Buying and Selling MOC Instructions

[jtlan]

Hello Train Tech,

I have seen some people selling instructions/plans for train MOCs. Out of curiosity, I have some questions for those of you who have bought or sold such things:

 

BUYERS

• Why do you buy MOC instructions?
• Which instructions did you buy? Why did you choose those instructions?
• Do you prefer printed or digital instructions? Why?
• Could you share some particularly enjoyable or frustrating moments from using the instructions?

 

SELLERS

• Why did you start selling instructions?
• How do you choose which models to offer instructions for?
• Are there models you started working on with the intent of offering instructions for them, rather than as an afterthought?
• Could you share some particularly enjoyable or frustrating moments from making and selling instructions?

 

Many thanks to anyone who answers -- I'm genuinely curious to know!

[storms26]

I buy them because I don't know how to build decent looking mocs myself. 

Well, it also is because I find it easier than doing it myself when I know I won't like the end result, even though the creativity isn't all there.

I bought instructions for Tony Sava's SP Daylight 4449 since it's my brothers favourite engine and I also like it. I've been on the real thing, so it's cool because I can compare the two.

I prefer digital instructions because they can't be damaged and I find it easier to scroll through them instead of flipping a page that won't stay flat.

I didn't find any part of the process frustrating, but I enjoyed getting closer and closer to the end result as the pages left started to decrease, knowing the final product will be sweet.

Overall, I recommend it to anyone who is interested, but if you feel that you are experienced enough (unlike me) to be able to build your own, then go right ahead, nothin' stopping you.

[HoMa]

I would define myself as a "Seller" or better "Creator" of Instructions. Why am I doing this?

In the past I was not keen on creating instructions for my MOCs, there is too much abuse around where people rebuild the models and sell them without mentioning the original creator of the model or sharing the money they've earned. Things did change a bit when I had the offer to write a LEGO train book. The publisher wanted to see building instructions in the book. So I sat down to MLCad, LDView and LPub and finally to InDesign to create a bunch of instructions. The instructions for two of my steam engines didn't make into the book (because of page limitations), but I do offer them for free now on my personal LEGO hobby related website.

Actually I didn't had much of a choice which model will go into an instruction. For a majority of models featured in the book I have created instructions.

All my model are created because I like to build trains with LEGO. Creating instructions or publishing them in a book was never my main goal. So for me the model is always first. And I am very poor in designing a MOC just virtualy, I need the bricks in my fingers to figure out if the model works or not.

Creating instructions is a subject itself. For me it takes 5-10 times longer then designing the model in LEGO bricks. It is not only about the recreation of the LEGO model in MLCad, if you are making instructions you need to devide your model in chunks which allow a nice building experience for everyone who did not design the model. For me this is a very enjoyable but also time consuming part. Another challenge are special elements like cables, wires, rubber bands which are very complex in a virtual model. For proper PF cables in an instruction you might need 2/3 of the time of creating the complete instructions.

LPub is love and hate at the same time. I am happy that there is such an open source software tool around which allow to create building instructions. But the arrangement of multiple steps with sub-steps on one page is a real nightmare. You never know what the page will look like and you need to wait till the page layout is re-rendered. And the measurements are also confusing to me. You can define margins and others at 0.000001 – but what is the unit and where is the 0.0 reference point? After many nights, this is still a black box to me.

(Maybe someone can suggest other tools to create instructions with more control and more WYSIWYG?)

Another thing which is a little bit anoying is the behaviour of some "users". If you offer instructions, they ask for part lists. If you offer part lists, they ask for part numbers. If you offer part numbers, they ask for a wantedlist to upload to bricklink. And they want me to tell them the one bricklink shop which offers all elements needed to build the model. Very often "newbies" which have never build a regular complex LEGO (train) set will start with the most complex model. And then they get frustrated because my high-end AFOL models are tricky and complex to build ... even with instructions.

Hope that helps?

Holger

[SavaTheAggie]

I sell instructions to fund my hobby.  It's the way I prevent the family budget from being affected by all these things I build.

I choose the MOCs I have built that are either popular models, have an easy construction, or are very difficult to build but teach important techniques.  

I do not make instructions for anything that is too big, uses too many rare parts, or has too much hard-to-replicate detail (bent and custom cut flex tubing).

I have never designed a model specifically for instructions.  Always for my own enjoyment first.

--Tony

 

 

 

 

[jtlan]

8 hours ago, HoMa said:

I would define myself as a "Seller" or better "Creator" of Instructions. Why am I doing this?

In the past I was not keen on creating instructions for my MOCs, there is too much abuse around where people rebuild the models and sell them without mentioning the original creator of the model or sharing the money they've earned. Things did change a bit when I had the offer to write a LEGO train book. The publisher wanted to see building instructions in the book. So I sat down to MLCad, LDView and LPub and finally to InDesign to create a bunch of instructions. The instructions for two of my steam engines didn't make into the book (because of page limitations), but I do offer them for free now on my personal LEGO hobby related website.

Thanks, Holger. What changed your mind about people rebuilding and selling your models? And how did you come to be asked to write a book?

 

3 hours ago, SavaTheAggie said:

I choose the MOCs I have built that are either popular models, have an easy construction, or are very difficult to build but teach important techniques.  

Thanks, Tony. Instructions as teaching (literal "instruction"s?) is a pleasant surprise, and I'm impressed that you can convey that in a booklet. What would you say is your best work on that front? Since you model mostly American locomotives, do you find that most of your customers are in the US?

[Fenestra]

I like to buy the instructions because at the end of the day I am not the creative type and I enjoy the placement and arranging of my different elements rather than trying to build something and not really liking the way it looks. I am okay with sometimes modifying something but even then I am one of those types where I like it just the way it is. This Holiday I bought the instructions for some holiday additions to my train as well as the constructibles (http://shop.constructibles.net/) tram and winter train station. I like the instruction to be digital but for me having a way to upload the parts list to Bricklink is a must! I enjoy putting them together, knowing what the result is going to be and then placing it. I really don't enjoy just starting with an idea and trying to make it work. Maybe one day I will get there but I am not there yet!

[HoMa]

19 hours ago, jtlan said:

Thanks, Holger. What changed your mind about people rebuilding and selling your models? And how did you come to be asked to write a book?

 

For me the book itself is the compensation for all the stupid people who try to make money misusing somelese's intelectual and creative work. Maybe it sounds to negative. There are such bad people around from time to time, but the majority enjoys to rebuild a MOC from someone else for their own pleasure. And similar to Tony, I want to share my way of building and hopefully my instructions are not only instructions to rebuild my MOC 100 % but also are inspirations for own models for other.

The publisher dpunkt in Germany discovered my LEGO hobby related website and straight away they offered to write a book about LEGO trains. Stay tuned, the English version of my book is on it's way ...

Holger

[SavaTheAggie]

20 hours ago, jtlan said:

Thanks, Tony. Instructions as teaching (literal "instruction"s?) is a pleasant surprise, and I'm impressed that you can convey that in a booklet. What would you say is your best work on that front? Since you model mostly American locomotives, do you find that most of your customers are in the US?

Most of my customers are in the US, though from time to time I get orders from Europe, a few from Asia.  

The most all-in-one set of instructions for teaching the widest array of techniques in one book is a set I can no longer sell, at least for now.  My failed LEGO ideas project "The Ten Wheeler" was my "Expert level Ten Wheeler" instructions, and touches nearly all of my knowledge and experience as a train builder.  I won't be able to start selling those again until the ideas project officially dies.

My Northern "Daylight" instructions have a lot of good techniques, too, as does the Alco RS-2.  

--Tony

 

 

 

[Fenestra]

3 minutes ago, SavaTheAggie said:

Most of my customers are in the US, though from time to time I get orders from Europe, a few from Asia.  

The most all-in-one set of instructions for teaching the widest array of techniques in one book is a set I can no longer sell, at least for now.  My failed LEGO ideas project "The Ten Wheeler" was my "Expert level Ten Wheeler" instructions, and touches nearly all of my knowledge and experience as a train builder.  I won't be able to start selling those again until the ideas project officially dies.

My Northern "Daylight" instructions have a lot of good techniques, too, as does the Alco RS-2.  

--Tony

 

 

 

Tony - Where is your site? I would love to see what you have available for purchase!

[moustic]

I sometimes "buy" or download instructions mainly to learn some building techniques.

I build the BR80 from Holger ! amazing build !

 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I sell instructions because many users ask me a model rather than another so after arriving at nearly forty models I thought: why not combine business with pleasure by selling some of my models giving everyone the chance to have them?

So I found a source of income and I like to think that my models are not only part of a private collection, but can be of any
The problem is that my instructions are not as perfect as those made from Lego and mostly many models can not be sold because they require a job that a normal user is not willing to do (I'm talking to customize some parts).

I'm at the beginning of this experience but for now I'm satisfied...

[yoshi98bc]

I enjoyed purchasing instructions to learn how to be a better builder.  It can sometimes be a challenging building from photos online, especially the drive trains for certain locomotives.  Someday, I hope to have the time to design locomotives for myself but I;m not that talented just yet.

[SavaTheAggie]

5 hours ago, Fenestra said:

Tony - Where is your site? I would love to see what you have available for purchase!

It's in my signature, but assuming this isn't against the forum rules, here is the link:

http://www.bricklink.com/store/home.page?p=AggieSava

--Tony

[ALCO]

I have started selling instructions for some of my MOC's. Mostly because people ask me if I have instructions for them. While I love building and designing trains for myself, creating instructions that are easy to follow and not too complicated takes a lot of time and work. So I am more reluctant to spend the time making the instructions. Slowly and surely I am adding more instructions to my store. I also think that steam locomotives are difficult to build and figure out but are so much fun to watch that I think a lot of people would like to have one but don't want to spend the time figuring out how to make one.

[BubbaFit45531]

I don't know enough about what new pieces exist now that didn't when I was a kid, and some of the MOC creators are really skillful.

[Barduck]

So far I've bought 3 instructions. First one just when I came out of my dark ages. I had seen  a steamtrain build in LEGO and wanted to have one too but since it was so long ago I handled LEGO I had no idea how to start one. So I got the instructions for a BiG Boy based on Jayhurst's one. Little did I know then that there were so many mistakes in those instructions that the train just didn'nt run good. So I started looking at Jayhurst's pictures of it and corrected the mistakes in my own as best I could. Second was the T1 from Sava (which I still have to find time to build) and the latest is the etr1000 from LT12V. If I wanted to I could reverse engineer both from pictures but since both models are so darn good and I really didn'nt want to spend time on remaking plans, so I bought them.I prefer digital as it's much easier to be able to zoom in on problem area's than having a printed version.

After some time and many models I've started selling instructions. It provides a bit of compensation to buy parts to be able to build the models I create (bit like Sava). Since I always start with making trains digital (first in LDD and when I have a model that looks good enough I tranfer it to LDRaw) the step to selling the instructions I initially made for myself to have an easier build was simply a no brainer. Most of the models I make are with the intend to eventually build in real life when I'm able to get the parts, a few I don't think I will be building myself but did the instructions anyway. So far I haven't had any real frustrating problems either making or selling the instructions, it's still a hobby so if things don't work out making something I just put it aside for some time

 

Edited January 12, 2017 by Barduck

[King Aragorn]

Is the ETR1000 on sale? Is it correct?

[jtlan]

On 1/10/2017 at 11:18 PM, Barduck said:

So far I've bought 3 instructions. First one just when I came out of my dark ages. I had seen  a steamtrain build in LEGO and wanted to have one too but since it was so long ago I handled LEGO I had no idea how to start one. So I got the instructions for a BiG Boy based on Jayhurst's one. Little did I know then that there were so many mistakes in those instructions that the train just didn'nt run good. So I started looking at Jayhurst's pictures of it and corrected the mistakes in my own as best I could. Second was the T1 from Sava (which I still have to find time to build) and the latest is the etr1000 from LT12V. If I wanted to I could reverse engineer both from pictures but since both models are so darn good and I really didn'nt want to spend time on remaking plans, so I bought them.I prefer digital as it's much easier to be able to zoom in on problem area's than having a printed version.

After some time and many models I've started selling instructions. It provides a bit of compensation to buy parts to be able to build the models I create (bit like Sava). Since I always start with making trains digital (first in LDD and when I have a model that looks good enough I tranfer it to LDRaw) the step to selling the instructions I initially made for myself to have an easier build was simply a no brainer. Most of the models I make are with the intend to eventually build in real life when I'm able to get the parts, a few I don't think I will be building myself but did the instructions anyway. So far I haven't had any real frustrating problems either making or selling the instructions, it's still a hobby so if things don't work out making something I just put it aside for some time

Thanks, Barduck. From instruction buyer to maker!

A number of people here now have said they sell instructions to offset the cost of the hobby. I'm surprised that there's enough volume for that -- maybe they're more popular than I thought?