Replicating a LEGO set

[Fcbarcelona101]

Has anyone around here tried to build a LEGO set by buying the individual parts from LEGO and Bricklink? I was thinking about doing this for one of the no longer produced sets, but wanted to know if it is cheaper or more convenient than just paying the higher prices the actual sets usually require.

[TheOrcKing]

It depends on how much the original set is going for new or used. Some older sets have not appreciated well, and even if to buy it new will cost roughly 5-10% more than it's original retail, you will pay less for the mint in sealed box set than you would buying all the separate and typically used parts from Bricklink. Perhaps if I knew what discontinued set you are talking about building yourself, I could give a more precise answer. Otherwise, I'm kind of shooting in the dark here.

[Fcbarcelona101]

I have not decided yet but probably some of the Star Wars UCS like the X Wing or the 6211 Imperial Star Destroyer.

[Doofy McGee]

On the surface, it seems attractive to want to go through Bricklink to do a project like this. I have thought about doing it before too. But here is what always stops me. Two major things... 1. It is often hard to find a seller that has all or most of what you need. In fact, good luck ever finding a seller who has ALL of your parts. The point is, you will need to look to lots of different seller to find everything, and you are going to be paying at least a few bucks shipping every time. This really starts to add up and drive the cost up. If you need to hit up 20 different sellers, there goes $60+ in shipping costs. 2. Typically the Bricklink sellers who have large amounts of pieces charge much higher prices. They know that someone will pay these prices if they want to get more pieces in one stop. And when I say "much higher," I mean anywhere from 3 to 5 times higher prices than the "other guy" who is just selling 2 or 3 of the same piece. Of course it is worth looking in to, and you may get lucky and find most of what you need with one or two sellers, but odds are it won't happen this way.

[TheOrcKing]

It's on odd thing, even if you can buy a bunch of indivdual parts for around $0.03-$0.06 a piece from the same seller, the cost of shipping & handling (and sometimes other fees) ends up making the pieces cost more in total than they would from a brand new set. On the "X-Wing" and the other older UCS sets, buying the parts separately will take some time but can save a lot in the end. I think I remember a member here did that with the UCS "Millenium Falcon". Saved about a couple hundred dollars or more. As for the "Imperial Star Destroyer", I'm not sure. That is listed on average on Bricklink around the $300 mark. That's one of those where you might just end up spending roughly the same either buying up parts or the set itself new. I think this is one question Ed might be more of the expert on.

[Fcbarcelona101]

Yeah I figured it would make more sense on the sets that are really expensive to get like the UCS. I'll try to figure out how much would it cost to replicate the X-Wing, and if I do end up doing it I'll be sure to post it here. Thanks for your answers!

[TheOrcKing]

Yeah I figured it would make more sense on the sets that are really expensive to get like the UCS. I'll try to figure out how much would it cost to replicate the X-Wing, and if I do end up doing it I'll be sure to post it here.

Thanks for your answers!

Looking forward to it!

And you're welcome.

[Grolim]

I have thought about it too, but quickly gave up after factoring in international shipping from multiple sellers. Also you have to look out for exclusive or rare parts that the set might contain - often they are very expensive as well if the set is expensive.

[gymant14]

This all depends on how much time you are willing to spend on gathering the pieces and how much the set means to you. I came out of my dark ages a few years ago when the Cafe Corner retired and needless to say I missed out on getting one at a decent price. Getting in to the modular theme I obvioulsy had to have one and so I've been on the hunt now for pieces to rebuild for about a month. Here are some tips I've learned along the way: While it is true that you will have to travel around to different Bricklink sites to gather all of the pieces keep in mind two things that saved me a bundle. 1. Pick a Brick on LEGO.com has more pieces than most people realize. Over half of the pieces needed were found there. 2. Search through your own collection. I have multiple sets that were puchased for specific pieces or just minifigures. These proved valuable when searching for pieces for the Cafe Corner. I found that purchasing random chunks of pieces for the Cafe Corner was actually the best way to save for one. Whenever I stash money away to save for a new set coming out or for investment LEGOs, the money never seems to stick around for long as there is always something LEGO I run into that I must have NOW! By throwing $20 here and there at a rebuild, you'll be surprised how quickly you'll acquire the pieces. After all is said and done, my Cafe Corner rebuild is going to cost me about $400. As I plan to only build this set for my personal collection, it by far beats the lowest costing (used) Cafe Corner going on eBay for over $700. Hope this help!

[wintersun]

I've done this for the 10030 Star Destroyer. I regret it. I didn't check all the prices for the pieces first and start ordering. And then when I had 50% of the pieces I discover some pieces are REALLY rare. And I underestimated the shipping cost, so it cost me more than just buy a used one. Check the rarity with http://rebrickable.com first

[Huskers1236]

It's on odd thing, even if you can buy a bunch of indivdual parts for around $0.03-$0.06 a piece from the same seller, the cost of shipping & handling (and sometimes other fees) ends up making the pieces cost more in total than they would from a brand new set.

On the "X-Wing" and the other older UCS sets, buying the parts separately will take some time but can save a lot in the end. I think I remember a member here did that with the UCS "Millenium Falcon". Saved about a couple hundred dollars or more. As for the "Imperial Star Destroyer", I'm not sure. That is listed on average on Bricklink around the $300 mark. That's one of those where you might just end up spending roughly the same either buying up parts or the set itself new. I think this is one question Ed might be more of the expert on.

I have built a UCS Millennium Falcon and Cafe Corner from Bricklink/Lego PAB. When I did this, I went through Lego first to get everything they offered from Pick A Brick, since I wanted 100% new. After that, I would use Bricklink's tool to inventory the set, and delete everything I was able to get from Lego. Search for sellers in the "wanted" section, and search "by store", and it will give you a list of stores that have what you want in descending order. As others have said, there are stores that definitely put a premium on themselves, I won't name names here, but some are downright thieves. Getting as many parts from each seller possible is key as shipping adds up in a hurry, since almost every Bricklink seller charges more than actual shipping with bogus handling charges.

My Cafe Corner cost right at about $400 for all new parts, unfortunately, I haven't collected all the correct white panels for the windows yet as they are discontinued, so I bought the new version, and am slowly getting the correct ones. I also don't have instructions yet, as most sellers want a first born for them.

My UCS 10179 cost around $900 to build, all new, with new instructions and new stickers. Basically as good as something that would come out of the box, without having the box. There are some parts in that set that are outrageously expensive, like $50-100 per piece expensive. It was well worth it and fun to get all the pieces together, and saved some money too.

All in all, I'm sure you will save money on most of these big sets, but just be aware of prices from different sellers, as some are wildly expensive compared to others, with no rhyme or reason.

[h311m4n]

Has anyone around here tried to build a LEGO set by buying the individual parts from LEGO and Bricklink? I was thinking about doing this for one of the no longer produced sets, but wanted to know if it is cheaper or more convenient than just paying the higher prices the actual sets usually require.

I bricklinked the millenium falcon, total cost was around 600

[Fcbarcelona101]

Very good information, I'll be sure to research well exactly where to get most of my pieces and all that. Thank you all for taking the time.

[h311m4n]

Very good information, I'll be sure to research well exactly where to get most of my pieces and all that. Thank you all for taking the time.

Get the part list for the set you want to replicate on the interwebz. Once you got it, go through your own inventory of bricks to see what you already have. My falcon has a mix of old grey and bley, helped keeping the cost down

Some Bricklink shops have free international shipping too.