GoN2Broadway

After the apocalypse, groups of survivors joined together to survive the aftermath. One group calls themselves "The Collective" - an elite group of survivors with access to pre-apocalypse technology and weaponry. The following are the members of The Collective. About two weeks ago I decided to try making figures similar or based on figures by another wonderful Custom Figure creator - JasBrick. In his Blog, JasBrick takes the time to show that anyone can do these figures - and I hope that this shows that with a little work anyone can do this as well. Collective Member 1: I did all the painting including the skull figure on the helmet. Collective Member 2: This soldier survived an encounter with a species that has acid for blood. Collective Member 3: This soldier also survived an encounter with a species that has acid for blood. Collective Member 4: Collective Member 5: Collective Member 6: Collective Member 7: Collective Member 8: Collective Member 9: Collective Member 10: -This particular figure is an homage to JasBrick and one of my favorite figures of his. Collective Member 11: I hope you like my creations - Look for my posts on "The Wanders", "The Mechanoids", and "The Corporation". My Flickr Page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49756387@N02/

These figures have been done quite wonderfully - and the chroming of the various elements really adds another dimension to the figures! If you have the time I would love to know the process you used to do this. I thought they might be electroplated with chrome, but that's a very expensive process to get into as well as involving work with carcinogenic chemicals and the need for special waste disposals. In addition, the multi-toned (gold and silver chrome)/multi-layered chrome effects make me think this is an application process rather than electroplating process. I don't know that much about the electroplating process, but it seems to me that it would be very difficult to get multiple sections different chrome colors (the spear is a great example). If you used a product to "chrome" them, I would love to know what you used as I have several elements that would look amazing in chrome mixes. I must also add that I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the application of the chrome - every detail of each of the Lego elements can be seen! Really wonderful job!

Why don't you compile a list of parts/minifigures that you have available for trade - that should facilitate an easier trade! I would make an offer for some of my clones (http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=32970 - I have made quite a few others, but that gives you an idea of some of my figures)

In regards to the price/piece ratio: While it appears that 67 pieces should be a cheaper price, we tend to forget that the amount of molded plastic influences the price - The drill takes much more ABS plastic than another piece - this is one of the reasons the Pirate ship is so much - the base of the boat is a lot more plastic and equates to more pieces due to the volume of plastic in the set. It looks to be about the same physical size as the Crystal King, and as that is $19.99 USD it doesn't come as a great shock that this one will be around a similar price range.

These are all really wonderfully done figures! I especially love the colossus figure and the chrome that you have added for him. Storm, Cyclops, and Wolverine are all done quite marvelously as well! The only things that I would love to see added are: If there was a way to make an actual face-piece for Cyclops, so that you could take it off and show his crimson eyes, that would be amazing (although would take some creative thinking ;) ). For Wolverine, I also think some claws would be awesome! When I made a Predator figure, I utilized the pick-axe minifig element and (yes, this does require some cutting of Lego) cut the tip off, and then you can glue 3 together to create claws for Wolverine and figure a way to either permanently attach them to him, or to be able to take them on and off. I can add pics later, if that would help. Really wonderful job on the decals as well! Really amazing!

Well, this will be my first post with images of my MOC's, and I hope you all like them! They were created for a vignette contest on another site, but I thought it would be nice to share them here! At the secret Clone Facility in the outer rim, a vicious battle rages between Republic and Seperatist Forces. Jedi versus Magnadroid, Clone versus Droid. Suddenly, with a sudden flash of light, there suddenly appeared new forces intent on securing the valuable facility. With a new, formidable force approaching, the Seperatists and Republic troops join together to defend against a far more dangerous enemy - Dino Attack Soldiers. Men trained and forged in the heat of battle against dangerous, mutant dinosaurs who somehow discovered the way to cross dimensions. They are in search of a new energy source which is being guarded behind the walls of the Clone facility. Armed with custom Brickarms weapons, do the Dino Attack soldiers have what it takes to defeat the Republic and Seperatist troops, or will the Republic and Seperatists with their custom Brickarms weapons have the power to withstand the attack? Who will win? I leave that to you! Overview of the Vignette: Overview of the Back of the Vignette: Dino Attack Soldiers: IG88 and Han Solo versus Dino Attack Soldier Aayla Secura jumping off a Speeder Car Dino Attack Soldiers Close-up Arc Trooper Jet Trooper versus Dino Attack Soldier with a Spartan Laser Figures Featured in the Vignette: Custom IG88 with Custom M1A1 WW2 SMG Han Solo with Custom Broomhandle Chewbacca with Custom Bowcaster Jet Trooper 501st Squadron - Front Jet Trooper 501st Squadron - Back Jet Trooper Battlefront - Front Jet Trooper Battlefront - Back Aayla Secura Darth Maul Dino Attack Soldier with LMG and Custom Ammo Chain Kneeling Dino Attack Soldier with Custom Painted M141 Pulse Rifle Dino Attack Soldier with Custom Painted M141 Pulse Rifle Dino Attack Soldier with Custom Nightvision goggles and Custom Painted Space Assault Rifles Dino Attack General with AK47 and Pistol and Custom Nightvision Goggles Bacara and Clones with him For some reason, I hope that you all like my Vignette and would love any and all comments. All of the figures and vehicles in this vignette were designed for this contest. I hope you all like it! If you would like to see the Entire set of pictures at a larger size, please feel free to visit my Flicker Account! Thanks again everyone!

I did some searching, and haven't found anything mentioned about this: For the US, according to LEGO.com - the Tantive IV will now not be available until October 23. Well, I suppose it gives more time to save, but it still is a bummer... Thought I'd share this with everyone!

As mentioned before, this was for another contest which required a mixing of Lego themes. Thanks for the comment on the figs!

I have been working on some of these characters and weapons recently: Chewbacca with custom designed Bowcaster Han Solo with custom Blaster pistol (made from Brickarms C96 Broomhandle) IG88 with Custom Blaster Rifle (from Brickarms M1A1 WW2 SMG) (Some of the design for IG88 is from another member on this sites idea, but I've also given him some additions and modifications) Jet Trooper from Battlefront Aayla Secura with Custom Lightsabers Jet Trooper of 501st Arc Trooper With the exception of Aayla Secura, and the legs/arms of the Jet Trooper, all of the decals were designed, printed, and applied by myself. Also, all of the custom elements were created by myself including the custom blasters, IG88's head, and custom Lightsabers. I hope you all like, and would love any comments/suggestions!

The arc trooper decals were all designed by me, as well as the 501st Jet trooper, and the torso and helmet decals for the Battlefront Jet Trooper. Thanks!

How does everyone like the Bowcaster? It took some time to create, but I'm fairly happy with the result!

I did create all the minifigures myself, and created the decals for most (I did find the Aayla Secura design on Brickshelf). I would have rather used Lego Palm Tree's, but I didn't have enough for that, but needed some tree/brush design, so I had to grievously allow some imposter brands in... *sigh*

There's a lot to discuss in terms of the difference in Star Wars Lego when it first began, and the focus of today's Star Wars Lego. As mentioned multiple times before, the sets now are quite wonderful in terms of sleekness, quality, and playability (most of the time ;) ). The focus has moved towards a more realistic Lego design (for most Lego set designs, not just Star Wars). I personally love the move towards a more realistic vehicle, although this is sometimes at the cost of new, specific pieces which do occasionally limit our imagination building (or at least until we figure out how to incorporate new parts into our arsenal of designs). In regards to the costs, of course prices have risen because of the failing economy and because of inflation. I don't know about everywhere else, but bread that used to cost $.99 is now $2.50. There are a lot of costs that have been raised, and as a result, in order to keep a product that is high in quality (which, for the price of lego we expect - this is somewhat a "Catch 22") and viable for a number of Lego and Star Wars fans, Lego does have to raise prices. I hate that they have to raise these prices, but it is somewhat expected. On a personal note, i would be very interested to see what the price increase has been in terms of the actual weight of the Lego sets, rather than the piece count. I mention this, because as I am perusing my collection of both old and new Star Wars sets as I write this, the new sets seem to have "larger" pieces, whereas the old sets were more blocky due to the fact that they were made of smaller pieces (again another argument that could be made for or against the sets!). You can argue that the older sets were a "steal", but compared to the inflation prices and everything else, back then they were quite expensive as well, and I at least had arguments about whether certain sets were worth what they were being sold for. It is always easier to look back and think of the what-ifs in terms of that, and all too often we think back on the old days as the good days, however, we typically remember things with rose-tinted glasses. Things look better than they were. At the time, those were the only Star Wars sets that were available, and they were quite wonderful then (and matched fairly well with the rest of the designs of Lego. Again, this would be easier to answer if we knew what the price per weight ratio used to be in sets, and what the price per weight ratio is now (if I had the time to figure this out I would, but alas, I don't!). In terms of the newest wave of released Star Wars sets (Venator, Anakins Y-Wing, Corporate Alliance Tank, Hoth, Endor, etc), I think the balance now is between playability, functions, and looks. I think all of the sets look wonderful, for the most part, but I am disappointed by the lack of playability features. In terms of Seperatist Shuttle, we did get some wonderful figures with the set, but overall I am disappointed with the playability of the set. There could have been more playability figures, but, as they brought back the Rodian head and made a new piece for Nute Gunray, they had to take a few things away from the set. While I do love the minifigures, and they do influence my decision as to whether I get a set or not, I think we have pushed the Lego Corporation to focus more upon introducing new Minifig molds, which does impact the cost of a set more so than usual. I'm not sure which balance is best: More new minifigs (who doesn't want an Ayala Secura, or Ki-Adi-Mundi, or new Jetpack and DETACHED Mandalorian helmets?) and less playability in a set, or more playability features (well, bigger sets) but less special minifigs? Look at the prices of Brickarms, Brickforge, The Little Armory, etc. While nearly all of us would agree that the quality and "niche"-factor make these pieces worth the cost, we often don't realize the costs involved in creating new molds and new designs, and the specialization and training that requires (in CAD, engineering, etc.). We forget that Lego has to include those costs, and it is not just the raw materials that we are paying for. As I get further in my education, I can charge more for my specialized skills - and as Lego demands more of their creation staff, the price for their skills also goes up. I did not intend to create such a large post, but I thought I would share my thoughts, which could be summed up as - I don't think anyone is stating that today's legos are better because they are newer, but because of the playability and the more realistic look. We do like to complain about the rising costs, but, in reality the cost difference should be expected. I personally love the newer Lego designs, and look forward to every new set (although my wallet does not!). Just thought I'd throw out a couple things to think about.

It's really hard to pick just 5 top picks! Here is my list: Snowspeeder Crash Diorama by Kaitan Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter by DutchRebe War Droid - Mandalorian Basilisk by Mr. Mandalorian A-Wing by Jerac UCS V-Wing by Olog Thanks guys for doing this! We all appreciate it!

Although it appears that the new Battlepacks will be OT due to: Title on the Amazon site, Packaging (although, of the new OT sets, the only one that is the Clone Wars packaging is the Midi Falcon, whereas the Endor and Home One sets are OT packaging), and assumption of snow troopers and "orange suited minifigs" which automatically are assumed to be rebel pilots, I did have a thought. We saw that we are getting a Freco speeder bike, which was featured in one of the Clone Wars cartoons, it could be that the new battle packs would supplement the Freco speeder bike (I am assuming the Freco bike will be Clone Wars). Although, this would assume that Lego would have thought of this (and isn't necessarily something that has happened before), it could be that the battle packs might end up being Clone Wars Snowtroopers to add playability to the Freco speeder bike set. I personally would really love some Clone Wars Snowtrooper helmets! I must say, I am excited for when pictures of them will be revealed (that aren't blurry past the point of insanity)!

Unfortunately, I doubt that we will get that much for 9.99. We haven't really seen any $9.99 USD sets for quite sometime (with the exception of battlepacks). If they include a figure of Rex, the senator, and a Talz, they would charge at the least $19.99. Personally, I think the best we could hope for is a Clone Snowtrooper (which I would very much like). I do love wishing sets would be cheaper, but we've got to be realistic as well.

I think you should be completely happy with the playability of the Echo Base and all the pieces without the use of a Grey Baseplate. As mentioned above, some pieces will occasionally fall off, most specifically for me; the "wall" and the "cannon" get seperated a bit easily if you pick them up, but that shouldn't be a huge problem. If you don't have the money to purchase a baseplate, you shouldn't feel like you have to with the Hoth playset. As mentioned above, baseplates are always welcome additions to collections, but if money is an issue (thanks to the tough economic times) you should be able to bypass the baseplate with full confidence that you will enjoy the playset to your fullest ability.

It would be really nice if they had a new Sandtrooper design which was a figure that looked more sand covered rather than just a white stormtrooper with an orange pauldron. That would be really nice!

There is a new fiction book out (at least in the US, but I assume it's available everywhere) which goes over the history of the Falcon. It was around during the Clone Wars, and has a really interesting history. I won't give too much away, b/c it's a great book and if you can you should read it. If the Falcon does show up in the Clone Wars saga, it won't be known as the Falcon (it didn't get that name until later, but I suppose it wouldn't be the best marketing to label it as something else). It would not be piloted by Han, again, if it shows up in the series. I would suspect that is the only way it would be a "Clone Wars" set rather than original trilogy, but unfortunately LEGO decided not to ask my opinion. I would assume it's an Original Trilogy set, just misplaced in sections on the LEGO site.

Nice job on the review! I am so excited to get this set, and I have to say I really love the rear door mechanism! I didn't realize that it had that functionality, but it makes me more excited to get it now!

I can see that you have put a lot of time and effort into the presentation of your MOC for the contest! I love the captions and how you develop the story for the MOC as well. I like your concept of the "To-Seige Tower", but I think if you could add a little more to the main compartment so that it had a little more resemblance to the AT-ST that would help a lot! It's definitely a great idea, I would just love to see a little more resemblance between the two! Aside from that, good work!

I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done! I think all of these ships are impressive, however, I must admit that the first two ships are by far my favorite! I like how the first fighter is reminiscent of the Seperatist Landing Craft! It looks really great, and the only suggestion I would make has already been stated: pilots of such a fine craft deserve to have landing gear, to keep the ship in as prime condition as possible! Maybe go with a design using the pieces from the new Clone Battle packs (the leg pieces). They can be folded up and hidden when you don't need them, they are grey so they will work with the overall color scheme, and would help it balance a little more! I also really love the Freighter! I love the coloring and I love it's overall design. I really don't have any suggestions for this work, as it is just a wonderful MOC! Great work! The third ship - In my opinion it doesn't quite reach the same levels as the other two ships, but, as you mentioned this was out of spare parts it was done really well! It looks fine as it is, but I would suggest getting a few more pieces in the color scheme, or add another color to the design and bring to it the wonderful design that you had in the first two MOC's! Again, great work! I loved seeing the ships!

I think I like what you've done with the RGS, but one suggestion: In regards to the photography: I love the angels that you have chosen, but I think if you used alternative light sources from different angels, rather than using the cameras built-in flash, you may be able to avoid the over abundance of white glare. You could also try pulling the camera back from the ship and use the flash (if you must ) and then go back and crop the image. This also helps to avoid white glare. There are many other techniques you can do to avoid that, but I hope these ideas help you a little bit! Aside from that, I like that you've done away with the bacta tank area and continued the "window-vent" areas. It looks really nice, and I may consider using that on mine.

I recently placed an order for the UCS MF (before the sale on LEGO...) and should be getting it today, so I'll be able to give a better opinion later, but: I really love all the detail that is in the UCS, and the fact that it is Minifig scaled. On the other hand, it is pretty bulky and hard to swoosh. For playability, I do love the looks of 4504! Also, has anyone done any interior mods on the UCS MF? I don't know if that should be a new topic, but it could be helpful. That seems to be the biggest drawback of the UCS: For all the exterior detail, it appears to be lacking any interior (aside from the cockpit and the gunning stations).

On the poster, there is a Green "Gungan Soldier"... I apologize if I'm mistaken, but I don't recognize that minifigure from any old sets... If I am correct that it is a new minifigure, we have our first non-confidential image concerning a new set! Actually, as I am going through the poster, there is a plethora of new minifigures that we have not seen releases of before! This is exciting seeing parts of unreleased sets already!