Bricklink projects

Necronomicon

I mentioned in another thread that I bought Batman's Tumbler from set 7888 by ordering it piece-by-piece. Since then a few have expressed interest in how I did it, so instead of sending PMs back and forth I thought it would be more manageable to have a single thread.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty much a newbie at these projects - the Tumbler was my one and only project to date, and I'm pretty sure I didn't do things as economically as I could have.

First you'll have to register with the LEGO secondary market Bricklink. It takes a while to get used to the website, mostly because it is horrendously outdated and feels like you're using something out of the 2000s. Still, once you get the knack of it, it has its charms.

Step 1


Bricklink has a 'wanted' list functionality, but the beauty is that you can choose between 1) adding the set, whole, to your wanted list, or 2) add the composite pieces that make up the set as individual items to your wanted list. The second one is what we're using here.

Step 2


When you click 'wanted', you'll see an option in the middle of the page called 'part out a set'. Click that.

Step 3


Next you're brought to a page with several options. The first thing to do is enter the set number that you want to part out (use Brickset as your search engine). The dropdown menu underneath allows you to choose whether you want to add the minifigures (where applicable) to you wanted list as a whole, or in pieces (i.e. hands, torso, head, legs, and accessories as individual items). On the right you have more options that allow you to tell Bricklink whether or not you want the original instructions added to your wanted list or not (remember, digital copies can be gotten for free through LEGO's customer service). I would also uncheck 'notify me by email' unless the set you want has some rare pieces.

Most of the options on this page are self-explanatory, however, I'd draw your attention to the Set My Minimum Desired Qty for each Item to Qty of Items in Inventory option. Check this option, because it will show you in your wanted list how many of each piece you need for this particular set. I also recommend creating separate wanted lists for each set to keep things tidy, an option which is also on that page. When you're ready, click 'submit for edit'.

Step 4


At this stage you're brought to a preview of your wanted list. Notice that the amount of pieces needed for the set are listed in the fourth column under 'Min Qty'. It's a good idea at this stage to check your own inventory of LEGO pieces to see if you can save some cash. If you find pieces in your existing collection that you'd be happy to use in the project, then subtract those pieces from the minimum quantity you require. If you already own the needed quantity of a particular piece, you can delete it completely by clicking the checked box on the furthest right column. You can also make comments on individual pieces, and set the maximum price you're willing to pay for a piece (pieces can get very, very expensive!) When you're ready to proceed, click 'Verify Items'. This shows you the wanted list as it will appear, so if you're happy with it then skip down and click 'Upload Items'.

Step 5
On the next page, click 'View your updated [name] Wanted List'. That brings you to your wanted list (or various wanted lists, if you have multiples). A dropdown menu will allow you to pick which wanted list you want to work with. In the column below, the category of pieces will be listed. The two options opposite these are 'Show All' and 'Edit Only'. The former is what tells you which stores have what you need. If you click 'Show In Stores Counts' it will add another column which tells you how many stores have a particular piece. This is important when your desired set has rare pieces:



Before clicking 'Show All' make sure you have the option 'Show Items For Sale' selected from the dropdown menu next to your wanted list dropdown menu:



You'll then be brought to a page which shows you each piece on your wanted list, along with all the stores that carry them. You can then sort the stores by lowest price, highest quantity, and so on:



Alternative Step

Rather than looking at the pieces individually, and which stores carry them, you can also see which Bricklink stores have the most items on your wanted list. To access this, click 'By Shop' highlighted below:



When you're brought to the list of stores, from the 'sort by' dropdown menu select 'Lots (unique)'. This will sort the stores by which have the most unique pieces in your desired set (rather than, say, having thousands in quantity of only a handful of pieces you want). When you click the store name, you're brought to it, and Bricklink automatically shows you the pieces you're looking for that the store has (so you don't have to go searching the store).

---

That should get you up and running anyway. What I can't remember from my sole project so far, and what is definitely worth checking, is whether or not pieces are automatically deleted from your wanted list as you buy them. I think I did this manually by printing my wanted list, but I imagine there should be that option in place.

Other Considerations:

1) Something to consider when you find the store that has the most pieces you're looking for, is the price compared to other stores. Obviously, it'll be economical to shop from as few stores as possible, but other stores may have certain pieces for a significantly lower price. You can also export your wanted list as an XML file in order to work with it on Microsoft Excel. I've seen people use this to great effect - creating a list of optimum stores, taking into account price/shipping/quantities through equations - but that is FAR above my Excel capabilities, so I won't even attempt to explain it here.

2) Sometimes you can find individual pieces on LEGO's Pick-a-Brick service. However, shipping costs to Ireland scarcely make this the optimal route.

3) Rare pieces get expensive, as mentioned earlier. The UCS Millenium Falcon has a number of pieces which now cost anywhere from €20 to in excess of €100 each. If your desired set has rare pieces, consider colour substitues to save cash (particularly where the pieces aren't prominent in the set, such as inner details).

That's all I can really think of for now. As I said, I've only done one relatively small project, so I'm still finding my feet in this too. It's very addictive though, you start getting hooked on the thrill of 'the hunt'. To see how ridiculous it can get, check out this thread on Eurobricks which documents the endeavours of a brave soul to Bricklink the UCS Millenium Falcon:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=67818&hl=bricklinking

This might be a good thread for people to document their experiences, like Eurobricks members have done in the thread above.

Longest...post...ever!

Happy building!

ozmo

Thanks for the writeup- So how much cheaper if any was it over buying a set from that site? it looks like a very expensive set secondhand anyway...

Necronomicon

ozmo wrote: »

Thanks for the writeup- So how much cheaper if any was it over buying a set from that site? it looks like a very expensive set secondhand anyway...

It's hard to answer based on my single Bricklinking experience. The set I wanted now goes for around €200. But I only wanted one vehicle from the set (the Tumbler from the Chris Nolan Batman trilogy). It only cost €24 to build the Tumbler from Bricklink, then there was another €15 or so in postage (buying from multiple sellers is what can really ramp up the costs).

It varies from project to project, but you can save decent money. It really depends on the set you want to build, how rare the pieces have gotten in those sets, whether you're okay with colour substitutions in some cases, whether you're looking for new or used pieces, and so on. Also, how much value you put on your time - it can be an exhausting process!

L1011

I've done the first two modulars (Cafe Corner and Green Grocer) in almost-faithful from Bricklink and will now be doing the third (Market Street) as the dearest part in it, the dark blue arch, is being re-made.

However, as I've a large-ish parts stock what I do first is take the "print friendly" parts list and paste it in to a spreadsheet (it should be formatted well enough for most spreadsheets to paste it as cells) to knock off what I have.

Then I go through and get Lego PAB prices and Bricklink average prices and order everything within 120% of BL Average from Lego directly - the reason for going to 120% is that most cheaper BL sellers are in the US and either won't sell here, have dear postage, or you'll get hammered for customs. If you're buying something off Shop@Home that means you don't pay separate shipping for the PAB order.

Then and only then do I upload what I need to BL... try to get the lot in a few large orders to save on shipping, so start by doing store searches for the rarer components. If parts are chronically dear, check Lego Customer Services for them albeit you may have some trouble with the software saying they have a part and the phone operator saying they don't. After that, its time to sub out.

Buying 100% accurate parts can, depending on rarity at the time, be absolutely murderously expensive. Cafe Corner has 36 slopes that were going for up to €3 each at one point until they appeared in a new set - BL values have now collapsed and CS have them even cheaper.

ozmo

Im going give it a go- however the sw set I would like to try looks very reasonable (few cents per brick)except the only place I can get the stickers they want 22 euros for the two really small but important ones :0
Might have wait for a lower cost seller for that...

ShadowHearth

I would love to Bricklink 5590. I always wanted it as a child, but I am not sure if second hand ones are that great quality. I would love to make it out of brand new parts and it would cost a fortune.

L1011

I'm not sure 5590s windscreen in that colour has been on another set.