What setup do you like / have when building?

happyskunky

I am right handed and I like to have the instructions to the left , model in the middle and pieces off to the right behind the model.

how about you?

happyskunky

not to the right behind the model...just to the right of it lol

BooTheMightyHamster

Sort all of the pieces from the bag(s) I'm working on into bowls.  Pins in one, axles in another, liftarms somewhere else, connectors in another etc.  Then build on a tray, right in front of me, so if I drop a piece, it's less likely to end up on the floor.

Bowls tend to be just beyond the tray.  Instructions go wherever the light is best!

Yodalicious

Pieces, instructions, and sections built all close to my body while I furiously build with my right hand while playing defense against my three-year-old with my left.

Me: "Hey! Come back here with Thor's head!"

Him: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Me: "Alright, thank you."

Him: "You welcome."

Me: "Wait, this isn't Thor's head. This is a peanut!"

Him: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Me: "Honey?!? Have you seen Thor's head?"

Wife: "What?"

Me: "Thor's head? Have you seen it?"

Wife (under her breath): "Sigh. I wish I was married to Thor."

Me: "What?"

Wife: "Nothing.

BrickPaulie

Depends on the type of part distribution/ numbered bags vs sorted bags etc. For numbers bagged sets I tend t simply dump the current bag out in front me on whatever surface that is, then build it it there until I'm ready for the next bag. With larger sets that do have the sequential baggs, or older sets from before the step by step sequential bags were prevalent, I will put each bag/group of part types io its own bowl, then spread them out across the table. It's funny, when I first noticed they were beginning to use the sequential bags as the standard, I was a bit miffed, but thinking back at how much easier the recent Slave 1 UCS, with it's sequential bags, was in comparison to the UCS Imperial Shuttle, with its giant table covering range of bowls, I'm beginning to come around. :D I will add though, back when Lego used the older box style, before about 2011, I had one method I universally used for building all sets, big and small. I used to always open up the back of the box, (cut through the glue and lift up the back side of the box), and dump out all the bags inside. Perfect containment for all the parts, and no surface needed! My go to hilding method since 2 years old! (It still never feels quite right building sets on a table) Since the side taped boxes came into use I no longer do this though, as creating a five-walled box is no longer possible. Plus, now that there is a way to open up the boxes without ripping them, I no longer have the wherewithal to damage the boxes!

MissKittyFantastico

I've got some oddities going on with the table I use for building, and also I'm the kind of person who develops these habits and then sticks to them religiously for no reason, so yeah, it's got kind of particular over the years.  Instructions go on the right, to avoid glaring reflections from the ceiling light; the table has a runner covering most of the centre, so that's where parts get dumped, since it makes it less likely anything will slide or roll out of reach when I'm emptying bags.  Bags get laid out in order on the far right; the 'main' parts (loose in the large bag) go on the right of the parts area, and if there are smaller bags inside, the medium parts go at the top left, and small parts at the bottom left.  The eight inches or so of bare table between the runner and the edge is where the actual building happens - handy for making sure 1x1 bits go on perfectly straight, using the table surface to line them up.  Over on the far left side there's a stone candle holder which kind of gets in the way of anything big going there - excess parts (the little ones there's always one extra of) get put in a pile in front of that (and since I only clear the area out every once in a while, that'll slowly grow as I build more), while minifigs get put there until they're ready to go in the vehicle or be placed on the completed set.  Space accessories go in a separate pile to be added to the minifig parts/accessories head (one of those big minifig-head-shaped multi-layer store boxes, with 'floors' inserted to stop bits from falling through the gaps), and there's always a separator on hand.  Add either my iPod, or the TV remote to keep saved episodes of QI going, and we're in business.  That's worked for just about everything short of real titans like the Super Star Destroyer, where it's just a matter of take as much space as needed for the build, and fit the instructions and parts around the edges wherever there's room.

Jern92

I usually build modulars so I'll have the baseplate in front of me, instructions to the left, and parts scattered in front. Seems to work, although finding pieces can be a pain

mr.piggles

I put all of the pieces either in a bowl or in a large casserole/baking dish, depending on the size of the set. If it's a large set, they're all in the baking pan to to the left, instructions center with baseplate, and music and beer to the right. Because everything is dumped into one container, large sets become a drinking game with rules like if you say "Ugh, where is that piece" it's a sip. By the end of the night, it takes a really long time to get a set built. Generally the game applies to structures that aren't built solo. (Holiday building is a family tradition.)
For modulars, I've yet to build one brand new from box... bricklinked the ones that are built, and they get separated them into various bowls by color while I make sure all the pieces are there. For those, instructions are on a tablet which is playing music, and headphones are in. Drinking game rules still generally apply.

happyskunky

I have yet to put pieces in a bowl but just knowing how I am I think this would irritate me.  I open bag/s #1 dump them out on the table complete then 2, 3 ,4 's etc.   So annoying though when those slippery pieces go flying and I'm on my hands and knees feeling the carpet up for them lol

chuxtoybox

Here's my setup. 







This is the dining area of our kitchen right now. You don't want to see what my LEGO room looks like. :blush: 

klatu003

These shallow divided plastic bins are great.  They are available at Dollar Tree (if you have that) $1 for a set of 2 with lids.  A bag usually fits in one tray and they stack with bricks filling them.  For Apple Tree house here, the parts are in 6 trays (the white bricks were still in a ziplock to the side.)  This set up takes up about 2x2 foot area on a table that pulls over my lap at my spot in the living room for watching the ubiquitous TV.  Just move the trays from one stack to the other to get at the ones you need.

With a new set dump the Lego bag into a tray (or two) and no parts get lost (usually). Take the smaller detail bags and put in another bin. The neat thing about these is they are shallow so it is easy to rummage for the right part.

I unbuild into these trays too, sorting at what ever level seems appropriate.  They are just the right width to then transfer into sandwich side ziplocks for storage.
For builds that take several days it is easy to put the sorting bins into a larger plastic tub and put aside to remove the mess from the general living area.

^chuxtoybox's dining room disturbs me...  :#

Fauch

klatu003 said:

These shallow divided plastic bins are great.  They are available at Dollar Tree (if you have that) $1 for a set of 2 with lids.

I have shoes boxes. 0 $

GallardoLU

Fauch said:

klatu003 said:

These shallow divided plastic bins are great.  They are available at Dollar Tree (if you have that) $1 for a set of 2 with lids.

I have shoes boxes. 0 $

wow free shoes usually I have to spend like 30 bucks for a shoe box and then I still have to find a use for the shoes :P

Bumblepants

I like to build with a nice cold one on the table beside the bricks.

Fauch

yeah, don't know what to do with the shoes as well. actually I also received some bricklink orders in shoes boxes. though you pay for shipping, so maybe it's not considered free.

RevBlues

All the parts out across the dining table (on a white cloth, so The Wife doesn't go into one).
A torch (it helps, even in daytime).
A cup of tea (essential).
A packet of Crawfords jam rings (not those horrible Jammie Dodger abominations).

Paperballpark

I have a white Ikea table (seriously, white is amazing for seeing any and all parts easily - even white and clear parts) which I build on. I have about 5 or 6 small trays and the same amount of large trays for the parts, and I tend to use one tray per bag. I don't bother sorting them into colour or type or anything like that. After looking through for the first few steps, I usually have a reasonable idea of which tray I'm going to find the pieces in.

mlarue3

I like everything to be within reach.  Side table has parts that I don't often use, too big to be stored normally, and my Arch. Pieces.  Baseplates are there because sometimes hard to see pieces on black table.  When building new sets I dump everything into a bin and start building.  If its a rebuild, I just source pieces from bins in front of me.

theLEGOman

Starbucks style.

RevBlues

You're not Legoing if you're not raking through a single mass of bricks.  ;^)

SumoLego

^  Re-assembling a Tower Bridge that was poured into one bag changed my position on that.

Reasonably organized Lego does enhance the experience.

(Although I did enjoy the puzzle of figuring out if a Fire Brigade was complete.)

brumey

usually parts on my right in a bowl. small parts in a small bowl. ashtray. and a big one!

when lego'ing. everything gets scattereed all over the place! usually i take a round through the archive grab every part i "need" and then the time passes away as i build and build and build ....

SumoLego

RevBlues said:

All the parts out across the dining table (on a white cloth, so The Wife doesn't go into one).
A torch (it helps, even in daytime).
A cup of tea (essential).
A packet of Crawfords jam rings (not those horrible Jammie Dodger abominations).

This is just about the most English post ever.  

I can't read it without hearing an English accent.  Although in my mind's eye, it's an Austin Powers accent, and Mike Myers is Canadian, playing a fictious Brit in an American movie.

Lee

Lee

This is my sorting and building desk. The dividers are a great help!

Lee

Well, looking at it like this it looks a bit of a mess.... Oh well