Tanotrooper

Eurobricks Knights
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Everything posted by Tanotrooper

  1. Thank you CopMike for organising this raffle yet again, it got me to finally start MOCing again albeit only a LDD one. Had to choose between either a Star Wars one, given the new movie or Western one since I'm into that genre of movies as of late. I hope it's recognizable enough as a Christmas tree! Cheers and happy holidays! Gaetano
  2. Tanotrooper

    Classic Disney theme possible?

    Hello everyone, I don't know if there's already a topic on this, I tried the search function but didn't find anything on the first few pages. LEGO has several Disney themes at the moment although these are mostly based on Pixar and live action movies. In the past, we also had a Winnie the Pooh theme (DUPLO) and a Mickey Mouse theme. I grew up in what I consider to be the height of Disney, the time when they made beautiful, powerful movies that were usually drawn by hand. (Hunchback of the Notre Dame, Hercules, The Lion King just to name a few) And I was wondering weither or not LEGO would produce sets of these movies? I don't expect LEGO to make several sets from one movie, but for example: Notre Dame with Quasimodo, Frollo, Phoebus, Esmeralda, Clopin and perhaps brickbuilt gargoyles. Dwarf house with Snowwhite, seven dwarfs, prince and witch ... This way good sets with the main characters could be made instead of a whole theme like Toy Story. They could make all these sets into one theme, for example Disney Classics. One may say there isn't a market for it although all of these movies are quite well known by children and the characters reappear at things like Disneyland/world and Disney on Ice. So, do you think there's a possibility for this 'theme'? Share your thoughts in this thread. TT
  3. Tanotrooper

    EB Xmas Raffle 2013: Now on!

    I've sent a PM some time ago, but I forgot to add something to this thread! First of all, a huge thanks goes at to you Copmike, for making this event possible every year! Things like the bonus winners is something that's really nice of you. Secondly: Yay! The LOTR figures are excellent, glad I'll be getting the excellent Arwen minifigure! Happy holidays! Gaetano Tanotrooper
  4. Tanotrooper

    EB Xmas Raffle 2013

    Almost forgot about this raffle! Here's my ornament: Good luck everyone and have a great season! Cheers, Gaetano Tanotrooper
  5. Tanotrooper

    Allied forces (all against Napoleon)

    Yay! It's my birthday *sweet* (again :p) My ebay lot has arrived. My 3 English soldiers and officer are now reinforced by 8 soldiers. Heads, backpacks, shakos... have yet to be ordered. My english on 07/05/2007 http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Tanotroo...7englishtop.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Tanotroo...nglishfront.jpg Comments are extremely welcome! Gaetano
  6. Tanotrooper

    LEGO Star Wars 2013 Pictures and Rumors

    The AT-TE looks great, love the figures! FINALLY an AOTC/Non-animated Phase I Clone Commander! There does appear to be a lack of regular clones, I hope this will be resolved in the next wave? Gaetano
  7. Tanotrooper

    MOC: MINI RMS Titanic

    Goodnight everyone, from an early age on I have always had this fascination with Titanic which eventually led to building a primitive version of the ship in LEGO and letting it sink in the little pool in the backyard. (Which wasn't that difficult since LEGO isn't waterproof...) But anyway, my fascination re-ignited this year with the centenary of the sinking, and I have been doing all kinds of stuff for it. (I just got home from watching the movie in 3D, this showing took place almost exactly one hundred years after the disaster so I'm glad to have relived it again at such a special moment.) As far as music is concerned I have made a cover of 'Nearer my God, to Thee' which you can see here. And I've made a MOC aswell: This is my MINI RMS Titanic although she is 28 studs long. I call it MINI scale since this is the smallest scale possible using 1 stud wide chimneys and still respecting the original dimensions. She took me around 5 days to build, it turned out to be one of my most difficult builds yet and a real puzzle getting the dimensions right, making her aesthetically pleasing and making sure she doesn't fall apart. I have yet to test the finished version, but she'll hold up to display and light play. The parts to build several versions of this ship are on their way, I'll be using two of them to make larger scenes. Another shot, showing LDD's limits. The stern. Those flower parts are the perfect parts for the large propellers. Some details on top like the lifeboats (even fewer in number here than on the real life version...). All the higher parts have been reproduced as accurate as possible. I've used trans parts for the open hallways you can see on the sides of the ship towards the stern. The chimneys are slightly angled as they should be, and after a lot of doubting it seems yellow is the best colour for them. This is my night/sinking version. The colours look a bit odd at the moment, but they will look perfect in the right scene. And this concludes my efforts for the centenary of RMS Titanic's sinking on the 14th-15th of April 1912-2012. When the parts arrive I will add some decent shots, preferably with the scenes aswell. Sincerely, Gaetano Dooms
  8. Happy Newyear everyone! Here's one of my entries for CCCX: A Last Alliance of Men and Elves (and Dwarves) faced the armies of Sauron on the slopes of Mount Doom. All goes well until the Alliance has to face off against the Dark Lord himself... (Love this shot in the movie) The scene features Sauron (with the Ring of course), Isildur, Elrond and a human and elf soldier. I wanted to enter Sauron in the Fantasy Minifigure category, but since there's nothing minifig left I decided to build the scene and enter it into the Miscellaneous category. I'd have to thank LEGO for getting me interested in LOTR, but this specific scene has been engraved in my mind since the first time I saw it. Trying to scale Sauron with the minifigures was a bit difficult, but I really love the way he looks. I have to admit that the binoculars technique has been used on a Sauron before, but not in combination with the knives I believe. Four black minifigure capes were used to make his large cape. The elbows and knees can turn in 90 degree movements, so he should be able to sit down and enjoy his cup of tea. He's certainly more to scale than LEGO's version in the LOTR videogame! :D The scenery isn't that special I suppose, but then again there's not really much to build when you look at the movie. One note, I'll replace the Elf's helmet with a complete golden one when I get an Atlantis guardian. Comments and criticism are appreciated, as always! :) Sincerely, Gaetano Dooms Tanotrooper
  9. Tanotrooper

    No More Elrond Minifigures Available?!?

    About the amazon.de SE version, is the PS3 version only in German or does it change according to the language set on your PS3? TT
  10. Tanotrooper

    Pirates Era Minifigures

    Greetings everyone, it's been a while since I posted here! I've stopped production of my TTfigs and have finally returned to regular minifigures. I feel LEGO has provided enough new parts for me to do so. (Things like the scabbard, moving horse and more printed legs.) I'm planning to make minifigures from different eras, and as this is the Pirates forum, the minifigures shown here will limit themselves to the forum's boundaries. (Renaissance - Napoleonic Wars) Let's start off then! The first figures in chronological order: Scottish mercenary halberdier Scottish mercenary halberdier from the XVIth - XVIIth century, known for their fiercefulness. The armour consists of a full cuirass and two large metal plates suspended below it, offering protection for the upper legs. It took a long time before I found a piece that could hold the blade and the two pikes. Finally ended up with the telescope. I'm quite proud of this halberd design! Based on the appearance in Mount and Blade: with Fire and Sword. Louis XIV, le roi soleil 1638-1715 Based on the famous painting. You've got to love the elasticity of the Friends hair. Seems like I've put the wrong leg forward... French grenadier 53ème de ligne 1806 First of all, FINALLY found a good French shako design! Made using a small tire (Racer sets) onto LEGO's shako. Years of experimenting to finally arrive at such a simple sollution. Due to lack of indigo due to the continental blockade and a desire of certain veteran troops to regain their fabulous white uniforms they wore under the king, Napoléon decided to reintroduce the white uniforms in 1806. Distribution was curious, with certain regiments not receiving their ordered uniforms while other regiments that hadn't ordered them did. Even within a unit there could still be a mix of the old blue and new white uniforms. Legend has it that blood appeared so vividly on the uniforms, that Napoléon ordered their removal when he saw wounded and dead troops in them. A more realistic scenario was that they were impossible to keep clean, and that other ways were found to dye the uniforms blue. Whatever the case, in 1807 production was seized, much to the annoyance of officers who had just purchased several uniforms for themselves. The uniform slowly dissappeared and remains a curious part of the napoleonic wars. The colours on the facings and other parts of the uniform changed according to each regiment and the 53ème de ligne was the only one to actually receive the white uniforms with pink facings. That's it for now, many minifigures coming up soon. Comments and constructive criticism is very welcome! Gaetano Tanotrooper
  11. Tanotrooper

    Pirates Era Minifigures

    Thanks! The torso works well in real life, perhaps the photo makes the pink stand out too much due to the flash. I have a colour image of the white uniform with pink facing in an Osprey book, I'll try to scan it tomorrow. Thanks again! A minifig hand couldn't fit in the room that was left, so the hook was an obvious choice. I have to say that the work by FalconsLord gave me the spark I needed to get the tire idea. (He makes LDD/CAD versions, some connections are possible and some or not. He uses a visor on top of the shako, a connection of which I know isn't sturdy enough: FalconsLord shako I hadn't ever thought of broadening the original shako, but I did know the perfect part for it. The tire has exactly the right tension and has been used in several of my brickbuilt headgears before. So a big thanks to FalconsLord!) When my Bricklink order arrives I shall update this thread with a few Napoleonics and a few Thirty Years war troops. Cheers, Gaetano Tanotrooper
  12. Although this series as a whole isn't that impressive, certain figures are excellent. The conquistador, Shakespeare and pirate captain are perfect figures for my 16th-17th century warfare project. Shakespeare is perfect, I'm glad the collar will be removable, outstanding printing aswell. The pirate captain, although not as impressive as a whole, has a fantastic torso for armybuilding. (I'm thinking 18th century redcoats.) I'm happy and disappointed with the conquistador; the figure itself is perfect but I (and I think the Pirate/historical comunity aswell) REALLY needed a silver/metallic helmet. I can't think about a single example, both historical and fiction, when someone wore a goldcoloured Morion. Even kings and nobility wore heavily decorated silvercoloured or darkened helmets. The figure is a succes on its own, but it's a missed opportunity for the MOC community. (Btw, didn't the Spanish and Portuguese go to the Americas looking for gold instead of wearing it? ) Guess I'll have to dress my pikemen in black and gold armour... The alien queen's skirt should work great for some noblewoman's dress. (With a different torso though.) Love the cape on that one aswell. The English gentlemen is perfect, the much needed black bowler has finally arrived! TLG did a marvelous job on the diver and cowgirl, both look great! My two personal biggest letdowns are the manbat and the cheerleader. The manbat will allready be released twice soon (both monster hunters and batman I believe?) so making a third one for the CMF seems a bit overkill. The cheerleaders would've been better if they didn't make her EXACTLY the same. Besides the colour, everything just looks the same. (The same hairmould is what kills it I believe.) That being said, there's one thing I really like about the cheerleader: red and white pompons = minifigure pokeballs. All in all, quite a few figures to 'army'build. Gaetano
  13. Tanotrooper

    Cars for my MegaMOC 2012

    They all look excellent, but the curves on the hood of the firetruck are amazing! Keep up the good work. Gaetano
  14. Tanotrooper

    Review Review: 21013 Big Ben

    Thanks for the wonderful review. Looks like this'll be my first Architecture set. When looking at the pictures though, I wonder why they didn't use yellow or gold pieces behind the clocks and beneath the top? (Would've made the set more colourful.) Cheers, Gaetano
  15. Tanotrooper

    LEGO 10226 Sopwith Camel

    Well this is just a must-buy! Love the functions on it, now let's hope they release a new Fokker aswell! Cheers, Gaetano
  16. Tanotrooper

    Happy Birthday Rufus!

    Happy Birthday Rufus! Hope you have (had) a fantastic day with lots of LEGO! Cheers, Gaetano
  17. Tanotrooper

    Collectable Minifigures: Feeling the Packets

    Interesting discussion, I've read through the entire thread. First of all, opening a package is unacceptable since it's pretty much damaging the product itself. No one seems to bother feeling but most oppose massive army building. Being an army builder myself, my view on the CMs has changed over the years. When S1 was released, I only got a complete set and some doubles. (Only exception: lots of unopened boxes still left when S2 arrived, so I got some extra cheerleaders and zombies for EB members.) With the arrival of the Spartan, a figure which I had wanted for most of my TFOL age, I went completely overboard and hoarded lots of them. I did stop at a certain point, feeling that collecting more would just be useless. What pushed me to this? A rare figure, which I desired for a long time, a series that was limited in supply and some fellow LEGO sharks in my area which did the same... In my defence though, I did collect most of them by bike, which was A LOT of kilometers. For a long time, I predicted to do the same if a Roman legionary would arrive. But the series came and went, and I got sick of shelling out every couple of months for a box and then selling the remaining figures, which takes a long time. I completely missed S5, and when the Roman finally arrived, I wasn't impressed with him. I saw the S6 boxes in a shop and decided to get a few I really liked, like the genie. The boxes had been picked through for Romans, but I saw a sealed box in the stock shelf. I got two Romans out of that box and decided to leave one for a kid. When I got home, the Roman still didn't impress me. But now that I've added flesh parts to him, I finally figured out I could make a historical accurate Centuria out of them. I found two more Romans by accident (I thought they would have been picked out by this time) and now I'm looking for more. Is it so bad for us to take all the wanted figures from a box to armybuild? That's not the question that should be posed. I would gladly buy the figures online and leave the boxes in stores full for others to enjoy. I'm just not willing to pay triple the price I would pay in stores. Sure, this can work for that one missing figure, but not for multiples. To be honest, if LEGO would sell the minifigures on their site for €3 instead of two, but I know which I'm going to get and I can order quantities of it, I'd certainly prefer that. I enjoy the hunt during our BeLUG weekends, feeling at the packets with other AFOLs, to get a few figures and (most of the time ) help each other, but going through complete boxes by this method is stopping me from buying them. (This was different with the barcodes, it only took a few minutes but now it can take up to an hour.) Why doesn't LEGO offer this option for LUGs for example? The minifigs I buy are for creating MOCs which can be seen on our clubweekends, which bring a lot of joy to kids and parents (and are also free promotion for LEGO. Using the CMs in layouts could lead parents to buy some for their kids in the shops). It's not like they are just sitting somewhere, waiting to make money? The money earned by second market sellers is money that LEGO could earn by offering seperate figures in bulk to AFOLs. In the end, my conclusion is this: I (and I suppose we as armybuilders/AFOLs) collect/hoard these minifigures because of incertainty. The Roman legionary might turn up in a theme next year, which would make the prices drop a lot or he might simply not appear ever again. It's this uncertainty that makes people buy figures at absurd prices, in fear of paying even absurder prices later on. If LEGO doesn't provide alternatives, this game will continue untill the series are finished and prices will skyrocket afterwards. And is this game of armybuilding ethical? As a philosophy student, I think Ethics has certainly achieved some objective grounds but there's still a lot of gray zones left. And so this debate shall continue as long as we play this game but perhaps we should question the cause, not the consequences. Cheers, Gaetano
  18. Tanotrooper

    MOC: MINI RMS Titanic

    Thanks! I tried to follow these schematics as closely as possible. I see you're an Architecture fan, and I felt like one of those designers while designing this ship. (Constantly applying the 2 studs - 5 plates rule, working with half plates, ...) I've never really used the flower part before, but in this case I feel like the part turns a LEGO build into a scale model. Thank you. My condolences for your ancestor, the crew really did admirable things under those circumstances. Atleast your ancestor and RMS Titanic were born and passed away on the same places. I'll certainly be going to Belfast in a couple of years and visit the museum and shipyards. Gaetano
  19. Goodnight everyone, from an early age on I have always had this fascination with Titanic which eventually led to building a primitive version of the ship in LEGO and letting it sink in the little pool in the backyard. (Which wasn't that difficult since LEGO isn't waterproof...) But anyway, my fascination re-ignited this year with the centenary of the sinking, and I have been doing all kinds of stuff for it. (I just got home from watching the movie in 3D, this showing took place almost exactly one hundred years after the disaster so I'm glad to have relived it again at such a special moment.) I've made a MOC for this moment aswell, which I'll be posting in the general themes subforum after this thread. As for as this thread is concerned, I have made my first duet with myself to commemorate the centenary. Being a musician myself, I really admire Titanic's band for playing untill the very end. According to the legend they played the hymne "Nearer my God, to Thee", so that song seemed fitting. The balance between the two sounds seems to change during the video, I think it's due to my primitive splitscreen software. My apologies for that. Enjoy the song and let me know what you think. Feel free to share anything related to the centenary of RMS Titanic's last moments. Sincerely, Gaetano Dooms Tanotrooper
  20. Tanotrooper

    The War for Skryrim

    Well Julien, it's pretty much perfect. The border is great, I love the way you made a distinction between the city/village and the rest. (And the inner ring using 1*1 rounds.) Nice work on the river and building aswell (like the hinges on the door). I see you've used the car door technique aswell. If this doesn't win you that contest, I don't know what will! One thing about the horse: I suppose the horse doesn't need any stirrups? If so, I'd replace the 'mouth' with a standard 1*1 brick. To the other EB members: the horse design is several years old by now but I never got around to making cavalry for this subforum. Here's the original thread: TThorse brickbuilt horse Keep up the great work, I hope you'll be bringing this to Wetteren? Cheers Gaetano Tanotrooper
  21. Tanotrooper

    Clone Trooper Commander armour

    Hi everyone, I've been playing with the idea of making wearable uniforms and weapons in Lego for a while, both historical and fictional. I've started with a Scout Trooper helmet and a M35 Stahlhelm, the first one being very smooth using mostly hinges, the second one more rough using the sculpture technique. For the past two years, I've been going to F.A.C.T.S. (the largest scifi, anime, ... convention in the Benelux) after a hiatus of several years, and last year I took part in the cosplay contest for the first time. I really enjoy cosplaying, so this year I'll be creating two costumes, one of which will be this: If I have to pick my favorite Star Wars uniform, it's this one, the Clone Trooper Commander from AOTC. The combination of colours, the helmet, ... amazed me when I first saw it. So I've decided to make this armour in Lego, a project that will take a lot of time (and money I suppose ) but should be well worth it in the end. I'll be posting the progress of this project in this thread, so you can see the suit grow. The first, and perhaps the hardest part is the helmet. The Phase I Clone helmet is one of the biggest Star Wars helmets and yet it poses some difficulties. Most notably, the neck 'ring' completely surrounds the neck. This looks great onscreen (no physical Clone armour was made for AOTC, it's all CGI) but will have to be a removable piece, just to get my (quite big ) head inside. Since the neck will be quite shut off, I was thinking about installing a battery-powered fan in there somewhere, to get some fresh air in (and to keep me from passing out I'm afraid). I'll also be installing the red light at the back of the fin. I have to look into electronics but I believe I can put everything in the fin and top of the helmet. The visor is special because it's not plain black but rather chromelike. I've found some silver reflective, see through foil online that might do the trick but I haven't decided whether the visor itself will be made out of plastic or trans bricks. I've found a great diagram of the helmet (I can't seem to find it online though) on which I've based my design. I started off with the width of my head in studs (with 2 studs extra to have enough room) and based the rest of the measurements on that. So here is the first step, showing the maximum width and length for the top dome of the helmet. Then I traced the outer lines (width and length) of the dome and transferred it into bricks. The 'dome' will be made using the sculpture technique, which should make a very strong structure. The rings below it will be made using the hinge technique. The 'face' and part of the back will also use the hinge technique, but the more complex shapes will require the sculpture technique again. Here both back rings are added. I always though that the upper ring was grey but appearantly the color changes with the rank of the clone. The hinged parts don't offer much support except for the parts along the 'cross' of the helmet. I've also added marks where the fin will approx. be. Now things are starting to take shape. I've begun drawing the layers and converting them into bricks. I know there are dome convertors but the shape is too complicated for them. (Or atleast the ones I've worked with so far.) Besides, I want to show that sculpturing can be done without computers aswell. Here's an example of that technique with my Stahlhelm: I'm still undecided whether I should tile the sculpture but we'll see when the time comes. Since I haven't tried this helmet one in real life yet, I'm not 100% sure yet if it'll fit. I'll be building a prototype when the dome is complete to see if my measurements were correct. That's it for now. Expect lots of updates in the following months! Cheers, Gaetano Tanotrooper
  22. Tanotrooper

    Clone Trooper Commander armour

    Thanks, here's a small update: I've sculpted several layers of the dome, many more to go though. I hope to finish it by the end of this week. Thanks! Well, with the exception of belts and such, I wouldn't make soft gear items in LEGO. (If only for the fact that it's very uncomfortable to wear.) Of course you could always add padding of some sorts but it'd be easier to use the cloth version. If you would like to build one however, the shape isn't that difficult. 'Hard' items such as helmets are great items to convert into LEGO but soft items usually bend and move so the LEGO version would only look realistic in some positions. (For example if you build the shape like it is on the picture, it will look good on your head but it won't lay flat on a table, ...) Cheers, Gaetano Tanotrooper
  23. Count me in, TPM was the THE Star Wars movie of my childhood, I'll be building in my new scale. :) Gaetano
  24. Tanotrooper

    MOC: TL Samurai Jack figures

    Hello again, my next update to this thread: TL Samurai Jack Spartan on Flickr 'Jack and the Spartans' is one of my favorite episodes from Samurai Jack, so it didn't take me very long to begin on a Spartan for this new scale. The episode itself is based on the famous battle of Thermopylae and the artwork itself is partly based on Frank Miller's graphic novel '300'. Well except for the robot minotauri. And the rocket spears. And the fact that this is the far future, not the past. Anyway, dark red is a difficult colour to work with because of its part palette. I'm very happy with the helmet and the rocket spear looks good so far. (Might have to look for a more aesthetically pleasing way of attaching the multiple spear parts though.) I have an idea for the shield, but that won't work in LDD. Comments and criticism are always very appreciated! Cheers, Gaetano TanolandSJSpartan.lxf
  25. Tanotrooper

    MOC: TL Samurai Jack figures

    Long ago in a distant land I, Aku, the shapshifting master of darkness unleashed an UNSPEAKABLE evil But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepth forth to oppose me. *klang klang klang* Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future where my evil is law. Now the fool seeks to return to the past and undo the future that is AKU. ... I've been a fan of Samurai Jack for a very long time, pretty much as soon as Cartoon Network arrived on Belgian television (even before that thanks to flash games ). The show is unique, combines a lot of different elements (like 20's gangsters, Spartans, high tech bounty hunters, ...) and has a very distinct feel. The style is very cinematic and only a few words are needed to tell the story. (The creator of Samurai Jack made the original Clone Wars afterwards, and gives the same feeling.) As for as the build goes: Jack is built in my 'Tanoland' scale, which is about Miniland scale but with super articulation. (for more general info on my new 'Tanoland' figures: 'Tanoland' articulated miniland scale figures ) Since I wanted to maintain the articulation, I went with a brick built kimono, which is able to move with the legs. The hands couldn't be attached thanks to an 'illegal' connection so that'll have to wait until I get the parts for Jack. I just realised I forgot to add the scabbard, so that'll be added later on. The head was quite a challenge and I've wrestled with the design for a long time but I think I've now captured the iconic shape and style of his head and body. TL Samurai Jack LDD by Gaetano Dooms on Flickr TL Samurai Jack in action by Gaetano Dooms on Flickr Samurai Jack doing his typical 'HIIIYAAAA' attack. The hands and sword are left out since they won't attach. As you can see, the brickbuilt kimono can (more or less) move with his legs, so the articulation remains intact. Designing it was quite tricky though. I think it looks great (better than I expected), can't wait to build this irl to see how it works. Making poses in LDD is quite difficult thanks to the many articulation points but I think it gets the picture across. I've added the LDD models to this post and will do so for the upcoming figures aswell. (So you can see the techniques or just look at it in 3D.) I'll be working on many more characters from Samurai Jack in this scale, so stay tuned! Comments and constructive critcism are appreciated as always. Cheers, Gaetano TanolandSamuraiJack.lxf TanolandSamuraiJackaction.lxf