New site features
Posted by Huw,
I've added a couple of new features recently that might be of interest:
- You'll recall that in December we announced a partnership with BriXtar and we are currently running a competition with them. Now, we are pulling in data on alternative builds from BriXtar and displaying it on set details pages. We've been doing that for some time with Rebrickable so now you'll find alternative builds from both sources under the 'Alt builds' tab at the bottom of the page. A good example is 10242 MINI Cooper MK VII which has 16 alternative builds available. The listing also now shows the percentage of all parts in the set used in the model.
- For some time now you've been able to view 3D versions of sets on set details pages, thanks to Mecabricks. Now, you can do the same for minifigs. Mecabricks users have created 3D versions of around 1500 minifigs which are now available to view on our minifig detail pages, such as this one.
If you haven't checked out Mecabricks, you should, it's superb. We are spoilt for choice for digital designers these days but Mecabricks stands apart as one that is used entirely in a browser meaning you can use it on any device. Awesome new rendering features have recently been added making it easy for anyone to create photo-realistic images of their models.
I've also removed an unused feature.
- Links to external (written) reviews and Eurobricks reviews are no longer shown on set details pages. They were good ideas at the time but hardly anyone is writing reviews these days (everyone creates videos now it seems) so the features were sitting languishing unused and unloved.
I hope you appreciate the changes and if you have any suggestions, do let me know in the comments.
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24 comments on this article
I've mentioned it before but could you also add a feature that marks sets that 'Use To Own' or similar. I think having a clear understanding of what you owned and what you currently own is important. That way we can track the current pieces we own from what we don't anymore etc.
You can do that using the additional checkboxes to manage your collection: https://brickset.com/profile/flagpreferences
Is there anyway to search for sets that have alt. builds? Or do we just have to click on the set, and find out if there is?
Thanks, I currently use that but it doesn't take into account the inventory.
Awesome news. Thanks for all the effort.
Would it be possible to add a ‘notes’ field to individual minifigue entries, like you have for set entries? (Just something I’d find useful)
^Agreed, although I don't know if Huw has created a field in the database that stores whether a minifig has been rendered on mecabricks.
Thanks Huw for query 3963, I created my own query so I know which sets I own is available on mecabricks.
As always, Brickset proves to be the best website for all things LEGO. Keep up the great work!!
I only used the external text review links once in a while, but just wanted to say I do like text reviews quite a bit in general. They are easier to read on the go without headphones and easier to skip through to the parts you’re interested in if it’s long. Granted I mostly read just the Brickset reviews themselves.
Awesome news, thanks! It's funny, just a day or two ago I was looking for a way to query whether or not sets have a 3D view on Mecabricks, as I have contributed several and this helps me decide which one to do next. However, I was not able to find the field to query whether a set has alternative builds available.
Yeah! We finally got the minifigure 3D view!
I was wondering if there is a list with all the sets with alternative builds. Because when I was selecting some of the sets I own to see if they had alternatives, none of them had one...
Mecabricks looks amazing.. is that real-time rendering and lighting in javascript? I remember the days when..
These integrations are really great Huw, Brickset continues to amaze with the functionality available here.
@Huw - I'm not sure I see how to query for sets that have alternate builds (or sort queries by number of alternate builds). This would be an awesome feature, and one that I've also looked for in Rebrickable. To be able to say "Show me all the sets in my Owned list or Wanted list that also have alternate builds" as a way of deciding what set to break down and rebuild, or what set to buy. Let me know if I missed it!
Love this site, as always. These new features sound great!
Awesomeness. Just more awesomeness added to the already impressive level at Brickset. Thanks for all your continuing hard work!
Love the 3d view for minifigs, great stuff!
Nice. Keep it up :)
Spotted a wee bug on URL: https://brickset.com/mycollection/parts/ranking, 'How your parts collection compares to others', links are for/to minifigs rather than parts.
We don't store information locally about alternate builds but query the two sites on-the-fly so it's not known if there are any until you load the page, unfortunately.
@RikTheVeggie The live 3D view is actually WebGL (javascript control and GPU rendering).
For photo-realistic rendering service, this is rendered on a small render farm that I built (hardware and software). The rendering engine behind it is Cycles from Blender.
Just a thought but in the “My Sets” bit I appear to have an impressively collection when in reality I know a lot of them are CMFs.
Would there be a way to toggle these out so I can see the data on what proper “sets” I own.
^ Easiest way is to indicate you own 1 complete set of figs rather than 16-20 individual ones.
As an addition to the alternate build project, would it be possible to gather box art from older sets that showed theirs? There’s no good place online that seems to house them...they could be collected and uploaded much like you did the main picture/instruction scan several years ago.
Absolutely, happy to add whatever is sent to us.
Is there a way to see which minifigs have the 3D view?