Bricklinking for the thrill of the build - and the lowest price

[banshee3]

matty that's definitely the way to do it. Make as few orders as possible to save the shipping cost. I even did one of the larger orders for the 10210 as local pickup to avoid shipping.

Edited March 27, 2015 by banshee3

[jbacunn]

I Bricklinked the 2014 SDCC Batmobile exclusive. It was pretty easy and fun. The minifigs are the same as the ones from the Juniors Batcave set. I want to do another set. Maybe a bigger one this time.

[Alpinemaps]

I Bricklinked the 2014 SDCC Batmobile exclusive. It was pretty easy and fun. The minifigs are the same as the ones from the Juniors Batcave set. I want to do another set. Maybe a bigger one this time. ImageUploadedByBrickpicker Forum1427504374.906182.jpg

I really should do that as it would be a good conversation starter on my desk at work.

I've got the minifigs, but they belong to my son. I bet he'd notice of I took them though...

[exciter1]

It's actually ridiculously cheap if you're willing to sub out one or two parts and do without the bride.  I just wanted to car and the mausoleum for the Halloween Town.  I've got enough monsters roaming around that I don't *need* to have the bride and groom.  And it's really only the bride's hairpiece, I believe that is expensive.

 

Yep, I wouldn't care to go without her and I have enough baddies too.

[FattyMatty]

I Bricklinked the 2014 SDCC Batmobile exclusive. It was pretty easy and fun. The minifigs are the same as the ones from the Juniors Batcave set. I want to do another set. Maybe a bigger one this time. ImageUploadedByBrickpicker Forum1427504374.906182.jpg

 

That looks like a fun, quick, cheap build. perfect!

[jbacunn]

That looks like a fun, quick, cheap build. perfect!

The figs are the most expensive part. There is one part that is a little hard to find. Its the red slope 45 2x1 triple on the front bumper.

[matt1147]

Yep, I wouldn't care to go without her and I have enough baddies too.

Zombies is extremely cheap to BL without the Figs and the "moonstone." Even adding those, you can still get it for much, much cheaper than on ebay!

[Alpinemaps]

Zombies is extremely cheap to BL without the Figs and the "moonstone." Even adding those, you can still get it for much, much cheaper than on ebay!

 

I replaced the Moonstone with a different gem from another MF set.  I forget which one, but I just picked one I liked from another set that was extremely cheap to BL.

 

I'm waiting on about 8 different BL orders right now, most of which will get here Monday and Tuesday.  I'm beyond anxious to get all of my orders in.

[Alpinemaps]

Resurrecting this thread.  I was going to post this in the What you building from bulk thread, but then realized that it's mostly stuff I'm looking to do on Bricklink, not from bulk, that I want to talk about.

I realize my list is getting out of control at the moment.  This is what's on my current Bricklink "want" list.  I'm starting to put together orders now:

10188 Death Star - need to finish out about 100 pieces, from a Goodwill pick up that was missing a couple hundred pieces
10211 Grand Emporium - eBay purchase that was missing about 200 pieces
10224 Town Hall - decided I'm going to try to BL this instead of cracking open my inventory for resell
10680 Juniors Garbage Truck - I just want the dumpster
20010 Republic Gunship - Polybag is too expensive
20019 Slave 1 - Polybag is too expensive
4488 Millenium Falcon - Polybag is too expensive
5004590 Batpod - I didn't win one, and I'm not buying one
5526 Skyline - Too expensive NIB
60073 Service Truck - I just want the port-a-potty
75010 B-Wing - I don't want the planet, just need the ship
7778 Midi Millenium Falcon - eBay purchase that was missing just a couple of parts

SDCC Batmobile - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Superman - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Ultron - rather BL it than buy it
Tatooine Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it
Dagobah Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it

*Whew!*  I should probably slow down a bit.

[exciter1]

 

SDCC Batmobile - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Superman - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Ultron - rather BL it than buy it
Tatooine Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it
Dagobah Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it

*Whew!*  I should probably slow down a bit.

I've put together several SDCC Batmobiles.  Those aren't too bad.

[redghostx]

Resurrecting this thread.  I was going to post this in the What you building from bulk thread, but then realized that it's mostly stuff I'm looking to do on Bricklink, not from bulk, that I want to talk about.

I realize my list is getting out of control at the moment.  This is what's on my current Bricklink "want" list.  I'm starting to put together orders now:

10188 Death Star - need to finish out about 100 pieces, from a Goodwill pick up that was missing a couple hundred pieces
10211 Grand Emporium - eBay purchase that was missing about 200 pieces
10224 Town Hall - decided I'm going to try to BL this instead of cracking open my inventory for resell
10680 Juniors Garbage Truck - I just want the dumpster
20010 Republic Gunship - Polybag is too expensive
20019 Slave 1 - Polybag is too expensive
4488 Millenium Falcon - Polybag is too expensive
5004590 Batpod - I didn't win one, and I'm not buying one
5526 Skyline - Too expensive NIB
60073 Service Truck - I just want the port-a-potty
75010 B-Wing - I don't want the planet, just need the ship
7778 Midi Millenium Falcon - eBay purchase that was missing just a couple of parts

SDCC Batmobile - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Superman - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Ultron - rather BL it than buy it
Tatooine Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it
Dagobah Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it

*Whew!*  I should probably slow down a bit.

I did the Tatooine one, except for C-3P0 and one piece (subbed), it was reasonably priced and displays nicely.

[Tgnmonster]

My son and I spent the last couple of months Bricklinking a Super Star Destroyer (missed it when it was available). We just got the last parts yesterday, which was a baggy of 22 blue hinges that I ordered in the wrong color.

We split it up over 10 different orders, both to keep the incremental cost reasonable (a bit each pay-check), and because many parts were not available from the same vendors in the quantities needed for this guy.

All-in-all, I spent about $380 on the ship itself (no mini-figs or stickers). I substituted 3 piece types. The first is the infamous yellow Technic 5x5 right-angles (subbed it for black ones), the second is the large quantity of light and dark-grey 1x2 plates with 1 stud (had to sub it for the kind that has a slight groove along the bottom), and the third is a transparent blue piece that has the Emperors face on it (just the regular transparent blue piece for now).

I've also picked up Admiral Piett ($20) because we have to have at least one guy on the bridge when we put it together. I'll get the rest of the mini-figs over the next few of weeks.

This was really enjoyable for the 2 of us, and we spent last weekend taking inventory of all the orders to make sure we have everything we need. Our "master plan" was to hold it for Thanksgiving vacation to assemble. I don't think we're going to make it. 

Edited September 24, 2015 by Tgnmonster

[Alpinemaps]

I did the Tatooine one, except for C-3P0 and one piece (subbed), it was reasonably priced and displays nicely.

The metallic silver antenna?

[redghostx]

 

The metallic silver antenna?

I think that I omitted the brown boat stud for the undercarriage of the Sandcrawler.

[thoroakenfelder]

I need to get that trans blue hose from the midi Millennium Falcon and maybe a sticker sheet from 7965

[Alpinemaps]

My counter tonight...too many sets I'm BL'ing right now...

[Phil B]

A resurrection of a resurrection ....

I just finished Bricklinking a 10173 Holiday Train. Had my eyes on one for too long but didn't want to fork out $400+ for a used one on eBay .... and in the process got so familiar with the signs of an original vs a bricklinked 10173 that I realized most sub-$500 10173's are bricklinked :). With a few pieces I already had I thought I could get it done for under $200 shipping included .... even bought some 1/8" red car striping to turn 2 of my white train baseplates into red ones (the expensive pieces are those 2 red baseplates ($20 a piece) and the lady minifig ($15-$20)) - until I discovered that my train baseplates were 6x24 and the red baseplates used in 10173 are 6x28. At that point I decided I was going for the real deal, forked out for the right baseplates, all the minifigs etc.

Currently 99% correct pieces - only white windows with hollow studs (original had solid ones) but nobody sees this, and new 1-piece magnetic couplings instead of the older 3-piece ones (except for the engine-tender connection, where the additional stud on the new couplings warps the build). 22 different orders and $250 spent including shipping, but she's a beauty. Will post pictures later.

... then I decided to motorize, added 2 more custom built cars to do so, and spent another $150 Don't tell my wife .... She loves the train though.

[eracine]

about 3 months ago we finished parting out the first death star 10143.  It was a pretty cool experience all and all.  Looking at some other UCS but haven't decided yet

[Alpinemaps]

On 9/24/2015 at 1:54 PM, Alpinemaps said:

Resurrecting this thread.  I was going to post this in the What you building from bulk thread, but then realized that it's mostly stuff I'm looking to do on Bricklink, not from bulk, that I want to talk about.

I realize my list is getting out of control at the moment.  This is what's on my current Bricklink "want" list.  I'm starting to put together orders now:

10188 Death Star - need to finish out about 100 pieces, from a Goodwill pick up that was missing a couple hundred pieces
10211 Grand Emporium - eBay purchase that was missing about 200 pieces
10224 Town Hall - decided I'm going to try to BL this instead of cracking open my inventory for resell
10680 Juniors Garbage Truck - I just want the dumpster
20010 Republic Gunship - Polybag is too expensive
20019 Slave 1 - Polybag is too expensive
4488 Millenium Falcon - Polybag is too expensive
5004590 Batpod - I didn't win one, and I'm not buying one
5526 Skyline - Too expensive NIB
60073 Service Truck - I just want the port-a-potty
75010 B-Wing - I don't want the planet, just need the ship
7778 Midi Millenium Falcon - eBay purchase that was missing just a couple of parts

SDCC Batmobile - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Superman - rather BL it than buy it
SDCC Ultron - rather BL it than buy it
Tatooine Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it
Dagobah Mini Build - rather BL it than buy it

*Whew!*  I should probably slow down a bit.

Holy crud. I've been working on this since September?!?  No wonder I want to be done!

I'm nearing the end of my journey.  I'm down to only a few pieces on each of those, and a few orders left to come in.  Had to go with some International sources to get all of my parts, but finally found pretty much everything.

On 9/24/2015 at 3:42 PM, redghostx said:

I think that I omitted the brown boat stud for the undercarriage of the Sandcrawler.

I know exactly the piece you're talking about.  I found a source in Canada that had one.  Just waiting on that piece to come in. Just curious - what did you sub it out for?  Clear? Black?  I debated on a couple different colors until I lucked into someone having that piece in the right color.

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

gf just got done building the Cafe Corner, I bricklink'ed.  Was 13 orders just over $550.  I made a handful of subs and forgot to order about 15 pieces. Most impressed by the hotel sign when light hits the trans red part.

[redghostx]

13 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

Holy crud. I've been working on this since September?!?  No wonder I want to be done!

I'm nearing the end of my journey.  I'm down to only a few pieces on each of those, and a few orders left to come in.  Had to go with some International sources to get all of my parts, but finally found pretty much everything.

I know exactly the piece you're talking about.  I found a source in Canada that had one.  Just waiting on that piece to come in. Just curious - what did you sub it out for?  Clear? Black?  I debated on a couple different colors until I lucked into someone having that piece in the right color.

I used a clear boat stud because I had one in stock and black does not go with the rest of the build. Holy thread resurrection, Alpine!

[Alpinemaps]

I'll have to take a picture of my counter in the next couple of days.  It's getting pretty full of baggies of LEGO as I finish up gathering these parts.  The sad part has been that I still don't have any sets to build!  That list is actually a little longer now, but I'm still waiting on orders to come in to have something complete to build.  I'm down to needing one or two parts on 15 different sets, lol.

I actually build the San Diego Comic Con '66 Batmobile last night, but it's not complete - I'm still missing the wheels.  I thought I had the right ones from my own bulk, but I'm horrible at identifying wheels, so it's back to Bricklink I go.

I'm going to wait until I finish getting all of my outstanding orders in, before I do any more Brinklinking, just to make sure I'm not missing any parts.

[Cbenioff]

Any advice on using bricklink efficiently?  I always have trouble searching for stores that sell numerous parts I need.  Is there a way to search inventory for multiple items at once?

My current method is to search for the rarest items and then from those sellers, individually search for who also has other items I need.  Then I check their terms and see if I meet the requirements etc.  It is very time consuming and I only buy 5-10 parts at a time.

[Phil B]

7 minutes ago, Cbenioff said:

Any advice on using bricklink efficiently?  I always have trouble searching for stores that sell numerous parts I need.  Is there a way to search inventory for multiple items at once?

My current method is to search for the rarest items and then from those sellers, individually search for who also has other items I need.  Then I check their terms and see if I meet the requirements etc.  It is very time consuming and I only buy 5-10 parts at a time.

I use the same mechanism and agree that it is cumbersome. You might want to try brickowl.com instead, there you can just create your wanted list and an algorithm helps you find the best combination of shops to fulfill your order. Every time you add a seller to complete part of your order, it even optimizes the price across all selected vendors to give you the best overall price. Still not perfect, and you have less control, but it does make things a little easier. That said, you will still find that no vendor carries it all

[lego rules]

5 hours ago, Cbenioff said:

Any advice on using bricklink efficiently?  I always have trouble searching for stores that sell numerous parts I need.  Is there a way to search inventory for multiple items at once?

My current method is to search for the rarest items and then from those sellers, individually search for who also has other items I need.  Then I check their terms and see if I meet the requirements etc.  It is very time consuming and I only buy 5-10 parts at a time.

Brickficiency

Edited December 29, 2015 by lego rules