Sets or Bricklinking specific parts?

[Sir Bragallot]

Hello,

The biggest challenge (which I'm looking forward to) for me to begin my illustrated tale (since I've already done quite a bit of writing) will be making quality MOCs to go with it, and I don't want to be restricted (too much) by my (adequate but nowhere huge) brick supply, so I was interested in hearing what you (since there's obviously lots of great builders on this website) have found the best way to accumulate (the right) bricks for castle building? I suppose buying sets may be more expensive on the whole because you'll always have some redundant bricks and will also pay for minifigs (since I can always use more minifig stuff this is not a real problem though, depending on the mini's / equipment) but then again this could be cancelled out by the fact you'll have to pay a lot for shipment costs, especially if you want specific parts and have to place different orders because of shop's limited offer. These are just wild guesses though and I'll be happy to hear some advice from people with experience

[Remyth]

I would say that some of both is the best policy. Sets will always get you a good variety of pieces, including some that you wouldn't think you would need for Castle building until you need them. They also get you minifigs and such, which is (almost) always good. However, they can be rather expensive. BrickLink is a wonderful tool if you wish to accumulate a lot of a single piece (i.e. grey/bley 1x2 bricks) or need a specific piece but do not want to pay the price of the set to get it (if the set is still in production). However, this can also be expensive if the parts are rare, old, or even just in high demand.

Personally, I began mostly with sets, many from my younger years. My first creations are a testament to this, being built mostly out of pre-fab walls and such. As time went by and I realized I wanted more realistic-feeling MOCs, I began using BrickLink more. I would buy bulk 1x2 bricks, plates, slopes, etc. This was great in that it allowed my to build my later creations in a manner that I liked better. However, I have found that I use a lot of pieces I get from sets, rather than from BrickLink, because I would have never thought to purchase the piece otherwise.

So, basically, it is best, in my opinion, to do some of both. I still buy sets and generally use BrickLink for the times when I need bulk or very specific pieces.

Hope that helps some!

[AK_Brickster]

I agree w/ Thomas in that sets often will supply you with pieces that you would never think to buy on BL. I usually don't buy sets unless they're on sale, though. If you're patient and diligent in watching for deals, you can score sets at 20% off or better if you just keep an eye open. Also, not sure if you have them in your area, but here on the West Coast we have a chain called Fred Meyer that often features a 10% off "Home" coupon in their Sunday ad that is stackable with any of their other coupons and is good for most of their departments, including toys.

As for ordering from BL, it's terrific for getting large quantities of parts you'll use often. Sometimes it's even better to pay a little more at a BL store with a large selection than to buy from the cheapest guy who only has a few parts. The more you can combine orders into one purchase from the same BL store, the more you'll save on shipping (and often handling fees). The worst thing you can do is buy 5 of something from one store and 10 of something from another, when you could have paid 20 cents more to buy from the same store and saved yourself $4 in shipping.

While not every budget allows it, I often will search for the part I need, then once I find it, will go through the store's entire inventory of common castle parts to see if there is anything else I can "piggyback" onto my original order to get the shipping cost per piece as low as possible. This especially applies if the store has benched shipping costs, ie, "for orders $0-$5, shipping is $1, for orders $5.01-$10, shipping is $2". In this example, make sure you don't accidentally spend $5.01 and get bumped into the next shipping bracket. If you DO have to spend over $5, you might as well spend as close to $10 as you can, since you are paying the shipping for it anyway!

Just my thoughts. Hope it helps!

[Sir Bragallot]

Thanks! I've been doing a lot of that, now I know it wasn't in vain! As you say though, I used a lot of the parts from the sets I did get. Now that I look at it more closely, that Kingdoms castle line has some great stuff... There's parts for vegetation, and attention going out to peasants and stuff as well. The Joust especially is just eye-candy, but I don't think they'll have it in stores. We barely have a toy store at all in my hometown... Anyway I'll find a way to grab some of these sets, looks like they'll really help me establish some scenery.