Pre-Designed Alternate Builds - Rebrickable

One of the great things about building with LEGO is the ability to continually modify your builds to design different things. You can take a pile of bricks and create whatever you want, tear it apart, and repeat. All you have to do is scour the internet to find tons of MOCs (my own creations) and you’ll see that there are lots of people out there who do it.

Some people might be like me… I build sets that I buy. I think they look great as they are and I have no intention of breaking them apart. There may be some great pieces in the build that I could use elsewhere, but I keep the integrity of the set anyways. I like to keep the pieces together so even for the sets I had to take apart, I can re-build them anytime I want to without a need for hunting for the original pieces.

So what if that’s your limitation? I want to keep the pieces together, but maybe I want to try building some other things. Perhaps you aren’t into MOC building and you need some ideas to get you going.

Enter the website “Rebrickable.”

(side note, I am not being paid to endorse this web site. I am merely expressing my own personal opinions on the site)

This web site has a lot of features that I will not go into today, but one of them I found interesting was the alternate build section. Let me back up… I found it easiest to create a free login (there are pay options). After creating the login and logging in, I searched around. Under the tab “MOCs” the second option down is “Alternate Builds.” This section allows you to select from existing sets and to see what other alternate builds people have done.

As an example, I selected #7587701: Mercedes AMG GT3 from the Speed Champions line. If you click on it, it says people have posted 82 different alternate builds using the pieces from the set. Here is a clip from the screen. It pictures the first 12, but you can view all of the alternate builds. From there you can look at them and try and duplicate them. Or you can create your own and add an 83rd alternate option.

Not bad… what about the larger sets? How about #10260-1: Downtown Diner? For this one, there are only four alternate builds posted. Three of them are buildings and one is of the car. Interestingly enough, If you click on the first option, a designer has turned it into an internet cafe. It then gives you the option to buy the instructions for the MOC. The cost for me would be 10 Euros… not sure what the cost in the US will be. I assume $10. The builder gives a detailed preview of some pictures of the MOC as well as some examples of the instructions. You can also see pictures posted by others who purchased the instructions and you can post comments or questions for the MOC builder or others to respond to.

While I haven’t actually purchased any of the instructions, tried to replicate a MOC, or built my own MOC for this site yet, I found this site very intriguing and full of potential. Seems like this site could come in handy right now for people at home bored with COVID-19 quarantine. It’s your chance to explore some of the endless possibilities of LEGO and I just scratched the surface of some of the things you can use this site for.

What are your thoughts? Have you used Rebrickable before? Have you purchased instructions? Have you posted a MOC or instructions there? Let us know what you think.

In the meantime, happy building!

Set Review - #10260 - Downtown Diner - Creator Expert

Thanks to the LEGO Group for producing another modular building.  WHOOHOO!!!  I'm always excited to buy, build, and review these sets.  You can see past reviews here:

#10255 - Assembly Square
#10251 - Brick Bank
#10246 - Detective's Office

The Downtown Diner was released on 1 January 2018 in the US.  It retails in the US for $169.99.  With 2,480 pieces, it works out to $0.069 per piece.  Not too bad.  You can see the LEGO Designer video on YouTube here.  Onto the review!

Here's the box...

This set contains 5 sets of parts bags, an instruction booklet wrapped in plastic, a tan 32x32 stud baseplate, and 4 gray 8x16 plates.

The first bags start the first floor and include an orange piece separator.  Lots of 2x2 tiles to lay down and a black and white pattern that looks pretty cool once its done, but takes a bit to install.  The details for the diner itself start to appear here with a table and booth with ketchup and mustard on the table, a juke box, and a gumball machine.  The short order cook is in this set of bags.  His cooking area has what appears to be some bacon cooking on his cooking surface.  This set also includes the start of the stairs that go up to the upper levels.  

Not much to talk about in the back.  There is a trash can and a brown square container out back.  Other than that, it's pretty plain in the rear of the building.

The second set of bags completes the first floor.  It includes the waitress minifigure on skates serving some ice cream.  There are some pancakes to cook on the griddle and on the table.  The bar is completed with a soda machine with 2 flavors.  The stairs to the next floor are finished and there's a light at the top.  Also, what stands out to me is the clear window design on the front with it's nicely designed curves.  The "DINER" sign in its bright pink is also pretty impressive.  

Here's a close up of the first floor diner.  You can see the coffee maker on the left, the grill with its bacon and pancakes and the hood above it.  There are some pictures on the wall in the back and on the right.  Some of the accessories include 2 coffee mugs, a camera, a frying pan and knife for cutting, the plate of pancakes, and the ice cream that the waitress is carrying.

The third set of bags completes the second floor which is a fitness center.  The front of the building has the teal green rounded bricks surrounding the clear windows that goes from the bottom of the floor to the top and eventually connects to the next floor. 

The back doesn't have too much other than a fun stairwell that curves up.

Here's a closer look at the inside of the second floor.  You can see a boxing ring, a punching bag, a bench with a bar and weights, some dumb bells, and a water cooler.  This floor contains 2 minifigures which are a male boxer with boxing glove hands and a female in a light green workout outfit.

The fourth set of bags completes the third floor.  This floor is a music recording studio.  There's a recording area with a sound room, a mixing station, and a waiting area with a fancy chair.  There's also a small porch where the picture shows a female minifigure standing out on it.  

My favorite part is the front of this floor.  It continues the windows from the previous floor and the very sleek teal green design that surrounds the windows.  It culminates at the top with a curved half-circle teal green part.  

Here's a top view of the floor.  The recording studio is on the right side of the picture with the sound booth on the bottom of the picture and the mixing board on the top.  I like the use of the steering wheels to make the speakers in the mixing area.  The recording area is pretty detailed with some sound dampening materials and a microphone.  The wall has a picture of an album along with a gold record.  The rest of the room looks more like a waiting room.  There's a table with two glasses and a drink pitcher, a lounge chair with a table, and 2 rugs on the floor.  One of the windows has an air conditioner in it (on the left side of the picture) which is similar to the second floor.

Now some views of the top of the building.  The left side has a skylight window that can be propped open or closed.  There is a ladder that to climb up to the roof as well.  On the right side of the picture, you can see an antenna (or is it a lightening rod?).  The details on the front were rather simple to build, but still quite detailed like many of the other modular buildings.

This set includes a car.  Other modulars include a car to include the Palace Cinema and the Fire Brigade sets.  This one is pink and looks to be maybe 1950s or 1960s style (I'm not a car expert so someone correct me).  It has space for 3 minifigs and has some decent detail to it.  I like it!

This set contains 6 minifigures and surprisingly they are somewhat controversial.  This is the first modular building to have minifigures with facial expressions, facial hair, and some even have dual faces.  Past modulars have been the standard 2 dots for eyes and a smiley face mouth.  Personally I am a fan of the change.  It adds more detail to the set and helps to make it more realistic.  I think it was a good move for LEGO to make the change.

Here are some final shots of the set.  First is from the front view, then from the left side, and then from back back.  This set can be placed on a corner in a city scene, but as you can see on the left side, the sidewalk just ends as it goes up some stairs.  Maybe it would be better next to a parking lot or another modular with a sidewalk there.

As already mentioned, I'm biased and I enjoy these sets.  So yes, definitely go buy this one if you are a fan of modulars.  They are fun to build and there are a lot of great pieces if you want to use them for something else.  While modulars are a bit expensive, you can wait to get them when you have VIP points or they have been discounting the retiring set on Black Friday over the past 2 years.  

Well done LEGO!  Another great set!

What are your thoughts?