Set 10030-1 ISD—a bargain castle parts pack?

[brody]

I recently did a rough cost analysis on set 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer to determine for myself once and for all if it was a good purchase to bulk up my collection of castle appropriate bricks.

First I checked the set inventory over at Peeron. I established the criteria for the bricks I would be using in my analysis: 1. Include only bricks with castle theme applications; 2. Include only old gray; 3. Include only bricks which are of a basic nature. I then identified all of the bricks that fit the criteria. Note that I did not include other castle-worthy colors such as old dark gray or black.

I found that there were 930 pieces that met my criteria. These bricks became the basis for my analysis. I then calculated the cost of the same 930 bricks if purchased through Bricklink (I used the lowest new condition price for each piece, despite the fact that calculating the average cost for each piece would be more accurate, which is why I characterized this as a rough analysis).

Here are my results:

Cost of set 10030: $299.00 USD
Piece count of set 10030: 3104
Average cost per piece: $0.097 USD

930 old gray pieces from set 10030 if purchased through Bricklink
Cost: $345.31 USD
Piece count: 930
Average cost per piece: $0.37 USD

Please draw your own conclusions. Note that the batch of 930 bricks is approximately 70% plates of various sizes.

Best,
Brody

[kelderic]

That's awesome. I'm deffinately going to buy this set.

Kelderic

[Recluce]

[sigh] I knew I shoulda picked up a few on 25% off at Brickfest. Friggnabbit!!

[architect]

Hi Brody,

This thread is about using parts from a non-castle set to build castle mocs. Because of this, it is more appropriate in Castle Mocs. I am moving it there. Please only use the LEGO Castle sets forum to discuss official castle sets. Thanks!

Ben

[brody]

Sorry Ben,

I knew I'd put it in the wrong place as soon as I hit "submit."

Congratulations on becoming a 4th cycle ambassador!

Brody

[jens]

Yes you are right, the castle-brick-count is high in this set. But in Germany the set isn't available in the oldgray colors.

They produce it now with dkbluishgray and bluishgray.

regards,
jens

[stawastawa]

yea unfortunatly this analysis now only works for the older discontinued version as lego now makes them in bley rather than old grey...

[J1A3L5]

Hi,

I totally agree that the set is a bargain for the pieces within it. That said, I don't see that a lot of the pieces really apply to castle. All the technic pins go virtually unused in castle except very specific applications, or a handful of unique building styles. That uses up over 400 of the pieces in the set. They also are cheap on bricklink.

The large plates & wingplates I don't find very useful for castle building either, and are probably the most unique pieces to get in large quantity. For my building style I don't even think they're good for flooring: They're too flimsy, and SNOT flooring is the only way!

I think for castle building it would still be more economical to buy the specific parts you need from bricklink, especially since the value of each piece is not equal. The large plates cost a lot more than a 1x2 grill tile, but is far less useful to castle building.

I own the set, and have never had the urge to take it apart for the pieces yet.

-John L.

[Sheen]

While I can't afford to buy either the set or the pieces from bricklink at the moment, I wanted to thank you for posting this cost review. As I'm a financial analyst myself and focus mainly on costs, this really appealed to the way I tend to think. I'll be keeping this in mind when I'm spending LEGO money in the future!

[wunztwice]

aww nuts! I didn't even know this set was avilable in old grey I would have bought tons of 'em. It looks like a neat set, and to have real grey again would be a fantasy come true...