What do you do with your LEGO sets?

Yeah well, to be honest I got into my dark ages after I became 18 years old and there wasn't really a separate poll option for that...

As for sets on display, I have a small antique cabinet with three small glass shelves on which I put several older and newer sets on display (almost exclusively Star Wars). Whenever I have a new set I build it and put in on display, and after a while I store them in boxes. And then after a while they may be put on display again, it's fun to mix things up occasionally. I'm not sure if my new 75337 AT-TE will ever not be on display though.

I build, display, rotate out (seasonal) and part out. Some sets are too costly to part out, tho. My little Lego room is almost full, and I have a bigger backlog than I'd like to have, so I am trying to cut way back on Lego buying. Maybe I'll start selling, but that was never my intent. If I can reach the goal I've set for myself by next summer, I will reward myself with the Lion's Knight Castle and the Boutique Hotel. They are good prizes, but it'll be hard to earn them!

Thanks for these articles. The answers are interesting to peruse!

Build, display for a while, then pack them away separately and also keep most of them MISB because of no time to apply rule number 1.

I went for 3 of the build options: I do a mix of permanent display (some of the nice 18+ sets), packing away separtely (seasonal sets), and parting-out.

But I wish I could have 5 options as I have some rare sets that I've kept MISB, and a few (mainly duplicates) that I've bought purely for parts.

All the new sets are build and a large part are going on display and a smaller part go in the 'play' containers. Depending on what type of set it is.

Build, take apart and then store in zip lock bags - no displaying inbetween. For me the building experience is a chance to unwind and see the finished model gives a sense of accomplishment.

To be honest there is a split concerning my collection say until 1998 and then since 1999. The sets I got while being a kid, before 1998, are all but a few broken up and put into boxes. These boxes are based on colors of the bricks. These boxes are kept in a different room then my later sets.
My favorite sets bought since 1999 are on display while other sets I keep on display until I need room for my latest purchases. Small sets I keep whole in boxes while big sets are broken up and put into bags to save space in the boxes. Although I am afraid that those sets in the bags will never be put back together again.
My dream is to own a house with an extra room I can turn into a Lego room and that I will rebuild all the sets.

A combination.

Some much-loved sets have been on display for years. Some not so loved are displayed and dismantled (into storage) to make space for new sets.

When I do have a dedicated long term space I'll be parting out the stored sets and building my own models. I do buy and store some MISB thinking of the day when I will have that space.

I'm sure when that day comes I'll find some that I have no use for and will sell those.

Re Dark Age I had a passing interest in LEGO when I was getting Christmas presents for nieces and building the sets with them. I was in New York I visited the LEGO store at Rockefeller, saw the 10228 Sopwith Camel and ordered for myself when I got back to my hotel. Downhill from there. ??

I had my dark age a little before while COVID started, and missed some nice sets :(
But in 2020 I got set 70676 and thus my dark age slowly ended, it was in spring 2021 when it really ended

Buy, but muchess than I used to. Build. Play with my kids and all our Lego. Use pieces for MOCs. Display super favourite sets and MOCs. Work towards building one Big Thing™ annually for our club expo. Consider sorting bulk pieces (maybe later). Consider selling some choice items (likewise)

Living in a one bedroom appartement means that I have to be very selective in choosing the sets that I put on display. Some larger Architecture and Creator Expert buildings I already have on display for a long time (essentially from the moment they were built). Smaller sets, like the Architecture Skyline sets, I put on display for a short time (say, up to 3 months); after that period I disassemble them and put the parts in my collection.

I always throw away the box because I simply cannot dedicate space for storing those. An exception is the box for set 10276 because I use the box as "furniture" to display the set. I could not be bothered to purchase a sufficiently large side table just for displaying this set.

Tends to be a mixture for me. I keep modular buildings together and will display those indefinitely, along with any other models I find useful (like City cars, planes etc) but a lot of what I buy tends to be taken apart and added to my parts collection. Most Super Heroes sets don't last long unless I have a specific use for them (i.e. SHIELD vehicles I might later add to a larger base build).

And of course boxes all get recycled, as do most instructions!

I almost always build them, and then either keep them built or take them apart for MOCs.

If you keep them misb then you might as well collect cardboard rather than Lego.

Depends on the theme. For me, Star Wars stuff always gets built, stays built, I'll take it apart every now and then for a part, sometimes for the fun of rebuilding it since I can, but it does eventually get rebuilt and displayed. A few other sets are also more display items like a couple of the Ideas sets. Sometimes I get a set specifically for the parts, but it does stay built for a time so that I can also just enjoy the set for what it is before parting it out. Other times, you get a thing, and it's fine, part it out not much later.

I need to think this through…part of me wants to go full wordy and finally confess all my odd LEGO quirks and habits the other part thinks it’s likely not relevant to the point of the poll. :)

All sets bought with the aim of building and displaying.
However, since I'm in the throes of extensive house renovations the current reality is:-
A few sets built and displayed.
A few more sets built and stored in 3 84l 'Really Useful Boxes'.
The bulk are MISB in a couple of large storage units for the biggest sets plus 15 84l 'Really Useful Boxes' for the rest.

I build the sets I buy and display them. Actually, that's not *quite* true: I build every set I buy and display it for a while. But some sets I disassemble and put away, while others - modulars, larger Star Wars models, some others (e.g., 10302 and my three '10947 models) - I keep on display.

I tend not to build GWPs but keep them MISB on the assumption that one day, along with a massive lottery win, they'll be worth enough to fund me a new house, one with enough rooms to have a dedicated LEGO room. I'd love to have a room where I can build my own city - even cities - rather than having a set perched on a bookcase here, a table there.

(Sorry - that should be my three 10497 models. @Huw, there doesn't seem to be a comments function to save edits.)

I build everything I buy and keep most of my sets on permanent display, but I do part out some sets eventually to build my own creations.

Up to five years ago I always displayed every set I owned using multiple full glass cabinets.
Since I moved I live far too small to display much. I was forced to sell some of my cabinets (still regret selling the deepest) and now have two left.
Ever since I rotate my display, usually with themes at once.
I keep everything in dedicated sturdy moving boxes with neat XL Ikea ziplock bags filled with smaller ziplock bags with either single sets or sections of sets based on the numbering in the instructions if the sets are large. These XL bags are neatly stacked on top of each other so I can find sets again.

This is a lot of building, and now I'm reaching a point where increasing my collection decreases the quality time I have with my sets too much, so I'm trying to buy less and less.

A side effect is that I now don't have to worry about space too much, so I can buy giant sets like 7905 Tower Crane and 7707 Striking Venom again without them smothing my display space anymore. That's why I'm now focussed on repurchasing sets I once owned but sold to increase space. Most of those are smaller ones. But another side effect is that I avoid large sets with too many pieces. That's because 150+ euro sets are exhausting to build again and again.

Maybe one day I'll be able to display more. But right now this is how I do it. It's a lot more building, that's for sure!

I keep some sets build (like Old Fishing Store or sitcom sets), but most of the sets I buy are my source of bricks to build my own creation. I really like building with instructions, I even download olders instructions and try to build from my bricks, but I'm not really into presenting my sets or mocs museum-style. Mainly because my space is very limited, but also because I like to fiddle with bricks, not just look at them.

While I do think it's more socially acceptable now to be an Adult Lego fan, in the early 2000s I still had the stigma that teens shouldn't be buying a children's toy. It was made more accessible because I was able to find online communities back then to connect with other "weird toy fans." (Didn't help that legacy AFOLs also looked down on me because "Bionicle isn't Lego" but that's another story.) I'd say the Lego Movie era was when it became more socially acceptable, but the popularity of social media and adults showing off their MOCs to a larger audience also helps.

I definitely buy sets for both the display value and for the parts, so some I keep on display and others get parted out at some point.

Last poll was about dark age?
I thought it was about people who never had LEGO as a child.

I checked the "I'll explain in the comments" box simply because almost all of the above choices are pertaining.

Some sets I build right away and add them to my Lego city, indefinitely; others I build then pack separately in plastic bags to prevent them from getting dusty; yet I keep other set immaculate and sell them when the time is right, or keep them for investment; then some are given for gifts, for visiting kids to open and play in order to keep them busy as we adults talk (about Lego!); other sets are parted out (Dots!!) right away, and so forth.

What I really used to enjoy in the early 2000's (times have radically changed now) was buying used sets at a low price, getting them back in shape by cleaning them thoroughly, finding missing parts on Bricklink, and either keep, sell or display them. The Monorail sets 6399 6990 and 6991 have been the most rewarding and fun from all points of view. I think I'll keep them forever, they are just what Lego is all about for me. As for brand new sets (some of which are displayed in my city and others still MISB) I enjoy the Modular and Chinese New Year themes.

Usually the sets I buy (either new or secondhand) get built, displayed for a while, often modified and eventually packed away.
A few are still in their boxes, waiting until I have the space and time to build them.
However a lot of what I build is pieced together from Bricklink rather than bought as discrete sets - doing it that way means I can vary the colours if I want to. For example, there's a green 323 taking shape on the desk next to me.

Wow. I really hope “Build, display for a while, then part them out for my own models” gets more votes. I can’t imagine using LEGO for anything else. I mean there are sets I don’t part out, such as the orchids or the UCS A-Wing. And the Christmas sets I get out every year so the kids can play with it arrange them.

But otherwise I want my own creations! Gotta scratch that spaceship itch!

I build every set i buy, then, after few weeks of showing, I save them in their own box

I am collecting dragons and mechs for the most part. Here and there I get a Star Wars model and I try to keep them all built and display them on shelves. I do run out of space of course, so I dismantle the smaller ones or put them away in their boxes and let the new sets shine.

Biriktiriyorum.

I moved to a bigger place recently with similar storage. I display part of my sets, especially the newer ones. Sinde I buy a lot of sets, I hardly get to displaying older sets. I bought some display cases now to display them dustfry. Dust is the enemy!

The other sets I keep in plastic storage boxes. I also keep the cardboard boxes and instructions.

So, I combined 2 responses.
I never keep them MISB, always build and most sets keep on display indefinitely, the ones I love the most, just because most sets I buy ARE for display, but taking in consideration the lack of space, after some time, a part of them go back in boxes.

I build every set I buy (eventually...) just because I enjoy the experience, and to learn from the set designers. Most are displayed for shorter or longer periods.
After that some sets are bagged and stored in the attic. Others are parted out for MOCs.
The sets in the attic get rebuilt every now and then and displayed again. They're mostly UCS, Creator Expert, bigger Technic sets.
Next weeks poll: what do you do with instruction booklets? ;-)

You people are buying sets and not animating them?

I mostly buy vintage hauls with the intention of completing themes, so for me it's more of a:
1. sort
2. build to check completion/inventory what's missing
3. display for a while
4. pack up for display in a future house with a Lego room
5. (optional) sell if duplicate that I don't want

I do buy modern sets sometimes, but given that my current display space is covered with vintage stuff, it's rare that I get to build them. I have a handful on display, some Architecture stuff and Ideas that look good in the common areas of the house.

There is a dream of a nice basement room with a big sorting and building area, and a display table for my Town ideas!

I build and dissassemble very shortly after. Most sets are parted out in ziploc bags and I try to keep the original bag numbering. Bags are put in labeled tote boxes. They get rebuilt once in a while. Instruction booklets are kept in binders with sheet protectors (pockets for the very large once).

I usually build them and add them to my large city display but I always modify or add something, for example extra floors for modular buildings. Smaller sets that I buy are normally to get special parts and/or to enlarge other sets.

By the way, though I kind of guess what it can mean, it would have been nice to explain what MISB stands for, I suppose that we are not all english-mother-tongued here...

For me MISB are only GWPs that I don’t necessarily have room for/don’t fit my current themes, but that I don’t want to get rid of either. Also, LEGO has been releasing them faster than I can build them, so I have an unintentional back-log.
I really WANT to be the person who can more easily part-out sets, but I have a problem divorcing pieces from their original contexts…

I have way too many sets to keep them all on display. Also I keep many MISB, but only because I haven't gotten around to building them yet. I have no intention of keeping any set MISB forever.
With most sets nowadays I build them and then shortly afterwards disassemble them again to sort the parts into my parts bins.

The only sets I have on permanent display are the Modulars I own and a couple of sets that are in some way special to me, like some of my favorite Technic and non-Modular Creator Expert sets. Also some MOCs and a couple of alternative brand sets.

Limited space. I build pretty much everything, most end up sorted out for parts, but the others are modified and combined into temporary themed displays that I change up monthly or so, before being put into storage and brought back whenever I want to display or modify them again. Right now it's a city street with pigs and psyche-bugs causing trouble, last month it was a flock of dragons, next month probably winter/holiday stuff, etc.

Some I keep MISB because I don't have the space to display them properly. Many big sets can't conveniently be put back into storage without major disassembly, so I need to find a more permanent spot for them. Next time I move I'll try and have more space so that I can finally display all of them.

Also, I don't do (physical) MOCs as much anymore due to a lack of space too. Lack of space is a real issue. The lack of a dedicated LEGO space theme is a tragedy too, but that's another story.

Actually, the first six options apply to me…

I don't like the term Dark Age. There was simply a time when I was too old for the sets LEGO was selling and any AFOL-sets a long time away.

I have a large display for SW in my mancave with 4 columns of shelves and each column has 6 shelves. I have all the HP sets displayed in my office and about 50% of my Ninjago, LOTR, and Marvel (mostly mifigs). Holiday sets come out and go back into storage as appropriate. I've pretty much run out of room for much else. Wife is trying not to go insane when Lego displays don't retire timely. Probably 60% or more of my collection is still MISB. Didn't really intend to invest in sealed boxes, but that's how it ended up. I have hopes for grandchildren in about 20 years and maybe the old sets will still have some charm.

Also, my TFOL has been building a lot of large MOCs. Those are displayed with pride!

I buy with the intention to build but I buy way more than I can build due to time and space constraints so from time to time I will sell some sets from the backlog to make room for new sets.

Some sets that I really like, I will build straight away and display them indefinitely. Others will be built, displayed and then rotated out to make room for new displays. If they are special sets, I will disassemble them partially to fit inside zip lock bags. Others will go into my parts inventory. And then I also buy a lot of sets for the minifigures so those sets will be built to get the build experience and then I will part them out straight into my parts inventory for MOCs and alternate builds without ever displaying them.

I build almost everything I buy, even sets I buy on clearance for the parts: I enjoy building, so I build, then dismantle for parts. Most sets I build and display until I need space for other stuff.
6989 Mega Core Magnetizer has been almost continuously since 1990, only dismantled when I've moved, then rebuilt.
6285 Black Seas Barracuda and 6286 Skulls Eye Schooner have been displayed almost as much.

I build the sets and sometimes display them (and put them away separately in their orig boxes). My "something else" is I build the sets and don't display them. I then pack those away separately. I also play with the sets.

Really depends on the set. For context, I only have my bedroom to display my collection, so my space is relatively limited. There are occasions where I might convince my family to have something out in the dining room, but this is a rare occurrence.

I build just about everything I buy at least once; what happens next varies from set to set. I have three main displays for sets which are my City, Star Wars and ‘Mega Movies’ (random classic film based sets and MOCs like Indiana Jones, 007, my custom Mad Max fleet etc.) I also have ‘Classic LEGO’ (Space Police 3, Ninjago and Power Miners), Skylines, LotR and Harry Potter, but I don’t collect these as much as I used to, so they have smaller displays.

If a set I purchase can fit into any of these displays (particularly the City), I’ll often make room for it in its relevant place. However, after a few months, I’ll sort it into the part bins to make way for some MOCs, while the minifigures get sorted into a small set of drawers.

I also like modifying certain sets; recent examples are 31131 and 40574 .

I still like to rebuild some of my older sets from time to time; just because it’s been sorted doesn’t mean it’s gone for good.

P.s Really enjoying these polls. Keep it up!

Build, sometimes modify, store away until I bring them out for a train show.

I keep some MISB, but the rest I build them, take some pictures, then I keep them in plastic boxes

I've methodically collected for the last 7 years and kept most sets sealed, for future display ideas once bigger space is available. Though the sets are not being appreciated by me at the moment, the sets keep appreciating.

However, I have reached my cap. I think I have enough and believe I have all the fig variations that I want from my collection. Conversely, the fact that the latest sets and themes have not been of interest to me, helps me to stop buying. The increase in price worldwide has also made me decide to stop, and just go with what I have for now. Thanks Lego.

Some are built, some are NIB, some have been built and disassembled for storage. I have relatively limited *approved Lego display space* so I have to be selective in what I have built. Unfortunately things like the Tumbler have been disassembled and Batwing, 89 Batmobile, space shuttle are all NIB awaiting a move that may or may not happen in the near future. To be clear: none of my sets are considered investments.

Keeping builds assembled cracks the pieces so I’ll disassemble them sometimes

I built most of my sets at least once and then took them apart and keep all separately in their original boxes. I often use my sets for building my own alternative models - something like taking set and building something different from its parts with help of my imagination.

Mostly, I put the best ones on display for a while then put them away. I cannot afford a house big enough to keep all of them on display forever :-(

Build, take apart, rebuild, take apart, rebuild... hey, it's therepeutic. Lol

Play, display, build, rebuild, play...

My answer depends on what the set is. If a modular I add to and rearrange my city display along with some other small city sets. I then have the larger creator expert on display shelves. Most stay for ages, but every so often I swap them out by dismantling and putting in the original boxes and replace with another. After all, it’s the build experience I really love.

The other thing I have started to do with the Modular’s mainly but some others, is to but alternative instructions off rebrickable to give the city a fresh look. Some of the alternatives are better than the original.

It very much depends on the set. If I buy a set, it's usually for display and I'll build and display it.

Anything I don't buy for display, or receive from others, I'll build and then part out into my collection.

New set is build and put on display. I have a limited number of display spots in our house (I guess 10 depending on model size) so for every set I build I have to take one completely apart. Sets being removed from display is put in plastic bags, rigistred and stored in plastic boxes. Some models are rebuild and redisplayed because for me building Lego is relaxing therapy.

I still play with my Legos. Some of them are in storage in my closet while the rest sit on my shelf. I keep all the minifigures in a separate case so I can take them out and have battles lol.

About 20% are on display at any given time (this goes up in December with the Holiday sets and trains I have).
I end up selling about 1 in 10 sets within a year.
The rest are stored in built condition in plastic storage boxes.
The minifigures are stored in separate (fishing lure) storage containers.

My modular town is in its own room, most sets are constructed as per the instructions but will usually be modded in some way, either extending, adding extra floors, etc. All of the Creator sets, such as vehicles, are dotted around all over the house (mostly lounge and dining room) and these are left built up (and very dusty!)

Build / Display / play with with my son until too many bits have fallen off to make it displayable, then break up to rebuild / use bricks elsewhere

It would have been nice to have a play option. Most sets get built, played with for a while with my kids and then as they naturally break down over time, the parts get included in the collection for MOCing. Only a small percentage remain as sets.

I build every set (except for some exclusives) and display them until I need the room for something new. Then I pack them back into the original boxes in new numbered bags (usually ziplocs) as it came in the first place. Then after some time I pull older sets and rebuild as desired. I have been doing this for decades and feels perfectly fine and I have something new to show everytime somebody comes over.
At the moment I am building the UCS AT-AT, so I guess some sets will have to be disassembled pretty soon :-)

During Covid I finally found a storage system for my parts that makes them easily accessible so I’ve been doing a lot more MoCing than I have for years (Thanks Brickset for the inspiration!), so the majority of my sets are built, played with and parted out. The Lego on display in the house is probably 90% big sets/smaller sets incorporated into a scene, and the rest is MoCs, fighting for space with my kids!

Treehouse and Ninjago Docks have probably been built the longest, but the treehouse is currently being modified for a winter scene,

Some are built for the model, others are built, then parted out. Many are for the parts only.

My parts for creative building and my sets are separate. If I get a set, I get it because I want the model on the box. If I want parts for creative building, I get them through Bricklink, Pick A Brick, or Bricks and Minifigs.

Buy and store in the garage until I want to build, after building good sets will go on display in my office for 6 months-1year.

I used to pack them away into plastic storage boxes with low levels of disassembly but recently have been better at fully dismantling to save storage space - driven by when I took down apocalypseburg and the 3 ninjago city sets. I need to go back and properly dismantle older Modular’s.

I have sold very few sets, and don’t see that changing.

My main collection (Modular Buildings City) is currently on a table in my living room (9x3 base plates). I plan to expand that to 11x3 within the next two years.

I used double-sided tape to fix 6 base plates to the wall which I use to display minifigs that don't work in the city environment (Harry Potter, Ninjago, etc.)

The 3 Ninjago City sets take up a window sill.

The rest is on display on shelves.

For the most part, I build sets when I get them. I usually take them apart and pack them away. I only have 3 sealed investment, being the Bespin Duel, the Green Lantern Jessica Cruz, and Blue Milk Luke.

For years I tried to keep them on display as long as possible.
But with sets getting increasingly bigger, that has changed. I've some sets I have kept MISB because I simply don't have space for them. But I still want them. I've also started to disassemble play sets I had on display to give way to display sets.
I used to have, for example, the UCS sets displayed alongside their playset version, micro-fighter version and micro-scale version. Now I'm in the process of keeping only the UCS version on display and disassembling all the other versions to reclaim space.

My old Castle sets are on permanent display, but newer sets tend to be on display for a shorter period of time. Since coming out of my 'dark age', I create a LEGO Christmas display each year, which keeps getting bigger and merrier. I do something similar for spring and summer. Old Fabuland, Pirates and Space sets aren't on display, at least not right now, although I placed some old pirate minifigs with the two recent pirate ships.

I used to animate every set I got, but I just don't have time.

I was displaying my sets until very recently. Then I had to open up space for my wife, so packed them up neatly in boxes and store them away. Today I buy sets only if they mean something to me, like Voltron or 10497. I build them, play with them for a while and store them away, like others.

I build most of them but since I am running out of space I need to store them on boxes and then I have many which I keep on boxes for the moment.

I was keeping them in the attic after a very short display time. However, lack of space put a stop to that. Now I either sell them or give them away for others to enjoy (minus minifigs/animals/instruction manuals). That way they continue to have a life.

@EvilTwin said:
"Is "playing with them" not an option?"

because apparently adults don't play with toys

I am in the progress of disassembling all my MOCs to sell the sets the bricks were in. Quitting the hobby!

When I got out of the dark ages (because I hoped my kids would develop an interest) I discovered Lego Star Wars. I almost went full completionist (if that's a word), but I quickly discovered I didn't have the funds or room for that. Display space (and dust) is the main reason I don't really display much. I build something, have the kids play with it, build somethings else, then store away again, etcetera. That keeps everyone interested and also limits the number of interesting sets somewhat. A set needs to be playable and displayable at the same time. A lot of sets don't meet those criteria.
The only sets I have on permanent display are 75192 (UCS Millennium Falcon, on the wall in the pooproom), 21303 (Wall-E) and 910017 (Kakapo). Those are not really playable, but I like them just to look at...

Things that would emotionally drain me to disassemble due to their incredibly good design, e.g. the 76191 Infinity Gauntlet, 10265 Mustang, Ninjago's 70620 and 71741, and the Lion Knight's Castle 10305, meet the high standard to keep on display. Everything else goes to the bins, with the occasional nostalgic rebuild that stays up for a few days/weeks.

@Huw,

From picture above: it seems that 42100 has been punished and placed alone with the flying models. It has been separated from all the other construction models on the other display.

Interestingly, 8448 is represented twice (such a good model - one of the best IMO).

@essel said:
"I currently have a backlog of about 50-60 sets (some of which quite large), as I only build one or two bags of a set per day, in order to take my time and enjoy the building techniques better.
------------------
Good point about the backlog of bought sets that are yet to be built. I guess many of us have a backlog. Mine is about 20 sets I would estimate, waiting for both the time to build as well making the space to display them!"

@HOBBES said:
" @Huw,

From picture above: it seems that 42100 has been punished and placed alone with the flying models. It has been separated from all the other construction models on the other display.

Interestingly, 8448 is represented twice (such a good model - one of the best IMO)."

Meanwhile, on the same image:

"Day 999. They have still not discovered that I, 7905 Tower Crane, am not a Technic, Model Team or Creator model."

I build most of the sets I buy these days, except for duplicates bought for parts, or things like Creator sets purchased purely for parts.

Most sets that get built these days either get put away as built to be used in future displays. This is the fate of most of the Winter Village sets but also a handful of other sets. But most of the sets that get built and not parted out are instead modified to fit better into Frank's Castle World setup or my Winter Village setup. I have a handful of sets that just go on pure display such as the Lunar Lander.

I just replied that I display them for a while (or let the kids play with them) and then sort them out. This is true for most, but a very special few sets I do keep in one piece for a very long time. These few sets I will even reconstruct if I needed some of the bricks in them for a MOC.
The Minifigs are different though! These go all on display for eternity. When they are scrambled for MOCs, and they frequently are, I always return them to their original state.

I do a bit of everything, but mostly I build them then store them in boxes almost straight away as I have very little display space. I store most sets fully built or partially deconstructed, but some sets I break down completely and bag for more efficient storage.
I part out things if I only bought them for the figs, e.g. some battle packs. I don't really buy large sets just for figs, so I never really part out larger sets.
I have a few MISB sets, but only really ones I haven't gotten round to building or ones that I bought on large discounts to either part out at a later date or sell.
Because my collection is too big, I do try to sell the odd set. These tend to be older sets or things that I get an updated version of.

I’ve become a collector of sorts for the Star Wars brand of Legos. I absolutely love the variety and diversity of it. However, my small office can only hold/display so much. So I’ve got at least 20 sets I’ve yet to build, 15 or so on display, and 10 packaged back up in numbered bags to rebuild later. Hope to move soon where I can have a larger space for it.

I combine and combine my sets into this weird world, but I'm far from done.

@baabswed said:
"I usually build them and add them to my large city display but I always modify or add something, for example extra floors for modular buildings. Smaller sets that I buy are normally to get special parts and/or to enlarge other sets.

By the way, though I kind of guess what it can mean, it would have been nice to explain what MISB stands for, I suppose that we are not all english-mother-tongued here..."

MISB stands for Mint in Sealed Box. It's a fan term like AFOL or SNOT (Adult Fan of Lego, Studs Not On Top. And yeah, they could have mentioned what it meant.

The sets I have on permanent display in my home office (no Lego elsewhere except during Christmas time) are: 10283, 10266, 21321, 21309 (recently added 10497 and thinking of adding 76832). Do yo see a theme emerging here?

Everything else (mostly Technic sets) are built and displayed for a few weeks to a few months (longest running ones were 8043 and 42043 - currently showcasing 42145) and then packed back in their box - when I go extreme OCD (not always), parts are put back in their respective bag numbers (i.e. I dismantle them using the instructions backward - and yes I keep all the plastic bags so not looking forward for the paper bags)

I buy the sets and the themes I like. I'll display a theme for about a month or so then deconstruct and store them until the the next time. I use zip lock bags and number each bag to correspond with the instructions. An example of a theme would be Batmobiles, Western, Christmas, Ninjago, etc. The big problem I have is storage.

It's disappointing "play with them" isn't an option in the poll. Lego means "play well" not "display well"

Most of my sets are still unopened. I don't have enough space and then I buy more sets with no where to go. I finally have enough space now for my 800 or so sets.

When I do build sets I put sets of a similar theme together (not necessarily an official Theme. Like Halloween vignettes and Scooby Doo).

The sets will stay built and I'll play with them for a bit and then they'll be disassembled piece by piece and put into resealable plastic bags and back in the box.

@Binnekamp said:
" @HOBBES said:
" @Huw,

From picture above: it seems that 42100 has been punished and placed alone with the flying models. It has been separated from all the other construction models on the other display.

Interestingly, 8448 is represented twice (such a good model - one of the best IMO)."

Meanwhile, on the same image:

"Day 999. They have still not discovered that I, 7905 Tower Crane, am not a Technic, Model Team or Creator model.""

Very true but 7905 was an excellent model. I bought it for every single niece/nephews I have when it came out - it was not available for very long. Quite expensive now as new.

The flying models also includes many non-Technic models (creator, Model Team, etc)

I am only four years old as an AFOL. In these years, I would buy every set I like, build it and display it. Then I begin a city with one table. In two years it became three tables, several trains, cars and a good set of Modulars.

It is only now, that I consider the foolishness of it. My 4 pieces appartement is full with Lego. I just cannot buy items I want for lack of display space. Maybe I am coming of age with my passion. I will now choose my battles.

I had to dismantle my city for renovation. I need to find a strategy to have one again. I will see.

I build a set, subject my elderly mother to an in person review (she follows more Lego news sites now then me!!) then I place the set back in the box, only taking it apart as much as I have to to get it in the box. All extra parts, the brick separator and the manual all go back in the box, then I cling wrap the box to keep everything in and dust or creepy crawly things out! The packed away box gets put onto storage bookshelves which I hope to have display space for some one day.

About a third of my collection is currently unopened though just from lack of time. Either way the sets I have are both an enjoyment to build and an investment I want to protect, so have insurance to cover also.

Interestingly what you do with your LEGO can affect how you insure it. With 3 AFOLs in the house we have a lot of Lego. I was worried as to whether I needed to insure it as a separate collection on our house insurance. When I phoned the insurance company they said I didn’t as we build our sets and display them, though there is a backlog of sets to build while we work out where to put them once built. The insurance company therefore decided Lego was a hobby of ours. If we had purchased our Lego to keep MISB though then we would have been collectors and needed to insure the Lego separately rather than just in with our standard contents.

@legOtaku_official said:
"You people are buying sets and not animating them?"
I used to but as I aimed more for quality and not enjoying the process I’ve just gotten out of the habit.

im a tfol that has a good amount space and not enough money so it goes:
1.build
2.display
3.keep on display for 1+ year, (i refuse take apart sets i recently got beecause i feel like i wont appreciate it as much but thats just my opinion)
3. eiher keep on display for the foreseeable future, part out if it takes up too much space or dosent fit the shelves i got (im looking at you 71722 )
4. sets ight be sold if its a duplicate or i just feel out of love for it

overall i like my system, i only buy sets i feel as though would look good on display and the system i have prioritizes them over other sets.

I don't have much space for display at the moment. I try to keep 21108, 21328, and select minifigures displayed at all times, and then I'll cycle through which other sets are displayed. I like this method as it keeps me from acquiring too many sets, and it gives me an excuse to disassemble and rebuild sets every few months.

I think next week we should have a poll about how long our dark age was. I think it'd be interesting to see. Most people who have had one it lasted for many years, but for me personally my dark age only lasted from mid-2013 to mid-2014, about a year at the maximum. You mentioned that almost a third of respondents did not even have one which was completely unexpected to me. I think an overall survey about the dark ages would be interesting.

I’ve literally just loaded and pretty much filled a 15m3 storage unit with MISB sets that had been in my garage ‘waiting to be built’ as the Mrs started getting tetchy about the lack of space. No idea when they’ll now get to see the light of day again… I know others have this same dilemma too.

Almost all of the sets I buy are ones that can be integrated into a city layout - while that falls under “on display,” very few of my sets end up lined up on shelves outside of the context of my layout. For me, the fun is integrating everything into a cohesive environment greater than the sum of its parts!

I build mine and display them and play with them biweekly I have several large buckets and about a dozen smaller buckets full of LEGOs (casualties of having younger siblings who destroy your sets) waiting to be rebuilt. I would say. I never really had a LEGO dark age.

It depends on how much room I have to display sets. In the recent decade we have moved five times. Until now I haven't had a dedicated lego room, I've only had my bedroom and study. Usually I have few sets across the house, plus the modulars. At the moment, my plants and architectural buildings are littered across my bedroom and study. The lego room still has boxes from the move to be sorted, then I hope to have as many sets as I feel like on display.

8448 being there twice was first thing I noticed, too. Anyway, my new sets end up going on display, knocking something else out to be dismantled, bagged, and stored until that magical day when I have enough display space for them all. I suspect that day will coincide with one or more children moving out...

The exception is Winter Village, which replaces everything for a few months. I only have two, fairly small cases to work with so it's a never-ending cycle.

My account says I have 511 sets and that's not even up to date. I'll admit that I'm a hoarder at this point and I'm so lazy to start selling them off. Help.

@Legobusfan said:
"Interestingly what you do with your LEGO can affect how you insure it. With 3 AFOLs in the house we have a lot of Lego. I was worried as to whether I needed to insure it as a separate collection on our house insurance. When I phoned the insurance company they said I didn’t as we build our sets and display them, though there is a backlog of sets to build while we work out where to put them once built. The insurance company therefore decided Lego was a hobby of ours. If we had purchased our Lego to keep MISB though then we would have been collectors and needed to insure the Lego separately rather than just in with our standard contents. "

That's a great tip for most of the people on this site! Have a talk with your home owners' insurance people. Keep a record (send an email confirmation, etc.) of the conversation and include your Brickset set list and current valuation as part of what you discuss with your insurance agent. Also, discuss where your sets are stored (out-buildings like detached garages can require seperate consideration from your home). These can be invaluable tools should you be in the unfortunate position of having to make a claim. Protect the Lego! Protect the dream!

BTW, thanks @Huw et al for everything you do to make this site awesome! It's an invaluable tool for us collectors in so many ways. Of course, Lego™ should really thank you. As the comments last week showed, you have helped a great deal to further this brick fanaticism.

Survived a couple of dark age periods due to finances and lack of interesting themes at the time since I got my first themed set in 1978 (the Space Shuttle). Since I got into serious collecting when the SW theme was first introduced, I've always at least built and displyed for a while at a time. As I got back into reacquiring the sets I had to sell off, and started expanding into other themes (Marvel and Architecture), I got actual cases to use for display instead and protect them better, but also started to rotate them out upon retirement. With an increase in D2C/18+ sets plus some of the quality GWP released in the past few years, I added some additional cases (bookshelf and individual) to use as more dedicated space for these, and the original bookcase is strictly for the rotating collection of SW play-scale and Marvel sets. I do try to pick up extra GWP's I like, as well as SW Brickheadz and other hard-to-find sets in multiples so I can keep 1 in mint and build the other. Anything I receive that I wouldn't use as is otherwise either gets parted out, goes to my wife (ex some of the holiday freebies) or gets donated during the holiday season.

"What do you do with the majority of sets that you buy?"
*attempts to select every answer*

That’s me, socially unacceptable twenty years ago.

@Spike730 said:
"I don't like the term Dark Age. There was simply a time when I was too old for the sets LEGO was selling and any AFOL-sets a long time away."

That term really is pretty broad. I don't look at just in terms of age-appropriateness, but rather whatever was going on that caused an extended break in collecting. In my case, it was additionally financial and health issues that contributed to pauses.

I have a main display table, which is not that big but large enough to host a 12V based 3 trains city layout with 2 streets. I rotate some of the budlings and trains on it from time to time. It's in my home office and I run the trains to wind down from work and relax (I work from home) during the day.

I also have two shelving units from Ikea I display "18+" models on. Every few months I will put new ones, and store the old ones.

I also have many stored OPEN sets in storage (ziplocked and packed nicely), the only reason is that I don't have a place to display them. I love buying old lots and restore old sets, I sell duplicates/those I don't want for cheap and keep the ones I love. I build them once, and store them for later on after getting missing parts from BL. I avoid storing sealed sets (and buying sealed sets from people) as "Toy Story" made me look differently on toys :) Lego meant to be built (or sold by my kids once I'm dead, that's fine too).

Every few months I'll go over unopened sets and sell those I don't want, as sometimes I'll buy a set on sale or before it's retiring and later on realize I don't really want it. I try to avoid it, but Lego is one of the few products that's quite easy to sell sealed at cost.

@HOBBES said:
"The sets I have on permanent display in my home office (no Lego elsewhere except during Christmas time) are: 10283, 10266, 21321, 21309 (recently added 10497 and thinking of adding 76832). Do yo see a theme emerging here?

Everything else (mostly Technic sets) are built and displayed for a few weeks to a few months (longest running ones were 8043 and 42043 - currently showcasing 42145) and then packed back in their box - when I go extreme OCD (not always), parts are put back in their respective bag numbers (i.e. I dismantle them using the instructions backward - and yes I keep all the plastic bags so not looking forward for the paper bags)
"

Now that's dedication in the repacking! I don't have quite that patience. Mostly bag minifig, small builds, and transparent pieces separately, but that's it. I do find that the little plastic bags are good for insulation especially if I'm consolidating boxes (I do keep track of what's in which bigger box).

@chimaira2s said:
"Then, I will have a dedicated room and indefinite storage…"

How it went: And then marmot wraps a chocolate.

Keep dreaming. There's never enough space.

I keep them as individual sets (disassembled) and create alternate models out of them.
Not a fan of dust collectors in my livingroom.

build and display. But I also buy things with the intention of building and displaying them at some point so that I at least own it before it goes into retirement and the cost of acquiring it then triples. Then when I decide ok let me build it I see how much the after market price has gone up and debate on if I should build it or sell it to then buy other things but I also really wanted to open and build it and then I do none of the above because I still don't even have space to display it. Sets I own that I really want to build include the UCS imperial shuttle, UCS at-at, pirates of barracuda bay, mighty bowser, the haunted house. The ucs ecto 1, delorean, and new tumbler. so many sets! My winter village is also outgrowing the space I set it up in as well as the place I store it during the rest of the year.

Build and then part out for my own models

Like many, "all of the above." I have some mid-'80s castle sets and 6285 that have been displayed more or less intact for over 30 years.

In the basement, we have a 6'x6' Pirates + Ninjago table, a 6'x9' City table (with Modulars and Modular-adjacent sets + MOCs), a 6'x9' Castle + Harry Potter table, several shelves of Star Wars scenes + vehicles, some minifigure displays, a parts wall + building table, some random scenes that don't fit into the above, plus a good number of MISB sets that I intend to build or give to my children (similar to a commenter above, it makes me feel like being in a toy store).

Upstairs, there are a number of sets displayed on various surfaces, such as the Botanical line, Speed Champions, NASA, etc. Our living room is the "work in progress" zone, where at least one pile of bricks can be found on the floor at all times.

My daughter's closet is full of Disney, Friends and Vidyo sets. My son's room is FULL of Jurassic Park/World, City, Marvel and Star Wars sets (most of these have been partially or totally disassembled).

We also have some seasonal sets (Winter Village, etc.) that are boxed up and come out once a year for play and display.

Finally, we do buy sets just for the parts and/or minifigures sometimes, but we usually build them once before parting them out (or they are already duplicates).

@ComfySofa said:
"We have cine film from the '70s of my Dad's MOC motorised technic/minifig funfair rides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfB42TD2MtI "
Superb stuff! Reminds me of the sort of things I made in the 60s for my sister's trolls to ride (powered by a Mamod steam engine while I was waiting for Lego to invent a motor!)

What does MISB mean?

@magnumsalyer said:
"What does MISB mean?"

As noted above, "Mint In Sealed Box." In other words, a set that has never been opened nor experienced significant damage to the packaging.

so i collect all super hero minifigures. any sets that i purchase that contain a minifigure i go thru this process: is this something that i want on display to show off? is this something that i can use to put into my city? if the answer is no to these questions it just gets parted into my collection and the figures go on display. all other sets get purchased on same process, is it something i want to display permanently or something to go with my city. if the answer is no to them, then i dont purchase. however i do keep all uninteresting gifts with purchase misb, to be sold at a later date once the price has accumulated to a nice point for me.

@EvilTwin said:
"Is "playing with them" not an option?"

Very true. I build them, display them and play with them.

I'm missing an option: I give away the majority of the sets I buy! At least when it comes to the number of sets I'm pretty sure I buy more sets as gifts for my nephews and niece than I buy for myself. Total cost will be different story though...

That aside, I nowadays generally buy sets for display. And since I have both limited time and space, I don't buy every single set I like. Sometimes unfortunate, for example I would love to build the typewriter, it's just not something I would put on display and therefore not worth buying. I have seen rental services that would be perfect for that, but never tried it since I still have more than enough other (mostly non-Lego) stuff I still have to build.

The one thing I could never do os keep them MSIB. At least not when I would only have a single copy of a set. And I wouldn't buy a thing I have no interest of building in. And while I have thought of buying more copies of some sets as an investment, in the end I never did because it's not worth the effort unless you be serious about it and go big.

i feel like it's only people who got into lego as children who have the instinct to use the parts to build their own things with - you know, as they were designed for. Most adults who were only casually into the toy as kids, or who really only had their first contact with lego as adults, don't really seem to know what to do other than follow the instructions, and I find that quite depressing, it's a waste of the potential and the magic of lego

@sjr60 said:
" @ComfySofa said:
"We have cine film from the '70s of my Dad's MOC motorised technic/minifig funfair rides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfB42TD2MtI "
Superb stuff! Reminds me of the sort of things I made in the 60s for my sister's trolls to ride (powered by a Mamod steam engine while I was waiting for Lego to invent a motor!)"

Thanks buddy :) I'm going to try to recreate it with the pieces which would have been available to him back then, all of which we've still got (except some of the original technic white axles and red bushes, which tended to break). It will make a fitting tribute to him as the originator of our family Lego collection. If I choose the oldest of the more common bricks and slopes etc. it might be brick-for-brick about 75% identical.

I just looked up what a Mamod steam engine is, very cool! It's doubtful my parents would have let me have something like that, I was far from careful as a kid...

I give away some, also some doubles especially of CMF's, etc. to nieces, nephews, friend's kids.
It's a joy when they come over and we're all hanging out, watching tv, talking and the kids are building. And that look of accomplishment when they show their parents the finished build. It's a joy.

Mostly display, some are still boxed (because of room and time) and I sell my older sets to make room for newer sets i want more.

As odd as it may sound, I actually play with LEGO set with my kids!

Even the few sets that we keep assembled and on display (Modulars, Hogwarts sets, Lion Knights' Castle) are always fair game for play. My kids ask me to get them down off the shelf and we combine Modulars with City sets and actually play. We combine 3 decades worth of Castle stuff (including the recent Blacksmith and Lion Knight's Castle) to have a big medieval play session. We grab all the Speed Champions and race them around the basement.

Most sets aside from those few amazing sets are built and then eventually dismantled for creating MOCs. It's fun to have a variety of parts to work with; my oldest son has an eclectic taste and likes just about any theme. My 2nd (daughter) is into Friends and Dots. My son and I collaborate on all sorts of MOC projects after scrapping sets for parts.

In a perfect world, or perhaps heaven, I'd build all my sets, keep my favorites on display, and store the rest semi-disassembled to take up as little space as possible. In the real world, I'm so far behind in building that the bulk of my collection is still MSIB (the boxes being in very random condition depending on where they are stored).

Yes to all options — except for buying no sets.

Me and my kids have large tubs separated by Lego theme. We rotate them out for building and playing. I wanted a small sense of organization but nothing too stifling. We keep them separated by theme to allow for a snowflake’s chance in hell for finding pieces to rebuild sets.

I have a small amount of sets that I keep built for “display”, but they are really not the focus. If they aren’t played with I start to wonder what it’s all for. :D

I’m a combination of several of the poll options. The majority of my sets get build for display. The ones I love stay built indefinitely. Ones I don’t love as much eventually get broken down due to space constraints and go into my parts collection. Some of the rare or GWP sets that I know will greatly increase in value I keep sealed as an “investment.”

I chose the comments option.
For me, I buy my sets, then only build key important ones (eg: millenium falcon, mini disney castle, stormtrooper brick sketch).
For the bigger sets I have acquired, I store them above my wardrobe, then when it gets too full, I transfer them into the giant LEGO plastic bags, and store them in the loft (until i move out, that is!)

I build ,one per month and it gets tolerated for maybe a week then gets banished only to get viewed maybe 5 times a year , Christmas gets a slight reprieve as the advent calendars past and present gather on a table, i basque in the constant pleasure I get till it's all over and they lovingly get hidden till next Christmas

I keep my CMF in a box with the more collectable in bags to protect them. I also keep my sets in ziplock bags and then i also have a box that i keep loose bricks and pieces in.

Depends on the set. Some I just build for display forever, some I build for short display or to learn new ways of building, then soon I sort it into my collection to future MOCs. And some and don't even bother building, they go straight to sorting to future MOCs.

I'm building a layout with mine!

I voted "Build, display for a while, then part out for my own models" but in reality, some sets get parted right away because I bought them for parts. There are only 5 or so new official sets each year I'm excited enough about to build and display. What's really inspiring is the AFOL community and the stuff y'all make!

Buy with the intent to build, but not get around to it because other things occupy my free time.

As a 5th grade teacher, all but my most favorite sets eventually end up in my classroom. They start out on display, slowly get played with, and often deteriorate over time into giant random bins. But the kids have a lot of fun. Also, Walmart has a lot of good deals right now!

I would love to see a survey asking from which country all members are from. ^^

@ComfySofa said:
"It will make a fitting tribute to him as the originator of our family Lego collection."
No Lego from my Dad... his building bricks as a child were Bayko! A brilliant 1930's construction toy, which I still have a few bits of but sadly not enough for a full building.

"I just looked up what a Mamod steam engine is, very cool! It's doubtful my parents would have let me have something like that, I was far from careful as a kid..."
I had the SE2 Stationary Engine and later the TE1a Traction Engine. They run on solid fuel tablets now, but then they ran on methylated spirit which tended to mean that the Traction Engine did have a bit of a habit of setting fire to the carpet as it went around the living room! No health and safety back then!

Very interesting to see that so many people rotate their built sets to be displayed. I thought I was the only person who did that.

Stop-motion films.

For the past 7 years my Lego collection lived in moving boxes in my crawl space, which also was where I’d build all of my Lego. It was cramped, out of space, illuminated by string lights, and required a lot of maneuvering if I wanted to get a specific set out. However, I pretty much knew where everything was.

This June we moved into a much larger house and I turned a very large bedroom in the basement into my office and Lego room (and retro gaming room). I had a closet company building a lot of built-ins around the house, so had them build shelving for my Lego collection as well (which I used to negotiate a better price on everything else). For months my boxes sat on those shelves as the house was under construction and I simply had no time. About a month ago I finally decided to unpack the boxes which took me the better part of a day, and I learned that all the boxes had been hit by a hurricane (my kids). I’ve spent the last month working hard to rebuild my collection so that everything can be on display. I’d say I’ve gotten 75% of my collection fixed and on the shelves, but poorly organized. This winter I hope to have my Lego room sparkling!

I maintain a display area for my kids to showcase their Lego (both Sets and Creations). We decide which sets are not worthy to be displayed and thus for those we will disassemble it for their own creations. We also make sure that we do not get addicted to keep buying and buying.

In fact, we don't see the urge anymore because there are less and less interesting and playable sets nowadays. Most new sets are meant for display or based on license. They are getting smaller in size for the price, getting more expensive for the purpose, and usually comes with hundreds of small decoration pieces. Which in general defeats the purpose for imagination, creativity, and configurability.

@sjr60 said:
"they ran on methylated spirit which tended to mean that the Traction Engine did have a bit of a habit of setting fire to the carpet as it went around the living room!"

My Dad taught me a little about methylated spirit when I was a Saturday boy in his shop "don't sell it to the guy with purple lips".

Personally, i play with them. nothing wrong in doing so

The sets I love are first kept sealed until I find the time to build them, then they are displayed undefinitely in my Lego exposition room (all LOTR, SW OT, Winter Village, Castle-related, Space-related, and a few of the best Architecture, Harry Potter and Ninjago sets... The ones I don't care for (usually gifts which were not great choices), I build once and then part out to build my own MOCs.

My 21318 ideas treehouse and 10255 assembly square will always be displayed indefinetly...

For the vintage sets and most larger sets, I keep them separately. The smaller ones I build if I like them, otherwise they are parted out.
My childhood Lego is kept in a separate cupboard.
There is however a large backlog of sets that are still to be built, waiting for retirement.
In the past (like 15 years ago) I would just buy any halfway decent set once or twice, and make up my mind after a while whether to open them and build, or sell them. Nowadays I find almost every set worth keeping unfortunately. There is limited room for display, need some time for my wife to get used to it. Wish I could display all the modulars and build a large train layout.
Storage and time are the limiting factor now.

@ComfySofa said:
"My Dad taught me a little about methylated spirit when I was a Saturday boy in his shop "don't sell it to the guy with purple lips"."
Yes, my Dad used to get quite offended when he was getting it for me and was always interrogated as to what exactly he wanted it for!

I chose “something else which i’ll explain in the comments” I don’t know if that was the right option but here goes:

Most of my sets have been built and packed away…However they don’t stay there indefinitely, I don’t part them out though, instead I like to take them down fairly when I have the time and modify them using only the parts they came with, for example my 75054 AT-AT I altered to make it’s body chunkier, legs longer, gave it a vague interior, adjusted the space in its head to fit more minifigs and gave it a carrying handle, that took maybe a few months on and off) , then i’ll put them back where they were on display or in a box only to be taken out and modified again if I think of a better way to do something. It’s a vicious cycle and I don’t do it for everything but the majority of my sets are never really just done and left.

Most of what I buy is secondhand. I've generally checked them, packed them away, then more recently brought them out for the children to build.

I like the creator 3in1 and classic sets for their playability and prefer to build and dissemble for the next build (so many alternative MOCs to try), I don't care too much for displaying sets. I prefer to play LEGO in a simple way.

There aren't many sets that I keep built or even buy to build them. Some of the D2Cs like the UCS AT-AT are up to my standards but most of the usual waves sets are just parts packs to eventually build a more detailed and accurate version of the same item and get the corresponding figures. Though I seem to have reached a kind of zenith where I have enough bricks for most models and sets end up being solely figure packs.

MISB ... but only because it's a backlog of sets I have not built yet. Not an "investor"

the larger sets i keep together but the smaller sets i put in bags after building and taking apart. i built a large barn to store them in. i have a large town now with the modular sets.

I have a mixed bunch of sets on display, some will stay that way some come down and get put away for a while, some come down and get built again. It varies.

Although I am among those lucky ones who have entire room for Lego, one simply cannot collect all themes.. I just stick to star wars, castles, ideas and minifigs... Most of them are assembled and displayed, one third of the collection is neatly stored NISB and waiting for some special moment to be opened

Like countless other T/AFOL's, Star Wars sets get the occasional swoosh around the room while accompanied by whirring/whooshing/blasting/crashing/radio sounds.

And I keep some of my favourite sets, like the Havoc Marauder and the 2021 Slave I, on display on my shelf.

While Star Wars is mainly used for display and tidy swooshing, my Ninjago collection is constantly roughly played with also by myself and is always spread out across my desk, which drives my mom mad to the point that she sometimes packs my stuff up for me and I end up not being able to find anything.

For me things always get displayed for a few days weeks or months depending, but some sets get kept together when taken apart (Christmas sets that get build every year for example) or the modulars, others just get thrown in the parts bins for me to use or else dropped in my kids lego bins depending

I mainly purchase sets secondhand, because new is just rather expensive (the whole experience with new sets is so much nicer though). I'll build them, make sure they're complete (purchase the parts I'm missing), and then put them in storage per set. But once I build stuff I'll organize the sets per parts and color, so I'm able to build MOC's easily.
Minifigures I hope to store differently. I don't have the space for it yet, but I want to have a big display cabinet full of minifigures, perfectly organised on theme, with matching set nrs, etc.
This because I love minifigures the most (I prefer mini doll figures even more, still hoping that LEGO will have a collectible minidollfigure series as well in the future). I love seeing them and mixing them to create new characters.

Working on making a museum someday, but it will be a while... :)

Well, it is getting a problem for me...

Most of the 411 sets my daughters and I own according to brickset (although many of them are individual collectible minifigs counted as sets on this site), are actually stored fully built at different places in our house. (some in a cabinet in the hall, some in a cupboard in the basement, the Death Star playset - my biggest individual item - even in a cabinet in my daughter's room).

Only a few are on display: We have one glass cabinet in the living room containing our Harry Potter and Friends sets and figures, with the 1966 bat cave on top of it, a glass cabinet containing bag end and another interchangeable LOTR set in the kitchen, Tower Bridge on the fridge and of course a little city layout with at its heart six modular buildings on a cabinet in our bedroom.

I can not keep up with this system for much longer though, since I am running fast out of both cupboard space AND wifely patience... ;-)

I have over 2000 sets and do a mixture of things with them.

I have a few older sets including statues of minifig, Yoda and the Statue of Liberty 3450 and have kept one example of each as part of a home front-window display as we live near a school. These are complemented by the Ferris Wheel and Carousel alternately, running on a timer.

For all the sets I buy, I will build the first one of each type, then play with it as far as an adult gets play value from it. Some I will keep for use in diorama MOCs, such as a taxi for the railway station. Most I will dismantle before they get dusty. Train sets I may keep as a fleet of 6-wide trains alongside my larger (8mm scale) MOCs.

As I dismantle the set models, for some Technic sets I will keep a key mechanism as an example to follow up in my own MOCs. I will evaluate the techniques used and learn from them. Sometimes I will take a few pieces from the model to use in MOCs or experiments, leaving the rest till later. The Porsche 42056 was raised for orange pieces to make Nemo, leaving the chassis till later.

Alongside that I often buy a second example of the same set, just for the parts. Even the first example of each set is more for the parts than for the model the set makes. For particularly good sets I might buy 4 or more, especially if it is the most efficient way to buy a particular collection of parts. Examples have been the Cargo Plane 42025 (x8) and Fire Plane 42040 (x11) for the panels to build larger MOCs in the aerospace theme, the old Statue of Liberty (x another 10) for the bricks to build scenic modules for the railway layout, or Benny's Space Squad (x30) for the Space minifigs to populate the layout, with some wing plates for moonscape scenery.

This is part of a strategy of finding the best way to buy the pieces I need for MOCs including Technic and scenic railway and space monorail layouts. I bide my time and wait for sets to be discounted and might make multiple visits to a shop if they sell only 2 at a time of each set.

I do build and display or part out, but my favorite thing to do it tweak or fix, which came about from the horrible (IMO) King Leo's Castle. It was so terrible that I didn't want to keep it, but it had some nice elements (the CRAPP and stained glass window were great!), so I modded it out and loved doing that.

I keep some backups MISB, most sets are built and some are then modified. Almost all are on display or in small dioramas when my son and I are not playing with them. :-)
I only part out sets occasionally but have created a neat Tatooine village for our favorite theme.

I do a bit of them all x My first aim always is to buy to build & display sets I love. When room runs out some sets I back build into bags and re-box for a local people Lego library I’m hoping to start while others I part out for moc building myself & with my grandkids.
Also I buy duplicates of certain set that I keep sealed, wrapped and stored to give to my Grandchildren when they are older.
I have a lot of sets sealed but not kept precious about the boxes as just waiting to be built xx
Then there’s my sets that rebuilt & displayed over & over & they’re all the lotr & the hobbit sets & some HP which I mix with Christmas xxx

My collection has officially "crossed the Rubicon" in terms of my size/storage potential. I need to figure out...something.

My typical MO would be to buy sets, display them for a time, cycle them out and sort them into my primary storage solution (drawer storage) and build MOCs as time permits. Sadly, I don't do nearly enough of that last, but it's a constant goal.

Build 'em, display them, and then either tear them down and build something else or pack them away (built or not) until some other time.

I have a lot sitting in the garage ATM, but once I retire I plan to actually get a lot more built.

Hallo, bei der Masse von Kommentaren weiß ich nicht, ob es schon mal angesprochen wurde: Mich würden Bilder davon interessieren, wie Ihr Eure Modelle ausgestellt habt!
Ansonsten gilt auch bei mir: alles aufbauen, Ausstellen auf jedem cm Platz, Saisonales immer wieder aufbauen und ausstellen wie das Haunted House, und was keinen Platz hat auseinandergebaut lagern für den späteren Aufbau.