one silly question about builds... (pieces inside invisible parts)

[macaron35]

This might seem strange to you but i was wondering...

I have started to build MOCs recently after having started with official sets and one question came to my mind when i realized it even more true with MOCs than official sets:

Lego greebling makes sense, it brings a lot more details for the outside of a ship. But when it comes to building the inside, especially layers that one will never see again, there are hundreds of steps with small parts can could easily be replaced with bigger parts in order to save time and have exactly the same resistance.

Take for example Kylo Ren's command shuttle i am currently building. The wings have tons of different layers. It's not like a Millenium Falcon where i could open the upper hull and see and play with the inside of the ship. Here the wings include hundreds of small pieces between each side of them that once assembled we will never be able to see again.

So.... why ????

could you please enlighten me ?

 

thanks

[jdubbs]

I've noticed many times how LEGO will use two smaller pieces rather than one larger piece (for instance, two 1x2 bricks, when a 2x2 would make more sense). Occasionally there is a legitimate, not-so-obvious construction reason for this, like if the anti-stud configuration on the bottom of the bricks needs to be a certain way. But most of the time it's probably because the smaller bricks (being more versatile) are also used elsewhere in the build.

So rather than use (for example) 8 small bricks and 1 large brick, they use 10 small bricks, which is more cost-effective because it requires one fewer mold put into production to generate the set. (Costing isn't just about how many pieces or how big the pieces are, but also how many different molds are used in a given set... the more a single mold can be reused in a set, the cheaper it is to produce).

[BEAVeR]

Hi macaron35, I moved your post to the General LEGO discussion forum because I don't think it is Star Wars specific.

As for an answer to your question, I jdubbs already gives a very valid reason. Sometimes, there are also structural differences where using smaller parts actually results in something stronger than with bigger parts (e.g. using a stack of 3 plates rather than a single brick). Also, LEGO tends to avoid having parts that look similar in the same color or the same part in similar color in order to make it easier for children to find the right part, which could also affect how things are arranged (e.g. all 1x6 plates are black and all 1x8 plates are tan). Finally, in more complex builds, they tend to hide colorful bricks in certain patterns on the inside which acts as landmarks: they help to orient the build in the right way and make it easier to spot on which studs exactly to place the next part. But even then, often I find myself asking the same question as you do when I build something!

[macaron35]

Hi

thanks for your responses. It makes sense then about TLG official sets but I was surprised to see individuals creating MOCs with this same method

[Jon22]

On 1/28/2020 at 3:19 PM, BEAVeR said:

Finally, in more complex builds, they tend to hide colorful bricks in certain patterns on the inside which acts as landmarks: they help to orient the build in the right way and make it easier to spot on which studs exactly to place the next part.

I know this is true. But sometimes I wonder if there is also an element of the Lego gods throwing us a brick in an attractive colour we don't often otherwise see, as a little bonus for MOCs afterwards. If the hidden brick can be any colour, why not make it a desireable one, so the set as a whole is marginally more attractive for the parts?

[icm]

Yes, several set designers have mentioned in interviews that they'll sometimes include interior parts in new and unusual or desirable colors just to give fans more parts in those colors.  For example, teal is a color that was discontinued in 2008. When it was re-introduced in 2018, to the delight of many people on this forum, the set designers made a point of including a lot of teal parts inside sets like the 2018 X-wing just to get more teal parts out there.

[KotZ]

Also, it helps bring up piece count and weight. A gallon tub of 1x1 plates is much heaver than a gallon tub of 1x1 bricks, and much heavier than a gallon tub of 1x8 bricks.