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Learn to build?
monkey
Member Posts: 235
Is it necessary to learn to build things? The way of doing so I presume would be to build sets according to instructions, and once you've accustomed yourself with a variety of techniques then move on to MOCs?
Or is it possible to create elaborate MOCs without first learning about the techniques?
Or is it possible to create elaborate MOCs without first learning about the techniques?
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Comments
The only thing is Lego doesn't often use terribly complicated techniques in their sets (unless it's an Ultimate Collectors Series (UCS), Modular or similar), so you might not learn too much from that.
Also there are techniques that are known as 'illegal' (not because they are illegal, but because Lego never uses them in official sets). This includes not pushing bricks all the way together, using Technics pieces for SNOT (studs not on top) techniques and things like that.
So depending where you're coming from, you might learn as much about MOCing techniques from looking at other people's MOCs than building sets.
I will nearly always have a look at the instructions of a £50+ set before buying, to see if I will enjoy the build or not.
I'm often surprised by which sets I enjoy building more than others - e.g. I picked up a #70003 : Eris' Eagle Interceptor in the Tesco clear out for £7.50 thinking that I wouldn't think much of it but found it a really fun build....still glad I held out for the 75% off but at 50% it still would have been good
I have a good look at the pictures first to try to work out how something is built (not necessarily work out all the parts, just the techniques used, orientation of parts, etc I'm ot too bothered if a wall is 1x2 or 1x4 or 1x8 bricks) then have a look at the instructions.
Sometimes I'll build a set using existing parts substituting colours if I don't have them and if I like it, I'll buy the real one. I don't buy many of the creator sets as I can normally have a go at all three builds without needing to buy the set.
So I'd say that, like almost everything else, the best way to go about it is just give it a try, start building :o)
Some people who are better visual-spatial learners than others might be able to figure out advanced building techniques just by seeing pictures of them. Others who are more tactile learners will have to build a model for themselves to understand all of the techniques it uses. Due to the nature of the product, most advanced LEGO builders are probably a combination of the two, so they learn new building techniques from both pictures and hands-on experience.
If you really want to be walked through the fundamentals of LEGO design, the Master Builder Academy sets are a great tool. But a lot of LEGO builders will already have some understanding of the techniques taught by those sets — the Master Builder Academy manuals simply demonstrate a lot of examples of each building technique and put into words why techniques like sideways building, locking, etc. are so useful and important. Even the MBA sets will not teach you everything there is to know about LEGO building. Some sets like Technic sets or Hero Factory sets have their own building system with its own unique nuances, while others will use the same parts and building system as your average LEGO Creator set but will still demonstrate new ways of using and thinking about those parts.
The biggest thing to bear in mind is that LEGO is a toy, and as such the goal should be having fun. You'll know, to an extent, how ready you are to construct your own creations by how fun it is to build things by trial and error rather than using an instruction booklet. If you are still more comfortable building with instructions than from your own imagination, there's nothing wrong with that — just have fun, keep an open mind and always be on the lookout for ways you can improve your own building.
Everybody is different however, so you just have to find your own way to get the best results.
"I know it sounds like a cat poster, but it's true..."
@CapnRex101, this is exactly what I'm itching to do, this house for example is among the top on my list but having never built a house before I was worried finding right colour for the walls will be the least of my worries!
I bought the Fire Brigade #10197 partially because I wanted it, but also because I knew there would be techniques in there that I'd learn from to apply to my own buildings in the future... was a fun build as well!
I grew up with lego being a toy with few bricks and colours to choose from. A fire engine was whatever you decided it was. And i built things all the time.
The creator houses contain good technics which were not around when i was young.
I guess also people are richer now and tend to have many sets rather than just a bucket full that is used for everything.
One of my kids is quite keen on sets being sets and have to be built like the instructions say. The other is more like me.
Also in the 70 and 80s lego published simple idea books. I learnt a lot from them. The build books of today are useless full of unique parts in odd colours.
There are some that draw/paint that have natural ability. There are some that have ability, but when they learn some unfamiliar techniques they can go further with their painting. Sometimes it is less about technique, but studying genre and painters of interest. There are some people that simply paint for fun, and do not expect to be experts, and others that strive for expertise.
Building with Lego is no different, in this mode, since it is an art form. It really is about where your talents are, and what you want to achieve.
For me, I only do small display MOCS for my holiday scenes. I do not need any specialized techniques for what I do, and I am happy with what I have done.
http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/390188
Sometimes all it takes to make a seemingly specialized piece perform an entirely different function is to flip it sideways.
Also, there are plenty of sets today that demonstrate a great deal of creativity using fairly basic parts. The Mixels are a great example, using mostly basic slopes, curved slopes, plates, and hinges to create all sorts of wacky creatures, and encouraging kids to combine multiple sets in creative and hilarious ways. LEGO Creator also brilliantly demonstrates the versatility of basic parts.
I'm probably a bit biased since some of my favorite themes are ones like LEGO Ninjago that use quite a number of specialized parts. But when you get right down to it, even many of these sets are not uncharacteristically specialized. Look at #70002 from the Legends of Chima theme, for instance. The most specialized pieces it uses, other than minifigure parts and accessories, are the wheels, hoses, flexible suspension beams, and rubber spike pieces used for the claws and mane. But the vast majority of its parts are fairly basic System and Technic parts. Its most distinctive feature, the lion face on its front, is entirely brick-built. Even the launcher uses fairly basic parts.
I guess I can see where you're coming from though regarding things like brackets and curved slopes. I was just 10 or 11 when the first curved slopes began to appear in sets. And having grown up in the 90s, I was used to parts that were even [i]more[/i] specialized like the parts endemic to themes like Castle, Space, and Aquazone. A curved slope, hinge, or SNOT bracket is extremely basic compared to even "classic" parts like 4229, 4596, 4598, 2336, or 4746. Let alone the horrendously specialized parts that characterized late 90s themes like UFO, Stingrays, or Fright Knights!
What would a kid prefer to play with. A brick built horse with no articulation that falls apart or a one piece horse with a little articulation that doesn't fall apart?
Now they could make those horses three parts, a head, a front half of body and a back half of body, but those parts would be equally specialised. It might be good if you could remove the head and make a centaur (similar to the brickforge centaurs), but otherwise there is little advantage.
Back in the day when there were just plain bricks, I mixed and matched with other toys. So I had non-lego farm or zoo animals, or dinosaurs, or Kenner SW figures, etc. Most of those were more detailed than the lego equivalents of today. I think lego have realised (probably long ago too) that kids use other brands of toys to bring some realism to their play, and they have slowly been filling the gap. Having horses that minifigs can ride is (for me) better than having a generic molded horse standing in a field and that gap has been filled. Last week my kids built a zoo, and it was populated by mainly molded animals from ELC along with the odd brick build elephant and croc. It would be great to have an official zoo, so the whole thing could be lego made, but they played just as well using non-lego animals. If lego do a zoo, I'd expect them to be molded animals for realism on the scale of minifigs.
At least i didnt have to play with mega bloks like kids today.
With that said, once you get into larger animals you can have the best of both worlds. The Legend Beasts from LEGO Legends of Chima are a good example: they have printed faces to provide that lifelike quality that minifigures and minifigure animals tend to share, and they have a few specialty parts like claws to add additional realism, but the majority of their designs are brick-built (albeit with more complex brick designs and building techniques than the horses from the Yellow Castle used).
If you want to do architecture and houses, then learning spacecraft and road racers won't be much help. I recommend getting a book like the "Unofficial Lego Builders Guide," shown at the bottom of this page (about our own MOC experiments). elderplay.weebly.com/moc.html
There is a live link there that takes you to Amazon. As beginners we found the book very helpful, especially its Brickopedia section.
2. You have suggested that you want to build a very complicated house, like that by BoiseBro who is an expert at Victorian mansions -- very complex! I know because I'm working on this same house myself. It's the most complicated thing I've ever tried. You need to start with something WAY simpler and improve your skills first.
3. I would highly recommend -- following your own expectation -- that you buy an inexpensive Three-in-One set, like Seaside house or the Bike Shop/Café set. Tear it apart and rebuild it all the different ways, so you can see how the different elements are used by the Lego set designers.
These are the same people who used the "chocolate frog" from Harry Potter to make furniture legs/feet in the Jousting set. So I would vote Yes, get some inexpensive Lego sets and learn from them, at the same time experimenting with the pieces you have on hand, to see what can be created with them.
My two cents, from a recent Beginner who also wondered where to start.