Bricklinking trains?

[Electricsteam]

I've heard you guys say over and over that it's cheaper to bricklick out the parts for it....

Whats the best way to order parts for trains off of it, I honestly have no clue where to begin.

As you know I need to get bricks for my LPL... I just need a lot more cheese wedges then I have in my own horde...

[Murdoch17]

I've heard you guys say over and over that it's cheaper to bricklick out the parts for it....

Whats the best way to order parts for trains off of it, I honestly have no clue where to begin.

As you know I need to get bricks for my LPL... I just need a lot more cheese wedges then I have in my own horde...

==SNIP==

I import my ldd files into Rebrickable using the "private MOC" section. Then I use the BL seller with the most parts and, if possible, lowest cost to buy my model. Then I use multiple sellers to cover whatever he doesn't have that I want. Also, spreadsheets are VERY helpfull in keeping track of everything. Her's how I lay mine out:

Model of No-thing by A. Sample

### bricks, ## types

BL Item ID "1234"

BL Item Name "yadda yadda"

BL Color "Light Blah"

Qty "Number"

Seller "Nowhere Man's bricks"

Price: "$1.00"

Then at the bottom I tally up the sellers individually.

Does this help?

(EDIT: my spreadsheet became messed up when I transferred it, so above is a basic representation. It should go the other direction though - as in horizontally, not latterly.)

Edited January 7, 2016 by Murdoch17

[Daedalus304]

I use two very useful programs that you can find over in the LDD forum - LDDManager and Brickficiency.

LDDManager lets you import your LDD files and view the parts in a helpful list. It will call out parts that don't exist or are particularly rare, so going through there can be a good way to check your design for things that aren't possible. It is a little outdated right now, but most parts are in its database and it is easy enough to check things that aren't. The most helpful thing LDDManager does is take your parts list and create an XML file so that you can export the entire thing into a Bricklink wanted list quickly and easily. I suggest that you save a second copy of your LDD file, and go through the file and delete any parts that you don't actually want or need - anything you've already got on hand that you don't want to buy more of; or stand-in parts like those trans-blue cylinders that your actual model will be using pneumatic pistons for. Consider this second file your hard copy "wanted list".

Once you have this wanted list created, Brickficiency can look at it. What Brickficiency does is take a poll of every store selling every part on your list - with filters you can set ruling stores out or restricting seller regions - and it will calculate the cheapest possible combination of stores to get what you need, and then give you a list of exactly which parts to buy from where. This program can take a very long time to run, especially once it gets to looking into 4-5 store combinations, but if your computer is up for the task you can actually save a pretty good amount of money this way. If it has a hard time finding a solution, I would go through your wanted list and move all the most rare pieces (parts that can only be found at a very limited number of stores) into a separate list.

If Brickficiency doesn't work for you for whatever reason, the other way you can go about it is to use the "view my wanted list by shop" option on Bricklink, and switch "Sort By" to "Lots (Unique). Check out the top five stores for which one has the best prices, and when you find the cheapest one add all the items they have to the cart (But don't checkout yet). Once you've done that, go through your wanted list and move all the items that you put into the cart into a secondary wanted list (You could just delete them from the wanted list, but I find this helps keep track of things better). Once that's done, go back to the Wanted List By Shop page and repeat the process until you've found all the parts you need. If you're really looking to save a penny, you can then compare prices between the shops adjust your cart accordingly. For example, something you put in your cart in Shop 1 might also be for sale in Shop 3, but for a cheaper price. Since you're buying from both shops anyways, you might as well take those parts out of your Shop 1 cart and by them from Shop 3 instead. Once you're satisfied with it all and have double checked that you're ordering all the parts you need, then you can checkout in each shop and you're on your way to trainsville.

I know that's a lot to take in, and I'm not feeling too well so I might not be explaining things coherently - if you have any questions or want any more help let me know and I'll try to make a bit more sense.

[ALCO]

I've heard you guys say over and over that it's cheaper to bricklick out the parts for it....

Whats the best way to order parts for trains off of it, I honestly have no clue where to begin.

As you know I need to get bricks for my LPL... I just need a lot more cheese wedges then I have in my own horde...

I use two very useful programs that you can find over in the LDD forum - LDDManager and Brickficiency...

Wow!! Great question Electricsteam!! and thank you so much for the deluge of information Daedalus304! This question is one I have been pondering for quite a while since I got back into building and this is the answer that makes things so much easier!! thank you!!!!

[dr_spock]

You can also do a price and shipping sanity check with LEGO Pick A Brick and Bricks & Picks. Sometimes it comes out cheaper ordering some things from LEGO in certain quantity. Shop.LEGO.com have free shipping above a certain dollar value. If the goal is to save money, then comparison shopping is worth the effort.