Lego Modular Floors / Baseplates

[krucialstyle]

Hi everyone !

I'm currently trying my hand at "modularizing" some lego sets to incorporate them into the Modular town.

I'm using 16x32 base plates as a starting point and thinking of starting with 16x16 rooms or "floors" and building vertically from there. If so, what are some plates (that are used as bases for each of the floors) that would be good for me to have a lot of on hand? Or even if there are those of you that free-build and don't plan out your building at the stud level, what are some plate sizes that you make sure you have on hand? 16x6, 12x6, 4x6 ?

Thanks everyone !

[cimddwc]

I like to have a variety of plates ready - once you make irregular walls and floors, and for holes for stairs, you need various sizes. Of course larger sizes like 16x6, 16x8, 16x16 are handy for larger buildings. On the other hand, for my planned big hotel I'll use lots of 6x10 plates because I got those cheap... And probably mostly 4x4s (from a PAB wall) to connect them.

[krucialstyle]

Thanks cimddwc ! I think I'll just bricklink a bunch of pieces that I see in the current modular sets and just go from there.

Do you usually plan out your builds in LDD and then purchase the pieces once you know what you need? Or do you free-build with what you have?

I'm at a MOC crossroad actually...on one hand if I try to add to an existing modular (ie, the Pet Shop sitting next to me), I'm restricted by physical pieces I don't have. Getting confused by what I need.

Then on the other hand if I customize in LDD; any new pieces I introduce to the LXF file will need to be ordered via Bricklink and I don't have the satisfaction of seeing a physical WIP. What great problems to have .

[cimddwc]

I free-build. Well, there's some planning ahead (in my mind, not in LDD) involved if I might need larger amounts of particular parts, but over time I collected enough parts to have a decent stock of common parts available, so I only have to make very few orders during building to complete what I'm building. Like, when I think "tan grille tiles would look great here", but don't have enough, like on the middle house on my left signature picture, so I ordered some; or tan rail plates, then find out that they are way too expensive and stick with those few I already had...

Edited May 7, 2016 by cimddwc

[Eilif]

I happened to have alot of 10x6 when I made my town, which was almost entirely built around 16x16 modular sections.

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=43402

When used at right angles to each other they make a nice 16x16 square with a 4x4 hole in the middle. The hole can accommodate a stairway, or be easily plugged with a 4x4 plate.

I didn't do any planning and only rarely use any kind of reference pic beyond a bit of inspiration.

[krucialstyle]

Thanks so much! It's great to hear your thought processes while building! I tend to get a bit overwhelmed when using LDD so I eventually just grab a modular, pull it apart and start fiddling from scratch. As my collection isn't all that large, I do feel it necessary to get a few bulk orders from bricklink so I can at least free build a little easier. Thanks again!