[ENTRY][SMALL] End of the Pier

[Elephant Knight]

While waiting for a Bricklink order to arrive to complete my large entry, I put together this small entry. A count of the parts is about 190 parts or so.

End of the Pier 

Steve, an honorable merchant at the time, has gotten himself mixed up with a gang of scallywags. Double cross the wrong person doesn't end well, and when you double cross the Duke of Peurto Jasono, he sends his hitmen after you. And one of those hitmen is a 7 foot tall man known as Drake Dagger! Steve isn't (too) intimidated, but as he slowly backs away from the angry giant, he soon realizes the pier is a lot shorter than he anticipated!

End of the Pier 

End of the Pier  

I've been wanting to try out the 'tile and various shades of blue' for water technique for a while now, and I saw that pier technique on a MOC, plus I wanted to use a 4 Juniors fig, because it was legal, and this is the result. I would have put a border around the base, but I wanted to keep it as a small entry.

EKnight

Edited July 20, 2024 by Elephant Knight

[Samarth]

This is such a nice idea, using the 4+ fig as a large guy!

[thewatchman]

Really incredible build!

 I love the beach design, the tree and clever use of the 4+ figure. 
Love the water colour gradient too.

[Mister Phes]

9 hours ago, Elephant Knight said:

You've managed to squeeze an entry into your busy schedule!

And boldly incorporated a 4+ figure into your build - @PxChris will be so proud!

End of the Pier has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

That 'tile and various shades of blue'  technique has turned out fine!

[Elephant Knight]

On 7/21/2024 at 12:05 AM, Mister Phes said:

You've managed to squeeze an entry into your busy schedule!

And boldly incorporated a 4+ figure into your build - @PxChris will be so proud!

End of the Pier has been incorporated into the Entries Index.

I actually have another entry built, a fairly decently sized ship, but just waiting for a Bricklink order to come in to photograph it.

As for the 4+ figure... well, I saw it was legal. so I knew what I had to do.

EKnight

[SevenDeadlyStreamers]

You put a lot of character into this small build, well done! And I like this take on “walking the plank”

My only critique would be to add some danger once Steve falls from the pier. Maybe some rocks or a classic shark!

[Horation]

I'm not worried much for Steve if he's in such skillful hands as yours! 

The water and the the tree both use a similar gradient technique effectively, so I have to praise that, and that character from the 4+ range is cleverly threaded into the story and build. 

My one critique is the fact that the whole build looks surgically clean (almost no studs at all), I'd maybe add tension by removing a part of the pier to make it seem like it is on the brink of collapsing, but all in all, me thinks this is good, I'd give it maybe 4+ out of 5

[Elephant Knight]

On 7/24/2024 at 6:01 PM, Horation said:

I'm not worried much for Steve if he's in such skillful hands as yours! 

The water and the the tree both use a similar gradient technique effectively, so I have to praise that, and that character from the 4+ range is cleverly threaded into the story and build. 

My one critique is the fact that the whole build looks surgically clean (almost no studs at all), I'd maybe add tension by removing a part of the pier to make it seem like it is on the brink of collapsing, but all in all, me thinks this is good, I'd give it maybe 4+ out of 5

Those are some good points. Steve really isn't in much trouble if he can swim. Perhaps that is why he is still smiling.

And the point about the lack of studs is a good one too. My MOCs generally aren't so studless.

[Math Wizard]

Ahoy Matey!

They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment).

Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. A short story, yet fantastic at conveying exactly what is happening. And of course there’s the added suspense of not knowing what will happen next- Will Steve fall? Fight back? Something else? Can he even swim?

It was a tough task to come up with a critique for this build, as it looks quite good already. I might rotate the tiles for the water 90 degrees, and then stagger each row by a stud, in order to make it look a wee bit more natural and less grid-like. I would also be good to use paper that doesn’t have holes in it in the background, or perhaps just edit them out of the current photo. 

It was hard for me to pick out me favorite part o’ this build. I really like the water gradient, the pier design, and of couse the 4+ figure. He really adds to the story in a phenomenal way!

Fair Winds Matey!

[Horation]

Yeah, that holed paper looks a little too strange, it's easily fixed by adding a blank sheet underneath, so no worries there.

And I absolutely agree that the dock is too clean, I think that by now you have enough suggestions to "fix" the docks.

[YellowFrog]

I like the spacing of the planks on the dock, and the larger figure is clever too. Whilst I originally wasn't keen on it, the longer I look at the image, the better it seems. Well done!

[Elephant Knight]

On 8/2/2024 at 4:12 PM, Math Wizard said:

I would also be good to use paper that doesn’t have holes in it in the background, or perhaps just edit them out of the current photo. 

 

On 8/2/2024 at 7:22 PM, Horation said:

Yeah, that holed paper looks a little too strange, it's easily fixed by adding a blank sheet underneath, so no worries there.

Funny thing is, it's not paper, It's because my "white box" is a leftover cabinet from my work, turned on it's side. Those are holes for adjustable shelving. I've been using it for quite some time, and had been wondering if anyone was going to notice.  

EKnight

[Math Wizard]

4 minutes ago, Elephant Knight said:

 

Funny thing is, it's not paper, It's because my "white box" is a leftover cabinet from my work, turned on it's side. Those are holes for adjustable shelving. I've been using it for quite some time, and had been wondering if anyone was going to notice.  

EKnight

Interesting! I thought it was the old matrix dot continuous printer paper 

Either way, it should be pretty easy to edit out-- just a quick swipe with a healing brush or clone stamp, depending on the software. 

[Horation]

You thought we weren't going to notice, how much you underestimate our willingness to nitpick for a few more replies! (kidding)

Yeah, I use certain software where you can sample any colour on the picture, so you sample a bit near the hole, and fill it up, shouldn't take more than a few minutes

 

[Autumn]

I had hoped to forget all about those 4+ figures. It's still a clever way to use one, wouldn't want to mess with him!

I like the way you made the pier with headlight bricks, especially the one subtly loose board. The water gradient technique looks really nice too, the only thing I think you could do to improve it is create some motion in the water by using slopes to make waves. Some trans clear pieces to simulate splashing around the posts would look good in my opinion.

Also I agree that there should be something dangerous in the water to up the ante, like a giant squid!

Edited August 6, 2024 by Autumn

[BardDandelion]

Such a nice little build! This is a great example that proves that crazy amount of parts and fancy techniques are not needed to tell the great story. Here with one photo we see everything and we know and understand everything. And Steve does too - his look into the camera is an awesome detail, it's like he wants to say to us that he is screwed. :D

[Elephant Knight]

5 hours ago, Autumn said:

I had hoped to forget all about those 4+ figures. It's still a clever way to use one, wouldn't want to mess with him!

I like the way you made the pier with headlight bricks, especially the one subtly loose board. The water gradient technique looks really nice too, the only thing I think you could do to improve it is create some motion in the water by using slopes to make waves. Some trans clear pieces to simulate splashing around the posts would look good in my opinion.

Also I agree that there should be something dangerous in the water to up the ante, like a giant squid!

I was hoping someone would notice the loose board. It is indeed very subtle.

I was trying to keep the MOC under 200 parts, I definitely felt a bit restrictive on how to do the water. @Math Wizard mentioned it was very gridlike, and I agreed with that statement even when building it, but again, piece count.

Perhaps I shall expand the MOC after the contest. I do have a fair bit more tiles to work with.

EKnight

[Horation]

That sounds like a great idea, a contest should never be the end for a MOC.

I would say replace a few tiles with slopes (one tile per slope, so it stays at 200) and that should be that, albeit do of course consider simply reorienting some tiles so as to break the grid pattern

[BardDandelion]

@Horation got it right - changing orientation of tiles should help. As was mentioned - our monkey eyes immediately notice this grid pattern and this breaks the immersion. Applies not only to tiles on the surface but also to bricks in the wall. Notice that even using masonry bricks instead of regular one generates this regular repeating pattern that should be break to get better, more natural, less boring effect.

[YellowFrog]

I've just noticed the coral frog - what a peculiar inclusion. Is it a real frog? A piece of coral? Something else?

[Autumn]

7 hours ago, YellowFrog said:

I've just noticed the coral frog - what a peculiar inclusion. Is it a real frog? A piece of coral? Something else?

I didn't notice it before either until you said something. It must be a reference to TLG's obsession with inserting frogs into everything these days. It adds some colour but no idea what it is besides a frog.

[Elephant Knight]

13 hours ago, YellowFrog said:

I've just noticed the coral frog - what a peculiar inclusion. Is it a real frog? A piece of coral? Something else?

Mostly it means "I own a coral frog", but it could be interpreted in so many other ways. It's left to your imagination to decide!

EKnight

[Autumn]

7 hours ago, Elephant Knight said:

Mostly it means "I own a coral frog", but it could be interpreted in so many other ways. It's left to your imagination to decide!

EKnight

Is the coral frog a status symbol? Asking for a friend.

[Elephant Knight]

16 hours ago, Autumn said:

Is the coral frog a status symbol? Asking for a friend.

Not intentionally, But I do have 4 or so, I got them at a Lego convention. They just popped out of my animal bin, it's a bright colour.

EKnight