How Do You Sort Your Bricks?

Does anyone know how many different types and colors of LEGO pieces exist out there?

I have no idea, but there are a lot and when you have bags of unsorted pieces, they become kind of useless if you can’t find the pieces you need to build what you want. Especially when you have a bunch of plastic bags full of random parts like me.

Let me back up a minute. I move a lot if you don’t follow my blog. A few years back, I had a decent space where I had some trays and my parts stash was separated by… um… random categories that I made up limited by the number of tray spaces I had. The space I have now still has the same trays and drawers, but not as much space to get to them. I just assumed I would not do much free building until I move to a better bricking space (some day). Then I got some of the train kits from Brick Model Railroader. The kits come with a few unique parts and instructions, but you have to provide the pieces.

So there is my dilemma… I want to build from some instructions, I don’t want to go out and buy all brand new pieces (especially if I already have them), and I don’t have my parts separated so I can actually figure out what I have.

Time to do some research..

Okay, first off, this is a definite no. 159 bins and 189 drawers. Really? How practical is this? I’d need a map of the room just to figure out where everything is and would spend most of my time searching for what I needed. Sure it “looks” great for TV, but come on!

Former LEGO designer and now YouTuber Tiago Catarino has a good video on sorting. I agree with him that sorting by color will only get you so far. I also agree with his point that having a lot of tiny drawers with each part will take you a long time to find what you need. I don’t have an Ikea nearby anymore, but the big drawers he has with all of the compartments look awesome and seem to be really useful when you build.

AFOL Tom Alphin from Brick Architect has some good points on sorting as well. In particular he offers a file you can print to help label drawers. The article where he links to his labels is here. He has a section on sorting your bricks as well. His guide breaks it down by the size of your collection which is useful, but he still recommends some of the smaller drawers versus the larger ones Tiago Catarino recommends. Back to the labeling, I could see that as very useful and have even seen people attach one of the parts on the outside of the drawer to show what is inside.

Those are just a few examples and thoughts. Do you have any suggestions or other resources I should check out when I go to sort out my bags-o-bricks? Put them in the comments or shoot me an email. I’m always curious to learn how I can better set up my parts for future building. Thanks!

Happy building!

A new Giving Campaign Starts - 1 June to 31 December 2022 - Brick Dreams

If you’ve followed Bricks for Bricks for a while or have spent some time on our site, you’ll see that we had campaigns for Brick Dreams in 2017 and 2018. Well after a few years, I looked and they are still at their awesome work. So why not send some bricks their way so they can use them to help others?

In case you didn’t click the link above, Brick Dreams was founded in 2012 with a goal of collecting used bricks and giving them to kids in need. They made kits for kids in foster homes and those who get moved around by Child Protective Services a lot. They are still doing it today.

From 1 June 2022 until 31 December 2022, 15% of the profits from sales at Bricks for Bricks will go towards Brick Dreams. Instead of sending them three boxes of new Bricks, let’s see if we can send them 30 or 50 or 100…

By the way, you can support them directly too if you want. Go to their site here to see how you can give bricks or cash to support their efforts.

Thank you for support! Happy building!

More to Give! Another Campaign Wraps up

We did it and thank you! The most recent campaign closed that we ran from 1 December 2021 to 31 May 2022. 15% of our profits went to the Doolittle Institute which runs FIRST® LEGO® League programs throughout northwest Florida. That final number came out to be…

$848

Thank you so much for helping to support STEM education in Florida. Our donation should help them support at least three full teams to include equipping them with robots, covering registration fees, and other costs involved.

Happy building!

Another Technic Supercar is Announced!!!!!

I by no means am the first one to announce this, but I am super excited that on 1 June 2022, the next LEGO Technic supercar will get released. Okay actually we are now referring to them as being a part of the “LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept Series.” Either way, a sleek red Ferrari will be a great addition to the existing sets. This one is #42143-1: Ferrari Daytona SP3. I will contain 3,778 pieces and retail in the US for $399.99. That works out to $0.106 per piece. Here are some of LEGO’s promotional shots of the model.

The packaging looks impressive from LEGO’s promo shots and some of the video reviews I have seen online. For $400, the packaging had better look awesome, right?

As per usual, we have a promo shot from LEGO by the real car. Some good photography here although they should have edited out the TV dish in my opinion. I couldn’t tell you much about the real car other than I’m sure it goes fast and I’m sure I can’t afford the real one.. Along with this set, LEGO is releasing a limited run book (5,000 copies) that highlights the set and LEGO’s relationship with Ferrari. I believe the book will be priced at $70. In my opinion, the set is expensive as it is, I don’t need to dump more money into a book.

This set is pricy and I’m not sure when I’ll pick it up, but I will at some point using VIP points to help lessen the blow. I’m looking forward to lining it up next to my other vehicles. You can see my previous reviews here:

#42056-1: Porsche 911 GT3 RS

#42083-1: Bugatti Chiron

#42115-1: Lamborghini Sian FKP 37

Happy building!

2 June 2022 update: LEGO released the designer video yesterday. Here it is in case you missed it.

I Made it into a Popular Youtube Video (sort of... okay, not really)

I did it! My store got featured by a famous AFOL in the Fan Media who called me out by name to say thanks for getting him the set he needed to finish the coolest video ever!

Or not so much…

Okay… in the video below, David of Solid Brix Studios, builds a LEGO Star Wars MOC only using sets from LEGO without any additional pieces. If you skip to the 3:20 mark, he holds up set #75098-1: Assault on Hoth. So yeah, he bought it from the Bricks for Bricks BrickLink store. I get it, you watched the video and he said none of that so I could be making it all up, but you’ll just have to trust me on this one.

So thanks David for supporting Bricks for Bricks and our efforts to give. The current campaign ends in 10 days so we appreciate all the orders and for helping us to help others.

Set Review - #71033: The Muppets - Collectible Minifigures

Lego sucked me into Collectible Minifigures back in Series 10 which was back in May of 2013. Here I am almost 10 years later still trying to collect them all. This series is The Muppets, which is a first for LEGO from what I can recall. It was released on 1 May 2022 in the US for $4.99 each. You can also buy boxes of six minifigures for $29.94 from LEGO while numerous other retailers sell them for $29.99. Gotta make that extra nickel of profit!

There are 12 minifigures in total. LEGO Shop @ Home will let you buy 16 individual packages and then three of the boxes of six for 18 meaning you can buy 34 in total. I did this and really hoped to get all 12. I only got eight… LEGO Customer Service will tell you that it is all random and that’s how it works, but I say they need to do a better job randomizing. I sell collectible minifigures in my BrickLink store and do my best to load up on each series knowing that they are only out for three to four months at a time. I placed another order through Walmart and received two boxes of six each. With 46 now, I was at nine total. Definitely a good profit item for LEGO and something I would definitely not do unless I had a BrickLink store.

So here is my review on the first few and I’ll add to it as I go. Overall, I like the minifigures in this series and I think LEGO did a great job capturing the likeness of each one. If only I could collect each one…

Here is what the boxes look like that give you six minifigures each.

I have not counted yet, but I think these first two were the most prevalent in my purchases. Miss Piggy comes in a printed dress and holding a printed tile of one of her glamor shots. I wonder what the decision was to go printed versus the cloth dress versus a skirt piece that fits over the legs or using a slope piece as a dress

Kermit the Frog looks pretty good other than being a little bigger scale wise. He comes with his banjo/ukulele (which is it?) and a tile of a rainbow.

I got a bunch of these two as well. Our two favorite hecklers, Waldorf and Statler join this series. Waldorf has a tea cup and saucer along with a tile to hold up with ZZZZs on it. Statler has a laptop with a connection to Scooter over a video connection app. Both seem to match their Muppet likenesses really well in my opinion.

Fozzie Bear comes with his usual get up of hat and scarf item around his neck. He comes holding a banana as part of a joke maybe and then has a microphone on a stand.

Animal comes with a brick built drum set and uses two Harry Potter wands as his drum sticks. I’m a big fan of this one. The minifigure looks like he is doing his famous laugh… “Ha Ha Ha Ha!”

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is next with a conical flask for his next experiment.

Gonzo comes with printed pants and a Hawaiian style shirt with Chile peppers on it. He comes with a chicken who we can only assume is Camilla.

So I did get Rowlf the Dog, but will wait to add a picture until I get another minifigure to put next to him.. Rowlf comes with a sheet of music and a bust of a composer. The bust comes with a minifigure head with two expressions and a hair piece.

Beaker… finally got this one. You don’t want to know how many I went through until I got it. Beaker looks pretty accurate with this blank stare and the mouth open. He’s holding a control switch to start an experiment or blow something up.

Janice matches the character well with the hair and red lips. She’s got a guitar which is similar to others in shape, but has different printing on it.

The Swedish Chef also looks great. I like how they did his facial hair. He’s got a whisk and is holding one of the Muppet vegetables which is made up of a minifigure head with some greenery on top. This minifigure is great! It stinks that I only got one after all of the purchases I made. Thanks for the “randomness” LEGO!

Set Review - #60326-1: Picnic in the Park - CITY

I don’t often purchase or review CITY sets, but every once in a while a set comes out that interests me. Set #60326-1: Picnic in the Park was released on 2 January 2022 in the US. It contains 147 pieces to include the first LEGO squirrels. I don’t know why I was so interested in LEGO squirrels, but I thought they would make a good addition to a future LEGO City scene I hope to work on some day. This set retails for $19.99 which works out to $0.136 per piece. I think this is a bit high, but I did find it on sale (after purchasing it… go figure).

Like most sets, the front of the box shows the full set while the back shows some of the play features to include two bike helmets so two of the minifigures can use the bike and cart.

The contents are two numbered parts bags and an instruction booklet for each bag. The set also contains a sticker sheet with one sticker.

The first bag builds a bicycle with a cart behind it. The cart is almost as large as the bicycle, but given the scale of LEGO parts, it works. Next is a small cart for a maintenance worker in the park. The cart has space for one minifigure to ride in it, has clips for tools, and space in the back to carry a load. The vehicle comes with two tools, a shovel and pitch fork and then some plants..

There are two minifigures in this bag. One is an adult female and the other is an adult male. The female is the bicycle rider and comes with two helmets (one for the minifigure in bag two). The male minifigure has what could be a uniform on. His face has some wrinkles which makes me assume they meant for him to be an older minifigure.

The second bag builds a small picnic area. It has a tree and then a picnic table. The tree is simply built, but comes with some greenery pieces great for future MOCs so no complaints there. You get the acorns in this bag. They are 1x1 round printed tiles. You can attach them to the tree or have them on the ground. The two squirrels are in this bag. One is brown and one is black. I placed them both on the picnic table, but you can see the brown one in the box behind the set (poor placement on my part). They have a spot to slide on a stud on the bottom so you can set them wherever.

There is one minifigure in this bag. It’s a younger male minifigure who can ride in the cart from bag one. You also get two beverage holders and a 2x2 tile printed to be a pizza box. I don’t normally take a pizza on a picnic in the park, but I guess you could.

Here are the three minifigures. I’m not sure if they have new outfits or not, but they are a decent addition to a CITY scene.

Overall, not a bad set considering the age range and theme. It’s a bit overpriced, but watch for sales. The addition of squirrels is fun and I hope to see LEGO continue to add more animals into the future. I’m not sure how many CITY sets I’ll be building in the future, but it was a fun change of pace from the usual sets I build.

Happy building!

#76398-1: Hogwarts Hospital Wing - Harry Potter

Harry Potter themed sets have been arriving in the summer time in the US. Set #76398-1: Hogwarts Hospital Wing has bucked the trend and was released on 1 March 2022 in the US. It doesn’t have the anniversary logos on it, but it still contains two of the collectible tiles. The set contains 510 pieces and retails for $49.99. This works out to $0.098 per piece. I picked this set up at Target. They had a buy one get one 40% off sale. So if you buy two sets at the same price, it’s like 20% off each. Keep on the look out for sales like that one in the future if you want to pick this set up.

To my knowledge, LEGO has not done the Hospital Wing yet or at least in the recent past so it’s good to see something new. The set has four minifigures and comes with Technic pins and holes so you can connect it to other sets from 2021 and we can assume to the summer 2022 wave.

The box is pretty standard. It has the full set on the front with the Harry Potter logo, pictures of the actors from the movie, and a highlight of the included minifigures. The back shows some of the play details.

The contents are four numbered parts bags and an instruction booklet. As I got through the build it asked for a sticker and I didn’t see a sheet. Could LEGO have forgotten the sticker sheet? I went back to the box and the width of the box is about the size of the sticker sheet so it was stuck in the corner of the side I didn’t open. Whew! You get three stickers, which isn’t too bad.

The first bag starts the infirmary area. You connect three 8x8 plates with grates using hinges. Then you build up some of the wall section and add windows. On the inside you build three beds.

The minifigure in bag one is Ron. He comes with a wand and a cane. His legs are two different colors to reflect the cast on one leg which is a change from the usual matching legs.

The second bag finishes up most of the walls for this level on the build. There isn’t much detail on the inside, but the outside is in line with previous Potter sets.

The minifigure in this bag is Madam Poppy Pomfrey. I’ve seen the movies and didn’t know that was her name so don’t feel bad. This is the first appearance of this minifigure. She comes with a wand and a medical chart.

The third bag finishes out the details on the first floor with some candles, night stands with lamps by the beds, a cart near Ron’s bed with some of the well wishes he received, a divider for privacy, a chair, a trunk, a lamp, some medicine/potion, and a box of jelly beans (1x1 brick with printing). Harry and Hermione come in this bag. Hermione has her wand, a bandage around her arm, and her time turner (printed 1x1 round tile). There is also a grey owl in this bag.

The bag starts the second floor. You’ll see it better in the next set of pictures.

The fourth bag finishes up the set. You finish up the second floor which really is just the roof and clock tower. The roof build doesn’t have much to it, but the clock tower has some technic functions where you can spin the steeple on the top and it spins the clock. This is a fun play function of the set and while simple to build for experienced builders, adds a bit of challenge for younger builders.

You also get two of the collectible tiles in this set. I think this will be the last set where you can get these, but I’m not 100% sure. I got two of the same (Rowena Ravenclaw) which also happened to be a tile I already had. Anyone want to trade? I’m looking for Albus Dumbledore with the gold frame and Seraphina Picquery.

Here are the four minifigues to wrap things up. It’s the main three yet again only with different outfits. They are a bit beat up/dirty so I guess that is something different. There are some different accessories as well. Madam Pomfrey is new so that is a bonus. The different legs on Ron are a nice change that I suspect we’ll see more of in the future.

Overall, not a bad set. It’s 8+ so you have to cage your expectations, but good to see LEGO capturing a different part of Hogwarts besides the usual. I’m glad I found it at a discount and I recommend you wait for it to go on sale as well. If Target put it on sale, I suspect it will go on sale again at other retailers. Maybe around Christmas time?

Happy building!

Set Review: #910010-1: Great Fishing Boat - Bricklink Designer Program

Here’s another set from Round 1 of the 2021 BrickLink Designer Program. This one is #910010-1: Great Fishing Boat. It contains 1,609 pieces and retailed for $129.99 during the crowd funding round. This works out to $0.081 per piece.

Similar to #910028-1: Pursuit of Flight, this set has a white box that has the BrickLink logo as well as the LEGO logo. I like the 18+ white branding over the black branding, but just a personal opinion there. This set was designed by EdouardClo. He is a fan from France and you can read an interview of him here.

The box opens to reveal the parts bag and the card stating you have to get the instructions online. The set contains nine numbered sets of parts bags and then an unnumbered bag. I used the app to build #910028-1: Pursuit of Flight. I found the .pdf instructions for this set on BrickLink’s site and built using them to see if it was a better option.

The first set of bags builds the base of the boat (or maybe the proper term is hull). This part is mostly stacking plates and tiles on top of each other. Nothing too out of the ordinary here.

The second set of bags adds to the hull. It also adds a small crew compartment with two beds, some beverage containers, and some greenery.

Here are some closer pictures from the second set of bags. You add in a propeller and rudder at the stern (right term?) of the boat. The propeller spins and can you can adjust the rudder as desired. I also added a closer look at the crew compartment.

And then I finished the instructions for the second set of bags and had these pieces leftover. I went back and checked multiple times to see where I missed them and couldn’t figure it out. Typically the extra pieces you get are like 1x1 tiles or cheese slopes. I have never had a 1x8 plate as an extra piece.

Despite the pieces leftover from the second set of bags, I pressed onto the third set of bags. And wouldn’t you know, those pieces got used up during the instructions for the third set. I haven’t had this happen before with a Lego set so I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I went with it.

The third set of bags finishes up more structure for the hull and then puts the decking on the boat.

In the picture of the plastic tray/container you’ll see the pieces I had left at the end of the third build instructions. Exclude the pieces in the top right slot as those are from the bag without a number. After seeing this, I just went with it. Not sure why they made this choice, but okay.

I used the .pdf instructions posted online. I wonder if the app gives you a different building experience without pieces leftover when finishing up a set of bags?

The fourth and fifth sets of bags build the sides of the hull. You mix in the leftover pieces from the third set of bags too. There was a section here that isn’t exactly the strongest to stay together, but it holds. I guess that’s the difference between a BrickLink fan designed set and a Lego designed set.

The sixth set of bags builds all of the sides of the hull in the front and the back that require curves. While the techniques used create some gaps between the pieces, overall it achieves the effect. You build a section, clip it to the next section and then after you have a few sections built, you clip them to the hull. The stern wasn’t too bad and it all fit on pretty easily. I had a challenge with the bow sections as the .pdf instructions don’t allow you to see the sizes of pieces well (in my opinion). I put some Technic pieces on incorrectly which caused some errors. For the bow, you attach the sections for each side that come to a point by sliding some Technic pieces onto the long axle you added in build 1. Then the two connect to each other. After I found my error, it worked okay. It’s definitely a fragile section of the build and it’s not a good idea to hold the boat there.

The last thing to do here is add in the anchor and chain. I would have put the chain on before I attached the top part of the hull as the instructions have you placing the chain through the slot between the pieces. This wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but I figured it out. The instructions have you adding the anchor piece on later, but it was in this bag so I just added it now.

The bags numbered seven and eight build the… is it the bridge? I don’t know. It’s the compartment where you control the boat. The seventh set of bags starts it off and then the eighth finishes it. I had the partial picture and the insides, but must have deleted it somewhere in the process before building my post here. Sorry. The inside has a wheel to steer the boat, a compass, a phone, and a tile as a screen for (maybe) radar. Behind the control area on the inside, you have a few boxes where you store printed tiles with food.

The outside of the compartment has a funnel on the back, three fishing poles that can be attached to each side, lights for fishing at night, and some various gear like a radar, a horn, and possibly an antenna or something for a communication system. The roof detaches pretty easily so you can put a minifigure inside as desired.

This set comes with three minifigures. All of them are adult males. None of the parts seem new to me and they all have faces with facial hair. All of the minifigures have only one expression which is fine by me.

The last bag builds out some rigging, a crab trap with a crab still in it, some crates of fish, adds a few fish to put on the deck that the crew just caught, adds a front part to the bow, and a small crane with a hook that you can move the boxes around with on the deck.

I wasn’t so sure about the rigging at first, but it seems to work. There are some strings used, but it is mostly the thin plastic tubing. It seems to hold up pretty well so I can’t complain.

Overall, it’s a cool set. It’s something out of the ordinary that we have not seen from Lego before. The fan design is not as structurally sound as a Lego produced set would be, but it’s fine for an 18+ set. The price wasn’t too bad, but now it’s at least twice as much or higher on the secondary market. I haven’t looked to see what it would cost to source the parts from BrickLink or elsewhere.

I am not a fan of electronic instructions. I’ve used the app and the .pdf versions and I can say I much prefer the paper instructions. To me, it is easier to see the steps and easier to assemble the Technic parts (you can line up axles to ensure sizing). I’m sure it is a function of cost for these sets, but would prefer instruction books going forward. Plus, I use building as an opportunity to not stare at a screen.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to the round 2 sets.

Happy building!

A Walk Down Modular Building Lane

I’ve reviewed a bunch of the modular buildings since the start of my site in 2014 and I have most of the sets. Sadly, I do not have #10190-1: Market Street or #10185-1: Green Grocer. Maybe some day I will see if I can piece them together with my collection and BrickLink orders. I do have the rest and they are awesome sets!

If you’re a modular building geek like me or just want to learn more about them, Jamie Berard, who many folks know from the LEGO Masters USA TV show, did a 40 minute walk through of the history of the modular building line for LEGO on YouTube. Hopefully you can find that chunk of time to watch it or watch it over a few sittings like I did as it’s an interesting video where you learn about some of the insights that went into each design. You can check it out below.