Best of BrickNerd: Weekend Highlight — Article originally published May 30, 2021.

Have you ever experienced builders’ block? Or maybe looked at your collection of bricks and just didn’t know where to begin on a new MOC? When this happens to me, sometimes reworking or doubling an existing LEGO set can be the perfect place to spur creativity.

My alternate build of 2X the 31114 Superbike set. Thanks to Ted Andes for the slick edit!

Building your own MOC from the parts within a LEGO set (or sets plural) is a fun experience that equally applies to new MOC builders and the most seasoned AFOL veterans alike. The most common example is to take a single set and use one’s imagination to create something new and unique out of the parts. The beauty of it is that you’ve got a color-coordinated and element-function-matching pack of parts, and the existing set design provides some clues and starting points if you want it. The exercise also nicely mitigates the paralysis of having too many options!

There are many different reasons you might want to try creating your own alternate design for a LEGO set—I’ll run through a few of them here:

Starting Fresh… or Breaking Builders Block

Let’s say you’re a new builder looking to dip your toes into the wild new adventure of building MOCs. What’s great is that the set provides ready-made inspiration for what to build and as I mentioned already, you have a nice set of matching parts to use. The set showcases some techniques and connections for you, and the available parts limit the scope to a manageable level. Finally, and maybe the biggest benefit, is that you don’t have to have some huge collection already, you can dive in and get going with a single set, no matter the size!

Or maybe you’re a more experienced AFOL… but you’re trying to break a creative or motivational slump—your battery needs a jump start. This challenge sets an artificial constraint and limits the parts palette but that limit can suddenly spur creativity in some new direction without needing to work within the infinite possibility of a completely blank slate.

Just as common, AFOLs can also need an occasional break to avoid burnout. Maybe your current MOC is a real grind or a multi-month (or year!) endeavor, and taking a day off to clear your head and pop out something silly or different is just the thing you need!

Master Builders

Then there are games or challenges like Master Builder games at conventions that use the concept of reworking an existing LEGO set to spur creativity. Master Builder games specifically are a palm sweat-inducing challenge that is simultaneously a blast! Typically you’re provided with one to two sets of different product lines (say a 3 in 1 Creator and a Friends set) and asked to build to a MOC out of the pieces provided based on a theme in less than an hour—sometimes further rules apply and sometimes not. For BrickCon in Seattle, the Master Builder theme will often be the theme of that year’s convention. I’ll walk you through the two rounds from the BrickCon 2019 Master Builder game below.

In the first round, we were given the Mighty Dinosaurs (31058) set and asked to build something that could be “constructed” like a house or vehicle… etc. I chose a castle because I figured tan and green made for good terrain and the grey and black would make my castle. When I noticed I had extra parts, I added a dock and sea creature.

In round two we were given the Underwater Robot (31090) set and asked to build something that can “make” other things, like a crane or construction bot, etc. I chose to make a life-size hand drill because I hoped that scale would be unique or at least less common—I figured most competitors would build a micro vehicle or a minifig scale contraption. Then I added a charging cord and batteries to maximize the build and minimize wasted extra parts lying around.

As I had imagined, others competitors built all the things I figured and more, it was a really impressive showing all around!

Games are more fun with your friends like Jessie! (Set photos here and below via Brickset.)

MOC with Friends

One final way (and arguably the best) to MOC from a set can be as simple as a social event with a friend! For example on several occasions my brother and I have made our own little challenges for quick build nights while watching a movie. In the below example I’m pretty sure we built almost entirely with the parts from the Pop-Up Party Bus (70828) (or with very minimal addition of other elements from my collection).

Ok, I’ve convinced you to build a MOC from just your LEGO set(s)… now you might be thinking, what are the rules? Well, you might have guessed it, there are none! If you want to pick an interesting single set and dive in, go for it! Do you have two or more sets on your table that you could combine? Tally ho! Do you have a build theme or topic in mind? Perfect! Do you want to include friends and compare results when you’re done? Magnifico! MUST I stick to only the parts in that set or can I add others from my collection? Just go with your gut!

Seeing the trend here? There are no set external rules, but if you have a constraint you want to apply to yourself, it’s entirely up to you.

Here’s when you’re probably thinking, “That’s all well and good Doug, but tell us what inspired the MOC you created for this blog!” It’s simple: I’ve always wanted to procure two copies of a set to then use my imagination and create something unique but with the fun constraint that the available parts inherently provide. I’ve done the single set “alt version” many a time, and a couple of different sets combined, but never two of the same set at once. So CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Let’s see what I come up with!

Double Your Fun

I chose the Superbike (31114) set because Creator 3 in 1 sets inherently have versatile parts palettes, I liked the relatively low cost, the blue color is pretty, and the newer wheels seemed like a solid part to have in my collection.

Next I opened the boxes and laid out the bags and instructions.

Upon dumping out the parts, I thought it would be best to lay them out according to color and element type, roughly arranged by improvised element groupings (most similar to how I organize my parts in typical storage I suppose). This way I got a good sense of the parts I had available and I could find anything quickly and easily. Frankly, it paid off in spades later as I went through the build because I could very quickly tell if I had the parts to try some technique or build some feature into my MOC.

Nerding out by organizing the parts before I got going :)

I decided to list out design ideas to see what struck my fancy. My first idea, which I eventually chose to pursue, was to make a drone reminiscent of a typical consumer device. Other ideas included a rover, a hovercar (too similar to the third alt model LEGO had already designed)… and that’s about where I stopped. Sometimes you get a flood of ideas—and sometimes crickets. This time the one inspiration drowned out anything else. To me, the black wheels and blue accent color just fit perfectly with the idea of making a sleek consumer toy, so I dove right in. At this point, I’d typically sketch some options but in this case, I worked directly from a few Googled drone images.

Droning On

Drones are relatively simple devices, typically with a central core and spindly arms that hold the motors and rotors out away from the body. So I mimicked this and started off with a quick rendition of the rotor assembly. I was quite happy so I continued and dove into the core body design. It took several iterations to settle on the SNOT technique and stud reversal on the bottom surface using brackets. That allowed me to use the curved slopes to make the bottom surface smooth just like I was doing on all the other sides.

The curved slopes on the sides hold the bottom brackets on upside down so their studs point down.

My next challenge was to attach the arms, which took numerous design iterations (quick attempts to throw an idea together are one way to quickly think through ideas—and then just rinse and repeat until happy). The available Technic and 3mm bar elements all worked nicely in my favor in the end to build a pretty sturdy and accurate-ish four-armed beast.

One solution that worked—using the new plates with bars!

As you will often find in challenges like this, there’s never enough of any particular part. And when you aim to copy some assemblies multiple times you may run out sooner than anticipated. CURSES! For the arms I had to get a little creative and build a different attachment method on the opposite sides, even going as far as attaching the bottom legs by capturing axles partly in the 1x2 brick, as opposed to an actual connection.

Different strokes for different… sides :)

So if you want my advice on how to make these decisions, first always look for a solution that has enough parts for all of the copies you want to make (that would have been eight total connectors for the four arms for me here). If you’re short, consider if you have pairs or sets of (if not all eight) say four or two at a time that can perform the same function. Try to group these pairings logically, so for me that was the same all on one side, then two pairs on the other, and it looks reasonably intentional that way. Never give up even if things seem to be lacking, LEGO will always surprise you with a neat new way to accomplish the same old goal.

Ready for the Sky

When I finished the first pass on the drone I was quite happy with the result… but noticed that there were a LOT of remaining parts left. I think that’s fine, there’s no rule on how many of the available elements I had to use, so I did a quick thought exercise to decide if I should add anything. I could build some sort of scene around it, a remote controller, or another drone. Ultimately I decided to try to expand the drone itself by adding legs and a camera like many consumer drones have.

Now we can take 4K video and make millionz on the YouTubes! — Now we can take 4K video and make millionz on Youtubes!

All in all, the drone with legs and camera used 214 out of the 472 total parts from the two sets. So there’s plenty left. Maybe another fun challenge is to use ALL the parts next time… (If you are interested, here is the Studio file I made after the fact if you want to build the drone for yourself.)

What to do next? For me, I’ve accomplished the goal set to write this article, so my drone will sit on a desk until it’s recycled for the parts. But for your build, maybe take a snapshot… and immediately smash the thing to make something new! Or put your new gem up on the “keeper” shelf. Do what makes you happy.

Alternate Realities

Now that we’ve seen an example from me, I wanted to open up the aperture a bit and see what else is out there in AFOL-land in terms of building alt models from sets. So I did a quick survey to find examples of others in the community who have made alternate designs of sets, and you can scroll through the results below! Frankly… there are thousands of examples and a simple Google search can yield zounds of amazing MOCs. So the below examples barely scratch the surface of what’s out there. I hope these few brilliant pieces inspire you to break open the nearest set and immediately start building!

Here are examples of a single set being remade into a MOC:

One of my all-time favorite builders is Firas Abu-Jaber. His automotive alternate sets are just out of this world. His remakes of the Ford Mustang (10265 ) set are mind-boggling, especially his F150 model.

Another master of set redesign is Peteris Sprogis. See below for examples of his work in turning the Highway Speedster (31006) into a GTO style vehicle, a low rider vehicle, and there’s even more we didn’t get to here.

It seems like there’s a trend here… the next AFOL I stumbled upon also works mainly in automobiles! Nathanael Kuipers has a great series of Creator vehicle-based MOCs too. See his rendition of an Offroader based on the Volkswagen Beetle (10252) below, as well as an excellent rendition of a classic pickup made from the new Fiat 500 (10271).

During the BrickCon 2020 Online convention, there were a number of games revolving around a single set, Deep Sea Creatures (31088). This was to maximize the amount of use a single set could provide to all of the participants at home. In one game, an AFOL’s alternate build was chosen for the competitors to copy from sight as fast as they could. Or in the Master Builder game, people could design what they wanted from the pieces. I made a set of glasses and a 2D chart like you might see on a corporate executive’s desk. During the convention, We searched for even more alternate builds of this set, and there are just so many out there! Rebrickable has one of the best examples below, a bevy of fun sea creatures!

Double Time

Next up, let’s see some examples of double set usage like I did above with the Superbike!

Ron Folkers built a fantastic teal dragon from two copies of the Ninjago Jungle Dragon (71746) (and just a few extra parts from his collection).

Builder Sjaak Lego appears to have quite the collection of “double” modulars (at least it appears to be about two of each combined). Definitely a fun take on the idea, and even though you might note the design is a copy and mirror of a set, upon some consideration you’ll realize it takes painstaking planning and effort to integrate it seamlessly as is done here! The Diner XL alt build of the Downtown Diner (10260) caught my eye as did several others!

The next example is a great alternate double build of the Creator Pirate Ship (31109) called the Lady Cutlass by MOC Your Bricks on YouTube.

Amazing right!? It simply astounds me the creativity a builder can show when working with just the parts from a specific LEGO set. These were just a few examples of the myriad that are out there. Maybe you’ve got some favorites as well or some masterpieces of your own too!

As you can see, reworking or doubling an existing LEGO set can really spur creativity. It provides the constraints needed to let your imagination run wild. I hope these examples, and my own build experience working on a drone, have inspired you to build something fun and special. If so, please share in the chat below!

Have you seen any amazing alternate or double builds? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Charlie Stephens, Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, and Andy Price to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.