Lego MOC - Tips & Techniques for Easier Building

Getting closer. Thought I would show you just a few of the building techniques that made this build a little easier. These may be quite simplistic, but they save on time (and frustration).

First is the five brick six stud rule.

Second, is lining up 1x1 bricks or plates. As we all know, singles tend to get cockeyed, especially when you have a group of singles lined up or stacked. Straighten these out by putting them together, lining them up by using a table or other flat surface, and then incorporating the stack into your build. Of course, this only works if you can build the stack separately.

Third, if you are using a pin axle combination, it is much easier to put the pins in first and then put the axles in (particularly when you have to do more than one pin at a time. I thought it would be just the opposite due to the plus shape of the pin, but I was wrong.

Finally, If you are using bars or tubes in your build and putting them into a pin, or a stud with a hole in it, it is much easier to put the bar into the pin first as the clutch on the pin is much stronger than the clutch of the pin on the technic piece.

Almost forgot one. If you use single rounds with the hole in the stud, you actually can build either using the pin on the bottom of a single brick, or lining up the studs for a regular build. This flexibility came in quite handy building the fire escape as I had to use jumper plates on half of my vertical support columns.

Very simple techniques, but I hope they help. Stay tuned as the completion of the Boston Building is just around the corner.