I stopped into Toys R Us (TRU) the other morning to see if their shelves had been restocked. Christmas shoppers and natural disaster-related supply chain shortages (at least here in BC) had left them perpetually empty. Part of the reason for the trip is that I needed to pick up some polybags for the Brick Alliance Polybag Project, a year-long activity where participants build a polybag each month. I had also missed the Year of The Tiger promo somehow (January 13-19 at TRU) and I was hoping they had some left (I figured if I missed the promo maybe others did too). I certainly didn’t expect to walk away with an awesome polybag haul!
Hunting for the Year of The Tiger
As I entered the store I took a quick peek behind the front desk where the promos usually hide. I was disappointed to see there was no LEGO® shipping box. Although disappointed, I had a $10 off coupon, so I thought I’d wander around. As I rounded the corner into the LEGO® section, I saw two stacks of little yellow boxes nestled between Star War and Ninjago. I was surprised at how many of the Year of the Tiger (40491) sets they had left. Clearly others had missed the promo, just as I had. Unfortunately, they were now for sale for $12.99 rather than free with a purchase of $80. But at least they still had some!
Polybags Galore!
I was also very surprised to see that polybags had been stocked up. Polybags tend to be a rare sight on Vancouver Island (at least outside of the capital). If we do get them, they tend to be last year’s models. So I was pretty stoked to find so many new releases – such luck! Although I normally try to pick up LEGO® at a discount, I couldn’t resist having all these new polybags in front of me. Even though they were regular price ($4.94 CAD), I grabbed seven of the 13 for an awesome polybag haul!
Awesome Minifigure Packs
The Kids’ Playground (30588) polybag is a must have for me. The torso with the banana logo is by far my favourite part of this polybag. It will definitely find its way onto my sigfig! The torso has only been available in three large sets (Bookshop, Chinese New Year Temple Fair, and Ghost Train Express) until now so this is the cheapest way to get it. The other minifig has awesome hair that we first saw on Bumblebee (DC Super Heroes minifigure series) in 2020.
I love the colour and storytelling of the Monkie Kid theme and Monkie Kid’s Underwater Journey (30562) polybag does not disappoint. Monkie Kid’s scuba gear is fantastic in dark turquoise. You also get two skeletons, lots of gold ingots, two crabs, and three dark turquoise coral elements. This makes for a great playable set and a great parts pack. I probably should have grabbed two! I believe this was also a gift with purchase on LEGO.com and at LEGO® Brand Retail (January 10-27, 2022). If you missed out like I did, you now have a second chance to pick it up.
Fantastic Small Models
Friends polybags are great for their colourful parts and the Friends Garden Flower and Butterfly (30417) polybag is no exception! Some of my favourites in this polybag are the bright light orange curved wedge pieces (x4), light aqua macaroni tiles (x4), and 1×1 light pink heart tiles (x3).
The Creator 3-in-1 Tropical Parrot (30581) might be my favourite polybag of the haul. I love the alternate builds – a bright tropical butterfly or tropical fish! All three models are super fun and beaming with character.
While I like the Creator Birthday Bear (30582), I don’t love it. Although the little bear is pretty cute, it would be fairly drab without the colourful present and balloon.
Super Heroes
I am a big fan of the various LEGO® Batmobiles (my favourite is the 1989 Batmobile), so the DC Batman Batmobile (30455) polybag was a must have! It looks pretty good though I wish they had of included a minifigure as well. I do like that they use a 3-stud wide cab on top of the 4-stud wide frame.
Although I am not a Spiderman fan, the Marvel Spiderman Spider-Man Bridge Battle (30443) polybag is a pretty good parts pack. It comes with a nice Tower Bridge sticker for a 2×3 tile that would be great for MOCs (My Own Creations). This set also comes with two new stud shooters and the handheld spiderweb. Both could make cool features in a microscale or architecture MOC.
Even More Polybags
They also had a number of other polybags that I didn’t pick up. It was tough to choose which ones to pick up and I may go back and grab some of these. I particularly like the turtle in the Minecraft polybag and the female-coded firefighter minifigure in the City polybag.
Clearing Out Vidiyo Sets
As I was wandering through the LEGO® section I also noticed they had the Vidiyo sets on clearance. Such luck after an already amazing polybag haul! I have been curious about the Vidiyo BeatBox sets since they were announced in Spring of 2021. Like many people, the high price point (regularly $24.99) has kept me away. Two of the Vidito BeatBox sets were a couple dollars less ($13.98) than the others ($15.98) so I grabbed those. The two I bought are the Folk Fairy BeatBox (43110) and Candy Mermaid BeatBox (43102). Both have a really fun, colourful minifigure and each comes with 2 special BeatBits (printed tiles) and 14 random BeatBits.
My First LEGO Art Set
With my arms full I made my way towards the front of the store. On my way, I stopped into the electronics department where they keep the 18+ sets at our store. A number of sets had clearance stickers including most of the first wave of the LEGO® Art sets. I haven’t explored the mosaics yet, so I decided to pick up Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe (31197). For $95.98 (regularly $149.99 CAD), I am excited to use the pieces from this set to create some custom art for our LEGO® room.
When I left for Toys R Us I figured I would find empty shelves but I was definitely happy with my polybag haul plus some great clearance items. I am not the only one with a great post-Christmas haul. Tom also lucked out with a pretty great January haul as well. Have you picked up any of the new polybags or found any of the discounted treasures? Comment below to tell us what you found!
Play well folks,
-Krista
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