MOC

[nicoga3000]

I've been wanting to start a few MOC's after getting my LEGO sorted(ish), but I was wondering what the most commonly accepted way of going about this was. Do ya'll find yourself going at it free-style or putting the model together in LDD first?

[Siegfried]

There's a common way? I know of many;

1. Building an any-colour prototype and then replacing later.

2. Designing via LDD and building.

3. Building the finished product from the start.

...and I can go on. I find LDD doesn't work for me. For one I'm on the computer too much already, but most of all a lot of what I make requires balance/strength testing, and you can't do that in LDD. Also, I rarely order parts to finish a MOC, so to design via LDD would run the risk of not being able to build what I designed.

[TheDesuComplex]

My MOCs start with me fiddling around with pieces IRL, seeing how they fit, seeing how they can be used, etc. I only do LDD to render a finished MOC in a nice, shareable computer file. However, everyone is different, and you may start your MOCs differently. Just go with the flow and see how you start it.

[Brickdoctor]

...and I can go on. I find LDD doesn't work for me. For one I'm on the computer too much already, but most of all a lot of what I make requires balance/strength testing, and you can't do that in LDD. Also, I rarely order parts to finish a MOC, so to design via LDD would run the risk of not being able to build what I designed.

Same here. And (at least until touchable hologram technology becomes available with LDD) there's nothing that can replace the feeling of building by actually holding the bricks. Personally I prefer the multi-colored prototype method, because my collection is at the size (10,00-20,00) where it's too much trouble to dig through all the unsorted pieces looking for hte right color, and yet I still have a good idea of what I have in what color, just not where it currently is.

[OrangeKNight]

For me, having only recently fully shed the shackles of my Dark Ages, find myself is a decent collection of parts, but they tend to be in various stages of fading or UV tinting, or I'm just missing newer parts so I tend to start in LDD and go from there, I'll build prototypes of the whole thing or just sections as needed(as a Mecha builder testing joints for strength and posability is pretty central to doing a good design IMO) and then go about building or obtaining the parts I need for the MOC via Bricklink.

Also a good rule of thumb when ordering from Bricklink IMO is to always order more than you strictly need for the MOC, mainly so you have extras incase of bad parts but also to expand your collection.

I also find doing an LDD model, even if it isn't 1005 accurate due to non-standard connections, is still a good way to cronicle how something went together and a great way to share designs as well.

Mike

[Sandy]

Thus far I've always build my MOCs out of an idea in my head, maybe changing a few things in the progress but aiming for a finished creation from the beginning. Usually the finished MOCs haven't come out exactly like I thought they would, mainly because of part limitations but also because it's not easy to realize a mental image.

But I just finished building a setting for my comic that was taken from a real image of a fantastic, wintry tower-structure, and it was really fun trying to get the LEGO version to look like the one in the artwork. Like always, the MOC is not 100% accurate compared to the image, but it's close enough to satisfy me.

I found that sort of "concept picture" a good way to start a MOC - nobody forces you to make an exact copy of the image, after all. The only things restricting you in this type of building are your parts collection and technical building skills.

[Gregorovich]

Well I don't have LDD, so I just build my things from scratch. I usually imagine something really good to build, but then while I'm building I remember how small my collection is. So it usually turns out a lot smaller and less impressive than I imagined at first, but I'm usually happy with the outcome. The only MOC I've built that is the same as what I imagined is the Country Cottage, as I based it of No. 4 Privet Drive, and my brother used to have it so I had most of the parts.

[Ralph_S]

I upset some people a while back when trying to explain that I don't really see the point of using a CAD programme as part of the design process for the sort of things I do.

I tend to have an idea in my mind before I start building and perhaps a drawing or two and then go pretty much straight to finished build with relatively little fiddling. I do have a reasonably large collection, so I normally know in advance whether I can build what I have in mind. I also tend to buy parts based on the ideas for potential future MOCs.

Because for most of the last 8 months I've been about 300 km away from my LEGO collection, but do want to get some building done, I had a go at designing a model on my computer a few months ago (using LDRAW/ MLCad rather than LDD). I wrote about the experience on EB. I didn't really have any difficulties with the software (I think it is quite nifty) and I do see some benefits -in particular if you don't actually have the parts for what you want to build- but if you do have the parts, I don't think CAD can really compete with building in real life, both in terms of the experience and in terms of the end result. The finishing touches, at least for me, are still best done in the real world.

Cheers,

Ralph

[nicoga3000]

I like seeing the design in real life, no doubt. I guess I'm a bit daunted by my collection at the moment - I feel like it would take forever to find the pieces I want to use. Then again, I won't know if I don't try! :)

[CptMugwash]

I keep it simple, I tend to go with a theme rather than an Idea, mess around with some pieces keeping the colour and style of that theme i.e. steampunk, brown,grey,gold, boiler, pipes, greebles, etc.

[-R8-]

It's always more fun and easier for me to just work with elements in real life, since it offers a realistic perspective that isn't replicated in a CGI rendering. Building with actual pieces is also easier with respect to the physics involved, especially in larger creations. I always build the final model from the onset, and I simultaneously have sites like Peeron and Bricklink open to quickly search for elements that I need.

Several years ago I was someone who build nearly exclusively in LDD, but over time I've let go of that to build near-exclusively with actual elements. The satisfaction of completing a MOC 'in real life' to me is far greater than finishing one in a computer program.

[Commander Laquiet]

LDD has never quite worked for me, mainly because I've never really bothered to find out how to properly use it. My collection is loosely sorted, so I just build away for the finished model, colour and all.

[Masked Builder]

I've found that recoloring bricks in LDD is a pain. I don't like being on the computer much either, and I like to build with the parts I have because I usually don't order parts off Bricklink to complete MOCs.

[dr_spock]

I prefer to work with physical bricks.

[Syn]

Well the only time I use LDD is when I'm testing an idea and too lazy to get bricks out or when I don't have the bricks available. when actually making a MOC I just shoot from the hip and design, redesign and then design some more and change and change and change until I'm happy with it.

[BrickArtist]

For me it's a rough sketch, a little bit of virtual thought designing, some refference pics, and a handful of bricks that might come in handy. For big SW stuff it's nice to have some technic as well. For other themes it might be a little different though. I do a prototype model too. Upload that and develop it with the help of EBs wonderful community.

[Henchmen4Hire]

I don't have many bricks so I mostly make stuff in LDD. I'll use real bricks to test connections LDD doesn't like though.