Display or break down?

[woolie]

Hi everyone,

I'm starting to collect some awesome sets, but I'm also starting to feel a bit of tension between the desire to leave my store-bought sets on display and breaking them down to rebuild as MOCs.

Do people just buy multiples, and keep one built and use the others for parts? Or build and display for a certain amount of time before disassembling and sorting out?

And do you treat "special and collectible" sets differently from everyday stuff you can buy at any retail store? For instance, I have the GE, PS, and FB modulars, and they are so rich with wonderful bricks... but they are also works of art that I want to keep on display.

Just curious to hear everyone's systems. I'm sure there are many responses -- what someone with a $10k year Lego budget does might be different than the casual user's

Edited February 2, 2012 by woolie

[Brickus]

As much as I would love to have every single set I own, displayed, it would take up too much space and be overwhelming to clean. I do keep all my LEGO Exclusives (Taj Mahal, Tower Bridge Imperial Flagship), and Star Wars UCS sets on display because they are excellent LEGO sets and I can't bring myself to take them apart. I'm only starting to break down all my BIONICLE and old Exo-Force sets, I don't want to, but I have to.

[Ralph_S]

I've got few sets built up -Grand Carousel, Taj Mahal, Sopwith Camel, Red Baron & Lunar Lander-, but I don't even build most of the sets I buy anymore. I did buy multiple copies of the last three of those sets for the parts.

I have all of the modular buildings except the Grand Emporium and built all of them, but they didn't last long. I generally enjoy building my own stuff and looking at my own stuff far more than looking at something that I built from instructions.

Cheers,

Ralph

Edited February 2, 2012 by Ralph_S

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I build all my sets, except for new in the box sets. They will stay NIB, do to storage issues, until I can move to a larger house. I am confined to a long closet for either display or storage. The alternative is an attic, very hot or very cold; bad for Lego. I chose storage, but I haven't MOCced from a set since I was a very young kid. Ever since I really started collecting, at about 8, I kept EVERY set intact, with all it's original pieces. MOCs came from collections given by family friends when their children grew out. My current MOCs come from BL orders and my friends old collections. I just can't break'em up!

Then again I'm no MOC expert, rather a simpleton in that aspect

Edited February 2, 2012 by Leg Godt Gud

[Mr Benn]

This sort of question tends to come around quite regularly...

I know a lot of people, particularly on collecting forums, can find it very hard to break the habit of keeping sets together. I think that it's part of the slightly-OCD nature of Lego fans that makes us worry about ever being able to put original sets back together - sort of the 'opportunity cost' of using the bricks from the set, to put it into economic terms!

Personally, I keep my modular buildings, Star Wars stuff (and, for some reason, trains) built as instructed, but I'm finding the custom building urge stronger and stronger the further on I get a greater desires just to open up set bags just for those one or two pieces... there are models that will never fit into the city(ish) theme of my layout, such as the Pharoah's Quest line, and whilst I have completed the PQ line all of the bricks will be used for other things - I think there will be a Egyptian museum on the horizon!

The solution in many ways is to ensure you have good parts sorting, so eventually you can find all the pieces that you might want if you ever want to rebuild again, but as others have said, once you start firstly tweaking your existing stuff, and then full-on custom building, you won't be going back!

[brickmack]

I take apart almost all of my sets within a week or 2 after building (assuming I build them at all, sometimes they just go straight into a project or the sorting system), but some sets I don't. The modular buildings (except the Grand Emporium, which I needed parts for, but am planning to rebuild soon) I keep together, and whatever is the largest set I have (currently the Tower Bridge) is kept together on display. I sometimes get multiples of sets, but rarely to keep one on display. I just don't like the majority of the designs enough to keep them together, and I need room for projects and displaying my own stuff.

[TomRoid]

[Andy D]

I buy some sets to build, and leave together for display, these are mostly the Modulars and some Creator house sets.

I buy some sets as a source of parts, these sets I put together and then disassemble rather soon (one or two weeks).

So, for me, it depends on why I bought the set in the first place.

Andy D

Edited February 2, 2012 by Andy D

[lightningtiger]

Now this is a good question, for me....I keep SW, HP, POTC and now SH built as per set instructions, city too except I MOC or modify city so buying extra sets is needed so I keep original sets while building what my twisted mind comes up with.

Brick On everyone !

[AFOL SF]

...for me, I can't get myself to break a set - whether it's a $10/set or a $100/set - for parts... if I do need some parts to build a MOC, then I go buy them online... and just like the majority of AFOLs, I don't have enough space at home to build and display all the sets I own so I only build sets that really tickles my fancy...

[Vindicare]

I have all the Modulars, Imperial Flagship and Emerald Night built. Those will stay together forever. Whenever I buy a new set, I leave it together for at least a few days just to enjoy it. Then it gets dissambled and into containers. Only City stuff stays together if/when I decide to put it in my town layout.

[Sid Sidious]

I have my Bionicle sets, Boeing plane, a few space sets, and my collectable minifigs on display. The rest are broken down or in MOCs.

[streifen]

the only sets i collect and display are the Modular Buildings and Star Wars.

The others are built once and then dismantled for parts. "useless" parts are "Bricklinked".

[cimddwc]

I keep the modular buildings integrated in (what will be) my town, sometimes modified, and nowadays I buy at least another one of these for parts. Some sets unusable for this like the Space Shuttle are just on display elsewhere "forever".

Then some sets, such as the Winter Village sets and the Maersk ship, were bought for display for a few months and then broken down; I don't want a Winter Village all year round anyway, and as long as there's a new one each year, I don't need the old ones anymore. :)

And some others, like Harry Potter or Toy Story at a good discount, I just bought for parts and never built. Or built some minor elements of it, some nice furniture for instance. And sometime I have to start selling the parts I don't need...

[Freekysch]

All the sets that i buy (only Technic stuff) i keep for display. I have some old City sets that are in pieces, but if i had place i would build them for display.

[CP5670]

I usually keep them together (although I often modify them to my liking), but I rarely buy sets at all these days and only get the ones I really think are exceptional. Most of my Lego for MOCs comes from Bricklink.

[woolie]

I think that tomorrow I will break down my creator sets, some smaller City vehicles, and maybe Midieval Market Village. I need pieces for MOCs and I'm running out of display space.

Things I'm keeping built and on display:

Maersk train

Maersk ship

GE

PS

FB

TH (when it comes out)

VW van

Wind turbine from the transporter set

I was considering breaking down a couple of my modulars because they have such great parts, and I am extremely interested in building modular building MOCs, but decided against it because they are just too cool, and would be bound to kick myself down the road if I did so. If I feel the need that strongly, I will just buy another copy of the set.

I'm also collecting the winter village sets; I will put these out during the holidays, unless I also break them down.

Edited February 5, 2012 by woolie

[AndyC]

A mixture of both, with very little "rules" between what stays built and what gets dismantled. All my modulars are still together, but my UCS Falcon has made it's way into the parts bins. I still have Dooku's Solar Sailor assembled and on display (and it's not even a great set) but Eldorado Fortress is in pieces.

The only set I know I could never bring myself to break apart is Jabba's Sail Barge, it just looks too nice.

[TheWarden]

I display for 6-12 months, then all sets get broken down, light washing (dish soap, soft toothbrush, warm water, water rinse, air dry on towels) then sorted into into my parts system...

... with one exception. I can't bear to sort down my 4504 Mil Falcon meaning that I'd never get to build it again. It'd be difficult to pull the pieces out from my sorting system as it's not the best.

[Hrw-Amen]

My trains and space themed sets are all made up and will stay that way, (Although many are modified.) some of the older space stuff has been made up now for around thirty odd years so is unlikely to come apart in my lifetime.

I do however buy multiples of stuff (Usually only small sets.) for mini-figs and parts to go in MOCS. Normally this is for space sets and the parts are used as they then fit in with the overall theme.

Most of my larger buildings are made to stay up and my railway rolling stock, however it does from time to time get modified when I feel like it. Most of the larger quantities of bricks for these things come from Brick Link or LEGO online PAB as to get them from sets would cost the earth.

[Piranha]

I follow this method

Purchase -> Build -> Enjoy for no set period of time -> dismantle and organize back into original box using zipper bags -> Make room for new LEGO sets

Then I repeat the cycle

[K-Nut]

I happen to have not dismantled that many sets yet, but I am running out of space. I keep the stuff out that I really like, but when I'm not interested in some sets/themes I own (Aqua Raiders, Atlantis, World Racers, etc.) I dismantle those and gain new space. It works. (Until I like everything I have on display. )