Why collectors love this toy

At any one time, Lego artist Nathan Sawaya has more than four million bricks in his studios in New York and Los Angeles.
 A decade ago, Nathan Sawaya was a corporate lawyer who relaxed after work by building things with his childhood Lego bricks. The hobby so inspired Sawaywa that the 41-year-old has become a full-time artist who has studios in New York and Los Angeles and is building Lego creations that sell for six-figure sums. His touring exhibition The Art of the Brick has attracted millions of visitors in North America, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, China and Europe.

“Galleries were very sceptical at the beginning. They pictured what they saw in toy stores. It took them seeing the work in person to see it was more than just cars and trucks,”

said Sawaya, who collaborated with Lady Gaga to create a headless yellow sculpture for one of her music videos. Simpler works, like Sawaya’s 16-inch high Hugman figures, sell for $300.

“Lego has a timelessness to it. The bricks I had as a child still snap together with the bricks I buy today,"

he said.
Collectors are beginning to notice the burgeoning interest in Lego toys. For example, the 7884 Batman’s Buggy sold for $9.99 in 2008 recently fetched $138 on eBay, according to Brickpicker. The 10190 Market Street set that retailed at $89.99 in 2007 recently sold for $1,472, while 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon, which retailed for $499.99 in 2007, changed hands for $3,569. “Most Lego sets appreciate in value,” said BrickPicker’s Ed Maciorowski, “But some take time to hit peak values.
” It could take two to three years or longer, he said.