DeanFS

Wow! now... the rest of the building? In all seriousness, I think you could use this technique on a smaller scale to a similar effect for a more reasonably sized MOC building.

Wow! This makes me appreciate the Fabuland line more. Somehow, the kitsch reminds me of 80s nautical toy/cartoon imagery, which has always been very nostalgic for me. I don't know if we ever had any of these sets because they would have been with the "baby" LEGOs which seem to be gone now... If I only I had that walrus captain, such a great figure!

It's like a frame for the basic LEGO palette! I don't know what your competition looks like but this one seems like it has everything it needs to win: inspiration, structure and a uniquely LEGO take on the subject. Including each of the basic colors, black, white and some of the awesome 60s/70s printed bricks make this a quintessentially LEGO MOC. Great work! I will say there are two problems though: one white brick looks like it needs an additional plate underneath to meet the structure securely, and a few elements aren't completely snapped together. Some of the printed bricks are heavily faded and I would get replacements for those if possible.

Hah, you learn something new about how LEGO fit together all of the time! What a versatile medium... I love the nuanced build, btw. I have to say that it does look really nice from far away, but that some of the nuance is lost up close. You're really good at getting nice shapes by putting elements together in certain ways. This style really lends itself to large MOCs.

Very Cute MOCs, I like the first one better. The fire could be made with a brown clip of the same type - but in this case it looks like ashes & embers, so its still nice. What set is that map from? I try to collect the different lego 'documents' for library/archive/etc scenes, and I don't recognize that one! The tress & foliage are great in both MOCs. Dont forget that Foliage can be made out of many different elements, and even many different colors! You can even use colors like black, yellow and red if you have the right elements and context. Maybe putting black round plates under the leaves on the inside of the tree could provide shading that makes it appear more dense.

What an amazing MOC. I recommend one thing - diversify the colors! The black roofs could really add dimension to the MOC if they were another color, even brown or tan. I feel like you are really showing off some marvelous techniques but not taking advantage of the palette that LEGO offers. Some greater nuances could be applied to your brown pieces that are meant to be boards along the top of the city walls and the top of the tower that would make them look more like floorboards or planks rather than a flat brown surface. Maybe raising or lowering them 1 plate from the nearby stone (to mimic raised boards or boards secured by being slotted inside the stone structure)? You could also utilize brown 1x1 plates or jumpers and light bluish grey round plates to mimic fasteners holding boards down. This would really add a unified dimension to the wooden parts that would make their purpose much more obvious. I LOVE the arches set on the stone edifice. I really like that you added foliage in a very controlled way - so many MOCs put foliage on every inch of green, which makes the Minifigures look out of place - where will they be standing if they have to run across that field? Your MOC even has plenty of open studs littering the top of the towers so that more figures or furniture can be added. Keep up the good work.

What a beautiful theme, I really love the colors. I have to say that LEGO is probably looking at the architecture line to fit the market for these, however. The 3,200 piece count is just way too big. I'm not sure I could afford it, and I wish I could, because I love historical/architectural sets, especially Mediterranean. I don't think LEGO wants to make custom minifigs for cuusoo sets, and having 24 in one set is definitely a stretch. Just think about how much money it costs them to make minifigs, and how restrictive it would be to have machines / plates tied up for 24 minifigures that are all in a set which may or may not sell as well (bigger sets in unproven themes are probably the most volatile product LEGO can release). I don't want you to feel hopeless. If you can design one that is microscale, with multiple models you can build, THAT would be viable. You have great models, great graphic design capabilities, and the energy to put it all together. I expect to see one of your models on LEGO.com one day - but you have to get it within TLG's business model. Look at the cuusoo models they have chosen to release. What are their average part counts? How do they compare to current themes? What kinds of markets do they appeal to? How many minifigures? I think having multiple models for one set is actually a really great way to make your CUUSOO submission viable. It makes the customer feel like they are getting more models in one set, and for TLG it is a cost-effective way of introducing more value - especially if they don't have to pay as much in designing costs ( that's your job ;-) ). Now - please go make a microscale version of this, I'll be your first customer I just don't have 300$ for ANY set!

I love the sky tram.

You sure he's only 11? This is such a great MOC. it has great coloring and detail and yet it isn't too busy. I would have made stairs instead of a ladder, and the outside of the house could use a bit more detail. I know I've used ladders in the past because stairs can be a pain to work around - but when you have stairs in there, it adds a really good dimension to a house. Altogether, the technique is really well defined. Looking forward to the castle!

Great roof, I like that you used the log pieces to create the half-timber effect. I would have liked to have seen more variation between the two buildings.

What clever design! I love the fencing and roof techniques.

Clever technique; I like that you posted a tutorial / directions rather than just a picture of the finished model.

I love the cave and the nuances you used to capture the lines on the Horizon Express!

Stereotyping is not necessarily negative. Your's is a standard reaction when someone is trying to defend against the connotation of the term. The bottom line is that these are absolutely stereotypes, and sometimes, of nationalities. The Jalisco-inspired Maraca Man is a stereotype of Mexicans. Lederhosen and Kimono refer to specific roles within certain cultures and some narratives may interpret them as national stereotypes. In fact, just about everything that is done in LEGO minifigure form is stereotypical. The man and wife and dog in house / creator sets (but rarely just a woman). The naughty supernatural characters, damsels in distress, lightly-colored savior knights and darker colored baddie knights in the castle themes. However, I think that Super Hero and some other licensed themes are the worst for stereotypes and really show that LEGO is rather sanitary regarding negative stereotypes. Anything in the collectible minifigure line is rather light-hearted, but the racism in Lord of the Rings is rather overt. The role of women in Star Wars and Super Heroes is pretty lame. The ethnic makeup is universally narrow. You can't say "TLG didn't stereotype." They willingly admit to stereotyping girls' and boys' interests in their marketing imagery. What I think can be said is that TLG goes out of their way to insure that demeaning stereotypes are not used.

Thanks, and yes, that is from the PotC set Captain's Cabin (actually, one of the first sets I got coming out of the dark ages, for those beautiful ship-printed bottles!). Actually, that was the second set I built after leaving my dark ages - after my wife got me Lighthouse Island to reintroduce me to LEGO (I still think that is the best LEGO set I've seen to date). If this MOC hadn't met an explosive end, I would have it sitting beside MMV, but now its just an opportunity to build a much better half-timber. Sorry, I thought I chose the 800x600 size each time - can you let me know what the problems were? I wish I had noticed the truncation before I submitted the post! Can you change the title to "MOC: Half Timber Artisan House with Staggered Roof" ? Thanks for fixing my post.