How long do you keep your MOCS

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Sir Valiant
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Sir Valiant »

I usually break down all my MOCs after I take pictures of them and post the pictures online. Mainly because I don't want to loose the pics after having already destroyed the MOC. Because of my (somewhat) limited supply of castle/landscape pieces, I need to use them for my next build.
Although I do this, it is always half heartedly, as I wish I could display and show my MOCs to others. Its so nice to see a MOC in person than just a picture of it. Usually the only people who see my MOCs in person beside myself is my family.

On the other hand my pirate ship: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93632612@N ... 011482624/ will be two years old this coming July! :) Because of the colour scheme and limited use of blue and yellow in the castle theme it will probably stay together forever.

I think building for the LCC makes me have to destroy and rebuild my MOCs so as to continue the storyline, and get multiple entries for contests like the GC6.

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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Brickninja »

Since I have a pretty small collection of lego, and I need the parts, mine usually come apart sometime between taking a photo and building my next thing or my mom telling me to clean up the lego.(I have a total of 6 plastic bins for sorting, so I need to dump out everything from the "brick/plates category out on the floor on a blanket because they don't fit it one)
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by soccerkid6 »

I usually start the demolition process immediately after taking pictures, but if it's a MOC I really like, I might wait a couple of days, unless I need the pieces.
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Sir Erathor
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Sir Erathor »

Due to a limited amount of pieces I take mine apart as soon as I've taken decent photos, though I have kept some microscale spaceships intact.
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by pijani »

Usually I disassemble the whole mocs last day of the exhibit. And I noticed, as people (Afols and Tfols from lug and visitors) help me to do that, they enjoy tearing apart my castles more then looking at them :)

So, I am usually late with building for exhibits, and then I tear it down, sometimes I don't even have time to take quality pictures

And about minifigs, I disassemble all of them after every exhibit, and make new ones.

I just couldn't "imprison" my bricks in one moc, when I will surely need them for next one :)
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Sir Erathor »

As a side note (and probably an off-topic one, but I'll take the risk), I keep my official sets assembled for totally different amounts of time. For example, the LEGO Star Wars X-Wing I bought in 2012 was broken for the first time over the weekend, almost two years later, but a Friends (!) set I got recently was broken straight away. I build every set I get, but how long they stay up for depends on how much I like them as a set and how much I need the pieces. Like I said, virtually all of my MOCs are destroyed as soon as the photos are taken and/or uploaded.
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Crazycrownieguy »

I keep MOCs built anywhere from 2 hours to 6 months. It really depends on 1. how big the build is, and 2. what pieces I used. Bigger builds, even the ones that use pieces I need, tend to stay longer since I hate sorting and avoid it as much as possible. Smaller builds on the other hand are more likely to be taken apart within an hour or so of photographing.
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Quickblade22 »

I usually keep MOC's built for as long as I possibly can. If I really like something I have, I'd rather keep it built and then try to modify it over the years rather than start from scratch. I have about 24 sprint cars I built from about 15 years ago still together and I don't foresee me taking them apart until I find a better way to make them look. I have spaceships that have past the 10 year mark, with modifications here and there. Sometimes it's a build from an idea or concept I've had since I was a kid that has just evolved. The castles and tower I showed a few years back are still together and I'm looking at ways to modify them with better parts (less panel walls, more decoration, possible landscaping), but I imagine the original structure and shape will remain. I've come to terms with having a bigger collection than my skill allows. I've found more joy in making smaller MOCs than making something bigger just because I have the pieces. It makes the tear down process better if less pieces were used.
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Athos
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Athos »

It depends on the MOC. My megafigures (http://www.flickr.com/photos/37777874@N ... 225577225/) I'll probably leave together, since I don't really need those kind of parts frequently and they were a production to put together.

Probably my longest lived MOC is this one which I've still got together:

http://www.brothers-brick.com/2009/04/2 ... -by-steve/

Its been nearly 4 years now and I just took it out to a Lego display last weekend.

I've also got some that are nearly finished that have been around for 2-3 years, that, someday, I intend to finish and take to a display.

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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by nanuck95 »

Most of my smaller creations get taken apart fairly quickly. For my larger ones, I will leave them together for a month or so and once I get the urge/idea for something new to build, I'll start tearing it apart. Most of my sets will stay together for a few months depending on the set. I think I kept Helm's Deep together for almost a year and that's the longest I've kept anything together.

On a similar note, I've found with older sets/bricks, if you leave them together for a long time, sometimes the bricks tend to "fuse" together and can be really hard to get apart. I actually had the center part of an old gray round 2x2 brick break a few weeks ago when I tried to pull a technic pin out of it. Ended up needing to use a pair of pliers to get the pin out and eventually destroyed both parts. Have had similar issues with stacked plates not coming apart easily, even with brick-separators. Newer bricks tend to have a slight "oily" feel and I wonder if that keeps them from sticking together. The older ones either never had it or it has long since worn off and I wonder if that causes them to stick, or if the older ABS just gets brittle over time?
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Gavin of Lockwood »

nanuck95 wrote:Most of my smaller creations get taken apart fairly quickly.


Ha, it's the opposite with me. Most of my smaller ones stay up the longest. I usually don't take them apart until I need pieces, and some stay "in limbo" as Karf Oohlu once put it, for months. In fact, I just took apart my SHIP from SHIPtember last week... but it was already in 5 or 6 pieces. : P
Sometimes though, I will procrastinate and large builds will stay up in pieces for days or weeks.
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by SSchmidt »

It really depends on the size and the importance of the build. Most importantly, it depends on the time. As I stay really busy, I have little time to sort, so some of my MOC's tend to stay together for far too long. I am, however, trying to start taking them apart within the week. I don't really need the pieces, but if I don't take them apart, my work space gets too messy.

As far as sets, I build every set I open (with the exception of army builders), and then I will display all of them for some time. Sets like the Goblin King got about 10 minutes of display time before going to the sort bin. The hobbit hole, I will never take apart. It just varies from set to set.
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by Bruce N H »

I don't really build enough these days that using up my bricks is a big deal. For me the main problem is that I don't have any display space. So the things I keep together are relatively small (a few vigs, a stagecoach, some micro stuff) that I can put on my bookshelves.

On sets, I almost never keep official designs together. I build them once, then quickly absorb them into my larger collection. I did keep the Siskind Blacksmith Shop together for several years, and also the UCS TIE Fighter, until I moved across country and had to pack up all of my LEGO.

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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by The Blue Knight »

Mine last as long as I don't need the pieces, and if I like it. As for LEGO sets: My Bag End set for example is still assembled (though I bought another one), while the Indiana Crystal Skull set a few years ago didn't even get finished. For my MOCs, it depends again. I have a few con and show veterans that are my go-to MOCs for local events and they stay together until I rob the pieces. Good topic!
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Re: How long do you keep your MOCS

Post by royalbrickcustoms »

I usually keep them up for like 1 day, sometimes more. It really all dependshow much work I've put into it, and whether or not it is "worth" saving.
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