Didn't everyone as a child dream of having their own tree house where they could make themselves comfortable? With the Lego® Ideas 21318 Tree House, this is possible, at least for your own Lego minifigures. What makes the set so special? And is the Lego tree house also suitable as an investment? We would like to clarify these questions in this review.
Ideas: The AFOL favourite
Lego® Ideas is a themed series where fans can submit their own ideas. Other fans can vote on them and if more than 10,000 votes are cast, Lego decides whether the idea will be implemented or not. At ideas.lego.com you can vote on the current suggestions and help decide which sets could be released in the future.
Often, suggestions for sets are submitted to Ideas that do not yet exist in this form in the Lego world. This makes the sets particularly interesting for collectors, but also as an investment, as there are few similar sets.
Facts about the Lego® Ideas themed world
- Set ideas come from the AFOL community
- Ideas Suggestions for sets that have not yet existed in this form in the Lego world.
- Target group: Adults
- On average two to three years on the market
- Costs mostly under 200,00€
- Lego Ideas does not accept ideas over 3,000 pieces
Lego® D2C Sets
It's not often that you can get good discounts on Lego Ideas sets. Even 20% is a rarity. This is directly related to the fact that they are distributed by Lego as D2C sets. Consequently, they are only offered by Lego itself and some exclusive partners like Amazon or Galeria.
Most sets are definitely worth buying at a discount of 10% or more. For example, if there are double VIP points or a free insert (GWP) atLego.com. In the past, however, the low discounts have in no way harmed the increase in value.
Quite the opposite: the Lego Ideas 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay has already increased its value to over 250,00€ 4 months after End of Life, and that with an RRP of 199,99€.
Lego® Ideas 21318: Facts & Figures
There are 4 exclusive minifigures in the set. However, these are not exceptional and therefore only worth about €2 per minifigure. In addition, the set does not have a licence, which would be positive for an investment. Admittedly, this is not very suitable for a tree house. On the other hand, the set has no stickers and only prints, which should make collectors and fans happy. With discounts, the set can regularly be bought for 180€ or less. With 3036 parts for currently approx. 180€ - 200€ (as of 12.04.2022), the set is available for a fair price.
10,000 votes reached in record time
The Ideas 21318 ree house is one of the larger models among the Ideas sets and is very detailed. We like the details at the base of the tree, e.g. the river and the table, as well as the many details in the three houses. The set comes with extra leaves in yellow and brown. This means that the tree house can be put into "autumn mode" in quite a short time.
Most successful fan proposal in a long time
Among the Ideas Sets, the tree house proposal was one of the most successful proposals in recent times: after only 4 months, the idea had already reached 10,000 votes. That is very fast for a fan suggestion and speaks for a successful set.
However, Lego's® implementation of the set is very different from the original idea. One of the reasons is that the fan designer has far exceeded the 3,000-part limit. What we noticed negatively about the set is that the houses and the tree top are rather wobbly. On the other hand, the tree is very stable thanks to a technical construction. In addition, the substructure shines through in a few places.
Comparable sets to the Lego® Ideas Tree House
Each Lego Ideas set is unique and it is difficult to find comparison sets. The best comparison is probably to the Lego® Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store, due to the similar uses in a Lego city and the similar target audience.
Both sets are very popular with fans and collectors.
Breathtaking increase in value
The Lego® Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store has 2049 parts at an RRP of €149.99 and has seen a breathtaking increase in value: From an RRP of €149.99, the set rose to €220.00 just two months after EOL.
Two years after End of Life, the value of the set even rose to over €360.00 (as of 12.04.2022).
Discounts of around 10% were also possible for the fishing shop. However, the old fishing shop was only on the market for just under 1 ½ years and the tree house is expected to reach the end of its life at the end of 2022, which corresponds to a life of just under 3 ½ years. This suggests a slightly worse appreciation for the tree house, due to the lower scarcity.
Lego® 21318 Tree House but now finally End of Life?
Ideas 21318 Tree House was released in August 2019 and the first End of Life date was set for late 2020. So not 1 ½ years after the launch. Apparently the set sold so well that Lego® moved the End of Life date back by one year to the end of 2021. But even in 2021 the set should not go End of Life. It seems that the new EOL date is not 2022 but instead 2023. But Lego might change plans again and the set might still retire before 2023.
EOL date nearing?
You shouldn't wait too long to buy this set, as discounts and availability decrease towards the end of the year. We think it's rather risky to speculate on a good Black Friday offer. It's best to buy a few now and still have money to buy more if there are good discounts in late summer. You can always find the best price in the deals section of the Brickfact app! If you wish, you can be notified as soon as a set is available at the best price.
Buy Lego® Tree House at RRP?
The discounts at Lego® Ideas are usually so small that it doesn't matter if you buy a set at the RRP. A daily price comparison with price chart and additional information can be found in the Brickfact database.
There is also the possibility to buy the set directly from Lego and get VIP points and possibly a free enclosure on top. This way you can lower your purchase price.
Conclusion
The Lego® Ideas 21318 Tree House is one of the most successful and popular sets from the Ideas series in recent years. The fact that the set has been renewed twice speaks volumes.
If you compare the set with other sets from the Ideas series, e.g. the Lego Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store, you can expect an increase in value to 350€ - 400€ within two to three years after End of Life.
Due to its popularity among collectors, the set is an excellent Lego investment. A clear buy recommendation for every investor and collector!
