Bricklinking Modular Buildings

[Super Goblin]

So is there enough sand blue in the Pet Shop for the GG? Will I have to buy any additional sand blue bricks to complete it? I was thinking about getting another PS for the house side so if I can use the pet shop half for the GG it will be a bonus.

[timmyc1983]

Just read through this topic, looks like you're doing a great job!! I did this middle of last year and as many have suggested swapped the sand green 1x8s for 1x4s and thought you may want to see some shots of them in action... You really don't notice the difference structurally or aesthetically unless you're looking for it:

I look forward to following your progress, happy brick hunting

[sin]

Alright so all of my orders have been placed

I had to make a couple of other adjustments:

• sand green hinge bottoms replaced with dark bley - not visible so no biggy and 7 new sand green ones were seriously hard to find
  
• white turntable bottoms replaced with yellow - I couldn't believe how hard it was to find these in white, yellow chairs on the balcony sit on these so it seemed an appropriate compromise
  

I placed a total of 15 Bricklink orders and 1 small PAB order ($36). Sourcing minifig parts, the cat and items that are out of production resulted In 10 orders that were only about $10 each.

Total cost of parts (not including shipping, taxes or fees) - $343.25. Should come in under $400 when all is said and done.

Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that my orders come through with no problems...

This has been a cool process so far and I will be very proud when it is complete!

At least my PR arrived today so I will have something to do in the meantime

[antp]

You really don't notice the difference structurally or aesthetically unless you're looking for it:

If you do not know that it should contain 1x8s it is indeed not a problem, but in this case it would be better to try to arrange the bricks to avoid the split between two bricks at the same place on two continuous layers... I am not sure what I try to explain is clear :D

On your photos the line between bricks is quite noticeable when it is at the same place on contiguous rows of bricks.

[Paperballpark]

That's why I decided to use a combination of 1x2, 1x4 and 1x6. In certain areas the 1x8s cross over each other by 4 studs, meaning 1x4s in those areas would be directly above each other.

[timmyc1983]

If you do not know that it should contain 1x8s it is indeed not a problem, but in this case it would be better to try to arrange the bricks to avoid the split between two bricks at the same place on two continuous layers... I am not sure what I try to explain is clear :D

On your photos the line between bricks is quite noticeable when it is at the same place on contiguous rows of bricks.

Yes I know exactly what you mean, but alas I only ordered 1x4s as a replacement of the 1x8s and in the cases where there is no overlap in the bricks it is because no matter which way you arrange the bricks this occurs. If you split the difference with 1x2s and 1x4s this would alleviate this and as you suggest, there would be overlaps at every brick/split.... I hope that all makes sense........?

Edit: PaperballPark hit the nail on the head!!

Edited January 8, 2014 by timmyc1983

[sin]

I replaced the 50 1x8's with 50 1x6's and 50 1x2's in order to avoid this. I didn't take the time to go through every row of bricks in the plans but I think I should work.

Edited January 8, 2014 by sin

[Paperballpark]

I've checked on mine, I don't think you'll have a problem just using 1x2s and 1x6s.

[sin]

That's good news

Thanks for checking!

[Roger_Smith]

I built mine about a year ago. I found the sand green to be too expensive for my budget so used sand blue instead as I managed to pick up a Modular Pet Shop on the cheap. Also I couldn't find a source for the ornate tiles around the door so redesigned that a little bit as it looked terrible with plain tiles.

Anyway, here's what it looks like in sand blue:

http://www.flickr.co...08/11810735935/

Ivan

That looks really nice, if I ever find the time and will to do something like that, I may go that way aswell, or maybe look for another nice color that has all the elements at reasonable prices.

[Wodanis]

I replaced the 50 1x8's with 50 1x6's and 50 1x2's in order to avoid this. I didn't take the time to go through every row of bricks in the plans but I think I should work.

Yup that is what I did. I checked the design before I ordered. Works perfectly!

[damo]

If i have a spare haunted house set, would i need to get a lot more bricks to complete this build. Which parts are the more expensive and rare?

[sin]

The most expensive pieces in this set are going to be:

• Sand green 1 x 8 bricks ($3.50 a piece - need 50)
  
• Sand green 1 x 2 brick w/ groove ($0.75-$1.25 a piece - need 56)
  
• Blue 1 x 3 x 2 bow ($3.50-$4.00 a piece - need 4)
  
• Tan minifig torso, part #4275334 ($3.50 and up - hard to find)
  
• Red Brown "Lady Wig", part #4506002 ($2.50 and up - Really hard to find)
  
• White Kitten w/ printed eyes, part #4285963 ($2.50 and up - hard to find)
  

There are other parts that might be a little pricey but these are the ones I had a tougher time with. You can always substitute for something cheaper or more available depending on your personal preferences.

[Doom2099]

Good luck! Be sure to let us know your final cost. If you can Bricklink, PAB, etc. a GG for less than $600 you will be doing great. Back when I BL'ed a CC a couple of years ago I thought I could do better than the going prices for a complete set. Wow! Was I wrong, I wound up spending at least $150 more for parts and I had to sub some colors just to find a part in a reasonable price range. Then there's the shipping! I had to go to at least 8 or 10 stores just to get the parts, the shipping really adds up!

Bottom line, BL'ing the set was fun I learned a lot about BL, but it was just not the least expensive option for me.

No matter what you decide, have fun.

Andy D

That mirrors my experiences with Bricklink exactly. My first time rebuilding a classic set taught me so much, as all the little extra costs really do add up. Actually, I'm more and more amazed at just how similar the prices are for whole sets compared to the sum of the individual pieces.

I like what sin is doing here with his Green Grocer, and some of the other ideas in the thread about color substitutions and piece replacements to make things more reasonable in terms of price.

[damo]

The most expensive pieces in this set are going to be:

• Sand green 1 x 8 bricks ($3.50 a piece - need 50)
  
• Sand green 1 x 2 brick w/ groove ($0.75-$1.25 a piece - need 56)
  
• Blue 1 x 3 x 2 bow ($3.50-$4.00 a piece - need 4)
  
• Tan minifig torso, part #4275334 ($3.50 and up - hard to find)
  
• Red Brown "Lady Wig", part #4506002 ($2.50 and up - Really hard to find)
  
• White Kitten w/ printed eyes, part #4285963 ($2.50 and up - hard to find)
  

There are other parts that might be a little pricey but these are the ones I had a tougher time with. You can always substitute for something cheaper or more available depending on your personal preferences.

Thanks Sin

[Ivan001]

So is there enough sand blue in the Pet Shop for the GG? Will I have to buy any additional sand blue bricks to complete it? I was thinking about getting another PS for the house side so if I can use the pet shop half for the GG it will be a bonus.

From memory there wasn't enough. Unfortunately the old BL orders have been purged so I couldn't say now how much extra I had to buy.

[tkatt]

I built the "Blue Grocer" as well. I had wanted to build it for years but I didn't want to spend a lot. I began slowly gathering up the pieces starting with what I could set aside from my own colllection. I found the sand blue 1x2 bricks with grooves on BrickOwl for about $0.15 a piece and decided to just go with sand blue for the whole building. I used a lot of my own parts, and was able to build it for a pretty reasonable cost, although I didn't keep an exact total since I collected the pieces over a year. I made some other changes (alternate colors) as well and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I like that it is mostly unique(other posters seem to have had the same idea). I was glad to get to build an iconic set and enjoyed the challenge of collecting the parts and adjusting the build when necessary.

Edit:

Here's a photo

http://www.flickr.co...02/11856197266/

Edited January 9, 2014 by tkatt

[Inzane]

From memory there wasn't enough. Unfortunately the old BL orders have been purged so I couldn't say now how much extra I had to buy.

If you retained your email history, you may find your order details there. Whenever I order from BL I get an invoice email that contains the details like part, qty and price.

[Stefano]

I built the "Blue Grocer" as well. I had wanted to build it for years but I didn't want to spend a lot. I began slowly gathering up the pieces starting with what I could set aside from my own colllection. I found the sand blue 1x2 bricks with grooves on BrickOwl for about $0.15 a piece and decided to just go with sand blue for the whole building. I used a lot of my own parts, and was able to build it for a pretty reasonable cost, although I didn't keep an exact total since I collected the pieces over a year. I made some other changes (alternate colors) as well and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I like that it is mostly unique(other posters seem to have had the same idea). I was glad to get to build an iconic set and enjoyed the challenge of collecting the parts and adjusting the build when necessary.

Edit:

Here's a photo

http://www.flickr.co...02/11856197266/

Damn that looks nice

[sin]

I built the "Blue Grocer" as well. I had wanted to build it for years but I didn't want to spend a lot. I began slowly gathering up the pieces starting with what I could set aside from my own colllection. I found the sand blue 1x2 bricks with grooves on BrickOwl for about $0.15 a piece and decided to just go with sand blue for the whole building. I used a lot of my own parts, and was able to build it for a pretty reasonable cost, although I didn't keep an exact total since I collected the pieces over a year. I made some other changes (alternate colors) as well and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I like that it is mostly unique(other posters seem to have had the same idea). I was glad to get to build an iconic set and enjoyed the challenge of collecting the parts and adjusting the build when necessary.

That looks great! I like that you swapped awning colors as well since you went with the blueish facade.

Edited January 9, 2014 by sin

[Alpinemaps]

http://www.flickr.co...02/11856197266/

Wow, that looks great!

[tkatt]

That looks great! I like that you swapped awning colors as well since you went with the blueish facade.

Thanks. I used the green for the awnings and dark green for curtains in the second(first in europe?) floor windows, as a tribute to the original green of the set

[juzo]

Great thread, this is also my next build having just finished bricklinking the 10179 falcon. Given i'm fussy as hell and insist on having everything the way lego released it, i think it'll be more cost effective to wait until a good secondhand set comes up for sale, some of those sand green prices, yikes!

[Inzane]

having just finished bricklinking the 10179 falcon.

Wow, I can't imagine putting together a ~5,200 piece set like that piecemeal via bricklink was an easy task. Did it feel worthwhile to you?

[TheLegoDr]

That sand blue grocer looks awesome. That is such a pretty color. I may like that more than the official set! But I planned a large purchase of sand green bricks, so I'll stick with that. Maybe I'll build another sand blue building sometime.

Thanks for keeping us updated. It's always interesting to see how these creations take shape. I really need to sit down and organize my pieces so I can start this project too. I am planning a big order here in the next few weeks, so outside of the sand green, hopefully I can find something that will come in handy.