Lego is great, there’s no denying that, but it is expensive. So expensive in fact that the highest priced sets cost more than a month’s rent in almost every home I’ve ever lived in. But that doesn’t mean to say you need a lot of disposable income to get your Lego on. It helps a lot, especially if you’re a bigger nerd than us, but you can still get some great sets for very little cash. Obviously there are ways to save money on the bigger sets, but we’re talking about brand new stock straight from the shop shelves.
Here are our favourite sets that won’t upset your credit card limit very much.
Under $30
Simple, but effective. Whether it’s for mum, dad, a grandparent, a significant other, or someone else, it sure as hell beats buying real flowers that inevitably wilt and die.
There aren’t nearly as many as there used to be, but some people do find these little block-people endearing. So grab one for under a tenner, or if you’re feeling generous one of the bundles for $30.
Speed Champions Theme – from $23
This is a growing theme that’s about to get bigger, known for recreating famous cars without using thousands of pieces. Perfect for any car-fanatic you know.
Lego Movie 2: Emmett’s Thricycle – $23
It may have only been on screen for a single scene, but it still gets its own set. Emmet is clearly a fan of stacking stuff on top of itself, as the bike shows, so let’s just hope it’s fast enough to get away from the evil Duplo aliens.
Overwatch: Tracer vs Widowmaker – $20
The cheapest of the Overwatch sets is nice and simple, featuring the face of the series in her own little shuttle trying to take down one of the other characters. I’d add more, but I’ve literally never played the game, so I’ll stop before I embarrass myself.
Lego has a bit of a mech fetish these days, but when they’re this cheap you can’t not pick one up for someone. Especially since it comes with plenty of accessories and a couple of weird-looking skeletons to fight.
Under $50
Overwatch: Wrecking Ball – $30
It’s a hamster with a mech that rolls up into a ball. Why wouldn’t anyone want this?
The Lego Movie 2: Ultrakatty and Warrior Lucy – $36
Unikitty has had a bit of a rebrand since the first Lego Movie, and now the perpetually-angry housecat can transform into a giant He-Man style battlecat. Well someone has to be able to fight the aliens, and Batman can’t do all the hard work.
Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker – $50
Can’t justify spending over £200 on the new Batmobile? This is the next best thing, with a similar design for about a tenth ofthe price. It even comes with the Joker for good measure.
Captain Marvel: Skrull Attack – $50
Another set made so much more appealing by its feline cameo, this is the only set to have spun out of the Captain Marvel movie. It’s a must for fans of Marvel and weird planes alike.
Star Wars: Resistance A-Wing Starfighter – $45
Nobody’s favourite Star Wars ship is the A-Wing, but being the smallest it’s also the cheapest, and it can be comfortably held in one hand while you run around making “pew pew pew” noises with your mouth. No fleet is complete without it.
Possibly the coolest space shuttle Lego has made since the big expensive replica of the real one from a few years ago, with the bonus addition of a Mars rover. It’s not Curiosity, but it’ll do nicely. Now if only it could be packed up to go inside the shuttle…
Hidden Side: Wrecked Shrimp Boat – $50
With the added bonus of a free AR game, this set packs in more than you’d expect from that picture alone. With the Ghostbuster theme seemingly dead (until the new movie, anyway), this is the best way to get some spook-fighting action.
It may not have featured in the film, but it is about time War Machine got his own giant mecha suit don’t you think? Bigger guns are the ideal accessory for the man with a man like that, and it would have made a few of Thanos’s minions think twice about getting in his way. Sadly it wasn’t meant to be, though with the set we can all pretend it did.
Under $70
Spider-Man’s Spider Crawler – $60
Another of Lego’s obvious mecha fetish, though thankfully this isn’t just a giant robot man with another man inside. It’s a giant robot spider, built for not one, but two Spider-Men as they battle Sandman and the Vulture. Not only do you get the regular Peter Parker Spider-Man, you also get Spider-Man 2099 in the form of Miguel O’Hara. Looks like these villains have their work cut out for them.
The big modular Creator Expert sets are known for costing a fortune, but the smaller sets aren’t so much. And they have the added bonus of coming as a three-in-one build, that lets you create three different buildings from the same pieces. It’s not as creatively satisfying as a box of bricks, but it does mean you get way more value for your money. Plus this one is all about the sweet stuff, which, dare I say it, is pretty sweet.
Also:
Large Creative Brick Box – $70
With over 790 pieces, this is a box of *just bricks*. Most importantly, however, it’s the large box of bricks that comes in a plastic storage box for you to keep it all in. There’s a bigger one that costs more with double the pieces, but that one is made of cardboard. Bit rubbish really.
Lego is all about creativity, and with a box of bricks you should help unleash that in someone you’re responsible for buying a present for this Christmas.
This post originally appeared on Gizmodo UK, which is gobbling up the news in a different timezone.