Tips for a first-time Lego user?

Post by **Green Man** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:47 pm

Hi there. I just posted over in the Introduction thread, but I'll summarize very quickly and say that I'm 21 years old, just received my first Lego kits ever as a gift from a friend, and I'm having a lot of fun trying to build things.

I've been following BrikWars for a while because it seemed pretty fun and laid back. The endless possibilities for creation and flexibility also appealed to me a lot. So, here I am, finally with some Legos to call my own and I'd like to start dabbling in building units. I'm just hitting some snags that I'll chalk up to a lack of experience and visual memory. Everything just ends up looking like a cardboard box with wings or wheels. I'm trying to look at the instructions that came with the kits and glean some advice from their techniques, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone more experienced had advice they wouldn't mind sharing.

I think one of my biggest setbacks is not knowing which pieces are right to make certain fundamental designs like joints and decor. I'd really appreciate any tips anyone would have to offer, but I think I might just need to get some new sets and see and use new (to me) pieces.

Post by **OneEye589** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:54 pm

The main thing when it comes to building a quality model is to not just build in one direction. What I mean by this is not just plain bricks, one on top of another. There's tons of bricks out there, and once your collection grows, you'll find bricks that can greatly change the way you build. Many people say it's not the amount of bricks a person has at their disposal, but that's just not true. The more KINDS of bricks you have can make your creations go from shit to gold.

First, take a look at the Lego Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lego/

Just looking at everyone's styles and problem solving takes you a long way if you pay attention.

Second, buy more Lego! It's expensive, but it's something you're going to have to do to build good models. Try going on eBay and buying bulk Lego.

Third, if you aren't content with a model you build, take it apart and try it again. Don't half-ass these things. If you want to be good, don't just stand for boxes with wheels.

Post by **Natalya** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:55 pm

Try looking up SNOT techniques. It means Studs Not On Top and is good for creating stuff that isn't

.

*EDIT*

Post 2011 lol.

Post by **Green Man** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:13 pm

Wow, I've been looking through the Flickr and there's some really impressive stuff.

This guy in particular I really think is awesome:

I've been doing some research and I'm gonna head to the store here soon and pick some more up. I definitely need some minifigs and weapons, so I think I'll get a few impulse packs and maybe one large pack. Any recommendations for currently available sets that won't break the bank?

EDIT: Made that image smaller, it was way too huge.

Post by **OneEye589** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:36 pm

Just whatever looks interesting to you. Look and see what kind of parts are visible on the box. Anything that looks like it could be useful, go for it.

Post by **RagnarokRose** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:46 pm

We have a few members who have small part inventories. It's my opinion that they end up building the most imaginative stuff, simply because they have to.

At any rate, welcome! We have builders of all levels here, and I know from personal experience that staying here for any length of time will encourage you to build stuff and show it off, which is the major thing to do when it comes to improving...

Post by **Green Man** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 6:54 pm

Thanks for all the input! I'm going to ask one more quick question before I head to the store... I really want to start building some mechs, does that mean I should invest in some Bionicle or Hero Factory to get the basic framework pieces? If so, are there any that are especially useful from a building standpoint?

Post by **Zahru II** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:01 pm

I'd recommend hunting down some old exo-force sets.

Post by **OneEye589** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:30 pm

Buying a few Bionicle sets may help with mech building. I have a few sets and use the pieces every so often.

Post by **spartan117** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:34 pm

well you can't expect to start shooting out amazing creations the moment you lay your hands on legos...the people you are good have been playing with lego since they where 4-5

but the main thing is to HAVE FUN!!

build what you think is cool.

Post by **Green Man** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:06 pm

Well, I just got back from Toys R Us. They had some pretty nice deals going, like 20% off Pharaohs Quest and City and Bionicle B1G1. I ended up getting Atlantis 7976 Ocean Speeder, Atlantis 8057 Wreck Raider, Pharaohs Quest 7305 Scarab Attack, Pharaohs Quest 7306 Golden Staff Guardians, Bionicle Stars 7136 Skrall, and Bionicle Stars 7138 Rahkshi.

I just tried to grab things that met a few criteria I decided upon. First, I wanted the most minifigs and weapons for my money. Then, I looked at the accessories or how useful I imagined the bricks inside would be. Once I had quite a few laid out to decide, I just went with what was most visually appealing to me.

As far as the Bionicles go, I just picked ones that I thought would look cool. I also tried to choose 2 with very different body and limb types, hopefully that will help me expand a little more.

Thanks everyone for your input, I'll see if I can't get something I'm not ashamed to photograph put together in the next couple of days.

Post by **RagnarokRose** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:21 pm

spartan117 wrote:well you can't expect to start shooting out amazing creations the moment you lay your hands on legos...the people you are good have been playing with lego since they where 4-5.

*cough*

This is one AFOL's first Moc ever.

Post by **Green Man** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:04 pm

From what I've gathered reading articles today, bashing two Bionicles kits together is considered pretty lame amongst the Lego community. But that's exactly what I just did and I figured out a lot of neat tricks to make things connect in ways that they weren't really designed for. What's kind of frustrating is knowing that there's probably a bigger Bionicle that I could've bought and done the same thing with a piece designed to do it.

So, it was a learning experience but I'm beginning to understand the hard feelings most people seem to have against them.

I think I figured a way to make a pretty cool mech chassis out of some of the Bionicle pieces. Is there any good way to get a good assortment of bricks in specific colors without using the Internet? If not I guess I can order some, I just want the instant gratification. I've got so many ideas kicking around in my head. Legos are fun! (And addicting.)

Post by **razgriz 25th inf.** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:22 am

I can tell you from experiance that a good idea is to buy sets and modify them to take them from shit licker to kick ass status. Just take a look at my army. All of the shit stuff is stuff I made myself, and all the set stuff I modified are my kick-ass stuff. Everything else is stuff I made myself that kicked ass. but some people insist on making their own stuff, and that stuff typically is super-fucking-awesome. but I'm a utilitarian that aims for good looking stuff. But thats just me so..... really its all up to you, and how many briks you can get your grubby little mitts on. Jut roll with what works for you.

Post by **aoffan23** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:23 am

If you just want bricks, there are two options.

Creator sets are great for getting more basic pieces, but they also have some interesting ones. They also all offer instructions for three different models, so this grants lots of opportunity to observe building techniques and piece usages. It can also provide some inspiration for building stuff, and will help you find out what kind of things you like building.

There are also the bulk brick sets, which are really only useful if you like making buildings. They usually have a bunch of different colours in one set, so you can play around with different colour combos. However, they definitely won't let you build anything substantial from just one box, especially something with a solid colour scheme.

I'd suggest starting with the Creator sets, since they're a lot smaller and come in a variety of styles. You can get house sets, car sets, airplane sets, robot sets, etc. sample them out and decide what you like to build, then go from there. If you like building vehicles, go for sets with more angular pieces, or just interesting pieces that will be good for vehicles. If you like buildings, then go for the bulk brick boxes, creator houses, and maybe even some modular buildings (work your way up, the modular buildings are much better for once you settle into Lego and are a pretty big cash investment).