PAB Cups: What Did You Get?

[Darth Dino]

Hi

yes, it is over, my dark ages are gone. Today i have been at the LEGO store in Berlin, going out with four FOUR large pab cups. I so happy at all. When i think back, the only limitations i had as child (i felt so) have been the limited amound of specifc bricks (and not my fantasy). That is why i still be impressed of a moc first about the parts - and not at first about the design, that should be first (if it is good).

But today everything have changed and could get as many bricks as i could carry (and pay for). I have now a large amount of black, bley, white and trans clear parts for SW stuff and or architecture.

I also had been fun too when i have been asked by te LEGO guys to put te parts together that more fits into the cup.

Would you suggest to put all my parts into my personal brickset database to them them all? It should be easier to do that right from the beginning...

Dino

Edited September 6, 2011 by Darth Dino

[Yatkuu]

I think it's manual selection. I think four or five years ago Fun toy stores (in Belgium) had a small selection of Pick-a-brick pieces. I remember the one in Poperinge had a big box of pieces thrown together and you could fill the bags with them (though I never bought a bag there). I did buy a few bags in the Fun in Roeselare: there they were sorted in different boxes. I then bought a reasonably amount of 2x2 bricks in trans-blue, together with window pieces. They had to be put in those little bags, I think it was around 4 or 6 euro for a bag.

ah-ah! That must be it then! Thanks Matn! Funny, I had not realized you were from Belgium too...

It only leaves one question that will likely remain unanswered... what in the world the person who picked those bricks had in mind?

[Flobnomdob]

I think the Pickabrick is great value, I got my first cup yesterday from the Lego store opening in Liverpool. I got a small cup free with a £20 purchase (3x make your own minifigure, and the Blacksmith Attack), and I am pleasantly surprised as to how many bricks you can cram into a small cup. Annoyingly, the Liverpool store has a rubbish selection of parts (Lime green 2x4's mostly, no windows, 1x1's and nothing else except for tyres, fire and half a clicky joint- what use is that?! ), but I still managed to get enough tan and brown 1x4's to build a weirdly colourschemed lunatic asylum for my crazily mismatched 'make your own minifigures' .

Anyway, I still think £6 is a good price for a reasonable amount of bricks where you get to chose exactly what you want.

Flobnomdob out!

[Trent]

Sorry, I think I'm reading your post incorrectly - have they got 1x1s, or not at all?

I'm going to Liverpool next week, solely to take a look at their PAB wall. I got a few interesting pieces from Westfield (gates, doors, safes, postboxes, fire, antennas) but I was a tad disappointed because I really wanted flat tiles. I went to Cardiff the other week and stocked up on 1x1 bricks and the odd other piece I needed (like lifting rings)...but mostly 1x1s.

So maybe it'll just be another haul of 1x1s then. If that's so, I think I'll just get the one cup because it's over-egging the pudding otherwise! It doesn't seem likely that flat tiles are ever going to be in the walls over here, which seems such a shame when you see what some guys from the US come back with in their cups. Buying flat tiles brick by brick is so expensive, especially as I don't know exactly how many I want.

[Darth Dino]

Hi

there is a webpage link previous pages before that lists all stores with pab and their inventory. Otherwise yu can call them by phone and ask what theyhave in stock.

Dino

[SilentMode]

From the Liverpool store, as was mentioned there's pretty much the same assortment of bricks as in other stores over here. Of note were 1x2 and 2x4 plates in tan, 1x4 plates in lime, trans-orange and trans-clear "cheese" slopes and white "skirt" slopes. Very disappointingly they ran out of 4x4 green plates.

[Big Cam]

Hi

there is a webpage link previous pages before that lists all stores with pab and their inventory. Otherwise yu can call them by phone and ask what theyhave in stock.

Dino

I am not aware of anything that keeps track of a rolling inventory, I'm sure you could call, but depending how knowledgeable the employee is they may not be able to properly describe what's there.

From the Liverpool store, as was mentioned there's pretty much the same assortment of bricks as in other stores over here. Of note were 1x2 and 2x4 plates in tan, 1x4 plates in lime, trans-orange and trans-clear "cheese" slopes and white "skirt" slopes. Very disappointingly they ran out of 4x4 green plates.

A lot of those same"specialty" pieces were at the Mall of America store, it's interesting that across countries thee have roughly the same inventory.

[Trent]

From the Liverpool store, as was mentioned there's pretty much the same assortment of bricks as in other stores over here. Of note were 1x2 and 2x4 plates in tan, 1x4 plates in lime, trans-orange and trans-clear "cheese" slopes and white "skirt" slopes. Very disappointingly they ran out of 4x4 green plates.

Thanks for the information.

Big Cam - I think this is the site: http://www.brickbuildr.com/view/pab/ - but it hasn't got Liverpool listed yet. I wish I'd noted down what was in Cardiff but I can only half remember, so it wouldn't be much help, I don't think.

[SilentMode]

Hopefully this is the right place to post this bit of news, but... at long last we have 2x2 tiles in dark tan and yellow over here, at the Bluewater store. Of course, I was there just a few hours ago, and I didn't put any in my four large and one small cup.

[Pingles]

Otherwise yu can call them by phone and ask what theyhave in stock.

I am very much a believer in good customer service but if I was a Lego Store employee and someone called and asked me to list all of the parts they have I cannot think of any reply that would not contain expletives.

[Darth Dino]

Hi

i am not an native english speaker, i meant it a bit different:

If you planning to go there, you will have a reason for this, maybe high interest in tan tiles. Then you could ask on the phone for them and if they are willing to sell them in boxes. Sure no employee will tell you the whole story of pab wall, but if you are focussed on a couple of parts it might work ;)

Dino

[SilentMode]

Manually counted all those damn parts.

(BTW "Tan" was meant to be Dark Tan).

Edited September 20, 2011 by SilentMode

[LeeMcG]

Manually counted all those damn parts.

SilentMode - looks like quite a few different pieces at Bluewater since I last did the list of brickbuildr, have they moved to the new unit?

Lee

[SilentMode]

SilentMode - looks like quite a few different pieces at Bluewater since I last did the list of brickbuildr, have they moved to the new unit?

Not yet, looks like they'll be there by the end of this month.

[Zeya]

Do you guys share a spreadsheet template, or do you all just make your own? If I ever do a PAB run again, I'm interested in making a spreadsheet comparison like that too.

[SilentMode]

Do you guys share a spreadsheet template, or do you all just make your own? If I ever do a PAB run again, I'm interested in making a spreadsheet comparison like that too.

Mine is homegrown, but it's not hard to make.

[SilentMode]

Here's the outcome on today's heist visit to Brighton's Lego store:

Instead of counting the smaller parts manually like last time, I invested in a special scale. Unfortunately, with all the good pieces being made available, none of the stores I've been to as of late (Bluewater, Westfield SB and Brighton) have 1x white bricks, which is what I'm after.

[Solitary Dark]

Here's the outcome on today's heist visit to Brighton's Lego store:

Instead of counting the smaller parts manually like last time, I invested in a special scale. Unfortunately, with all the good pieces being made available, none of the stores I've been to as of late (Bluewater, Westfield SB and Brighton) have 1x white bricks, which is what I'm after.

I just got back from a business trip to New York, and the Inventory at the NYC Rockerfeller Store was almost identical - the only part they didnt have there was the Tan 2x2 tile. Ironically despite living near Heathrow Airport it's the store I get to most because of work, and when I went to Westfield SB recently it was all postboxes and 2x4 bricks, not a tile in sight. Must try and talk the wife into a Bluewater christmas shopping trip soon.

[Andy D]

I should have read this thread more carefully before my last visit to the PAB wall.

I filled the bottom with a handful of 1x trans clear light blue rounds, then just started getting other pieces, ocasionally filling the empty space with some other 1x's. I had a pretty well packed cup, but it probably could have been better if I had used a better strategy.

I will do better next time. The folks at the Ontario Mills Mall store are very friendly and helpful.

Later,

Andy D

Edited October 1, 2011 by Andy D

[Big Cam]

I should have read this thread more carefully before my last visit to the PAB wall.

I filled the bottom with a handful of 1x trans clear light blue rounds, then just started getting other pieces, ocasionally filling the empty space with some other 1x's. I had a pretty well packed cup, but it probably could have been better if I had used a better strategy.

I will do better next time. The folks at the Ontario Mills Mall store are very friendly and helpful.

Later,

Andy D

It takes a lot of time to pack those cups properly. I spent almost 45 minutes at my store packing studs, and 2x2 bricks, I eventually gave up, and I still feel like I got my monies worth.

[Andy D]

It takes a lot of time to pack those cups properly. I spent almost 45 minutes at my store packing studs, and 2x2 bricks, I eventually gave up, and I still feel like I got my monies worth.

I usually feel I get my monies worth. Packing the cup (to me) is more about the sport, the challenge just to see what I can squeeze in.

If there is anything interesting I may try to see what I can get in a PAB cup the Dineyland DtD store tonight.

Anyone want to meet for cup packing tonight?

Later,

Andy D

Edited October 1, 2011 by Andy D

[Yucca Patrol]

At some point, my time is worth something too, but I do enjoy the sport of packing a cup if I have time. My local store is very nice, and they will accept a cup even if the lid is lifted a bit since they tape them shut. I asked what their rules were and they said that as long as people were nice and not jerks about demanding that they allow an over-packed cup, they will overlook it if the lid does not close.

I did spend about 30 minutes making a tower of 2x6 tan plates last week, but simply did not have the time or interest to stack any of the very tiny stuff.

[slovakiasteph]

I got my first PAB cup last week! It was fun... and I was excited that they had some tiles (1x4 brown, 1x2 lime) and smaller pieces (round 1x1 orange and trans red).

A general question: how often does the stock on the PAB wall change? I realize it will vary by store, but if I went back say two weeks after my last visit, would you expect much to have changed? I go to the Indianapolis store, which I imagine is not as well traveled as some.

[meyerc13]

Most of the wall will stay fairly constant between your visits, but several items can change from one day to the next. I live about 300 miles from a LEGO store but always stop when I'm in town on business. I remember one week that there were parts on Tuesday, but when I stopped back on Friday before leaving town some of those parts were gone but others were in their places. Generally it is the more interesting parts that cycle the fastest, while the boring basic bricks are fairly constant. I swear that the Mall of America store has had orange 1x1 round plates consistently for several years now. I have to remind myself not to get more when filling in empty spaces in my cups because I have so many already.

If you go on a slow night, the staff tends to go out of their way to serve you. I went on Monday last week to the Mall of America store, and one guy asked if there was anything I was looking for that wasn't on the wall. Another lady went back and got some swords for the build-a-minifig when I said I was trying to find some accessories for a ninja. So they will help you if they are having a slow night and have the time.

[Vindicare]

I got my first PaB cup. I didn't do any hardcore packing like some. I just got some stuff for my city. Mainly got 2x2 tan tiles and flower stems. Threw in some 1x1 green cylinder pieces with 3 leaves too. I wish I had one closer so I could visit more often. I want 2x2 dark tan tiles so I can build sidewalks