[MOC] Clifford The Big Red Dog (50th Anniversary)

[someguy827]

Happy Boxing Day everyone!

I finally decided to build one of my favourite animal characters! I also wanted to challenge myself by building something organic (I typically stick to more industrial and spaceship based designs) so I'm very happy with how I managed to avoid the uncanny valley with Clifford.

I'm very proud of the shaping used to create Clifford's head, which would've been impossible if not for the introduction of the new 3386 1x1 SNOT brick. I also wanted to give Elizabeth the possibility to stand on Clifford back, so I included a 1x3 jumper plate that can be swapped out with a normal 1x3 tile.

 

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Getting Clifford's torso shape down took three months and resulted in over 10 different versions being created (most of those versions either looked like a cylinder train car or a blimp). It was extremely difficult to make him look both cartoonish but also realistic to the Giant Vizsla breed that he is based off of. I'm also very proud of how his paws came out, which are constructed around a single 4595 piece. Clifford is also fully posable, which took many attempts to make his hind legs movable and flush with the rest of his body.

The original idea was to create a dollhouse that could open up (very much akin to 10228 Monster Fighters House), but I didn't find that necessary as the inside of the doghouse wasn't interesting enough to justify a full interior.

I'm extremely proud of the walls on the inside of the house. The wall is split up into several modular components which all have clips on the bottom and top, which are all slid into place next to each other on flexible hoses in the top and bottom of the doghouse.

I wanted to also throw in some interesting piece usages, so I decided to make the shrubs out of hair pieces (part number 20595). They're all either arranged with Tow Ball joints or 1L mechanical claws.

Clifford also represents me trying out Lego Ideas for the first time, so if anyone is interested in supporting him by clicking the link in my signature I would appreciate it.

Thank you for checking Clifford out, I'm already planning out my next animal based build so I would love some feedback on him.

[Murdoch17]

My youngest sister would love this as a set, and she doesn't do Lego. She loved the early 2000's Clifford cartoon TV show, and I'll bet she would love this to pieces.

As for my thoughts, it looks good, and accurate too. My criticisms are more for the creator of Clifford itself than for you (and you don't have to answer these, but it's just me wondering out loud as I've always had them since I was a kid):

If he really he is this big, how does Emily's father pay for his food / upkeep? (Is he laundering money for the mob or something?!?) what about vets bills? (That'd have to be a SERIOUS needle to give him his shots!) Also, where in the heck do they dispose of his waste?  They are on a island.... it's not like they can encase it in concrete and sink it the bottom of the ocean right? (The EPA would have a holy fit if they did)

...anyway I digress. I just have so many questions I will never get the answers for, and probably don't want them anyway if I did get them! 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Murdoch17