26 replies to this topic

[F0NIX]

B-OM-34C

On this MOC I wanted to do something different. I was a bit tired of all the straight roads with 90 degree corners of all roads in the typical LEGO city.

I wanted to do a big modification of the well known Grand Emporium and make a connection over a diagonal road to a building with a modern look.

These pictures was taken before I finished of the roof of the modern building as I was out of ideas on how to do it so I asked for help on the Norwegian LUG Brikkelauget. And someone replied that he had trouble with curved and slanted building techniques in LEGO. And I thought that was a very good idea so the roof got both curved and slanted.

Another one said the top should be more like a café with panoramic view, so I tried to do that also...


This picture from above show the shape of the modern building.


Here are both buildings together (the modern building is not finished at this point):


  


I dont have a good picture of the creation after it was finished. But here is one from LEGO Fan Weekend 2012 in Skærbæk:

Photo taken by L@go

[Wedge09]

Fantastic MOC

I really like this curved building and the curved way

[TheLegoDr]

The curved building is really neat! The walkway is important and a great aspect. I like how you incorporated it all. I may have to consider doing something similar to this in my town layout, if I ever sit down to create one.

Keep up the good work. Very impressive techniques.

[Ferrik]

The building looks really modern because of the round design and all that white. I like the bridge which connects the two buildings too. The slanted roof looks excellent and I agree that having a diagonal road is a great change to the usual straight roads.

[lightningtiger]

Interesting idea, very nice buildings indeed 'F0NIX'.......Brick On !

[Kristel]

The curved building and the modified Grand Emporium are both stunning.  I also like how you have connected across the diagonal - very clever.  Well done!

[Androo]

This is brilliant!

I love the 2/3/2/3/etc window design on the overbridge too.

[lorax]

The overbridge, curved building and road design work beautifully together. I agree with Androo, the window design on the overbridge looks brilliant.

[dr_spock]

Excellent MOC.  Everything fits together well.   Love that bridge design.  

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Thats really neat F0NIX! I love the shape of the buildings and the bridge  

[soccerkid6]

Excellent work incorporating angles and curves into the buildings and the connecting bridge is superb

[L@go]

I've told you before and I'll tell you again, this is such a good idea, and you've executed it perfectly. Having something to break up a monotonous square street pattern is just what a layout needs.

[antp]

Excellent work, it looks great :)

[The Dutch Guy]

Very ingenious Fonix. Great effort from your part. Love to see more of your work.

[AncientDayz]

I ABSOLUTELY love this setup. It's a great break from a normal straight street. I love the curved building, and that walkway is fantastic! I would never be able to make a building like that, but I am already thinking of ways to do a walkway, even if on a straight street. That is amazing!

Now, I feel really bad saying this, but I don't mean it in a rude way at all (I could never have done this). My only "critique" is that the road lines themselves seem to be slightly off (road bulging at parts). It's not a big deal at all, and I probably wouldn't even have noticed if I saw it in person (the straight down shot just emphasizes it). But like I said, this is just a small critique; the grand aspects (curved building and bridge) are simply amazing. I really, really like it. NICE JOB!

[Cecilie]

I have seen this in person, and it's both a great idea and awesome execution of it. It looked really great in our layout in Skærbæk
Oh, hey, I can see the top right corner of my hospital in that last pic

[F0NIX]

Thank you all for the positive feedback. :)

AncientDayz, on 22 October 2012 - 06:50 AM, said:

I ABSOLUTELY love this setup. It's a great break from a normal straight street. I love the curved building, and that walkway is fantastic! I would never be able to make a building like that, but I am already thinking of ways to do a walkway, even if on a straight street. That is amazing!

Now, I feel really bad saying this, but I don't mean it in a rude way at all (I could never have done this). My only "critique" is that the road lines themselves seem to be slightly off (road bulging at parts). It's not a big deal at all, and I probably wouldn't even have noticed if I saw it in person (the straight down shot just emphasizes it). But like I said, this is just a small critique; the grand aspects (curved building and bridge) are simply amazing. I really, really like it. NICE JOB!

Do not feel bad at all! I posted this on a public forum to get feedback. I had hoped for more constructive critique like yours ;)
It is on critiques like this I can learn, and get better at creating building like this. But English is not my main language and I dont think I understand your comments correct. Can you describe more what you mean by "the road lines themselves seem to be slightly off"?

Do you think the with of the road differs too much in the turns? And I know I should have done more math to that particular thing, to get the turns smoother. The road is slightly wider in the start of the turn than in the middle part. I just started laying tiles on one end and tried to hit the center just in the crossing between all four baseplates  :)  (and it was not possible since the with of the road had even numbers of studs)

Or did you think the with of the pavement was too narrow in the middle? The reason for this is that the buildings are not symmetrical and the slanting walls are not at exactly 45 degrees angle. The buildings should have been a little smaller to get room for wider pavements, and they should have been more symmetrical to make this easier to build.

Or was it just the centerline that was not perfectly straight in the middle? Again, it is hard to put a tile in the middle since the with of the road had even numbers of studs.

What about height of the pavement? I was first trying to raise the pavement by one plate, but thought the jagged lines beside the road just looked weird.

[Kai NRG]

F0NIX, on 22 October 2012 - 05:38 PM, said:

Do you think the with of the road differs too much in the turns? And I know I should have done more math to that particular thing, to get the turns smoother. The road is slightly wider in the start of the turn than in the middle part. I just started laying tiles on one end and tried to hit the center just in the crossing between all four baseplates  :)  (and it was not possible since the with of the road had even numbers of studs)

I think that's what he means, it does look like the amount of studs in between the lines of the road is not quite the same all the way through.  Great job regardless, excellent idea, I really love the walkway over the top!  

[pagan]

Wow, fantastic. Do you have some details pictures of the roof?

[andyscouse]

I love this whole scene!  The modern building is fantastic (and gives me an idea of what a load of those 6x4 windows look like together; I have 150 of them to use somehow), and the bridge across is a great idea.  Nice road too.

[F0NIX]

pagan, on 23 October 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

Wow, fantastic. Do you have some details pictures of the roof?

Thank you! No, I do not have more pictures of the model at the moment. I do not have the model at home right now, but I will take more pictures at the next event that will be in Oslo 2-4 November, where this model will go on display along many other creations from Brikkelauget.

[Cunctator]

It's really a good idea to give a bit of movement to a layout and very good execution!

[AncientDayz]

F0NIX, on 22 October 2012 - 05:38 PM, said:

Do you think the with of the road differs too much in the turns? And I know I should have done more math to that particular thing, to get the turns smoother. The road is slightly wider in the start of the turn than in the middle part. I just started laying tiles on one end and tried to hit the center just in the crossing between all four baseplates  :)  (and it was not possible since the with of the road had even numbers of studs)

As somebody mentioned above, this is pretty much what I meant. The width of the road does not stay consistent through the turn; thus, it bulges at the turn and narrows in the middle (which looks a little tight for cars). Then, because of this, the road lines just don't seem as smooth and "flowing" as you would normally see on the streets.

However, again, it still looks great, and I don't think it would be noticeable at all when a few cars and minifigures are there. Overall, this is extremely impressive!

[mephistopheles]

Very clever build! Congrats!!!

[F0NIX]

Here is a few images of the finished creation at the event in Oslo "Bygge landet". Here you can see the roof finished.

Photo by L@ go

Here is a few by myself, but they dont show of the roof as good as the image by L@go
http://www.flickr.co...57631951438352/
http://www.flickr.co...57631951438352/

This creation is now taken apart. Now I know of many things that could be done to improve a MOC like this. And I also hope other will take the step to make some MOC a with some twist on the road and shape of the town building.