Are there defintions of "My Own Creation", "custom" and "kitbash"? Are "custom" and "kitbash" subsets of "MOCs"? What about "purist" - how "pure" does it have to be "purist"?

If there are no formal definitions, how do you define them?

I don't thoink there's really a definite definition, but there are 'guidelines' to an extent.

I've always seen it like this:

A 'MOC' is anything oneself makes, regardless of how 'pure' it is.

A 'Custom' is anything that's not official Lego.

And 'purist' is someone who uses only official Lego.

And I don't think I've ever used 'kitbash' in relation to Lego, but I guess it's be much the same as 'custom'.

I suppose you could count 'custom' and 'kitbash' as two separate things, with 'custom' being anything made from scratch, and 'kitbash' being anything made from modified Lego pieces.

I've used custom to mean that the base model is an official Lego one, only slightly modified - like if you have an Armored Drilling Unit with more spikes, it's a Custom rather than a(n) MOC.

Once upon a time, purist meant that the builder only used original brick molds-plates, bricks, tiles and slopes-in their creations. But nowadays it refers to people who only use genuine LEGO pieces in their creations. It has a much broader definition and defines about 90% of the builders I know...

I agree with the above statements more or less, however I have never heard of the phrase, "kitbash" before.

I agree with the above statements more or less, however I have never heard of the phrase, "kitbash" before.

I think it is generally used in other hobbys where a collector heavily modifies or customizes an existing toy by painting/modifying certain parts of the figure to create something different. I haven't really seen the term associated with LEGO though. I'm also pretty sure that modifying a set wouldn't be considered a MOC by alot of builders. MOCing as I understand it refers to an entirely original work by the builder. Putting different flags on a castle or adding extra gun ports on a ship would be a set modification rather than a true MOC.

Again, these are all simply words thrown around in the AFOL vernacular. It's a good idea not to get too caught up with them. Calling a set mod a good MOC isn't going to rile up many feathers in these parts. Eurobricks and the AFOL community in general tend to be very friendly.

MOC: a creation made only with official pieces. This may or may not be taken seriously, and often custom pieces find their way into MOCs.

Customs: usually used with anything minifig-related, this involves: painting, decals, stickers (you could argue about "official" stickers), cutting, sanding, drilling pieces, etc. It doesn't always have to be cut up for example, but could also be something from a different brand than LEGO.

kitbash: this is a term used in action figures customizing, and means to swap parts, but not alter them. This would be with LEGO switching official minifig pieces like heads, legs, etc. It is a very mild form of customizing.

Purist: this is a word that has a lot of discussions. It is believed to be the opposite of customizers. Originally, as mentioned before, "purists" only used plates, bricks, slopes and tiles. It is now commonly known as someone who uses only official lego pieces. Some say that if you don't alter parts, they are purists and so would for example accept minifig accesoires from vendors etc. If a part needs to be forced a bit to achieve its goal, some will consider this purist and some will not.

TT

To be honest I never knew kitbash reffered to Lego. :-$ Back when I was on the Xevoz forum, a kitbash was mixing various sets together to create something new, and a custom was using paint/craft knifes/sculpey, any of that stuff to modify pieces or create new ones.

Regarding Lego, I see a MOC as a Lego creation you made, something original. A custom the same, only using customised pieces (i.e. painted, modified with sharp objects, or using custom made from scratch pieces). And a kitbash simply creating something new using parts from only certain sets, as used in some 'Smackdowns'.

And a purist as someone who only uses un-modified official Lego pieces.

~Peace

I agree with Tanotrooper with the exception of his "kitbash" definition. Since kitbashing to me is a destructive activity I think you would need to be cutting and glueing almost every piece for a MOC to be classed as a kitbash.Thus I don't think "Kitbashing" is a term that makes much sense in regard to Lego. It should be left to the guys that do real kitbashing; using parts from a model kit to make a different model to save the massive effort of scratch-building.

After ten years on various Lego forums, here's how I understand these terms:

MOC(My Own Creation): Just about any model that is not an official Lego set or copy of another builders' model. It can come from the builders' imagination or be based on something that already exists (i.e. a Star Wars ship or a real world firetruck).

MOD(Modification): There are two types of modifications that come to mind:

Set Mod: Taking a Lego set and 'tweaking' various aspects of it to improve appearance, functionality, etc. Examples would be, beefing up a weapons array on an Exo-force set or changing the red elements in a model to yellow elements, etc. When all 'tweaks' are done however, the model should still be instantly reconizable as the set pictured on the box.

Part Mod: Taking a Lego element and modifying it. Examples: painting or cutting an element, or gluing two or more parts together to make a new element.

Custom: Another term with at least two meanings:

Custom Set: A MOC that the builder sells in the marketplace. Sometimes just the instructions, but often the instructions and Lego elements needed to build it.

Custom Parts: Lego compatible parts that a person makes from scratch. Examples: Brickarms minifig weapons, Big Bens' train wheels, stickers or decals, etc.

Kitbash: This is a term that I've never heard used in relation to Lego building. In say, model railroading it means to take 2 or more plastic model kits and cut, glue and paint the pieces it until you have a unique model that doesn't look like the models on everybody elses' layout (essentially they are making a MOC). When the first Star Wars was made the model builders kitbashed hundreds of plastic model kits to make the Death Star and ships seen in the movie.

I can think of one way that the term Kitbash could be used in regard to Lego building. Sometimes builders make MOCs or hold a contest where the object is to make a unique model using only pieces from a chosen set. If you built a MOC using pieces from 2 or more different sets, I suppose it could be called a Kitbash. For example, if you held a contest where the contestants had to build a Batman vehicle using only pieces from 1 copy each of sets 7780, 7781 and 7782, it could be called a 'Kitbashing Contest'.

Purist: From what I can tell there are 3 types of purist (and they may or may not agree that the other types qualify).

Purist Type 1: Builds with only basic pieces (i.e. bricks, plates, slopes and tiles).

Purist Type 2: Builds with any element that TLG has officially produced.

Purist Type 3: Same as purist 2, but also believes that a fan made custom minifig accessory or sticker/decal is ok (some might also accept a fan made custom element like Big Bens' train wheels, but in all cases only fan made parts - Lego competitor made clone elements are verboten).

Back when I was on the Xevoz forum...

Ah, Xevoz. In my list of best toys ever Xevoz comes in second only to Lego. Curse Hasbro for cancelling such an excellent toy line.

After ten years on various Lego forums, here's how I understand these terms:

Purist: From what I can tell there are 3 types of purist (and they may or may not agree that the other types qualify).

Purist Type 1: Builds with only basic pieces (i.e. bricks, plates, slopes and tiles).

Purist Type 2: Builds with any element that TLG has officially produced.

Purist Type 3: Same as purist 2, but also believes that a fan made custom minifig accessory or sticker/decal is ok (some might also accept a fan made custom element like Big Bens' train wheels, but in all cases only fan made parts - Lego competitor made clone elements are verboten).

Ah, Xevoz. In my list of best toys ever Xevoz comes in second only to Lego. Curse Hasbro for cancelling such an excellent toy line.

I haven't encountered many fans under your Type 3. Heck, if using fan-made parts still makes you a purist, I don't really see why using clone brands doesn't. I know that alot of fans use Big Bens' train wheels, but I don't think that I understand why using fan made bricks is ok, but using clone brands is not. Also, wouldn't this mean that any fan who customizes their own bricks could also be considered a purist?

I'm Pretty sure that a "Kitbash" is a mixture of 2 'right out of the box' sets.

Example:

"I bought a new Lego Y-wing and Lego Rogue Shadow. I kitbashed them to make one sweet jet."

Just a guess.

Edited January 17, 200817 yr by JellyMan

I haven't encountered many fans under your Type 3. Heck, if using fan-made parts still makes you a purist, I don't really see why using clone brands doesn't. I know that alot of fans use Big Bens' train wheels, but I don't think that I understand why using fan made bricks is ok, but using clone brands is not. Also, wouldn't this mean that any fan who customizes their own bricks could also be considered a purist?

There are no hard and fast rules in any of these definitions, I'm just relating what I have observed over the years. I haven't encountered many Type 3's either, but I have encountered them. In fact, I could've spun the 3's into Type 3's and Type 4's. 3's being those who will use custom minifig accessories, but think that using any custom element in the actual MOC crosses the line and 4's being those who believe that using a custom element to achieve a goal where there is no Lego solution is fine.

As for why fan made elements are acceptable, but clone elements are not, you're guess is as good as mine. Most AFoLs either love fan made customs or take no strong stand either for or against them. But, both sides are universal in their contempt for clone brands. Why is a Brickarms weapon ok, but a clone weapon anathema? I don't pretend to understand it (well, actually I do. I think it's simply that clone brands are competing with Lego in the marketplace and fan made stuff isn't).

Anyway, I would class Type 1's as the fundamentalists of the purist world. Type 2's as your average "joe" purist. And Types 3 and 4 as close, but not true purists - like Ivory soap they're 99.44% pure. And then there are folks like me, who own modded, custom and clone elements and make no pretenses of being pure at all.

Brick Rat,

Thank you for your explanation. I guess this is one of the reasons I've never been big on fan definitions when it comes to terms like "purist". It seems that everybody has a different interpretation of the same thing. I probably fall under your definition of Purist #2. With that said, I'm not really keen on the term as I feel that all builders should be recognized for their love of all things LEGO. The term "purist" seems to carry with it an elitism that I've never been comfortable with. I don't customize, but at the same time I would never discourage somebody else from doing it. I've used the term purist in the past simply as a way to indicate that I elect to keep my bricks and pieces unmodified. Your post has given me second thoughts about using the term in the future.

Edited January 17, 200817 yr by blueandwhite

Are there defintions of "My Own Creation", "custom" and "kitbash"?

You might want to cruise around BrickWiki for a while. Definitions may not be formal but the wiki structure does give you a good idea of how lots of terms are used.