coot83

Hey guys, decided to add a pic via imageshack. Hopefully you guys can see the decals. Cant wait to add these guys to some sets! Coot

This is probably an off the wall question, but does anyone know if vendors will be selling any "aliens" custom kits there? I would love to possibly find an apc... Coot

Nice looking figs! I thought for a second the crusader was a castle crasher...you should make three more of em. Coot

Now that is a serious castle! Thanks for the link night stalker...looks like some good ideas to look into. I have spent a few hours on the front drawbridge which is turning out to be a pretty big and long bridge. The front is looking somewhat similar to valdeks dark fortress with the draw bridge and Im using the same red doors but it has some additional features as well...using up a whole 32x32 plate! I am hoping to make each section as I go unique and different. Back to LDD! Coot

Thanks Halti for the pic...I do like the centerpiece with the stairs and the walkways with the bars. This thread has really turned into a culmination of good pics with great aspects in them. I will have to make sure I incorperate that in mine. Cook, thanks for the info...didnt even notice your signature link, might have to browse over your creations this week for some more tips! Thanks guys! Coot

Thanks cook for the advice, totally forgot about peeron to do a part check. I def want it to have some dynamic walls to it so I plan to keep it anything but square which makes since from what you were saying how that square sections could hinder the build. I guess the next step is to open up LDD and just start working ideas and see what I can make. Cook, I assume you do alot of MOC builds? If so, how do you brainstorm your ideas? Cerberus, the pics are a little more detailed than I plan to go for now, but they have given some great ideas...I think I def want to make a mini tower like the second picture where it can be attached to the castle by means of a walkway. Also the spikes on the sides of walls would be a great touch to add to the "evilness" of it. Thanks guys for the inspiration and help! Coot

Sorry guys for not making this more specific...I guess these are the objectives Im trying to complete with this build 1. Black and red(dark colors) type of castle 2. Size wise, atleast as big as the current King's Castle is, probably a little bigger though so that it can have some fun features(maybe 3-4 big squares) 3. Detail wise is probably still somewhat along the lines of TLG, although I dont mind taking it up a notch, but not to the point where it becomes a huge detailed MOC. 4. Want to have a jail, lookout, armory, horse station, crew hangout, hidden entry, and cliff side, def want this to not have a premade base. LegoDr, funny you mention that castle as that is one of the few that I have. It def has some nice ideas to pass on to this one. I would love it if anyone who has the Valdek sets to let me know if they are worth getting/and or if they have any cool features to pass on. Normally I jump on brick link for pieces and get to work, but with this scale it is a little challenging getting a started for a new guy like me. Thanks again for all the comments! Coot

Crayonboi, I just got done using some white water slide decals and mine required me to print them and then put 2-3 coats of glossy acrylic clear coat on them. After that, then I would submerge the decal for 45 seconds and then it would slide off. Mine would still have a somewhat of a paper texture to it similar to what a plastic model decal felt like. Anyway, after applying the decal and letting it dry, I would then hit it with a decent coat of gloss again which gives the decal a uniform gloss look to it which in my case cleaned up the presentation. Not sure if your results are similar to mine, but if anything make a decal and spray some clear on it and see what you get in the end result. From what I understand, some of the decal paper companies make theirs with a nice gloss sticker type of finish and some require you to apply it afterwards, hopefully just some clear might fix your situation. Coot

Hey guys, I have been browsing around for ideas for an evil knight's(bad guys) castle to contend with my friends noble king's castle that he is building. It seems for the past few years lego has been doing a good job or cranking out Kings castle renditions, but not so much for the bad guys besides random outposts and what not. I have seen some older sets like Valdek's dark fortress that seem appealing as they have that black and red color scheme to them which is what Im trying to stick to in order to make a castle that goes with the current themed bad guys. Also, I saw that there is a dark fortress landing and was curious if that is able to be added to the dark fortress set? Any ideas of where to begin for a decent sized castle build with some features would be greatly appreciated! Coot

Finally had a chance to get my decal paper in with the right acrylic clear coat. I made my small updated forestmen army! The green colors on the decals arnt perfect but they are hard to notice about a foot away. Thanks to ED for the tutorial and creation of this idea and Luxor for his excellent advice. I wanted to upload a pic but it is too big to upload. Coot

That is a great scene! How many pieces did it take roughly to make that? Coot

Makes alot of sense Dutch. I have actually spent almost three hours trying to color match the green by doing the same process as you have described...lots of printing. A thing I am worried about is that I got somewhat the color I want on regular paper and so I might have to re do the process when I get in my white decal paper in the mail. Hopefully Im close to getting it matched... Coot

Looking forward to meeting some of you guys! Coot

That is a great scene that you recreated there missing brick, the making of the film came to mind the minute I saw it. I have to admit for any aliens fan out there, the making is a must watch(free on youtube) because of all the little techniques that they did to accomplish the realistic effects for such a small budget/time intensive movie. I always knew Cameron was a good, but his skill in the making of this movie at the time was mind blowing. Are there by chance any basic instructions/tips for the APC? Coot

This is a great review Rufus! The time you took to organize all the parts in the bags and the pictures capturing the playability really bring this set to life for anyone who hasnt seen the movies. I do agree with some of the others that there could of been more minifigures in this set, but the structure itself makes up for it. Im new to your reviews, but I had a great time reading this one...glad Im not a committed LOTR fan or else I would HAVE to get this one! Coot