I’m finally done with sorting the #LEGO parts that were in the 17.8 lbs Lower East Side bin, the fourth I’ve been sorting so far.

This time I’ve been able to formally identify a record 79 sets (including several collectible minifigures) based on the parts in the bin. I tried to gather the parts for 20 of them.

Alas, this bin was pretty frustrating since I didn’t manage to find more than 70% of the parts for any given set. I strongly suspect that there were twin sister bins created after what must have been a dramatic separation, and I ended with only one of them.

So, unlike with the previous bin where sets where mostly complete, I had to make some tough choices whether to buy the remaining parts for each of the 20 sets. I first considered whether buying the set used would be cheaper than buying the missing parts. This ruled out half of the sets, and a few only remained because their resale price is through the roof, mainly because of rare minifigures.

To save money I made a couple more executive decisions to keep only the sets I would want to display, and to exclude minifigures when they are too rare/expensive. This is the final list:

• 75020 - Star Wars - Jabba’s Sail Barge (2013): This is an example of a mix of executive decisions. Without the rare minifigures, the set finally got less expensive to complete ($65) than to buy used ($80). And a sail boat in space? It's a good argument for a display piece. It's also the first set I identified in the bin, from the Jabba figure himself that was floating on the surface.
• 7985 - Atlantis - City of Atlantis (2011): Another extremely expensive set to find in North America, the first item goes at $185 which made $100 of missing parts without the minifigs actually palatable for a unique-looking set.
• 9500 - Star Wars - Sith Fury-class Interceptor (2012): The third crazy expensive set, the included Darth Malgus minifigure itself goes for $70+ and the set itself is currently only available in North America from $160. Without the minifigures the cost of completion becomes somewhat reasonable ($60). Not too happy with the Sith theme but it still is a nice display piece next to my Jedi Scout Fighter and Gungan Sub.
• 8076 - Atlantis - Deep Sea Striker (2010): One of the most complete set after sorting, just $6 of missing parts for a weird sea scorpion got it a place.
• 7206 - City - Fire Helicopter (2010): Affordable to complete ($20) with a bucket with trans-light blue round bricks as water, now I need to find a way to hang it from the ceiling.
• 70003 - Legends of Chima - Eris' Eagle Interceptor (2013): A fighter jet in the shape of an eagle in my favorite colors? Sign me up, even if it is slightly too expensive to complete ($25) it compared to buy it used ($20). But I wouldn't do anything else with all the feathers I found in the bin anyway.
• 7051 - Alien Conquest - Tripod Invader (2011): A fun set that grazes the affordability bar ($25) for a good display value.

These 7 sets should cost me about $280 of parts to complete. It's a far cry from the previous bin where I was able to complete 15 sets with about $300 of parts, but at least this time I'm sure I want them all for myself.