Making an older collection current

[Danpb]

As it stands now, I have collection made up primarily of older pieces - 80s and 90s. Along with that, I have newer sets (2004 and up) that consist of a Ferarri F1 car, Tie Fighter and a slew of creator sets (love em!)

I have finished sorting my collection by color and will continue to sort them by (hopefully) color and type. It all depends on how many drawers I will need :P.

So with some newer built sets and a ton of older pieces that need more sorting, I feel I am at a bit of a crossroads. It is hard to ask non-AFOLs (I still prefer Lego Maniac..) as they may not totally get where I'm coming from.

I am constantly blown away by what people are making with the bricks they have. My only issue is I feel that I have these MOCs as a baseline for my own creations. With what I have at my disposal, I feel most of my creations won't come close to the things I see on the various blogs and flickr galleries.

I'd like to add to my collection (yes, even though what I have is not sorted - crazy?) and I'm not sure if it would be better to buy a slew of random bricks (ebay?) or just buy sets. I am currently between 10185 Green Grocer and the new 10211 Grand Emporium. I probably should not be surprised that I've memorized a slew of set numbers :P.

So what to do - focus on sorting? I feel like I need a break from sorting. Focus on adding to the collection? I just want to build!

Any input would be awesome - thanks everyone!

[Shadows]

Welcome back to the loving arms of the brick!

I'd like to add to my collection (yes, even though what I have is not sorted - crazy?) and I'm not sure if it would be better to buy a slew of random bricks (ebay?) or just buy sets. I am currently between 10185 Green Grocer and the new 10211 Grand Emporium. I probably should not be surprised that I've memorized a slew of set numbers :P.

So what to do - focus on sorting? I feel like I need a break from sorting. Focus on adding to the collection? I just want to build!

You just named a couple of fine sets to give you a chance to build, a look at some of the current techniques, and pick up some nice parts assortments.

The thing to remember is that in the end, you have to be true to your own style. Some of the things you see out there are absolutely amazing, but many use techniques that are completely alien to the average builder, even a current one. The modular buildings you mentioned will expose you to some of the newer ways of doing things without going to quite that extreme. Build them. Modify them. Explore them inside and out. Then try your own, but don't try to build things that look like what you've seen from other builders, try to build things that look like what you want them to, whether it's copying a real building or making something out of pure fantasy.

In the end, the most important part of the creation is you, so make sure you're in there and just keep building and looking and learning.

Have fun!

[Danpb]

In the end, the most important part of the creation is you, so make sure you're in there and just keep building and looking and learning.

Have fun!

Thanks Shadows :). That brought me back to reality a bit. I remember some of my first MOCs as a kid were of all different colors, but I didn't care - I still shouldn't as I'm still building.

New techniques is something I never thought of - I was thinking mainly of the new pieces. Great point!

On a side question - is there a good way to keep the glass pieces scratch-free? All the glass pieces in my older collection are scratched from me rummaging around in huge bins :(

[Rick]

On a side question - is there a good way to keep the glass pieces scratch-free? All the glass pieces in my older collection are scratched from me rummaging around in huge bins :(

Eeehm, don't store them in large bins? I keep the larger transparent pieces in my 'MOC collection' seperate from the other pieces in smaller containers. I use pretty flat (about 3 or 4 cm high) small boxes to store these. In that way you don't have to dig, but just can pick out the elements you need.

[Danpb]

Eeehm, don't store them in large bins? I keep the larger transparent pieces in my 'MOC collection' seperate from the other pieces in smaller containers. I use pretty flat (about 3 or 4 cm high) small boxes to store these. In that way you don't have to dig, but just can pick out the elements you need.

Ha, well, I figured out that storing them in large bins is not the way to do it..though my 10 year-old self had no idea ;)

[Fugazi]

On a side question - is there a good way to keep the glass pieces scratch-free? All the glass pieces in my older collection are scratched from me rummaging around in huge bins :(

I was wondering the same, and I was thinking about storing the glass pieces (inserted in their appropriate frames) stuck upright on a base plate. This would take more space but will definitely keep the parts scratch-free.

[Danpb]

I was wondering the same, and I was thinking about storing the glass pieces (inserted in their appropriate frames) stuck upright on a base plate. This would take more space but will definitely keep the parts scratch-free.

Good call. Eventually I'd like to replace all my glass pieces - hoping it won't be too expensive (but preparing for the worst ;))

[brickzone]

My advice is that if you have money and desire to buy new sets, don't worry about a short-term lack of new pieces. They build up *very* quickly when you buy lots of sets. Especially as in recent years, when Lego bring out a new piece, they tend to use it frequently across all kinds of themes. If you buy a lot of sets, quickly you have quite a few of even pieces that may have been out only a year or two.

Now, on the other hand if you think you'll stick to a strict regime of just an occasional set (and if you don't plan to "mix" those sets) then I advise bulking out your collection with mixed lots (kiloware) from ebay. The simple way to get new pieces (usually good condition and with newer parts) is simply to look out for lots that have newer colours, not just old primary colours. Look for tan, or even seemingly rare colours like dark green (I got a mixed lot with essentially a whole King's Castle Siege this way).

I think it's not unlikely you could buy at €10 per kg or even cheaper, but it depends how long you are prepared to wait and how many lots you are prepared to bid on and let get away (although buy-it-now is worth monitoring for a few days - but good deals are snapped up quickly so not so much point looking beyond the last 24 hours listings each day). Larger lots are cheaper per kg but have high shipping, and obviously there's more of a risk involved (you don't want to spend €100 on a gigantic 10 kg lot just to find out it's poor played-with condition parts). My guess is that resellers often buy the largest lots - but if you can bite the bullet and make a large initial outlay, you could make a killing (essentially you are usually buying someone else's *entire* collection).

Bricklink of course lets you get the exact parts you want and often cheaply too, but in my opinion it doesn't do the job of quickly bulking out your collection with random parts of all kinds. Better to use bricklink to "fill in the gaps" so to speak, or buy specific parts that you think a current MOC might need.

[Davey]

I'll toss my $0.02 in here since I was in a situation similar to yours back in 2003. I had just picked up my collection from my parents house and was just getting involved with the online AFOL community. At that time, I was at a cross-roads as well and wasn't sure whether sets, Bricklink, or Ebay was a better way to go. While I did end up buying a couple of 20 lb lots on Ebay, I found that sets just made way more sense to me. The key seems to be to find a set with a good variety of pieces (Green Grocer, Grand Emporium, Creator Sets, etc) and buy multiple copies of that set to start bulking up your collection. At the same time, if you build those sets, you will get a glimpse into some of the newer building techniques that may not have been as prevalent in the 80's and 90's. Nowadays, I often find myself looking at a set as a 'box of elements' versus and actual set and buying it as a way to get the pieces I need/want. Bricklink is another good option, but really is for 'filling in the gaps' as Brickzone mentioned.

Another avenue you should consider is putting up an ad on the bulletin board at your place of employment. Make it flashy and colorful and tell everyone you are interested in buying LEGO. You would be surprised how many people will come out of the woodwork with collections. This may not get you a lot of new pieces, but it will most certainly help to bulk up your basic collection even more. In many cases, I have had people give me their entire collection telling me they just want it to go to a good home.

Whatever you decide, welcome to the community! You'll find that most here are friendly and helpful and you will really enjoy being a part of this group.

-Davey

[Danpb]

Great info you guys - why did I not join this forum sooner!?

Thanks :D

[gotoAndLego]

You can download instructions to a vast assortment of sets from brickset.com. Just looking those over will show you techniques and which bricks they used. If I were you I'd buy study which sets seem to have the coolest techniques and buy those. All of the modular buildings are a good start; so for currently available that's Green Grocer, Fire Brigade, and the new Emporium. Not all the Star Wars sets use amazing techniques, but a lot do. Just study what's out there.

In my case I started making MOCs similar to what I found online and noticed which bricks I was mnissing/could use more of. Then I hit Bricklink.

If there is a Lego store near you hitting the Pick A Brick wall is a good way to get a bunch of parts on the cheap.

PS. Prepare to spend a bunch of money.

[Blondie-Wan]

Hi! Welcome (back) to the brick. :)

For your main question, I don't have a more specific answer than "buy what you like" - the other replies pretty well cover everything else. That said, I do have an eensy bit of advice pertaining to something else you mention, since you're soliciting advice anyway...

I have finished sorting my collection by color and will continue to sort them by (hopefully) color and type. It all depends on how many drawers I will need :P.

I'd sort them by type before sorting them by color; sorting by color isn't going to do much to help make it easier to find the piece you need in a drawer full of parts.

Good luck!

[k_peek_2000]

Get the Green Grocer, it's inches from being discontinued.

[Danpb]

I'd sort them by type before sorting them by color; sorting by color isn't going to do much to help make it easier to find the piece you need in a drawer full of parts.

Good luck!

I went with color first and just finished - but I totally agree with you on type first. I started with color and was so far along that I just went with it.

I can't really say what my motivation was, I guess it just made sense at the time - not so much in hindsight ;)

If something on the lego shop is "hard to find" - is that an indication it'll be discontinued?

I may snag the Grocer first as the Emporium just came out, giving me more time..then there's the fire brigade...gah!

[Eilif]

Hard to find just means that it's not for sale at most regular retailers.

If you like to build structures, I'd defintely recommend any of the cafe corner series buildings. They are a great source of pieces (at a low price per piece) and will give you alot of insight into some of the more modern building techniques. Green Grocer is a great place to start.

The good thing about alot of recent building MOC's is that while their are many of new pieces avaialble, it's much more about the style and technique than some magic pieces.

As to sorting, I sort by color and type for most bricks, plates, slopes, etc. For special pieces, accessories, etc, I keep them in drawers by type. Here's a pictorial blog of how I got my sorting done. It might give you some ideas.

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?...c=22165&hl=

[Peppermint_M]

A method I use to obtain lots of random parts is to buy the cheapest sets from all themes. £10 and under sets and bigger if I like the theme. It helps you get some of the new soon-to-be common parts, the theme specific part/colour combinations and the minifigs from that theme.

If there are parts you really want, that you see in a MOC or are part of some larger set you don't want to buy, go to bricklink and have a poke around for them