How do you find time to MOC?

[Smitty500]

This is just a general question that I am sure people want to see answered. I see some people on here making MOCs all the time, especially when contests come around, you guys are pumping MOCs out like crazy it seems. I am still slowly working/reworking on MOCs I started years ago. How do you (or anyone in this case) find time to build?? Also, how can you afford pieces for large MOCs? and..Do you guys keep your builds or tear them down for a new one?

[Slobey]

I have a fairly busy life with work and family and as boring as this sounds I will plan ahead to have a night for mocing or building a set I've got in advance around other commitments. It also helps me to use the rare night I have free for my hobby and not just sitting in front of the computer or TV.

I will often buy sets only for their value to me as parts, failing that I order regularly from bricklink. I am fortunate to have a job (and awesome wife) to support my addiction

One option is to buy sets, sell figures and you can get your bricks for next to nothing.

[Something_Awesome]

Buying sets for figures and then selling the figures can work. I did it with the Mos Eisley cantina. I Kept the Sandtrooper and sold the other figs for half the cost of the set. While that may not sound like much, keep in mind that the Cantina set has sold like crazy and that demand for the figures is not that high. Now if you bought an AT-AT walker for parts, I am sure you'd have no trouble selling the snowtroopers since they are always needed for building armies. However, in the case with the AT-AT, you don't get as many figures as you do with the Cantina. Point here is that you'd want to get as many figures as possible in as cheap a set as possible.

With that being said, I don't mind the time component of MOCs. I like taking my time. My issue is money (specifically for making an Imperial Base on Endor). I have the UCS Imperial Shuttle (still sealed in a perfect box) and I've done some numbers crunching; building a diorama worth of the Shuttle won't be cheap. Yeah, the landing platform would be pretty expensive, but the fact that I'd need several big trees is worse.

At this point, I am not sure if I will go through with the moc or not. If I don't, I'd sell the shuttle. My problem is when a great set like the UCS Imperial Shuttle comes out, or the Sandcrawler, I like to build a scene/diorama around it and display the set that way. Doing the Sandcrawler scene would be nowhere near as ambitious as the scene for the landing platform (a Sandcrawler scene, at least what I've drawn up, would take less space as well).

[farmer bodo]

I build my MOCs in the evenig in the dark month or when i have not to work. The MOCs which i build, live not long. I make photos ubd viedos and rebuild them.

[Duq]

Some people simply build much quicker than others, some people are better at time management than others.

As for large collections: time helps. When you just start out it seems like some people have impossibly big collections. Then ten years later you look into what used to be the spare bedroom and there's 117 boxes with half a million pieces ;-)

[sunbeam]

:) For me I steal time in between managing the home front and the extra spare time I have during the day. It is hard but unfortunately when inspired, it is quite impossible to stop :) So something/someone has to be "sacrificed". :)

[torso]

The big trick is to build small. I too keep a big project that takes forever to finish, but I've built several small things on the side. Those small builds require neither many bricks nor a lot of time, and have provided much more practise and satisfaction than the big project. Building an alternative model of an official set is a good way to reduce the scope of a build to something that can be built in an evening. As your skills improve and collection grows it will be natural to try bigger projects. Don't compare yourself to others. Just focus on building.

Personally I tear down everything I've built as soon as I've photographed it. The only reason to keep anything is if it's going to be shown at an exhibition or similar. After that they immediately get disassembled.

[lightningtiger]

In slow periods of no work or just little work I MOC build to keep myself sane though I need a spark to inspire my creations.

[Peppermint_M]

It is my hobby, so I build when I have a chance. Sometimes I'd plan to use the hour or so between returning home from work and having tea to build something. Sunday afternoon/evening always provides some good time to build (for me anyway) and the ever terrible weather here in Wales means many a wet bank holiday was spent building and perfecting a MOC.

If you have other hobbies or time you dedicate to gaming or TV then there isn't much time to spare, but seeing as I don't watch much TV and rarely play games I find that I can spend plenty of free time messing around with my bricks.

[ShaydDeGrai]

Most of my MOC'ing is done while either procrastinating or actively neglecting all those things that I _should_ be doing but just don't want to.

I like working on big projects that usually involve building prototypes, revising, reworking, etc. so I have a separate section in my office that I just leave out as a WIP to make it easier to just fiddle for an hour or two when I feel like it. My current WIP table has the various sub-assemblies for a project that I started back in July and (at my rate of work) will probably not be done until Feb or so. I'll also supplement my "big build" project with the occasional small MOCs. These are usually the result of a flash of inspiration, done over the course of a long weekend or so and are usually under a thousand parts.

As for that happens to my MOCs when I'm done. I have an attic full of builds that I've never even photographed. There's so much raw brick locked up in those MOCs (nearly 50 years of collecting), I've considered adding a rider to my house insurance because (artistic merit aside) the raw replacement cost of the brick represents a sizable investment. Someday, maybe I should just open a gallery...

[AFOLguy1970]

There are not really any sets out there that can supply the majority of the parts I need for my MOC, therefore Bricklink is the main way to go. Finding time for assembling parts of the MOC is easy, because most of the time is waiting to get paid in order to order some of the parts I need. Then there is the wait to gather all the parts needed for the next step. It takes only a day or two to build the next module before it is time to begin gathering parts for the next. My current MOC is built in 5 modules. One more order on Thursday will hopefully complete module #4. Then, who knows how long it will take to gather the parts for the final piece. Basically, most of the time in the hobby is waiting for a paycheck or the parts. Actual building time is comparatively very small.

[Smitty500]

Nice responses from everyone. I am just curious, because my life is getting busier as I am getting older. And the question just came up as to anyone has time to do a hobby like this while managing a job and family.

[eurotrash]

With work, land and family commitments I find that I binge build for a couple of hours once (or more) a week. It's normally after all the other stuff has been completed, but I tend to think about the MOCs throughout the week so when I'm ready to build I know what I'm going to do and the techniques I'm going to use. And having a sorting/storage system that works for your needs definitely helps.

As to the question about costs. It's been three years since I came out of my Dark Ages and I've slowly built up a decent sized inventory with Bricklink purchases and the occasional set acquisition. I set a monthly budget and (generally) have stuck to it.

For my MOCs I tend to build either vehicles or Modular Buildings and some get recycled almost immediately after I've taken pictures, others tend to stick around for a long time. From a quick glance at Flickr I've already recycled 50% of my MOCs and for competitions I build and recycled very rapidly.

[Richila]

I have only started doing small MOCs, but I use that time as playtime with my granddaughter. We each have our own Legos (well, she has Duplos), table and storage cases. We build and then play dollies together for at least an hour after dinner several times a week.

[Legogal]

This sounds like fun! I can't wait to play Duplo with my granddaughter! Congratulations, Grandma!

[KringlesBricks]

I always make time for MOCing. When I have a long day and stressful day at the office...and want to come home and de-stress, I always make time for LEGO. I find myself always getting ideas in my head while working. I'm a lead at a local theme park - while I walk around checking on carts and the restaurant...I think of what I want to MOC in my city. Then after work I get the ideas out on paper or in brick-form.

I also make it a morning pass-time, too, on the weekend. It's nice to wake up, open a window, feel the breeze and start MOCing and or building with the radio on. How relaxing!!

Idea thinking is always on my mind...that way when I get home, I can brick build my ideas.

For large piece collections....it will grow with time. You just can't buy tons and tons of LEGO at once. My piece collection just grows and evolves month to month. I set myself a budget as well. I set a certain amount for Pick-a-Brick cups, Bricklink orders, and collector sets. It hurts knowing how much I have spent; but, its a hobby I enjoy and good at. I also try to keep a low "extra-pieces" count...trying to incorporate every piece into my layout. I hate having leftover pieces not used in my layout

Edited October 30, 2014 by KringlesBricks

[Dinobrick]

I have more than enough time to MOC, when I'm not making photo comics or stopmotions.

[Kai NRG]

As with anything else, practice makes faster, if not perfect, so over time you're likely to get faster at building. Having everything sorted is a definite help! I find it easy enough to get an hour in here, another hour in there. If you don't watch TV, play video games, or spend too much time on the web, that really gives you a deal of extra time in the day.

If you start small, you'll likely find that your collection grows, and eventually you'll be able to build larger. I'm not sure exactly how large you're thinking but, if you know where to get them, most pieces are fairly inexpensive in bulk (Bricklink is great, as are PaB cups). If you're just buying sets, yes you're likely to have to cough up a fortune, but thankfully that's not necessary!

I usually tear my builds down almost immediately after photography. That helps with the collection size, as I don't tie any pieces up!

[MaineBrickFan]

I have found that making a commitment to exhibit through BrickFair and my local LUG really got me focused. It provides an all-important deadline, without which I cannot get much done. I highly recommend finding some way to exhibit (even local fairs or stores may provide opportunities in the absence of a nearby LUG or event).

[Hrw-Amen]

I take time with big projects, usually several weeks or months. I get a couple of nights a week where I have a spare hour that I can use, usually to relax me just prior to going to bed. I would like to spend more time on it and sometimes at weekends I get longer as I do not need to be up Saturday or Sunday mornings. The trouble for me is like most people space to display them. I have boxes full of railway wagon, engines, coaches but no room for a layout.

Most of the stuff I build once I am happy with it gets left built, most of it is railway related so does not take that much room and is easily stored in stackable boxes. You tend to get trains of half a dozen more or less identical coaches or trucks, or at least the same length, so they fit together in storage neatly.

As for afording the bricks, I put in a couple fo Bricklink orders a month, normally not very big, but enough to just keep stocked with parts, bricks, plates. If you are not too worried about colour schemes you can get some good deals if you buy in bulk.

[dr_spock]

I volunteer to display at my LUG events and LEGO store windows. That puts a fire under my butt and I make time to MOC as I have to get things done before the event date. For parts, I use mostly what I can get off the LEGO store Pick A Brick wall. It is probably the least expensive way to get many of a part new. I'll re-design my MOC around what I have available unless it is trains, then I have to bricklink or S@H online for the train motors and wheels. If you are a member of a LUG, you can look into LUGBULK as a way to get parts. If you're ok with used, you can check out bulk lots on eBay, garage sales, Kijii, etc. Winning building contests is another way to get parts. You'll find that your part collection grows over time. Then it causes another problem when your wife says you have too much.

[alanyuppie]

I MOC in front of the TV while watching the news and whatever's shown after work at night. On average an hour daily and few hours on weekend or so. Sometimes I totally give myself a timeout of few days off lego bricks to rethink what I'm doing too. When building LEGO Transformers I occasionally gotten myself into a deadlock due to my work-in-progress getting unsatisfactory or failed my structural integrity test (for eg, some poses made the MOC toppled over. duh).... hence causing a whole week's effort gone down the drain to redesign them in abother way. But it's all in good fun.

I found out that I don't like to stress myself with time limit or MOCing competition because I think the outcome of my build will not be good.

[Jared]

I wish I had an answer for you, but I'm in the same predicament you are!

[iamwhoiam]

I literally have zero time during the weekdays so I almost never build on the weekdays but I often spend part of my weekends MOC'ing. As for affording parts, I usually tear down my MOCs after displaying them for a few weeks and taking pictures so I don't usually need to make orders for every MOC but when I do I go to a Lego Store and buy lots of PAB.

[legoman19892]

we all need to find sugar mommy/daddies.