Finding instructions

rmfloris

Hello All,

I received three big boxes full of Lego, I can't be more excited.
Unfortunate, most of the manuals are missing. I can use this ofcourse to help building my own dreamsets, but it would be great if I could find some sets and be able to build these.

On brickset, I can search on certain bricks and see which sets these below. Some are distinctive enough to limit it to one set, but others are more general.

Any suggestions, ideas on how to make the most out of these three boxes full?

Regards

RAlf

SprinkleOtter

Pictures would be a great place to start...

rmfloris

Pictures of what? I only have a big box of bricks, no idea which year/theme to start with.

i tried to start with minifig, but there are loads of combinations available.

SprinkleOtter

rmfloris said:

Pictures of what? I only have a big box of bricks, no idea which year/theme to start with.

i tried to start with minifig, but there are loads of combinations available.

Everything?

davee123

This is a common issue that people have-- "I bought a bunch of LEGO, and I don't know what I got!"  Usually falls into "What sets do I have?" or "Is this piece even LEGO?"

The best database for inventories is probably BrickLink.  It has a LOT more historical data than BrickSet.  Rebrickable.com also has a lot of inventories, although I'm not sure how complete they are, and Peeron.com has some too, although their site isn't really maintained these days.

Anyway, your first attempt should be to look on your own.  Hunt down some unique parts, build those sets, and repeat, until you can't identify any more, or until you run out of pieces.

However, most people find that VERY time consuming.  Especially if you're relatively new to the hobby.  So, as alternative, you can post pictures of your piles of bricks to a forum like BrickSet, EuroBricks, Facebook, or what-have-you, and ask fellow LEGO fans to identify what you have.  Other fans are VERY knowledgeable about this stuff, so they'll instantly recognize sets from pictures without having to look it up, and they can tell you some of what you have pretty easily.  Maybe not all of it, mind you, but probably a good chunk.

So, if that's the route you'd like, go ahead and post some pictures.  The more detailed the better.

DaveE

TigerMoth

rmfloris said:

Pictures of what? I only have a big box of bricks, no idea which year/theme to start with.

i tried to start with minifig, but there are loads of combinations available.

Anything "different". The hard part is working out what "different" means.

Start with anything with a print and pieces you've not seen before. Once a few sets have been identified from their unique parts and isolated, the pile will get smaller and more manageable.

datsunrobbie

I'm right there with you, rmfloris. My "backlog" of parts is 4 25-gallon tubs of parts I have purchased over the last couple of years, all jumbled together. I've identified "special" parts (or assemblies) from around 200 sets. I've now started "rough sorting" some of the parts by type, but I don't ever expect to have all of it sorted back into sets.

There are several threads about collecting and sorting that cover it very well, certainly better than I can on my own. I've currently got 3 Agents sets coming together at once, because they are all mixed together in a recent bulk buy. When I get fed up searching for the "next" piece in the instructions, I switch over to sorting similar pieces in the pile until I stumble across the one I'm looking for to continue building. As a result most of the basic bricks get sorted into smaller bins while I'm building, so they become easier to find when needed, and there is less remaining in the main pile, making it easier to find the parts I'm looking for.

As I sort through I throw anything that looks like a minifig or one of their accessories into a separate set of drawers. I have drawers for heads and headgear, torsos, legs, and accessories.  

GIR3691

I'll echo the above statements. Get every stickered or printed piece, or obviously unique or unusual elements. Only way to figure it out. Post pictures of what you find and members can help identify them.