Looking for a Modular-MOC designer to work with

[TheFunnyMan]

I am looking to find a modular/moc to do a full writeup and build on. I'd like to post great pics of the build along with a timelapse of me building it - So i'm reaching out to some designers to see if they'd like to supply me with instructions and the bricks necessary for the build so that I can do this.

Is that something you might be interested in? If so -please message me! I've got over 1,000 followers now and I expect that number to double over the next 4-6 weeks. I think it could help you get some good visibility for your moc to help sell instructions and also help me expand my city! My instagram is rocco.bricks, I've also posted lots of pics in this group!- i've got a pretty cool city already. I also have a small website to display some of it - https://6studsapart.wixsite.com/website

[Darkdragon]

5 minutes ago, TheFunnyMan said:

I am looking to find a modular/moc to do a full writeup and build on. I'd like to post great pics of the build along with a timelapse of me building it - So i'm reaching out to some designers to see if they'd like to supply me with instructions and the bricks necessary for the build so that I can do this.

Are you saying you want someone to give you free instructions AND free bricks to build a modular of their own design you will in return post it on your Instagram? This is rather insulting to the designer.  Even people with 100x the followers you are claiming shouldn't be asking for these sorts of freebies.  It's disgraceful to ask for something like this. Additionally, you've obviously copy and pasted this post from some other social media site you use.  

[SollX]

i think he is a Funny man... 

[Merlict]

Thanks for the laugh OP.

Keep dreaming mate!

[JopieK]

Well, here you go:
The LEGO Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own LEGO Town! (English Edition)
and
The LEGO Neighborhood Book 2: Build Your Own City!

Available in other languages as well. I have the books, they inspired me a whole lot. Also look at digital design tools like Stud.io and LDD as they are also helpful. Apart from that, please stop posting such a requests, every so often you return to the forum and ask for instructions etc. that is not how things work in the AFOL community I would say.

[TheFunnyMan]

So i guess that's a no then?  I didn't expect such a negative response so quickly.  If figured it'd take way longer to get negative responses :)

So I love this hobby and have been expanding my city for what seems like forever and I've paid for instructions from every designer I can.  Each time I get their instructions I try to get through the build in the most economical way possible then post pics and link as many people as I can back to the designer.  The most recent alt-build I did was the new one on rebrickable for the Old Fishing Store - I'm positive that a few people rebuilt theirs on the spot after seeing mine based on DMs and some pubic comments I got on instagram so i figured i'd send out messages and do some posts like this to see how it goes (well so far, obviously).

Some buildings cost me as much as $700 and some as low as $125! Frankly, I've got no clue what kind of inventory people are working with so i figured that I'd give it a try.  I sent messages to probably 15 different designers on instagram and got some really positive responses back so I don't think they are "insulted" by my offer.  Although, nobody has committed to it yet - two of them told me that over the next couple of months they have some 16x32 builds coming out that aren't that expensive - the one guy offered to split the cost.

That said - i do agree that there are people out there with tens-of-thousands of followers who would be a much better offer than I.  I'm not trying to scam anyone here - just trying to enjoy the hobby with as many people as possible and grow my city in the meantime. 

Thanks for the links JopieK - I just don't have the design chops - it's just not how I "LEGO" - I have stud.io and LDD and I've been a server admin for 20 years so i'm no stranger to computers - I just seem to be terrible at it! :)

Even tho you guys made fun of me I Love this forum and Love this community so much! Happy Building everybody!!!!!!

[Carbohydrates]

I think part of why you have received such immediate backlash is because you are leveraging your followers in a very similar fashion to how online influencers tend to throw their weight around to request free things. For example: requesting a free hotel room in exchange for posting photos taken in it and telling your insta/snap/whatever followers how nice it is. A lot of these folks tend to think that the "exposure" they can offer is worth more than just paying for the thing, and since this assertion is often based on ego, they get insulted when a creator would rather just get paid.

The prevalence of these sorts of attitudes has led to influencers (and people who propose things like them) having a really bad reputation in creative communities. Nothing in this post so far was about you, but the existence of methods like this MAY explain why some people seem predisposed against you.

Also, you're specifically talking about modular buildings, which do have a hefty parts cost, as you mentioned. If you have "over 1,000" followers right now, how many of those people need to see the photos you post and get excited enough about the MOC to purchase instructions for themselves in order for the creator to benefit? I'll throw out some arbitrary example numbers here to illustrate the point: let's say a MOC costs $300 in parts to build, and instructions sell for $20. If a creator fronts you the instructions and pieces, they are giving you $320 worth of merchandise. Thus, your post would need to directly lead to 16 sales that the creator would not have otherwise gotten in order to break even on this proposition, not even accounting for additional costs: shipping the pieces, transaction fees, and possibly even taxes if this is a significant side business for the creator. That may nudge that number closer to 18-20 sales needed, maybe even higher.

To qualify this post, all of this is purely my own opinion as somebody who does make a decent amount of side income selling instructions.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Carbohydrates

[TheFunnyMan]

Carbohydrates - I agree with your post 100% - I can see now how i'm coming off a bit like, at best, some guy trying to get free stuff.  I've already messaged so many people that I don't think it matters but i'm most def going to figure a way to change my approach.

I did almost the same calculation that you did when I thought of this idea - the funny part is - even with how much LEGO for AFOLs has gone more mainstream in the past few years - I have no IDEA how many downloads these designers are getting.  I built the Queen Bricktoria (favorite building ever for me) and when i downloaded it he had under 100 likes.  Now, months later, he's got over 500 - did 10% of those 'likes' actually BUY the instructions? Lets say he sold 50 - how many of them actually BUILT the darn thing? 5? 3? 11?  I figured that i could really help get the art out there for more people to see!

I spend WAY more time than is healthy scrolling through instagram following hastags like #legomodular and i've seen 2 queen bricktoria builds - MINE and some other guy's.  For such an amazing building nobody has built this thing and posted it? 

Thanks for the response.

OH yeah - i'm totally open to ideas here! Does anyone have suggestions on how to make the deal a bit more likely to happen? Maybe Splitting the cost of the brick 50/50? 

[Chiaroscuro]

I don´t think you just ask for the bricks. That is one of the reasons you got the backlash early on, and Carbohydrates summed the others very well.

First, sometimes not even the creators can affort the bricks themselves, that one of the reasons they do digital projects. That is true for the Bricktoria pub, the creator first saw the real build from others (not sure if he alredy built it himself now). 

Second, creators are all around the world, shipping can be expensive.

The best approach may be you cover the cost of the bricks yourself, and find a way to have a refer code to your followers. Like giving 10% to discount on the purchase of the instructions if they use a code from your posts. Then the creator knows how many sales came from the exposure you gave, and can also provide you with a percentage of those sales.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Chiaroscuro

[koalayummies]

19 hours ago, TheFunnyMan said:

I spend WAY more time than is healthy scrolling through instagram following hastags like #legomodular

Don't forget about flickr. Plenty of builders simply loathe being forced into the stupid square image format of instagram and anything facecrook.

[TheFunnyMan]

Great point!  I'll get right on that :) My best images are *NOT* sqaure!

23 minutes ago, koalayummies said:

Don't forget about flickr. Plenty of builders simply loathe being forced into the stupid square image format of instagram and anything facecrook.

 

[TheFunnyMan]

I setup my Flickr account - I have no idea what i'm doing yet but I'm enjoying it nonetheless!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/188522126@N08/

[HereWeGoAgain]

OP I think you came here with good intentions. Checked out your website and you seem to really be passionate about your Lego. You have probably come to the realization that Lego can turn into an expensive hobby when using custom stuff and just wanted to try and leverage your followers for some Lego fun.

As others have pointed out above, and it goes for me too, I reaaally dislike the "influencer" method of "give me something for free and I'll post pics about it". To me these folks are just roaches without any talent that figured out a way to profit from the system. No offence to you meant here, just saying that this is likely why you got some negative feedback.

Rather than requesting free stuff, you may want to see if some moc creators are willing to share creation instructions at a discount in exchange for you posting about them to your followers. 

[Jim]

@TheFunnyMan I am sure you had good intentions, so no worries. Others have made clear what the main problem with your request is. I think we need to leave it at that and close this topic.

Agreed?

[TheFunnyMan]

Agreed! Thanks for all the input everyone!

[Jim]