MOC: Bulk 2.0

[Aanchir]

I've been very keen on designing models of Bulk 2.0 and Stringer 2.0 after the 3.0 versions were revealed. The latest LEGO Digital Designer update gave me the opportunity to help visualize the ideas floating around in my head.

(Image links to Flickr)

The actual model would need a custom helmet accessory, most likely (I'd prefer it anyway). His helmet also is in a color that doesn't exist, necessitating paint or custom molding of that part. Other than that, he's completely buildable (at least, once the third wave actually shows up in stores).

He's 31 parts, keeping him at roughly the same budget as the actual second-wave canister sets. His weapons are inspired by all three versions of Bulk: the original canister set, the version included in the "Bulk and Vapour" set, and the 3.0 canister set. I've had more difficulty coming up with a finished concept for Stringer, but hope to have one soon.

Download the model here!

[Front]

Nice to see you having a go at building with the new parts in LDD. How is the handling of the parts in LDD, easy ? Haven't tried it myself yet.

[Aanchir]

Nice to see you having a go at building with the new parts in LDD. How is the handling of the parts in LDD, easy ? Haven't tried it myself yet.

It's really great, actually. I was a bit worried, because previously any parts that use ball joint pieces of any sort (whether in the form of a BIONICLE joint, a tow ball on a System truck, or whatever else) would be difficult to hinge how you wanted them. With the update to version 4.1, you can now type in rotation angles in three dimensions for any ball joint pieces, which means you can have the parts at any angle you want with complete precision. I haven't used the system enough to learn if there are any bugs, and for this model I didn't really need to hinge the joint pieces any (they're all at the angles I placed them on the model from), but it looks like a vast improvement and could make BIONICLE or Hero Factory MOCing a lot easier.

The most difficulty I had was with the hose pieces (57539). The "flex" tool used for that sort of piece is versatile, but very difficult to use. Many times it would try to flip the connecting end upside down and feed the J-shaped curve into a Technic axle hole from above, which needless to say doesn't work. Getting the part to flex so that both ends connect where you want them and the middle portion is bent realistically is hard work, and requires a lot of patience. Even here I couldn't quite get the two hoses totally symmetrical, even though the end result is satisfactory.

[Rocketbilly]

Very cool looking, this is definitely how I'd expect the model to look, only maybe with a pair of trans-orange lightsaber blades in the end of the weapons - I know they don't exist though. Still, really cool and I can certainly see how building with the new Hero Factory parts in LDD is preferable to using the Recon Team part of the Hero Factory website.

I hope one day the generic Hero helmets will be available in other colours - namely the silver you've used here and the standard black. Hopefully we'll see them as part of the 4.0 heroes, or perhaps as part of store exclusive sets when we get the Summer wave...but I'm missing my original point of this post with that rant, sorry.

Really great MOC, anyway and it's good to know that you can pretty much make him from the neck down when we get the new parts in Summer wave. Are you intending on doing that? I suppose it would be kind of pointless, what with him being essentially headless, but you could use Bulk's 3.0 helmet...though it would look a little out of place I think. Shame. Maybe using the original Bulk head and helmet?

Edited April 5, 2011 by Rocketbilly

[Front]

Thank you for the explanations Aanchir, I'm downloading the new LDD version as I write.

Did not even think about the hoses when I looked at your work here, but to get that to work is surely not trivial.

If there's something I like it's 3D angles, so they better have it right in LDD.

[Brickthing]

I'd love to see this Bulk made into a set! The choice of weapons suits Bulk very well, although you could alternatively have only one bulked up (_{sorry for the pun} ) weapon to match his 1.0 form. But I suppose double weapons mirrors his 3.0 form as well...

Stormer's headgear is certainly the best choice, and it arguably fits Bulk better than Stormer because of the chin area being similar to Bulk's 1.0 helmet. The single display screen on the headgear wouldn't be the best for two guns though, as he wouldn't be able to aim the guns too far apart from each other.

One suggestion I have is that you mix the leg armour up a bit, to make it more interesting. I think rotating the shin armour sideways would work, although it might need to be switched up to 5M size.

Is it possible in LDD to use trans-injected tubing? Seeing as the headgear ultimately leaves Bulk as a hypothetical set, it wouldn't hurt to dream of trans-clear with orange tubing instead of regular orange.

[Aanchir]

I'd love to see this Bulk made into a set! The choice of weapons suits Bulk very well, although you could alternatively have only one bulked up (_{sorry for the pun} ) weapon to match his 1.0 form. But I suppose double weapons mirrors his 3.0 form as well...

Stormer's headgear is certainly the best choice, and it arguably fits Bulk better than Stormer because of the chin area being similar to Bulk's 1.0 helmet. The single display screen on the headgear wouldn't be the best for two guns though, as he wouldn't be able to aim the guns too far apart from each other.

One suggestion I have is that you mix the leg armour up a bit, to make it more interesting. I think rotating the shin armour sideways would work, although it might need to be switched up to 5M size.

Is it possible in LDD to use trans-injected tubing? Seeing as the headgear ultimately leaves Bulk as a hypothetical set, it wouldn't hurt to dream of trans-clear with orange tubing instead of regular orange.

Nah, LDD doesn't allow very many parts to be dual-colored. And in any event, it's a lot easier to imagine Stormer's tubing as carrying some type of coolant than to visualize what an orange liquid being piped through a tube would be (some type of plasma or radioactive goo?) So I think it's better with orange tubing, so that you can just visualize orange as the color of the tubing itself and imagine whatever you want flowing through inside.

The double weapon was inspired not only by his 3.0 form but also by his weapons in the "Bulk & Vapour" set, where he wields Stringer's weapon in conjunction with his own. Also, it's surprisingly difficult to add much more complexity to that gun-barrel piece, at least when working with parts and building styles that would likely appear in a canister set (I'm sure you could make something incredible if you were to use more generic Technic and System parts).

Very good point about the headgear. So if I ever do get so far as making my own headgear, I'll have to remember to make it symmetrical.

I goofed around with the leg armor a bit before settling on this. Overall it ends up looking the most "bulky" in the end while still remaining unique compared to the other heroes. But of course if I ever make this guy in real life I can get a better look at him in various poses from various directions. I also wouldn't mind lengthening his legs if need be. Keep in mind that when I first designed this guy, I did most of my work just by switching between DesignByMe and LEGO Universe modes, without having learned about LDD Extended mode yet. Thus, there are a lot of options I may not have even tried out before arriving at the one I liked best.

Thanks so much for your feedback!

[Zarkan]

This is a great creation, and in the case of the weapon improves singnificantly upon the hollow one-piece monstrosity the old Bulk was laden with. However, I'd kind of like to see him with his old helmet - I seem to recall it being in LDD Extended as well, though my copy is on the fritz right now so I can't verify that statement.

[Riza1234]

I didn't know that they had silver and black armor pieces (like the feet and masks) on LDD.

[SpiderSpaceman]

I didn't know that they had silver and black armor pieces (like the feet and masks) on LDD.

Not order-able, though. You need to set yourself up with extended mode, which is pretty much universe mode with even more parts.

link

[PhillipCD]

Looks great! The only thing I would change is I would remove the pipes attached to his weapons.

[Aanchir]

This is a great creation, and in the case of the weapon improves singnificantly upon the hollow one-piece monstrosity the old Bulk was laden with. However, I'd kind of like to see him with his old helmet - I seem to recall it being in LDD Extended as well, though my copy is on the fritz right now so I can't verify that statement.

Now, to be fair I liked that one-piece monstrosity. It was a well-designed part for its function even if its function (a weapon largely only usable for a single arm of a single figure) was questionable, and I loved the details like how one finger was bent as if over a trigger.

Yeah, the original Bulk's helmet is on LDD, and it actually looks pretty cool on this MOC (although for the purpose of this MOC, a 2.0 helmet is more appropriate). Here's an image.

I didn't know that they had silver and black armor pieces (like the feet and masks) on LDD.

Well, as SpiderSpaceman said, you can use LDD Extended mode to use these parts in different colors than those they exist in in real life. But actually, I built this MOC largely before I knew about LDD Extended mode, and did it primarily by clicking View>New Themes>LEGO Universe to switch the model built in DesignByMe mode into LEGO Universe mode where I could recolor things, and clicking View>New Themes>LEGO DesignByMe to switch back anytime I needed to add a new Hero Factory part.

Looks great! The only thing I would change is I would remove the pipes attached to his weapons.

The pipes attached to the weapons are actually something I'd rather keep, partly because their function is to make the weapons more unique overall. I wanted to limit him to using six pieces at most for his weapons (the maximum used by any other 2.0 Hero set), and wanted him to use those gun-barrel pieces. There's not very many parts from 2.0 sets that can be added to those gun barrel pieces to make them look cooler and at the same time not rip off Surge 2.0's magnificent weapon design, so I decided some sort of tubing would make the weapons feel the most unique while echoing Bulk's parts from the Bulk & Vapour set. The only thing I regret is that there's no better way to mount them on the weapons without relying heavily on Technic parts (something else I wanted to avoid).