[ENTRY] Failed Raid (Mini Set)

[SNobleJr]

Wow, I haven't posted here in a while. Strange that it's a pirate contest of all things that brings me back, since it's not even my favorite theme. Oh well, what can one do when inspiration strikes...

 

 

So, I call this "The Failed Raid" - a pirate's unsuccessful attempt to rob an Imperial outpost. It's a bit of an homage to, but not an exact remake of 1795 Imperial Cannon. Here's a back view:

 

 

I had two main goals when putting this together:

1. A primarily Imperial theme, since they're the less prominent faction in the theme.
2. A good amount of playability and possible storytelling in a small set: hence the two minifigs with a fair selection of accessories, and a small structure with multiple little features crammed into it (a barrel to store the gold in, a parapet for the soldier to keep watch from with a ladder for access, and a small pier for potential interaction with small boat/raft sets).

 

It was built mostly in LDD, then touched up and rendered in Stud.io. I have uploaded both files for piece count verification purposes. Stud.io claims it contains 62 pieces because it treats minifig torso and leg assemblies as multiple pieces, while according to LDD it's at exactly 50 pieces. Based on the official piece counts in the contest example topic, the latter seems to be correct, so I hope this entry qualifies for the contest.

[Mazin]

Very nice design and presentation! This is the kind of set that i realy need during all that exhausting reviewing work ;) Very refreshing. Simple, but briliantly thought out as it's got everything. A bit of fortification, a bit of port, lots of highly playable accecories and elelements useful in constructing, a classic soldier facing a newly introduced by interesting nemesis, a sctructure built with different bricks and colors, but still impressivly consistent in appearance. Wow. Even that ladder and torch and that weapon holder ( whatever it's proper name is ) give it so much visual value. 

So visually it's a little paradise, to me as an ethusiast at least and hopefuly it would be as popular with kids as a toy :)

[Yperio_Bricks]

That is the perfect small set i am dreaming of You get a soldier and a pirate with their weapons and some bricks and pieces to build (and expand your fortress). Everyone would buy multiples

[MstrOfPppts]

Another nice concept design for the mini category. I agree with the praise of army building potential of this set. It has just what it needs. Nice touch with the 2x8 bricks to gain some parts efficient height. Simple yet effective they say.

In this case a bit too simple in my eyes. The main concern being that the pier and the stairs take up some much needed parts to properly finish the fence at the top which is too small. Also the clips and the ladder holder should be better integrated into the build rather than just being put on the top. If you skip the pier and use just a 2x4 tile for the one step I think the fence could be much better. Also the torch could be replaced by a flag to save some more parts.

The LDD part count is correct so you're good.

[Rogue Redcoat]

Aye, a very nice set indeed, perhaps it could use black for the dock instead of brown and a flag for the fort, and I know you're tight on the part limit but everything seems so small, the pirate has to duck to get under the arch. Anyway, happy building :)

[durazno33]

Personally, I don't understand this build. Why would you have a wall with a huge hole in it next to a small dock? What purpose does the wall serve if it is so short and has a hole without a door? Now if the whole was the result of a cannon ball, I could understand this more. How about that small addition of a wall section that can be removed?

[iragm]

I think this is a great little build!  Nice colors, everything is simple, but feels very much like an official set, and good minifigure selection.  The arch seems too low to be able to walk under, and the fort needs a flag, but this is otherwise pretty much perfect.

[MstrOfPppts]

Took some time and this is what I could come up with. Easier built then described in detail. With 32 parts this achieves the right height for the arched hole, full fence on top of the tower and integrated ladder holder, but skips the pier, the water and some stairs. The plates for the base exist as one part and also a 1x1 plate and 1x1 plate with clip could be replaced by the 1x2 plate with clip. None of these two parts exist in LDD. This gives you a full 20 parts to distribute among the figures, accessories or some more building, maybe some vegetation ...

[Rogue Redcoat]

@MstrOfPppts any reason you used the 2015s look of the Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Masonry Profile : Part 98283 | BrickLink instead of the newer Plate, Round 1 x 2 with Open Studs : Part 35480 | BrickLink besides the fact that it saves parts, personally I would just get rid of the light gray parts underneath I don't quite understand them.   

[MstrOfPppts]

Yap, saving parts is all that this build is about. I tried using as much of the original idea as possible thus the gray concrete base for the fort. It's quite challenging to make this relatively big build with so few parts. Therefore the bigger the part the better. Besides I prefer the masonry brick to the new plates style. I'm not used to copying the style of the TLG just to make it look more set like. Same goes for the steep sloped shores ... if there's a better way to do it, then change it. But it's my preference anyway.

[The Reader]

That’s a realy nice and handy built. It has everything a mini set needs. A day one buy for me!

[SNobleJr]

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I'm happy that the build has been well-received overall.

 

On 8/18/2023 at 6:49 PM, Mazin said:

Very nice design and presentation! This is the kind of set that i realy need during all that exhausting reviewing work ;) Very refreshing. Simple, but briliantly thought out as it's got everything. A bit of fortification, a bit of port, lots of highly playable accecories and elelements useful in constructing, a classic soldier facing a newly introduced by interesting nemesis, a sctructure built with different bricks and colors, but still impressivly consistent in appearance. Wow. Even that ladder and torch and that weapon holder ( whatever it's proper name is ) give it so much visual value. 

So visually it's a little paradise, to me as an ethusiast at least and hopefuly it would be as popular with kids as a toy :)

 

On 8/18/2023 at 7:15 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

That is the perfect small set i am dreaming of You get a soldier and a pirate with their weapons and some bricks and pieces to build (and expand your fortress). Everyone would buy multiples

Well-spotted here, "army-building / cheap little parts pack" was definitely part of the design goals here alongside the previously mentioned playability!

 

 

On 8/19/2023 at 12:43 AM, MstrOfPppts said:

Another nice concept design for the mini category. I agree with the praise of army building potential of this set. It has just what it needs. Nice touch with the 2x8 bricks to gain some parts efficient height. Simple yet effective they say.

In this case a bit too simple in my eyes. The main concern being that the pier and the stairs take up some much needed parts to properly finish the fence at the top which is too small. Also the clips and the ladder holder should be better integrated into the build rather than just being put on the top. If you skip the pier and use just a 2x4 tile for the one step I think the fence could be much better. Also the torch could be replaced by a flag to save some more parts.

The LDD part count is correct so you're good.

I can see where you're coming from; your observations are certainly not invalid, they're just not what I had in mind when building this "set". Had I been building this for the main contest, I definitely would have made the battlements more appropriately sized for the minifigs, but the goal was to get the idea of a seaside fortification across in just 50 pieces, while maintaining variety and play features. I feel like losing the pier (and thus another option for play) wouldn't have been a worthwhile trade just for perfectly proportioned battlements.

 

 

On 8/21/2023 at 5:31 PM, Rogue Redcoat said:

Aye, a very nice set indeed, perhaps it could use black for the dock instead of brown and a flag for the fort, and I know you're tight on the part limit but everything seems so small, the pirate has to duck to get under the arch. Anyway, happy building :)

 

On 8/21/2023 at 7:58 PM, durazno33 said:

Personally, I don't understand this build. Why would you have a wall with a huge hole in it next to a small dock? What purpose does the wall serve if it is so short and has a hole without a door? Now if the whole was the result of a cannon ball, I could understand this more. How about that small addition of a wall section that can be removed?

Don't try to make sense of this too hard - again, it's only supposed to be a compact and simplified representation of a seaside fort, or at least part of one. If I decided to expand this into a larger, detailed build, of course it would include a proper gate, a better proportioned dock etc., but then it wouldn't fit into the mini category.

 

 

 

On 8/22/2023 at 1:35 PM, iragm said:

I think this is a great little build!  Nice colors, everything is simple, but feels very much like an official set, and good minifigure selection.  The arch seems too low to be able to walk under, and the fort needs a flag, but this is otherwise pretty much perfect.

Thanks. The flag thing has been brought up before, and I considered one, but ultimately I judged the torch to be a better accessory - it's something else that can be equipped on a minifig, and makes more sense than randomly waving a flag around!

[Rogue Redcoat]

41 minutes ago, SNobleJr said:

Don't try to make sense of this too hard - again, it's only supposed to be a compact and simplified representation of a seaside fort, or at least part of one. If I decided to expand this into a larger, detailed build, of course it would include a proper gate, a better proportioned dock etc., but then it wouldn't fit into the mini category.

No, no no I understand, I built a small set and it took FOREVER to get the parts down to 50 :)