Your Lego ritual...

[notaromantic]

So, what is your Lego ritual?

Lego-ing is such a personal process, I'm curious to know what others do to "be in the Lego mood".

When do you Lego? Where do you Lego? How do you Lego? Or even, why do you Lego? Etc... What is your own modus operandi when it comes to Lego? And, if it is a pastime you enjoyed as a child, has that ritual changed at all?

What are the non-building particulars of your building time?

[Jared]

I dunno. It's hard to say. There'll be days I force myself to build, and then there will be days where I'm taking the subway home from work when suddenly an idea lands in my head and I run home after getting off and start building right away.

As a kid LEGO used to be a play-time activity, in which I planned it as part of my day. Now I just build when and wherever, depending on my mood (an schedule). Great topic!

[Peppermint_M]

Hmmm.

Well, as a child thing worked in two ways: Tip the Bucket Out and just go for it, or rummage around for parts and build.

Now I am more likely to work with a "project box" method. I have a MOC in mind, either something I imagined wholly myself or something I thought to try and semi-replicate (I am never one to create exact replicas) then I will pull out parts I need for that sort of build into a smaller tub which I MOC from.

I still have most of my LEGO in four large boxes. I find it helps creativity, I might be looking for a part I want and then come across something that stands out as usable that I hadn't thought of.

[GallardoLU]

I tend to need inspiration to get going, once it hits I head to my parts bins (sorted by general type plates, bricks, slopes... and so on) this usually devolves over the course of the build into big rainbow piles. this is due mostly to the fact that I rebuild over and over or scavenge from older mocs I've been meaning to disassemble anyway. all of this while sitting happily on the floor like I did as a child (I plan to do this as long as my body will let me) if the project is particularly big I will build the main model on a table, but the sub assemblies still happen on the floor OH! and I always have some music playing at a reasonably loud level!

[Criga88]

Growing up I used to spill the bricks out all over my room to build whatever but these days I spend more time planning and fine tuning designs than actually building. While I'm out and about it seems that my only thought process is "how can I make that in LEGO?", which leads to a lot of notes and sketches of future designs. My usual day consists of working a couple of separate MOCs in LDD or drawing up some plans in the arvo, building in the evening and then re-sorting any parts trays that I used. I find that just sorting through my parts collection before bed results in a better sleep, as long as I get everything sorted (curse you OCD!).

[legoman19892]

I dump my bricks into one pile on the floor, roll in them shirtless, and only build with the bricks that stick to my body.

[legoguy1984]

I generally build sets to the instructions and then think of ways to make them look better which normally just means adding a detail or two here and there and also removing "unnecessary" bricks from the build, these get put in my parts bins. Often I will see a piece and decide that I want to use it in a build because it will make a perfect fit for something that I have been trying or if inspiration hits. I will also think of something that I want to build and I will then take out all the parts that I think I will use and put those in a seperate container to build with.

[DougleGo]

I've just started seriously with building and what not. Personally I want to get a decent Star Wars collection as it's something I've wanted to do for years. So right now whenever I have a few £££ to spare I'm off to the toy shop and look for a set I don't have. Though I do have to budget a little bit to pick up my boy some too.

I find I tend to wait till I'm stressed out a little with work or whatever. Building Lego is very relaxing for me so I tend to wait till I know I need to calm down and then start building.

[Breakdown]

As a child I used to start off by eating some of the lego.

Now some of my pieces have tooth marks on them, and my teeth are a little worn.

Wish I could go back & talk to young Breakdown and not have that happen.

That being said, I've lost a lot of imagination since then. Brick eating young Breakdown would have been a more epic contributor to this forum than current Breakdown.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Breakdown

[AFOLguy1970]

If it is a MOC, a lot of time is spent using the Lego Digital Designer. Then, I order the parts. It could take a week or it could take a year to get the parts together depending on what the design was. The pool table took a week, and the courthouse took a year and two months. When actually building, I do it when I do not feel like I am in a hurry. School nights are not so good, but weekends and holidays are great for building, especially if the weather is bad. Most of the time on MOCs is waiting to get paid or waiting on the actual parts. Then, there are always the adjustments that need to be made since LDD does not readily reveal structural weaknesses.

If building a Lego set, again, I like to wait for there to be ample time to build it and not be rushed.

[Lady K]

Sometimes after building a set, or looking at the box, I will see parts from a different perspective and that will inspire a MOC to begin forming in my mind. I'll build with epic adventurous music playing and take a break when my creative streak slows. Sometimes my breaks will last days or weeks. Then I do other Lego or adventure related things.

[PaddyBricksplitter]

My mind always starts to wander, always has. I see little scenes in there. During the course of my life they have emerged in different ways, drawing, painting, 3D modelling. I trained and worked as an artist.

Now I'm an honest to goodness grown up I found lego is a great visual medium.

XD and it's not work. I can't use it for a portfolio or use it to get paid. It has no other use but pure pleasure.

As a child it was just part of play. Mainly knights chopping off heads and building sci fi toys that I couldn't get in the local toy shops.