MOC: Gotham City Museum Heist

[Captain Nemo]

Gotham City Museum Heist

Batman! A new villain has commandeered the Gotham Museum. He's frozen the antiquities wing, he's turned the security guards into blocks of ice, he's calling himself, Mr. Freeze! 

For my latest build, I decided to go back to a build concept I set my eyes on years ago, the Gotham City Museum Heist. I love to come up with new build concepts, which unfortunately means I more than frequently don't actually build most of them. For instance, I originally ordered the custom chromed pieces for the Mr. Freeze you see here, like four years ago? And I'm just getting around to this build now! 

As we all know, Batman & Robin is a masterpiece something-that-happened, and yet the gaudy styling and subtle use of neon still inspire us today. I wanted to pay tribute to the greatest of Batman films with this piece:  

Like the film that inspired it, this build is a lot. There's a lot. There's just a lot. 

As is now my custom (of wasting parts), it has full 360 degree detailing. Because I bring everything to conventions now, I'm always making sure that each and every side of my builds have something going on. The interior represents the frozen museum and its artifacts; while the exterior represents scaled down outside and the large bulky body builders who support it. As is hopefully evident, there are many many lights incorporated into the build. All of them are 3rd party (Lifelites, my brand of choice). I lost count, but I think there are around 70 individual LED lights. It takes around, again lost count, 18 AAA batteries to power up fully.  

Exterior

And like the common TARDIS, the interior is too big for the exterior!  

I custom made stickers for the "Gotham Museum" sign, by printing out lettering from my inkjet onto transparent label stickers. This was a technique I stole picked up from @Silver.Smith & @Evensong 

To support the heavy weight of History, I constructed some very appropriate Spartans, to work that History, work it good. The right side also features banners for the legally distinct Dinosaur portion of the Museum. 

The left side features two large air ducts, which have frozen over from the mayhem inside. The symbol above the perfect specimen is a custom tile by Chrome Block City. Chrome Block City is the custom seller, based out of Poland, who I get all my chromed bricks from, including Mr. Freeze seen here. I'm not sponsored, I just like his stuff. He used to have a Bricklink store, but now he has his own site--if you need custom chrome; that's a great place to get it in my opinion. 

Interior 

Lots of ice! That's most of it. This is a build I'm really excited to bring to conventions (when that's a thing again), because all of the lighting makes it so fun to look at, if not frustrating to photograph. One of the notable bits of the interior are the two floater columns. These are used to blast light onto the build, so as to make it more visible in the dark. They are also designed to work well in convention settings, in that when displayed on the table, they'll give the impression that floorspace for the build is larger than it actually is.  

Despite having some floating columns to make the build seem larger, this is actually one of the deepest builds I have created. The walls are almost as thicc as the men who hold them up. 

The columns are all made of sand red cylinder pieces, which are rare but not really expensive. I know you were thinking about it. It was mostly just a chore to get enough of them--I had to buy from at least six different vendors to get enough. Additionally as is customary for my builds, I plastered stickers everywhere. The columns have most of the stickers, are almost comprised from only three sticker sheets, but like most of the stickers on the sheets. (it's these three)

Removing the floating columns reveals a still large build, but with a slightly better look at the frozen Brontosaurus!  You'll also see the four frozen lamp posts; they add some nice lighting to the build and some design flair. The two brick high base for this build is present because I needed to run wiring under all the flooring, which itself is rather overly elaborate.  

Now, before Mr. Freeze invaded, this was just your standard run of the mill, over the top museum. And you can see remnants of that still under the ice. The large Aztec inspired pyramid is both beautiful to look at and full of literally feet of wiring! It is largely hollow, both so that I could have space to hide the six? battery boxes inside and leave open air space for internal lights to brighten up the levels. 

Also in the museum, Robin the boy wonder is getting mauled by non-exhibit Polar Bears. Moving along. 

To create the ice, I grabbed whatever transparent blue brick I could find. That's mostly true! I used a combination of light, medium, and dark transparent bricks, slopes, and other odd bits all in the hopes of getting some nice lighting moments. It kinda worked out. I also used some 400? --again, bad with remembering numbers!-- unicorn horns in light blue to really give the ice a spikey aesthetic. Forgive me please, I ran out, I still have to add some more in. 

Here we see Mr. Freeze, standing at the peak of the icy pyramid. I'm really happy with how much light I was able to work into the structure, despite ultimately not getting as many individual LEDs as I would have liked. Yes, it needs more lights, don't judge me. 

Batman, meanwhile, is playing hockey with some of Mr. Freeze's goons. The Batman figure is custom made by Brothers Figure. 

Behind them is a poor frozen Security Guard. He was technically the first thing I built for this creation--I think I made him some 7 or 8 months ago. Not that I worked on this for that many months--just that it takes me forever to get around to finishing some things! The hunky Mr. Freeze goon, named Dylan probably, uses a custom torso by Citizen Brick. 

 

Brontosaurus

Next up is the large dinosaur, which was really intimidating to build. One of the reasons it took me so long to get around to actually constructing this build was the fact that it is generally just a lot! There's a lot of components to the build, so looking at it from a distance can be intimidating. But--like always it is helpful to break things up, so the Brontosaurs was essentially the last thing I built, and surprisingly it was rather easy to build; it only took a day or two. 

While seemingly large, it was difficult to incorporate all the wiring within him. He has his own separate battery box imbedded within his chest, and I had to work around weaving wiring for the lights up his neck and down the tail. He does have some limited movement, but largely he is designed to be supported by his pedestal in the museum--even if that pedestal is a bit small! 

Also for fun, Batman can clime and ride the Brontosaurus! 

 

 

Mr. Freeze 

Now the part you all scrolled down to, immediately, Mr. Freeze! When I decided some four years ago, that I wanted to do this Batman & Robin homage, I knew immediately that I had to have a chromed Mr. Freeze. Fortunately, as noted before, I was able to get every part I needed in chrome from Chrome Block City--actually without needing to make any special requests, he had all the parts I needed already chromed, which was great. If I remember right he cost about the equivalent of four MSRP Mr. Freezes at the time. So not crazy.  

Mr. Freeze does have his standard mech-fig range of motion, via the mixels ball joints, although I will say the chrome does make it a bit tighter than normal! Still, I'm shocked at how well he photographed! 

Like him, Mr. Freeze's goon are very fashionable. They have varied winter hats and fishnet leggings. The shining winter shoulder coverings are also magnificent, and they reflect some of the light.  

While he does not sport Polar Bears in this movie, I felt is was appropriate to give Mr. Freeze some here. While this build is inspired by Batman & Robin, it's characterization is inspired by The Lego Batman Movie. I love the over the top nature in that film, both in the styling and in the characters--so you'll see that reflected in all of my newer Batman builds. Plus it's hilarious that giant Polar Bears look tiny next to him! 

 

And of course, the two stars together! 

 

Thanks!

Thanks so much for checking this out! This is one of those dream builds that you never know if you'll actually make. It's also one of those nightmare builds where you never know when it's gonna end! So this has really been a satisfying experience seeing it come together, and I hope you had a fun experience checking it out! 

[deraven]

Wow.  It really is... a lot.  But a lot of awesome packed in there!  

The whole thing is wonderful and will keep show visitors examining it for a long time.  The ice effects are really well done, especially with the guard frozen mid-stride!

That dinosaur, though, is spectacular.  The shaping, posing, and icing are all delightful.  

[lego_guyon02]

Wow, this is an amazing build! I love how everything came together, from the museum itself to the ice and the characters.... I love it! The Brontosaurus and frozen security guard are probably my favorite parts of the MOC, they're ingeniously designed 

[RedHoodPug]

This is brilliant, so much detail to go through so I shall highlight the three things that made me laugh 

1. the Spartans pointy man nipples (™️ Chandler Bing) 

2. the goons err, exotic evening attire 

3. the fact it took me ages to find Freeze in your initial photos, when he’s hiding right in the focal point
 

Again, cracking stuff, always enjoy your builds, especially the DC ones.

[JintaiZ]

Absolutely gorgeous! I've always been impressed by your builds!

[Kristel]

Awesome build!  The brontosaurus, not Mr Freeze, is the real star for me.

[Surge]

WOW!!! This is amazing. I especially love the cop frozen in ice. the way its looks like hes being blown back is so cool!

[Pisces no Aphrodite]

Batman and Robin ?

[spiderfan2000]

That looks very cool! 

[Alex THELEGOFAN]

Jawdropping ! I love all the clear pieces used for ice and the whole museum !

[peedeejay]

Just plain awesome. I'm shivering while looking at it! :)

[sander1992]

What killed the Dinosaurs?

The Ice Age!

Wonderful build! The sculptures are really nice. The lighting in the ice is fantastic!

Thanks for sharing! 

[Elysiumfountain]

If I remember anything about that film, it's the enormous statues and ice puns. Absolutely spectacular! Those details are incredible, and so much ice! 

[CF Mitch]

Holy crap on a cracker! This an amazing build. It's so big and contains so many details, absolutely fantastic!
Thanks for sharing, I'm gonna go back and look at it some more

Regards,
Mitch

[The Stud]

Wow, this is such a cool MOC! 
 

Seriously though, nicely done.

[DrJB]

Simply fascinating build. Thank you for sharing.

I've been collecting Trans parts for a while, and now realize there are many more shapes I was not aware of.

[TheLegoDr]

This is incredible. A lot of details packed in there. I may one of the few that actually liked that movie. It was full of camp and that made it fun. I love Nolan-verse Batman of course, but these mid-90s movies were still enjoyable. Plus it had a killer soundtrack.

Back to the build. I Love the variance in ice with the different blues. Clever. The dinosaur scale is impressive. The security guard has good shaping being frozen.

Well done overall!

[Anonknee Muss]

The detail is incredible! I love the choice of colour as well as the use of light. Conveys the same themes from the movie. Awesome job!

[MKJoshA]

Great homage to both the George Cloney film and the Lego Batman movie. Love your use of sand red for the pillars. And those Spartans are the perfect touch!

[makoy]

This is mesmerising to look at... hypnotising.... 

You did amazing on the lighting and the excessive but excellent use of transparent parts. 

[cosmic]

So many thoughts. You did so good with the floor work and did a great job of not making the ice look messy and clutter the space. Instead the symmetry on many of the ice daggers was appealing to look at and the details on the interior are fun to look at. Its like a game of Where’s Waldo with all the figures, poses, and action sequences happening under these beautifully lit ice pieces. I instantly recognizes the references and think you did a great job with both the exterior and interior. I’m not usually a fan of half built structures and prefer a fully enclosed approach to making buildings but this was super effective. The dinosaurs were also brilliantly constructed and I love the impact the lights have on the overall image.

 

Fun Fact I grew up watching Batman and Robin and it was one of my favorite movies growing up. I was surprised to find out as an adult it was a universally despised film, it was and continues to be a favorite for me. I guess when you enjoy something as a kid it just sticks with you. Then again I was also shocked to hear Shrek 3 was unpopular. I loved that mess!!

[JACKATTACKS]

Wow. This is incredible! (Or should I say cool ) The details that have gone into this thing are insane!!

What type of lights did you use? Are they the power functions lights or...?

 

[that_lego_builder]

this is INCREDIBLE 

[badgerboy]

It's so, so fantastic. I think I'm in love with the Brontosaurus!

[The Stud]

I just saw this MOC on display at Brickworld Indy today. I was even more amazed by the intricate detail than I already was when I’d seen pictures of it months ago. Kudos!