Bricklinking Modular Buildings

[ReplicaOfLife]

The above version really looks a lot better than the original. This shows how even a few small changes can improve greatly on a build.

Still, this building will always be the MOC that became a set. And even with part limitations at the time of its release, there's just too much that doesn't make sense and seems random. There are some nice details, e.g. the stairs leading up to the entrance, but if I ever attepmted a building in this style, I'd propably just start from scratch.

[peedeejay]

I just finished bricklinking Town Hall and Fire Brigade (haven't assembled them yet, though) including all minifigs and the original building instructions. No replacements.

Overall the price was pretty much the same as buying current MISB sets (700,00€ total including shipping costs). I did get a few more spare parts though (around 400 maybe) because of the necessity to reach the minimum buy at some BL stores. So you could say it's slightly cheaper (you don't get the box though).

[LegoSjaak]

I just finished bricklinking Town Hall and Fire Brigade (haven't assembled them yet, though) including all minifigs and the original building instructions. No replacements.

Overall the price was pretty much the same as buying current MISB sets (700,00€ total including shipping costs). I did get a few more spare parts though (around 400 maybe) because of the necessity to reach the minimum buy at some BL stores. So you could say it's slightly cheaper (you don't get the box though).

Bwoaah... never thought those rather recent modulars would be thát expensive when bricklinking them...!!!

[peedeejay]

I bought almost all of my pieces from german BL shops (because of shipping costs). Maybe I could save a few bucks here and there, but I don't think it'll be that much. I was kinda surprised as well. :)

[TheLegoDr]

You can put any set into bricklink to part out to sell. Any current set that is available. It will be higher than MSRP every single time I've tried it. Sometimes, by a lot.

[Lego Conductor]

Has anybody built the main building of Market Street side by side? Would imagine it look really good doubled in place of the covered courtyard. Especially the Bricklinked version by Daniel9x.

[muffluvin]

Guys, this is a question from a noob who's about to take on the challenge of bricklinking the Green Grocer. aside from the sand green parts, I think I only have 10 pieces that are not available thru Lego's PAB and Brick and Pieces site. I have zero experience with the bricklink site. Based on your experience is it more economical for me buy most of my parts from the aforementioned lego sites and then get the other 10 from Bricklink. Thanks.

[Wodanis]

Guys, this is a question from a noob who's about to take on the challenge of bricklinking the Green Grocer. aside from the sand green parts, I think I only have 10 pieces that are not available thru Lego's PAB and Brick and Pieces site. I have zero experience with the bricklink site. Based on your experience is it more economical for me buy most of my parts from the aforementioned lego sites and then get the other 10 from Bricklink. Thanks.

Having done this it's better to get most parts from Lego directly and the odd part you can't through Bricklink. By the time you find a seller with some of the parts you need and factor in fees/shipping costs/exchange rates it can cost a lot more. Start off with the unique parts first, then worry about the 'bricks and plates' afterwards.

[Chubbs]

Guys, this is a question from a noob who's about to take on the challenge of bricklinking the Green Grocer. aside from the sand green parts, I think I only have 10 pieces that are not available thru Lego's PAB and Brick and Pieces site. I have zero experience with the bricklink site. Based on your experience is it more economical for me buy most of my parts from the aforementioned lego sites and then get the other 10 from Bricklink. Thanks.

A little hint too - if you place a Pick a Brick order and a Bricks n Pieces order together and its over $75 you'll save the shipping on the Brick n Pieces order.

You might spend a lot of time and effort going to multiple BL stores to get the best price on pieces but your shipping costs add up really fast esp from multiple buyers. If you can get almost everything you need from Lego itself, it will be easier and the extra cost of pieces will cancel out your shipping/duty fees I think. At least that's how I do it.

[muffluvin]

A little hint too - if you place a Pick a Brick order and a Bricks n Pieces order together and its over $75 you'll save the shipping on the Brick n Pieces order.

You might spend a lot of time and effort going to multiple BL stores to get the best price on pieces but your shipping costs add up really fast esp from multiple buyers. If you can get almost everything you need from Lego itself, it will be easier and the extra cost of pieces will cancel out your shipping/duty fees I think. At least that's how I do it.

Thanks Mr. Chubbs. Guess there's no more procrastinating for me, time to finish this thing.

Another question, how long does it take for an order to arrive from LEGO's Pick a Brick order and a Bricks n Pieces?

Edited November 24, 2015 by muffluvin

[Gongoro73]

Hi, I'm bricklinking Cafe Corner from brick and pieces lego site, but, after gathering about 75€ in pieces it doesn't let me add any more bricks. Everytime I try, when I confirm to check out, it leads me to "page not found". I've tried everything: empty the cache, log out/log in again, safari and chrome, two different devices (imac and ipad) but still the same error. I'm tired, angry and desperate. Has anyone expirienced the same issue? Any hint or solution to this problem?

[Chubbs]

Hi, I'm bricklinking Cafe Corner from brick and pieces lego site, but, after gathering about 75€ in pieces it doesn't let me add any more bricks. Everytime I try, when I confirm to check out, it leads me to "page not found". I've tried everything: empty the cache, log out/log in again, safari and chrome, two different devices (imac and ipad) but still the same error. I'm tired, angry and desperate. Has anyone expirienced the same issue? Any hint or solution to this problem?

I had that issue of the pieces not showing up in my cart when using Chrome. Switched to Firefox and had no issues. I talked to Lego about it too and they couldn't really give an answer but other than to clear my cache before ordering.

[muffluvin]

Thanks Wodanis, btw love your works mate. I have sorted out what parts I have like 6 months ago. I gave up on the project when I found out how rare the sand greeen bricks were. If I am to use the tan as a replacement for the sand green believe I have around 60 to 70% of the required parts. What I lack are the medium stone gray bricks and the unique parts that gives the set its character. Mostly cosmetic and interior parts. Right now, I am going thru my collection checking alternative parts I can use. Hopefully, I can start placing the order tomorrow.

Edited November 24, 2015 by muffluvin

[Chubbs]

I just went through the inventory for GG on PaB and BnP, making a few substitions (1x2 sand green brick groove to 1x2 sand green masonary brick, sand green 1x3/1x4/1x8 to LBG were the main ones) and several pieces were unavailable. Without tax it was north of $500 Canadian and there were still several lots not accounted for.

[fred67]

Shipping from S@H PAB can take a while, a couple of weeks for me, usually.

With BL it's hit and miss - some stores ship right away, some stores are notoriously slow.

To answer the cost question, I agree that it's often more economical to buy from S@H when your BL order would be from many different shops, but there might be some parts you can get for a lot cheaper. If you're getting 100 of something for $0.20 on BL, but they cost $0.65 on S@H, and you can get it all at one place on BL, then I'd definitely get that part on BL... a $0.45 difference on 100 parts is HUGE. And then, if you're going to do that anyway, from that particular BL store you should get as many parts you need as possible since you're already ordering there.

If you really want the absolute cheapest price, you'll have to keep going back and forth and figuring it out - it's not always a simple question to answer where you're talking about over a 100 different parts or colors.

[Dazz]

I'm looking for advice with regard to bricklinking the Grand Emporium. Has anyone tried this before?

Now I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to buy a set new in box instead of bricklinking all parts (new condition) for this modular. The thing is that Bricklink states an average part-out value of $338 for the past six months (parts only). It appears that new in box sets can be had for cheaper so bricklinking the GE wouldn't make any sense. Is this correct or am I missing something? And would it make a difference in price if you purchase in Europe versus North America?

Thanks in advance.

[Sven F]

Is there any particular reason why you can't use the newer style white skis for the CC? I haven't seen anyone use the non-hinged ones, but I don't see why not.

Also is all that dark blue really noticeable on the ground floor? Before i looked at the instructions, i hadn't a clue there was any blue in cc at all.

[Wodanis]

Is there any particular reason why you can't use the newer style white skis for the CC? I haven't seen anyone use the non-hinged ones, but I don't see why not.

Also is all that dark blue really noticeable on the ground floor? Before i looked at the instructions, i hadn't a clue there was any blue in cc at all.

I did use the new ski version with my CC. It works out the same just have to space it accordingly. The blue is noticeable once you lift up the floors to look at it.

To answer an earlier question, PAB orders are 17-22 days and BnP orders are 10-14 days for delivery. (At least to Canada) As I have mentioned in this thread before PAB are shipped from TLG facility in Poland and BnP from Denmark respectively.

[Chubbs]

I'm looking for advice with regard to bricklinking the Grand Emporium. Has anyone tried this before?

Now I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to buy a set new in box instead of bricklinking all parts (new condition) for this modular. The thing is that Bricklink states an average part-out value of $338 for the past six months (parts only). It appears that new in box sets can be had for cheaper so bricklinking the GE wouldn't make any sense. Is this correct or am I missing something? And would it make a difference in price if you purchase in Europe versus North America?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Dazz,

I looked at BL'ing but had issues with several parts - the number of dark green windows is ridiculous and I could only find them in Europe in the quantity that you need. There are a couple of hoses and balls that are pretty difficult to find. I soon gave up and tried to purchase a sealed set from a guy in the US. Long story short, he screwed up the shipping royally despite multiple clarifications and so the order was cancelled. And now I'm left without a GE. I haven't tried TH or CC yet...I probably will soon - or at least pricing things out to see if its worth it.

Personally, in order to BL a set as opposed to buy sealed there has to be a fair bit of savings to be had or else its not worth it. That being said, I find the experience of BLing a set a lot of the fun of overall project. For GE specifically, you're looking at minimum approx $300US for the set now....in Canada the cheapest is just under $400 currently (unless its been sold recently)

[peedeejay]

I'm looking for advice with regard to bricklinking the Grand Emporium. Has anyone tried this before?

Now I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to buy a set new in box instead of bricklinking all parts (new condition) for this modular. The thing is that Bricklink states an average part-out value of $338 for the past six months (parts only). It appears that new in box sets can be had for cheaper so bricklinking the GE wouldn't make any sense. Is this correct or am I missing something? And would it make a difference in price if you purchase in Europe versus North America?

Thanks in advance.

For the GE I'd say, buying a MISB box is still cheaper than BL. And it is way faster. Sometimes BL shopping is fun, but maintaing a wanted list, setting maximum prices and jumping from shop to shop can be tedious at times.

[Sven F]

I

I did use the new ski version with my CC. It works out the same just have to space it accordingly. The blue is noticeable once you lift up the floors to look at it.

Thanks.

I will substitute the blue pillars like this then.

I have the single pane door in old light grey from another set or I can get the opposite side one, but I haven't found anything to replace the large front 6-pane door. I have a red one, but that won't look right. I'd rather have a different door than something that doesn't fit in.

[muffluvin]

Alright guys, guess there's no stopping now. I finally finished the spreadsheet for my TAN Grocer. I found out I need to buy a total of 1054 bricks. 1017 of them are available thru Pick-A-Brick and/or Bricks and Pieces at a total cost of $181.21. I still have to hunt for the remaining 37 pieces.

I would like to thank you all for the inspiration and the tips you shared thru this amazing thread.

Edited November 26, 2015 by muffluvin

[Dazz]

Hi Dazz,

I looked at BL'ing but had issues with several parts - the number of dark green windows is ridiculous and I could only find them in Europe in the quantity that you need. There are a couple of hoses and balls that are pretty difficult to find. I soon gave up and tried to purchase a sealed set from a guy in the US. Long story short, he screwed up the shipping royally despite multiple clarifications and so the order was cancelled. And now I'm left without a GE. I haven't tried TH or CC yet...I probably will soon - or at least pricing things out to see if its worth it.

Personally, in order to BL a set as opposed to buy sealed there has to be a fair bit of savings to be had or else its not worth it. That being said, I find the experience of BLing a set a lot of the fun of overall project. For GE specifically, you're looking at minimum approx $300US for the set now....in Canada the cheapest is just under $400 currently (unless its been sold recently)

For the GE I'd say, buying a MISB box is still cheaper than BL. And it is way faster. Sometimes BL shopping is fun, but maintaing a wanted list, setting maximum prices and jumping from shop to shop can be tedious at times.

Thanks a lot for your answers.

As I'm trying to avoid the process of bricklinking when there are reasonable alternatives buying a still sealed set seems to be the better option in my case.

[fred67]

Definitely buying the complete set is worth it, in this case. Bricklinking can be fun.

Also, in my case, I generally have a large number of parts available in my collection - when I decide to go ahead and do it, I'll at least have a quarter of the pieces, usually closer to half. So it's not like I haven't paid for it, but collecting (and often collecting extra, padding bricklink orders and so forth over the years) helps when you don't think about a whole price, but only what's missing.

[Rams]

Hi, I'm bricklinking Cafe Corner from brick and pieces lego site, but, after gathering about 75€ in pieces it doesn't let me add any more bricks. Everytime I try, when I confirm to check out, it leads me to "page not found". I've tried everything: empty the cache, log out/log in again, safari and chrome, two different devices (imac and ipad) but still the same error. I'm tired, angry and desperate. Has anyone expirienced the same issue? Any hint or solution to this problem?

I had this issue too. For me, after managing to do my order multiple time, I've seen that this error occurs when I had more than 80 differents type of pieces (it bugged at the 81st lot). I had to do two different order because I had like 120 lots to buy.