Pick-a-Brick thread

[Guest eightbrick]

So I thought I would start a thread where we could share what we got in our PAB cups, similar to the one on Eurobricks. Pics would be great, but if you just want to say what you got that would be cool as well. If you are new to PAB and want to see how to maximize space, check out my blog article here: http://community.brickpicker.com/blog/4/entry-242-pick-a-brick-cups-can-you-pack-an-investing-punch/

 

I thought I would kick it off with the two large cups I bought today. There's actually a bit of a story behind this. So normally the cups are $19.99 each in Canada for a large, but when I bought mine I was looking at the bill and I felt like it wasn't enough (in addition to the cups I bought a Friends set so I could get the Ice Cream Stand - I chose that over the Mech). They had charged me for one large and one small (10.99) I went back into the store, and one of the nice employees (heck, they are all nice!), I think Sidney was his name, said no problem, it was their mistake so don't worry about it. That means I got two cups for 30.98 CDN, not bad by my standards. Without further ado, here are the (badly lit) photos:

 

I used the central tower method, filling in the outside with small pieces, mostly 1x1 blue rounds - never know when you are going to need 1800 of those!

This picture is for anyone who doesn't take the time to pack their cups. I separated the pieces and poured them into empty cups, and the pieces that I squeezed into two cups filled 3 and a half cups - I'll take those extra pieces any day. And I'm not lying when I said "squeezed", I cracked one of the cups because it was filled so tight xP

And here's the spread. I thought since this is Brickpicker I should look at what I got from an investing perspective so here's the quantity list with Bricklink values:

 

3X White Doors @ 0.36=1.08

29X 2x1 Lime Tiles @ 0.05=1.45

26X 6x16 Dark Bluish Gray Plates @ 1.09=28.34

2X 1x2 Smoky Brick @ 0.09=0.18

1X 1x1 Red Brick with Stud @ 0.16=0.16

44X Clear 1x2 Brick @ 0.09=3.96

13X Dark Bluish Gray Corner Brick @ 0.09=1.17

105X Reddish Brown 1x4 Tile @ 0.06=6.30

18X 4x4 Reddish Brown Plate @ 0.08=1.44

30X 1x1 Dark Bluish Gray 1x1 Plate with Holder @ 0.04=1.20

2X Reddish Brown 2x4 Plate @ 0.05=0.10

69X 1x4 Light Bluish Grey Brick (Castle Builder's Dream ) @ 0.12=8.28

18X 2x6 Dark Bluish Gray Brick @ 0.18=3.24

41X 2x4 Dark Bluish Gray Brick @ 0.06=2.46

 

And finally: (and yes I did actually count this)

1817X Trans-Blue 1x1 Round Plate @ 0.03=54.51

 

Total Pieces: 2218 (average 1109 per cup

Price Per Piece (assuming 30.98 is cost): 0.01396... Basically 1.39 cents per piece. Ha! And people thought 10 cents per piece was good!

Bricklink Value: $113.87 Wow! Not bad for only an hour of packing. Too bad I have no intentions of starting a Bricklink store

 

So... what did you guys buy?

[Grolim]

So, so jealous   

[Guest eightbrick]

So, so jealous   

When the Classifieds open, I can trade you 6 cups for a 10179. Basically the same amount of pieces

 

I'm sort of perplexed that Lego hasn't opened a store in NZ, let alone Australia. Together, you guys almost as many people as Canada. Sidney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Auckland would all be good candidates for stores.

[@rtisan]

Great haul! Even better idea to start a thread for this sort of thing. Lots of fun to see what others get in their "goodie bags" per se. I`ll make a contribution next time I`m at my nearest Lego Store and buy some PAB. 

[Guest eightbrick]

Great haul! Even better idea to start a thread for this sort of thing. Lots of fun to see what others get in their "goodie bags" per se. I`ll make a contribution next time I`m at my nearest Lego Store and buy some PAB. 

The Calgary store is pretty dry right now, not sure where you are in Alberta or whether the Edmonton store has better stock. Those 6x16 plates were the best things I could find, way to many 2x4s plaguing the bins.

[@rtisan]

The Calgary store is pretty dry right now, not sure where you are in Alberta or whether the Edmonton store has better stock. Those 6x16 plates were the best things I could find, way to many 2x4s plaguing the bins.

Ahh, sorry to hear that! Hoping that I can get some of these in the future from there. You do have some great parts there (1x4s and 6x16 plates mainly), but they really have been quite bare over the few visits I`ve had there. Shame, I agree      Calgary is closest by about an hour I`d say. Just recently visited the Edmonton store while visiting family actually (first time). Much bigger overall, but piece selection was very similar I`d say.  

[Guest eightbrick]

Ahh, sorry to hear that! Hoping that I can get some of these in the future from there. You do have some great parts there (1x4s and 6x16 plates mainly), but they really have been quite bare over the few visits I`ve had there. Shame, I agree      Calgary is closest by about an hour I`d say. Just recently visited the Edmonton store while visiting family actually (first time). Much bigger overall, but piece selection was very similar I`d say.  

Yeah, it's usually just okay. The pieces I normally go for are vegetation, landscape-type pieces (eg. slopes in earthy colors), windows and 1 by x bricks in neutral colors. I wish they had like a survey or something where we could ask for what pieces we want. I've heard some stories over at Eurobricks of people who are on a good basis with the staff who ask the staff to order some specific pieces for the wall. I'll PM you if I ever see those tile rounds.

[@rtisan]

Yeah, it's usually just okay. The pieces I normally go for are vegetation, landscape-type pieces (eg. slopes in earthy colors), windows and 1 by x bricks in neutral colors. I wish they had like a survey or something where we could ask for what pieces we want. I've heard some stories over at Eurobricks of people who are on a good basis with the staff who ask the staff to order some specific pieces for the wall. I'll PM you if I ever see those tile rounds.

Haha, that would be great! Either that or join a LUG for the parts 1-2 times a year (think that`s how often it is?). I know of SALUG, but just don`t have enough time to contribute at this point. Are you a member of any groups? That would be great if they do bring those tiles in, thanks for the offer! 

[Guest eightbrick]

Haha, that would be great! Either that or join a LUG for the parts 1-2 times a year (think that`s how often it is?). I know of SALUG, but just don`t have enough time to contribute at this point. Are you a member of any groups? That would be great if they do bring those tiles in, thanks for the offer! 

No, I've heard of SALUG but haven't given much thought to joining as I'm pretty busy. I should consider it in the future... if they are the one's who did that epic train display 5 or so years ago it might be a really good idea.

 

Anyway, if anyone here is planning a visit to a Lego store, check out this website: http://www.brickbuildr.com/view/pab/ By no means is it solidly reliable, but it does give a good idea of what they stock on PAB walls.

[Grolim]

When the Classifieds open, I can trade you 6 cups for a 10179. Basically the same amount of pieces

 

I'm sort of perplexed that Lego hasn't opened a store in NZ, let alone Australia. Together, you guys almost as many people as Canada. Sidney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Auckland would all be good candidates for stores.

 

Haha, sure sure 

 

I can see them opening stores in Aus and maybe even here eventually.  At the moment they probably are content with the S@H online offering and the cosy margins they probably make with our local big retail stores.

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

In the Maryland store i found the 6x5 green leaves.  I bought 4 large cups and walked away with 346 leaves and a large pile of small tiles.  Should of got more as they sold for $30 in 50 leaf bundles, pretty quickly on ebay.

[Guest eightbrick]

In the Maryland store i found the 6x5 green leaves.  I bought 4 large cups and walked away with 346 leaves and a large pile of small tiles.  Should of got more as they sold for $30 in 50 leaf bundles, pretty quickly on ebay

Nice find. I love those giant leaves - they look like they came right out of Jurassic Park. I have about 30 of them from PAB, I love 'em but they are just so big (good on you for getting that many into 4 cups!), and the smaller bamboo pieces are so much more common to see.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Brian - I totally laughed when I saw this thread because of the following:

 

1. I knew you made it

 

2. I saw the exclamation point and thought that was definitely a good characterization of how you felt about it. lol

 

Honestly though, next time I go I am totally trying your methods. Hopefully later this month.

[Guest eightbrick]

Brian - I totally laughed when I saw this thread because of the following:

 

1. I knew you made it

 

2. I saw the exclamation point and thought that was definitely a good characterization of how you felt about it. lol

 

Honestly though, next time I go I am totally trying your methods. Hopefully later this month.

You know it!

 

Speaking of vegetation (which I haven't even mentioned yet in this post ), I wish my store had elements like this: 

 

When Friends was new, some of the purple/pink goodies from the Friends series snuck their way into some stores, those light purple tiles look amazing! Next time I'll see if I can fill the shipping box at my local store, it would be nice to work with something that has 90 degree angles.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

You know it!

 

Speaking of vegetation (which I haven't even mentioned yet in this post ), I wish my store had elements like this: 

 

When Friends was new, some of the purple/pink goodies from the Friends series snuck their way into some stores, those light purple tiles look amazing! Next time I'll see if I can fill the shipping box at my local store, it would be nice to work with something that has 90 degree angles.

 

 

See if you agree with this. What I think would be cool is if we make a list and add to it or rarer stuff we have seen or need. This could help people (like me) know what to pick up.

 

Further more, if there are some of these people on the site need, we could pick them up and then make deals to put on the BrickPicker Classifieds once they become live. Kind of help everyone out. I know if I found bricks at mine you guys couldn't find - I would be fine picking them up.

[Guest eightbrick]

Sounds good. If I do see anything rare, I'll pack an extra cup or two (it might be a smaller one if I'm pressed for money) of the rare piece whether it be the tile rounds or leaves and leave it sealed. Then whoever wants it can buy/trade it on the classifieds (at retail, of course - maybe just add a one dollar packing fee ). Myself, I'm probably only going to be doing trading for a couple years on the Classifieds until I set up a real bank account so I can deal with paying. If anyone is interested in some 6x16 DBG plates I might be able head back there. I can get maybe 15 into a large cup without attaching them, but if I squeeze them I can probably fit in 26-28. However, at that many, you're gonna have a heck of a time with a brick separater (I actually had to use a utility knife to help me pry mine off eachother LOL).

[CNH1974]

I too have recently stated to do this. But so far I have only bought small tubs, are the large ones better value?

Flowers are the best seller so far. 220 (55x4) went for

[JoshTX]

I'm not really all that up to speed on PAB, I guess I should pay better attention when I visit the stores.

 

My question is this...do they ever have castle building pieces in there? The castle wall or arch pieces, anything gray or black?

[comicblast]

Thanks for sharing Brianl3. Like DNIIM, I somehow knew that you started the thread.

 

I'm not really all that up to speed on PAB, I guess I should pay better attention when I visit the stores.

 

My question is this...do they ever have castle building pieces in there? The castle wall or arch pieces, anything gray or black?

The PAB wall has lots of bright colored bricks, but there is a fair amount of gray/black/brown pieces. Most of the stuff is regular old bricks, but there are some decently sized plates and other pieces that you can get from the PAB wall. It's pretty rare, I think, for the PAB wall to have printed pieces, like the ones you might see in the Castle theme.

[CNH1974]

I assume every store is slightly different.

My local store had 2x4 black and grey 45degree slopes & std 2x4 grey bricks. Closest to castle pieces they have.

[segreto]

I am going to give this a try at my local store, but when I went in there today their offerings were not what I was looking for.  They only had 3 or 4 bowls with smaller parts (green 1 dots, wheels, ladders, some green tree thing), and then the larger 2x4 and 2x6 bricks.  I don't want to fill up a cup with large bricks, but I want to give this a go, since I have never done it before.  I could use the green circle dots for landscaping, and I will get some of the green tree things that I cant identify.  I might get a few dozen wheels, since it looks like they have both parts for them, but the bricks look very generic.  There are a few bowls out of my reach, I imagine they are even duplicates of the bowls at ground level or one of the store workers can help me get the higher ones.  Other than putting the wheels together first, is there a good place to put them, or should I just use them for filler?

[comicblast]

There are a few bowls out of my reach, I imagine they are even duplicates of the bowls at ground level or one of the store workers can help me get the higher ones.  Other than putting the wheels together first, is there a good place to put them, or should I just use them for filler?

The PAB wall is very tall, but the top 3 rows (at my LEGO Store) don't have any bricks in them. Instead, they are pictures. Deceiving, I know, but it would be a lot of trouble to grab a ladder every time you needed to get something from there. I believe that the width of each PAB wall is different, but each has the same height, which is something like 6 rows with bricks.

 

I've also read that each LEGO store gets to order some of the bricks that they get for the wall, but LEGO also makes sure that they have other pieces, like generic pieces. Once in a while, you will see a rarer piece, but it's more usual to see bricks and plates in it.

[Guest eightbrick]

The PAB wall is very tall, but the top 3 rows (at my LEGO Store) don't have any bricks in them. Instead, they are pictures. Deceiving, I know, but it would be a lot of trouble to grab a ladder every time you needed to get something from there. I believe that the width of each PAB wall is different, but each has the same height, which is something like 6 rows with bricks.

 

I've also read that each LEGO store gets to order some of the bricks that they get for the wall, but LEGO also makes sure that they have other pieces, like generic pieces. Once in a while, you will see a rarer piece, but it's more usual to see bricks and plates in it.

Indeed. Yes, the upper couple rows are pictures and then usually the next couple rows are repeats of pieces that are below so that everything is in reach. That is the theory at least. The only piece (NPI) of advice I can give universally about PAB cups no matter what method you are using to fill it is to fill the bottom ring of the cup first. You can sneak in I believe eighteen 1x2 bricks into the bottom rim of a large cup, and more into a small. Or you can just make sure you get some small goodies into there.

[BuckeyeFanDan]

Finally found the leaf pieces at my local LEGO store PAB wall!  I've been waiting a long time for these!  I managed to fit 80 of them plus 20 2x2 brown bricks in a small cup, which I thought was pretty good - basically $0.08 each.  I would have gotten a big cup, but there were very few leaf pieces left and there weren't any other pieces I really wanted.  

[CNH1974]

You could always fill in the gaps with 2x2 tiles or flowers, they sell well.