What do you do with your sets/MOC once you've built them?

[hellopike]

As long-time AFOLs, I have a question that is on my mind.

You buy a set. It's a new Pirate ship, or a a big Star Destroyer. You spend the time building it and you display it proudly. Then what?

Does it stay together in its original form?

Do you take it down after a set time and disassemble it?

What happens 3 or 30 sets down the line when you're running out of flat surfaces in your home to display LEGO creations? Then do you take them down?

What about that MOC that's 100% your own creation? It took months, maybe years to build. What will it's lifespan be? Does it stay together indefinitely, or until you need those rare parts on a new model?

I'm just curious, because I'm always interested in LEGO, sometimes more actively then others, and in my last bout I was heavy into the Star Wars theme.. Now I'm enjoying the Superheroes theme, but I don't have much space in my home to dedicate to LEGO displays, and I already have about 3 Tupperware totes of SW models, each model separately bagged up.

I want to build, but I don't know if I should say to hell with keeping those sets "together" so to speak, or to raid them for parts for new builds. Right now I essentially have 3 totes full of LEGO bricks in limbo. I can't display them, and I can't use them.

What sort of compromise have other AFOLs reached?

phil

[purpleparadox]

Hmm. When I buy a set to actually assemble it, rather than for "parts packs", I usually leave it on display for quite a while. I leave it up until I decide I'm a bit bored of it, or until it seems the pieces would be more useful in a MOC than on display.

I do a similar thing with MOCs, but they seem to get disassembled sooner than sets. I always take pictures before I take them apart though.

Edited June 16, 2012 by purpleparadox

[MikeyB]

As long-time AFOLs, I have a question that is on my mind.

You buy a set. It's a new Pirate ship, or a a big Star Destroyer. You spend the time building it and you display it proudly. Then what?

Does it stay together in its original form?

Do you take it down after a set time and disassemble it?

What happens 3 or 30 sets down the line when you're running out of flat surfaces in your home to display LEGO creations? Then do you take them down?

What about that MOC that's 100% your own creation? It took months, maybe years to build. What will it's lifespan be? Does it stay together indefinitely, or until you need those rare parts on a new model?

I'm just curious, because I'm always interested in LEGO, sometimes more actively then others, and in my last bout I was heavy into the Star Wars theme.. Now I'm enjoying the Superheroes theme, but I don't have much space in my home to dedicate to LEGO displays, and I already have about 3 Tupperware totes of SW models, each model separately bagged up.

I want to build, but I don't know if I should say to hell with keeping those sets "together" so to speak, or to raid them for parts for new builds. Right now I essentially have 3 totes full of LEGO bricks in limbo. I can't display them, and I can't use them.

What sort of compromise have other AFOLs reached?

phil

this is a topic that comes up from time to time and I think everyone has their own solutions. I typically keep my stuff together until I feel I want a part for my MOCs. I leave my Lego modular buildings and a couple other sets on display which I have sitting on top of four connected book shelves.

For me, I have found that if I am fairly organized with my storage (I haven't quite gotten to individual pieces but I organize by color, then brick v. plates. For smaller pieces, like 1x1 rounds plates they are all just in one bin.) Its fairly easy to rebuild the sets if I want to . (I have my instructions in a portable file cabinet and store my boxes inside one another in my attic).

For my MOC, I typically recycle them fairly quick. But I take a plenty of photos

Edited June 16, 2012 by MikeyB

[The Blue Brick]

I usually build the sets and leave them on display, until I need the pieces. Then I will take them apart and use them for my MOCS.

For my MOCS, I usually build them, take detailed pictures, and then once again destroy them.

[BrickPicker]

My built LEGO sets sit in my office at work and collect dust. I try to keep them out of the sun if I can. I am running out of space though and might need to take some apart to put some fresh models up.

[TheLegoDr]

Typically the sets I actually want to build become display models and other sets become parts packs. My own creations become display pieces for a short while until I get the idea for something else. Since I am just now getting into MOCing after collecting for a little while, I haven't done that too often. I do keep the Modulars together and a few select castles and ships.

I keep all the instructions together, so I could probably piece things together rather easily, especially with newer sets having the piece list in the back of the instructions.

[soccerkid6]

I build a lot, so MOCs and sets are recycled quickly. If I don't need the pieces from a set/MOC I leave it together.

[Bilbo Baggins]

All my sets are on display, when a new set is launched that I won't be able to display I simply don't buy it.

[Vindicare]

Most sets get dismantled after a few days, up to a week. I admire then for a while, then put into containers. Exceptions are the new Millennium Falcon, all the Modulars, Imperial Flagship, VW Van, R2-D2, Mini Modulars and once I get it, Haunted House.

As long as I have somewhere to put it, the sets that took hours to build, basically any D2C set will stay together.

[The Joker1]

I have sets dating back to 2001 still up. I cannot stand to dismantel them so i have devoted a full room in my flat for them.(Once the lounge )

[ChicoGoya]

My sets stay assembled until I run out of flat surfaces. Right now, I have 3 modulars, Tower Bridge, and Imperial Flagship "displayed" on the guest bedroom's bed! Maybe it's time to break those down, huh?

[hellopike]

It's interesting to hear the different opinions on the subject. The more I think about it, the more I believe I fall on the "I'll disassemble them after a time" side of the fence... They are LEGO, their purpose is to build and create- if I want a model I will leave on display forever, then I'll just buy a model, or a statue or something. And I won't be selling the sets, if I sold anything it would be the minifigs. So ultimately keeping these old sets in bags maybe isn't in my best interest.... I think I'd rather build then know I have a Jabba's Sail Barge sitting in a box somewhere.

[lightningtiger]

Well, I try and keep my MOCs complete to display them at shows, etc., but sometimes I pull a few down that are either had a serious mishap or too hard to move around or worse need the parts to build something more important.

It sometimes a heart breaking situation where a piece of hard work, blood, sweat and tears is stripped to build something else.

My Aussie country town, 1950's Aussie street and my new rural town USA will stay mostly together.....I hope.

[hellopike]

I understand completely- I have two MOC spaceships I built maybe 7-8 years ago that got disassembled and I didn't take adequate photos to rebuild them and I regret it... but there's always something new to build I suppose.

[turtleman2020]

With sets sometimes I don't even build them and justb immediatly use the pieces. Sometimes on big sets I slowly take them apart modular by modular . My mocs usaully stay together very quickly. Most of the time i build a moc for one or a group of minifigs, take apart the moc and then build something else for those minifigs.

[ZO6]

I remember replying to one of these kind of topics at some point, but that could have easily been a couple years ago now. So I'll bite.

Up to around the age of 10: I would build the main model in a set and play around with it for a while. After a variable amount of time, I would then disassemble the set and build the alternate models on the box. Eventually I'd tear down the set again and combine it with other disassembled sets in order to build my own creations. A large percentage of my collection went towards mocs, while only a handful of my favorite models stayed together. When I hit the age of 10 (I think it was around then at least...) something sparked me to want to rebuild everything back into their original models. Over the course of a year or so I slowly pieced together all my sets to their original glory.

Over the 14 years since then, I've taken a different approach to things: Nowadays I mainly collect Lego for the sets themselves. I build the set, mess around with it for a while, and then put it on a shelf. The sets with high play value take longer before they get put on display, but even once something is shelved it's only a matter of time before I grab it to play around with some more (yes, I'm totally a kid when it comes to Lego - though a tidier and less destructive kid ). Sometimes I'll find a set who pieces are just begging to be used as part of a moc. So while I'll build the main model upon acquiring the set just to check it out, it won't be long before I tear it down in order to build something else. I don't build my own stuff very frequently anymore, and when I do I generally only have the moc built/on display for a matter of weeks before I revert it back to the original form. I guess I'm slightly paranoid that if I keep alternate creations built for an extended period of time, I might be more likely to loose pieces. Or something like that...

Unfortunately, as happens to all of us, a couple of years ago I finally ran out of space to display all of my sets. I'd finally filled every square in of my Lego room and it was impossible for me to squeeze anything more in. Instead of stopping buying Lego, I came to the decision that I'd simply disassemble and store away a model anytime I got a new set. So now I get an ever-changing display in my Lego room, and I steadily fill my storage space with ziplock bags full of Lego!

[HumanPackMule]

I keep a majority of my sets built for a while, some staying up longer than others( Viking Longboat and MMV), modifying some( again, the Viking longboat- made it longer). When I run out of space or a set starts to bore me, I'll disassemble it and put it in a ziploc bag where it'll stay for a year or two and I'll eventually empty it and sort the pieces out. With my mocs I'll keep them built for a while and after a while I'll disassemble them. I also need to balance out my Lego and Gunpla, which is another large portion of my display space.

The smaller sets tend to go down quicker while Star Wars ships and other large vehicles usually have a longer shelf life.

[King of Nynrah]

I keep every official set intact... unless it insists on falling to pieces more times than it should, in which case I'll sell it or simply scrap it for parts (looking at you, Aqua Raiders).

The average MOC stays together for a week or two before being merged with another or assembled into something different.

[Vindicare]

You sell it if it doesn't stay together? That's strange...

ZO6, you're not alone. Just today I had a little playtime with 9466 The Crazy Scientist & His Monster. It was quite fun shooting that beam of light and awakening Frankensteins Monster.

[TheKingOfBuilding]

Its the same with both sets and MOCs; when I need a certain piece then I just take it out of the model.

The trouble is after a while i'm left with dozens of half-deconstructed models full of pieces that I don't need!

[Hrw-Amen]

If it is something I took a long time over initially I tend to leave it made up. I have many old space sets that are still made up and some space stuff, (Blacktron / Ice Planet etc.) from around 25 years ago before my dark age. Even though they went into storage during my dark age I could not take them apart. I now have MOCS of modular buildings and railway stuff, some it has taken me months to make so I have no plans on taking those apart. I tend to just order parts from Bricklink or the Shop at home PAB if I need duplicate bits rather than robbing a MOC that took me months to make. I find it much better to just wait the couple of days those bits will take to arrive in the post rather than destroy all that work. Sometimes that means waiting long enough until I am paid to make an order worth while, but at worst that usually only a couple of weeks so nothing in the greater scheme of things. I do have sets that are too big to have display space. Usually I know that though in advance and have bought them simply to complete a series. These tend to get left in the box though until I get a bigger house one day.

[Sam892]

This never crosses my mind when I'm in the store buying the sets or even when building them, but my first thought is always this looks awesome follow by crap where am I going to put this . They usually take up room on my desk or are put in to a box.

[gotoAndLego]

Like adult dipers, it depends.

I usually keep sets on display for a couple of months. I usually break the next one down before I build the new big set that I want to display. The smaller, system-scale sets get broken down for parts, but my larger UCS & D2C sets are broken down, bagged and placed in a big tub. Very few MOCs have been broken down, but that's due to them being smaller things. I photograph and make LDD versions of my MOCs so if I break them down I can always make them again.

One of the reasons I break them down is so I can enjoy building a big set without having to spend any money.

Edited June 18, 2012 by gotoAndLego

[ShaydDeGrai]

As a general rule of thumb, I keep things around, fully assembled, until unforeseen circumstances strike (cat pushes set off of table, wind driven curtain clears bookshelf, wife accidently bumps into Death Star II - doing more damage than Lando and company, etc.) Dropped, damaged or otherwise less than fully assembled models then undergo the quick litmus test of "do I feel like repairing/rebuilding this?" If so, fine, if not they get scraped for parts.

My wife keep threatening to disassemble some of my models so I'll "have the fun of building them all over again" but sometimes I think she's just a little annoyed by the shear volume of display pieces I have lying around the house (plus in storage in the attic, basement and at my elderly father's home). Maybe I'm just a Lego hoarder, but I'd rather buy more parts and kits than take apart the ones I already have. Back when I was a little kid, I didn't have that option; every piece was precious and I'd build up and tear down on a daily basis (and saved all my instruction books in case I wanted to rebuild the original model again), now I'm just slowly amassing a collection for a my own private Lego Museum. As vices go, it probably not any cheaper than smoking, drinking or gambling, but it's a lot more fun and has fewer health risks.

[HumanPackMule]

As vices go, it probably not any cheaper than smoking, drinking or gambling, but it's a lot more fun and has fewer health risks.

I use this excuse with my folks all the time, especially due to me being at an age where drugs are all around me(20). And as far as health risks go with Lego, the only thing I can think of is stepping on a piece.