How to make a mutant?

[Yzalirk]

What's the best way to make a good pure mutant minifig? Which parts would best be used?

[BlueberryWaffles]

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=12607pb05

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=973pb1105c01

Edited July 7, 2014 by Tolkien

[Faefrost]

What sort of Mutant are you looking for? There can be a rather broad range of subjects from X Men to tentacled horrors.

Some good references for how to do some really wild minifig customizations can be found in a few books.

http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=965 (volumes 1 and 2)

Also Jordan Schwartz's new book The Art of Lego design has a few sections on minifig customization

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-LEGO-Design-Creative/dp/1593275536

[Yzalirk]

http://www.bricklink...asp?P=12607pb05

http://www.bricklink...?P=973pb1105c01

Gross.

What sort of Mutant are you looking for? There can be a rather broad range of subjects from X Men to tentacled horrors.

Some good references for how to do some really wild minifig customizations can be found in a few books.

http://twomorrows.co...products_id=965 (volumes 1 and 2)

Also Jordan Schwartz's new book The Art of Lego design has a few sections on minifig customization

http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/1593275536

I'm thinking something along the lines of a Super Mutant from Fallout or a Ghoul from Fallout, not feral though.

Super Mutant looking like this...

Ghoul looking something like this

[Hrw-Amen]

Maybe the troll or goblin king from the Hobbit / Lord of the rings would be a good starting point for that type of mutant?

[Lyichir]

One part I might recommend is this: the arm from the Power Miners rock monsters. It's not quite like the pictures you posted but a large, knobbly club-like arm is a great starting point for a mutated fig. It fits onto regular minifig torsos just like a normal fig arm.

I think some other parts that might be useful would include minifigure parts from the Orcs in the LotR and Hobbit themes. This, this, and this are good options if you want the character to still have some hair. This might work if you don't want hair but still want to shape the head somehow. And don't forget about faces—many Orcs have wonderfully gruesome faces, like this fellow.

If you want to give your mutants a more animalistic appearance, consider Chima parts as well. All Chima figs actually have faces (usually double-sided) underneath their "masks", so adding a hairpiece or something to cover up the other face can offer some very freaky appearances. These three headsfrom the crocodile tribe are quite menacing. This gorilla tribe head is less threatening but might still look appropriately brutish. And there are plenty of others—I've simply picked some of the less animal-like, but if you want, say, a spider- or wolf-person, Chima has options for that as well.

The last bit of advice I can offer you is to try to use color effectively. Muddy earth tones like Dark Brown, Dark Tan, Olive Green, or even just regular Tan are all great. Ordinary flesh tones work too, especially if the decoration is sufficiently gruesome. Try to maintain color consistency (with parts adhering to a limited color scheme), but if you need to branch out, feel free—just make sure the colors you use look appropriate next to each other.

Hoping this helps!

Edited July 7, 2014 by Lyichir

[Yzalirk]

Maybe the troll or goblin king from the Hobbit / Lord of the rings would be a good starting point for that type of mutant?

I actually am considering using the Rancor (http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=11323pb01c01) from a Star Wars set as a "overlord" of some sort, but I'd need to find some minifigs that could look somewhat similar for minions.

One part I might recommend is this: the arm from the Power Miners rock monsters. It's not quite like the pictures you posted but a large, knobbly club-like arm is a great starting point for a mutated fig. It fits onto regular minifig torsos just like a normal fig arm.

I think some other parts that might be useful would include minifigure parts from the Orcs in the LotR and Hobbit themes. This, this, and this are good options if you want the character to still have some hair. This might work if you don't want hair but still want to shape the head somehow. And don't forget about faces—many Orcs have wonderfully gruesome faces, like this fellow.

If you want to give your mutants a more animalistic appearance, consider Chima parts as well. All Chima figs actually have faces (usually double-sided) underneath their "masks", so adding a hairpiece or something to cover up the other face can offer some very freaky appearances. These three headsfrom the crocodile tribe are quite menacing. This gorilla tribe head is less threatening but might still look appropriately brutish. And there are plenty of others—I've simply picked some of the less animal-like, but if you want, say, a spider- or wolf-person, Chima has options for that as well.

The last bit of advice I can offer you is to try to use color effectively. Muddy earth tones like Dark Brown, Dark Tan, Olive Green, or even just regular Tan are all great. Ordinary flesh tones work too, especially if the decoration is sufficiently gruesome. Try to maintain color consistency (with parts adhering to a limited color scheme), but if you need to branch out, feel free—just make sure the colors you use look appropriate next to each other.

Hoping this helps!

I was actually considering using some of these (http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?M=lor025) minifigs for the minions of the Rancor but I would like some other opinions as to whether it's a good idea or if there are better ideas.

Also, how do I post links yet having what you did?

Edited July 7, 2014 by Behemoth

[HawkLord]

I would also add in the Monster Fighters line if you can still find it. The zombie heads are quite good, as are the wolfman and sea creature.

[Yzalirk]

I would also add in the Monster Fighters line if you can still find it. The zombie heads are quite good, as are the wolfman and sea creature.

Alright, the zombie heads looked decent and the Werewolf looked pretty cool.

[Lyichir]

I actually am considering using the Rancor (http://www.bricklink...?P=11323pb01c01) from a Star Wars set as a "overlord" of some sort, but I'd need to find some minifigs that could look somewhat similar for minions.

I was actually considering using some of these (http://www.bricklink...em.asp?M=lor025) minifigs for the minions of the Rancor but I would like some other opinions as to whether it's a good idea or if there are better ideas.

Also, how do I post links yet having what you did?

You mean how do you post links that say something different than the URL? It's easy. In the rich text editor (which, being the default, is what I assume you're using), click the button you normally use to post links (with an icon of a chain) when you have text highlighted and enter the URL of the link you want into the box as you would normally. Voila! The text you highlighted will now link to the text you entered.

Want to get crazy? Okay. Click the lightswitch button in the upper right of the editor after you've posted a link like that. Now you can see how the code for the link works. For reference, the code for opening a link is [ url=the URL you want to link to ] (without the spaces inside the brackets). Then you type the text you want your link to display. Then you close it with [ /url ] (again without the spaces). You can use just this code for links in either mode of the editor. I often switch to the bbcode editor for posts like my last one, that have many links with similar text, just to make sure I didn't accidentally include one link twice and omit another, then switch back to look at what my post will look like.

Okay, back on topic. The Rancor parts could definitely be neat for a mutant overlord, but make sure to mix it up a bit, either by accessorizing it or replacing some of its parts with other parts. Otherwise when other people (especially Lego fans who are familiar with the origins of parts) see your model, they'll see your "mutant overlord" as just a rancor.

[Yzalirk]

You mean how do you post links that say something different than the URL? It's easy. In the rich text editor (which, being the default, is what I assume you're using), click the button you normally use to post links (with an icon of a chain) when you have text highlighted and enter the URL of the link you want into the box as you would normally. Voila! The text you highlighted will now link to the text you entered.

Want to get crazy? Okay. Click the lightswitch button in the upper right of the editor after you've posted a link like that. Now you can see how the code for the link works. For reference, the code for opening a link is [ url=the URL you want to link to ] (without the spaces inside the brackets). Then you type the text you want your link to display. Then you close it with [ /url ] (again without the spaces). You can use just this code for links in either mode of the editor. I often switch to the bbcode editor for posts like my last one, that have many links with similar text, just to make sure I didn't accidentally include one link twice and omit another, then switch back to look at what my post will look like.

Okay, back on topic. The Rancor parts could definitely be neat for a mutant overlord, but make sure to mix it up a bit, either by accessorizing it or replacing some of its parts with other parts. Otherwise when other people (especially Lego fans who are familiar with the origins of parts) see your model, they'll see your "mutant overlord" as just a rancor.

Okay, thanks!

So how do you recommend making this Rancor different?

[Lancethecat]

For a Super Mutant, you might want to try out Killer Croc from the older Batman theme. The zombies from the Pirates of the Caribbean line look like they might make for good Rancor minions.

If you have good faith in your MOC'ing skills, try building a brown, brick-built figure with axle holes on both sides to put the Rancor's arms in. That way, you'll have a unique-looking mutant overlord that still bears some similarities to the actual Rancor.

[Yzalirk]

For a Super Mutant, you might want to try out Killer Croc from the older Batman theme. The zombies from the Pirates of the Caribbean line look like they might make for good Rancor minions.

If you have good faith in your MOC'ing skills, try building a brown, brick-built figure with axle holes on both sides to put the Rancor's arms in. That way, you'll have a unique-looking mutant overlord that still bears some similarities to the actual Rancor.

Alright, I might try that.

[Lyichir]

Okay, thanks!

So how do you recommend making this Rancor different?

Hmm... it's tricky to modify large figures like that, especially with purist methods, since their parts are mostly designed to work with each other and not anything else. Given that the bulk of the Rancor's body is hard to modify I don't know how much you could disguise its origins as a Star Wars creature. I have a few ideas, though. Just be warned that I don't have the Rancor myself, so my suggestions may or may not all work, since I haven't tried them personally.

Firstly, its arms seem to attach with the same connection typical of Galidor parts. Unfortunately, Galidor predated the color used for the Rancor (Reddish Brown), but perhaps you could make something work with the Dark Red parts of the Ooni. I believe the Rancor's jaw is the same size as several other Lego animals' lower jaws, so maybe you could make something work there. Again, there's not a lot in Reddish Brown. But the Dark Orange or Olive Green T-Rex jaw might work, or even the Olive Green and Dark Green jaw from CHI Cragger. The hands aren't the most distinguishing feature of the Rancor, so changing them alone might not work that well. But if you do decide to, replacing the fingers and/or fingertips is an option. This part comes in Reddish Brown as well as several other clawlike colors, and this one comes in Dark Brown and will soon come in white (which, combined with a shorter finger like this one in Reddish Brown could give a creepy "exposed bone" look).

Beyond that I don't know what advice to give. Look at the Animal Body Part category on Bricklink in some of the colors I've mentioned, and if it comes down to it don't be afraid to create something brick-built.

[_epicster_]

Sakraan Soldiers have great torsos and heads for this type of thing.

[CrazyDalton777]

I know its not a Minifig but shouldn't this be in Minifig Customisation Works?