Pick-a-Brick renamed

ChgoMatt

My local store now has a big sign that reads "Pick & Build" up high where some of the fake bins used to be.  I guess "PAB" still works.  I miss the look of the wall when it just looked like a wall of colored circles from far away. With the Pick-a Model (PAM?) and new signage I think the aesthetics are ruined.

graphite

Don't think it has really been renamed, they just started doing pre-designed builds that you can buy by filling up a package with the parts specified to make the build from parts on the wall.  It is still a PAB wall but the signage is just advertising the build.  Not all parts on the wall are for the build (unless your store has a really small PAB wall).  

I talked with one of the main guys at the store I most frequently visit and he thought they had said they were planning on rotating those builds ever 6-8 weeks.  I thought that seemed like more often than they could handle seeing that some parts sit on the wall for a lot longer than that.  But he did say that it looked like the next ones would have some interesting parts.

andhe

I've seen kids do this in store anyway, using the pick-a-brick as their own personal lego box, then get upset when they can't just buy their random model. Personally I'd have just dumped it in a cup and sold it, so I guess this is a progression on that idea. Older kids (and AFOLs) can still cherry pick the parts they know they want, but younger kids who need more direction can build the suggested model. Win win.

MrShinyAndNew

andhe said:

I've seen kids do this in store anyway, using the pick-a-brick as their own personal lego box, then get upset when they can't just buy their random model. Personally I'd have just dumped it in a cup and sold it, so I guess this is a progression on that idea. Older kids (and AFOLs) can still cherry pick the parts they know they want, but younger kids who need more direction can build the suggested model. Win win.

The Pick-a-Brick that's at the Toronto Legoland Discovery Centre sells the pieces by weight. So that makes it trivial to let kids buy what they build. The only downside is that the price isn't awesome and there's no strategy for getting better value like there is with an over-stuffed PaB cup.

CCC

I think most LDCs (not being owned by lego) do it by weight rather than volume. Price is awful too.

madforLEGO

LDCs are not LEGO store. They are a private company with an agreement, so I really do not pay much attention to LDC walls.

I will say that it seems that the LEGO employees do not like seeing, what is for many stores, half of their wall tied up with parts for two little models that are not minifig scale (would think that with the BaM in stores they would make more little carts and stuff for figures to fit into then they could likely also sell more BaM).

The one silver lining is it guarantees new parts in the wall at least every month (I think it is every month there is a new model on the wall) to choose from as the new model has smooth tires and also 2x2 orange tiles among other parts for those little minibuilds. Now they just need something that use 1x2 Sand green masonry brick as a build piece so we can see those in a bin :smile: