[ENTRY] [LARGE] Steve's Double-crossing

[YellowFrog]

See Steve wielding a sword, and see if you can spot a few of his doppelgangers (or clones, if you've seen my last MOC) scattered around.

Steve originally worked as a merchant, but after meeting the Governor, was recruited as a spy. At the biannual pirate meetup, which the Imperial soldiers found, broke up, arrested pirates, and implanted Agent Steve into the chaos. The crews were reformed with the pirates who got away, and Steve scored a place in Redbeard's crew, intending to report information back to the Imperial Soldiers on his whereabouts to lead to an arrest.

Steve began to enjoy the pirate life, and decided to become a captain of his own, ambushing Ironhook, assuming his identity, and taking his crew for his own.

 

MOC specifications:

1500-2000 pieces (I'm just guessing here: if you have a better approximation, let me know in the replies).

42 bricks tall (counting the flag)

Built in 2 days

19 minifigures (and one skeleton)

Edited July 9, 2024 by YellowFrog

[Horation]

A fitting story for Steve, one knows he would not dare spy on his own kin, his own flesh (after all, redbeard and he are clones of each other). 

Indeed, this looks like a lovely brawl, but for additional chaos, I'd add a few ice cream pieces for smoke on the muskets.

The tower looks well-built, with a great roofing technique and some small details on the walls.

However, it doesn't fit the other part of the build (the pirates' camp). One would expect their meeting to be in a secluded area, and not next to a small tower in flawless shape that would surely draw attention to them. It'd be easy to make it look like ruins so as to improve coherence.

 

The beach is well shaped, but the black water, I must say, looks disappointing, as it damages the colourfulness of the whole build. Either replace it or use a piece of blue paper/cardboard like @Juhlhaus.

A good selection of aptly-posed figures rounds out the entry. 

There's a lot of skill behind this, and with a little more time, it'd be even better

 

Edited July 10, 2024 by Horation
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[NOD]

A diorama with lots of action. The biannual pirate meetup right in front of the fortress is a funny story. The fortress is well built and I like it. I also like the pirates' festival activities. But the black water, it would be good if you changed that.

[SpacePolice89]

I think the dark blue water looks great. Maybe a storm is on it's way or maybe it is night?

[Horation]

1 hour ago, SpacePolice89 said:

I think the dark blue water looks great. 

Arguably, if there was more darkness on the building (ex: dark green vegetation), it would look more in tune.

[SevenDeadlyStreamers]

2 days!? Well done, especially with all the wonderful details and storytelling. I don’t have any critique since you pulled together such a large comprehensive build in just 2 days! 

[YellowFrog]

I know a put a fair few photos, but the video is out now on Youtube if you want to see more about this build.

 

[Andy-Roo]

Great build! I think you've scaled the building well for this size of a diorama. I agree with the others that the dark blue water feels a bit heavy, but I wonder if part of it is the contrast or just the color ship within the camera. Often the colors we see when we build do not always translate completely to a camera. I still struggle to photograph anything with black bricks for this same reason.

I like that you're able to connect both of Steve's lives in one scene! It does feel like he is in over his head. 

[Math Wizard]

Ahoy once again Matey!

I’m still sailing these seas and I hear that polly wants another critism sandwich!

Ye did a great job buildin’ this, especailly in just two days! I love the reference to yer other build, with all the clones scattered throughout. 

I only have a few small nitpicks with the build. The first is the change in color partway up the building from tan to white. If you didn’t have enough pieces of either color you could have mixed them to create weathering, but I think the clean break looks a bit strange. The only other thing that bothers me is the biggest palm tree. Something about the thick smooth trunk, or maybe the green pieces, just doesn’t feel quite right to me. Other than that, the build looks great!

It was hard to pick just one favorite from this build, so here are a few. I really like the technique used for the roof- quite effective and good color choice! Contrary to others, I also really like the contrast of the navy water and yellow sand- I think it really pops! I also like a lot of the smaller details in the build- from the golden hinges on the fortress door to the chef cooking up some fish.

Fair Winds Matey!

[Horation]

I'm starting to be swayed by the arguments related to the dark water ; it does look better after some reflection.

I actually quite like the palm trees ; they remind me of official Lego sets a little. 

[Math Wizard]

12 hours ago, Horation said:

I'm starting to be swayed by the arguments related to the dark water ; it does look better after some reflection.

I actually quite like the palm trees ; they remind me of official Lego sets a little. 

Come to the dark side... 

It's not that I don't like the palm trees, just that the one with the thick trunk seems off somehow

[Horation]

No, I shall stand with the light! 

Arguably, the big one is a little strange compared to the others, perhaps it is because there's an officer hiding inside?

[Autumn]

I don't mind the colour of the water, but I think it looks a little flat and could be improved by adding some highlights to it, like some lighter blue to highlight waves washing along the shore or some crests here and there.

Besides that I think it's a good build and like the authentic colours chosen for the building. It's a nice shape too with, especially with the tower, it would make a good standalone set.

[SevenDeadlyStreamers]

On 7/14/2024 at 7:30 AM, YellowFrog said:

I know a put a fair few photos, but the video is out now on Youtube if you want to see more about this build.

 

Thanks for posting this! Im know you said there’s a fair bit of photos, but you need a lot to showcase all the features you’ve managed to pack into this massive build!

[BardDandelion]

Nice job with the roof. These new tiles work perfectly as roof tiles.

Plenty of things was already mentioned but I didn't notice comments about the presentation. I think that this build would look much better if you got some kind of uniform background. I personally recommend using big paper sheets. They come in various colors and are rather cheap, for bigger builds just use two. 

Second thing about presentation is light. It is crazy how much may be changed in final photo if you only use different lightbulb. Your photos are a bit yellowish - usually it comes from the warm light of a bulb of too low color temperature. I find 5000-5500K lightbulbs to be the best. They provide strong, white light which in my opinion is the best for MOCs photos.

[Horation]

White light is perhaps best for MOC pictures, but it isn't as good for most other things.

Personally, yellow looks a little old-timey so it seems best for historical MOCs.

[BardDandelion]

@Horation Can't agree with that.  White light is the best for photography in general. There is a reason why all official LEGO photos (yeah, I know these are mostly renders these days but they mimick photos) are taken with white light that for example does not distort the colors. 

Other light colors (warmer yellowish/reddish, colder bluish) could be used in some specific cases when you go for some specific effect or atmosphere in the photo. Eg. you want to have effect of scene lighten by fire - you need warm light. Cold light could be used in hospital or on spaceship. 

[Horation]

I guess it depends on the situation, I don't like it. But you are correct that it has its uses.

[YellowFrog]

23 hours ago, BardDandelion said:

I find 5000-5500K lightbulbs to be the best.

I don't quite have the luxury of selecting a light for the purpose. I just use the light I have.

[BardDandelion]

Is it really a luxury? When compared to the amount of money spent on LEGO, lightbulbs costs almost nothing. It should cost a dollar or two at most. And in my opinion this helps a lot and improves presentation significantly.

[Christophh]

Hey! Great work on this awesome MOC, i especially like the Imerpial Fort build. The Trees look good to, but I don't really like the yellow for the sand. I think tan works much better! But still nice MOC

[YellowFrog]

On 8/14/2024 at 6:20 AM, Christophh said:

I don't really like the yellow for the sand. I think tan works much better! But still nice MOC

Thanks for the feedback. I do agree, tan sand (and light blue ocean) would look better, but I have a constant surplus of yellow and dark blue, hence the choices.

On 8/7/2024 at 10:25 PM, BardDandelion said:

Is it really a luxury? When compared to the amount of money spent on LEGO, lightbulbs costs almost nothing. It should cost a dollar or two at most. And in my opinion this helps a lot and improves presentation significantly.

I was unaware of this, I'll look into it in the future. I thought you meant specialist photography lights.