Hi,
On Friday, October 23, Nils and I (Dante) went to the LEGO store BARDOBRICK together. This is the store owned by toy investor Lars Conrad.
Today, let’s take a closer look at what makes this store so special, what there is to discover there, and what we thought of our visit.
Let’s get started.
What exactly is BARDOBRICK?
BARDOBRICK is a store specializing in LEGO owned by Lars Conrad, whom many probably know better as the toy investor.
The store is located in Bardowick near Lüneburg and now offers everything LEGO-related across 155 square meters.
And that’s exactly what makes it so special.
After all, the store doesn’t just carry the latest sets—which you could just as easily buy at any other toy store. Of course, they have those, too. But in addition, there are used sets from a wide variety of themes, sets that have long since been EOL, individual pieces, Minifigures, special parts, and—in some cases—truly quirky or rare collector’s items.
And that’s exactly what makes the store so interesting, in my opinion.
Because there you can find LEGO from past decades, old promotional items, special promo sets, production materials, and other things that sometimes make you stop and think for a moment about what exactly you’re looking at.
Our First Impression
We walked into the store shortly before 8 p.m. and first ran into good old Arne and a few customers who were just chatting with each other.
So Nils and I started by taking a relaxed look around.
From the latest sets, we moved on to the used models, then to the Minifigures, and of course to all the display cases with the more unique items.
I had imagined the store to be about the same size as it actually turned out to be. Nils, however, had expected it to be quite a bit bigger.
But what really won us both over pretty quickly was the selection.
For example, there were still Bionicle promo sets in their original packaging, old LEGO stationery, and all sorts of special items from past decades. On top of that, there were older sets, individual figures, and things you just don’t happen to pick up on a quick trip to Smyths or the LEGO Store.
And of course, it was exactly these quirky items that immediately caught my eye.
More than Just a Showroom
Something else I really liked: The store isn’t just a bunch of shelves and a cash register—that’s it.
There’s also a lounge area where, among other things, there’s a guestbook that various creators and visitors have signed. You can build with LEGO there or browse through various books about LEGO.
We were also offered water and coffee while we were there, and overall, the atmosphere was very relaxed.
At times, it felt less like just standing in a store and more like a gathering place for people who all share the same hobby.
After we’d been looking around for a while—and I, for one, had already fallen in love with a few rare and rather quirky items—we asked Arne if Lars was going to stop by that evening as well.
And sure enough, he said, “He’ll be here later.”
So we kept browsing.
Are my mysterious LEGO bricks prototypes?
At some point, Lars joined us, too.
And I had brought along a handful of unusual LEGO bricks on purpose—I’d been curious for a while to find out what they were all about.
My question, of course, was: Could these possibly be prototypes?
And the whole thing was actually examined with much more interest than I had expected.
Among other things, Lars took a closer look at the bricks under a microscope and also sent pictures of them to someone who knows a lot about this kind of thing.
In the end, the conclusion was that there’s about an 80 percent chance these are LEGO bricks that someone modified themselves later on for their own project.
So probably not prototypes.
Still, I found the whole thing incredibly interesting. Especially because Lars didn’t just say, “Nah, it’s nothing,” but actually took a closer look at the pieces. Because, theoretically, with such unusual items, prototypes or test pieces could actually turn up.
And suddenly, it was closing time
Around 10 p.m., a few more of Lars’s friends stopped by, including Brickcaster.
And even though the store had actually closed by then, we hung out together for quite a while longer, chatting about LEGO, the Brick-Tracker, and all sorts of things.
Of course, we had to take some photos with Lars and the Brickcaster at the end, too.
The only one we completely forgot about was good old Arne.
We actually only caught him in the background by chance in our photos of the store. So, Arne: We’ll have to make up for that next time.
What are the prices like at BARDOBRICK?
Let’s move on to a topic that will probably interest a lot of people: What about the prices?
In my opinion, they’re good.
Most of the standard LEGO sets currently in stock were priced at the MSRP. That’s not really surprising for a small, specialty store like this.
I found the prices on the used sets much more interesting.
Especially for the models in the display cases, many were either around the current market price or, in some cases, even below it.
And of course, this gives you an advantage over some random online deal: You can see right there whether a set is complete or incomplete, the items have been inspected, you can examine them in person, and then simply take them home with you.
No shipping costs, no hoping that the seller really packed everything, and no package that gets half-crushed in transit.
Even for Minifigures and the more unusual collectibles, I found the prices to be fair overall and in line with the market.
What did I buy?
Of course, I didn’t go home empty-handed.
I picked up a few smaller, slightly more quirky pieces.
Among them were, among other things, original LEGO plastic granules in a small vial, an old LEGO set from 1958, and a few other small specialty pieces that I just found interesting.
Nils, on the other hand, decided to go with the free option for now: wonder.
A complete BrickHeadz collection hanging from the ceiling
One of the most impressive things in the store is actually hanging right above you.
Lars has displayed his BrickHeadz Collection there in display cases under the ceiling—still in their original packaging. And we’re not just talking about someone who’s collected a few of the regular BrickHeadz.
Lars has been known for years for his exceptionally extensive BrickHeadz Collection. It includes some of the extremely rare pieces from the series’ early days, such as the 2016 and 2017 Comic-Con exclusives, special store-opening models, and even the extremely rare Nonnie BrickHeadz from the 2017 LEGO Inside Tour.
His collection was even on display at LEGO House in Billund in 2022.
So anyone interested in BrickHeadz could probably spend quite a while here alone, just standing and marveling.
The Extremely Rare Pharrell Williams Set
But there’s another set that really caught my eye:
It’s the LEGO Icons 10391 Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams.
The standard set was created in collaboration with Pharrell Williams and features a black-and-gold space shuttle with a colorful contrail. It includes Minifigures of Pharrell and his wife, Helen Lasichanh, as well as a wide selection of different Minifigure heads.
But this standard version isn’t the one I’m referring to.
BARDOBRICK offers a very special version that comes in a black case.
And this piece is truly rare.
Apparently, there are only 6 of these cases in the world.
This special presentation includes, among other things, a so-called “Blueprint Box” with Pharrell Williams patches and a poster.
And Lars is simply displaying his suitcase in the store.
In my opinion, these kinds of items alone make it worth browsing around there.
Was our visit worth it?
Yes.
Absolutely.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s about an hour’s drive to Bardowick, and it was definitely worth it.
The people there were super nice. And I don’t just mean Lars and Arne, but also the customers and the people who showed up later.
You could chat in a relaxed atmosphere, interesting conversations arose, and overall, you never felt like you were supposed to buy something as quickly as possible and then leave right away.
And in my opinion, that’s exactly what makes a store like this special. Of course, you can get the latest LEGO sets there.
But personally, I wouldn’t drive an hour just for that.
I’d go there for the other stuff.
Because of the used sets, the rare Minifigures, old promotional items, vintage LEGO, quirky individual pieces, and those things that make you stand in front of the display case and think, “What on earth is that?”
That, to me, is exactly what makes BARDOBRICK so appealing.
And I can now understand why the store attracts LEGO fans and collectors from various countries. A wide variety of creators and collectors have visited there, and Lars simply has some items in his Collection and for sale that are otherwise very hard—or in some cases impossible—to come by.
I’d recommend that every LEGO fan stop by there at least once.
And I can easily imagine that this won’t be our last visit there and that we’ll say hello to Lars and Arne again sometime.
You just have to be prepared for one thing:
You’d better bring a well-stocked wallet.
Not because the store is overpriced—but because there’s a pretty good chance you’ll spot some silly little thing that you’ll suddenly just have to have.
Click here to visit his Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/der_spielwaren_investor?vrfl=MW9nYjllNzIxY3o5aQ==
Have you ever been to BARDOBRICK yourselves?
And if so: What did you find there, and what did you think of the store?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
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Author: Dante