thndrmatt

Figured I"d bring this thread back from the dead again since world circumstances had me finally get around to duplicating this effort for the full size BB-8 of ~11k pieces by Henrik. https://imgur.com/a/6q0OARu His work obviously, not mine. Some notes from the build: -I will say using LDD auto-generated instructions was a real pain as the build order was pretty terrible, but I couldn't seem to find an alternative program that could handle the 11k pieces and auto-generate instructions correctly. It also seemed to always leave some major technic elements just totally missing, and some pieces orphaned and floating in midair. Luckily since there's some duplication across the build you can figure out where things are supposed to be eventually. The auto zoom all the way back out thing that LDD did every 4 pieces placed was the bane of my existence, as trying to zoom back in every time and figure out where the heck it just placed that 1x1 plate was a real time sapper. Feel free to share how I could have done it easier, hindsight is always useful... -I went with LBG vs the DBG he used, as I had more of those pieces lying around. I wouldn't waste the money getting 100% new white, as there are a ton of the white pieces that end up either fully hidden or mostly hidden, and a weathered look to him looks more realistic anyway. -I reinforced the interior using the crossbars that are blue/gray in my version, his version had one included the parts list but not the other seven I ended up duplicating and adjusting to fit. Much sturdier than it would have been otherwise, I think he might have went with a similar solution when he restructured the interior. -I also added a third technic section to connect the remaining two of the 6 sides, as I felt that would help secure it as well. You can't really secure the 6th side in the same manner because you have no way to see what you're doing once you slide it on there, so I just made the 6th face the top section and plopped that one on with the added central support. -There is a lot of usage of 1x1 plates when larger plates (1x2, 1x3, etc) or even 1x1 bricks could be used basically all over the model. If someone took the time to go through the draw file and make it more efficient you'd probably save some decent coin. But that would cost a bunch of time, which you might value more... -I used a kickstand of bricks on the back and wedged it into a corner to keep it from rolling away, but definitely consider display strategy... Similarly I added some bricks to the interior of the head to give allow it to solidly attach to the body, as the instructions had it mostly just sitting on top rather than being connected solidly. -This thing isn't light, definitely a two armed hope you don't trip effort to get it anywhere even with the head removed. People see it right when they come in my front door, and it's certainly a conversation starter... Thanks Henrik!

Quick update to show I added a shelf and supports between the upper edge of the 6 foot tall shelves and the ceiling, that allowed a full other row of display space. Left the far left side open for some of the taller sets but the rest fit no problem. Probably just going to bring in 10188 at this point vs buy the new one and put it in its place chronologically, also still waffling on whether new snowspeeder would be worth it. And still getting around to Hoth, hoping for a discount.

Where'd you get the table?

This post will basically show how impossible it is to try to display umpteen UCS sets. I don't intend this to be a permanent solution, but I had sets all over the place as I was building, and with both a 1.5 year old and one due in a few months, the breakable stuff all gets booted into a tiny room I call the "library" which is basically a trove of all kinds of stuff. I attempted to go semi chronological with a few exceptions. Spacing was a challenge. Visible in this shot is also the complete LOTR/Hobbit collection of sets which I have done a similar horrible job cluttering together. Having the legs of the AT-ST fit in between the Y-wing engines was convenient, even better was the natural tilt of the snowspeeder happening to fit a millimeter above the blockade runner. Oh yeah, and the DS2 is huge, news flash. I actually didn't have room for R2D2 initially, then I figured out by turning the TIE sideways I could fit him in the gap. Obi-wan's is basically hidden behind the mass of the SSD if viewed from the floor. We'll see if I end up losing sleep over the massive heavy set only having 3/4 of it's mount actually on the shelf... Hopefully I'll eventually post pics of some kind of fancy display solution. Especially since I have precisely zero room for additional sets up there. Not pictured are 10030 and 10179 which are duking it out in the family room on either side of the entertainment center, and 10188 because "it doesn't count" that's up on top of a china cabinet. It's also paired with the Tower of Orthanc, those two look pretty bizarre next to each other... especially since the third thing up there is a model of an AC-130 gunship, like the one I flew on for 9 years.

Got all the formulas working in the spreadsheet, so this is what I've got figured out. Honesty up front, due to the massive amount of lots (~1050), doing the ISD by itself, then the rest, then the last two, I did a total of 53 (!) Bricklink orders and at least 5 from bricks & pieces. Figuring I averaged paying $3 shipping at least, that's probably $200 just for shipping. Also note I did not purchase any boxes, any instructions, or any stickers. I did purchase the two minifigs since they were ~$4. The typical used set costs below were pulled like six months ago when I started all this so they might have changed. Feel free to call me out if something seems blasphemous and I'll correct. But while it seems like there's significant profit on several sets, obviously if they're heavy on stickers or if I was heavy on substitutions, those aren't realistic "profits". The goal was to compile the collection in a near accurate state, but obviously with some of the choices I made it is by no means a purist product. Besides which, the "profits" are only relevant if I was going to sell everything off, and that won't be happening anytime soon. Set, my bricklinked cost, typical used set cost 7181, $37, $300 7191, $243, $400 7194, $217 (bought full set used), $320 10018, $74, $450 10019, $150, $700 10026, $67, $340 10030, $700, $1200 10129, $161, $650 10134, $125, $605 10143, $336, $900 10174, $92, $250 10175, $90, $425 10186, $100 (bought full set used), $200 10215, $100 (bought full set used), $157 10225, $108, $325 The grand totals combined are: 20,304 pieces (~4k common ones pulled from my childhood collection, ~16k bricklinked) Cost: $2600 Value: $7371 I repeat, once you factor in shipping times 60+ orders, cost of reproducing all the stickers, and drastic substitutions of $20, $50, and even $100 pieces, the realistic value is not what's listed, but it makes me feel better about the project. :) I updated the substitutions list from the original post including the last two sets. Edit: This post inspired me to check the other sets values that I either purchased new (some discounted) or was gifted over the past several years: 10179, gift (probably $499), $2100 10212, $206, $485 10221, $320, $727 10227, $100, $225 10240, gift (probably $199), $251 75060, $199, $156 75095, gift (probably $199), $167 So the ultra grand totals of the entire UCS collection if counting what those who purchased the gifts paid: Cost: $4,322 Unrealistic but still fun to add up value: $11,482 If anyone has any questions about a particular set let me know. ps I know I don't have Hoth yet, can't have that amazon wishlist be totally empty, and clearly it's a much cheaper hobby if I'm not buying everything!

Finally the last one is complete, 10129... I'm actually not pleased with the dark gray slope on the front not matching all the other dark bluish gray pieces, so might still change that out. Obviously a couple major subs were the trans-orange windscreens on both the rear sides (instead of orange) and the front (instead of trans-black). Other subs were 1x4 orange slopes on the front instead of 2x4, and a 2x3 and 1x3 orange slope on the rear for each of the intended 3x3s. Also didn't do trans-black hinge plate on top, just left it lbg. A few of the pieces weren't available in lbg and I had to stick with lg, but they blend in pretty well or are hidden. Also noticed when I took the pic I forgot to rotate a few of the technic pins, I bought the ones with notches since they're so much cheaper, and if rotated to face downward on the cannons they appear the same (compare the left with the right to see the difference. Now that all the building is done, going to update all the substitutions lists (including the last two I hadn't added yet at that point) and finish up all the math on the spreadsheet and see which ones were the best bang for the buck. Oh, and figure out where to put them all. ;)

Another option is light bluish gray 50990b (solid studs) instead of 50990a (hollow studs). Certainly doesn't affect the visual much, that's what I chose for $1.40. http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=50990b#T=P&C=86

Honestly with the new Bricklink site and the way you can sort stores and filter them, it would have been a lot easier. Basically make a want list that combines all of the inventories you want, and then start working your way through the places that have massive amounts of the pieces you need (but eliminating all the stores with 10 times the prices of others). It becomes obvious if looking at the old style of want list which pieces either don't exist in the color you're substituting or are extremely rare/expensive, so make decisions along the way based on that. Another thing I would do is look at the actual instructions for the set to see if the problematic piece is even visible, or how prominent it is. I did it all manually in excel, and that took some serious time, much like the sorting of all my old childhood pieces did since there were multiple full boxes. But that's why they call it a hobby right? :)

Next up was a dual build of 7191 and 10129, conveniently delayed on both fronts because of a few last pieces on the former, and managing to buy 1x1 bricks modified with clips instead of 1x1 bricks modified with headlights for the latter... The inventory is a bit of a mess since it was both combined. I'll go back and post the substitutions I did for these when I update the pricing. There were a few key pieces that were only in lg and not lbg, and a few others that were just way cheaper in lg. The half cylinders, the 12 length gray axles, and the robot bodies are a few of those subs. I also did white wheels for the front of the engines instead of the cost prohibitive gray ones. I didn't go cheap everywhere though, I did splurge for both the clear windscreen and the printed slope piece beneath it, as those are both very visible. Another sub was for the rear flower pot pieces, and I'm not all that happy with the result (even tried them flipped around), so may research another substitution there. This next shot shows you some of the mismatched grays up front because of the odd shaped slope pieces again only being accessible in lg. One last build to go as soon as those headlights show up... Because of all the mistakes by myself or the sellers, deciding to do 10030 alone at first, then all the others, then adding these two, I'm at 50+ bricklink orders. :/ I highly recommend making sure you know how many you want to do in advance and getting everything all at once... cost permitting of course.

The last of the 4x4 dishes for 10019 finally showed up (after multiple sellers sent me 2x2 dishes incorrectly and would promptly refund the tiny amount of cents I'd paid for them which didn't help the extra shipping I had to keep paying for additional shipments). This was most of the inventory before I started the build: Like I mentioned before there were some pretty severe color changes here to save money, in particular the quarter cylinders and motorcycle wheels being lbg. I added some dark red quarter circle plates to give the engines slightly more red to match the rest, and I'm hoping once I apply the stickers later on that some of the starkness on the sides will be hidden. The trans black octagon domes on top are pretty bizarre looking, I might still try to pick up some of those in white at some point, but I do kind of like how the set as a whole now looks more unique than the full white versions and actually looks more representative of some of the non Lego models out there. I am experiencing some of the engine sagging described in the other 10019 threads, so we'll see how that holds up longer term. Finally got the last of the 7191 and 10129 pieces ordered, so that will be a simultaneous build to follow. And then will be updating all the pricing info to discuss bang vs buck for all the sets.

Slight interruption to my Bricklinking as I'm still waiting on the last engine pieces for 10019, and still have about 25 lots to purchase for 7191 and 10029 that I'm having trouble finding in something other than 10+ sellers. In the meantime I figured I'd knock out 75059, which was actually a refreshing change. It's amazing how much faster you can build when you're just looking through one numbered bag instead of the entire table of thousands of pieces... Lots of repetitive building here, with the left/right sides being just different enough that you couldn't just "2x" them in the instructions. Lots more moving parts than I expected looking at the box, like the barrels that can slide out the sides and the cargo containers that can be placed in various positions or slid through the side holes or raised with the crane. I have a feeling this one will be a major pain to bricklink in the future, as there is obviously a truckload of unique brown/tan/orange used throughout, might end up similar to those who try to do anything using Statue of Liberty/Yoda green... I was also surprised at the number of "extra" pieces. With each bag (16 numbers, with some doubled) having one extra of every tiny piece, in some cases (1x1 round plate for example) you end up with 5 or 6 extra of the same piece. I've always stored the extra pieces with the boxes thinking it may add to the value if I ever resell, but I'm wondering now what kind of treasure trove of expensive extra pieces I might have in some of the older sets that were purchased at retail. The minifigures are pretty fun, and there are plenty of them. The completionist in me is thinking maybe after the remaining older UCS sets are complete, I may pick up Ewok Village and Hoth on future holidays/sales... Especially since I have the Death Star playset, those in a trio on display probably make more sense than putting them with all of the vehicles.

Apologies for the delay, I had a few issues with orders containing the wrong part, a few broken parts, and there was a vacation in there somewhere... I've actually been simultaneously building 10019 and 10134 and the former is still waiting on a few more pesky trans-orange 4x4 dishes for the engines, so in the meantime, I finished up the Y-Wing. Apparently I never took an inventory shot at the very beginning, so this is most of it: Several substitutions were made, including making everything dark and light bluish gray, which I continue to prefer over the old stuff. Four of the dbg hoses ended up lbg which doesn't make much of a difference. The engines obviously had significant color changes from mostly white to a combination of lbg, flat silver, and metallic silver. I also chose dark red instead of dark orange for the modified bricks and grill tiles, not only because they were more common but to tie it together better with the Blockade Runner and its color scheme. I am very pleased with how both of those substitutions turned out: Another one to make the purists vomit, but another one for the shelf. Or the display case. Or whatever I end up doing with all these... Will put up picks of 10019 as soon as those last pieces come in. Oh and spoiler alert, all those pieces in the background are the majority of 7191 and 10129 which I decided to do after all... I'm having too much fun. :)

The random orange pieces showed up so I also finished up R2D2. Not much exciting to say on this one since it's recent enough I was able to get all the pieces with no substitutions. Quite the rainbow is involved given obviously the blues and white are what shows primarily. Also interesting they use the huge black tile now instead of a bunch of smaller ones combined for the plaque. He is a bit awkward when trying to display in the third leg forward moving position, it seems like most of the weight is still on the rear two feet. I'm not sure if that's by design or a side effect of my building process. I did forget to add the bottom red hoses until after I took the pic, but they're on there now. The only two substitutions I had to do on 10174 were black patio stands instead of lbg, and lbg 4x4 open center technics instead of black (not visible). I really enjoyed the AT-ST build process, especially the fact that all the parts were freestanding as you went, thanks to great balance of pieces. The final product is bigger than I expected, and a really neat addition to the collection. Now a UCS AT-AT would really look great nearby... Last two on the list for now are the Y-Wing and Blockade Runner, the latter of which is in progress but waiting on a few last pieces. Both were heavy on the substiutions so more to follow. Also going to put pricing info for everything at that point since the inventories will be finalized. Needless to say some were better "bang for the buck" sets than others...

After I finally managed to grab the last of the Black Brick 4x6 which were for some reason even harder for me to get than the 4x18, I finished putting together Darth Maul. The surprise for me on this one was the sheer volume of red pieces, I for some reason had it in my mind that it would be mostly black. The large black pieces are all in the base so I had the base about half complete and all of the head done for a long time while waiting on pieces. Of course almost completely done with the head, I noticed this: A classic case of getting to the top and having two extra black 1x1 bricks and no brown ones, and realizing I incorrectly placed them wayyyy down the bust... By some miracle and using a lot of force, I managed to split it basically exactly where I needed to, was able to replace the pieces, and get it all back together and tight. That could have been a lot worse... The only substitution I did on this one was the cylinder quarters, I chose dark gray instead of black, but as you can see they merely provide support from the rear, and aren't even visible from the front. Interesting trivia is discovered as you build as the bust is "almost" all symmetrical, but with a few noted differences, like who knew that he wears an earring in his left ear...

Finally got some of the lbg 20L hoses that I promptly trimmed to make both 10L hoses x 8 and 14L hoses x 6, which allowed me to finish the 10175 build. Again I used a blue cockpit, and obviously even more so than the interceptor, it looks pretty flagrantly out of place here. There are some MOCs people have done of the cockpit using less expensive pieces I've been seeing on this forum that I may end up using, since there are no other blue pieces as a part of this particular set. The other noticable changes are the light gray rear which is pretty tame, and the large bow pieces which I have in black instead of gray which are more obvious with a portion of them showing on the furthest aft portion of the center section. The other main subs were the top hatch which I just went generic lbg with, and some black patio stands instead of gray, but since black is a primary color those don't stick out too badly on the side of the wings. On to the next set! After finally receiving the 30ish modified bricks that I'd accidentally ordered as modified plates, it ended up taking several days of on and off building to finish 10143. First thing of note is the 4x green 2x2 plates are actually just used to help align the central circular array, and are discarded for the final build. So no need to purchase those if bricklinking. The main visible sub was the 4x9 wedge plates which ended up lg instead of lbg. They actually don't bother me as much as I thought they would, and I think stud notches on the side of them would bother me more. If I happen to find a deal on them then I'll pick up a bunch for both 10143 and 10175 (24 total). This was a really fun build, even with the monster duplication of the under construction portion. I built both simultaneously, and it was fun to see them climb up and up and up and then attach to the main frame. Certainly the largest of the sets I'll be doing as a part of this project. One thing I would change is I made the mistake of thinking that Pearl Gray was closer to lbg than it was black, when in fact the latter is true. So for the main base 1x15 liftarms I probably would have gone with black if doing it again. Next is R2D2 since those pesky orange bricks finally came in... why did they choose orange for internal pieces...