How are the giant MOCs done?

[speedpro50]

My teenage daughter is interested in diving into the world of larger MOCs, even builds that might be 10's of thousands of pieces. Where does one begin with this? Is the LegoDD software the best route? We definitely plan to utilize BL for parts. Are there good tutorials to read or videos to watch for giant MOCs?

[Locutus001]

31 minutes ago, speedpro50 said:

My teenage daughter is interested in diving into the world of larger MOCs, even builds that might be 10's of thousands of pieces. Where does one begin with this? Is the LegoDD software the best route? We definitely plan to utilize BL for parts. Are there good tutorials to read or videos to watch for giant MOCs?

Hi speedpro50,

there is not "one" way to build larger MOC but several.

The most important thing is that you have an idea of what you want to build and the material to do so. I would recommend starting either with small structures that you can connect later or building it level for level.

For a building the level for level strategy should work nicely whereas for other things building smaller parts and connecting them later might be best.

 

Depending on the size of your build, on the materials you do have, etc. you can use different techniques.

One example: Some people like to build big walls or mountains. Not having that many bricks (or not wanting to spend that much time on building the supportive structures) they use LEGO Duplo bricks of all colours that you won't see later on as they make up the mostly enclosed interior.

 

You can mix different techniques but I would recommend that you have a slight idea of what techniques you would like to use. Also maybe it is better to start with smaller to midsized MOCs. (Which is not only a great way to collect the needed amount of bricks till you can start a big MOC but also you can experiment with different building techniques!).

 

There is a thread in this forum I'd like to introduce to you if you don't know it already:

You can find several nice techniques there that you might like to try out!

Just recently I've postet this link there: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=60907

This almost is a complete tutorial ^.^

 

If you use google and youtube search you can find many techniques, tricks and tipps (too many for me to post them here ;-) BUT we do have a thread where some links are posted! ^.^ )

 

If you do not have the bricks already software might be a good idea, personally I'm a bigger fan of handmade MOC. There are other forums out there that are specialized in building and you can find many great MOC there (for example http://classic-castle.com/) (Focus more on castle MOC)

As a German I can also recommend: http://www.imperiumdersteine.de/ (focus more on Star Wars MOC)

 

Since this is a forum more about Investment than about building I guess another forum might fit your needs better when it comes to building with LEGO. As I am very interested in building MOC myself I opened a thread for MOCs and MODs of BP members, I'd like to invite you to post your masterpieces there once you have had the time to build something :-)

http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/14995-bp-member-mocs-mods/

Also there are tons of books about building with LEGO (google, amazon search, etc.) Mostly the price is too high for what they can offer you but sometimes you find good inspiration there.

 

I guess there are flickr groups as well that focus on buildingtechniques... so some flickr research might help as well.

 

I hope I could answer your question a little bit.

Looking forward to see your and your daughter's MOCs!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2015 by Locutus001

[speedpro50]

This thread you pointed us to is fantastic.

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=60907

How would you begin to handle a BL order to get pieces to begin working on a project like a medieval village with surrounding scenery? How do you know what you need if you don't have the exact design?

[thoroakenfelder]

I've been hesitant to begin work on a Mustafar playset. when I think of having one, it delights me, but then thinking of all of the planning and experimenting and sourcing intimidates me. The LDD would not do what I wanted it to sometimes when I was trying to make my TARDIS console. It wouldn't let me place the pieces where I knew they would go through experimentations.

[DadsAFOL]

If you are struggling with LDD, try LDRAW (www.ldraw.org).  This is a collection of open source software.  The main piece is MLCAD for Windows or Bricksmith for Mac.  Both allow you to build using the parts universe, and will allow connections and placements that LDD deems "illegal".  Both softwares allow you to export parts lists, which you can turn into a BrickLink wanted list and start your shopping.

[Locutus001]

4 hours ago, speedpro50 said:

This thread you pointed us to is fantastic.

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=60907

How would you begin to handle a BL order to get pieces to begin working on a project like a medieval village with surrounding scenery? How do you know what you need if you don't have the exact design?

You're welcome.

"How would you begin to handle a BL order to get pieces to begin working on a project like a medieval village with surrounding scenery? How do you know what you need if you don't have the exact design?"

As I told you before you should have a certain idea of what you want to build.

For a medieval village with surrounding scenery the building strategy starting with single elements and connecting them later would be my take on it.

Looking for ideas will lead you to with parts you will need.

 

There are two ways to do this:

1. You build with what you got... depending on what you got your structures as well as building ideas will take on their own life. Because suddenly you have to come with an idea for this and that problem but it is impossible to make it the same as your antetype model. This is a fun way as you'll end up with something very different from what you intended to do at the beginning. That's what happend with my MOC so far ;-) (see the laboratory? I had lots of translucent pieces and knew I would run out of grey tiles eventually so I used the translucent pieces where I could. Afterwards I really liked it. The wall pattern as well as the intersections.

2. You know what you need and if you don't have the right parts anymore you order them ^.^

Depending on what you need ordering via LEGO Shop at home (pick-a-brick) or using ebay could be a good idea.

I also like to go to the LEGO store to see what their pick-a-brick wall has got to offer since this is the cheapest way to get a lot of pieces (especially 1x1 or plants...). Sometimes I just buy pieces because I think I could need them eventually. At first I tried to put as much stuff into these cups as possible but by now I'm far too lazy to do that. It's just not worth my time only to safe maybe 2€... (or 5 or even 10!!! I'd rather buy a second cup than spending 3 hours there and later additional 3 hours to detach all these pieces again ^.^)

Right now I have an okay stock of bricks and each time I see something and notice some bricks I probably don't have and need I order them. As I said in my post before: Starting with small to midsized models is a great way to start your brick collection as well as you will not only figure out how techniques work but also which parts you need. This approach also allows you to start a project like the medieval village for example.

You could start with buildings, single trees or with the riverside. You name it.

The best thing about these single structures is that you can easily remove and reattach them if you need to alter the ground for example.

 

I'd advice you to start with a single building and each time you need certain parts get them. Some of the greatest MOC builders I've seen (MOCs of ^.^) do use this approach. Maybe not because they want, but because sometimes you just run out of a certain brick or need a brick you don't have in your inventory.

 

"How do you know what you need if you don't have the exact design?"

You don't.

Also you don't know with which design you will end up with what you got ^.^ That's the beauty of it ;-) It's a try and error approach with lots of problemsolving involved. Sometimes you find your own solutions, sometimes you copy others. Mostly it'll be a mix I guess ;-) If you build MOCs for some time you'll have your own repertory but still might meet problems.

 

In a way it's the same approach as children use. They want to build something and they have to use the bricks they have. Only difference is we don't just want to play with the result but we want the result to be displayable (best case scenario *g*). We long for a certain level of details. The smaller the bricks you use the more details you can add. Go ahead and try to copy some of the smaller works of others and alter them according to your taste.

 

 

[speedpro50]

Are there any MOCs (mid-sized) that provide instructions? This might be another helpful way to learn techniques.