Bricklinking Modular Buildings

[rollermonkey]

Its comments like this that sometimes makes me think about opening a BL store as I have those parts as extras just laying around that I know I don't need.

If you are building the PC, GG and PR, you are going to be feeling the shakes once those are all done and nothing to build.

As much as I spent this month, I am just going to have to deal with it. I might let the Fourth Be With Me far enough for the sandcrawler, but then I'm done until Trevi Fountain and the Summer Star Wars wave.

Why on earth did you bother with those? They are basically hidden, especially the 5 that go under the roof panels. You could've used any color you want for those.

I've gone 100% authentic parts, why stop that just as I get to the very end?

Edited April 11, 2014 by rollermonkey

[rollermonkey]

I'm done building GG apart from the 19 black modified tiles that hold the flat parts of the fire escape and one hinge bottom for the front of the cupola.

I am doing sone tiny mods: They apparently do make window glass for the train windows on the angled part of the turret, and I've turned the frames around in anticipation of putting those in place. The other is that I've put doorknobs on all the doors to be more similar to the rest of the series.

ETA: Got the parts in for and assembled the fire escape together today. I wish I even had a hinge bottom I could borrow out of another set to use even temporarily, but everything else seems to be horizontal hinges or clicky-hinges. So the roof, and the entire set, is exactly one brick away from completed. At least the seller has already sent it on, but no US seller had 5 of them, so I had to go with a European seller, thus the missing brick is coming all the way from Germany.

Edited April 15, 2014 by rollermonkey

[sithewok]

Ok. Pardon the (possibly stupid) questions from a newbie collector, please, but I was wondering a couple of things. Primarily, about what percentage of the bricks for these can be had through pick a brick rather than bricklinking? I know it is more expensive, but I have built up a good collection of VIP points that I am considering using towards the discontinued modulars. Is there a list out there for the elements that are not available any more through TLG that you would have to bricklink?

I just recently started collecting and the Modulars are my main focus. I picked up PC, TH, GE, and PS. Plan on picking up Fire Brigade next before the price starts to get ridiculous and then PR. I would love to start building up the pieces for Green Grocer and Café Corner as I go along, though. (May skip market street, but I haven't 100% decided yet.

[rollermonkey]

If you go to the BnP area of Lego, you can see all the parts that are available at that moment through BnP by set number. The PaB inventory changes too often for any list that someone generated previously to be of real use to you right now.

You can also add all the parts from a set to your wanted list on BL all at once. Then if you click the tab for 'By Shop' you can sort by which store has the most parts you are looking for, then add them all at once to your cart, store-by-store. If you want to limit your results by new bricks only, or only stores in your country, there are options to do that and more.

Edited April 22, 2014 by rollermonkey

[Dharkan]

I know many AFOLs love bricklinking GG but I have mixed feelings about it. First of all, yes it is a great build but at the same time it is not that great anymore. Seriously, besides the first floor, the market part, rest of the building is quite horrible compared to the latest builds with relatively new parts. So what I would suggest is MODing Green Grocer as you bricklink it. At least it'd look better and my personal opinion about sand green bricks is that I'd rather swap them with sand blue than paying for a lot of money.

I hope I didn't sound mean or anything but it's just my thoughts about it. I know some sets that you were not able to buy when they were available is like a relic, an artifact from past, but as long as you didn't buy it with the box I don't think you'll feel the same joy anyway. At least I would not have. :)

[rollermonkey]

I dunno. The exterior of GG is perfectly fine all the way up...

The interior of those upper floors though? It's pretty bad when a highlight is a radiator-type heater.

Edited April 22, 2014 by rollermonkey

[rob-cubed]

GG does need a lot of internal renovation. There's the awkward placement of internal stairs, lack of enough windows on the rear, and nothing but two huge rooms on the top two floors. But the architectural details on the front are great. It's a fabulous shell to play with.

I love the PR but it's almost *too* complete by comparison. It's kind of nice when LEGO intentionally leaves a little "blank canvas" for your own creativity.

[elleana]

I dunno. The exterior of GG is perfectly fine all the way up...

The interior of those upper floors though? It's pretty bad when a highlight is a radiator-type heater.

that rug!!!

the fireplace is pretty nifty though

[Dharkan]

I don't know. In my opinion all the windows on that set looks terrible. Only good detail about windows is red curtains.

[rollermonkey]

Well, I finally got that last hinge bottom, and my GG is complete. Kind of funny that I started this right after FB, and built GE, TH, PS, PC and PR while working on GG and waiting for GG.

I guess I ought to take a picture.

[damo]

Just bought a second hand green grocer for a reasonable price. I'm in the process of pulling it apart and cleaning all the pieces. I'm looking at replacing most of the white pieces because they have gone a little browny yellow colour. Also some of the grey pieces aswell. Hopefully most of the white pieces won't be too hard or expensive to find. I think getting new white pieces will make it stand out more. Thankfully the rest of the pieces are ok. Has anyone else replaced their white parts because they were going a yellow colour. It doesn't seem to have affected some parts whereas some are attached to the same thing but is only that brick that has gone that colour. Any thoughts or tips on maybe how to freshen up the white parts

[melbs]

is it safe to assume lots of cafe corners selling on ebay without a box or manual but is complete to be brick linked sets?

i am still at odds if i will start getting my cafe corner similar to you guys via brick link or just simply buy used sets (but there has to be a box and manual)

[Sammael]

I am in the process of bricklinking CC, about 50% done. Hopefully it'll be complete by July. GG to follow.

IMO, paying the current rates is insane. My friend sold just the instructions for those two for 200 EUR.

[stevkir]

IMO I don't see any reason why I need the instructions since there are multiple sources for getting them as a PDF file off the internet and building them from that instead. I actually have some instructions I would rather not have laying around and would sell or trade them for LEGO parts if I knew someone locally here in Utah that would do it. That was a statement and not trying to sell on this forum and do not request information about them via this thread, IM me instead if you are ultimately that curious. I am not a seller and have no plans to start.

My progress on the GG I have been Bricklinking has come to a stop with less than 100 parts left to get. Once I get my hands on more burnable cash I will start up again but that will be a couple months.

[TheLegoDr]

I put in my final order for some extra 1x1 sand blue bricks and then a few other sand blue bricks to finish my interior bathroom for my sand blue grocer. I am very pleased with how it turned out. Once that is finished I'll get some pictures.

I also have the front facade finished for my 32 wide straight conversion of Cafe Corner. The name obviously will be different now since it is no longer a corner, but I just wanted something different than the official. I do have all of the pieces to make the original with the substitution of the windows on the second level and the dark blue bricks on the interior. I basically just need some reddish brown bricks to finish out that second level and it will be finished too.

Very exciting having these things taken care of. It is actually perfect timing since I've been getting back into Pirate Ship building lately so now I can focus solely on those.

[kvasir]

I started purchasing modulars with the Emporium. I was lucky enough the green grocer was still relatively cheap on BL then, but the Market Street and Café Corner had long since retired. I purchased a used MS from bricklink for about $500. I drew the line with CC and decided I should purchased parts instead. CC was the last building I completed in my modular collection. I just finished last year after couple of years I've been parting out the set on BL from no less than 20 sellers.

The most expensive piece was the 2x4 white window frame on the third floor. They were $5-$10 a piece. :O

My advice would be don't hurry to finish the set and never buy just a few parts at a time. Set up a want-list for your CC, as well as other parts that you're waiting to get. Try to consider cheaper alternative parts and I don't mean colour substitution. Find a seller that has more parts you're looking for rather than the cheapest. Chances are the seller who has the cheapest parts may only have few parts you are looking for.

Edited April 25, 2014 by kvasir

[rob-cubed]

is it safe to assume lots of cafe corners selling on ebay without a box or manual but is complete to be brick linked sets?

Maybe... there are a few parts that are rare/expensive and don't justify the effort to recreate a 100% accurate set and then try to flip for a profit. If the set doesn't include them, it's a copy-cat.

Keep in mind Cafe Corner was early on, before anyone really appreciated the demand for modulars and the way they jump in price once retired. Many people don't keep boxes and some don't keep instructions once built, or misplace them. Just because it's missing these elements doesn't mean it's not legit.

Edited April 25, 2014 by rob-cubed

[TheLegoDr]

^Even if they do have the rare pieces, they could still be a copy. Most people won't be able to tell the difference between the original pieces and the new versions (like type 1 of the large windows or the 1x2 panels with/without side supports). Some things are pretty similar. I think maybe the new dark blue arch that came with the winter village set is a slightly different mold. It has more support underneath. I don't have the original so I can't compare, but I do have the newer version.

I do agree about setting up a wantlist and try to buy as much as you can for a reasonable price from fewer sellers than a few cheap pieces from lots of sellers. The downside, sometimes pieces may be cheap at a few places and not others and then they skyrocket in price and you miss out on a good deal altogether. The 2x4 windows on the top floor were really cheap when I got them through LEGO, but I believe they have since been discontinued. Now I bought them probably in 2012 without really thinking. Personally now, I'd modify them to use the regular 1x3x4 windows to blend in with the rest of the line. To follow with what was said earlier, I have a colleague in my LUG that was selling the 2x4 windows from some new princess set for as much as the originals were selling for, even though they are a different mold. As in, he was claiming they were the original mold and people were buying them thinking that, but when I told him it was a different mold he changed it in the system and started making a lot less money. The downside is, the people who bought it for a high dollar amount thinking it was original got duped, but they don't necessarily know they got duped. Outside of buying some new in box from a LEGO store or Online, you can't be 100% certain it is legit.

[nana]

Just bought a new sealed GG for 750 dollars. I was going to brinklink GG and CC, but as a full-time working mom, 750 dollars to get everything original and save lots of time isn't too bad. I still plan to brinklink CC, so I won't miss the joy of bricklinking a whole big set. CC is way too expensive.

[Transparency for Effect]

Out of curiosity, how much does around twenty pieces cost from "Bricks and Pieces", since this topic seems relevant to it?

I'm trying to rebuild the Apple Tree House and I'm close to having all the necessary pieces :)

To get this back on topic, how is everyone's modular buildings coming along picture-wise?

[Wodanis]

Out of curiosity, how much does around twenty pieces cost from "Bricks and Pieces", since this topic seems relevant to it?

I'm trying to rebuild the Apple Tree House and I'm close to having all the necessary pieces :)

To get this back on topic, how is everyone's modular buildings coming along picture-wise?

Depends on the pieces you need. BnP prices vary, some will cost more than PAB some less. Would like to see some long awaited photos of everyone's creations.

[PhoenixAustria]

Hi Guys,

I have dreamed of building the older modulars ever since and when I found this thread a few days ago, I could not resist any more :D

One question concerning BrickLink: I have GG, MS & CC in MyWantedList and placed 1 order with 1800 pieces (246 lots) just today. However, what is the best way to proceed now? The MyWantedList still shows me all lots (also the ones I have ordered already), when I click on the ByShop button and I do not know how to figure out how to fix this...

[TheLegoDr]

^You should delete the items you ordered so they won't show up in future wanted lists. That is the most logical step. For me, I actually had two separate Want Lists for GG and CC. One was titled NEED and the other HAVE, that way I could keep track of what was already ordered and what wasn't, while still maintaining the full inventory at any given time. Not sure why I did this, but it worked out okay. Plus, it is kind of neat deleting items. Makes you feel accomplished. Having to delete my whole want list was like lifting a burden off of my shoulders. I know that sounds bad, but I mean it in a good way.

I think there may be a feature that allows you to delete the products you order from your wanted list. Never looked for it though.

As for pictures, I really slack in that department. I have older MOCs from last year that I never took pictures of, and have since dismantled...not smart.

[PhoenixAustria]

OK, thanks for the info! I've done the same now with the 2 Wanted Lists and it works pretty well :)

[nana]

I just paid all my orders for bricklinking these three modulars. The total cost is close to 1100 dolloars including shipping fees. Lego pick a brick has increased their price for some bricks so I didn't buy any bricks from them. For the 56 of Sand Green Brick 1 x 2 with Groove, I paid EUR 0.97 for each. So as you can see, the price for bricklinking these three modulars is increasing. I used a matlab program to find the best combination of stores to buy bricks from. I spent a lot of time to compute and saved in this way. Here are the substitutions I did. I tried my best to keep as original as possible:

Green Grocer: The 1x8 sand green bricks were substituted by 1x2, 1x4, 1x6 bricks. Two 1x6 and one 1x4 can be used for two adjent 1x8 bricks to reduce the gaps. Train windows were replaced by normal ones.

Cafe Corners: The windows of two floors were modified as the techniques mentioned here, 2x10 reddish brown bricks to 2x4 and 2x6 and the color of the turntable plates.

Market Place: For the fence, Tabless used tubes were used.

Left 1x4x5 doors were changed to right used doors. I also use the large 32x32 base plate as I have many extras.

Other changes were subtle, such as type 1 to type 2, stub types.

I just bought a new green grocer for 750 dollars. I am going to sell it as I found bricklinking three was not much more effort than two. I also even bricklinked several small models at the same time. Thanks for this thread. It really encouraged me to bricklink myself!

Edited May 17, 2014 by nana