Best way to build up Technic 'stock'?

[volks_womble]

Recently I have come back to my interest in Lego, specifically Technic, after a 20ish year break...

I have bought some kits sets (a mixture of second hand and new), built some models and now want get back to modifying those and inventing my own, so really want to have parts to hand to do so.

Prior to my 'break' I had a pretty good size Lego collection (a 3 draw chest full) of which about 1/4 - 1/3 was technic. It had been built up over many years having been bought the occasional kit set but mostly by from job lots from jumble sales/boot fairs/other parents etc. although this was shared with my brother...

In the intervening years my parents stored it, under distinct instructions not to get rid of it.

Then my brother had kids... and now 'my' lego is thiers...

Don't get me wrong, they absolutely should have it, and get the joy and learning out of it that I had.

But I am wondering what is the best way to build up a stock of technic? I realise the usual way of doing so is to use what comes with kits sets but I tend to leave things built once they are done.

Given that even the newest of my old technic is over 20 years old, it is entirely studded and all of the models I have been building recently are of the studless school of design, so I would need to update anyway.

So how do people generally go about getting hold of 'stock'?

• Buy duplicate kits sets and break them up? Are any kits sets particularly good for parts?
  
• Buy secondhand job lots? suggestions as to where from?
  
• Do all their building with a CAD tool, and then order the specific parts they need for a model?
  

Suggestions (and offers ;) ) are most welcome,

thanks

Mark

Edited November 20, 2014 by volks_womble

[Jim]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to EB!

For me it was simply buying lots of sets....and taking them apart.

Furthermore you can use Bricklink to buy additional parts, or via LEGO directly.

People at LEGO get crazy when you call it a kit by the way. It's a LEGO set, not a kit

Buy sets, buy second hand lots via eBay, buy parts via Bricklink, design in a CAD tool and order the parts you need......all are valid methods to acquire more parts.

The two things you need are time and money

[darksheep]

Hi

I got all the lego you see hear in a year , it about 30 000 parts (no that much but for a year its good going I think)

How I did it was as follows .

1) Buy all the big complete lego kits I could find new locally

2) Look on rebrickable.com and see what parts others are using in their moc's and then figure out what is usefully and what is not.

3) Go to bricklink and buy the parts from step 2 also I have a general bricklink rule , shipping to my house is costly and takes some time .

So I try wait till I have a big list and order as much as I can . I wont place an order in general unless its over 250 Euro (shipping is often 30 euro cause I cant use the post). I also tend to shop at the same stores and build up a good relationship .

I often will ask shops to hold 10 of a part for me for 3 weeks its not a problem cause they know my order will be a relatively big one .

4) Look at cool mocs and decide what I want to build and get the parts , also if a moc needs 10 red beams 15L and the store is selling them cheaply I will often just double up , so that way I can often build the 2 of the moc.

5)Hunt locally for older sets I think are cool and try get them second hand.

I also try not collect to much lego, if I want to build a moc and I have like 80% of the parts in my collection but they are used for other things I will dissemble the old moc for parts.

My wife has also said you have one room in the house for lego no more if it cant fit in there then you cant get any more , she does not no I have plans to bash down one wall and make the room bigger .

If it seems I have a lot of money to spend on lego you are wrong , I do other jobs and private work to pay for my lego hobby , my budget is about 1000 euro a year from my yearly income (I think I pay about 200 euro to builder for their instructions) .

I also often end up selling parts of lego sets to others for example this year I bough 3 x #42029 Customized Pick Up Truck , I don't need all 12 wheels and hubs so I sold of 4 , and sold of some of the other parts to. This way I offset the cost .

Hope this helps.

Edited November 20, 2014 by darksheep

[volks_womble]

Thanks for the welcome

People at LEGO get crazy when you call it a kit by the way. It's a LEGO set, not a kit

...

The two things you need are time and money

OP duely edited

Time? hmmm... Money? hmmmmmmm

so, yeah I should probably have mentioned I would like to build it up ecconomically...

Thanks for the pointers. I have found Amazon id often cheaper for recent/current sets than eBay (sometimes new via Amazon is cheaper than secondhand via eBay )

Selling off unwanted parts is also a good tip - although I am not sure how I would establish what was needed and what wasn't!

I will keep my eyes peeled,

thanks

Mark

[Jim]

My advice would be:

• Buy sets
  
• Don't sell parts (keep the sets intact)
  
• Be patient
  

[jantjeuh]

Buy sets second-handed, if you don't care about boxes and/or parts being in 100% mint condition. A lot cheaper usually. Check BrickLink, BrickOwl and your local eBay/eBay clone for good deals, as others mentioned.

Edited November 20, 2014 by jantjeuh

[dhc6twinotter]

I would say that 90% of my inventory comes from sets that I've purchased over the past 5 years. Buying sets is probably the best way to accumulate parts, but I never keep my mocs built for longer than a year or two, and usually much shorter. The other 10% of parts I use come from Bricklink or directly from LEGO. Also, I don't keep the sets I buy built or on display for very long, and usually only 2-3 weeks. I bought 42000 just for the parts and won't be building it (I already built one for a LEGO store in CA though). 41999 I bought just for the unique colors and PF elements. I haven't even built it yet, and I've already used some of the dark blue pieces for a moc that I never finished. I do plan on building that set though, but that will probably be after my move to Washington State.

Right now, the best set for assortment of parts is probably the 42009 Mobile Crane MKII. The 8258 Crane Truck is also a great parts pack, but the price on that set is probably getting pretty high.

[volks_womble]

42009 is on my shopping list...

8258 I have, It's a really great model, and is one of my main reasons for wanting parts to modify... It seems to be crying out for a number of changes. However, that rather rules out using is as a parts supplier, and it is a rather expensive set to buy in the first place...

[DrJB]

Every now and then a set comes out that is both a good set, and also an awesome collection of parts. 8258 is such set, it is a great truck, but also an outstanding collection of parts (I do know, I bought 3 sets ... 2 are still boxed) ... Also, some of the bionicle sets offer a good assortment of technic parts (Axalara, Scopio, ...) and ever now and then you can find them for cheap on ebay. Scopio has so many track elements. If you live in the US, Toys-R-Us is now selling 9398 for $170, which is less than the list price of $200. Not many people care for the colors of 9398, but it has a large assortment of PowerFunctions. Also, the EV3 expansion kit (for $100 from Lego Education) is a very good/cheap assortment of parts as well.

[Lakop]

Just keep buying sets. You can get a 42029 from amazon for £52. Or wait for the new sets to come out in 2015.

Happy buying.

H

[Erik Leppen]

If you want the most parts for the buck, buy relatively large sets that don't rely heavily on Power Functions.

8258 and 42009 are good for that.

42030 isn't. You pay premium prices for the electrics.

(Of course, the above advice doesn't hold if you want the electrics :)

Also, you know best what parts you are looking for. So, check the set's Bricklink inventories so you know what parts are in each set. You do that by going to bricklink.com, then in the topc bar selecting "Catalog items" and type the number of the set, e.g. 42008, and click Go. Then you will land on a page that has a list, with your set usually on top with the left column sayin "42008 [inv]". The Inv is a link to the inventory.

By the way, getting your parts via sets is a good way to build up a collection, but once your collection reaches what I call the "critical mass", i.e. that you have plenty of all common parts like pins and gears, then I'd say get the specific parts you want on Bricklink.

[jantjeuh]

By the way, getting your parts via sets is a good way to build up a collection, but once your collection reaches what I call the "critical mass", i.e. that you have plenty of all common parts like pins and gears, then I'd say get the specific parts you want on Bricklink.

This is well put, and exactly how I went about building my current inventory.

[Jim]

This is well put, and exactly how I went about building my current inventory.

Same here!

[dhc6twinotter]

By the way, getting your parts via sets is a good way to build up a collection, but once your collection reaches what I call the "critical mass", i.e. that you have plenty of all common parts like pins and gears, then I'd say get the specific parts you want on Bricklink.

Exactly right! I've just about reached that critical mass point, and I've slowed way down on my Technic buying. I use Bricklink or LEGO direct for anything I need that I don't already have, although I'll still buy the spring and fall flagships if I find them interesting. Now most of my LEGO money is going to the modular and City sets.

Edited November 20, 2014 by dhc6twinotter

[dr_spock]

Buying sets when they are on sale is how I built up my Technic collection from scratch. Big discounts may be little harder to come by now since LEGO is much more popular than a couple of years ago.

[Kelkschiz]

I had to stock up a few years back, getting back into it. I still had my old technic but i wanted studless. I bought two sets to get started and to get familier with all the new different parts. When i knew what i needed, i added to it via Bricklick. Only been using Bricklink the past few years.

[volks_womble]

Also, you know best what parts you are looking for. So, check the set's Bricklink inventories so you know what parts are in each set. You do that by going to bricklink.com, then in the topc bar selecting "Catalog items" and type the number of the set, e.g. 42008, and click Go. Then you will land on a page that has a list, with your set usually on top with the left column sayin "42008 [inv]". The Inv is a link to the inventory.

By the way, getting your parts via sets is a good way to build up a collection, but once your collection reaches what I call the "critical mass", i.e. that you have plenty of all common parts like pins and gears, then I'd say get the specific parts you want on Bricklink.

That's kinda my point. Other than the sets I have, which I want to keep largely as sets, I don't have anything! So beams, connectors, axles etc are all on my shopping list. The intention is to have enough stock to experiment and build up the mods I want and then be able to use brick link and/lego direct to get the specifics, exactly as you describe. :)

I did start bidding on an incomplete unimog 8110 on eBay, but it went for very close to the same price as a complete, boxed one...

Cheers for the detailed replies,

Mark

[maras]

Who is the best store to shop on brick link? Basically just for technic.

[bonox]

try the straight shooters list under buy/sell/trade

http://www.eurobrick...hp?showforum=16

doesn't always work, but you can try searching BL for stores having 'technic' in the name. I've had great service from one particular guy in NY ;)

Edited November 21, 2014 by bonox

[veryrusty]

I've only just started with my own collection. I've used basically the same strategy as others, but I would add that if you have some idea of what you want to build first, go for sets in the colour you want. Really it comes down to a choice of yellow, black or red.

[BusterHaus]

Also, the EV3 expansion kit (for $100 from Lego Education) is a very good/cheap assortment of parts as well.

Another vote for this. It's one of my favourite sets in terms of useful parts.

[bonox]

I've only just started with my own collection. I've used basically the same strategy as others, but I would add that if you have some idea of what you want to build first, go for sets in the colour you want. Really it comes down to a choice of yellow, black or red.

or white (42025)

or green (42008)

or orange (2015)

Since you're after a bit of everything, i'd suggest the last crane (42009). Has pretty much everything except tracks (beams/liftarms, axle joiners, axles, wheels, pins etc), which you can find in the bulldozer 42028? or the excavator/claw if you want those and is one of the lowest price per part sets (on sale around my part of the world anyway, assuming you're after a few pins).

Edited November 21, 2014 by bonox

[aol000xw]

When getting the first sets choose a color and try to stay within that color schema at first.

Yellow/red are the safe bet, the Volvo for a good PF set, then non PF sets for a better part/price ratio.

So get a few sets, then start building and you will realize what parts you are missing more. Get a few more sets to improve stock of those. Only once you find you got most of what you need for your firsts projects start cherry picking in BL.