Last month, in conjunction with double VIP points at the LEGO Store, spending over $125 got you the Iconic VIP set for free. This set is a little LEGO Store diorama that is full of fun details. While it was free, this set was advertised as having a $29.99 value in Canada, making it a pretty sweet freebie.
Set Summary
Name: Iconic VIP Set
Set #: 40178
Theme: LEGO Store Freebie
Cost: $29.99 value (free with purchase)
Brick Count: 205
Minifigures: 2
Release Date: October 10, 2017
Summary Review: 93%
VALUE: 100% (It was free, you can’t beat that.)
BUILD: 90% (Great little build, but not a fan of the dragon decor.)
MINIFIGURES: 85% (Decently designed store clerk, great brick-to-fig ratio.)
ENTERTAINMENT: 95% (Can’t beat the build-time value of a free set.)
Review
VALUE: 100%
As previously mentioned, this set was free with purchases over $125. Since I had a big purchase in mind for double VIP points, this was a super-great bonus. It gets 100% for value just because of that. But, if you were looking at it from a cost perspective, the Iconic VIP Set has a value of $29.99 in Canada. With 205 bricks, that translates into a cost of $0.15 per brick. That is a good value, but not a great one, and would earn a value score of 80% if this set had not been free.
BUILD: 90%
If I was rating this as a full set, it would probably bother me that this is really only a corner of the LEGO Store, and not a fully stand-alone unit. However, it was free, and as a freebie, I think that is completely acceptable. One thing that I do not like about this set is the decorative LEGO dragon. Many actual LEGO Stores have this dragon weaving its way through the walls. The designers have tried to replicate that in this set, and I think it was a bit of a fail. It looks sloppy sticking out of the back wall of the store, and doesn’t really add much to the interior.
Otherwise, this set is great. I love the design for the Pick-and-Build wall. I am even more thrilled with the Pick-and-Build sticker. There are also seven stickered tiles that represent actual sets. I am really happy to get some more of these for my own LEGO Store MOC. In fact, much of this set will be incorporated into the interior of the MOC I made a while back (click here to read about it). The brick-built VIP logo will also make an amazing billboard or store advertisement in my city. I give this set a build score of 9/10, because I like everything except for the dragon.
MINIFIGURES: 85%
There are two Minifigs included in this set. One of them is the store clerk. He is a little different from the one that came in a polybag a couple of years ago. In fact, I like this one more. The hair is the same, but the face has a better print, but is not double sided. The torso is a little different as well, and I like the LEGO logo printed on the rear. His legs are just plain black. In terms of accessories, there are two LEGO cups for sale in the store. All of this together gives this Minifigure a design rating of 12/15 (80%).
The other Minifigure in the set is purely decorative. It is a solid red “statue” for the VIP logo. It is not meant to be a character in the set, so I will not give it a design rating. But, I will include it in the brick-to-Minifigure ratio, because I quite like it and was pleased to get one. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if it was the metallic red variant that new VIP members get for free these days (which I have always been a little miffed about as a long-standing, loyal VIP member who never got one).
In any case, with 205 bricks, and two Minifigures, this set has a brick-to-Minifigure ratio of about 103 bricks for every Minifigure. That is a very good ratio, and earns the set 4.5/5. Combining the design and ratio scores earns this set an overall Minifigure rating of 85%.
ENTERTAINMENT: 95%
This set took me 27 minutes to build. Again, it was free, so that automatically gives this set an amazing build-time value (100%). However, once again, if I was rating this set based on its $29.99 value, each minute of building would have cost $1.11. That would be a pretty bad value. Thankfully, I didn’t pay anything for it.
As I mentioned earlier, this is not a stand alone set, so I will not be keeping it as is. I do really like it though, and will incorporate it into a remodel of my custom LEGO Store, which is currently occupying part of the shopping promenade in my LEGO city. I also really love the VIP sign, and that will certainly find it way somewhere into my town. Since you really could just drop it into a custom build as is, I give it 4.5/5 for enjoyment. Combining the value and enjoyment scores give the Iconic VIP Set 95% for entertainment.
Overall: 93%
The most important thing to remember about the Iconic VIP Set is that it was free. So, the score has been impacted by that quite a bit. I might have been a bit harsher in terms of build if I had paid for it. Paying for it would also have changed the value score, and the build-time score. If you happen to buy this set on the secondary market for it proposed price of $30, it would earn 80% for value, and 55% for entertainment (the build time at full price is not great at all). That would drop the overall score to 78%. As a freebie, I love this little set. I especially like the VIP sign, and all of the LEGO set stickers that adorn the shelves. Did you get the Iconic VIP Set? I would like to hear your thoughts on it in the comments below.
Until next time,
-Tom
2 thoughts on “Review – Iconic VIP Set [40178]”
Comments are closed.