enthusiasts, we can help each other. If you have a question whether an element is authentic, post a high resolution picture of it. Our community is very knowledgeable and just might be able to help you. Please do not call out sellers. Building with Lego is fun and the possibility are endless. Better yet most sets can be "bricklinked" or sometimes built from your existing spare bricks (elements) bins. Thus if you missed out on that 10181 Eiffel Tower set, no worries. You can locate the required elements and build it. Although there are sets like the 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon and 10196 Grand Carousel that contain unique elements that are hard to find or exclusive to 1 or 2 sets, no problem. You can always substitute colors (e.g. black masts instead of light bluish gray ones) or even create items (e.g. the white cloth carousel tops). Sill, one question keeps me thinking. Who cares if you use an incorrect element or custom-made part of a set? Purists? Investors? AFOLs? The person who saved for months to years to finally purchase that treasured set? I think the answer might be all of the above. So why would anyone care if one specific element wasn't correct or that one special sticker is missing? There could be many reasons and nearly no incorrect answer. ...but I'll tell you one thing... From an investing standpoint, correct elements matter That 5,174 piece 10179 UCS MF you are about to sell could easily be worth $400 less if 3 simple elements are missing (2 masts & 1 radar dish). Additionally, wouldn't you agree it's UCS plate sticker on Ever try "bricklinking" a 10196 Grand Carousel? People who have successfully will usually tell you stories about finding the sound brick and those 8 white fabric tops. Used 10196s usually fetch $800-$1,100. Guess what? Those fabric tops sell for at least $75 each and that's if you can locate them. That 21021 Marina Bay Sands set is a great little set. However, what would this (exclusive to that hotel) set be worth without 2 key items : the manual and one highly sought after 1x8 black tile with 'Marina Bay Sands' printed on it. So as one can imagine, the correct elements are important for maximizing any set's value when selling. Unfortunately, some people make replica stickers and printed plates. Many of us don't see anything wrong when this is done for personal use. The problems begin when folks include replica items are originals to maximize resale value. So let's help one another. ****************************** Note *************************************** This thread is not intended for minifigure posts. Thanks *****************************************************************************