LEGO® baseplates will soon be tagged with retiring and out-stock-labels around the world. Some locales have seen this already. This fueled the online rumor circuit and prompted the question: are baseplates retiring? Thankfully, the answer is no. The LEGO® Group weighed in on the chatter with an official statement that baseplates will continue to be available. However, there will be some interesting changes coming in March 2022.
With regard to the rumors, the LEGO® Group released the following statement:
Over the next few months you will likely see some products with “retiring soon” branding or perhaps a local retailer reporting that they are no longer able to order certain products. We want to share ahead of time that there is no need to be alarmed about baseplates.
In 2022, baseplates will be changing from their current plastic packaging to more sustainable paper packaging. Besides packaging, there are no additional changes with the LEGO® baseplates and you will still be able to get the same colors and sizes in 2022 that you can purchase today. You can expect to see the new packaging around March 1, 2022.
In addition to new sustainable packaging, the set numbers for the baseplates will change on March 1, 2022. This is likely why retiring labels will start popping up. Set number changes you can expect include:
- Green baseplate: 10700 to 11023
- Gray baseplate: 10701 to 11024
- Blue baseplate: 10714 to 11025
- White baseplate: 11010 to 11026
The LEGO® Group began advertising a switch to sustainable packaging and the elimination of plastic bags about a year ago. It’s nice that the plan is finally coming to fruition as fans have wanted recyclable parts bags for some time. There will be more news of the rollout of paper packaging in the near future, so stay tuned. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment below or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom