Admonisher

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Everything posted by Admonisher

  1. Admonisher
    A friend on Facebook was lamenting the lack of a Sweetums minifigure as part of the new CMF line. I observed that Sweetums is so big relative to the other muppets that the scale would be way off, so I proposed this Brickheadz-inspired version instead. Just a Studio render, but entirely buildable in real life! And of course, as long we have Sweetums, why not Thog? Sticking to available colors was a challenge -- but of course, it's just not Thog without the adjustable ears! And together for scale...
  2. Admonisher

    [MOC] The Muppets - Sweetums & Thog (Brickheadz-inspired)

    Admonisher replied to Admonisher's topic in LEGO Licensed

    Thanks! I didn't until you asked, but I poked around in Studio and discovered that it wasn't too hard to export parts lists and knock out basic instructions. So here you go! I included parts lists for both Sweetums and Thog individually, and another for both of them together. If you do build these for real, please do come back here to post pics ... I'd love to know how they turn out!
  3. Admonisher

    [MOC] The Muppets - Sweetums & Thog (Brickheadz-inspired)

    Admonisher replied to Admonisher's topic in LEGO Licensed

    Heh. With the "Jack" thing, you're probably remembering a gag from The Muppet Movie:
  4. Admonisher
    As a HUGE lifelong fan of the Muppets, the upcoming CMF line will -- assuming the rumors are true -- be the first one I collect in its entirety! Coincidentally, I've just learned to use Studio 2.0 from BrickLink and thought I'd share a few pending creations. My first design is a "Muppet arches" frame for all 12 figures. I don't have the space nor the disposable income to afford a large-scale stage set, as some other designers are doing -- impressive as some of them are! This design is centered on the arches alone, with a base and top detailing meant to be more evocative of the Muppet Theater than a literal depiction of it. (Because it's so narrow with lots of single-stud connection points, I'm wondering how stable it will be in real life; I plan to see about reinforcing those stacked round bricks with interior rods, and I have a backup plan to extend the sides in the back with some black scaffolding if it seems prone to topple.) My second design is Rowlf's piano. Because my Girlfriend is particularly fond of Rowlf, I plan to snag a second figure to add to a vignette that she can keep at her own piano. Rowlf plays a few pianos on the show; my design is based on the upright model, because it was simplest in terms of design and most efficient in terms of space. I'd have preferred a slightly different shade of brown -- perhaps dark brown, to better contrast with Rowlf himself -- but reddish brown was the only color that had all the parts I needed. Anyway ... I'm particularly pleased with how the book is integrated into the piano to hold up the sheet music. (And I may swap out the hair on the Beethoven bust, as pictured. We'll see how it looks IRL!) Feeback welcome! And here's a link to the IO files, if anyone wants them. P.S. If the leaks are correct, I'm not happy with the choice of outfits for Gonzo. I'd have much preferred his classic maroon tux! I'm thinking I may swap in the dark red Harry Potter goblin torso from set 4714, along with matching legs and perhaps a black bow tie piece (though even if it covers the tiny one, it may not fit the overlarge head). It's not a perfect match for the original show, but it comes closer than any other part I could identify. (As an alternative, President Business's argyle sweater vest is a reasonable approximation of Gonzo's outfit circa The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan, though it would be more accurate if it were gray rather than sand green.)
  5. Admonisher

    [MOC] The Muppets - Stage Arches & Rowlf's Piano

    Admonisher replied to Admonisher's topic in LEGO Licensed

    Thanks! I experimented with both Technic and SNOT in Studio, but I wasn't happy with the resulting aesthetics. The challenge is that there are so few potentially useful connection points and nowhere to hide! You could try SNOT along the 1 x 1 bricks to the left and right edges, for example, but there aren't really any good 1 x 1 bricks with SNOT options in lavender, so you'd have to change those to white. You could swap out a headlight brick or two on the top back row for a brick with a Technic hole, and do something similar below, but I don't know any Technic beam that would reach from top to bottom. So you'd need to overlap. And even if you could get one of the above techniques to work, the columns don't really conceal anything! Tall black girders are very visible but at least look like something you might see backstage at a theater. EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it, I could replace the 1 x 1 lavender bricks with 1 x 2 bricks, extend the base by a few studs to the sides, and build fairly solid left and right sides onto the frame. Something to consider...
  6. Admonisher
    I love the look of the Mandalorian on his speeder bike, as showcased in the Season 2 key art: This speeder appears in the new set "Trouble on Tatooine" (75299), and is a reasonably decent approximation considering it has to be sturdy and hold up to play. There are a few shaping inaccuracies, but that's par for the course. For reference, here's the official LEGO vehicle with no tweaks other than a hastily cobbled-together stand (and my unorthodox placement of the cape, with the left arm threading one of the neck holes to hold it at the desired display angle): The major downside, as with most LEGO speeders, is the scale! While it has some nice detail, it's simply much too large in comparison to the minifigure. The "foot pedals" (at least, that's what I presume the struts with the dark orange brackets are meant to be) are a case in point -- they're huge relative to the minifig, and nowhere near Mando's feet! So, despite the inevitability of loosing some greebling opportunities, I decided to take a stab at a scaled-down speeder bike for Mando to ride that would still successfully evoke the vehicle from the show. I also set myself the challenge of only using parts from 75299! Here's what I came up with: It's reasonably sturdy, fits both Grogu and Mando's Amban phase-pulse blaster, and the nose fortuitously lies at the correct angle. This design also allows Mando to sit a little more upright in his seat! But it's still not quite where I wanted it to be, so I did one final tweak with a few additional bars with clips, some swapped out colors, and a smooth base: Mando can now lean forward slightly as he does on the key art, which allows his cape to be properly affixed without getting crimped up. His hands still can't properly "grab" the handlebars, but it's close enough for my purposes. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has undertaken this challenge, so I'll probably be inspired to revisit this build in the future. For now, though, this makes me happy!
  7. Admonisher
    Interesting take! Definitely more compact, and I like the tiles on the nose plates (though if I were to borrow that, I might swap out the color for something "rustier"). Any chance of a different angle on the nose to show how you attached the plates? Nifty lighting in that last shot! A very evocative scene...
  8. Admonisher
    You're very welcome, and I hope you come back and post your results!
  9. Admonisher

    [MOC] Snowspeeder mini-scale

    Admonisher replied to KRocans's topic in LEGO Star Wars

    This would look great next to the midi-scale Millennium Falcon (set 7778)!
  10. Admonisher
    Be my guest ... if you can call a couple of plates loosely stuck together a "design!" If you're looking to salvage more pieces for your expanded hut, you might MOC your way to a smaller-profile speeder, as I've done in this thread. You might lose a few hut parts in the process, but the trade-off would hopefully be worth it...
  11. Admonisher
    Snagged 75299 "Trouble on Tatooine" at Kohl's this evening. Bought it just for the speeder and minifigs; bags 2 and 3 went right into the spare parts boxes. My one complaint about the set is the lack of a good way to seat Mando on the speeder without crimping up the cape. Presumably, going with stiff fabric rather than flexible cloth for the cape was a cost issue. I ordinarily prefer the slimmer profile of the stiff capes, but they are a pain when a fig is going to be displayed seated or stuffed into a cockpit! I settled on the unorthodox solution of only affixing one of the cape holes to the neck, and the other to the left arm (not visible from the display angle) so that the cape appears to billow behind the Mandalorian as it does in the Season 2 promotional art. It will leave a few dimples, but nothing that would be very obvious if I ever elect to display the figure in a standing position and attach the cape as intended. Also whipped up a quick stand using parts from the unused hut and ballista builds, and I'm pretty happy with the results! As with most LEGO speeders, the vehicle is significantly larger than it ought to be in proportion to the pilot ... but given the challenges of this scale, I think it's reasonably successful. It certainly doesn't look as oversized as Rey's speeder from 75099 (though it no doubt is).
  12. Admonisher

    77904 Nebulon B Frigate

    Admonisher replied to JintaiZ's topic in LEGO Star Wars

    In the initial hour after the LEGO Shop sellout, I was able to place an order using the mobile site and PayPal, even when the set was still showing as out of stock on the desktop website. I subsequently got an email notifying me that the item I'd ordered was out of stock, and I wouldn't be charged until it came back in. I took no assurance from this, and managed to snag a copy when it became available on Amazon. The set from Amazon arrived within two days (they used their own shipping service), after which point I called LEGO and cancelled my original order. Now I'm thinking that the first order would have been cancelled by LEGO anyway ... so I guess I got lucky! But I wonder how many other people placed their orders using the mobile site after it had already sold out on the desktop site.
  13. Admonisher
    Just something fun I whipped up today. I'd had the notion for a while, I was just waiting for the right head to come along. Thank you HP CMF Series 2 Dumbledore! :) The maestro... And posing with some of his most famous musical inspirations... One could perhaps wish for a better black tuxedo jacket with black bow tie. (If I weren't hoping to keep it "purist," Citizen Brick makes a decent one.) But this fits the bill!
  14. Admonisher

    [MOC] John Williams - Composer Minifig

    Admonisher replied to Admonisher's topic in LEGO Licensed

    Made a more permanent display stand with a recent acquisition...
  15. Admonisher

    [MOC] John Williams - Composer Minifig

    Admonisher replied to Admonisher's topic in LEGO Licensed

    Hmmm, Thomas Newman... For the head, I'd suggest maybe the head of the 2014 Nova Corps Officer (the side without the chinstrap, obviously). I'd take the hair from the CMF Series 12 Lifeguard. For the body, any dark contemporary suit and tie would do ... or, if you want the studio-casual look, you could go with a plain black torso and jeans (preferably, printed jeans like those from the CMF Series 8 DJ or 2014 Superboy). A quick Photoshop mock-up: Ideally, the part would go in the other direction, but his hair tends to flop around and I've seen photos where it's tousled the other way. (The LEGO hair looks almost black in the above mock-up, but in reality it would be dark brown.)
  16. Admonisher

    [MOC] John Williams - Composer Minifig

    Admonisher replied to Admonisher's topic in LEGO Licensed

    Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Modal, have at it -- would love to see what adventures the mini-maestro gets up to! :D And if anyone cooks up a recognizable Jerry Goldsmith fig to go with Johnny, I'd love to see it. :) I've been hoping for Kanan's ponytail in white for a long time...
  17. Admonisher
    Got mine from Target. Free shipping to my home, and the Redcard discount wiped out the sales tax. Haven't looked forward to a set this much in a while! I usually modify my sets for display rather than play, but this one looks ready for the shelf just as designed!
  18. Admonisher

    [MOD] Beetlejuice riding Sandworm

    Admonisher posted a topic in LEGO Licensed

    Nothing too ambitious here, but I wanted Beetlejuice to be able to ride his sandworm from the new Dimensions pack, so I whipped up a few mods. Essentially, I added a connection point for a figure, extended the sandworm body so that the figure could be positioned at a good angle, added a fin to the body, and placed it all atop a sturdy base. Oh, and I gave Beetlejuice his cowboy hat to brandish -- because he's all about the showmanship!
  19. Admonisher
    So here's a MOD for 75200 Ahch-To Island Training (and I'm sure I'm not the first person to do it). A cool detail in Star Wars: The Last Jedi is that the door to Luke Skywalker's hut is made from a chunk of S-foil from his X-Wing. You can see the faded red stripes if you look closely. I like 75200, and didn't want to redesign the whole hut, so I decided to make a few customizations that include a new door. It's not totally screen-accurate, but my goal was just to give a closer approximation. Because the new door clips to the existing bar, no other modifications to that part of the set are required, and it's a simple matter to swap out the provided cloth, depending on your mood. Having the door swing up is a bit of creative license, but the interior of the hut is so detail-packed that having it swing inward didn't really work. While I was at it, I also made a few further revisions for display purposes. The base is expanded to give more room for Rey and Luke to stand side-by-side. "Play" features I won't personally use, i.e. the "exploding" wall and spinning platform, have been removed with a few stability enhancements. I added a window to the area above Luke's bed, and some clips to the ceiling to hold a fish, knife, spear tip and a pair of macrobinoculars. The "shelf" in the roof now has a few jars. Rey carries a satchel, as she did at the end of The Force Awakens, Luke's walking stick is a bit more proportionate, and the concealed area under the table now houses a few non-fruit items. Perhaps too much detail in the end, but it was fun. :) And just for reference, this was my first pass at the MOD, which I originally posted here earlier today:
  20. Admonisher

    75204 Sandspeeder REVIEW

    Admonisher replied to MKJoshA's topic in LEGO Star Wars

    This isn't the first time a sandspeeder has been designed: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sandspeeder A closer look: I don't know to what degree (if any) the toy prototype inspired this model. Might be a fun mod, however!
  21. Admonisher

    [MOC] The X-Files Vignette - Mulder & Scully at Area 51

    Admonisher replied to Admonisher's topic in LEGO Sci-Fi

    Thanks, but the flashlights have been done before! I borrowed the idea from WetWired's fantastic custom-printed figures, as seen in this thread:
  22. Admonisher
    Here's a little vignette inspired by THE X-FILES (not based on any particular episode or movie) with agents Fox Mulder & Dana Scully encountering a little gray alien at Area 51. I utilized no custom parts or printing. Mulder uses Agent Coulson's torso from 76077 as a base, while Scully uses Lois Lane's torso from 76046. The alien torso and head are taken from the CMF line, with the legs and hands swapped out for a more traditional look. Both figs have badges, cellphones, guns and flashlights. I also tried out some alternate hairpieces. Which do you prefer? Scully's is from the recent CMF veterinarian. One could wish for this part in more of an orange-red color, but of course Scully's shade has varied over the years. The shape here fits the character very well, I think. To finish things up, a shot of the base and an alternate angle on the completed model:
  23. Admonisher
    A fabulous diamond! A discarded copy of The Financial News! A mysterious red stain! Sherlock Holmes, the great detective, expounds the details of the case to his faithful companion Dr. Watson. I actually built this MOC some time ago, but I simply couldn't resist sweetening it with a brand new calabash "Gentleman's Pipe" from BrickWarriors. EDIT: Alternate angle...
  24. Admonisher
    Now that the old Star Wars Expanded Universe is officially defunct, it seems highly unlikely that we'll ever get an actual minifig of fan-favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn. Like many people, however, I saw the possibility for a satisfying "purist" custom version of the character (overlooking the rank pips, of course) when the exclusive Yularen figure came out last year. Since then I've since seen numerous variations on this idea, but I thought I'd try my own hand at it. Thrawn's head is Cad Bane, while Pellaeon is Yularen's head on the Star Destroyer captain's body from 75055. I wanted the design of the uniforms to match, and these do! The rest of the vignette is very minimalist, with a window borrowed from 75093. (And yes, I realize that the gold epaulets on Thrawn are not mentioned in the novels, and that there is some debate about gloves. I decided to use the original novel covers as my inspiration.) EDIT: Updated with official Thrawn minifigure plus black boots:
  25. Admonisher

    Updating Your Minifigs

    Admonisher replied to Kingslayer's topic in LEGO Star Wars

    Here's my own Thrawn/Sushi Chef update, with custom Pellaeon: