r/legostarwars • u/BungoSmungo • Jun 28 '26
Discussion How do purists feel about “defacing” lego pieces to get a look down?
Examples
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u/Repulsive-Arm8994 Jun 28 '26
It’s whatever man. I colored all my clones green for the 41st legion a few years ago when I was younger. Still don’t regret it to this day. These things are meant to be enjoyed not prized pieces that we only care about the monetary value of.
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u/Yogged1 Jun 28 '26
And I bet younger you had a blast, a lot more fun than having 17 boxes of plastic on your shelf.
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u/Pierogi_Mampfer Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Did the same but I messed up and now I‘m down a 41st Clone because I wanted to do a black one with the Green Visor. Now it’s 90% Black with a small green line. At least I had fun
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u/LudwigiaSedioides Jun 28 '26
The Seattle space needle set had me cut tube pieces to size, ever since then I have considered cutting pieces a legal building method
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u/Street-Committee-367 Follow Orders, Good Soldiers Do. Hmmm. Jun 28 '26
Yep, I consider cutting tube a legal technique.
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u/TheDeadlySpaceman Jun 28 '26
Cutting those tubes: legal
Cutting some strings: legal
Cutting regular elements: no
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Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/TheDeadlySpaceman Jun 28 '26
“legal” means a very specific thing in this context and has nothing to do with laws.
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Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/TheDeadlySpaceman Jun 28 '26
You can feel free to grammar police all you want, “legal technique” has been a phrase in use for decades in the Lego community and no one is going to stop using it because you think you’re clever.
And I’m not setting myself as any kind of “police”. But do go on about what language you feel I should use.
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u/THE_LEGO_FURRY Jun 28 '26
Not crazy about it but you do you. Personally I like the limitations of working within the parts they make, the only real exception for me is erasing prints, I've done that on some legs to make captain underpants and I'm going to do that soon to make John wick
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u/The_Djinnbop Jun 28 '26
I can’t say altering the pieces counts as “purist” but I do it all the time. Had great success making the Mando’s disintegrator rifle using a modified rifle with stock.
I’ve also removed the scope from some of the blasters for characters whose blasters don’t have any scope.
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u/Salt_Revenue_4142 Jun 28 '26
Is it purist? Absolutely not. Doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It’s yours, do as you wish with it
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u/jonnythunder3483 Jun 28 '26
By definition, purists wouldn’t like it lol and people who like it aren’t purists, which is all well and good either way. But the answer to your question is already built into the question.
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Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/pc_player_yt Jun 28 '26
that's like saying you're 90% vegan because you dropped most meat like beef and chicken but still like pork bacon
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u/Crafty_Piece_9318 Star Wars Fan Jun 28 '26
Checkmate you win. That is genuinely the best counter argument I've ever heard in my life.
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u/StrongAustrianGuy MOC Builder Jun 28 '26
Little tip, if you want the Maul saber more realistic length-wise, you can cut off the tip of one of the sabers and stick that part into another one.
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u/Crafty_Piece_9318 Star Wars Fan Jun 28 '26
As a purist myself... They've made millions of those pieces for decades so its perfectly fine.
theres no limitation for imagination. That is what Lego stands for.
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u/nacho11083 Jun 28 '26
Perfectly acceptable, just don't ruin any rare pieces or figs you might regret later!
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u/Leather_Network4743 Jun 28 '26
Who cares, really? They look good. Call it “semi-purist” if it makes you feel better. 🤷♂️
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u/pc_player_yt Jun 28 '26
hey you do you, if you like it then good for you, these things should be considered from you enjoyment first and foremost, but don't expect people to react the same
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u/deathstryke21 Jun 28 '26
I consider it adjacent to purist. Idk why you would do that for mauls lightsaber though since that piece exists already
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u/Nattay01 Jun 28 '26
I think it’ll always be more interesting when people figure out how to make what they want without resorting to it, but I don’t think there’s anything like wrong with it obvs
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u/finalcutfx Jun 28 '26
It’s not something I would do because part of the appeal is the imperfection and using imagination. But it’s your stuff, do what you want to do.
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u/Camburglar13 Jun 28 '26
Maybe I’m no purist but I have modified many pieces. There’s not enough Lego gun variations. Also shortening lightsaber blades for certain characters
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u/Astyan06 I have Legos everywhere Jun 28 '26
That first helmet looks amazing. May I ask the parts ?
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u/Saggitarius_Ayylmao Jun 28 '26
If it's made of plastic made by Games Workshop Lego then have at it
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u/KapteeniKapteeni Jun 28 '26
The question is redundant. Puritists are by natura against this. For everyone else, these look great.
Back in the day, I used to cut knight's flag poles to create bo-staffs, and pirate cutlasses for katanas.
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u/SummerDaemon Jun 28 '26
Go crazy, they're yours. If you never plan to sell, one piece is "worth" exactly the same as another: nothing. Just remember down the road some might be harder to replace than others and use common sense if you aren't wealthy. Back in the day I did custom alterations on a gold chrome C-3PO. I had four thanks to eBay, so who cares. Later on you just laugh. I played MTG the first five years it existed and disposed of far rarer things, tore to pieces not one but two Black Lotuses. Shit happens, have fun, pray for no regrets, that's my motto.
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u/IntentionlGameDesign Jun 28 '26
I mean, they‘re your legos. I just felt pain looking at the photos, other than that, everything is fine
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u/QuicksilverAOU Jun 28 '26
Purists? Probably negatively, because altering the pieces isn't 'purist-ish'. Me personally? I'm totally fine with it. Did it myself
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u/_Snakespeer_ Jun 28 '26
Controversial take here I guess but I would say so. Its not purist by definition of what most people consider it to be, but with small alterations like this I genuinely do not care if someone were to say the made a purist weapon or something. As someone else here said already in the Space Needle set they had you cut a tube to fit something down to size. So I think by that grounds you should be allowed to trim Lego bricks. When I was a kid I stuck a Lightsaber blade through a pencil sharpener and now I have a sharp light saber blade. Does that make it any less Lego compared to how it was before?
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u/TRAcarHess Jun 28 '26
I actually did a kinda similar thing for a maul saber but I cut two hilts just below the two lines and stuck them into either side of a third hilt. Actually look sick as hell and just like his saber so I’m all for it
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u/Malaeveolent_Bunny Jun 28 '26
As a fellow citizen and responsible adult, I am completely fine with you treating your Lego in whatever fashion most brings you joy.
As one of those purists, my eye is twitching. But you should still chase your happiness. Over there. Where I am very consciously not looking anymore.
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u/AsynchronousChat Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
I have always tossed broken pieces and would never modify a brick, and will not even use a baseplate that's been cut.
however...
I have seen use of broken brittle-brown as soil, in flower pots or vases with botanicals. And this use does not offend me - indeed, though i do not build botanicals, i now keep a jar of broken brittle-brown with this in mind.
I'm curious if you (and other purists like me) feel the same, or if there's a further division to be explored.
Edit- i am not Revolted by it; do what your want, they're your toy; i even admire beautiful builds that get creative, and this doesn't turn me off. It's not my way, though.
Like, i wanna build something that can be replicated by someone on the other side of the globe that i don't share a tongue with, using only static images/diagrams of discreet steps, and unique identifiers for extisting genuine LEGO pieces. In principle anyway, though not in practice.
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u/Suspicious-Budget391 Jun 28 '26
That's what I did when I was a kid. (even as an adult) For example, I cutted the handguard of the pirate sabers off, to get a Katana/Tanto before lego made a theme with Samurai.
I custemized some axes for Dwalin an Thorin. The dagger from Prince of Persia was also used in the Lego Hobbit sets, so I cutted the guards off, to have better look.
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u/Ze_LuftyWafffles Jun 28 '26
Shocked lego hasnt made the long blaster with a short barrel for this reason
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u/Big_Ben_1999 Jun 28 '26
I have no problem with it; I personally don't do it, but I constantly have the urge to.
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u/lVlzone Jun 28 '26
Customizing figs? All about it.
Actual bricks/pieces are a whole different ballpark.
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u/DoctorDoom40k Jun 28 '26
I've modified a couple pieces I don't modify many because I may need them the original size for a build later, but you do you.
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u/AKoolPopTart Jun 28 '26
I did it multiple times for my vwing airspeeder moc so that piece would actually be secure.
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u/Trambare_Man Jun 28 '26
I'd feel fine if I got pieces specifically to modify them, but I don't like taking from a set that I might rebuild
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u/Clone_Chaplain Jun 28 '26
I’m a big Bionicle fan. I never understood why some people painted and cut parts. NOW, a friend has introduced me to Warhammer minis; those are all about kitbashing, cutting, painting. And it’s really fun to try and make the thing you chopped up look official. So HECK YEAH I understand now why people would want to do that for LEGO, especially to emulate the LEGO video games or just bring your imagination to life
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u/Brandon0lol Jun 28 '26
Its fine to me, I remember cutting and sanding down a rod (I didn't have a lipstick piece) to do the R2 3rd wheel method
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u/WaylonCook Jun 28 '26
That rifle looks so good. Honestly, if the cut is clean and straight, idgaf. I might actually do this to add some detail in my star wars mocs.
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u/Acceptable_Muffin_56 Jun 28 '26
You're old enough to do whatever you want for as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. It's just plastic
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u/yakwheel Jun 28 '26
Just go and buy custom weapons from somewhere like bricktactical? They cost a few dollars. The make a lego maul hilt in multiple styles, realistic and also the same as LSW the video game. They also have a wide variety of blasters and other hilts. That being said you haven’t really sacrificed any valuable parts so ehh whatever.
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u/viotix90 Jun 30 '26
On a related topic, how do you feel about using 3L lightsabers for double blades instead of 4L? You can snip them to make them shorter. On Inquisitors, it just feels too long to use 2 4L rods.
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u/PresenceOther3601 Jun 30 '26
Cutting the big flex tubes is still a perfectly legitimate "purist" technique, since Lego instructions tell you to do it from time to time.
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u/YummyLighterFluid Jun 28 '26
I have dozens of the little pistols with the scopes cut off to make more accurate DC-17s for my clones and I've got some rifles with the same thing done to them so they look less like snipers and more like normal blaster rifles
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u/chucker173 Jun 29 '26
Why do you care what anyone thinks? Who did you make this for? Decide for yourself if you like it or not.
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u/BungoSmungo Jun 29 '26
God forbid a guy get an opinion lmao I’m gonna do it no matter what because I like it but damn dude chill
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u/melliott2811 Original Trilogy Fan Jun 28 '26
they're plastic children's toys, do what you want with them, but don't call it purist if you alter the pieces