When is a MOC finished? Or How do you make it stop?

[Bublehead]

Ok, quick question,  what is the longest time between finishing a moc  and going back and adding to it?  I understand that MOCs are never really finished, but how long does something have to fester before you grab the bricks and make that change?  Do you have to consciously turn off the creative fountain and force yourself to call a MOC finished? After finishing up my rebuild of the Twirl and Hurl's front axle, I thought I was done... but then I realized while sitting there looking at it, I could add a sign that folds down when the ride opens and started envisioning it in my minds eye. Unfortunately I suddenly realize, this could be a sign AND a platform extension that makes the platform seem more complete since it fits the actual diameter of the ride's circular motion. Both sides added a total of 150 bricks to the model to add 6 panels of platform extension, 3 per side. The model didn't need the signs/extensions, yet I feel compelled to add them. Do you let the creativity flow or do you have to "make it stop" and cut it off? Or do you push the envelope and add just one more do-dad? I'm curious to hear from some of the master builders here.

[nerdsforprez]

Hobby = no rules. 

Personal choice 

[Zerobricks]

When you feel it's finished.

[doug72]

Or run out of parts ! 

[Bublehead]

8 minutes ago, Doug72 said:

Or run out of parts ! 

So true... so true.  Worst place in the world is to see a solution and lack the bricks to bring it to fruition.

[sirslayer]

when you feel it is done then its finish 

[Pvdb]

The only way to make it truly stop is to rip it apart.  Another way to make it stop is to publish instructions because once you have gone through that pain then you won't want to make any changes to the MOC.  Putting it in the loft is also quite a good way to make it stop.  That's where a few of my favourite older MOCs are currently residing.

[Bublehead]

58 minutes ago, Pvdb said:

The only way to make it truly stop is to rip it apart.  

Drastic, but I understand the sentiment... unfortunately once I get invested in a model, I usually never rip it apart. My brother still has my old modified Flagship sets... just can't bear to let the creativity die on the vine like that.

[Didumos69]

A MOC is never finished.

[jotta93]

1 hour ago, Didumos69 said:

A MOC is never finished.

I couldn't have said it better.

 

If you look at a MOC and think "What if I did this and changed that?" then do it. Keep building for as long as you are having fun 

[Didumos69]

The French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote: "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." And there is always something that could be left out or made simpler without compromising your MOC.

So, a MOC is never finished, but at some point you'll have enough ideas to start something new, and than slowly a new MOC reveals itself and the old one will slowly move to the background.

Edited April 24, 2018 by Didumos69

[Bublehead]

5 minutes ago, Didumos69 said:

So, a MOC is never finished, but at some point you'll have enough ideas to start something new, and than slowly a new MOC reveals itself and the old one will slowly moves to the background.

I have had my last MOC on my brain for 25 years... but I have purged the need to build it now   

I have more ideas in my mind,  but all my MOCs will have some kind of neat working feature, wether it's realistic or not, but mostly I try bring real world functionality to something.  Which is why I don't like faked functionality.  Don't bother showing me some kind of massive cement mixer MOC unless it really mixes something, and using bricks as a medium is allowable. So your cement truck better mix 1x1 round plates and spit them out when reversed...  or maybe pancake batter... something at least.  Happy Building.

BH

[Edwin Korstanje]

For me when a model is finished  i am done with it and glad that i only build the last years only in commission and never got a change to upgrade my models.

[Leonardo da Bricki]

"Finished" only happens for me when I get a new idea that requires the parts used in the MOC I currently have built.

[bombcar]

I think for many people a MOC is finished when the next one starts (because that becomes the new main object) - and as @Leonardo da Bricki said, once you need the pieces, well, as they say, Take a picture, it lasts longer!

Of course, if you're building into a diorama, it's never finished unless you use the Kragle ....

[Bublehead]

29 minutes ago, Leonardo da Bricki said:

"Finished" only happens for me when I get a new idea that requires the parts used in the MOC I currently have built.

I only cannibalize TLG sets, never a MOC.   But I do "borrow" pieces until the Bricklink order comes in  

[Leonardo da Bricki]

@Bublehead I'm trying to get through college, so I cannot currently add to my collection consistently in that manner. So I am stuck with building one MOC at a time.

[Bublehead]

@Leonardo da Bricki I understand completely my dear friend... when I bought my first Technic set, I spent every penny I had on it at the time.  And there was no internet or Bricklink or any brick aggregation going on out there. You needed a brick, you had to buy the complete set it came in.  Been there, done that, a lot.  Spent a lot of money I shouldn't have on it too. But even now in my later years, when my discretionary cash flow has grown to make it a bit easier to get the bricks I need, I still have to watch it. ABS plastic is an addictive substance.

[dr_spock]

It is done when it is time to display at an event like BrickWorld or EB contest deadline.

Or when your wife says it is done and go fix the house, mow the lawn, etc. 

 

[Bublehead]

Just now, dr_spock said:

It is done when it is time to display at an event like BrickWorld or EB contest deadline.

Or when your wife says it is done and go fix the house, mow the lawn, etc. 

 

Yes, mine has been harping on the fact that I have taken over the dining room table with my Twirl and Hurl... which when displayed does a good job of monopolizing a good 3/4 of it.

[Jurss]

I had MOC, that I considered finished in just some hours, and never returned to it.

There were/is MOCs, that I build, disasamble halfway, because don't know how to continue, then return. One I finished in 3 years this way.

It is up to You, when You can say, that it is finished. But never say never. 

[Aleh]

You have to finish one MOC to start another.  If you have already started another moc - interest to previous is fading away.

[Erik Leppen]

It's finished when I lose interest. If that happens, I stop and take it apart, whether it's actually completed or not. If it happens to be a complete model, I can post it; if not, noone will know about it. And I might pick up the same idea later, sometimes years later. I still have some ideas that I never fully realized that I want to do some day.

[doug72]

A MOC is never finished until you stop working on it !

When building a MOC I tend to build sub assemblies to test out geometry and gearing etc, and refine it before incorporating into the build.
The sub assemblies I keep for a while to see if I can make any further improvement or can be  used in the future builds.

My last large MOC had interchangeable undercarriages, wheel or tracked.
It is now back on the wheeled undercarriage but track version kept (for use on potential builds) and to be further work on to improve the subtractor unit & I have several Sub Units versions dotted around my Lego room.

When ideas come into my head or someone posts solutions I try to see if they can be worked into future builds.

During any MOC build I am always thinking what can I build next with the resources to hand.

I keep recent MOCs & my favourites (especially my crane MOCs & self contained GBCs) but others are dis-assembled, to make room on my display shelves.
Some sub assemblies are  kept for new MOCs or improvement etc.
 

Edited April 25, 2018 by Doug72

[jrx]

I'll fully agree with: A MOC is never finished. For me personally I stop improving and changing after the videos are finished. But that''s not a rule as some very good input from an user here at Eurobricks made me change my MOC after publishing the video. So really: A MOC is never finished :) It also happened that I changed a MOC after it was on shelf for more than a year.