Thanks everyone for your replies.

if you bring back an old one to reuse (Including the lid.) you get 25p off

Only 25p?

Here it is 0.50 € off the small one and 0.75 € off the large one

I tend to go for 1 x 2 bricks, because that's what the majority of my constructions are made of. My best record to date is 627 Dark Grey 1 x 2s, with filler of 35 1 x 2 trans-clear plates. That gets me down around the 2.5 cent per piece level.

I pack with columns of bricks. The lip at the bottom of the large cup will hold 1 x 2 bricks on end, if you line all the studs in the same direction. It's a pain, but can net you a handful more elements.

Good Luck!

-John

I usually pack the bricks in columns, too. Just refilled my large PaB, and had 540 1x2 (which is an average amount, because I pack them in the same way whenever I refill them) sand blue bricks and used 1x1 purple studs to fill in the space. How did you pack 627 1x2 bricks? :)

- Bianca

They probably can't remember how they packed it. It was almost 5 years ago!

I went to the Victor, NY store a couple of days ago:

They had a lot of great pieces on the PaB wall:

dark green 1x1 bricks

bley 1x2 grill bricks

clear 1x2 plates

clear cheese slopes

clear 1x2 bricks

black travis bricks

grass stalks

tan 2x8 plates

tan 2x4 plates

tan 1x4 plates

black 2x2 slopes

black 1x2 slopes

bley 1x1 brick with handle

I usually start with a short cup unless I'm picking up something so large it simply won't fit (like long plates). I favor the short cup because I have large hands and it's easier for me to pack the bottom "donut-space" efficiently. Once that space is packed to the point where it doesn't rattle anymore I move on to the main body of the cup.

When filling the main cup, I used to build columns, stacking things the height of the cup. This works well for odd shaped parts like foliage parts, but for regular brick I've found that building horizontal layers (studs facing out toward the side-wall of the cup) let me use up the taper of the cup more effectively. Usually these plugs are only one or two studs thick and I usually go with two per layer (with studs out in opposite directions) - this scheme also allows for a stacked column of parts in the center of the cup if I need it to accommodate a certain geometry of part.

By packing in horizontal layers,, I can fill the tiny gaps where my plugs don't quite make it to the sidewall of the cup as I go. Previously, with the column method, I'd just try to drop and shake tiny parts in after the fact and still ended up with voids. The horizontal layer system lets me make each layer slightly larger than the one beneath it, reducing the gap in the first place and letting me "spackle" the gaps as I see them arise with the best fitting part in exactly the optimum orientation.

I keep this up until the cup is filled, and then I do the exact same thing in the lid to fill the stud. Depending on available parts, I may also make a plate & tile lid to sandwich in between the plugs of the cup and the top of the actual cup lid. At my store (where they know me quite well from the conversations I've held while standing around for an hour at a time packing a small cup) the rule is the lid has to touch the cup _somewhere_ but doesn't have to snap down, so If I can demonstrate contact than then just tape the lid on, it's legal.

My rule of thumb is, if it can still rattle, you're wasting money.

This process is time consuming, but works well for me as I'm usually packing a cup while my wife wanders the rest of the mall shopping for shoes and handbags. An hour passes a lot faster at a PAB wall then it does in a woman's shoe store.

Typically, when I get home the first thing I do is to separate everything and toss the newly liberated parts into tall cups from prior PAB visits. In my experience, one well packed short cup expands out into two to two and half "carelessly" packed tall cups unless I'm really stocking up on stuff that naturally packs well all on it's own (1x1 tiles, cheese wedges, etc.)

Happy PAB'ing.

I was packing two cups at once at the Chicago PAB. In one, I had columns of 1x2s around the outside and a column of palm leaves down the center, with cheese pieces and 1x1 round plates packed in the gaps. I put the cup down (without a lid) on the shelf by the wall and turned my attention to the other cup for a while. I heard a teenage voice behind me say "cool" and as I turned around I saw him pulling my stack of palm leaves up out of my cup! He looked at me and saw the reaction on my face and instantly realized what he had done - everything was so tightly packed it had lifted it all up and cheese pieces had flowed down into the bottom edges. No solution but to start over. He felt really bad, but I didn't get angry. I just told him it was OK and then showed him my strategy for getting as much in the cup as I could. His eyes got big and he grabbed a cup himself. He and his buddies were still there discussing strategy when I finished.

Do they ever put 1x1 plates on the wall??? Not round, square. I really want grey dark grey tan and brown for my rail tracks to sit on plus to make a city square with all those different colors (like a pebble look)

This seems to be an old thread resurrected, but there is already another thread dedicated to the pick-a-brick cups: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=27795&st=0

Transparent ones yes (clear/yellow/red seen in stores), but I do not recall having seen other ones mentioned.

I always stack my bricks. I only get to an actual LEGO store once a year so i take my time. Usually I build a brick core of whatever is avaible. but i go for greys and natural colours if I can. Then i make sure the bottom is filled with little tiny 1X1 bits if they have any and then stack whatever smaller bricks around the inner core but make sure to stuff the gaps with tiny bricks, tiles, plates as I go. It takes forever but as it is once a year I am not that worried.

I went to Cardiff store in January and got 8 large cups and ended up with well over 6000 elements from them when counted.

Not sure if it is the same in all countries, but in the UK if you reuse your old cups you get £0.25 off. Not a lot but that is £2.00 on 8 large cups!

Edited January 20, 201411 yr by Hrw-Amen

Do they ever put 1x1 plates on the wall??? Not round, square. I really want grey dark grey tan and brown for my rail tracks to sit on plus to make a city square with all those different colors (like a pebble look)

The only solid colors historically that I know of were yellow and black, but only between 2005 and 2009; I got some good stock in '08 in both colors.

Edited January 20, 201411 yr by brickbuilder711

Went to the LEGO store this weekend and I got my first PAB cup. I loved filling it. I managed to squeeze 1,265 pieces into the big cup. Granted about 900 of them were small 1x1 studs and what not. And I had my girlfriend grab handfuls of pieces and tossing them in the cup. But all in all for my first time, I think I did pretty good. I'll try to get pictures up soon.

Slightly off topic, but Wilkinsons in the UK have started selling a clone brand pick a brick. £4.99 for a cup about the same size the official £6. the selection isn't that great being I think is 6 colour options with mixed pieces in each. First time I've seen this, the pieces of course felt cheap and easily breakable. Looks like Lego PAB has some competition. They also had bases.

Yeah, there's a store about 15 minutes from where I live that sells some clone bricks in a PAB wall. But they're SOOOO cheap I was laughing hard. They were almost as costly as Lego too. Really glad Lego will be opening their own PAB in the same mall soon too :P

From the PAB wall in Lille (France) :

- black wings (L & R), 1x and 2x columns, trans-clear panels, 2x2 tiles (sadly only in grey, I need white ones, I'll have to buy them on the site), bamboo leaves, brown plates 1x2 & 1x3

- arches + some other things, 1x2 medium blue, some various transparent things, 1x2 and corner in dark grey, 1x2 black with stripes, 1x1 round plates trans-yellow

- corner plates tan, log 1x2 tan & brown, 1x2 dark red, plates 1x2 lavender, 1x4 pink, 1x1 rond plates purple

Anyone been to the Nashville Lego store lately? I might go there in a couple of weeks if they have anything worth getting. Wall of bricks doesn't have anything listed for them.

Brickbuildr's info is only a week old: http://www.brickbuildr.com/view/pab/side/off/95/

Thank you

Anyone been to the Nashville Lego store lately? I might go there in a couple of weeks if they have anything worth getting. Wall of bricks doesn't have anything listed for them.

I just went. Lots of great pink and purple bricks and tiles, palm tree leaves, white fences, dark red 1x2s, tan 1x2s, tan 2x6s, trans blue 1x2tiles, dark green 1x1s. Well worth a visit.

I just went. Lots of great pink and purple bricks and tiles, palm tree leaves, white fences, dark red 1x2s, tan 1x2s, tan 2x6s, trans blue 1x2tiles, dark green 1x1s. Well worth a visit.

Great thank you! I will go there next Tuesday then and load up on some dark red and tan pieces.

I used one of many holiday boxes I got back in December today...and one of the associates didn't scribble out the barcode at check-out. Could I just re-use it??? Has anyone else got away without a scribble on the barcode??

Edited January 29, 201411 yr by KringlesBricks

I used one of many holiday boxes I got back in December today...and one of the associates didn't scribble out the barcode at check-out. Could I just re-use it??? Has anyone else got away without a scribble on the barcode??

Whether you could is one thing. But whether you SHOULD... that's up to your own moral compass to decide.

There was nothing new nor exciting in Troy, MI. Went for a large cup of 2x2 light blue bricks for a floor for a project, but was hoping for some additional pieces.