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Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love Lego.
I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
ever done.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol' bricks, and if
I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to make any
posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice. Above all,
everybody keep up the great building.
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In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
> Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love Lego.
> I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
> far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
> things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
> ever done.
>
> Anyway, I'm hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol' bricks, and if
> I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to make any
> posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice. Above all,
> everybody keep up the great building.
Ditto what Kevin said. I look at my ships from five years ago, compared with
FdG (see the left side bar in .build.military), and then Takao
(http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~lfbraun/Takao.html) and there's a definite
progression, aside from size of course. It's a simple process of refinement.
But if you really want to see what people without huge collections can do, look
through Gil Shaw's postings (mostly .space); I remember when he first arrived,
and was posting good but not exceptional stuff, but over time he's just taken
off like a rocket in creativity and detail (even before considering the pod
thing). That's what happens; the things you see here impress upon you more than
you may think, and help you "think outside the box" and come up with further
innovations of your own. Some folks in fact swear by small collections or
travelling assortments for "forcing" creativity, so size of collection is far
from being the most limiting of factors.
No matter what, though, just stick around and keep clicking the bricks; we'll
all rub off on you, and you in return on us--that's the joy of LUGNET.
all best
LFB
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In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
> Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love Lego.
> I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> everyone. How do all of you pull it off?
How?
Start building. You'll get better. That's not a flippant answer, it's the truth.
Do as many of the following things as you can:
- Build stuff "in the style of" official sets, perhaps working from their
instructions to learn various idioms
- Build stuff then build it again without taking the original apart so you can
"make it better" as you go
- Take pictures (the very act of taking pictures shows you things to improve)
- Post pictures on BrickShelf
- Do model writeups on MocPages
- Tell us about your creations
- Don't get discouraged if no one responds
- If a lot of people respond you don't necessarily have to respond to each
response but it is ok if you want to, shows eagerness
- Take all criticism positively, and let apparent meanspiritedness slide
- Build with your kids, they have great ideas
- Build with a friend. Free build or pick a theme
- Try to copy stuff you like on BrickShelf
- Enter contests... constraining yourself to a certain idea forces creativity
- Build "in the style of" a builder you like.
- Buy some sets from Custom builders (see the www.bricksmiths.com site for
sellers, and also check out non Guild sites) to get some ideas.
- Join a local club if there is on
- If there's no local club, start one!
- Go to shows where LEGO is on display and talk to the builders
- Do shows of your own
- Go to LEGOLAND and study MiniLand for ideas
- Hang out at Brand Retail stores (if there's one near you) and just interact
with the people that come in. And the employees, (if you can do so non
disruptively)
- Buy books. The DK ultimate lego book is good, So are the LDraw books, and the
Mindstorms books
- Practice Practice Practice
- Then practice some more. There are no bad creations, but some are better than
others.
Oh, and one thing, whatever you do... Have fun.
Hope that helps.
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This one time, Dave Lander wrote:
> Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love Lego.
> I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
> far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
> things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
> ever done.
Experiment. Build. It sounds simple, and that's all the really is to it.
What I find helps me is I keep a project list of some projects I'd like to work
on. Some of them have came to be, others have just sat around in pieces.
For example, I finished several mosiacs and sculptures I wanted to do, and
I did them. Don't expect these project to necessarily happen overnight either..
sometimes they take some time to get done.
Even some of the smaller projects I've done have taken a long time.
Build what interests YOU.
> Anyway, I'm hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol' bricks, and if
> I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to make any
> posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice. Above all,
> everybody keep up the great building.
Don't forget places like bricklink.com. If you just need a piece or so, it's
the best place around.
-Anne
--
I always said I wanted to be (\`--/') _ _______ .-r-.
somebody. Perhaps I should >.~.\ `` ` `,`,`. ,'_'~`.
have been more specific. (v_," ; `,-\ ; : ; \/,-~) \
stripes at tigerlair dot com `--'_..),-/ ' ' '_.>-' )`.`.__.')
stripes at brickbox dot com ((,((,__..'~~~~~~((,__..' `-..-'fL
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In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
> Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love Lego.
> I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
> far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
> things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
> ever done.
>
> Anyway, I'm hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol' bricks, and if
> I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to make any
> posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice. Above all,
> everybody keep up the great building.
Basically just throwing in a 'right on' to all that's been said. Only thing to
add is that you've already taken the most important step, and that is joining
this community. I lurked for over a year before starting to build. Then, I
tried to build things that I saw here...you would be amazed how much the
techniques and asthetics seep in when you get your hands in the bricks and take
a walk through other's creations.
Best of all, have fun and try to let go any thought of 'is this good enough'.
Just build.
And welcome!
Cheers,
-Gil
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In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
> Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love
> Lego.
> I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
> far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
> things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
> ever done.
>
> Anyway, I'm hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol' bricks, and if
> I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to make
> any posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice. Above
> all, everybody keep up the great building.
Many excellent suggestions have been given to you so far. They are all good
ideas.
As for getting more Lego to build with, you don't have to consider buying more
Lego to be a major purchase. If your cash flow is small, just buy Lego in small
batches. A small or medium set once a month and a large Lego set twice a year
may be a good goal for you for now.
Don't go skipping meals to buy Lego, but if you cut back on less important
spending, you may find you can afford to spend more cash on Lego. For example,
if you go to the movies once every two weeks, switch to video rentals to watch
at home and use the leftover cash to buy a bucket of bricks or a new set. You
can watch the videos while building with Lego.
If you like to buy your lunch every day at work, cut back some and bring a lunch
from home a few times a week. Your grocery bill will go up a bit, but your
total food bill will be less--restaurant food costs more per meal than a brown
bagged lunch. Take the cash you just saved and buy Lego.
Trips to vending machines get expensive. Buy larger quantities of drinks and
snacks at grocery stores for far less money per serving and then limit your
consumption to portion sizes similar to vended products. I never will
understand why some people put money into vending machines on a daily basis--I
guess they just do not value their money as much as I do.
For me, I used to drink a lot of alcohol. But when I realized it had seriously
cut into my Lego buying budget, I cut back and eventually stopped going to bars
and even drinking much at all. Spending $20 a night out drinking does not have
any lasting effects but spending $20 on Lego lasts many years. I now have much
more relaxed evenings at home in the Lego room than I ever had at any tavern.
You can view Lego purchases as rewards for things you have accomplished. For
example, if you are not late to work for a whole month, you can reward yourself
with a nice new Lego set.
As was suggested, do no forget about BrickLink.com
Just about any item ever made my Lego is available there. You can spend as much
or as little as you like. The best thing about BrickLink is the ability to buy
just exactly what parts you think you will need for a project without having to
buy any parts you do not find useful.
Bottom line is that buying Lego does not have to be a burden on finances.
Simply take stock of what other things you can reduce spending on so that you
can spend more cash on Lego. And remember that smaller purchases over time may
be much more rewarding than a few big purchases.
__Kevin Salm__
buyer of Lego for over 25 years
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In lugnet.build.military, Kevin Salm wrote:
Some excellent followup thoughts and money saving tips! ... But one or two I
gotta riff on... :-)
> Trips to vending machines get expensive. Buy larger quantities of drinks and
> snacks at grocery stores for far less money per serving and then limit your
> consumption to portion sizes similar to vended products. I never will
> understand why some people put money into vending machines on a daily
> basis--I
> guess they just do not value their money as much as I do.
Am I misremembering or didn't you formerly have something to do with vending
machines??? :-)
If so you're talking yourself out of income!
> For me, I used to drink a lot of alcohol. But when I realized it had seriously
> cut into my Lego buying budget, I cut back and eventually stopped going to bars
> and even drinking much at all. Spending $20 a night out drinking does not have
> any lasting effects
Other than on your liver...
> but spending $20 on Lego lasts many years. I now have much
> more relaxed evenings at home in the Lego room than I ever had at any tavern.
Another thing to consider is (if you smoke) to give up or reduce smoking... at
4ish a pack, it too can be a source of significant funds (if diverted) for the
LEGO habit... :-)
++Lar
The FUTs were all over the map, I see Kev trimmed them down nicely, I think
maybe plain old .build is even better suited...
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In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
> Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love Lego.
> I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
> far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
> things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
> ever done.
Many great suggestions by others..... I do a lot of mutations. Start out with
something, get and an idea on how to change it, change it. Try something else
throw it out, try again.
Don't expect that it will come out just the way you want the first time. My
first RCX based two legged walker took many many successful failures (about 3
weeks of intense building). I learned a lot about what would not work, which
eventually led me to something that did.
Over time, you will work up a bag of tricks that can make things go faster.
Sometimes you'll come up with revolutionary ideas; new tricks for the trick bag.
Above all, don't be intimidated by the MOCs you think are really hot here. I
guarantee that the really hot ones are not a first MOC, or even a first draft of
a MOC.
Be open minded and try to think about many ways to do the same thing. You may
not use all of them now, but you will probably use them eventually.
Kevin
http://www.kclague.net
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In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
> Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love Lego.
> I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
> far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
> things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
> ever done.
>
> Anyway, I'm hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol' bricks, and if
> I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to make any
> posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice. Above all,
> everybody keep up the great building.
Welcome aboard, Dave!
I don't have much to add to the wisdom already dispensed on this thread, but
here are a few other suggestions to help you in your building (some of these may
be repeats).
1. Start with a cool first name. (You seem already to have done this part.)
2. Don't be intimidated! Quite a few giants here on LUGNET are able to work in
very large scale, resulting in huge capital ships, lifesized sculptures, and
sprawling moonbases, cityscapes, or kingdoms. If, like me, you're more
comfortable working on individual structures or vehicles, then feel free to work
in that scale.
3. Don't be afraid to borrow clever designs from other builders. Imitation, as
they say, is the highest form of flattery. People on LUGNET are overwhelmingly
generous with their designs, provided that no one claims undue credit or seeks
to make a profit from the designer's original work.
Dave!
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In lugnet.build.military, Kevin Salm wrote:
> In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
> > Ya know, I've been into Lego for a while myself. I haven't had the time or money
> > I'd have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still love
> > Lego.
> > I've been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one question for
> > everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I've seen on this site so
> > far just blows away anything I've ever even come close to attempting. Even the
> > things that you people say you need to work on are far ahead of anything I've
> > ever done.
> >
> > Anyway, I'm hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol' bricks, and if
> > I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to make
> > any posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice. Above
> > all, everybody keep up the great building.
-Major Snippage-
>
> Bottom line is that buying Lego does not have to be a burden on finances.
> Simply take stock of what other things you can reduce spending on so that you
> can spend more cash on Lego. And remember that smaller purchases over time may
> be much more rewarding than a few big purchases.
>
> __Kevin Salm__
> buyer of Lego for over 25 years
To further what Larry P. mentioned in a previos post, as well as Kevin Salm's
above...
I've had the experience of placing my own 32 foot long cable-stayed suspension
bridge of 33,000 LEGO pieces in the front window of a Zainy Brainy toy store.
Upon viewing my creation/display from the outside for the first time I heard a
passerby make the comment "It must be nice to have no budget". What made it
interesting was immediately following that comment this person flicked down
their cigarette butt to the ground. It then dawned on me that this bridge
occupying the window would be the equivalent of a pack a day for a year. So yes
it's just a matter of priorities.
Patrick S. O'Donnell
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In lugnet.build.military, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> In lugnet.build.military, Kevin Salm wrote:
>
> Some excellent followup thoughts and money saving tips! ... But one or two I
> gotta riff on... :-)
Okay, smart Guy......
Oh, before I start my reply I would like to say I find this thread also great
fun. Even if Larry pokes at me :)
>
>
> > Trips to vending machines get expensive. Buy larger quantities of drinks
> > and snacks at grocery stores for far less money per serving and then limit
> > your consumption to portion sizes similar to vended products. I never will
> > understand why some people put money into vending machines on a daily
> > basis--I guess they just do not value their money as much as I do.
>
> Am I misremembering or didn't you formerly have something to do with vending
> machines??? :-)
> If so you're talking yourself out of income!
Yes, I used to fill vending machines and I would guess that about 40% of my
income was due to everyday vending machine customers. But if I drank 2 sodas at
work every day, I would bring them from home. That is just my way.
Since I drink about a liter of milk at work everyday, I do bring that from home
as well as my lunch. I spend less than $15.00 per week on my lunches and I only
go into restaurants about once a month. I prefer to buy Lego than pay for
expensive food.
>
> > For me, I used to drink a lot of alcohol. But when I realized it had
> > seriously cut into my Lego buying budget, I cut back and eventually stopped
> > going to bars and even drinking much at all. Spending $20 a night out
> > drinking does not have any lasting effects
>
> Other than on your liver...
True. I was going to add qualifiers to that statement, but figured I was
generalizing enough that no one would take issue with it. (grin)
> Another thing to consider is (if you smoke) to give up or reduce smoking...
> at 4ish a pack, it too can be a source of significant funds (if diverted) for
> the LEGO habit... :-)
Yeah, smart guy, you got me on that one. :)
I do spend a lot of cash on cigarettes, but I utilize manufacturers coupons and
buy where the cost is the least. My last trip into North Carolina cost me a lot
in cigarettes at a cigarette outlet store, but saved me almost $20 per carton
off smokes had I purchased in my home state of New York.
I used to have my cigarettes shipped to me by a firm in Kentucky, but thanks to
the wise legislators in New York, it is now illegal for common carriers to ship
cigarettes into or within New York directly to consumers.
Instead of forcing native american tobacco sales enterprises from paying state
taxes, the state legislature decided to cut off consumers best avenue for saving
money on smokes who prefer NOT to patronize the Indians. Now, instead of my
money going out of state to avoid paying sales and excise taxes,[1] my money
goes to the Indians who reap gross profits by circmventing the tax codes and
still manage to undersell taxpaying business owners. Either way, the state of
New York still does not get any tax benefits from my taobacco purchases.
Instead, now the state is faced with Indian nations whose finacial resources
continue to balloon and who now have the power to "buy" politicians as well as
force their own hands in other ways.
Obviously, the easy way for ME to get out from under this mess would be simply
to stop smoking. I should be smart enough to do that......but I just don't want
to as I smoke because I enjoy it.
While on the subject--the definition of
Cigarette = fire on one end, fool on the other
____
[1] Officially, I do believe that non-indians who patronize indian businesses
are personally responsible for remitting sales tax to the state. I have never
known anyone who had done such a thing, however.
PS. Why does Lugnet not have an off-topic.off-topic or off-topic.general?? I
don't really want this to go to .debate but there is no place else. I guess the
Lugnet plan was not to support off-topic discussions, but to make a place for
them since they are inevitable. Or something like that. I better go read the
Lugnet plan again to find out for sure....
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Kevin Salm wrote:
> In lugnet.build.military, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> > Another thing to consider is (if you smoke) to give up or reduce smoking...
> > at 4ish a pack, it too can be a source of significant funds (if diverted) for
> > the LEGO habit... :-)
>
> Yeah, smart guy, you got me on that one. :)
Inadvertantly!!!!...
I seriously forgot that you smoked... it's not something I pay much attention to
(except when I get a load of bricks from Europe and it starts reeking up the
house as soon as I slice into the first layer of packing tape, but I digress)
++Lar
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Kevin Salm wrote:
> > In lugnet.build.military, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
>
> > > Another thing to consider is (if you smoke) to give up or reduce smoking...
> > > at 4ish a pack, it too can be a source of significant funds (if diverted) for
> > > the LEGO habit... :-)
> >
> > Yeah, smart guy, you got me on that one. :)
>
> Inadvertantly!!!!...
>
> I seriously forgot that you smoked... it's not something I pay much attention
> to (except when I get a load of bricks from Europe and it starts reeking up
> > the house as soon as I slice into the first layer of packing tape, but I
> digress)
>
> ++Lar
It is not something I advertise.
Smoking is not something I am proud of and I do try to smoke in ways that do not
interfere with non-smokers right to clear air.
____
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In lugnet.build.military, Dave Lander wrote:
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Ya know, I’ve been into Lego for a while myself. I haven’t had the time or
money I’d have liked to have for it over the last few years, but I do still
love Lego. I’ve been coming to this site for a while now, and I just have one
question for everyone. How do all of you pull it off? Everything I’ve seen on
this site so far just blows away anything I’ve ever even come close to
attempting. Even the things that you people say you need to work on are far
ahead of anything I’ve ever done.
Anyway, I’m hoping to get some time together to dust off the ol’ bricks, and
if I can, get some cash for some new bricks too. If I ever get a chance to
make any posts feel free to ask whatever questions, and give whatever advice.
Above all, everybody keep up the great building.
|
As others have said, Welcome!
Lots of great ideas in this thread, as a ‘old-timer’ I thought I could toss out
a couple more.
Don’t feel you need to build HUGE things. Yes, some of us love to build massive
things like 8-wide trains and 4+ foot tall buildings and mountains that make the
buildings look small.
But, some of the coolest things I’ve seen are very small -- between 10 and 20
pieces. Some are less than 10 pieces!
Dirty little secret: It’s easier to build big than to build small...
Building small forces you to distill down to the very essence of what you’re
trying to create. What is the fewest amout of detail you can include and still
have people able to recognize what you’re making. As an example, look at the
mini Star Wars sets - brilliant work.
The other bit of advice -- never be afraid to take something apart if it isn’t
working out the way you wanted it to! As an example, my
8-wide SD-50 locomotive.
I worked on it almost every Thursday for at least three months - and I still
might make more changes to it. I’d try something, look at the photo I was
building from, take it apart, repeat (many, MANY times!)...
LEGO bricks are a great building medium, because you can take them apart and
reuse them. Take advantage of that fact!
And I’m surprised no one has called me on the ‘cheating’ I did on the SD-50...
;-)
JohnG, GMLTC
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This one time, John Gerlach wrote:
> But, some of the coolest things I've seen are very small -- between 10 and 20
> pieces. Some are less than 10 pieces!
There's one I'm still looking for, that someone posted on .space a while
ago. It's the coolest thing I've seen.
> Dirty little secret: It's {easier} to build big than to build small...
Depends on the builder :P For me, that's true. I have a hard time building
small, which is why I build both big and small, because the small really
challenges me. The big can challenge me too.
> Building small forces you to distill down to the very essence of what you're
> trying to create. What is the fewest amout of detail you can include and still
> have people able to recognize what you're making. As an example, look at the
> mini Star Wars sets - brilliant work.
What John said :)
-Anne
--
I always said I wanted to be (\`--/') _ _______ .-r-.
somebody. Perhaps I should >.~.\ `` ` `,`,`. ,'_'~`.
have been more specific. (v_," ; `,-\ ; : ; \/,-~) \
stripes at tigerlair dot com `--'_..),-/ ' ' '_.>-' )`.`.__.')
stripes at brickbox dot com ((,((,__..'~~~~~~((,__..' `-..-'fL
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