Gabe Posted September 13, 2011 (edited) I've been wanting to tackle bird forms for a while now, and recently looking at Schfio's wonderful tree sparrows really inspired me to get into it. I've also entered this MocOlympics thing over on MOCpages, and with the theme "spring" on offer, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a start at last! So without further ado, here is my entry for round one: Spring has actually arrived early in Melbourne this year. I am a keen birdwatcher and one of the joys of spring is seeing the local honeyeaters enjoying the early blossoms. My Moc is of a New Holland Honeyeater, quite a common bird in Melbourne, often seen and heard in native parkland. The tail is a little bit short still, but otherwise everything is reasonably accurate - i think! ;) The model is over twice as large as the actual bird, a deliberate decision as i wanted to improve the smoothness of the shaping. The hardest part was trying to get the damn thing to stand up under it's own steam! It took quite a bit of fiddling (and quite a lot of cursing) to arrive at this point. Btw, for those interested in my reference material, here is an image of a New Holland honeyeater from my Flickr. Enjoy, and thanks for taking a peek! Edited October 9, 2011 by Rufus Indexed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted September 13, 2011 Well, I taught I taught a tweety bird, 'gabe'. Just AWESOME, and with detail - a huge and Brick On ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XimenaPaulina Posted September 13, 2011 An excellent creation gabe, I love your attention to detail especially the white and yellow highlights in the black body. Great job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cecilie Posted September 13, 2011 Wow, that's a very well created bird! Looks really authentic. Great posing too, I can see how that was difficult . And I like that flower design as well, nice little detail . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Cam Posted September 13, 2011 Write, this is not what I was expecting when I entered this thread. It's very realistic looking and proportionally it looks good. Very impressive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schfio factory Posted September 13, 2011 What's nice bird! It looks natural! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bayou Posted September 13, 2011 Waouu... it's amazing. It's the first time I see a bird of this size in lego, great idea and great MOC ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe Posted September 14, 2011 Well, I taught I taught a tweety bird, 'gabe'. Just AWESOME, and with detail - a huge and Brick On ! Haha, thanks LT! This certainly won't be my last bird - i might try an owl next. An excellent creation gabe, I love your attention to detail especially the white and yellow highlights in the black body. Great job! Thanks! I redid those wings a couple of times, so i'm glad they came out well. Wow, that's a very well created bird! Looks really authentic. Great posing too, I can see how that was difficult . And I like that flower design as well, nice little detail . Thanks! Don't tell anyone, but i have no idea what that flower is supposed to be. I had some vague idea of making a cherry blossom branch, but those flowers tend to come in bunches. Oh well. Write, this is not what I was expecting when I entered this thread. It's very realistic looking and proportionally it looks good. Very impressive. Thankyou! Although now i'm interested in what you were expecting to see... What's nice bird! It looks natural! Thankyou so much, for both the compliment and the inspiration! I'm a big fan of your wildlife sculptures. Waouu... it's amazing. It's the first time I see a bird of this size in lego, great idea and great MOC ! Thanks, glad you like it. There are a few bird moc's around, i know Mike Doyle's ReMocable website has a whole page of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roamingstop Posted September 15, 2011 Sometimes someone (like you) will make a model which redefines what Lego can be used for. I remember Marco Bessa talking about a Lego tray (as part of his job application process)... and this in way above in the league of 'different'; and well executed. If this were a model in the new Lego Wildlife series (like Architecture) it would fly out the shops... literally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe Posted September 18, 2011 Sometimes someone (like you) will make a model which redefines what Lego can be used for. I remember Marco Bessa talking about a Lego tray (as part of his job application process)... and this in way above in the league of 'different'; and well executed. If this were a model in the new Lego Wildlife series (like Architecture) it would fly out the shops... literally. Thankyou for yr kind comment! I'm not so sure about "redefining" though, after all quite a lot of people have tackled brick built animals at various scales, but i do hope that i bring something of my own individual style to the subject matter. I am hoping however, that this will become part of a larger project that i have in mind, one which i don't think has been attempted before. I'm keeping it under wraps for now cause it may not come to anything, but certainly i'll be experimenting with some more bird forms in the future! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tanma Posted September 18, 2011 Okay this is scary good. The details are incredible, from the nice talons to the branches the bird rests on. I find it hard to believe that this is your first bird, it is just too well crafted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trent Posted September 18, 2011 This is unreal - I didn't expect to see something of this size when I opened the thread. The details are wonderful, especially the talons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legostein Posted September 18, 2011 Hello! A wonderful bird, and a great combination of building techniques! Slopes for the belly, plates for the back. You merged everything into a lovely shape. Cheers, ~ Christopher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) Okay this is scary good. The details are incredible, from the nice talons to the branches the bird rests on. I find it hard to believe that this is your first bird, it is just too well crafted. Aw shucks, thanks for the lovely compliment! But, you know, i think it's a common fallacy to think that we need to learn how to build different things over and over before we can produce good work. Certainly having a familiarity with the subject matter helped me, as did my building experience in other themes, but mostly i think it was just a lot of close observation, and re-working shapes where i didn't feel it was quite right, until it finally came together. I'm still not entirely happy with the result, and i hope to do better next time, but then don't we always? This is unreal - I didn't expect to see something of this size when I opened the thread. The details are wonderful, especially the talons. Thanks! Everyone loves the feet it seems. I couldn't have made them without those new modified plates with the triple bar handles you get in the Ninjago dragons - they are such a useful piece! This build rests almost entirely on them. Hello! A wonderful bird, and a great combination of building techniques! Slopes for the belly, plates for the back. You merged everything into a lovely shape. Cheers, ~ Christopher Cheers Christopher! I lost count of how many hinge parts hold this thing together - building it was a bit of a hinge tutorial in itself. Edited September 18, 2011 by gabe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites