Bricklinking Modular Buildings

[sin]

Hi all,

I have followed quite a few of these projects on EB and it's about time I began one of my own. Having come out of my dark ages a couple years ago I missed out on the first few of the modular series, namely CC, MS and GG. I have long thought about trying to acquire these via bricklink and PAB and so have decided to begin with GG which is currently selling for around $600. I will only be using new parts and will not be breaking up any of my current collection.

Since I am trying to do this cost effectively, my first task is to determine whether I should buy specific parts from BL or PAB. Over the last day and a half I have compiled a spreadsheet and have populated everything that is currently available from PAB and the cost of those items. I also added a column to track elements that I already own, unfortunately given my decision not to pilfer any other sets in my collection this is only 17 elements.

So, of the 311 unique elements in this set about 200 are available from PAB - though many are not cheap. Total cost if I were to buy all of them would be $261.55 not including tax or shipping (seems free at the moment anyways). Most of these items are common and all of the sand-green, dark red and earth green elements are not available via PAB.

Next phase will be to cost out each element on BL - I am not exactly looking forward to this part!

[Andy D]

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

[Paperballpark]

I did this last year - it cost me a total of about £310 (about $500) including postage (with £255 - or $405 - being just for the parts).

I used 20 suppliers - LEGO's Bricks and Pieces service on their customer service website (total of £110, and a wider range than PAB) and the rest from Bricklink, including 4 sellers in America. I had 43 pieces already in my collection which I didn't have to order.

I'm pretty sure all the pieces were brand new and exactly as in the original, with the exception of the 1x8 Sand Green bricks, which were just way too expensive (about £2.50 ($4) each from America, and you need 50!). So instead I used 50 of the 1x4 Sand Green brick, 25 of the 1x2 Sand Green Brick and 25 of the 1x6 Sand Green brick, which worked out well.

Unless some of the parts have gone up a lot in price in the last year, I would imagine you'd be able to do it for under $600 - as long as you don't buy the 1x8 Sand Green bricks!

Edited January 4, 2014 by Paperballpark

[grum64]

PAB?

[Alpinemaps]

PAB = Pick-A-Brick

[grum64]

Thank you very much.

[Wodanis]

I have been trying to build both Cafe Corner and Green Grocer together from scratch. I have 65$ left to go (mainly 1x1 and 1x2 plates and tiles). My advice go with PAB or the Bricks and Pieces catalogue for the majority of parts and any unique ones if they are still in production. For instance the Bright Blue bow 1x4 is no longer available through TLG and they are $3 each on Bricklink. The Cafe corner doors are also not available and have to be Bricklinked. However these are still costly. Pretty much if you can get the parts through Lego you'll save versus Bricklink. The cost of shipping and currency exchange outweigh the advantage of Brick Linking in my experience. The exception is the discontinued parts. That will be a cost regardless. I also made a spreadsheet that tabulates not only the costs but breaks down where the savings are etc. Hope this helps.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Wodanis

[TheLegoDr]

I am currently in the process of doing this for Cafe Corner and Green Grocer..maybe eventually Market Street, although I don't particularly care for that one. It isn't a "true" Modular and it shows. It looks like some kid threw together a set in a rare color. Those windows . So that will be heavily modified, but with a similar color scheme, if I decide to do it.

Now the other two modulars look great, but I am also modifying them as I see fit. Most of it will be original design in original color. I will definitely do (and would recommend) doing swaps as needed, as in 1x4 sand green or something similar instead of 1x8. I went through bricklink in my store and "added" one to my inventory to sell to see how much it would cost and just based on buying one in box vs how much I planned on eliminating, I would save at least a few hundred, so that brings it down close to $400 all from bricklink. Now since I have quite a few pieces outside of the sand green and a few specialized pieces, it will end up costing me a lot less than that. The problem is trying to calculate how much it cost me based on pieces from sets.

Good luck on this adventure. Have fun and spend wisely. I think that is the best advice.

[sin]

I appreciate all of the encouragement!

I finished my cost analysis...

So if I were to buy the exact pieces originally in this set the grand total (not including taxes, shipping or other fees) comes to a whopping $526.73 - and this is buying from the least expensive, available source for all parts. Not too hard to see why this sells for at least $600 these days.

You guys were spot on regarding the sand green, those elements account for about $275 of the total projected cost. The worst offender was, as mentioned, the 1x8 sand green bricks which are going for $3.50 a pop and up. The 1x2 sand green bricks w/ groove are pricey as well - $1.25 each, although they are quite important to the look of the façade and I wouldn't consider swapping them out for a substitute.

One school of thought would be to scrap the sand green altogether and go with another color but I don't want to go that route.

I prefer the strategy laid out by Paperballpark - using a mix of 1x2, 1x4 and 1x6 sand green bricks. The 1x2's go for $0.24, the 1x4's go for $0.30 and the 1x6's go for $0.36 so a cost of $0.60 per 8 studs. This will save me $2.90 per 1x8 brick in the plans and bring the total projected cost down to $381.73 (again, excluding taxes, shipping etc.). That is a price that makes this effort seem more worthwhile!

Total piece count with the sand green changes is then up to 2402 and so follows my pre-purchasing progress - 91/2402 pieces...

Edited January 5, 2014 by sin

[glendo]

my BL'd GG cost me about the same price as a retail TH, GE, or PS.. (which is 300AUD in Oz).

i had about 20% of the parts already in my inventory.

above poster nailed it on sand green bricks.. i went with 1x4's without any construction problems.

here's my story on the one i did a year ago:

http://aussielegofans.forummotion.com/t987-moc-my-bricklinked-modular-green-grocer

[NicT]

I did this last year, but quite slowly, so I couldn't say exactly what it cost. In many ways, I enjoyed it more than buying and building a boxed set, as it took shape gradually, and I had to make modifications as I went along because of the cost of certain pieces (as others have mentioned above).

I would certainly recommend familiarising yourself with the intructions, as you may find that a piece you went to a lot of trouble to find is not actually seen, and a cheaper colour would have done. For example, the hinges holding the baskets at an angle in front of the shop are sand green, but really any colour will do. Also, I used a mixture of new and used parts and could hardly tell the difference most of the time, so this could save you some money too.

Here are the main modifications I made:

• Used 1x2, 1x3, 1x4 and 1x6 sand green bricks but no 1x8 (as discussed already)
  
• Swapped the dark green bricks for dark grey
  
• I didn't use the 1x2 sand green bricks with a groove, but created a brick pattern with 1x1 and 1x2 bricks instead
  
• I didn't want to use blue for the awning, as this would look the same as the Pet Shop, so I tried red and green but ended up with medium blue
  
• Added an extra window to the back of the top floor, as I didn't like the blank wall. This saved a few sand green bricks too
  
• The lime green cherries were hard to find (although I now have some from the city advent calendar) but other colours looked fine
  
• I don't think all my minifigs are an exact match, but they are close enough
  

I went on to make some further changes, as I didn't like all the white used for the bay windows. I'll show you how it has ended up looking if I can work out how to add an image (it's my first post here).

Nic.

Edited January 5, 2014 by NicT

[Paperballpark]

The Sand Green 1x2 brick with groove was just starting to become expensive when I did mine. They were the part I spent the most money on, but as you say, they're kind of essential to the look of it.

Oh and as an additional strategy, order the rarer (and therefore more expensive) parts first. They're only going to get more expensive!

Edited January 5, 2014 by Paperballpark

[Wodanis]

Oh and as an additional strategy, order the rarer (and therefore more expensive) parts first. They're only going to get more expensive!

That is the strategy I went for. I managed to get my sand green groove bricks just before they got discontinued. I chose the 1x6 -1x2 sand green route as it doesn't compromise the essence of the design.

My changes have been small:

Opted for medium azure 1x4 bows for the front awning

The train style windows replaced with regular 1x2x3 windows with panels (again-discontinued in white)

The sand greens 1x8s replaced with as stated above.

Replaced the white kitty with the pet shop brown version (kitty with eyes 2 discontinued)

So essentially I will 'have' the set. :) I've been contemplating building market street but after going over the design I can see how amateurish it really is. There is no real market and some odd smokestacks when it's open air beneath it! The interior is also lacking. So I think I will modify it. It was the least like of the modulars I'm missing.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Wodanis

[sin]

Good advice to tackle the expensive elements first, I think I'll do that

I have a lot of extra bits and pieces from sets that I went through today. Turns out that I had a lot of the smaller elements that I needed. I also decided to use a 32x32 baseplate that I already own instead of buying two 16x32 baseplates thereby trimming about $11 off the project.

New projected total from where I am at now is $357.24. Progress now - 378/2401

[The Jersey Brick Guy]

I tackled this project last year along with doing MS and CC at the same time.

I wound up doing the 1x4 instead of 1x8 route, and like mentioned by others, you really can't tell the difference. Honestly, with the Green Grocer being in the middle of a block, you won't see the sides anyways.

End of the day, it's a wonderful build and a beautiful set. Good luck!

[Ricky Rey]

Hi, I tried to sell the Green Grocer on Ebay. The buyer refused the set alleging that it had mildew. That wasn't true but anyways I agreed to process a return. I told myself well it the buyer doesn't want it I can find another who will and to my surprise I received the set back completely dissembled and without one of the Rune Stone. It ruined my possibilities of re selling. Anyone here knows where I can get the piece that is missing

[The Jersey Brick Guy]

What's a "rune stone"? Can you post a picture of a similar piece?

[sin]

I assume he is referring to this piece

It is part # 4490372. I'm pretty sure it was in some of the Viking sets as well.

[ibecks]

They're available on Bricklink from about 70¢/43p (in the EU at least). http://www.bricklink...asp?P=2431pb043 (click "Lots for Sale> Reddish Brown")

Edited January 6, 2014 by ibecks

[sin]

I placed my first three BL orders last night totaling 1302 pieces including the dreaded sand green parts. I have never ordered parts through BL before, only sets, so it will interesting to see how long these take to arrive. I am trying to only use vendors from the US to keep postage manageable but the 1x2 sand green brick w/ groove I had to buy from Denmark. The price was less than I expected, though postage will balance it out a bit.

I also eliminated the 1x2x3 white train windows from my plans due to cost and availability in favor of the modern 1x2x3 windows with the trans-clear window insert - thanks for the advice Wodanis!

Total cost so far $197.12 targeting an updated final part cost of $326.40 (not including taxes, postage or fees).

721 pieces left to order

Edited January 6, 2014 by sin

[Wodanis]

Excellent Sin! You will likely complete it before I do haha. I'm waiting for the Bricks and Pieces catalogue to come back online through TLG. By the time I can order on the 15th and wait for them to arrive it will be Feburary...

Postage times vary with Bricklinked shops but to give you a rough idea, orders from the EU take about two weeks or less on average. The Netherlands and Germany have the bulk of good buys and decent postage costs but I also found sellers from Denmark quite good as well. The UK is quite expensive on postage and will either take a week or a month or more to arrive on average.

As I live in Canada ordering from the US was the most economical until the post service increased prices. Not to mention some sellers in the US are problematic in sending orders using a package rate instead of regular mail. ($1-2 vs $8-15) I had one seller insist on a package rate for a very small order...they do it to make money. Other than that once you find a decent seller it's good to stick with them :)

[Ricky Rey]

Thank you all for helping me out!!!

[Ivan001]

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.com/photos/107549298@N08/11810735935/

Ivan

[glendo]

it doesnt look too bad in sand blue... i'd perhaps make it in the opposite/mirror opposite and sit it next to a sand green GG

[TheLegoDr]

Sand blue is such a pretty color. That looks good. Interesting compromise with the door and tiled sides.

Since I am modifying mine (but trying to keep the same overall look), I have been switching out some pieces. I've mostly been focused on my CC redux, but I should start focusing on this since this is more favored by me in the looks department. With the switches, I actually want to lower GG one stud in height. Eliminating the row of sand green right below the black roofing to make that blend a little better with the other modulars. I love the size of this, but I also want it to be a little smaller to fit in with the rest. I've also considered narrowing the rightmost side with the white windows so only 1x1 sand green is showing on both sides instead of 2x2 groove brick. I will need to play with it a bit to see if I like the end result. It only came to me just now when I was looking at pictures. By narrowing that, I eliminate a lot of cost, plus I would widen the main portion so it is more even. 1x3 on all sides of the windows instead of 1x3, then 1x2, and 1x2 from left to right. It would look more symmetrical which is big in my OCD for some reason.

Otherwise, I will definitely do 1x4s instead of 1x8 because things like that don't matter to me. I've noticed a few other rarer pieces that I wasn't expecting, so I may have to switch them out too (OR) wait until they become available again like the dark red roof slopes...

I don't love the Viking tiles, but normal tiles don't look right there either, and those aren't exactly cheap to come by. I'm still debating on how I want to handle that part. Any tips for those not going 100% exact?