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Hello All,

In the next few weeks I will be launching a website that I hope will fill a massive void in the market and help to bridge the gaps between MOC designers and MOC re-creators (like myself).

I have collected for and built countless MOC's over the last few years and have found it incredibly frustrating having an inconsistent product that changes between different designers and even within the same designer. To solve this problem I decided it might be best to build a site that would take the guess-work out of actually posting instructions and collecting income on those creations. As Sariel no doubt can tell you the most common question when posting a video on youtube or on facebook is inevitably...."where can I build this" or "can you make instructions". The truth is, its quite difficult to take a given design and easily translate it into money and thus discourages many builders from even attempting it.

To properly sell instructions you currently need to:

Have a design that others would like to build

Have a CAD file made

Have instructions created from the CAD

Create a website with sufficient hosting

....and get people to visit it

Create a backend payment system

Password protect your content

Facilitate the transaction and provide support if needed to the users

I will be changing quite a few of the steps which I hope will completely change the perception of not just building custom models but also change the ease of collecting your dues for those creations.

The idea behind MocPlans.com will be simple.

Designers will have the ability to upload their latest creations along with the associated files. Users will have the ability to purchase, comment, rate and follow both the model and the designer if they so choose.

This system will allow designers that don't have the expertise of having a website skip the multiple phases needed and jump right ahead to collecting off their creations (once instructions are created). In addition, if the designer doesn't have the knowledge of instruction building there are people on this forum that would be happy to create them (for a fee).

I know that most people like me aren't opposed to paying for instructions on custom built MOC's and that designers aren't opposed to creating instructions if they can get thier money (TIME) back. With this system I think both parties will be happier and will ultimately result in a new ecosystem fostering not only the creations but the monetization of those creations.

The biggest news relating to the launch of this site is that it will be featuring ALL 9 of RoscoPC's incredible F1 Cars (or HERE) There are full instructions, inventories and more available to the public with prices very similar to others you have seen.

At launch MocPlans.com will also feature all of Crowkillers (Paul Boratko's) creations and those of Jurgen Krooshoop.

If you are a designer and would like some of your models featured from the start feel free to email me at chase@mocplans.com

Please understand that many aspects of this system will change as we see how the public reacts but the general hope is to streamline and consolidate the process of finding and building custom models.

Also, since I know it will be mentioned, this is not intended to impede in any way on rebrickable and his site. Rather, I hope that the two can work together to help less knowledgeable builders source and build custom models. The sites will serve two purposes as his is meant to manage your collection of parts whereas Mocplans.com will have no provisions to manage your collection (other than your purchased models).

Be sure to visit the splash at Mocplans.com and register for the updates at launch!!

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Sounds interesting.

I was playing with this idea for a few years already, but my (internet)programming was (and still is a bit) not good enough to make something like that.

I look forward too see the final result :thumbup:

BTW; does it only include Technic, or also other themes, if so, I think Sinner/Siegfried has to move it to General Lego :wink:

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BTW; does it only include Technic, or also other themes, if so, I think Sinner/Siegfried has to move it to General Lego :wink:

At the moment I only know-of/have Technic/Model team designers on board. I have not reached out to any others as I am not really exposed to them and wouldn't know who they are. So Sinner/Siegfried, please hold-off on moving it as my targeted audience was those people who read these threads. When its fully open I will make a seperate announcement.

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I expect to find myself a significant user of this site both as a builder and an instruction maker. I am really looking forward to it. And as has been mentioned, there is nothing about the site that limits it to Technic models. There is no reason a wide range of MOCs could not be featured

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I'll be using this site a lot as a builder. I can't wait for this to be up and running.

Edited by camaro365

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Great initiative! Already signed up and eagerly awaiting the release! :thumbup:

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I just subscribed and i really like the idea.

I will be buying some of those F1 car instructions for sure.

Looking out to what else you have in store for us.

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It would help collecting the pieces if it worked with Rebrickable. The system it has is really helpful to see how much you need to buy.

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It would help collecting the pieces if it worked with Rebrickable. The system it has is really helpful to see how much you need to buy.

Also in combination with Basebrick, as I have my complete inventory on that website.

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Top idea,

I have just subscibed too...

Really looking forward to seeing how the site comes together.

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Maybe my F1 car that im working on will be put up there as instructions, that would be cool but it is hard to build and has a lot of subelements in it so ill have to wait and see.

Edited by SNIPE

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Isn't this essentially what Rebrickable is already doing? Most of the MOC builder's models are already there and categorized with links to the instructions, not to mention the slick feature of ading the sets in to find out what parts you still need. Or is this something that people can load up and manage themselves? You won't be hosting anything there correct?

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Isn't this essentially what Rebrickable is already doing? Most of the MOC builder's models are already there and categorized with links to the instructions, not to mention the slick feature of ading the sets in to find out what parts you still need. Or is this something that people can load up and manage themselves? You won't be hosting anything there correct?

I thought the same. Rebrickable seems to be a strong alternative.

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Thats exactly the point of this site. I will be hosting everything and i will be taking care of the payment system, funds routing and advertising to draw people in to the "pay per moc" atmosphere. The draw to both the designers and the users is that everything will be in one unified space. You could almost think of it as each designer having their website on one big site of lego designers.

For instance, when Paul comes out with a new model (which we all know he will) he will be able to easily notify anyone that has purchased his instructions in the past and those who haven't but signed up to get his notifications.

And what if a designer like Jennifer Clark wanted to post instructions for some of her incredible mocs? Now she wouldn't have to worry about hosting them (adequate bandwidth and storage), collecting payments for them or even advertise for them.

EDIT: I meant to also say that yes...designers will be able to handle their own accounts and the content provided (conforming to guidelines of course).

Edited by nychase

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If you don't mind me asking, why would someone like Paul need anyone to host anything for him or handle funds when he is already doing that for himself and Nathanael on his own website? I am assuming that you would have to be profiting from this somehow per sale otherwise you wouldn't be doing this?

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I have another question. If you purchase an instruction download, will you have to wait for the access through e-mail or will it be given immediately upon purchase? I think this is a great idea for the designers to spread the word and advertise for their MOC instructions, but it is going to be tough to beat the system that Rebrickable has going.

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Personally, I don't see this idea as a conflict with Rebrickable. Rebrickable does not host anything and does not sell anything. While it is true that people like Paul have come up with their own personal system for selling instructions which works well, this is a significant barrier to entry for new designers. If I just designed a MOC and want to sell instructions, there is really no way for me to do it unless I am willing to spend the time and pay for the overhead of hosting a site, posting everything, collecting the fees, and sending out a file. The difficulty in doing this probably prevents some people from even trying. On top of that, I could only expect traffic from buyers who already know about my model somehow. MOC Plans would mean that I don't have to worry about any of that. I can just upload the file and have them take care of everything. On top of that, I could expect a lot more people to see my MOC (if the site is successful) because AFOLs will be browsing that site as a source of instructions anyway.

So I think it actually compliments Rebrickable. That is still where you would go to see which parts you have. Hopefully the owners of the two sites can cooperate to make them interact as much as possible.

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Great initiative!

Creating a uniform marketplace is great but no rocket science (not that I could do it...).

I wonder if this initiative will lead to more instructions for (existing) MOCs.

Are there people around that can create these just based on a few photos on Brickshelf?

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I like the idea..........i have sold MOC instructions on ebay............many of the buyers are great, however a minority play the system to get the instructions for free, which is very annoying. Look forward to it.

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Blakbird, I completely see the point of this now. :thumbup: I think this could really be a great thing. But if I were already selling instructions(LOL like I would ever make anything good enough) and were already paying for my own hosting site, I probably would not want to deal with a middleman to sell them for me.

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But if I were already selling instructions and were already paying for my own hosting site, I probably would not want to deal with a middleman to sell them for me.

Yes, I can see that point of view. However, the same thing is true of eBay. Why list something on eBay when you could just list it on your own site instead and not pay any fees? The reason is usually that eBay opens you up to a much larger market and therefore the fee is worth while. As long as MOC Plans charges a reasonable fee, I expect it will be well used. The more designers use it, the more valuable it will become. Kind of self perpetuating.

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