Do you improve your sets?

[RileyC]

As i was rearranging my collection this morning. I wonder if many people improve their sets by making it better by making it more realistic or chucking out bits that the ship doesnt need.

My preference is I dont do it, I like to keep them the way lego intended.

So whats your preference?

Edited May 26, 2009 by Roncanator

[daxflame680]

I do make improvements to sets sometimes. There's a lot of details that LEGO does a terrible job with

But often TLC screws up sets so bad that's its too difficult to MOD

[ILikePi]

I think that this belongs in the General Discussion forum.

I make slight improvements to some sets (like the Rebel Scout Speeder) and huge modifications of others (like the Imperial Landing Craft interior). But most of the time, I just take the set apart and rebuild it for fun.

[Siegfried]

I mod a lot of sets, often while building them! For example the Hyperspace ring had x2s that made some parts look unbalanced so I change it. Same story with the Exo-Force legs. I also tend to remove the shooting functions...

(I'll move this to General....)

[CP5670]

I mod almost all of my sets in some way. It's rare for TLG to produce a model that I think is completely perfect. The changes are usually something trivial (e.g. closing up the hole behind the driver on 7991), but may be more significant (4 wheel steering for 8466 or changing 10001 interior layout) or occasionally become a ground-up redesign using most of the same parts and the same basic shape (I did this with some space sets, like 6954, 6986 and 6991). Modding is part of the fun of building sets for me.

I need to take pictures of my more interesting mods and put them on Brickshelf at some point. I only have a few up there.

[Peppermint_M]

Sometimes I change sets because Lego designers are stuck with a part count or a limit to how complicated it can be. If i see somewhere that a set can be improved I might make it better. Most of the time I just take it all apart and make something new.

At the moment I have changed the Agents Turbocar Chase, the gate was too flimsy and the car too big. I also have plans to match the parts of another set or two so I can make them in different colours.

[Hewman]

The one thing I often modify is to replace stickers with a similar printed piece if it's available, and as has been said before, the occasional removing of shooting functions. Oh and reinforcing sets for extra strength, this happens in a few sets where the designers had to compromise stability with cost/piece count.

Edit: I also make my speed racer cars right hand drive, a really complicated modification there!

Edited May 26, 2009 by hewman

[LEGOMAN132]

Sometimes like with set 7625 River chase I moved one of the sets back one stud so two mini figures could fit not much I know but I like it.

[mikey]

I am divided upon this, the first sets that I bought when I rediscovered Lego -the city construction line, I have not touched. To me they look perfect, whether it is through rose tinted eyes because they were my introduction to Lego again, or maybe they are actually nice models to look at I don't know.

But now having brought the whole line I have diversified out from them, and I buy sets just to get pieces which I do not have. I build the instructed model just for the calming effect that following instructions gives, but my intention is to destroy, sort, and then MOC. I have more sets which I brought for this purpose, than sets which I built to display, so I think I am an 'improver', but often my 'improvements' are MOC so they bare no resemblance to the original set, so maybe I do not even fit into that!

[marvinblue]

Yes I do, only where I see it is neccessary, hence my MOC's that I've posted here. Otherwise, it's as nature, er, Lego, has intended!!

[SlyOwl]

Only a little bit, before I part them out.

Recently I modded the Skull Mecha from Space Skulls

so that the each side flipped out to reveal a flick-fire missile! From the outside it looked the same, and there was no change to the cockpit inside. I love flick-fire missiles

I also reinforced and tiled various sections of the set, just to make it more playable and look better.

[Lars]

I mainly collect Star Wars Lego for the figs and useful bricks to make my own versions of the iconic vehicles from scratch.

Some times I not even bother to build the original set. If I keep an original set on the shelf it's often because I've come up with a good way to modify it to improve upon the original design.

I've bought several sets of the 7657 AT-ST. First modifying it into a two seater with a round hatch and a better gun without changing much of the exterior look of the vehicle. It was a fun project and I've been working on these modifications a lot since then. Now I have a greebled up version of it with added functionality for walking. It's not motorized or anything like that, but you can grab the middle section with one hand and move the walker forward. The legs will move and fall right back in position for the next step. When stoping you find the balance and leave it standing sturdy waiting for the next little walk.

I only have photos of the earliest stages of these mods so I guess I could take photos of my latest version and make a new thread about the project.

The reason that I've spent so much time modifying that model was that I thought it was unfairly critiziced by fans. When depicting the walker LEGO took a totally different approach than most MOC's and actually captures the unique look and feel of the AT-ST in a good sized set with not a lot of peices.

I like to think of my mods as they would've been what the designers would've done if they were able to have more pieces to work with for that set.

Here is an old comparison shot of the original with my first modded two seater.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Lars

[DJ Force]

I´m modding some sets to fit my town layout. And I made an interior for my Cafe Corner - but since there was basically nothing in there before, does that count as modding/improving or is that already MOCing?

[Guss]

I usually try to improve some models a little, when I don't destroy it just after I photographed it ( which is rare ) ,

a little example here, a little mod of the 4x4 in the 8630 set :

I just do it when I think they're something to improve, but usually I just destroy it to build something else.

[Captain Green Hair]

I always part out the sets and make my own models from them.

The Emerald night might be the first modded set i keep intact, though i will change it heavily so one might call it a MOC.

[Teddy]

Off topic:

I always part out the sets and make my own models from them.

The Emerald night might be the first modded set i keep intact, though i will change it heavily so one might call it a MOC.

Sounds great!

Will be looking forward to the photos.

On topic:

Nowadays, I don't MOD my sets. I collect them...

Or I MOC with randomly collected bricks: Ebay, BL, Legoland, legostore, etc.

I rarely take one appart for bricks. The ones I do take appart are mostly creator sets.

A few years back I used to improve my sets, but now they are all in their original state.

Kind regards,

Teddy

Edited May 26, 2009 by Teddy

[mechamike]

I have modded most of my SW sets, (most other stuff goes into the build pile) I tend to remove some play features for more "realistic" look or as on the Tie's change colour scheme on "my" own stuff. Sometimes the mod gos so far as it begins to be a moc. (my sandcrawler is goingg in that direction).

All of my exoforce sets got heavaliy modifed for the start but now sleeps in the build pile.

But I also mod in extra or better play features on my daughter sets lately her Indiana, temple escape got flick spear upgrade, more spiders and spider web.. her Thunder driller got better interior and some extra equipment..

So yes I improve the sets.. I always try to use the "extra parts" on the set in a way the model will benefit the most from. Sometimes it works out nice, sometimes I use the extras to upgrade another set.

/Cheers!

Ps Lars , plase make a specific topic about your walker mods ,love to se more .. I have a few of those just waiting to be improved.. ds

Edited May 26, 2009 by a53021

[Razzer]

I 'improve' almost every set I get(although its more like destroying as I make such a mess of it ), but the thing that |I almost always feel needs more attention is the interior of vehicles, such as the Republic Gunship which needed more room for troops in my opinion.

[gogobig]

As AFOL and a collector I dont MOD any LEGO sets. However, when it comes to creating MOC I will gladly use any parts neccesary

Some of the figures that come with the sets I might MOD and I might add a few minifigs to a set, but thats about it.

As soon as I get my camera back I will take some pictures of my 3-year-castle-project :)

[Tacitus]

The level of MODing I do depends on the model. It can be something as simple as making the Rogue Shadow fit two people, or something more involved, like expanding the Medieval Village houses to make them bigger, and, in the case of the Inn, adding a door. Very few LEGO models can go without a little MODing here and there- especially when they have only three sides, or lack stairs to upper levels.

[BlueBard]

I think I don't own any set I've never MODed I think TLC does a nice job most of the times and it's not common for me to find "mistakes" (excepting some times on the designs like putting just 3 walls on a building but that's another question) but sooner or later I think we all find improvements to make to every lego structure, MOC, MOD or official, doesn't we?

[Tom Bricks]

I mod all of my sets except market street. City sets generally don't need to be heavily modified but others like castle or pirates sets almost always need more foliage or some reinforcements.

[Etzel]

Very rarely!

I mostly take the sets apart completely and uses the parts in MOCs. I think it's much more fun to make my own creations and use my imagination than start from something someone else came up with.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

If I keep a set together in any recognizable form then I MOD it by combining multiples to make it bigger, changing colors, finishing interiors, adding new sections etc, to fit the feel of my overall Port. My next project is MODing the Fortress Eldorado (6276). There are one or two sets that I really love and when I have multiples I try to keep one looking almost original (but I can never resist changing one or two things)...I don't collect SW so I don't have experience with those sets.

[prateek]

yes, yes i do. i modded Cool Cars (i would do more but that is my only set )