Has anyone used the PAB wall at the Concord Mills LEGO Store?

sas0214

We will be making a trip to Concord, NC on Saturday. The whole prupose of the trip is for PAB. Since I am a newbie with everything LEGO, I am wondering what I can expect with the wall. I am trying to buy all the parts needed to build the Taj Mahal, Green Grocer, Cafe Corner, Market Street, and Eiffel Tower. I was thinking that it would be cheaper and easier to purchase the more common parts at the store and than use BrickLink for the rest.

rocao

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the PAB wall is quite limited with its selection. I don't know the exact count, but I would estimate that they have about 30-40 unique elements, and half of them are among the more fanciful colors that are sparse in the sets. It definitely serves a purpose, but building up sets would not be that.

You may still find a use for the PaB wall and have fun in the LEGO store, of course, but I wanted to inform you so you wouldn't be disappointed.

I'd suggest starting a thread asking if anyone has built up the modular sets piecemeal as opposed to buying the set, and see if there are some that have that can offer advice. I spoke to @georgebjones recently about his effort of building up the Cafe Corner, so maybe he can chime in.

georgebjones

@sas0214 - I would agree with rocao that the piece selection at the PAB wall is a little disappointing. I am guessing you have not been to it before. I am trying to build the modular buildings piecemeal and I have found a couple things I did not expect.

1) The piece count is much more diverse than I would have guessed. There are a couple pieces in large quantities, but a lot of pieces in smaller quantities.

2) The modular buildings (can't speak for Taj or Eiffel) seem to have a couple pieces in rare colors and large quantities, that only come in that set. So those pieces are going to be expensive on bricklink and not available at the PAB wall.

Good luck, though, and have fun. The first visit to a PAB wall is very exciting. If you want to get more bang for your buck, carefully stack the pieces in the PAB cups and you will get more.

If you want to seriously try the modular buildings piecemeal, starting a thread about that is a good idea.

sas0214

Thank you both.

sas0214

I was thinking about using the PAB wall for the common colors, like white and black. Some of the common colors are in all of the sets. Do either of you know if they have the dark and medium gray colors that are in most sets?

rocao

The selection of pieces changes every few months, with some elements being removed to make room for new elements. I don't know if there's a resource to see what's currently available, but in case you have never seen a Pick A Brick wall, here is a standard one:



Each container has only one type of piece. The upper (four?) rows are typically repeat pieces, and you can see the color variety, so even if they have the color you're after, it's a crapshoot on what piece it will be.

Bring your inventory list with you, and consider yourself lucky if some are on the wall. But even at that, bricklink prices may be cheaper.

brickmatic

You could call the store and ask what's out before your visit. I'm sure they'd be happy to answer your questions.

Having seen PAB walls at two different brand stores, the selection is very limited. For instance, I've been hoping to buy 1x1 plates of any sort (e.g. square, round, tile) in any neutral solid color (e.g. light gray, dark gray, tan) and have yet to come across the parts. If you want to MOC something up without particular specifications, the wall has a nice assortment of parts. That is what it is geared for, a kid being able to put together something like a car from their imagination. Online PAB selection is much better, but I think more expensive. And then for rare parts you have Bricklink.