How Much do you think something like this costs to build

Bubba

How much would you speculate to costs (in bricks and not time or labor) to make something like this? I've collected a lot of sets over several decades and tried to pad that with Yard/Garage sales sets I've gotten and still I doubt' I'd have enough bricks to make even 1/10th of this.  I'd love to have the resources one day to do it. 

Lo1sJess

There is probably more than $3,000 in minifigs and that’s at really good pricing.  I’ve never attempted anything a fraction of the scale but have quickly run through thousands of bricks doing a large pyramid or castle scene for the kid for Christmas.  Perhaps @evancelt will have an idea as he participate in large layouts.

Bubba

I know no one can so for sure but just ballpark it. Anytime I try to do something (ie MOC) I run into color section so I have enough elements but not always of the right color. 

evancelt

Lo1sJess said:

There is probably more than $3,000 in minifigs and that’s at really good pricing.  I’ve never attempted anything a fraction of the scale but have quickly run through thousands of bricks doing a large pyramid or castle scene for the kid for Christmas.  Perhaps @evancelt will have an idea as he participate in large layouts.

Yes, the figures alone are likely ~$3k. I'd say the other pieces would be $3k - $5k unless they were purchased with something like LUGBULK, which would make it much more affordable :

If the figs & bricks are knockoff that would also drastically cut down on cost.

pxchris

@samiam391 actually had a very large scale Helm's Deep with a similar sized orc army at one point and could perhaps offer some insight.

davee123

According to this source for the image:

http://thebrickblogger.com/2013/05/lego-users-group-brick-expo-by-okilug/

They quote:

It includes over 150,000 elements, 1,300 Uruk-hai, 200 elves from the LEGO Collectible Minifigures series, and over 100 Rohan soldiers! The builder of this huge LEGO diorama said it took about a year of planning and collecting pieces, and six months of building. He said that he spent about $20,000 on it! That is dedication!

Sounds like it was made back in 2013, when the figures might have been a bit easier to come by than today.

DaveE

Lo1sJess

wow I’m addicted but that kind of build would have to be a gradual buy over years, not tracked or purposeful cause I don’t think I could premeditate a $20k single Lego build

Bubba

So something like this is about more than just talent and creativity but money and a sizeable bit of money.  If I spent as much on a large MOC as I could to pay for half or more of a new car my wife would kill me in my sleep

Bubba

evancelt said:

Lo1sJess said:

There is probably more than $3,000 in minifigs and that’s at really good pricing.  I’ve never attempted anything a fraction of the scale but have quickly run through thousands of bricks doing a large pyramid or castle scene for the kid for Christmas.  Perhaps @evancelt will have an idea as he participate in large layouts.

Yes, the figures alone are likely ~$3k. I'd say the other pieces would be $3k - $5k unless they were purchased with something like LUGBULK, which would make it much more affordable :

If the figs & bricks are knockoff that would also drastically cut down on cost.

Thanks for the LUKBULK info, I had no idea such a thing existed. I've been a LEGO fan for about 45 years but most of that (when an adult and able to do more) was spent preparing for a single family income household followed by the raising (and getting them out the door) of several kids so I'm only now getting a point where some more serious things are feasible. When my kids were between 8-12 we did have a Lego city w/Streets and all (ie modular buildings) in the middle of the media room floor for a few years but that was the largest we ever got into the hobby. 

evancelt

Bubba said:

evancelt said:

Lo1sJess said:

There is probably more than $3,000 in minifigs and that’s at really good pricing.  I’ve never attempted anything a fraction of the scale but have quickly run through thousands of bricks doing a large pyramid or castle scene for the kid for Christmas.  Perhaps @evancelt will have an idea as he participate in large layouts.

Yes, the figures alone are likely ~$3k. I'd say the other pieces would be $3k - $5k unless they were purchased with something like LUGBULK, which would make it much more affordable :

If the figs & bricks are knockoff that would also drastically cut down on cost.

Thanks for the LUKBULK info, I had no idea such a thing existed. I've been a LEGO fan for about 45 years but most of that (when an adult and able to do more) was spent preparing for a single family income household followed by the raising (and getting them out the door) of several kids so I'm only now getting a point where some more serious things are feasible. When my kids were between 8-12 we did have a Lego city w/Streets and all (ie modular buildings) in the middle of the media room floor for a few years but that was the largest we ever got into the hobby. 

I'd recommend checking out LUGBULK via your local LUG :) I'm not at liberty to say how much it could have saved off of $20k, but I don't think it would have been as big of an investment :)

samiam391

This is mine. Roughly 20,000 pieces, 1,300 Uruk-Hai, 150 Rohirrim, and for book accuracy no elves ;) So roughly equivalent minifigures but his piece count was much higher. 

When I originally built it back in the early 2010s I paid probably about $3 a figure ($4,500) and the pieces about $1,500. 

It had to go in storage back in 2015 or so due to moving and I never rebuilt it. 

I ended up selling all the minifigures within the last year for about $25,000. I still have the pieces sitting in a few boxes which I will repurpose for other builds at some point in the future.

Bubba

evancelt said:

Bubba said:

evancelt said:

Lo1sJess said:

There is probably more than $3,000 in minifigs and that’s at really good pricing.  I’ve never attempted anything a fraction of the scale but have quickly run through thousands of bricks doing a large pyramid or castle scene for the kid for Christmas.  Perhaps @evancelt will have an idea as he participate in large layouts.

Yes, the figures alone are likely ~$3k. I'd say the other pieces would be $3k - $5k unless they were purchased with something like LUGBULK, which would make it much more affordable :

If the figs & bricks are knockoff that would also drastically cut down on cost.

Thanks for the LUKBULK info, I had no idea such a thing existed. I've been a LEGO fan for about 45 years but most of that (when an adult and able to do more) was spent preparing for a single family income household followed by the raising (and getting them out the door) of several kids so I'm only now getting a point where some more serious things are feasible. When my kids were between 8-12 we did have a Lego city w/Streets and all (ie modular buildings) in the middle of the media room floor for a few years but that was the largest we ever got into the hobby. 

I'd recommend checking out LUGBULK via your local LUG :) I'm not at liberty to say how much it could have saved off of $20k, but I don't think it would have been as big of an investment :)

I wouldn't need to know the exact pricing teh LUGBULKS pay to see the savings benefit. I did read over the info at teh LUGBULK link, lot of great info not just about how to take advantage of a LUGBULK purchase but other stuff too. 

Bubba

samiam391 said:

This is mine. Roughly 20,000 pieces, 1,300 Uruk-Hai, 150 Rohirrim, and for book accuracy no elves ;) So roughly equivalent minifigures but his piece count was much higher. 

When I originally built it back in the early 2010s I paid probably about $3 a figure ($4,500) and the pieces about $1,500. 

It had to go in storage back in 2015 or so due to moving and I never rebuilt it. 

I ended up selling all the minifigures within the last year for about $25,000. I still have the pieces sitting in a few boxes which I will repurpose for other builds at some point in the future.

WOW, just WOW! I don't imagine many people could allow something of that scale to remain in place for long unless it's in some kind of show space like a store window.  I'd imagine you do this to have accomplished something and maybe submit into a contest or 2, appreciate for a while and then take apart and try something new. That is teh joy of LEGO versus other modeling, nothing's permanent so its all re-usable 

evancelt

Thanks for sharing @samiam391 - Those costs are much more in line with what I was thinking

PapaBear

That's a really good profit.  It's nice when your LEGO addiction can fund your LEGO addiction.

samiam391

PapaBear said:

That's a really good profit.  It's nice when your LEGO addiction can fund your LEGO addiction.

Yes, it's 100% true that I promptly spent all of it on more LEGO. :)

MrShinyAndNew

LUGBULK is great but it won't help you build a moc with 3000 licensed figures in it. And you can't re-sell anything you buy via LUGBULK so it doesn't help fund future purchases. It would help you get a lot of a specific brick if you need it, but every LUG is allowed to order 85 unique elements per year, so you are competing with the rest of the lug on selecting what those elements are. This means in a given year you can save a lot on maybe 1-5 elements you need at most. Also most lugs have rules about who can take part in LUGBULK or select elements, so you should join your local lug and help out with events and collabs so that next year you can take part.

Bubba

MrShinyAndNew said:

LUGBULK is great but it won't help you build a moc with 3000 licensed figures in it. And you can't re-sell anything you buy via LUGBULK so it doesn't help fund future purchases. It would help you get a lot of a specific brick if you need it, but every LUG is allowed to order 85 unique elements per year, so you are competing with the rest of the lug on selecting what those elements are. This means in a given year you can save a lot on maybe 1-5 elements you need at most. Also most lugs have rules about who can take part in LUGBULK or select elements, so you should join your local lug and help out with events and collabs so that next year you can take part.

Yeah I got that impression from reading over the LUGBULK info. So what then is the best way of padding ones supply of bricks? Retail stores sales/clearance, yard/garage sale?  I don't mean how to find specific sets but just to bulk up ones inventory.

Switchfoot55

^In my experience, stalking OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Goodwill Auctions, yard sales, Craigslist, or any other local sale site. I've collected several full sets this way and have gathered massive amounts of parts for MOCs of rebrickable or elsewhere. If you're patient, you can usually find some deals. 90% of what you'll find is people wanting $15-$25/lb or $20-$40 for a gallon ziplock of bricks. Of the remaining 10%, 8% might be more around $8-$10/lb. And that last 2% you can score some sub $5/lb deals. YMMV, but this has been my experience. 

Seems like once a year I luck out with something around $2/lb. Just scan any listings carefully for non-LEGO bricks so you don't end up with half of your purchase being something you may not want. 


Although this certainly is a good way to beef up your brick collection, it's not necessarily a great way to secure a lot of one type/color of brick. So, depending on what you're end goals are, you can be even pickier and only go after bulk lots with more Star Wars sets if you need gray bricks, Friends lots if you need more color, City lots if you're after buildings/vehicles, etc....

Bubba

Switchfoot55 said:

^In my experience, stalking OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Goodwill Auctions, yard sales, Craigslist, or any other local sale site. I've collected several full sets this way and have gathered massive amounts of parts for MOCs of rebrickable or elsewhere. If you're patient, you can usually find some deals. 90% of what you'll find is people wanting $15-$25/lb or $20-$40 for a gallon ziplock of bricks. Of the remaining 10%, 8% might be more around $8-$10/lb. And that last 2% you can score some sub $5/lb deals. YMMV, but this has been my experience. 

Seems like once a year I luck out with something around $2/lb. Just scan any listings carefully for non-LEGO bricks so you don't end up with half of your purchase being something you may not want. 


Although this certainly is a good way to beef up your brick collection, it's not necessarily a great way to secure a lot of one type/color of brick. So, depending on what you're end goals are, you can be even pickier and only go after bulk lots with more Star Wars sets if you need gray bricks, Friends lots if you need more color, City lots if you're after buildings/vehicles, etc....

Thanks. Never heard of OfferUp before

Bubba

Any thoughts on https://www.webrick.com/ ? I saw an add for them on this site