How do you build your Lego sets?

[LAKAbricks]

I also grew up building sets without numbered bags. Searching for the bricks is part of the game. But anyway, I build bag it bag by bag now... Though I have just decided to change that, so I will open all the bags and make one big pile again. Just like in the good old days.

That said, there will be some exeptions from the rule. When I built the 10210 Imperial Flagship, I sorted by colour which I normally do not do (I have an idea that it was not numbered bags). And with modulars, I build them section by section, but without sorting. And I start with the section, I think looks less interesting building - typically the middle floor. Right now I am building TH which is only the second modular I build.

[Captain Dee]

Well I like to put on a blindfold, dump about ten sets together, stir them up, have someone tie both hands behind my back and then build using my toes.

Just kidding. I'm about the exact opposite. For building smaller sets I don't mind if the parts are all mixed but for anything very big I have to have organization. I'm a very impatient builder and usually part out my sets for future use soon after I build them. But if I was just collecting I probably wouldn't mind having everything mixed up for that all-important first time.

For my 10210 IFS (bought used) I dumped everything in a pile because the bags it came in weren't sorted. I sorted by color, which proved to be highly frustrating when hunting for small pieces (especially the black parts). Thereafter I passed a decree proclaiming that (for large sets bought used) All Parts Shalt First Be Sorted By Type because color recognition is automatic; plus there are far fewer colors than general brick types, so I end up with several piles (basic bricks, slopes, curves, plates, tiles etc) that are easy to identify. It takes time, but I sort and store parts for MOCs the same way.

Edited June 6, 2015 by Captain Dee

[Phrea]

The hunt is half the fun.

I don't buy sets anymore, but when I still did, I dumped it all in one pile, and sorted it how I saw fit and then started building.

[badbob001]

Hunting and digging around may be fun at first, but it gets old. Like trying to id Collectible Minifigures by touch. Did that for a few series but I got tired standing around in the the toy section for hours being pervy with the bags and now I just buy a complete set from bricklink.

Current approach:

• Take out only the required numbered bags for the current instructions.
  
• For those bags, roughly decide which bags contain big, medium, and small pieces. It's common for a 'big' bag to contain a smaller bag of small pieces so put those small bags with the other small bags.
  
• Empty the bag contents into three trays for big, medium, and small. Just go with the sorting defined by the bags and don't bother sorting again by size. It's not really worth the time. I may put aside large plates so they don't cover over pieces.
  The trays should be big so pieces don't need to be stacked on top of each other and reduce the need to shuffle pieces around. The trays should also be shallow so you can still see all the content while sitting and not have to hunch over it.
  
• To find a piece, just narrow down to which tray by the size of the piece and then search that tray. I like keeping the number of trays to only three so I only have to scan three places. If you have many piles, then you waste a lot of time scanning many piles.
  
• Some people may prefer to find all the pieces first for each instruction step. I usually just eyeball what new pieces are in the current step and some instructions even draw an outline around those new pieces. In the end of the build, I look at the leftover extra pieces and if every piece is unique, then it's likely I did not miss a step.
  
• As trays begin to empty, I would combine the content with another tray to further reduce the number of trays I need to scan.
  

Edited June 5, 2015 by badbob001

[Prairie]

I use numbered bags. If unavailable, I sort into a few groups (plates, bricks, etc.) so that it's obvious which group a piece will be in and there aren't too many pieces in each group to search through. Either approach means that I don't spend more than a few seconds on average finding each piece. I find it tedious to be searching through a big pile of pieces over and over, knowing that the time spent is merely due to having everything jumbled together.

I find that I like building from instructions at a brisk pace, keeping my mind and hands constantly busy. Usually this means fetching pieces with one hand, firmly pressing them in place them with the other, and looking at the next step before the current one is completed.

[Captain Dee]

Prairie, that's pretty much my approach. Use the numbered bags if possible and build quickly, reading the next step while attaching parts from the current one. Of course that's only if I actually build the set. Usually I buy for parts but I still build most sets just to see them in person.

[Giantorange]

Always tip all the bags in together. I do pick all the minifig parts and accessories out before I start the build though.

I fairly regularly rebuild random sets from the collection by dismantly, shuffling all the parts around and rebuilding for the fun of it. Going to do 6080 again later on today.