Project Black Brick

Hello fellow Eurobrick members, After I watched the Asoka Tv series I was inspired to re-create Captain Rex in his iconic phase 1 armor using custom created graphics and waterslide decals. When it came to the design of the figure I could have taken the easy route and copied Lego design for the current phase 1 trooper however that's not me. Instead I spent time going over every detail of my refence material from the Asoka Tv series to ensure the end project meet my personal requirements. One import idea I kept in my mind when creating the design was ensuring it still kept and integrated with current Lego minifigure graphics. I would love to read your feedback and if you have any comments on how I could further improve this figure I would appreciate it so the next figure is even better.

Welcome, as a fellow Star Wars customizer I find it a joy watching fellow creators like yourself create your own versions of these iconic helmets. I do have a few suggestions on improving the accuracy of the phase one helmet. The side's notice how it tapers inwards and while looking over refence material the sides should be straight up and down with no curve. Moving to the back I'd move the part that flairs outwards to meet with the indent V and maybe give that flair a bit more upward curve? Reference photo from the 501st Legion Databank

Either printer type inkjet or laser will yield excellent results however I personally went with a laser printer. The convenience of printing out a design and being able to apply to the object immediately is worth it. Unlike with an inkjet where you will need to apply either 1-3 coats of clear coat onto the waterslide decal paper to prevent the design from washing away when submerged into water.

I’m happy you like the design. Sure I can send you a google doc link for the file is there any particular preference on file type? I personally use SVG files and a program called Inkscape for all my designs best part is it’s a free program.

I enjoyed designing this decal since it was pretty straight forward. Let me know your thoughts and if there is anything I could improve?

Hello Twisters, Let me see what I can do about designing these tiles for you. I should have something to show you in the next couple days. EDIT: I was able to quickly design these three 1x2 decals

Humm, you bring up a good point on which technique should be used. In my own opinion I would use a fine tip brush and apply light coats, let dry and repeat till full coverage is achieved. Reason I say this is because of all the small nooks the paint needs to be applied to. I also think if applied in a thick coat it might crack when bent? Sorry I cant be more helpful.

You're very welcome. Inkjet printers are not necessarily horrible for decals. I would go into your printer settings and see about turning up the DPI ratio to max. The true advantage of a laser printer when it applies to water slide decals is not having to seal the paper before application. Simply print, cut out and apply.

The overall figure is quite good, however there is an issue that if fixed would make this an outstanding figure. Before I move onto the improvement I'd first like to point out the positives. You did an excellent job creating the custom elements which help set your figure apart. The saber I would give it a 10/10 right there. The detailed hilt design, the painting all excellent. The same could be said about the head piece. Now what lets this figure down is the torso design. You've got the application of the decal perfect but the low quality and blurry image just don't do the figure justice. Once you fix the torso design the figure would go from good to outstanding. P.S If your needing help with decal design please reach out to me. I can help create a set of custom decals for you to use.

Are you trying to say turn the dark red sections into dark tan? Trying to figure out what you mean by turning all silver to red because I thought I accomplished that. Sure I can change the scarf and belt from gold to red. Bright red or dark red?

That's easy enougth.

Alrighty, Just post in game screen shots when you can of the minecraft figure. Let me know if I need to make any changes. To be used on white decal paper. To be used on clear decal paper with a red minifigure torso.

Seems easy enough to design both figures. Your Minecraft skin can you send in game screen shots a front and back photo?

Hello, It's been over 10 years since Lego has released a animated phase one clone trooper. Crazy right?! Lego minifigure design language has changed quite a bit during that time. My project I'm working on is designing a animated phase one clone trooper based upon the TV show in the current Lego minifigure design. I'm looking for helpful feedback to further perfect my design. I've started working on the torso I'd to perfect that before I move onto the other parts of the figure. Reference photos for comparison. All rights to the design belong to Project Black Bricks do not copy or sell Project Black Bricks designs without written consent and authorization

You are quite welcome. Here is the decal version of the design. Send me photos of the figures when they are finished I'd love to see them.

I see what you mean by the eye brows being too flat. I've corrected that and changed the color of the belt to dark purple.

You've got it! I designed a happy face to go along with the angry face also included is the front torso design. Still need to adjust the torso decal however you get an idea and can input your suggestions.

I've made corrections to the colors and started working on the next figures design. For the face I couldn't tell if the lines are light grey or dark grey so I made both just let me know which one you want to go with.

Thank you for those wonderful compliments. I’ll adjust the colors to your specifications probably tomorrow for me. Question for the next figure you have requested does he also have a four arm torso or is it just a regular torso? The figure is black so I’m assuming you’ll be using white decal paper? I’ve found that when using white decal paper it’s best to have the decal background color be a large square to minimize the white color from showing through. Gosh it’s so hard to explain this. Unless your perfect at cutting waterslide decals you want the design to be a large Black square to avoid any white lines from showing up.

First off welcome to Eurobricks, I'm trying to understand your question and I need your help. What is UTD stand for? Do you have any prior experience with creating a custom figure? I'm not trying to put you down I'm trying to understand your skill level and where I can help you. Reference photos would help myself and any others willing to help you. I look forward to working with you.

Happy Friday! I was able to work further on your design. Let me know what you liked and disliked so I can make changes. Another topic I wanted to bring up with you is color. If you could create a color palette for me to use that would be so helpful.

Gold is a difficult color to use when designing decals which is why I used a yellow and orange colors. By providing me those color codes I was able to make the changes to the design rather quickly. Color is one of the more tricky aspects to design work. Everyone's screen shows the hues slightly different than when you print out the decal the colors could be entirely wrong for Lego so you've got more adjustments. What type of application process are use using? And the colors in this decal I generated by taking samples off the reference figure.

No need to apologize I under stand the difficulty of conveying your ideas to someone else using only words. We'll just keep this back and forth dialog making changes to the design as we go. You mentioned about the color? what colors need to be tweak so I can make that adjustment for you.

Impressive, it's taken me a few minutes staring at the photo to take in all the details/ custom touches you've created in this diorama. I'd enjoy seeing photos of the stand alone figures and explaining all the custom touches.

I've never designed decals for a four armed figured honestly didn't know Lego created that type of figure till now. I've got two designs one is a regular lego torso and the other is a lego torso plus a half. I taken your comments and changed the abs back to a regular six pack I've got some tweaking to do but you'll get the proof of concept.