I was thinking, I keep trying to collect a lot of parts in one color or another, to accumulate a lot of pieces to actually build some of my own ideas. I try to find sets that seem to fit that bill. Like lots of tan brick in the Simpson's House set, or lots of dark orange in the Town Hall set.

But then, you get it and realize, like in the Kwik-E Mart or the Simpson's House, that a large portion of them are actually large panel pieces and the majority of the high part count are small and pretty specific parts, like 1x1 round plates or the like. Its nice to have a lot of those small parts, but they have limited usefulness for me. I mostly just want to build buildings.

Buying building sets like the Classic line doesn't really work, since they only give you a few of each of a lot of colors. You end up having to resort to BrickLink or other resale sites to gather what you need together. That gets pricey pretty fast. I think it kind of stifles my creativity too, because I keep having to make compromises in what I want to do, because of the cost/time it takes to do it.

LDD is nice, I can have free rein there, just don't expect to build a lot of what I dream up. Oh well, keep on building!

What if you buy the uncommon color parts from LEGO "bricks and pieces"? If they are from currently sold sets you have a decent chance of them being available.

You could go the other direction and create MOCs based on what pieces you currently have on hand. It can be an interesting challenge and no shipping charges.

I have tried to use BnP, but I am never lucky to find what I want there. When they are not selling a set with a certain color, it just isn't available. In the end, I find so few parts, its not cost effective to purchase anything. Try pricing some dark orange brick on BL, you will get an idea how expensive it can be, for me at least.

Haha, Yes, I have been trying to utilize what I have to build something I designed, but always come up short. I must say though, the Simpson's house has been the most useful for parts of any of my sets. It has a huge amount of brick and plate and tile in single colors. I just need to figure out some use for all the large panel pieces. I think I have an aversion to using parts like those, preferring to brick build everything.

Check the parts inventory before buying the set. If it has a lot of parts you want, buy the set and sell the unwanted parts on BL or Ebay.

I suppose that if they replaced those large pieces with smaller more useful ones the price might become prohibitive. Even the difference between £190 and £200 would put some people off. I do wish these bits would be a bit more "lego-y" and made up of smaller pieces, like the old mountain blocks.