Hello & asking for set recommendations

[Davidbarrena]

Hi all,

This is my first post in EB. I'm just escaping my dark ages, after buying a lot of duplo for my children, getting jealous , and getting a couple Star Wars/Hobbit sets

Now, I want to start MOCing (I think I'll start with medieval/fantasy MOCs, so that is the reason I'm posting here), and I'll be gathering a couple more sets to get enough pieces to, at least, be able build some small vignettes.

I'd like to hear your recommendations of good, currently available, sets with pieces appropriate for medieval MOCing.

Right now I have:

- XWing fighter

- An Unexpected Gathering

- Attack of the wargs

- Goblin King Battle

Dol Guldur looks nice (lots of grey bricks for building walls, and some nice minifigs). Any other (obvious or not obvious) recommendation?

Thanks in advance.

D.

[Sigolf Brimabane]

I am not sure how easy it is to come across it nowadays (it was released in 2012), but The Battle of Helm's Deep is already a classic. I got two of it and regret not getting more of it... It has lots of grey pieces and some really cool figures.

[DuckBricks]

Hmm... I'd say any of the recent castles, like 10223, 70404, 7946, 7948, etc

For Star Wars, I'd say the best "Gray Parts Battle Pack" would be the Super Star Destroyer, but the Millenium Falcon and some of the other predominantly gray ships may work...

[Master_Data]

It may be a little expensive now, but, if you liked An Unexpected Gathering, you should try 10193 Medieval Market Village. Very nice for more of a peaceful side of the medieval building spectrum (although you could really do whatever you want with it). It's been retired, but it is one of the best non-castle sets.

[SirBlake]

I am not sure how easy it is to come across it nowadays (it was released in 2012), but The Battle of Helm's Deep is already a classic. I got two of it and regret not getting more of it... It has lots of grey pieces and some really cool figures.

Same here. I left one Helm's Deep assembled and used a second for parts. Also got a lot out of Uruk-Hai Attack (x6)

Honestly though, I think the best parts source is going to be buying used bricks. I've had a lot of luck with some eBay, but better with connections through people I know. Once the word got out that I was an AFOL, I'd hear about teenagers looking to unload their old collections through friends and family. I've gotten a lot of affordable bricks that way.

[Davidbarrena]

Thanks everybody for your answers!

I am not sure how easy it is to come across it nowadays (it was released in 2012), but The Battle of Helm's Deep is already a classic. I got two of it and regret not getting more of it... It has lots of grey pieces and some really cool figures.

Same here. I left one Helm's Deep assembled and used a second for parts. Also got a lot out of Uruk-Hai Attack (x6)

Honestly though, I think the best parts source is going to be buying used bricks. I've had a lot of luck with some eBay, but better with connections through people I know. Once the word got out that I was an AFOL, I'd hear about teenagers looking to unload their old collections through friends and family. I've gotten a lot of affordable bricks that way.

Yes! I like the Helms Deep set a lot, but the prices I've found for it are quite high

It may be a little expensive now, but, if you liked An Unexpected Gathering, you should try 10193 Medieval Market Village. Very nice for more of a peaceful side of the medieval building spectrum (although you could really do whatever you want with it). It's been retired, but it is one of the best non-castle sets.

Very nice set!!! Didn't know it (still learning), but by its looks, I'm pretty sure is a classic

Hmm... I'd say any of the recent castles, like 10223, 70404, 7946, 7948, etc

For Star Wars, I'd say the best "Gray Parts Battle Pack" would be the Super Star Destroyer, but the Millenium Falcon and some of the other predominantly gray ships may work...

I'll check the castles set you mention, and the Millennium Falcon is definitely in my list

My main interest right now is in currently available sets. I'm travelling to the US next month, and will have the chance to go to a LEGO shop, with much better prices than here in Europe. Any suggestion?

Again, thanks for taking the time to answer a newbie.

D.

[Blakstone]

The Medevial Market Village and Helms Deep are great retired sets, but Kingdoms Joust is still available at Shop@Home.

It was an excellent selection of bricks and minifigs to start your MOCs. It even includes a Black Falcon knight.

http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Kingdoms-Joust-10223

[lord raphael]

I would get http://brickset.com/sets/7094-1/King-s-Castle-Siege though pretty expensive now it is a great set for parts and figures.Or if you want to bulk up on minifigs get this.http://brickset.com/sets/5615-1/The-Knight There is 17 of these on ebay and it is $14$ for one of these sets each.

[narbilu]

Last week I bought the Castle Chess set, which was promoted on the Lego shop.

Lot's of Dragon and Lion minifigs and shields for little money... with a good assortment

of weapons to go with them. Perfect if you join us Avalonians

[TheBear]

The current wave of Hobbit sets are being cleared at the moment and there are lots of good deals to be had if you keep an eye out for them. I picked up Dul Guldur battle for £25 (65% off). Also there are people selling brand new sets on Ebay with the minifigures taken out which can be a good way to get lots of bricks quite cheaply.

[Davidbarrena]

Nice suggestions!

I'll check if they have Kingdoms Joust in the Lego store I will visit when in the US (so far, it looks like the best bet), and take note of the chess set suggestion. I'm now looking mainly for parts, but when I switch to "minifig mode", is a very good deal.

Thanks to all of you for your help.

D.

[Artifex]

I don't live in a country with Pick a Brick, so, if you do, go for it.

If you want the sets, I'll give you the same advice a Lego employee gave me when I came out of my Dark Ages: if you want to build medieval MOCs, buy medieval sets. If you want to build town MOCs, then go for City sets, and so on.

Bricklink and ebay are nice places for buying, but my experience is that most people on ebay hardly know what a "complete" set is -- especially in the case of old Castle sets with helm feathers.

If you want advice on sets, go for Kingdoms Joust. Get like 4. You won't regret. It's a great set available right now, it's gorgeous and it's also an excellent parts pack. Medieval Market Village is another great set, whatever faction you are into.

More on factions and sets: Go for the old sets you love. It's well worth it. But if you want to MOC, it's usually better to have newer bricks.

[Simon_S]

An Unexpected Gathering is an awesome set for landscaping. There are a lot useful green parts and also other cool earth tones (+ the minifigs are simply awesome). If you're lucky you might find one in clearance at the moment.

[Wardancer]

Keep in mind that often it is possible to buy sets WITHOUT figs on ebay. This can be quite a cheap source for bricks.

The mines of moria set would be an idea. It has many small bricks and details.

[jonwil]

If you want to build medieval type MOCs (especially if you want to build in grey) and can find them, buy the LOTR Mines of Moria and Helms Deep sets as they are GREAT sources of grey parts.

The LOTR tower of Orthanc and to a lesser extent Black Gate are great sources of interesting black parts if you want to build black.

[Davidbarrena]

An Unexpected Gathering is an awesome set for landscaping. There are a lot useful green parts and also other cool earth tones (+ the minifigs are simply awesome). If you're lucky you might find one in clearance at the moment.

Agree!! This set is one of the few I already have, and along with the giant tree from the Attacks of the wargs set (+ the amazing giant wolfs), I have green and brown to start building (next: grey bricks )

[rodiziorobs]

Keep in mind that often it is possible to buy sets WITHOUT figs on ebay. This can be quite a cheap source for bricks.

Agreed on this. You can also often find someone unloading multiples of the same set (without figs) for a bargain. And then, you can go back to Bricklink and by a bunch of generic figs for army building at a very cheap price--depending on what you're after, as low as $2 per fig, with headgear and an occasional weapon. Even if you are after specific or licensed figs, it can often be cheaper to get them piecemeal in the aftermarket, once you have built up a large collection of bricks.

Best of luck!

Edited May 1, 2014 by rodiziorobs