The LEGO Creator theme consists of a variety of subthemes that revolve around sets that focus on buildings, creatures, vehicles, robots and recently more specialized sets such as botanical and even the Chinese New Year. Many of these sets have fallen under the 3-in-1 label which include instructions in a single set to provide multiple alternative models. Originally created in 2001 with a focus on larger bucket sets, the LEGO Creator theme has expanded outside just bricks to later include minifigures.
2013 LEGO Sets
2013 included a number of notable theme releases including the Legends of Chima, The Lone Ranger, Galaxy Squad, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Mickey Mouse & Friends. The flagship release was Legends of Chima with the coincided premier of The Legends of Chima TV Show on Cartoon Network. However, LEGO unfortunately did retire a number of well-loved themes such as Monster Fighters, SpongeBob SquarePants, Cars and Dino. One interesting note is that in 2013, LEGO started changing from 4-digit set numbers to 5-digit set numbers. 2013 was also the year that LEGO release the exclusive Mr. Gold in its collectable minifigures blind bags. This event single handled created one of the greatest investment opportunities for collections LEGO has seen.