20 replies to this topic

[TheBrickster]

The Barn House of Barnabas Higgens

Creak... Scrape...  A rusting windmill can be heard in the distance.  It turns outside the spooky Barn House of Barnabas Higgens, an old foreboding house the stands alone in Shadow Valley, not far from the trail to Hang Man's Hill.  A small stream use to flow outside the house, but dried up years ago when Morty Perkins won the water rights to the nearby creek in a high-stake game of cards.  

But who is Barnabas Higgens, and where has he gone?  No one left in Grave Stone seems to know.  Rumor has it that his mysterious disappearance has something to do with the old scarecrow that stands outside the barn house.  Every October as Halloween approaches, the eyes of the tattered scarecrow seem to glow an eerie red color.  Some say that the scarecrow comes to life once a year to feed off the living.  Green lights appear inside the spooky barn house, but Barnabas Higgens is never seen... *skull*



---

My latest Grave Stone MOC, the Barn House does have an interior and I will post more pictures soon.  Comments welcome.

[SupremeCommmanderGrievous]

Oooooh. Spooky. Nice MOC there, I like the small bits of orange evrywhere. Pleas post interior Pics soon!

[TheBrickster]

More pictures:

Starting with the exterior, the Scarecrow:



Loft window:



The roof:



On the left side is a door:



Left side, larger:



The right side:



Interior left, a table with two chairs:



Right side (middle), a fireplace and chest:



Both floors:



A trap door does open:



And the small, simple loft with bedroom:



That's about it.  I haven't added much detail.

[Asuka]

A very nice barn house, lovely in size and appearance, and a very mysterious
and neat story, like always.  *y*
Halloween in Grave Stone.... what a plain scary thing this must be....  8-|

[Lt. Col. Thok]

I always look forward to your Halloween Mocs, Brickster.  Good job.

[Brick Miner]

hey Brickster...  i like the chair configuration and the inclusion orange, but overall this MOC has the same look (and more importantly the same feeling) as some of your past GS creations.  which would be fine, if it was an improvement (either in building technique or conceptualization) over the pervious work, but it doesn't seem like it to me.

my suggestion would be to try creating different atmospheres for each MOC, so that each one has a unique feel, and consequently a purpose...  without a unique purpose, i don't see the point to the MOC.  if that make sense.

personally, im trying to explore the idea of "creating atmosphere" by placing them in different settings.  for example, i have a haunted bridge idea with a drowned zombie (you might remember "The Drowned" western zombie from the halloween contest last year).  the bridge placed the MOC in a water setting.  in contrast, i have an idea for a forest/tree setting in which there is a hung zombie (to play a western tree handing idea)...  this placed the MOC in a more forest desert...  and thus, gives the two MOCs a very unique personality with two very unique characters which relate to their setting.

though, there are a lot of ways to create individuality in MOCing, and setting is just one way to create personality and atmosphere.  i hope that im not  coming off with a "your MOC sucks, do them like mine instead" attitude...  im just trying to show an example of what ideas im playing with, and relate that to what you have done here.

- BM

[TheBrickster]

Your feedback comes off a bit harsh BM.  I would agree that this barnhouse may be a little similar to the Sinister Stable and/or the Haunted Mill, but it is a completely new building.  If you are comparing it to the Sinister Stable, that MOC was simply a change of color from an existing Lego set (not much creativity on my part).  The Haunted Mill, much different as this MOC is a house in Grave Sone.  

In terms of "uniqueness", and sense of purpose, this MOC is intended to be a house that introduces another villain.  I'm going to discount your opinion in regard to this MOC, because I disagree.  I think it's one of my better building structures and I like the overall look and shape of its design.  I don't always like the way some of my MOCs come out, but must say that I do like this (perhaps better than the Putrid Creek Mill that you seem to be fond of).  

Perhaps I've spoiled you with a lot of different buildings and designs (not typically found in the WW theme).  Maybe another brown building with a black roof is not different enough for your liking.

In comparison to your Shiversdale MOCs; I can only picture one-two MOCs from you, so perhaps you have many more opportunities/designs to explore.  My next GS MOC will be something completely different, not along a building-line; but I did want a spooky old house on a hill- a place the kids in Grave Stone could go "trick-or-treating" (so to speak).

Let's see what a few other reviewers think of the barnhouse.  I'm looking forward to reading the reviews.

[iamded]

Oooh, another one! I do love these Grave Stone MOCs! This one's great I love the exterior look and build of the building, and all the details inside, too. I was trying to think of a way to make the scarecrow look less like Scarecrow and more like an evil scarecrow. *wacko* But I couldn't think of any, so this is good. One thing you could do to improve this, put the skeleton of Barnabas in the bed. :-D Or on the floor. X-D
~Peace

[Batbrick]

iamded, on Oct 22 2007, 08:08 AM, said:

Oooh, another one! I do love these Grave Stone MOCs! This one's great I love the exterior look and build of the building, and all the details inside, too. I was trying to think of a way to make the scarecrow look less like Scarecrow and more like an evil scarecrow. *wacko* But I couldn't think of any, so this is good. One thing you could do to improve this, put the skeleton of Barnabas in the bed. :-D Or on the floor. X-D
~Peace

__________
But is he really dead?  :-P
Thats right, I stalked you again!  *skull*

I love this MOC Brickster, and though I agree in part with Brickminer  (I get you two confused a lot!  *wacko* ) about looking a bit the same, I'd say that seeing as you wanted a haunted house scenario, you made a great one!  *y*

The Scarcrow is welldone, and adds an interesting twist to the whole thing. The use of orange is effective too.

I Am FEAR Incarnate!  *skull*

[TheBrickster]

A special image of the Barn House next to the Grave Stone Cemetery:

[Brick Miner]

TheBrickster, on Oct 20 2007, 04:09 PM, said:

Your feedback comes off a bit harsh BM.

hey B, i gave this MOC an honest and whole hearted "look over."  and it took me some time to formulate a constructive response for possible improvement, and did so the best of my ability, being as nice as i felt i could - all the while still get my point across.

i obviously feel that you are a great builder and a greater conceptualizer, and that is the only reason that im so critical in my feedback - i'd only love to see you improve.  by your own admittance, you have singled this creation out as yet another "brown building with black roof" and i would love to see something else from you.  im sure we all have room to grow, and there are a ton of unexplored possibilities within the ghost town sub-theme.

i think it goes without saying that you, the creator, can disregard any feedback you disagree with.  and if you feel there is no room for improvement, i respect both cases and will not look at your MOCs so critically from now on.  i am also fully able to let you grow on your own, as i can honestly say that has proved to be the best method for my personal growth, self-edification.

- BM

[iamded]

Batbrick, on Oct 21 2007, 09:29 PM, said:

But is he really dead?  :-P

X-O Maybe he is the scarecrow!! X-O  :-P
~Peace

[TheBrickster]

Brick Miner, on Oct 21 2007, 05:59 PM, said:

hey B, i gave this MOC an honest and whole hearted "look over."

I appreciate your review and your honesty.  I would take your comments better if you provide some good points as well as the bad.  I also think this is better than some of my other MOCs.  I like the orange trim and the windows in the loft.  I think they give the MOC an extra "spooky" feel.  In fact, I think this is truly one of by better designed buildings.

iamded, on Oct 21 2007, 06:56 PM, said:

X-O Maybe he is the scarecrow!! X-O  :-P

Perhaps...

[goggleson]

oooh minifig scale goodness, *daydreams the play options* you could make a contest just to win it.

Not too keen on the orange trim on the wall though

Edited by goggleson, 23 October 2007 - 12:59 AM.

[Bonaparte]

I always love to see another MOC from you and this one is no different.
This barn house would make a perfect decor for a spaghetti western.
Like all your MOCs, it has a clean and decent design with a perfect color scheme.
One of my favorite details is the fireplace.

The only constructive criticism I can offer is to  make it look less "clean".
This looks like a brand new barn house. Especially the interior looks shiny and new.
My guess it that you wanted to make this barn house look old and creepy.
Some more mess and garbage would make it more convincing.

[ZeekyBoogeyDoog]

Very awesome barn!  
The only nitpick I have with it is the orange; perhaps black?  
Maybe you could add a threshing mechanism to the barn interior, it would make for some interesting deaths  *skull*

[TheBrickster]

goggleson, on Oct 22 2007, 05:56 PM, said:

Not too keen on the orange trim on the wall though

ZeekyBoogeyDoog, on Oct 23 2007, 02:22 PM, said:

The only nitpick I have with it is the orange; perhaps black?

I really liked the orange, esp. for Halloween.  I'm surprised that you don't like the color.

ZeekyBoogeyDoog, on Oct 23 2007, 02:22 PM, said:

Maybe you could add a threshing mechanism to the barn interior, it would make for some interesting deaths

Good idea.

Bonaparte, on Oct 23 2007, 12:12 AM, said:

The only constructive criticism I can offer is to  make it look less "clean".
This looks like a brand new barn house. Especially the interior looks shiny and new.
My guess it that you wanted to make this barn house look old and creepy.
Some more mess and garbage would make it more convincing.

Yes, always tough to do.  A few holes in the wall may add to the delapidating state.  Perhaps I'll try a few things.  I still have this one constructed.  Thanks for the feedback.

[Apache]

Another great moc/building.  I wish I had the time to build or is it that I don't make time :)  Anyways, solid building and definately adds to the collection.  I like to see you and BM cranking out Mocs.  There are so many castle mocs but the WW theme is often left in the dust when it comes to mocing.  The one thing that does contrast is the tan baseplate and the greyscale photo that you use for the background.  Have you tried using a grey baseplate for the mocs so it blends it better with the background photo?  THe picture your using for the background gives it that spooky haunted nightime effect and then the tan baseplate just doesn't look right.  Love the details right up to the jackolantern.  Keep em coming, I always get excited when you post a new moc.

The Apache Kid

[TheBrickster]

Thanks Apache.  Appreciate the feedback.  In regard to the baseplate, I could use a grey plate, but have always gone with the tan because they are used throughout the WW theme.  I never thought they looked bad with the B&W images which I've used for all my Grave Stone MOCs.

[Mister Phes]

Brick Miner, on Oct 21 2007, 05:43 AM, said:

my suggestion would be to try creating different atmospheres for each MOC, so that each one has a unique feel, and consequently a purpose...  without a unique purpose, i don't see the point to the MOC.  if that make sense.

This is an interesting point and I've noticed The Brickster uses smiliar background images for his Gravestone theme.

So what's got me curious is how much changing the background image would alter the MOC's atmosphere.    Of course Brickster could go to the lengths Brick Miner suggested by incorporating the location elements into the MOC itself but we don't all have the time and bricks to do such things.

[TheBrickster]

Feedback from Phes...  I'm honored.  It's not very often that you visit the Wild West threads Phes.  Glad to see you still keeping up with the opther themes.

I like the tan baseplates and I'll be keeping them - even for new MOCs.  It just wouldn't be WW without tan.

In regard to changing the backgrounds:  these are all part of the Grave Stone collection of images and they do vary.  Perhaps it's time for me to change them a bit or get some new images.