[SoNE Ep. VI] 1 - When did the killer become the hero?

[BEAVeR]

What an absurd mission we’re on. Giving a “thank you” card to Boba Fett. Has the Empire really lost its mind? But I won’t complain. For once, we’re on a peaceful mission with a positive vibe to it. For once, no killing, voluntary or involuntary, on purpose or by accident, significant or insignificant. Just crossing the galaxy to say thank you. It’s a pity that such a nice act comes forth from a whim of insanity. But a lot of beautiful things are born in disease…

“We’re approaching the surface. Landing gear stand-by”

The Sentinel-class landing craft I’m piloting has one of the few cities at the surface of Mon Cal as destination. This planet is probably the easiest one to find the bounty hunter, since I don’t see that craft of him going under water. So only a troopers were needed per city.

[soNE Ep. VI] 1 - When did the killer become the hero? by Bert.VR, on Flickr

They’re in the back now, talking. They seem quite excited. Not only to be practically on leave. Not only to visiting a nice peaceful planet (and way better than looking for droids in the desert). No, most of them seem to be excited to meet him.

“Have you heard he has tamed a Wampa to be his pet? Really. Or that all of his pillows are made from Ewoks? Really. Or that he once killed a Gorax with nothing but a mouse droid? Really. And o, that mouse droid! Did you know he stole it right from under Vader’s nose? Really. Really, that man can do anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if he survived getting eaten by a Sarlacc…”

“Yes, he can do anything…” (that one wasn’t much of a talker)

“But he’s quite frightening too. Who knows what his next target will be. Maybe my head will be the next trophy on his shelves, in between the pink of the ambassador of Alderaan and a tooth from as space slug (that he killed because he helped captain Solo escape)… Maybe I don’t want to meet him after all.”

“Are you mad? You’re might meet the most feared person in the galaxy – after Lord Vader of course (you never know who’s listening) – and you want to run away in fear. You don’t make sense.”

“Yes, imagine meeting the man who did all of those great deeds. I think I will faint.”

It just keeps going on. They seem Fett’s personal groupies. And for what? What has that foul bounty hunter ever done to become such a hero? Sure, that Wampa, Gorax and space slug stuff… But since when did a killer become the hero? Is murder the new cool? He might be skilled in what he does, but so is a trash collecting droid. He’s just a diva.

I hope the others will see that when they meet him, but I’m asking too much of them. Let them adore him. What harm will it do? Let them adore the killer instead of becoming him. Let us all enjoy war instead of making it. It are our deeds that define us.

I feel lacking. What are my deeds? I have only done things I regret. Do I regret myself? I wish those deeds never took place. Should I stop to exist? Isn’t there more to me than my deeds? And what more can there be to that bounty hunter? He has done enough deeds. But does that make him superior to me?

“Stand by for landing”

Let’s just give him the card and let’s go.

_____

LXF File here.

The whole thing actually fits on a 16x16 plate. It is build in such a way as to stand upright, and there's no limitation on height

[soNE Ep. VI] 1 - The proof! by Bert.VR, on Flickr

And I know, it looks bigger on the inside. And it looks ugly on the outside...

Edited August 11, 2014 by BEAVeR

[-Horizon-]

Nice Forced prospective Beaver. The cockpit is so detailed.

[VK-318]

I think it's time I started that therapist freebuild, now that I've got the right hair for it.

Really great build, though, BEAVeR. Remember my remarks last time, about the declining appeal of your builds? You've fixed that. This is really terrific.

And that's quite the ... interesting exploit. I hope it makes it past the judges; this is too fine an entry to loose to a technicality with Ninja Nin making signs of returning.

[goatman461]

I'm envious of that lighting, it's so hard to get black greebles to show up correctly

[Wat Tambor]

Well that's one clever technique to creat a scene with a forced perspective on a base that is limited to 16x16 studs.

I like the buildings in the background and they remind me a bit of the buildings on Kamino.

Do you have any images from the architecture on Dac, the home planet of the Mon Calamari? Because I have found non yet.

[Yzalirk]

This is impressive! Did you make this in LDD by any chance?

This may be my most disturbing post yet because this is my 666'th post...

[plew2000]

Good work Beaver. Your LDD builds are amazing but the text is even more (satisfying?) Great job!

[Nom Carver]

Wow! your creations and bob's, are the only digital designs I like to see, they look so awesome, this one is very ingenious.

[MKJoshA]

Wow. I wish they made that helmet in white for real! NPU! And I am a HUGE fan of your story! You've really struck a chord talking about how everyone loves Boba Fett. It's true that he has more fans than many of the heroes of the SW universe have. And for what? Being mysterious and cool? Way to dig into that!

[Dapper-D2]

I love the all white city (I did the same with my build) and the cockpit and center console are nicely detailed. Will you ever resolve that inner conflict?

[markus1984]

Absolut amazing!

Cant write so many words in english how you do everytime , but i can only say really stunning work!

Love how you make 16x16 in this MOC .

Great job

markus

[BEAVeR]

I can't express my gratitude towards you. Thank you guys! For liking the (somewhat fishy ) build and the story!

I think it's time I started that therapist freebuild, now that I've got the right hair for it.

Really great build, though, BEAVeR. Remember my remarks last time, about the declining appeal of your builds? You've fixed that. This is really terrific.

And that's quite the ... interesting exploit. I hope it makes it past the judges; this is too fine an entry to loose to a technicality with Ninja Nin making signs of returning.

I'm glad that you begin to like my builds, you with your keen eye. It's strange that the fewer pieces I use, the more you seem to like it . I'm glad I succeeded in pleasing you. And the therapist isn't as needed as in last episode. Not yet...

And about the judging. The episode host didn't mention anythin, so I think we're okay (and you're right, we have to be careful with the return of N.N.). Besides, if it is not okay, let's say the city is part of the photoshopped background, and only the cockpit (that fits on a 16x16 in the 'regular way') needs to be judged. We'll leave it to the judges, but I think we're somewhat okay.So no need for a therapist, and no need for a lawyer here (no offense to all of the therapists and lawyers reading this, your help is welcomed!).

I'm envious of that lighting, it's so hard to get black greebles to show up correctly

Well, I don't know a thing about 'actual' photography, but here is my idea of how to get black builds to show up nicely. You will probably know that we perceive details on monochrome surfaces by the slight color changes. Mostly, shadows are responsible for this. But on a dark build, these shadows aren't easily visible (black on black), and thus it is way harder to see what's actually there (BTW, this is why they say wearing black makes you look skinnier: you can't see the shadows, so you can't judge how... protruding someone's belly is. With white clothes, on the contrary, everything is easily visible). So we can't use shadows to make things clearer. The only option I see is then to think the other way round. Let the highlights do the talking. Point a strong light towards the build, and all of the surfaces directly facing the light will have a distinct color from the rest. The more reflective your pieces are, the stronger the effect. So cleaning your pieces and possibly making them a bit wet with water would make things more easily visible. And if these tips don't help enough, there's always the possibility to go to a photo-editing program and play with the contrast and brightness of the image. I hope these little tips can help everyone to make better darkness. I for one had a lot of fun (and work) thinking how to make it look good, and it's a great compliment to me that you envy the result .

Well that's one clever technique to creat a scene with a forced perspective on a base that is limited to 16x16 studs.

I like the buildings in the background and they remind me a bit of the buildings on Kamino.

Do you have any images from the architecture on Dac, the home planet of the Mon Calamari? Because I have found non yet.

I couldn't possibly pass on the forced perspective, as it seems like I did it in every odd episode! I really like doing it, and if it takes nasty tricks to get it, that won't stop me. Glad you like it. And glad that you also like what's actually built. Most of the inspiration indeed came from Kamino, and from the pictures I found when I used the search term 'Dac Star Wars' on Google. that will take you far enough.

This is impressive! Did you make this in LDD by any chance?

Yes, I did. You can find the LDD file at the bottom of the post. Thanks for the huge compliment, though! I spend a lot of time making things look as realistic as possible, and getting comments like this is very rewarding. I'm glad people can enjoy digital builds as well as (not completely, but close enough) the actual stuff. Otherwise, I could only give you big stories with pictures of a minifig on a plate...

Wow. I wish they made that helmet in white for real! NPU! And I am a HUGE fan of your story! You've really struck a chord talking about how everyone loves Boba Fett. It's true that he has more fans than many of the heroes of the SW universe have. And for what? Being mysterious and cool? Way to dig into that!

It's a bit strange some of you think that the buildings are white. It might be the lighting, but the buildings are actually light grey. The helmets are supposed to be metallic, but that didn't render very nicely. But I assure you, I only use pieces in colors that are available in real life! No cheating from me on that part. I'm glad enough I'm allowed to enter LDD builds (thanks for that ), and I'm not going to abuse that privilege. But glad you like the parts usage, it was a bit hard to get the detail in there, and I think these pieces make the micro part more interesting, so glad you noticed it.

And of course, I'm really honored that you, the master story teller, enjoy my little essay on the popularity of Boba Fett. It's a thing that puzzles me in real life as well, and it's good to know I'm not the only one.

I love the all white city (I did the same with my build) and the cockpit and center console are nicely detailed. Will you ever resolve that inner conflict?

Thanks for the compliment! I really tried to pay attention to the details, building such a small vignette. And about the conflict. I think I will resolve it... In fact, I have it completely planned out, but unfortunately I couldn't really fit it into the story of this episode, so I guess you have to wait a little bit longer, and listen to me and my everlasting conflict a bit longer. I hope you don't mind.

All of you, thanks for your nice input! This conversation is what makes SoNE such fun, so thank you for giving all of us a great time!

[Brickdoctor]

Very clever use of the space there. Nice work.

[MstrOfPppts]

You cheeky bastard is all I can say . It's an interesting approach with the way you turned your creation, yet I think it's a bit of a nonsense. I always prefer creating MOCs as pieces that could be set on display rather than just using them for one photo. And having size restrictions might mean you only have a very small table to display it on which you could do with your MOC too, but would look rather unappealing set up as a 16x16 creation.

Anyway, the build is outstanding and I really love all the detail of the cockpit. The size seems just right for two pilots and all the levers and other things make it look awesome with that nice bluish lighting. The same goes for the micro built city which looks amazing too. Yet here I have another major complaint and it's the usage of the helmets in unexisting colors. Bare in mind that the first episode was real LEGO only and that you and Bob did a great step forward with LDD being allowed. Now don't push it too far, since it's still a "competition" after all - and with prizes this time - so you should not have any kind of advantage over the players using real bricks!

Sorry if I sound too harsh (again), I just felt it needed to be said ...

Edited August 17, 2014 by MstrOfPppts

[VK-318]

Yet here I have another major complaint and it's the usage of the helmets in unexisting colors. Bare in mind that the first episode was real LEGO only and that you and Bob did a great step forward with LDD being allowed. Now don't push it too far, since it's still a "competition" after all - and with prizes this time - so you should not have any kind of advantage over the players using real bricks!

Actually, someone already asked him about those helmets. He answered thusly:

It's a bit strange some of you think that the buildings are white. It might be the lighting, but the buildings are actually light grey. The helmets are supposed to be metallic, but that didn't render very nicely. But I assure you, I only use pieces in colors that are available in real life! No cheating from me on that part. I'm glad enough I'm allowed to enter LDD builds (thanks for that ), and I'm not going to abuse that privilege. But glad you like the parts usage, it was a bit hard to get the detail in there, and I think these pieces make the micro part more interesting, so glad you noticed it.

[MstrOfPppts]

Whooops, I knew I was too fast yesterday, I must have entirely missed that part of conversation somehow. Sorry again about that. But it's the easiest way to blame it on the render and lighting ... Yet I do agree that the metallic colors in LDD (nonrendered) really look strange. I think they're all far too light. Well in that case, I must say that the city build would look much better in white!

[VK-318]

Whooops, I knew I was too fast yesterday, I must have entirely missed that part of conversation somehow. Sorry again about that. But it's the easiest way to blame it on the render and lighting ... Yet I do agree that the metallic colors in LDD (nonrendered) really look strange. I think they're all far too light. Well in that case, I must say that the city build would look much better in white!

[LucasLaughing]

Another excellent build! I really like the amount of detail you've put into the cockpit. In particular, I like the Head's Up Displays and the pilots' chairs.

As others have mentioned, very creative solution for dealing with the size restriction. I think pilot players have their work most cut out for them in episodes like this, so your work around is very clever.

Your story continues to be very engaging, and I'm looking forward to seeing where you take it next!

[Disco86]

I always love a good forced perspective. Definitly going to copy the style in some of my next builds. With a much larger background this may look even better.

But you really made the best out of 16x16, and these LDD-pictures are really looking good !

Edited August 20, 2014 by Disco86

[Jacob Nion]

Wow that's great! The inside of the cockpit is amazing. I didn't even notice that it is digital. Very creative idea especially for a "boring" water planet

Good luck

[Aland1916]

Clever idea and great entry!