MOCs

Creations for Charity - 2020 Campaign is Now

I apologize for being late tot he game, but the 2020 Creations for Charity drive started on 15 October and runs through 30 November 2020. This is your chance to pick up some cool custom MOCs and minifigures with all of the money going to buy LEGO sets for disadvantaged kids. The charity is all volunteer run so you’re not giving a portion to pay someone’s salary or anything. If you want more details or want to participate, you can go to CreationsforCharity.org.

They also have a short video explaining the program posted below. Thanks for giving and happy building!

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.

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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.

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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!

Amazing Fan Creations of Hogwarts Castle

Normally, I’d have a set review to post, but I’m in the middle of a large build so I guess you could say I’m killing time until I can finish and write a proper post. Most of my “LEGO fun time” has been consumed by building set number 71043-1, Hogwarts Castle. At 6,020 pieces, it’s the second largest set out there by piece count. I’ve been trying to enjoy the build instead of rushing through it so it’s taking a bit longer than usual.

Unlike some of the LEGO themed blogs out there, I don’t run this full time so my goal right now has been to post something new once a week. So while you’re waiting to hear what I think about the latest Hogwarts Castle set (spoiler alert, so far, it’s awesome!), I figured I’d talk about some of the ones out there that fans have created.

I realize I’m going to report on some old news here, but back in 2013, a LEGO builder named Alice Finch built a 400,000 piece Hogwarts Castle to display at a Comic Con. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is phenomenal! Definitely check out her Flickr page, a YouTube video of her set up, or if you can find it, watch the Lego Brickumentary from 2015 as she is spotlighted there too. Beyond the Brick (you can check out my post about them here) has done 3 videos out her. They are:
-A tour of her building area in her home (I’m jealous)
-A microscale version of her larger Hogwarts Castle
-An hour plus long interview with Alice about the 400,000 piece version she built

Onto the smaller scale… on the LEGO Ideas page is a submission titled “Hogwarts Castle Miniature Model.” It was submitted by user “LegoDog0126” and as of 15 January 2019, there are 12 days left with 8,435 votes total. Go to the LEGO Ideas site and do a search for it. It doesn’t say the piece count (that I could find), but you can download instructions and a fan even went out and built it (pics are on the Ideas site as well).

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And one more…

I wasn’t able to find more on this one, but there was a BrisBricks LEGO®  Fan event (Australia) back in September 2018 and a builder there displayed a giant Hogwarts castle connected by rail to Kings Cross Station. Here is the link to the article advertising the event and here is the picture. You can go to the BrisBricks site photo book here and see more pictures of the build as well as all of the other awesome MOCs. Definitely check it out… it’s pretty cool with the whole castle and the train leading to it.

Enough stalling… back to building so I can get a set review out!

A Museum Made of Bricks

I'm always impressed when I see larger MOCs build by the fan community up close and personal.  For one reason, I don't have the pieces on hand to do anything like them and also, I'm just not that talented of a builder (yet).  I was glad to see a replica of the McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama up close and personal.  

You can read about the builder and some more details here.  If you don't want to pay to go into the museum (it' a children's museum and it's awesome for adults and kids), don't worry because the MOC is on display in the lobby.  It was unveiled in March of 2017, but it appears that it will be a permanent item at the museum.  

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Here's the front of the museum.  The recreation of the cylindrical front of the building is very impressive.  It's always neat to see how people turn rectangles and squares into curves.  I didn't take an overarching shot so you can't get a full perspective for how big it is.  

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Here are the details of the model.

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Here are some closer shots of the front of the museum.

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Here are some of the Easter Eggs they placed in the model.  There are some of the vehicles from the movie Cars, Stormtroopers chasing Han Solo, and a few other fun items.  The cross sectional build for this part is good and they did a pretty good job covering some of the details like the IMAX theater.

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Here is the other side of the building where a Mindstorms character is walking down the street.

Just a few pics and a short write up.  It is definitely worth the visit and you don't have to pay to walk into the lobby to see it.  If you happen to be in Birmingham, AL definitely make a point of stopping.  There's a LEGO brand store 13 miles away so another bonus to being there.

If you've seen the MOC, what do you think?  Let me know.

 

Want to see cool things that builders have made?

Ever seen any of the amazing builds out there?  A LEGO creation of a classic building in a popular city?  A recreation of a vehicle?  A mosaic painting created with bricks?  Where are the best things to see all of this besides just going to Google and searching?  First off, a definition.  A "MOC" is an acronym for My Own Creation.  These are the various items that people create on their own.  So where can you see MOCs?

Here are a few sites where LEGO fans post their creations:
http://www.mocpages.com - This is a site where anyone can post their creations for free.  You get everything from new builders just testing out their skills to some of the most experienced and creative pros.  
http://www.brickshelf.com - This is another site where creations are posted.  They break them up by category so if you are looking for something specific, you can find it a little more easily.  They also have a section where groups and clubs post their displays from shows or group creations.  
http://rebrickable.com - Besides the ability to buy stuff and and search sets and parts, you can also search MOCs built by some talented people (and buy them if you want).
http://www.brothers-brick.com - There are a lot of LEGO themed blogs out there.  This one has been around for a while and they often times write about some of the amazing things that various builders put together.
LEGO Certified Professionals - The LEGO company certifies various builders to be professionals.  This site explains who they are and how they came to be.  You can also go to the sites of these various people and see their amazing builds.

So those are just a few.  Do know of any others or do you have any favorites?