Stretching your brick collection

[Bruce N H]

Hey,

I know we've talked about this before, and at one point I made a MOC to demonstrate the concept, but here builder BlackDemon used light gray 1x2 bricks with technic pin in lieu of light gray 1x2 bricks, which are getting harder and harder to find in quantity for reasonable prices. For instance, it looks like you have to pay ten cents each for these if you want more than 100 from a US seller, but you can get 450 of the modified bricks with pin from a US seller for four cents each. To get 450 (old) light gray 1x2's from a single US seller would cost you twenty-four cents each. That's a $90 difference! Not bad if you are building a structure for which you never intend to show the interior.


vs

Bruce

[Athos]

My problem is that I usually try to build an interior too.

But that is a great suggestion. And interiors are always a pain anyway...

Steve

[Ye Olde Republic]

Most of the interior of this manor is built using 1x2 technic pin bricks, 1x2 brick with handle and 1x2 brick with clips. Most of which I was able to get in large quantities and for less than three cents each. It works especially well if you want to make 4 stud wide walls.

002 by Trevor Van Aalst, on Flickr

[eilonwy77]

A good idea. I've ordered some funny parts in funny colors for similar reasons, though I haven't really used them to make anything yet. I expect I'll get around to it one of these days.

[DNL]

I also frequently use those bricks with pins and clips as a replacement for overpriced 1x2 bricks. They are not always easy to find in large quantities, but i have managed to collect about 1000 of them. They are great if you are not building an interior, although the 1x2 bricks with clip and some 1x2 bricks with pin have a slightly different color than normal bricks. Their color is between light bluish grey and old grey, but the difference is close enough to use them randomly (especially if you are going for a mottled look).

[Legoorci]

That's great. For me its new to use them as wall.
Maybe I should order some before you guys buy all of them

[SevFalcon]

Just wondering if most of you experienced MOCers prefer to use 1x2 rather than 1x4 (or 1x6, etc). If so, what's the reasoning?

I've stocked pile a lot of 1x_ (mainly 4 and 6) and would like to try to put something together (castle themed of course), but should I switch to 1x2 instead?

[Frank_Lloyd_Knight]

I've stocked pile a lot of 1x_ (mainly 4 and 6) and would like to try to put something together (castle themed of course), but should I switch to 1x2 instead?

I'd say just do what you can with what you have. Some of the most creative things are often from someone using odd bricks they had, but you wouldn't have expected to have seen. I've seen some quite impressive structures built out of Duplo by some of the regulars in this forum. When you know for certain that you do need a certain type of brick, then go acquire it.
(...merely my humble opinion.)

[Memsochet]

Just wondering if most of you experienced MOCers prefer to use 1x2 rather than 1x4 (or 1x6, etc). If so, what's the reasoning?

I've stocked pile a lot of 1x_ (mainly 4 and 6) and would like to try to put something together (castle themed of course), but should I switch to 1x2 instead?

The reason is to give the structure a brick look. There are also other building techniques that require the use of 1x2s, such as at least one round wall technique.

[Shadowviking]

It's only a problem for interiors if your walls are 1 brick wide, which, assuming a minifig is about 6' tall, makes for some pretty thin walls.

[Gumby]

Just wondering if most of you experienced MOCers prefer to use 1x2 rather than 1x4 (or 1x6, etc). If so, what's the reasoning?

I've stocked pile a lot of 1x_ (mainly 4 and 6) and would like to try to put something together (castle themed of course), but should I switch to 1x2 instead?

Personally, I try to add detail to a wall (to avoid the "big grey wall syndrome"), so I don't use 1x6+ bricks very often.

[BobaFett2]

I usually have problems like these. I never resort to "cheating" with TECHNIC bricks, because interiors are often more interesting. I don't have a HUGE LEGO Collection (about 250+ SYSTEM sets, 140-150 TECHNIC sets-mostly BIONICLE) so I often run into problems. I can't buy large quantities online, because if I do I have to spend too much money when I'd rather get a set. It really annoys me...and the only reliable way to get a ton of them are Modular Buildings...too much money for me.

[Blueandwhite]

It's actually not a bad technique. You can still incorporate an interior into a structure using these bricks. The walls would only need to be 3 bricks thick. Given the absolutely unreasonable price of old grey these days, this certainly makes sense. Of course, there are also a finite number of these bricks out there. I'm come to accept that my collection of grey is reaching a saturation point. There simply isn't a cheap way to bolster a large collection of old grey bricks anymore.

[rinsju]

tja, I tnink that if you build whit those bricks you aren't building real....
well that my opinion, It's a smart way to manipulate those brick but than you can use them only for 1 purpuce.
And that is for a big great wall, and I always try to bring a kind of toutch to the castle building walls and well with those bricks it's going to be harder because windows aren't able any more!?

Why do they make the bricks so expensive then!? I think someone has to come up whit a solution for the price of bricks and not an alternative...

[nanuck95]

Why do they make the bricks so expensive then!? I think someone has to come up whit a solution for the price of bricks and not an alternative...

I think they are referring to the old light gray bricks, which are expensive because Lego is no longer making that color and it is becoming more difficult to get. The price of light gray bricks isn't going to go down, using techniques like this is one solution. The same technique of course can be used for building with any color, but generally speaking, it's not as difficult to get 1x2 bricks in the newer colors such as light bley.

Personally, I think it's a great technique and I've had to do similar things on creations where I don't care what the interior looks like. Saying that using a technique like this is cheating or isn't real (even from a purist standpoint because you aren't modifying bricks) is kind of silly if you ask me. That's like saying if I build a mountain, I have to only use dark bley bricks, even if they will be covered up by other dark bley bricks and you'll never see them. You are only limiting your own creativity and collection if you can't see new or alternative uses for some bricks.