Just about to start with lego - need some newbie tips, please!

[Endriu]

Hey there guys!

I am just about to start with my lego adventure,I am 35 years old, I guess its never too late...

Anyway, I am planning a slow start and slowly move forwards in order not to stretch my budget (at least thats the plan).

My goal is to creat a small city and some countryside, and most importantly a nice RAILROAD.

At this point I am about to make decisions with pack to buy

In regard to a train starter pack I want to go for the cargo train 60052 - the train looks nice - I have no real opinion about the rest - but you need to get started somewhere (please, share your opinions on this train with me!)

But where to go from there?

I was checking lots of youtube reviews, videos and I am a little bit confused. Since at this point, my experience with lego building is almost non-existent the following questions bother me

1. If I want to build some sort of a city - the lego city sets come to mind - but the lego creator buildings seem much more sophisticated. How is that? Which ones would you choose? Are both lines compatible? The lego creator sets seem to have more bricks in general.

2. Is there any point in buying those lego classic sets like 10696 for example?

I will probably have more questions in the future but these are the most urgent ones as they directly connect to my upcoming first purchases.

Many thanks in advance!

[tafkatb]

Welcome to the fold! Others will have more specific advice to offer on the train front, but as for your other questions:

1. I definitely recommend Creator over City; the builds are indeed more sophisticated and tend to have a much better price per piece. The City line will probably be your best bet for vehicles though, as Creator vehicles come in all different scales whereas City vehicles are all built to scale with minifigures. For buildings you might want to start with one of the Creator 3-in-1 sets like the Toy & Grocery Shop or Bike Shop & Cafe, and try building it all 3 ways to get a feel for building techniques and different ways to use the same pieces - this will really help add to your building skills if you decide to start making your own creations as well. After that, Creator Expert sets like the Parisian Restaurant and Detective's Office are a great way to add big, detailed buildings to your city layout.

2. Getting one or two Classic sets can certainly help you out once you want to start designing your own models. Since they come with such a wide variety of parts and colors, you won't really be able to build anything major out of those parts alone, but they can supplement what you have from other sets and help give you ideas for how to use those pieces effectively. I personally got 10694 so I could have more bright and pastel colors to use as accents for the more muted palette that makes up a lot of my own collection.

Hope all this helps!

[TheLegGodt]

Agree: Creator and Creator Expert (Modulars!) will be much more satisfying. Sometimes though, other themes (including possibly unlikely ones like Elves) contain some nice 'filler' sets and attributes.

I find the bulk boxes of random bricks rather unhelpful personally. I do PAB orders to get specifically what I want. Some people consider this an expensive option and would rather Bricklink to save money. I would rather save time. Some sets are very helpful for getting exclusive bricks you may want (e.g. specific foliage in a certain colour) but I personally swear by PAB.

[GallardoLU]

Welcome to the party! If your going for a full city layout (no matter how big) MOCs will inevitably be included. its hard to get everything spaced out nicely with only existing sets. and If/when you get into MOCing you will find that its very helpful to have a large selection of bricks available both for size of MOC reasons, and for creativity, more parts means more options. (also more cost but if the budget allows it I recommend it) also I find it fun to include other themes into city builds, Darth Vader in a traffic jam, or Spiderman late for school, never underestimate whimsy

oh I almost forgot, don't hesitate to ask other builders for pointers on how they did things, most of us here will gladly share tips and photo's of builds to help you on your on works should you start MOCs

[AFOLguy1970]

Creator will give you the most detailed buildings and you will learn some interesting build techniques that you might use later on if you desire to create your own structures and vehicles. City is good for vehicles, however some of the liscsenced themes might help you out as well. You will definitely need to purchase extra train track for the trains and will probably be looking at both baseplates and roadplates as an option for augmenting your city. If you live near a Lego store, that will be helpful as you can see many of the sets in person and purchase the accessories there as well. The pick a brick wall can help expand your collection of loose bricks quickly if they have what you need.

Of course, be sure to look at the many threads people have on Eurobricks featuring their own town setups. Quite a bit of it is inspiring!

[LAKAbricks]

Of course, be sure to look at the many threads people have on Eurobricks featuring their own town setups. Quite a bit of it is inspiring!

The present index of town layouts where you also can contribute when you have something you want to show. The old index is no longer maintained, but has got a lot of interesting layouts. Go through the different layouts and get inspired. Both for style and size. A lot of Eurobrickers do not hesitate to recommend the modular buildings. And they are indeed magnificent buildings. But consider how much space you have got and what you would like to build. You can easily make interesting layouts with more classic styled/sized buildings, or maybe you will prefer the creator style/size. There are so many options with LEGO - that's the beauty of it

For a start, I would definately also recommend Creator 3-in-1, as Tragic Banjo does. But I will also say, if you like a City set, do not hesitate to buy it, if you see any potential in the set. You can always MOD it. For details/interiors in shops and restaurants, you might be interested in Friends that has got a lot of accessories. Regarding the Classic set, you will get a lot of (mainly plain) bricks which might be nice. But also notice it will be on the "a little bit of this and little bit of that"-basis. It will probably not give you a lot bricks for bigger structures.

Finally welcome to Eurobricks - and to the LEGO world. It's never too late to start here

[Endriu]

Welcome to the fold! Others will have more specific advice to offer on the train front, but as for your other questions:

1. I definitely recommend Creator over City; the builds are indeed more sophisticated and tend to have a much better price per piece. The City line will probably be your best bet for vehicles though, as Creator vehicles come in all different scales whereas City vehicles are all built to scale with minifigures. For buildings you might want to start with one of the Creator 3-in-1 sets like the Toy & Grocery Shop or Bike Shop & Cafe, and try building it all 3 ways to get a feel for building techniques and different ways to use the same pieces - this will really help add to your building skills if you decide to start making your own creations as well. After that, Creator Expert sets like the Parisian Restaurant and Detective's Office are a great way to add big, detailed buildings to your city layout.

2. Getting one or two Classic sets can certainly help you out once you want to start designing your own models. Since they come with such a wide variety of parts and colors, you won't really be able to build anything major out of those parts alone, but they can supplement what you have from other sets and help give you ideas for how to use those pieces effectively. I personally got 10694 so I could have more bright and pastel colors to use as accents for the more muted palette that makes up a lot of my own collection.

Hope all this helps!

Thanks!!!

Bought myself the camper 60057 today, my very first set - just wanted to see what it feels like.

Indeed the creator sets seem to have a better price per piece ratio - and the builds seem a little bit more sophisticated. As of now I try to keep the budget as low as possible (Nintendo is my other hobby :). I am planning on buying the mountain hut 31025! - because I want to build a mountain in the future (generally I am more inclined towards landscapes), so I was wondering where to get the parts - but lets face it, I am starting from scratch - so it will probably take years if not decades to fully realize what I have envisioned. And from I understand Lego brings out new sets each year - so it might be wise to wait for models that best suit the overall plan.

Welcome to the party! If your going for a full city layout (no matter how big) MOCs will inevitably be included. its hard to get everything spaced out nicely with only existing sets. and If/when you get into MOCing you will find that its very helpful to have a large selection of bricks available both for size of MOC reasons, and for creativity, more parts means more options. (also more cost but if the budget allows it I recommend it) also I find it fun to include other themes into city builds, Darth Vader in a traffic jam, or Spiderman late for school, never underestimate whimsy

oh I almost forgot, don't hesitate to ask other builders for pointers on how they did things, most of us here will gladly share tips and photo's of builds to help you on your on works should you start MOCs

Yes, the possibilities seem endless - however, I need to get some experience, and do a lot of planning. I dont want to got out and spend huge amounts of money on numerous sets (of course that would be great in its own right! :).Getting the pieces will be the most difficult par. If I manage, I want to build a small city ( dont have specific plans for it yet), but most importantly countryside - a mountain, a lake, a river, with a train crossing the river/lake on a bridge - thats my general idea/theme. Of course, it may all change with time but you need to have at least a small vision where you want to go - chaning course is always an option.

Creator will give you the most detailed buildings and you will learn some interesting build techniques that you might use later on if you desire to create your own structures and vehicles. City is good for vehicles, however some of the liscsenced themes might help you out as well. You will definitely need to purchase extra train track for the trains and will probably be looking at both baseplates and roadplates as an option for augmenting your city. If you live near a Lego store, that will be helpful as you can see many of the sets in person and purchase the accessories there as well. The pick a brick wall can help expand your collection of loose bricks quickly if they have what you need.

Of course, be sure to look at the many threads people have on Eurobricks featuring their own town setups. Quite a bit of it is inspiring!

As of now I plan on buying one train set - to see how it all works. Of course, more train track will be needed - but thats something for the future. Right now I want to slowly accumulate some stuff - and see which direction it will go. Once I have got a certain amount I might consider some train layout. As a matter of fact, I want to at least buy another train set (definitely not the highspeed train - to modern looking for me :) ), that will provide some extra tracks.

I will have to visit one of these stores (more into online shopping pricewise and generally I havent thought about outing myself as lego fan, yet :)

The present index of town layouts where you also can contribute when you have something you want to show. The old index is no longer maintained, but has got a lot of interesting layouts. Go through the different layouts and get inspired. Both for style and size. A lot of Eurobrickers do not hesitate to recommend the modular buildings. And they are indeed magnificent buildings. But consider how much space you have got and what you would like to build. You can easily make interesting layouts with more classic styled/sized buildings, or maybe you will prefer the creator style/size. There are so many options with LEGO - that's the beauty of it

For a start, I would definately also recommend Creator 3-in-1, as Tragic Banjo does. But I will also say, if you like a City set, do not hesitate to buy it, if you see any potential in the set. You can always MOD it. For details/interiors in shops and restaurants, you might be interested in Friends that has got a lot of accessories. Regarding the Classic set, you will get a lot of (mainly plain) bricks which might be nice. But also notice it will be on the "a little bit of this and little bit of that"-basis. It will probably not give you a lot bricks for bigger structures.

Finally welcome to Eurobricks - and to the LEGO world. It's never too late to start here

thanks for the link - just had a quick check and it inspired me already

- this one here: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3750/9679704467_44962bae26_m.jpg

just amazing - the cliffside is just awesome - I want to do stuff like that

Agree: Creator and Creator Expert (Modulars!) will be much more satisfying. Sometimes though, other themes (including possibly unlikely ones like Elves) contain some nice 'filler' sets and attributes.

I find the bulk boxes of random bricks rather unhelpful personally. I do PAB orders to get specifically what I want. Some people consider this an expensive option and would rather Bricklink to save money. I would rather save time. Some sets are very helpful for getting exclusive bricks you may want (e.g. specific foliage in a certain colour) but I personally swear by PAB.

will have to check out that PAB. the thing that got me worried about the classic sets is that its really a little bit of this and a little bit of that - stuff that I might either never use or stuff that is not sufficient

[Duq]

A few tips:

Don't get intimidated by the incredible builds you'll find on the internet. Maybe you'll get that good maybe you won't. The main thing is to enjoy yourself.

Start small. Don't make your first house a castle, don't make your first train a steam engine.

For a lot more information about trains there is of course the Train subforum: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showforum=122

For inspiration on trains and layouts try Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/groups/legotrains/ https://www.flickr.com/groups/1281622@N20/

Find your local LUG and join them. You're bound to meet a bunch of nice people and being a LUG member has its benefits.

Oh, I almost forgot: welcome to a fun new hobby!

[Endriu]

A few tips:

Don't get intimidated by the incredible builds you'll find on the internet. Maybe you'll get that good maybe you won't. The main thing is to enjoy yourself.

Start small. Don't make your first house a castle, don't make your first train a steam engine.

For a lot more information about trains there is of course the Train subforum: http://www.eurobrick...p?showforum=122

For inspiration on trains and layouts try Flickr: https://www.flickr.c...ps/1281622@N20/

Find your local LUG and join them. You're bound to meet a bunch of nice people and being a LUG member has its benefits.

Oh, I almost forgot: welcome to a fun new hobby!

Thanks! I totally agree with you. I know my limits - right now I have no experience whatsoever (save for some early childhood experiences which dont really count ) so I will start really small, gathering experience, trying things out and see where it will get me... Gonna try those smaller lego creator houses first I guess, they arent too expensive and have some all kinds of pieces which should give me a decent amount of pieces to experiment with -

[TheLegGodt]

By the way, if you are looking for what might become a classic flagship City set, check out 60097.

It's coming in May or June this year and looks like good value with some interesting features such as a Lego store (who doesn't want one in their Town Layout?) and a tram. The builds will likely be a bit on the easy side but I suspect you can easily mod them to satisfy your own taste.

[Endriu]

By the way, if you are looking for what might become a classic flagship City set, check out 60097.

It's coming in May or June this year and looks like good value with some interesting features such as a Lego store (who doesn't want one in their Town Layout?) and a tram. The builds will likely be a bit on the easy side but I suspect you can easily mod them to satisfy your own taste.

Its nice - but it doesnt really appeal to me

right now I have ordered to small creator sets in order to get some experience (tree hous/mountain hut). As of now I am imagining what I would like to build. Totally interested in creating landscapes, and how to make them appear as organic as possible. Have watched some videos on youtube on how to build trees - WOW! building the trees shouldnt be a problem - getting the appropriate building material? - I dont know how to pull that off - it will be a long process Im afraid - but thats OK - like I said, I am starting off small and gonna build my way up (SLOWLY!)

btw, having checked out many city layouts - what I didnt really like are the street plates, and generally most builds are rather flat surfaced, I would like to get some heights in my terrain - will see about that

[CrazyDalton777]

Its nice - but it doesnt really appeal to me

right now I have ordered to small creator sets in order to get some experience (tree hous/mountain hut). As of now I am imagining what I would like to build. Totally interested in creating landscapes, and how to make them appear as organic as possible. Have watched some videos on youtube on how to build trees - WOW! building the trees shouldnt be a problem - getting the appropriate building material? - I dont know how to pull that off - it will be a long process Im afraid - but thats OK - like I said, I am starting off small and gonna build my way up (SLOWLY!)

btw, having checked out many city layouts - what I didnt really like are the street plates, and generally most builds are rather flat surfaced, I would like to get some heights in my terrain - will see about that

Idk know if anyone has mentioned bricklink yet but thats a great way to source specific parts.

[Endriu]

Could anyone recommend lego sets that contain lots of foligage? Tree items, flower items, mushroom and what have you?

[TheLegGodt]

The Ewok village is full with that stuff. Or the Elves tree house if you want someting cheaper and a bit more differernt in colouring.

[Endriu]

Well the Ewok village is fantastic, to say the least, but its also a little bit on the expensive side.

Actually I found something, on the cheaper side, its the spring scene. Its got a tree some flowers, even some fences (might come in handy some time).

Just btw, in that spring scene set, they used bracelet upper parts as flowerheads, I checked on the internet that there are some real flowerheads around. Which ones, do you guys prefer? As of now I have seen only the bracelets in real life :) - Would it look weird if I used both?

[ProducePrincess]

Don't worry about buying sets that include lots of foliage. If you have access to a lego store you can get that stuff in huge quantities from the pick a brick. They are the sort of piece that come in a lot of sets that you can accumulate over time.

I'm currently in the process of getting into trains. 60052 was a pretty good parts pack for getting started in the theme and it seems a bit better than the next cargo train they are coming out with.

[Endriu]

Don't worry about buying sets that include lots of foliage. If you have access to a lego store you can get that stuff in huge quantities from the pick a brick. They are the sort of piece that come in a lot of sets that you can accumulate over time.

I'm currently in the process of getting into trains. 60052 was a pretty good parts pack for getting started in the theme and it seems a bit better than the next cargo train they are coming out with.

Next cargo train? Do you have any links?

[dr_spock]

Next cargo train? Do you have any links?

Come on over to the Train forum -> http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=98350&st=450#entry2138196

It's supposed to be released later in the year. Get 60052 if you can't wait that long. It's a good starter set that is currently available and not at the out of production $$$.

[Endriu]

Come on over to the Train forum -> http://www.eurobrick...50#entry2138196

It's supposed to be released later in the year. Get 60052 if you can't wait that long. It's a good starter set that is currently available and not at the out of production $$$.

Thanks, I must admit, though, that I have currently forsaken the idea of building train tracks - long story - I am heading towards mediaval settings for now.

My idea was to create some nice landscape and have the train moving through hills, forests, mountains and stuff - but from what I can see it might take years to get experienced and the bricks :) - so I am rather starting slow - right now I am experimenting with trees and rocks, general terrain building and foliage

[zmasterbrick]

Thanks, I must admit, though, that I have currently forsaken the idea of building train tracks - long story - I am heading towards mediaval settings for now.

My idea was to create some nice landscape and have the train moving through hills, forests, mountains and stuff - but from what I can see it might take years to get experienced and the bricks :) - so I am rather starting slow - right now I am experimenting with trees and rocks, general terrain building and foliage

You should just buy a couple of the modular building sets. They are a good way to get a street layout going. They have tons of bricks, figs and accessories. AND, if you don't like them, you can eBay them instantly for near money back.

[El Garfio]

IMHO,

Better than the 10696, buy the 10692 and the 10695 for having some doors and windows.

If you can, buy the 40154 (pencil pot).

And with this 3 start to build. Go to the LEGO page and download some instructions of houses. When you will be stuck by not having the "right" brick, try and try until you find a solution.

When you give up of thinking, buy the brick at bricklink or pickabrick.

Some creator sets for starting: 31035: Beach Hut and 31009: Small Cottage are cheap and easy to build.

Start with a Town better that a city. And when you become a LEGO addict, start more wide, more high and more sofisticated buildings.

[zmasterbrick]

IMHO,

Better than the 10696, buy the 10692 and the 10695 for having some doors and windows.

If you can, buy the 40154 (pencil pot).

And with this 3 start to build. Go to the LEGO page and download some instructions of houses. When you will be stuck by not having the "right" brick, try and try until you find a solution.

When you give up of thinking, buy the brick at bricklink or pickabrick.

Some creator sets for starting: 31035: Beach Hut and 31009: Small Cottage are cheap and easy to build.

Start with a Town better that a city. And when you become a LEGO addict, start more wide, more high and more sofisticated buildings.

Humble opinion nothing, that sounds like a typical AFOL's 30's! LOL

[El Garfio]

I'm in the 40's.

When I come back to building blocks I bought some little sets of city and bricks and more (€10-15) but the one who became me an AFOL was the 6053-1: My First LEGO Town.

For me, the best bucket for starters (doesn't matter their age): for €40, it included a lot of windows and doors, wheels and windscreens, slopes/roof bricks, some bricks with bow, a pavilion brick,...

It's a pitty LEGO didn't launch again anything so complete like it. The new classic sets are great, but I think they have some lacks for being superb.

Edited April 20, 2015 by El Garfio

[Endriu]

I'm in the 40's.

When I come back to building blocks I bought some little sets of city and bricks and more (€10-15) but the one who became me an AFOL was the 6053-1: My First LEGO Town.

For me, the best bucket for starters (doesn't matter their age): for €40, it included a lot of windows and doors, wheels and windscreens, slopes/roof bricks, some bricks with bow, a pavilion brick,...

It's a pitty LEGO didn't launch again anything so complete like it. The new classic sets are great, but I think they have some lacks for being superb.

Thanks for all your tips.

But like I said in an earlier post, I have abandoned the concept of building a city/town together with the railroad.

My reasons:

Cities are basically flat and consume a lot of space, if you want to make it really good, that is - you cannot just have a couple of houses and call it a city - like a small train station and two or three buildings - that just doesnt cut it. My original concept was to create a lot of landscape - nature - mountains - lakes - trees - lots of foliage. Of course, these things can be connected with a town and it would probably look amazing to have a railroad running through that but like I said, the space required for that would be immense - not to mention the money that had to be invested in the long run.

After watching lots of mocs on youtube I came to the conclusion that a medieval setting would be closest to what I had in mind. You dont build cities there, but rather smaller villages and castles - so in this regard its kinda perfect for me, well at least in my imagination - I already realized when trying out a couple of things that my experience is so little at this point that its gonna be a long road - but I dont mind