Building Lego sets to perfection

[Kez]

Do you guys over here build your lego sets to perfection, by that I mean do you make sure stickers are placed very neatly and accurately and do you also place the LEGO logo which is the stud on top of the brick which has a small print on it which says LEGO in the same direction e.g. Lets say some of the logos on top of the lego bricks all face in the same way if they can, and if they can't face in the same way you face them another way so they look neater rather than all of the logos being jumbled up and facing different directions. I've noticed that a few lego designers have done this to their models to make them look more professional and neater, (I hope this makes sense and I hope this topic hasn't been posted before, it would be interesting to see what your opinions and reasons are though)

[JopieK]

Sticker alignment is a totally different thing than aligning the LEGO logos on studs I think.

[Kez]

^ Yes it is indeed, I still see it as perfection though and in my eyes I have very bad lego OCD

Edited December 2, 2012 by Kez

[Vindicare]

I've never even considered the flow of the stud logo, but I try my damnedest to get stickers straight. I'm not anal about it or anything. If I laid it down and noticed it's a little crooked I won't worry about it. So...no, I'm not a perfectionist.

[dr_spock]

I used to have the Lego on the studs all aligned the same way. Now that my eye sight is going bad with old age, I am no longer that OCD about it.

[Brickus]

I don't go so far as aligning the studs, but I am a neat freak when it comes to axles, gears, 1x1 plates/bricks and stickers.

[Andy D]

I do try to get the stickers lined up as well as I can, not obssessive about it though. But the LEGO on the stud... I never consided it.

I just try to make my models look as good as I can.

Andy D

[Kez]

I only align all of the stud printing in the same way because I tend to build my sets too quickly if I don't, last year I got all of the POTC sets and I built all of them In under 5 hours, I've just recently started to align the studs in the same direction because it takes longer for me to build which is good, I started to do it from may onwards but as long as I remember I have been making the stickers perfect.

Edited December 2, 2012 by Kez

[JopieK]

Maybe just in time for the DSM IV, OCLD?! My wife lectures PDD-NOS / megablocks children maybe she still has an empty chair for you.

[Jargo]

Stickers are a pain. On the one hand I appreciate that Lego have made them re-peel-able, but on the other because we're dealing with plastic there's static electricity to contend with and getting the sticker lined up right before it magnetically attaches itself is so frustratingly difficult. It's become something of an obsession to get them all on just right.

Lining brick stud logos up isn't something I do consciously. For me it's more about making sure all the sprue marks face the same way or are hidden.

[Kez]

^ ah so that's why when I hold a sticker next to a brick it sticks onto it, stupid magnets :)

[Jargo]

Cheeky. You know what I mean.

[Kez]

^ to resolve the problem I just press down hard on the sticker and I then gently push the sticker in place if I mess it up

[Lyichir]

I don't go so far as to align the Lego logo on the studs, but I do make sure my stickers are placed accurately, and I also try to make sure that Technic pins go on in the exact alignment shown in the instructions, even though that doesn't make much of a difference in the long run.

[Crackerjack]

I'm very OCD about all of my display sets; the stickers have to be perfect, axles have to be perfectly aligned, and all studs have to be facing the same way, and those little marks left by the molding process all have to be hidden when possible. when I build a MOC i couldn't care less about the direction of studs although if I have time i'll make the visible studs all face the same way.

[LEGO Historian]

Geeze... and I thought I was bad in the 1980s when I wanted to make sure the molding pips were never showing on the outside of any LEGO construction. (they were on the short side of the bricks until the stud top molding pips were gradually introduced in the late 1970s).

I'd like to see some of you OCD people build an original Yellow Castle Set (375 or 6075)... it would drive you mad trying to hide those pips AND align your stud printing in the same direction!!

But wait a minute... isn't it IMPOSSIBLE to align them all in the same direction? Wouldn't only 2 sides of a building have that same alighment... and the other 2 sides have an alignment 90 degrees different?

This scenario reminds me of the classic order of column capitals... Doric and Corinthian aren't a problem... but then there's the Ionic... either you have to switch direction at 90 degrees somewhere... or the sides of the temple (or classic building) looks odd....

Edited December 2, 2012 by LEGO Historian

[Crackerjack]

Geeze... and I thought I was bad in the 1980s when I wanted to make sure the molding pips were never showing on the outside of any LEGO construction. (they were on the short side of the bricks until the stud top molding pips were gradually introduced in the late 1970s).

I'd like to see some of you OCD people build an original Yellow Castle Set (375 or 6075)... it would drive you mad trying to hide those pips AND align your stud printing in the same direction!!

But wait a minute... isn't it IMPOSSIBLE to align them all in the same direction? Wouldn't only 2 sides of a building have that same alignment .. and the other 2 sides have an alignment 90 degrees different?

I make sure as many studs as possible face in the same direction and if the logo doesn't face that way i make it face 90 degrees right of it so it's uniform; if the logo won't face either of those ways it bugs my OCD but i'll still move on to the next step.

[LEGO Historian]

I make sure as many studs as possible face in the same direction and if the logo doesn't face that way i make it face 90 degrees right of it so it's uniform; if the logo won't face either of those ways it bugs my OCD but i'll still move on to the next step.

From 1957-72 LEGO made 1x1 alphabet bricks with 1 letter printed on the side of each brick. Unfortunately the sides of those bricks also had the molding pips. so that meant that randomly each 4th brick would have a letter printed on the side... and also the molding pip nearby. Used to drive me crazy!!!

Here's an example of an old brick with the letter "B"... and the unsightly molding pip is in the lower left corner... As a young kid growing up in the 60s, when I was trying to make a sign... I hated these!!!

http://www.bricklink....asp?P=3005ptBs

Edited December 3, 2012 by LEGO Historian

[Crackerjack]

Yeah,

From 1957-72 LEGO made 1x1 alphabet bricks with 1 letter printed on the side of each brick. Unfortunately the sides of those bricks also had the molding pips. so that meant that randomly each 4th brick would have a letter printed on the side... and also the molding pip nearby. Used to drive me crazy!!!

Here's an example of an old brick with the letter "B"... and the unsightly molding pip is in the lower left corner... As a young kid growing up in the 60s, when I was trying to make a sign... I hated these!!!

http://www.bricklink....asp?P=3005ptBs

Yes, their rarity mixed with the molding bit made nice signs near impossible to make; that's why i'm glad LEGO came out with this http://brickset.com/...l/?Set=850425-1 the letter tiles in this are much easier to make signs with

Edited December 3, 2012 by Crackerjack

[LEGO Historian]

Yes those tiles are nice... I just wish that you could buy tile packs of letters/numbers without the extras... of the 149 pieces only 93 are black printed tiles... less than 2/3 of the 149 total part count.

The rarest of all small printed LEGO elements were these Norwegian (1955-57) #1234 bricks. I supplied this image (from my 2,800 page Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide)... so far there is only 1 known of these Norwegian very rare blue bricks with gold lettering (even in Norway white bricks with blue printing were the norm)... These were unknown even to the LEGO Collections in Billund Denmark.

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?O=1234-2

[Crackerjack]

Those tile look awesome.

[Hrw-Amen]

I do like to get my stickers all nice and lined up properly, if one of them sticks itself down too quickly it is a great fuss to get it off without crinkling it I find. Sometimes I have to just live with it as it is better than having crinkled corners, but I don't like it. It makes me cringe when I see sets made up by children and the stickers are all over the place.

As for bricks, well it does annoy me that 1X1 plates and bricks tend to get out of alignment I have to confess. I try to get them all in line. Do i go so far as to line up all the studs logo? Well no i don't, but I probably would if I did not cover almost everything in tiles to make it look smooth and real'ish!!

[escortmad79]

Thought I was the only one with an OCD for having the logo's facing the right way!

[Algernon]

I've also got a pretty bad case of LEGO OCD. I make sure stickers are perfectly aligned as they should be, I double-check my instructions, and I'm pretty picky about my displays as well.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

I think I build perfectly my sets Lego stud direction aside. Oh, and I don't put the minifigs in the sets. I like to keep them in a separate place.