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[pedro]

Knights
~ of ~
Frontera


Republic Reconaissance. Anakin Skywalker and clonetroopers Risk and Switch are deployed to the planet Frontera to scout and gather strategic information. But Frontera is an uncivilised world, full of deadly surprises...



Anakin: Look sharp troopers.



Risk: Sir, I'm getting unusual readings in the adjacent sector.
Anakin: Confirmed, let's check it out.



Nearby...

Girl: AIEEEE!





Brown Hatted Bandit: Hehe, we done got ye cornered now!



Brown Hatted Bandit: Yer number is up!
Girl: Please... NO!



Bandits: WHA...?!



Anakin: Now this hardly fair! Risk, Switch - dismount and engage!
Risk & Switch: Yessir!



Brown Hatted Bandit: This ani't nuthin to do with y'all. You don't know what yer messin' with!
Anakin: Attacking children is the lowest of the low. Scram! Before you live to regret it!



Child: Oh my! A Jedi! Thank you so much!
Anakin: Our pleasure. You're lucky we were nearby.
Child: My name is Anka. You must come to my home, my parents will surely want to thank you.
Anakin: We're on an important mission, but... a brief visit won't hurt.



At the farm...

Anka: Momma!
Anka's Mum: Anka! Thank goodness!



Anka's Dad: How can I ever thank you?! The names Loid. I must insist you stay for supper - it's the least we can do!
Anakin: Er... sure, we'll stay a while.





Later...

Loid: ...and so we fled persecution there and came here to start a new life. Now it seems to be starting again with these bandits continually at our throats.
Anakin: Glad we've been able to help, Loid.
Loid: It sure is great having you folks around.





Risk: WOAH!
Creature: WAUGH!



Risk: Sir, a strange creature by the BARCs!



Anakin: Whatever it is it's gone now.
Loid: Don't worry, we get all sorts of pests out here. They're mostly harmless.



Loid: Anyways, I'm goin' to turn in for the night. See y'all tomorrow.
Anakin, Risk & Switch: Night!



Next morning...

Loid: Thanks much for helping out around the farm. mighty fine of y'all.
Anakin: Our pleasure Loid! This is such a great place, we really love it here.
Loid: Good, good...







Risk: Didn't we have something important to do Anakin?
Anakin: What could be better than this, Risk?!
Risk: True, I don't know what I was thinking about!



Some time later, high in the skies of Frontera, a DC0052 descends...

Obi-Wan: Anakin, Risk, Switch! Come in! Blast! It's been days...



Obi-Wan: Hmmm, there's a settlement over there. I'll set down and hopefully find some clues.



The town of Leone...

Loid: Thanks for escorting me into town Anakin, it's good to have an extra pair of hands.
Anakin: My pleasure Loid.





Brown Hatted Bandit: Well looky here! Looks like someone done got themselves a bodyguard.
Twi-lek Bandit: Well, Gadzooks!



Brown Hatted Bandit: That noise... clankers! SCRAM!
Droid Commander: A Jedi! Blast him!
Droids: Roger, roger!



Loid: WAIT! Kill him, but let me go!
Anakin: Loid? What the...?!



Droid Commander: Blast them both!
ZAP!
Loid: AUUUUGHH!
Anakin: Loid!



Suddenly...

Obi-Wan: Anakin!
VOOM-CRASH!
Droid Commander: Oh no! Now there's two of them!



THRUM-ZAP-SWISH!



Obi-Wan: Anakin! Pull yourself together!
Anakin: What... I? Who are...? Obi-Wan?
Obi-Wan: You've been enthralled Anakin.
Anakin: My friend...



Obi-Wan: This is no friend Anakin. It's a shapeshifter, a life-leech. It enthralls the victim and feeds off their life-force!
Anakin: Oh no, the clones!



Back at the farm...

Shapeshifters: No! Loid is dead. Kill everyone who's seen us!



Anka: Die!
ZAP!
Switch: AAAARGH!



Shapeshifter: Now for Risk...
Obi-Wan: This evil ends now!
VOOM-SLISH!
Shapeshifter: UUURGH!



Anka: Die, Jedi scum!



Anakin: Not so fast!
VISH-THRUM!
Anka: NOOOOOO!



Obi-Wan: Too late to save Switch. He'll be sorely missed. A gunship is en-route.



Obi-Wan: We've learned a harsh lesson today and must be ever vigilant - the Separatists aren't the only evil we must oppose.



The End

I hope you enjoyed this wee tale! I created it for the MOCathlon Clone Wars Episode category. I was inspired by a story by writer Simon Furman and the idea of doing a Star Wars Western - a genre which served as inspiration on the original Star Wars - really appealed to me as a great juxtaposition for our heroes. I built a modular set so I could vary the scenery dramatically while still using the same baseplate.



The saloon building is doublesided, having the shapeshifters' home on the other side. I created plates with desert and greenery too with slots in the base so all the modules can be swapped around to make desert, farm or Leone.



Amongst other things I really like the DC0052 Speeder and have been toying with creating it for ages - now seemed like a good time.

Thanks for the kind remarks and feedback so far, all much appreciated!

Edited by pedro, 19 March 2010 - 10:24 AM.

[Rufus]

Holy Moly, that's fantastic! I particularly like your speeders, and the ship at the end; however the character scenes are also really well done.

The photo editing on the sky shots is spot-on.

Quote

Anakin: Attacking children is the lowest of the low.

Oh, the irony!  

Good luck in the competition!  

[Commander_Rob]

Very nice, the pictures are good and the sets and characters look nicely built.

Rufus, on Mar 15 2010, 03:43 PM, said:

Oh, the irony!  

I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out, hilarious.  

[ADHO15]

Brilliant, pedro!

The figs, the scenery, the vehicles... they're all great!
I love Anakin's personalised BARC speeder and the DC0052 airspeeder is amazing.
Fantastic pics, as always.

Very well done! I can't wait for the next part!

[Future74]

Nice story, great pictures  

Very nice diorama and I like the MOC you made!

pedro, on Mar 15 2010, 03:32 PM, said:

It gives me a bit of a flying saucer feeling or something like the F117 Stealth Fighter, well done.

Although I would be terrified seeing such a huge ant in front of me  

[LegoGalactus]

The story was awesome.   I cant wait for part 2!
The layouts and ships were cool.
Good luck with your entry.

[Walter Kovacs]

Very nice Pedro.  

The airspeeder at the end is probably the best part of this series (the BARCs are straight out of the CTT, recolors notwithstanding?).  The backgrounds are very good, too.  In fact, I can't think of anything I'd change.  

Looking forward to see how this all plays out.

[pedro]

EDIT: I've added part 2 to the first part so the story can be read in one.

Edited by pedro, 19 March 2010 - 10:26 AM.

[Rufus]

It's a fantastic diorama set-up even without the story-line, which is action-packed, funny, and brilliantly photographed.  Very well done!    And where did you get all that brown?

Quote

Gadzooks!

  One of my favourite exclamations!

[ADHO15]

    

So clever, so well-made, so well-photographed, great story...
I love it!

Edited by ADHO15, 15 March 2010 - 09:00 PM.

[pedro]

Rufus, on Mar 15 2010, 08:49 PM, said:

And where did you get all that brown?

I bought a lot of large plates for my Last Stand on Argoth diorama. Thanks Rufus!

ADHO15, on Mar 15 2010, 08:58 PM, said:

    

Cheers ADHO!

Edited by pedro, 15 March 2010 - 09:10 PM.

[Brickus]

Incredible, the detailing in the background is just excellent.

[ILikePi]

Very interesting story, clean and crisp pictures, and stunning MOCs! You've really outdone yourself pedro!
I especially like how you used modules to work with just one base piece - I didn't even know that the ground and buildings were the same until you showed us at the end!  

Good luck in the contest!  

[lightningtiger]

AWESOME MOC's and fantastic story !
I am impressed by your work 'pedro' !
What else can I say but ........keep on bricking and may the force be with you !

[Big Cam]

OMG, what a great story and awesome creations.  I really love the storyline and the entire setup looks great.  I cerainly don't have the patience for something like this.  Your pictures are really good too, very well lit and clear.

I simply love it!

[Walter Kovacs]

ILikePi, on Mar 15 2010, 08:38 PM, said:

Very interesting story, clean and crisp pictures, and stunning MOCs! You've really outdone yourself pedro!
I especially like how you used modules to work with just one base piece - I didn't even know that the ground and buildings were the same until you showed us at the end!  

Good luck in the contest!  

I couldn't have said it better myself.  Excellent job, pedro.

[Seijitai]

Impressive work, I really like your modular buildings and the whole scenes !  

[pedro]

Thanks everyone!

Here's a strip showing the switching of modules. I used two 8 x 16 tiles for my 16 x 16 modules to sit on.



A close-up on the shapeshifter's home...



...with the saloon on the other side! I removed the front awning when taking the shots for the story.



Thanks again for the great feedback.

[CommanderFox]

A really cool story pedro!
I love the diorama, and especially Obi's speeder.
Great job overall!

CommanderFox