[SoNE Episode VI] Oh, the Uniform!

[VK-318]

So what does this make me, mail-delivery specialist? Add to that that the best way to find Boba Fett is to find his ship, the Slave I. Normally, this would be a great idea and really rather simple, once you know which planet he's on, and we did, more or less. But finding a ship on Fondor is a challenge akin to finding a Jawa on Tatooine. It's the proverbial "needle in a haystack." So, instead of trying to find Fett's ship, I've opted to look for the man himself.

That's why I'm wandering around the back streets of Fondor, trying to find one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy ... and give him a thank-you card. Pathetic, no? Oh, and did I mention, the Rebels are looking for him to? Probably for a reason other than giving him thank-you notes.

At least, some of them are. I really must try to find out how it is that Rebels can slip so easily past our customs system. And evidently not all Rebels are very attached to their mission, since these three came out of a grungy casino, proceeded by the odor of hard liquor.

The clone armies crafted by the Kaminoans were given pure white armor as a symbol of their fearlessness. The white was a challenge to the enemy, since by its high visibility it insinuated that the enemy lacked the skill to hit even the most obvious targets.

These Rebels wasted no time in taking that challenge.

But they were, I judge, green recruits, and quite inebriated, while I am a combat-seasoned fighter and stone-cold sober. Final score: Rebs 0, Volker 3. Two of them would have their hangover headaches somewhat amplified thanks to my armored fists, and one might well never wake up at all. I didn't take the time to set for stun.

Now. Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was trying to find Fett.

OoC: I made some modifications, after receiving posted advice from BEAVeR, MstrOfPppts, and others. The original post should be in spoiler tags below.

So what does this make me? Mail-delivery specialist? Add to that that the best way to find Boba Fett is to find his ship, the Slave I. Normally, this would be a great idea and really rather simple, once you know which planet he's on, and we did, more or less. But finding a ship on Fondor is a challenge akin to finding a Jawa on Tatooine. It's the provervial "needle in a haystack." So, instead of trying to find Fett's ship, I've opted to look for the man himself.

That's why I'm wandering around the back alleys of Fondor, trying to find one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy ... and give him a thank-you card. Pathetic, no? Oh, and did I mention, the Rebels are looking for him to? Probably for a reason other than giving him thank-you notes.

At least, some of them are. I really must try to find out how it is that Rebels can slip so easily past our customs system. And evidently not all Rebels are very attached to their mission, since these three came out of a grimy little dive, proceeded by the odor of hard liquor.

"Well," one of them drawled, "Look what we 'ave 'ere. He's an Imperial spy, laddies, or I'm a Hutt!"

I tried to talk my way out of the situation. "A spy? Just a moment! How dare you accuse me of being a spy! As a matter of fact, I'm with the Rebellion. I've got orders from Alliance Command to track down Boba Fett here on Fondor."

"Very funny," the leader of the Rebels said. "You're an Imperial, anyone can see it."

"Prove it!" I said defiantly.

For an answer the youngest Rebel just pointed at me. "Take a look, buster," he said.

I did. "Oh, the uniform." Bother!

It was a pretty short fight. I lost. Need I say more?

[OoC: I'm really rather proud of this lamppost. We'll probably see it again, many times.]

Edited 9-26-14 to correct a typo (proverbial for provervial) and adjust a too-small font size.

Edited September 26, 2014 by VK-318

[Yzalirk]

Looks good VK! I like the light post as well, it looks very Star Wars-esque.

[MKJoshA]

I really like your use of inverse slopes combined with the curved brick sections! That is beautiful. Your lamp post is also simple, but very nice. I like seeing you use the old sunglasses mini-fig head on the Rebel. Seems to really fit the drunk rebel look for some reason.

And on another note. You have just landed the most troops on the last free planet. Congratulations Empire. You've scored all the easy points. Now where are my fellow Rebels?

[Wat Tambor]

Nice little buildig!

Maybe you could have added a barkeeper and some bottles and glasses inside the building if you show us a photo of the interior.

[VK-318]

Nice little buildig!

Maybe you could have added a barkeeper and some bottles and glasses inside the building if you show us a photo of the interior.

I'll see if I can work that out. When I build it, I was mostly looking for the look of a dark interior (hence the black back wall). I'm collecting recommendations, and I'll make some modifications once I have a few ideas. The issue with changing the interior is that the roof of this little pub is really, really hard to take off and put back on without causing it to disintegrate. Thanks for the idea, though, I'll see what I can add. Maybe some bottles and glasses for the rebels, too.

[-Horizon-]

Nice build VK, I really like how you designed the building.

Edited August 10, 2014 by lego3364

[markus1984]

And the next MOC from the Empire - i like

Here i can also say good work at the build and a nice story!

markus

[BEAVeR]

It's a bit funny that a lot of builds depicting SoNE have the bars as subject... Oh well, at least it got us this wonderful building.

I really like what you did with the shapes. Combining round and angled sections isn't evident, and you came up with the most wonderful combination of both in that incredible inverted-cone-like shape. Amazing! The arc in the doorway and the round elements at the top complement this nicely. However... The sharp corners don't really match this. I'm referring to all of the squareness on the roof. Those pointy tiles (and the quite bar corners of that same arc brick) 'stick out' too much for my taste, and ruin the aesthetic of the building a bit for me. Of course, a bar doesn't have to be an architectural masterpiece, but still, this one can be the exception. So my advice would be to cover up the arc brick with cheese slopes (maybe you would make a construction with jumper plates to make some kind of fronton, but I'm not too sure about that). And the tiles at the top could be replaced by some kind of SNOT construction (possibly showing of more of that grated cheese), emphasizing the use of angles in your build a bit more. That would also tie the top and the bottom part of the building together better, since now we have that beautiful and complicated bottom, and then that rather (relative, of course) simple top with other architectural clues. Your good ideas will come out better when you are more consistent in your building.

I like the general shape of the bar, somewhat resembling an African hut (almost wrote an extra 't' there ). If you could bring the building a bit more forward (literally), by placing that side wall back by a stud (or two), then the round shape would totally dominate the scene, and it has right to. Talking about that wall. I don't really like it, not next to the nice bar. It lacks... industrial elegance. I would suggest to move the greebles that are barely visible at the side of the building here, in a narrow strip of vertical details. It could possibly fulfill a function. It could e.g. be a public phone boot hologram communication unit (I'm not making this up!), or a credit-withdrawal machine to go to the casino's (I might be making that one up). Just to give that wall more purpose, both to us as viewers, and to you as builder, because it is often hard to find inspiration for something as plain as a wall.

A note on color. I know Fondor is supposed to be a bit colorless, but there is a much clearer way to insert color than those (I'm sorry to say) kind of pointless lights in the building. A sign. Why not have a (possibly modest) sign to advertise for the bar. The top is a perfect place for this, or just above that arc. It would be a nice way for more color and more angles. Who knows what you can come up with! A kind of jokey sign sounds just like you! So time to get creative! My compliments, by the way, on the lamppost. The combination of the two translucent pieces gives some nice colors. The shape could be a bit more refined. Why not use one of those minifig cups (6269 e.g.), or a bottle or one of those chemistry-bottles. These would allow for a bit more refined shape, more like a lava lamp (imagine lava streetlamps!) You could also make use of the bottom part, maybe for advertisements or a small electricity cabin, or you could elevate the foot of the post a plate to make it a bit more interesting.

Overall, you have a very nice build. That round building is especially nice, and I appreciate little touches like that grill tile that is a bit slanted (now don't tell me that wasn't on purpose ). I think there are more opportunities for you to shine though, both as a good builder with that angle-thing, and as the humorous person you are! So I am eagerly awaiting that update. I hope I got your inspiration running free!

[MstrOfPppts]

There's some very interesting arhitectural details in this build and I agree with eveything BEAVeR said (yes, I've read the whole post ). But I really think that the bar is far to small. It can barely fit all the rebels and it has no interior. I think that when being restricted in dimensions, the only right thing to do, is to make a cutout. Make only the part of the building and it'd look much better. Also the front wall could be taller and some adds for the bar in trans colors would revitalize the MOC a bit. The lamp is a very nice touch and well made. As for the story, I've already commented on the comical side of your build in your next MOC (warping through time), so I'd just add that those rebels would clearly kill you, unless they were really so drunk but in that case you should have handled them yourselve. You're an Imperial trooper after all, or have you been drinking too? I guess I have some more work and investigation to do in our ranks ...

[VK-318]

I made some modifications to the build; the original is in spoiler tags.

MstrOfPppts: to your point concerning the size of the establishment, this is a cutout; though it wasn't at all clear before, I didn't intend that little thing to be the whole establishment. It should be clearer now, but I again didn't create a detailed interior because I lack the parts I would need and wanted to focus attention on the action out front. And as regards your comments on the story (or stories), I agree these first two builds were a little ridiculous. Frankly, I wasn't in a writing mood when I composed them, and I did a sloppy job. I hope I've fixed that now, and I hope the (much more subtle) joke I've inserted in this build is noticed and is more to the general liking.

Edited September 25, 2014 by VK-318

[VK-318]

Sorry about the broken images. I got up this morning and Brickshelf is down again! I'll try to find a way to get them up, but I'm going to be out of the house until 10 p.m. CST or later.

Edit: The images are back up. Judges, MKJoshA, sorry for the inconvenience.

Edited September 26, 2014 by VK-318