[SoNE Episode V] Endor Construction Site

[Disco86]

The story about Markus Montari and Paul Brickstorm at SoNE continues. The story so far:

Join the Empire - Markus1984

Recruitment - Disco86

Swearing In - Markus1984

Foreign System - Disco86

Last Firing Exercise - Markus1984

Invasion Preparation - Disco86

The Invasion Begins - Markus1984

Finally the day has come and our two protagonists are on their way to the foreign planets surface. A comerade told them, that the planet was actually Endor. A planet full of trees and little fury Ewoks. Their objectives have been not totally coherent, but at least they know, that they should wipe out the inhabitants down there. Presumably nobody would miss these Ewoks, so it was okay to kill them for an important imperial mission. The Delta-Class DX-9 tranport was landing ruggedly and there was a loud noise of cracking wood, when the hatchway openend.

Go, go, go ! Shoot at everything you see movin !

Grrrrrr, where are these little Ewoks ?

Over there in the shrubs, I got one. Die, you little ball of fur, die !

Seems to be not really dangerous here.

Position clear !

Take a look over here. The Empire may have some serious plans with this planet.

That's an enourmos construction site. Looks like they are going to build a huge landing pad.

Indeed, just wondering what they are planning to do here ?

We should move on and desolate this natural environment, just like these guys in the AT-ATs are doing.

Stop talking, keep moving !

[theman4090]

Nice! I love the mini AT-ATs, it's a nice continuation of the last one! Great work, now the landing pad is underway, and we can finally get close to building the bunker, that gets destroyed later on by Rebel and Ewok scum.

[goatman461]

Great transition between perspectives. It would be interesting to see the whole build without the camera trick to see how you pull this off

[MKJoshA]

Wow! Love the forced perspective! And those clouds in the background are icing on the cake!

[markus1984]

Great continuation!

Love this Micro Endor.

So Little but so many Details

Amazing Job .

markus montari

[Disco86]

Thanks for your comments ! I hope the Empire will have a good chance in this episode with our builds

the bunker, that gets destroyed later on by Rebel and Ewok scum.

Sssshhht, still a secret

It would be interesting to see the whole build without the camera trick to see how you pull this off

It destroys the magic, but I will show you a behind the scenes:

Edited June 14, 2014 by Disco86

[Pointblank]

Awesome! And that's a lot of bricks in the background!

[Lord Tyrus]

I love the forced perspective, good job!

[Nom Carver]

Another wonderful creation! I am impressed how good you are at building closed and futuristic scenes and natural environments, simply wonderful, I wonder what is taking the rebels so long, maybe they are up to something big.

[Wat Tambor]

Wow that's a great build!

I like the combination of micro scale and normal minifig scale, it works quite well in combination with a scene.

It's also great to see the set-up, maybe you are right and it destroys the magic but it's quite helpful for people who have never done a LEGO scene with forced perspective before.

Great work!

[MstrOfPppts]

Another great build! A ton of things to like at the micro construction site and the whole scaled down forrest. At first I thought that there's a blue paper in the background but in the second to last picture you can clearly see bricks in the sky. Very well made! I'm just not too sure about the lime round plates on top of the plant bricks. They look allright from far away, but are a bit funny in the close up shot. Also I think that the tree canopies are a biit flat, which could be improved by adding a few more leaves on top of them ...

[Disco86]

Thanks again for your motivating comments, really love building SoNE-style

I wonder what is taking the rebels so long, maybe they are up to something big.

I hope they are not, but I would be sad if they don't enter at least a couple of builds...

It's also great to see the set-up, maybe you are right and it destroys the magic but it's quite helpful for people who have never done a LEGO scene with forced perspective before.

You are welcome !

I'm just not too sure about the lime round plates on top of the plant bricks. They look allright from far away, but are a bit funny in the close up shot. Also I think that the tree canopies are a biit flat, which could be improved by adding a few more leaves on top of them ...

Some good points. In my opinion the holes on top of the bamboo leaves do not look good, so I always try to cover them. Actually it does look weird in mcroscale. And you are right, that there could have been more foliage, but also the trees should have their typicial Endor fliage which is kind of flat.

[TheUtilityBelt]

Nice! Can't wait for more of the story!

[Zepher]

Awesome forced perspective, adorable little ships. The little piles of metal are a great touch too! Looks very much like a construction site. The foreground tree too has some great details and adds a ton to the scale trick/composition of the pictures, so really very nice work all around.

[BEAVeR]

You never fail to amaze me with your builds. And this time you've proven yourself to be not only the master of MOCs in general, but a genious in making forced perspective work as well! Bravo.

I don't think I have a favorite part in this build. Everything is awesome, and it really comes forward as a whole, and not as a combination of a minifig and a microscale build. So good job on the integration! Maybe it works so well because of the consistency between the scenes. both have comparable color palettes, and both feature natural and technical elements in a nice balance. Things like that path running from the minifig into the micro domaine tie the two parts nicely together in a nice MOC. Also the composition is quite perfect, and setting the two parts on different levels creates the illusion of a hill, which makes the transition work beautifully. I think there's a lot to be learnt from you on the subject of forced perspective!

Of course there's more to this build than just the forced perspective. You have some beautiful building in there. It already begins with that transporter. We already could admire it in Markus' entry, but here we get to see another angle, and we see how it connects to the environment, so still we get something new. And it's nice to see a common element run through the different builds. That tree there is also quite beautiful, although it is much like Markus' (admittedly perfect) tree. It's great to see the relief in there, and the slopes towards the bottom are really well implemented to give a smooth transition between the trunk and the roots. the texture is good with the studs, tiles and jumpers, but maybe some color variation with dark browns and old browns could take it a step further. The vegetation on the ground is very good as well. I like how those root pieces emerge from every one of those bamboo pieces, like if they are one plant. And the fallen trunks in combination with the leaves at special angles make for some nice destruction. I would like to see some more consistency in this destruction though, because that cactus piece standing upright kind of contradicts the destruction immedeately around it. And it would be great if everything we can see would have vegetation, because that empty area we can see under the ramp is a bit disturbing compared to how wealthy the vegetation grows elsewhere. Finally, and this is a rather stupid question, I wonder why we don't get to see the Ewok getting shot. Is it to not upset the weak of heart?

Anyway, let's have a look at the less violent part: the micro build. i like the consistency of the same micro vessels returning, as it keeps the feeling we're still in the same universe. And we get to see what all those preparations where for. Some specialised buidling equipment would be welcome though, because now we get no clue how those pipes and tubes (lovely touches, and I love how they are so neatly arranged) are transported to the actual site for use. They're just laying there, and we have no clue how they will fit in it all. Also, rather then just vehicles, some small temporary buildings could be nice, for the troops to sleep or for the guards to stay or for someone to coordinate the building. then we would get more variation in artificial elements, and not just a lot of the same micro vessels and a very nice landing platform. The construction you have there, really looks like it, while clearly being under construction. And it's in scale with all the vessels too! Well done. I like how the tubes return here to show how they are used, and that crance is a simple but very nice touch. The irregular ground is a great touch, but maybe you could portray clear tracks in it. And more importantly, it would be better if the green would end above the tan, because now the soil seems to lay on the green parts, what doesn't really make sense in real life... Also some more clearings that the AT-AT's and dropships made would add to the scene, and would emphasize the way the Empire entrudes the landscape better. Like that road. A small downside of it, it that it hasn't scaled with the distance, and is still as broad as where the minifigs are standing, so that the back part looks a bit out of scale. A more gradual broadening of the road, or just a less wide road in the distance would be better in my opinion. But still, it's a great element, and it would be a pitty to loose such creativity!

Finally, the foliage in the distance. I think MstrOfPppts said it all. The foliage in the trees could be spread out a bit more (and ideally, slanted downward). The trunks could use some more details too. Maybe those grilled 2x2 round bricks would be ideally suited for this kind of micro work, and here and there that 2x2 plate with 4 bars as branches. Maybe there could be a 2x2 plate with 8 bars around it, and clip plates for slanted foliage... Maybe these suggestions aren't very realistic, but at least they proove there are still a lot of things you can do to make the trees more interesting, and more than some 2x2s with foliage parts. Also, those lime studs seem a bit awkward. I see why you did it, but why use lime? Another, more natural color would make more sense. Or maybe one of those bracelet parts would be better suited, or cheese slopes, or replace them altogether with those 1x1 rounds with 3 stems and leaves. And what would be totally crazy, would be to SNOT those bamboo pieces to simulare real ferns.

I know half of my suggestions don't make sense, but with excellent builds like yours, there really isn't much left to improve on. And this is not an exception. I really like how Markus and you are pulling this off. Some great things have come forth of that marvelous colaboration already, and I would love to see it continue. It's amazing how you coordinate everything. How do you even do that? How do you get the stories and builds to allign so good? I'm in awe, not only because of your individual building skills, but also how you accomplish these builds like a team. in that way, you're a great example for the whole community. It shows that even very talented builders can accomplish more when working together. you guys deserve an applause, and ovation! And thank you for keeping this going, with amazing builds, an engaging story, and lots of points for the Empire!

[Bob De Quatre]

BEAVeR's comments are so big, it takes him 2 weeks to write one...

[Lord Tyrus]

BEAVeR's comments are so big, it takes him 2 weeks to write one...

[Disco86]

Thanks for your comment Beaver ! Good to hear your positive statement, and I always like how many time you put in writing and looking at the build. I also dont like that plain part under the ramp. But maybe only we to revognized it :) And you got some got points, I especially like that idea about the road. Making it wider in the beginning of the background, would have been cool.

Hopefully we can claim some good points for the Empire !

BEAVeR's comments are so big, it takes him 2 weeks to write one...

... and so big, that it takes me 2 weeks to answer

[Yzalirk]

This outstanding!

Out of curiosity, what camera do you use?

[Disco86]

Thanks ! I am using a Nikon 1 V1, it has some neat focus settings. Also using a tripod, infrared trigger and two daylight bulbs.

[Graham Gidman]

Amazing forced-perspective you've got here!

Edited September 2, 2014 by Graham Gidman