26 replies to this topic

[Brickington]

Please post examples of your pirate mocs (preferably ships) and how much they ended up costing. Reason: I'm thinking of moc building and I would like to know how much it costs.

               Thank you,
                     Commander Law

[moop]

Sinner, on 30 April 2012 - 05:00 PM, said:

Ahhhhghhhhh! Please take a breath! Please stop posting topic after topic! Please stop wasting my LEGO time! You've already made six topics, and most of them are much the same. I'm going to merge a few right now, and please, take that breath!

[Brickington]

Uhhhhhhhhhhh, ok. Sorry about that.

[Yawgmoth]

Commander Law, on 30 April 2012 - 10:36 PM, said:

Uhhhhhhhhhhh, ok. Sorry about that.

Hehe, just take it easy, I see you want to do 100 things at a time, and I see your entusiasm here, but maybe opening multiple threads and being little anxious might be take as childish by some..do your research and try stiking at one post. Don't hesitate in asking questions, but make ones that provide some content and open the scenario for a more interesting discussion.

Nice to see you on forums, and welcome :)

[Kookaburra Bomb]

There will never be one answer to this question. Ever.  

It comes down to so many different things: How historically accurate you want it to be, how big you want it to be, how many pieces in your existing collection, prefab or brickbuilt hulls, cannons, how much free time can you spare etc.  It could also be construed as simply re-arranging pieces in a set you have bought.  

A better question would be:  "How much would ship X built by member Y cost to build myself?"  At which point you would assess what you have, and price out what you need on BL.

That said, the old adage was the first thing to come to mind: "If you have to ask how much, you can't afford it"

Edited by Kookaburra Bomb, 01 May 2012 - 01:05 AM.

[mephistopheles]

Commander Law, on 30 April 2012 - 09:56 PM, said:

Please post examples of your pirate mocs (preferably ships) and how much they ended up costing. Reason: I'm thinking of moc building and I would like to know how much it costs.

               Thank you,
                     Commander Law

I've figured that you can count with a ~0,1$ - 0,15$/per piece average cost. So if you plan a very detailed mediocre size MOC that consumes 3000 piece of LEGO that would end up around 300$ - 450$. This is not very precise, but gives you a good estimate.

[Sebeus I]

It's very difficult putting a price on my creations, I always used a great deal of the LEGO I already had.
Either way, they are priceless to me  

[Frank Brick Wright]

mephistopheles, on 01 May 2012 - 08:32 AM, said:

I've figured that you can count with a ~0,1$ - 0,15$/per piece average cost. So if you plan a very detailed mediocre size MOC that consumes 3000 piece of LEGO that would end up around 300$ - 450$. This is not very precise, but gives you a good estimate.

I cannot agree with this.

For the sake of example: I have few parts and I couldn't build ships taking +1500 bricks. So I started a new one, brick-built, and I easily ordered some 2500 bricks for just 90€. If you take less expensive/rare parts you will see that you can keep the detail with some effort and save quite some money.

With unlimited parts we all could build fantastic MOCs and endless creations but the goal here is to chose a relatively medium-number of fairly accessible fairly cheap bricks to build what you want. Even if you budget is just to some 10€ you still can build something with your imagination, being the most important thing this: do the best you can with what you have.

[mephistopheles]

Frank Brick Wright, on 01 May 2012 - 11:07 AM, said:

I cannot agree with this.

For the sake of example: I have few parts and I couldn't build ships taking +1500 bricks. So I started a new one, brick-built, and I easily ordered some 2500 bricks for just 90€. If you take less expensive/rare parts you will see that you can keep the detail with some effort and save quite some money.

With unlimited parts we all could build fantastic MOCs and endless creations but the goal here is to chose a relatively medium-number of fairly accessible fairly cheap bricks to build what you want. Even if you budget is just to some 10€ you still can build something with your imagination, being the most important thing this: do the best you can with what you have.

Well, this highly depends on what and how you build. I gave this example because it worked for my house that is currently built of around 3200 pieces. I build MOC in two different ways. I have a main project were I do not make any compromises. I rather save up money two-three month longer than to choose a much cheaper but less satisfying way to build. Meanwhile I MOC with spare parts I have, were I have to make the best out of what I have available. My example was based on the main project.

Edited by mephistopheles, 01 May 2012 - 11:18 AM.

[Dr. Steve]

Once you price it out on bricklink, double it. You will find youreself going back again for more stuff. Also really pay attention to the prices on bricklink, if you hunt around you will find a store or two that has much of what you need for a cheaper price (or slightly higher for some items but you save on shipping). It takes some time but you will save a lot of money if you find a few stores that have the right balance of what you need for price and shipping costs.

[Frank Brick Wright]

mephistopheles, on 01 May 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

Well, this highly depends on what and how you build. I gave this example because it worked for my house that is currently built of around 3200 pieces. I build MOC in two different ways. I have a main project were I do not make any compromises. I rather save up money two-three month longer than to choose a much cheaper but less satisfying way to build. Meanwhile I MOC with spare parts I have, were I have to make the best out of what I have available. My example was based on the main project.

Of course it depends of the kind of building I was just pointing out that there is no "general formula", so it is hard to say: "your MOC is going to cost this." Of course different kinds of creations and building styles involve different numbers, so it is just hard to esteem in abstract terms.

[Brickington]

Thanks, everyone. However, is there anyone who made a moc ship fully from pieces from bricklink. If so, could they post a picture and cost?

                    Thank You,
                          Commander Law

[Captain Blackmoor]

Le Formidable, my first ship and in total about 80 euro. Most orders were combined with bricks for other MOCs.


Le Alceste, 20 euro as most of the bricks were already in my collection. Mostly basic bricks, the hull pieces and the dark tan plates were the most expensive. I already had the dark red bricks in my posession.


Le Fourageux, between 800-1200 euro I guess, most orders were combined with castle bricks for other MOCs.

That's about it. Note the Fourageux is not finished yet, and the Alceste needs small adjustments.

[Brickington]

Thanks that was what I was looking for!

[halfpenguinhalflego]

If you already have the necessary pieces, such as the hull, wheels, windows. That sort of thing, I'd say just under £100. But that's if you have the bare minimum, it shouldn't cost TOO much.

[Rook]

The importance of building a workable collection over time. Buying brick by brick for a specific build can be costly unless you’re in an active LUG or work for Lego.  

[matt22hew]

I spent a little of $1,500 USD on Bricklink for mine, I likely have however about $150 to $250 in spare pieces. I would imagine I have easily 5000+ pieces in the ship itself.

[Legonardo]

All my ships cost me nothing, as I only use parts already in my collection.

if I where to buy everything new I would say this would cost something between $150 - $200

[Bjornu]

Well, I can´t tell you how much a MOC cost but I can give you a tip...

MOCs can be expensive once you buy all your bricks new/second hand.
What I do is:

-Make a MOC
-Take Pictures
-Make a back-up of the pictures on a USB stick and online ( brickshelf)
-Take the MOC apart
-Re use the pieces again

this way you can keep building MOCs without having to buy bricks for every MOC.


Greetz Bjornu


PS: I spent over thousands of euros for my lego sets and bricks  

[gotoAndLego]

Legonardo Davidy, on 05 May 2012 - 10:54 AM, said:

All my ships cost me nothing, as I only use parts already in my collection.

They still cost you something.

[Sebeus I]

gotoAndLego, on 09 May 2012 - 05:02 PM, said:

They still cost you something.

He means that he doesn't do extra investments when he decides to build a ship, he uses the parts he already has, which I do most of the time too,
except for this one:



I spent about €100 at bricklink for additional parts. In total I think this ship is not worth more than €600.
But it is to me    therefore I will never sell it.

Edited by Sebeus Iniwum, 09 May 2012 - 06:30 PM.

[Ben King]

The cost of a moc all really depends on a few things, if you are building a very realistic ship, it will probably cost some money, unless you have a very large collection. The size of the ship plays a factor also, generally thew larger a ship is the more it will cost to make.

[Captain Blackmoor]

The use of rare colours is expensive too. Have you seen the price of dark blue?

[MCNwakeboard]

I used parts from two black pearl sets to build this model along with about $50 in bricklink orders. Most of the brown/dark tan tiles came from a pick a brick cup and I had some of the common black pieces in my MOC bin. The lights were around $50 and this set was based on instructions which cost $20.

[Legonardo]

Sebeus Iniwum, on 09 May 2012 - 06:29 PM, said:

He means that he doesn't do extra investments when he decides to build a ship, he uses the parts he already has, which I do most of the time too,

thank you, that is exactly what I do. I try to use common colors as my collection is small (in the picture above you can see 95%of my black pieces) and make the ship smallish too. same with land-based MOCs.
hope it helps,
=Legonardo=