Is the LEGO Marvel Daily Bugle (76178) a Good Investment Set?

28th February 2023

The Daily Bugle is due to retire at the end of 2024, which means there's still plenty of time left to add it to your collection or investment portfolio. However, this could change, so it can be worth acting early so as not to be disappointed. If you're thinking of buying this set to make a profit when it retires, then read on, as in this article we consider whether it's a good investment or not.

The set

When it was released, the Daily Bugle was the tallest LEGO building ever made, and was LEGO's first skyscraper. It comes in at a dizzying 82cm tall, which makes it an impressive display model. Although the building is architecturally quite bland compared to other modular buildings, it's accurately detailed and reflects the style of many buildings in New York, where the Bugle is located.

However, the battle scene designed into the build provides plenty of visual interest, where we see all eight superheroes and supervillains in action, in an epic battle worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. There are also tons of Marvel movie and comic book references that any superhero geek will love.

The walls of the skyscraper can be easily removed and inside you'll find some fantastic detail. There are four floors in total, all with good levels of detail. The reception area is on the ground floor, the main office or “bullpen” is on the first floor, Peter Parker's office and a small foyer sit on the second floor, and finally the offices of J. Jonah Jameson and his receptionist Betty Brant occupy the third floor.

Overall, it's a fantastic model and it's up there as one of the very best LEGO Marvel sets.

Value for Money

The price rises that LEGO introduced in 2022 saw the RRP of the Daily Bugle rise from £264.99 / $349.99 / €299.99 to £299.99 / $349.99 / €349.99. Despite this, the set is still decent value for money, with a price per piece of 8.0p / 9.3c / 9.3c, which is lower than most Marvel sets released in the past couple of years.

The Minifigures

The Daily Bugle holds the joint record of the most minifigures in a single set. There are 25 in total, none of which are duplicates. The current combined average price of all the minifigures is two-thirds of the RRP, which demonstrates how desirable this set is for minifigure collectors.

As it stands, the minifigures of The Punisher, Daredevil, and Fire-Star are the only ones LEGO have produced of these characters. Therefore, if you don't want to fork out for the full set, these would be worth purchasing separately, especially if LEGO doesn't make any more minifigures of them.

Unique Parts

Most of the exterior decoration is done using stickers, including the large billboards and Daily Bugle branding. This was necessary to keep the price down, but it means that there are few unique parts. This is a nuisance when building the set, and reduces the overall quality of the set, but it's a minor factor determining the set's investment potential.

Outlook

Marvel is one of the most popular LEGO themes, largely because of the barrage of blockbuster movies, TV series, and other fan media released in the last two decades. The legions of diehard Marvel fans means that superheroes occupy many spots in the list of most expensive LEGO minifigures.

The large collection of minifigures in the Daily Bugle is therefore very promising for this set's investment potential. The fact that many of these are exclusive is expected to drive up the set's price after it retires.

Another plus point of the Daily Bugle, is that it's compatible with the Icons / Creator Expert modular buildings, as it's built on the same 32x32 stud baseplate. This means that even if you're not the biggest Marvel fan, there is a reason to buy this set.

TLDR

Investment opportunity: Good

There are a lot of reasons to buy the Daily Bugle, not least because it's an excellent model. Factor in the modular compatibility and 25 minifigures (including eight superheroes and supervillains), and you have the makings of a very desirable set.

The only thing preventing this set from soaring in value on the secondary market, is its long shelf life. If it does retire at the end of 2024, it will have been around for three and half years, which feels like a lifetime in LEGO set terms. However, despite this, I still think there is some good profit to be had here, and I can see this set reaching £400 / $450 in the future.

Disclaimer: This article or any others on brickranker.com should not be considered financial advice and investing in LEGO is risky.

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