So I was putting together some sets the other day, just the norm you know, when I started to notice odd little things I consistently tended to do while building. Things like putting all the pieces into one huge pile just for fun, blathering to myself about what I was doing, that sort of thing.
SO! I want to know; what are some of your building habits that you’ve developed over time? To start off, here’s a few of mine off the top of my head:
I always tip the parts of a set out into a huge pile instead of sorting them as suggested. Something in me just finds it more fun.
Following on from that, I tend to panic very easily when I can’t find a piece, even if I know it’s there. The bigger the piece, the more quickly it happens.
I tend to talk to both myself and the pieces while building - generally berating them for hiding from me when I’m looking for a particular one.
Everything always has to be oriented EXACTLY the way it is in the instructions. If the instructions say to put the bushel on the axle with the rounded side pointing THAT way and the stress-relief cut facing in THAT direction, it’d dang well better be attached in that orientation!
So what about you guys? Any similar kinds of things that you do while building? Maybe I took them all already, and am the king of building neuroses? Am I using too many question marks in a row even when it doesn’t quite make sense, and it’s really starting to bug you for some reason? Let the people of the boards speak!
I only build the set once, causing me to forget how it’s built
…and that’s pretty much it. If we’re talking about MOCing…
I always have to make sure that I have two of the same piece when building symmetrical things.
I believe (without any actual foundation) in what I call the “Law of Lego” which states that “As soon as you’re looking for a part, you’ll never find it.”
Conversely, I also believe in the “Anti-Law of Lego” which states that “As soon as you’re not looking for a part, you’ll find it.” Thus, whenever I can’t find a part, I give up look for something else.
You see, that doesn’t work for me. In the back of my mind, I’m still keeping an eye open for that piece, even if I’m looking for a different one. Thus, the Law of Lego still applies and now I’m unable to find two pieces I need.
Yes, if you can afford the three hours it’ll take to pick them up again afterwards. I just go through my boxes of Lego continually while building and take out any piece that looks interesting or useful. Usually that means I have a fairly large pile of parts at the end of the building session, but it’s still a whole lot less than it would be had I tipped everything out.
But then, of course, there’s the pain of putting your unused ‘cool’ pieces back into the huge box where you probably won’t see them again for three months.
You know, that’s not a bad idea. Only problem is pretty much any piece can be ‘cool’, ‘useful’ or ‘interesting’ in the right circumstances. I’d probably be better off making a separate box/tin for “always boring” pieces, actually - I might think about doing that when I next have some spare time.
I used to dumb all the pieces in a big pile and try to build the figure based on box art, but now I use the instructions and poor things from the bags into somewhat neet piles based on I believe ill get better experience doing so
Set building: I always build really slow that way I know exactly how it’s built and I have more time to think about how and what I’m building.
Mocing: I always get as many of a piece that I might use but I never do.
I always lose my pins in my bin of pieces.
I talk to my self and explain what I’m doing.
I never seem to have enough of a piece.
I used to have the same problems as you guys, but then I sorted my parts in separate canisters/boxes that are colour oriented (sometimes mixing two or three colours in one can if there isn’t much of them) and keep technic/system parts separate. Thus I know where everything is and don’t have to look “for that one piece” anymore.
Oh, and I have this “rule” that I can only pour out 4 cans/boxes at a time, unless i’m building a completely new Moc. That was to reduce the mess and cleanup time (if I needed to pour out another, then I have to clean up at least one of the cans before I do so).
I try to keep any set I’m building in the same position as it isin the instructions.
For MOCs I always dump my bucket of legos onto a blanket so I can just pour them all back into the bucket when I’m done.
