Bricklinking Modular Buildings

[Rams]

Hi guys,

This is my second post on this forum, but I registered only to thank you about this thread because this really started me in bricklinking old set (I've started with a sand blue grocer in august, then couldn't stop and have done the Cafe corner, then the Winter Village Cottage, Bakery and Post office).

I used mainly Bricklink and Brick and Pieces (almost half and half). Each project (Blue grocer and Cafe corner) cost me around 500-550 canadian dollar. Doing the Blue Grocer was a big project for a first time with Bricklink :)

I've done some piece swap, change the color for the green grocer because I couldn't convince my girlfriend to spend 500$ on sand green pieces. For the cafe corner, I think I've changed only the window and the light bluish gray door for a reverted side one.

Here's a picture of my bricklinked modular, if it could inspire other like me to start the project.

[Chubbs]

Rams - slightly off topic for this discussion...but if I may...talk to me a bit about bricklinking the winter sets. Was it pretty straight forward? Anything hard to find? Cost?

Edited November 28, 2015 by Chubbs

[Rams]

Rams - slightly off topic for this discussion...but if I may...talk to me a bit about bricklinking the winter sets. Was it pretty straight forward? Anything hard to find? Cost?

Hi, bricklinking the WV post office, bakery and cottage was yes, pretty straight forward. A lot less "rare" pieces than the modular building. The stickers were hard to find (I pay something like 15$ for Post office stickers). I think there were only 4-5 rare pieces, but they were not that expensive. Just had to bought those pieces from Europe instead of North America. It cost me around 500 CAN$ for the 3 set together ( almost 3000 pieces), with almost 3/4 of the minifigs. I've used Brick And Pieces for more than half of the pieces for the WV set.

[TheLegoDr]

I enjoy this thread. Bricklinking can be fun at times. But then I think at how much it costs for aftermarket pieces to bricklink some of these sets and I'm incredibly thankful for getting them at MSRP. The sets that I have missed, I will continue to miss them because paying double or triple what they cost brand new is not for me.

[muffluvin]

Guys, another question regarding green grocer. The green bricks on the first layer, Brickset listed them as Earth Green while according to the part list on Bricklink it's supposed to be Dark Green. So which shade of green is it really?

I am looking at the images of the Green Grocer and it seems like the shade of green is Earth Green. So which one is the correct color, I have a bunch of the dark green bricks from set 10664. I was able to snag set 10697 from Walmart's online store last Thursday and there's a few earth green bricks in there. It should be coming in later this week.

Thanks for the help guys.

Here's what I have done so far, I don't want to go on if I am using the wrong shade of green :)

Edited November 30, 2015 by muffluvin

[Chubbs]

Muffluvin - first off...great use of a mech to help with the build. Secondly, according to Lego's Brick and Pieces weblisting, the base pieces are "Earth Green" which is a really dark green. The actual "Dark Green" colour is much lighter at least according to that site. Very confusing though and probably should be renamed or clarified somehow.

[muffluvin]

Chubbs, I knew you'll still be up. That construction mech was the first remix I made after coming out of my dark age. It is based on a Ninjago Mech.

Comparing the images of the Green Grocer to the color palette makes me think it is earth green. I am really confused right now :)

[Chubbs]

As weird as it is, Earth Green is the darkest green Lego makes. So you are correct...its Earth Green, not Dark Green. However, unless you're an absolute purist and must have the GG in its original form, I think either green would work. Its the bottom layer of bricks, most of which will be covered and never seen. But maybe that's just me.

Muffluvin....Side note - how did you get Bob Ross to come help with construction of the GG? I thought he only painted landscapes...

[muffluvin]

Thanks Chubbs, I will have access to the earth ones via set 10697 so I should be fine. I spent the last weekend sorting my bulk lego and also the spare bits from my sets and I was surprised that I would only need around 818 pieces to complete the set (provided I use tan instead of sand green).

If it was just the first layer, I am fine with it. But the 7th layer also uses the green bricks and the shade of dark green sticks out like a sore thumb in a sea of Light Bluish/Medium Stone Gray bricks.

Mr. Ross loves green mate.

Edited November 30, 2015 by muffluvin

[DK_Titan]

Chubbs, I knew you'll still be up. That construction mech was the first remix I made after coming out of my dark age. It is based on a Ninjago Mech.

Comparing the images of the Green Grocer to the color palette makes me think it is earth green. I am really confused right now :)

There are sites that have both Lego's names and other sites names for the colors. Link

[Gongoro73]

Hi everybody,

for those who are thinking in bricklinking Green Grocer, I've just completed mine. Here's my guide, maybe somebody, lazy as me, could find it useful:

I've started from a scratch, using no bricks from my inventory. I've taken the easiest lazy route: I've purchased all bricks available from brick and pieces and pick a brick. The rest of them, via bricklink (five different stores). I've just purchased new pieces and the only substitutions are:

1x2 groove sand bricks (replaced with masonry bricks)

1x8 sand bricks (replaced with 1x4 sand bricks).

All the rest is exactly as the original, including baseplates, minifigures and all kind of accessories and rare pieces.

Hope someday Lego will be producing 1x2 groove sand bricks again.

The total, including shipping from Lego and bricklink stores it has been 467,49€. Ouch!

Next year: The last in line, Cafe Corner.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Gongoro73

[Chubbs]

I enjoy this thread. Bricklinking can be fun at times. But then I think at how much it costs for aftermarket pieces to bricklink some of these sets and I'm incredibly thankful for getting them at MSRP. The sets that I have missed, I will continue to miss them because paying double or triple what they cost brand new is not for me.

The total, including shipping from Lego and bricklink stores it has been 467,49€. Ouch!

Dr Lego - I know its not practical to brinklink these older sets...but sometimes dreaming is fun :) but when the price gets above $500 for a set its no longer practical. My general upper limit is double retail for an older set but I also limit which ones I "go after"

[Gongoro73]

Dr Lego - I know its not practical to brinklink these older sets...but sometimes dreaming is fun :) but when the price gets above $500 for a set its no longer practical. My general upper limit is double retail for an older set but I also limit which ones I "go after"

True, but I guess is unrrealistic to think that you can buy a GG for double the retail price nowadays. You will be lucky if you find a used one for less than 600$. So, at the end, if you want this particular set as badly as me, you have to be prepared to pay over 400$. And even then, you will need to substitute a lot of bricks.

[Wodanis]

Thanks Chubbs, I will have access to the earth ones via set 10697 so I should be fine. I spent the last weekend sorting my bulk lego and also the spare bits from my sets and I was surprised that I would only need around 818 pieces to complete the set (provided I use tan instead of sand green).

If it was just the first layer, I am fine with it. But the 7th layer also uses the green bricks and the shade of dark green sticks out like a sore thumb in a sea of Light Bluish/Medium Stone Gray bricks.

Mr. Ross loves green mate.

Just to reiterate, the colour for the base for Green Grocer is Earth Green. Dark Green is the normal 'green' colour the old 32x32 base plates were. Bricklink uses a practical method to describe their colours which I find rather confusing because I memorized the colour palette from Lego.

[Sven F]

Yes, but LEGO didn't release their color names to the public when the bricklink database was created. Basically you have to memorize both names for every color.

Maybe bricklink should have alternate names in brackets or use a menu to select which names to show. I personally find the official color names more confusing and illogical.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Sven F

[fred67]

Color names are annoyingly confusing and, what's worse, is color variations over time. I've gone into the LEGO store and stacked brown plates in a PAB cup, and the color variations were terrible, making it even harder to identify certain colors (lavenders, pinks, purples... reddish brown is, itself, possibly the worst).

I do reference this chart occasionally; it helps when you're deciding to order some from S@H instead of BL.

[Wodanis]

Yes, but LEGO didn't release their color names to the public when the bricklink database was created. Basically you have to memorize both names for every color.

Maybe bricklink should have alternate names in brackets or use a menu to select which names to show. I personally find the official color names more confusing and illogical.

It would be even better if they just updated the colour labels to TLG's versions. Not sure which colours you would find illogical?

[muffluvin]

Looks like I need to order the bits I needed from Bricks and Pieces thru a CSR. I have been experiencing the same thing that a couple of you guys reported. The site takes me too a page that says something like: "Page not Found" each time I try to check out. Then it takes me to the main page and my existing order is gone. tried using Firefox (my default browser) and Internet Explorer. I uninstalled all add-ons on my firefox browser and cleared all cookies and cache. I tried making the order on 3 Laptops and my desktop and it's the same result. It's so frustrating.

So I have a couple of questions:

1. How accomodating are Lego CSRs when filling up an order for parts via phone?

2. Is there a threshold or some sort of limit to the number of items one can buy?

Thanks for the help guys.

[Gongoro73]

Looks like I need to order the bits I needed from Bricks and Pieces thru a CSR. I have been experiencing the same thing that a couple of you guys reported. The site takes me too a page that says something like: "Page not Found" each time I try to check out. Then it takes me to the main page and my existing order is gone. tried using Firefox (my default browser) and Internet Explorer. I uninstalled all add-ons on my firefox browser and cleared all cookies and cache. I tried making the order on 3 Laptops and my desktop and it's the same result. It's so frustrating.

So I have a couple of questions:

1. How accomodating are Lego CSRs when filling up an order for parts via phone?

2. Is there a threshold or some sort of limit to the number of items one can buy?

Thanks for the help guys.

That's what is been happening to me with my GG project. Seems there's no way to fix it. I spoke with TLG customer service a couple of times and the only way was making different orders and then, call TLG back to discount replicated shipping rates.

Regarding orders via phone, I think the threshold is something like 20 different kind of pieces.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Gongoro73

[muffluvin]

That's what is been happening to me with my GG project. Seems there's no way to fix it. I spoke with TLG customer service a couple of times and the only way was making different orders and then, call TLG back to discount replicated shipping rates.

Regarding orders via phone, I think the threshold is something like 20 different kind of pieces.

Thanks mate. I might as well talk to a CSR and get his/her email then send her a list with the elements and piece count. Currently doing a spreadsheet, I should have done this rather that wasting my time tweaking my browser :)

Edited December 2, 2015 by muffluvin

[Wodanis]

Looks like I need to order the bits I needed from Bricks and Pieces thru a CSR. I have been experiencing the same thing that a couple of you guys reported. The site takes me too a page that says something like: "Page not Found" each time I try to check out. Then it takes me to the main page and my existing order is gone. tried using Firefox (my default browser) and Internet Explorer. I uninstalled all add-ons on my firefox browser and cleared all cookies and cache. I tried making the order on 3 Laptops and my desktop and it's the same result. It's so frustrating.

So I have a couple of questions:

1. How accomodating are Lego CSRs when filling up an order for parts via phone?

2. Is there a threshold or some sort of limit to the number of items one can buy?

Thanks for the help guys.

Customer service only allows you about 10-15 different types of parts over the phone and the quantity is 200 per type of piece. The reason for this, is when you order over the phone it takes more time with the customer service agent. It's easy to take an hour with one customer! They have been changing their practices over the past year or so as I call them often. It is best if you have the spreadsheet with your parts in front of you when you order with the Element and Design IDs handy. Makes the process of ordering much faster for them and they will be more inclined to have leeway with your order. If you get a newbie who just started working there expect to have to make that follow up phone call with your order. Usually you can request to place your order on hold and make another call to add more to your order.

I also have complained to them a few times now about the browser issues when ordering online. Glad to know that I am not the only one having the same issues.

Thanks mate. I might as well talk to a CSR and get his/her email then send her a list with the elements and piece count. Currently doing a spreadsheet, I should have done this rather that wasting my time tweaking my browser :)

That is a good idea but make sure you have the most up to date element IDs.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Wodanis

[muffluvin]

Thanks again Wodanis.

I attempted another try using my wife's old laptop. I made use of I.E. and unfortunately it led me to the dreaded "Page not Found" message. But this time, I made sure I copied the list of parts/order details that was generated on the acknowledgement page (before I clicked on the checkout button) and pasted it on Excel. Talked to the CSR and he gave me the generic Lego Customer Service email, he just told me to put "care of CSR's name" plus like a reference number. They're pretty efficient because he called me 30 minutes later with the bill. It was like 102 Element types but I did sort them by part number.

Here's what's funny, in my shopping list there were parts that were listed as out-of-stock on B&P and PAB but it was on my bill. According to the CSR there was only 1 element on my list that was out-of-stock for a long time, it was the 2x2 Earth Green brick . I'm finally done ordering the parts, now it's just a matter of waiting for the parts to arrive.

Hope I get to finish this project before Christmas

Edited December 3, 2015 by muffluvin

[Rams]

Thanks again Wodanis.

I attempted another try using my wife's old laptop. I made use of I.E. and unfortunately it led me to the dreaded "Page not Found" message. But this time, I made sure I copied the list of parts/order details that was generated on the acknowledgement page (before I clicked on the checkout button) and pasted it on Excel. Talked to the CSR and he gave me the generic Lego Customer Service email, he just told me to put "care of CSR's name" plus like a reference number. They're pretty efficient because he called me 30 minutes later with the bill. It was like 102 Element types but I did sort them by part number.

Here's what's funny, in my shopping list there were parts that were listed as out-of-stock on B&P and PAB but it was on my bill. According to the CSR there was only 1 element on my list that was out-of-stock for a long time, it was the 2x2 Earth Green brick . I'm finally done ordering the parts, now it's just a matter of waiting for the parts to arrive.

Hope I get to finish this project before Christmas

I have figure out the issue of the page not found of the brick and piece, you need to have less than 80 lots to have it working.

Hope this help.

[Wodanis]

For the most part pieces will be out of stock either because they literally ran out and will not replenish stocks (older part) or they are into their reserve stock for missing/broken parts stock. If the part is still current (ie in another current set) than they will have more stock made but have to wait for a shipment to the warehouse. Usually in Jan and late December this will occur. I wasn't able to order the minifigure parts for making medieval market village for example as they no longer produce them, but I did manage to get 90% of the parts from TLG.

Glad you have your GG parts ordered. It is a great feeling when everything comes together!

I have figure out the issue of the page not found of the brick and piece, you need to have less than 80 lots to have it working.

Hope this help.

That's brilliant if that is the reason though problematic for our big orders

Edited December 3, 2015 by Wodanis

[Chubbs]

Muffluvin...for the out of stock 2x2 brick Earth Green just order 2 more 1x2 brick Earth Green for each 2x2 you need. If memory serves me correctly, those are used on the base and easily substituted out for another size