[MOC] Battle of New York - The Avengers(2012)

[citizen]

Hi, I am citizen, a teenage LEGO fan from Hong Kong. I have been following this forum for years, especially the Licensed one, but this is my very first post here, as I have just finally decided that I should register an account here a few weeks ago. As an introduction piece, I really want to have something that can impress you, and I think I just had one recently.(Hopefully, it can impress you :P ) So, here...we....go.....wait, wrong franchise! :o

Stark Tower - Front by city son

This is a creation I built specifically for a contest of another forum, Toys N Bricks. The topic of the contest was to build a scene right off the screen of either the first Avengers movie from 2012, or from the epic sequel, Age of Ultron, this year. As I haven't got the new sets, and I couldn't really take closer looks at Age of Ultron scenes until its DVD release(Can't wait for it!!!!!!). So I started out planning on scenes from The Avengers, but which one? It's a tough choice as I loved so many different scenes, Cap and Iron Man Rotor scene, Hulk punches the Leviathan, the forest fight.... SO MANY OF THEM!!! However the contest set a size limit without HEIGHT LIMIT, which immediately took me to the idea of building something tall, and when that came into my mind, it didn't take long for me to get to the iconic Stark Tower. Besides, the final battle in New York is like the climax part of the first film, so it makes sense for me to choose it if I wanted to build something impressive. :)

Stark Tower - Side 1 by city son

Stark Tower - Back by city son

Stark Tower - Side 2 by city son

Well, I didn't shirk, even though the contest only asked for a scene, I still pushed myself to use up all my brick resources to finish off every last side of the tower. One of the toughest part for me in this process is the lack of source materials, as in the movie, there wasn't much close up scenes of the "back" of the tower, so I just added a bit of my own imagination to fix that part. Sad thing was right after a few days I have finished this beast, LEGO Avengers Video Game new gameplay video on YouTube showed clearly how the back of the tower looks like, yet, I think my version can...well pass myself. Could be better though, could be. :(

Cap, Thor and Hawkeye 1 by city son

Cap, Thor and Hawkeye 2 by city son

Cap, Thor and Hawkeye 3 by city son

I tried to fill the whole screen up as much as I could, without making it a big mess, so I put something from the bottom to the top literally. Let's start from the bottom. I picked the scene from the very end of the final battle, where Cap and Thor are fighting side by side with the Chitauri Soldiers. Yeah, I put Hawkeye there as well, which has probably reduced a bit of accuracy here, but I thought it will be weird not to include the full team, while Hawkeye was supposed to be somewhere in/on another building far away and out of the scene. Trying to be original, I built those spear-like weapon in a really simple manner for one of the Chitauri Soldiers, not a big deal, but I am quite happy with that little touch.

Chitauri Chariot in action 1 by city son

Chitauri Chariot in action 3 by city son

For the middle part of the tower, I have built two different Chitauri Chariots, one 2-seat and one 1-seat, which are one of my favourite parts of this MOC. I built them in the very last stage of the project, but they turned out quite pleasing. To be honest, I can't stop playing and flying these little vehicles around my flat!

Two-seat Chitauri Chariot by city son

Two-seat Chitauri Chariot - Front by city son

One-seat Chitauri Chariot by city son

One-seat Chitauri Chariot - Back by city son

Again, for the sake of originality, I built my very own version of these alien chariots. I browsed through the web searching for tons of source materials, and based on those 2D stickers from the official set, I managed to connect all these gold pieces in every last ways I could think of. And it worked perfectly! Believe me or not, I have tried my best to build these blurry flying vehicles that appeared on the big screen shot by shot out of bricks! XD

Stark Tower - Rooftop by city son

Puny God face off 1 by city son

Close the portal by city son

One way trip by city son

The last part is the top of Stark Tower, which is the main focus of the whole build, and most of the actions happen right here. I have selected 3 iconic scenes from the final battle to be included here. The first one is the PRE-puny-god scene. Well, I did plan on having the Hulk smashes puny god scene in the beginning, but due to the limited scale, turned out it's impossible to fit the man with anger management issue in such a small room. Then, I chose the scene where Black Widow is ready to close the portal, while Dr. Erik is panicking at the back. (Sorry for not having a grey hair piece for Erik.) And finally, the part where Tony decided to sacrifice himself and take the nuclear with him all the way up, even though he knew it's a one-way trip.

S.T.A.R.K. by city son

Another "S" by city son

Apart from the scene, there were a few challenges I have faced through the build, or stuffs that I really wish you can see my effort. First, it's the STARK logo. I have browsed through the web to look for previous Stark Tower done by other LEGO fans around the world, and first of all, all of them are incredible, but somehow I felt like no one was paying the attention that the logo deserved. It's like the most iconic part of the tower, and it's the greatest fun to work with font. I am very very happy with the outcome myself, no sure what do you guys think. The other major difficulty I faced, was the large outer platform with the "S" in the middle. Took me days to find a way to make a perfect circle(almost ;) ), build an "S", and build smaller yellow circle around the "S" at the same time. Another great challenge is the weird curve "windows" on one side of the building. I didn't go with the way most people do, with trans bricks, coz I don't have those...BUT the real deal is all the angles and Maths. Try to build one yourself and you will find it really tough because bricks are not like paper, you can't really curve them up while placing them at an angle but still want them to have a smooth clear cut "straight" horizontal edge at both ends. I'd say it would have been better if I have enough 2x4 tiles to fill the whole lower half of that pile of windows.

I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this long boring introduction of my biggest MOC ever, and I really wish experts and master builders here can give me some constructive comments to improve myself, as there is always room for improvement, especially for a youngster like me :P.

Really enjoy all the cool posts and awesome MOCs on this forum, and last but not least, the voting is still on right now, so if you really like my creation and you are coincidentally a member of Toys N Bricks, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY you think mine is better than other really cool builds from other contestants then I humbly welcome one or more votes from you! Thank you once again for taking your time reading my long long post! =D

Edited July 18, 2015 by citizen

[mediumsnowman]

Incredible! I love how the Stark logo turned out. The Chitauri vehicles are awesome, much better than the officials. It must have been tricky to master all the angles on the tower! My only gripe would be I don't really like all the exposed tan around the base of the tower. It might help to cover them up with light bluish grey times or something. Anyways, great MOC and I can't wait to see what else you build!

[wilson3a10]

That is great build!

[Legocity2713]

First of all, I must congratulate you on this job well done.

I really find the Chariots well done and very accurate.

The forced perspective style build on the street is awesome and so is the tower itself.

The "STARK" lettering at the top is pure genius and none of the colors clash on the overall build. Amazing!

Truly a spectacle of Lego creation and I would go as far as to say this is borderline Lego art.

If I were you I would proudly display this in a gathering room such as the kitchen or living room for everyone to admire.

Great job man and since your first mission was to impress us, I'd say you truly did.

I can't wait to see more from you.

All the best,

Legocity2713.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Legocity2713

[Hobbythom]

An awesome build ! The chariots are great!

[Lancethecat]

The attention to detail here is incredible! I love the STARK lettering and the Chitauri Chariots!

[Steph 104th]

Wonderful build, this is a great display piece. I especially love your Chitauri chariot's

[kevkipo]

Thumbs up to you, love the chariots

[mqbui1]

I rarely comment but I had to log in to say a few words..

I love the STARK logo. It looks perfect. The overall shape and details are fantastic-- amazing job.

[Spader]

Very nice detailing! Keep it up!

[BBBeavarr]

This is beautiful! Gorgeous detailing on the chariots and the "Stark" lettering is just perfect. I also love the work on that terrace.

Amazing job!