Basiliscus Posted April 12, 2008 Hi guys, technically I have been registered for this website a long time, but this is one of my first recent posts. For those who are interested, I nearly came out my dark ages back in August 2006 (when I registered) but didn't Anyway, in January I officially came out from my dark ages and have been relatively busy constructing various MOCs. Some of you who read Calvin's Legoland Times may have seen Legaña featured there. In this post I present to you some of the town MOCs I have been working on. Legaña is a Hispanic nation so everything has Spanish-sounding names - I, however, am not a native Spanish speaker so the words probably are not very accurate! Hopefully, the pictures will be links. Firstly, the flag of the glorious nation. Made from bricks, naturally! The link should take you to the whole folder. Second, the Hospital in Santa Maria. Well actually, builders constructing it! I need to order some parts from Bricklink to finish the roof and I hope to do that in the next week or so. Next up, El Presidente giving a news conference. El Presidente (The President) is called Pedro Cuahchic and came to power in a coup in February. This link will take you to the gallery (when moderated). More on El Presidente now, this time him arriving to meet his ministers on the red carpet. This link will take you to the gallery (when moderated). Lastly for this post, El Presidente receiving a speeding ticket whilst driving his new sports-car. This link will take you to the gallery (when moderated). In case you are wondering, the reason there are so few pictures is because I have a medium sized collection at present and I enjoy building dioramas where only Lego is in the photo (i.e. no carpet etc). Most of the dioramas are constructed so that this is possible for one angle only, and it gets boring to see the same photo from the same angle only zoomed in or out a bit. Once my collection expands (and I have space to build, another limiting factor at present) then I should be able to take more photos when I build something more substantial. Hope you like it. I'd appreciate your thoughts and comments. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xzanfr Posted April 12, 2008 Hello, basiliscus. I really like the theme you've chosen... the 'el presidente' dictator character is great. I can see how you feel the camera tecnique is limiting (as you're staging photographs like a director) but the overall effect is excellent. Do you position the camera early on in the build and then construct around it or simply find the best position after construction? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Basiliscus Posted April 13, 2008 I really like the theme you've chosen... the 'el presidente' dictator character is great. Thanks mate. I really love Mexico and it's history (and food!) so it was kind of a natural choice. I also did a little bit of Spanish when I was at school and enjoyed it. I enjoy history and have lots of books on the Aztecs, so they might appear at some point too. El Presidente is modelled on the various Latin American leaders who have surfaced over the years, I am quite pleased with the style - I feel he looks Hispanic! Do you position the camera early on in the build and then construct around it or simply find the best position after construction? Usually I just imagine what would give the best shot and model the scene to fit. For example in the scene with the red carpet it is made up of 2 baseplates, if you were to pan the camera left or right you would see my carpet! Sometimes I assemble a scene thinking it is substantial enough to get one decent photo but I then have to expand it when I realise it's not big enough. It can be tricky, but I like the effect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xzanfr Posted April 13, 2008 I think it's the 'tash that makes it so south american - the chap in the centre of the first construction picture looks truly hispanic - good job!. I know what you mean about the food - I've got 11 chilli plants on my window cills waiting for a bit of sun. It's interesting about the way you select the point of view for the photographs. Taking the pictures can sometimes be more enjoyable than construction! Being able to fill the frame with model makes a huge difference to the pictures - I've recently taken some (with limited results), and found the ones where the whole frame is filled to be a lot better - especially those taken from a minifig POV (which I've calculated to be my camera balanced on an ipod!!). This also has the advantage of stopping people posting comments about your carpet or being caught in a reflection 'with your trousers down', like master yoda in another thread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asuka Posted April 13, 2008 An interesting project with some cool MOCs, I like especially your neat patrol boat and that fine black limousine. Your pictures´re pretty good too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Minifig Lecturer Posted April 14, 2008 Hey, I hope you take other pictures that include the carpet than the few you upload. Each diorama deserves many pictures The prez should get a pile of penalty points, forget about money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tedbeard Posted April 14, 2008 Very nice. As a fan of vexillology I especially like the nice simple flag. I have added Santa Maria to the Gazeteer of Cities, Towns and Villages on BrickWiki Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Basiliscus Posted April 15, 2008 Hey, I hope you take other pictures that include the carpet than the few you upload. I'd like to but I am too much of a perfectionist! The prez should get a pile of penalty points, forget about money. Definately - but he creates the laws so he is unlikely to be heavily punished. It's sort of a one-party democracy if you see what I mean! I have added Santa Maria to the Gazeteer of Cities, Towns and Villages on BrickWiki Thanks man - I appreciate it. If you wanted you could make the link the brickshelf folder which can be found here. That way when it is updated people can see the most recent things. Is that ok? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tedbeard Posted April 15, 2008 (edited) Thanks man - I appreciate it. If you wanted you could make the link the brickshelf folder which can be found here. That way when it is updated people can see the most recent things. Is that ok? Whatever works for you. I linked to the article because it was more entertaining than just a simple BS folder but I did also link to the Legaña Brickshelf folder. I will make adjustments and see if I can work all three in there. Edit: Your link is to the main Legaña folder which was already linked so I have left it the way it was. Let me know when you make a separate folder just for Santa Maria and I can add it in. Edited April 15, 2008 by tedbeard Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Basiliscus Posted April 15, 2008 Sorry tedbeard, I didn't notice the Brickshelf folder was already there! There won't be a seperate folder appearing for Santa Maria so the way you have it configured now is great. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Front Posted April 15, 2008 A nice series of scenes. Those bodyguards at the news conference looks like not messing about. Front Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
