rodiziorobs

Wow! Beast looks...just..wow. I literally can't find a word that describes just how well he turned out.

In the minifig customization forum there is a thread where someone has made a bigfig (hulk-sized) Rhino and several other characters. Perhaps not as...intricate as the one in the link posted above, but still incredibly awesome.

I see there is already an El Dorado variant here, but I think mine is different enough I'll pitch it anyway: Subtheme title: The Legend of the Legolec Factions: The royal navy, with minifig, fortification, and shipbuilding designs based off of Portuguese or Spanish (etc) fleets. The somewhat bumbling officers of the royal navy have heard a legend of a city of enormous treasure deep within the jungles. They set out to conquer the land, building fortifications and sending out exploring parties to locate and recover the treasure. The Legolec tribe, with minifig and building designs based off of major Central/South American civilizations--Inca, Maya, Aztec, Guarani, to name a few--but not exclusive to any single one. The native Legolecs live in dense inland jungles where they build their cities and temples. They are kind of pranksters, so even though they know there is no city of gold, they enjoy leading the officers and sailors of the royal navy on into the jungle to play tricks on them. The Legolecs have the ability to 'vanish' into the forest, leaving the explorers lost behind them to fend for themselves. (For those curious, this draws somewhat from Brazilian tall tales such as Curupira and Saci). Set possibilities: For the navy, a similar range of sets as has been in the past for the imperials, from ships to small forts, along with an exploring party of officers, porters, and maybe some other danger in the jungle like a den of snakes (just not another giant spider, please!). For the Legolec tribe, huts as well as small but ornate buildings and temples (some in ruins), with hidden doors and panels, where they can 'disappear' from view, and lots of jungle foliage around. This would allow for some fun conflict without necessarily making either side into villains.

Groot isn't minifig-sized because Rocket is (presumably with short legs). In the trailer you see Rocket on Groot's shoulder, something that couldn't happen if they were both minifig-sized. If Rocket had been the size of the Friends animals, then small Groot might have worked, but thank goodness they didn't go that route.

If we are including voice actors (are we?), then add Clancy Brown for 3: Savage Oppress (SW:CW), Mr. Krabs (SBSP), and Dogpound (TMNT). Not to mention that he was also the voice of Lex Luthor in the LEGO DC Heroes video game, but since the game is based on the minifigs (and not the other way around) I wouldn't count that. He also voices several other characters that could easily be turned into minifigs eventually (Red Hulk--you can do it LEGO!), so his number might go up. If TLG ever makes a Willow set (I've had a CUUSOO nostalgia project for this in the works for well over a year now, but never seem to get anywhere on it), then I think we can pretty much crown Warwick Davis the winner. Unless they licensed the Muppets, at which point Frank Oz--yes, another voice actor--would suddenly be in contention for the lead. Oh, I thought there was actually a Sallah minifig. The IJ sets came out during my dark ages and I never went back to pick them up. Should have checked that first (sorry!) With regards to the first part of your comment, I would have to disagree that any actor who ever played a character can take credit for a minifigure based on that character. For example, Christopher Lloyd played Butch Cavendish in a Lone Ranger movie from the 80s, but I'm pretty sure the only minifig appearance we are willing to concede him is Doc Brown (BTTF). Maybe that is not what you meant with your comment, but it seems like that example would be just as valid as Mark Hamill's claim to the Joker based on what you said (which is why I think it should only count when based off of a specific portrayal of a character).

On the subject of voice actors, I would count them, but only in the case of a single actor portraying that character, or where the minifigure in question is based specifically off of one actor's portrayal. For example, Chris Pratt would get two: one for Star-Lord (GOTG) and one for Emmet (TLM). Why count Emmet? Because no one else is Emmet but Chris Pratt. However, the Joker does not count for Mark Hamill, because A) several people have portrayed the Joker, and B) none of the minifigs released were representations of his specific portrayal of the Joker. Even though they might seem to be based off of his BTAS appearance, unless is says so on the box I wouldn't count it. Compare that to Batman, where Will Arnett would get a credit, because the Batman minifig in the TLM set is based off of his portrayal (even though its the same as other previous Batman figs). Why? While many actors have portrayed Batman, only Will Arnett did so for TLM (and therefore, the TLM set with Batman in it). Christian Bale also gets a Batman credit, since the Bane Tumbler Chase set says "The Dark Knight Rises" right there on the box, and so the minifig is based off of Bale's role in that movie. Nick Fury is a tougher call, because the fig is not based off of him unless you trace it back through the comics and the whole retconning-Fury-to-be-black, etc. I would still say no, though, because while it may be patterned after his likeness, it wasn't until years later that he actually portrayed Nick Fury--and for the obvious catch that a Nick Fury minifig as portrayed by SLJ has yet to make an appearance in a set. With all that in mind, you could almost add John-Rhys Davies with three appearances: Sallah (IJ), Gimli (LOTR), and Treebeard (LOTR) except that the ent in the Orthanc set is not named in any promotional materials; it is just an ent, not a specific one. The same logic works against James Badge Dale (yes on LR, no on IM3), Hugo Weaving (yes on LOTR, no on Red Skull), Ian McKellen (yes on LOTR, no on X-Men), etc. Voice actor or not, if a minifig is based off of a specific actor's portrayal of a character, then it should count. Otherwise, (such as in the cases just mentioned) no.

I also just saw CA:TWS. Odds are that the next movie I see in theaters will be...CA:TWS, again! I don't go to the theater that often, much less for a repeat showing, but I really really (really) liked it.

I had read that somewhere, too, but I thought that

It seems like they would not go to this kind of trouble to release just a one-off set, so my money is that this contest is to kick off a new theme.

Thanks for the replies and feedback! I'll try to be brief here (to make up for my earlier longwindedness ) Mstr, you bring up a lot of good points, and while I think I have good answers for all of them I don't see a reason to try and tackle them in this thread, because the truth is, I agree with you: this game isn't exactly what we're looking for in terms of story, character, and world building. (Maybe that's why I never really got into GoH.) I still think it would be a blast, but maybe for another time or venue. Oh well. I'm not really discouraged at all, I just hope that what I posted above can be useful in the discussion here in some way; I'm curious to see what kind of worlds end up getting put together.

Here is my big idea, as promised. WARNING: since this is a really long post (my apologies to the mods!), if you quote from it, please only repost the specific part you are replying to . Here is my idea for how this could work, which is admittedly different from what I see being proposed here. In part because each guild or team would not be a single faction—each team would be comprised of some of every faction—teams would instead be identified by color (or by a mascot, or some other arbitrary means). Probably the most different aspect of my idea here is that it would center around some board game mechanics to help teams begin their builds. This might, in the beginning, be a bit limiting to what could be built, but would grow with each ensuing round. So, without much further ado, I’ll explain the game mechanics, and then how the building would work in to that. My vision of the game here runs along the lines of Michael Kiesling's Vikings, a board game currently out of print and that actually has very little to do with Vikings and much more to do with island exploration and repelling raiders—good Pirate stuff. As such, pretend the images below are less Viking-y and more Pirate-y. If you are familiar with that game, you will see where I drew some inspiration from; if not I think this should still make sense. Mechanics of the game The game would be divided into three teams, each being able to build from each faction: a colonizing force (Armada, blues, and reds would all be rolled into one), pirates/privateers, and islanders. The game, rather than being an interminable event or going for a period of time, would have a definite end after six rounds of building; during each round, teams would "explore" (build on to) an island or islands and build ships. After every round, team points (and individual points, based on contributions or other criteria) would be awarded in the form of gold (well, not real gold, of course). After every two rounds, teams could use their ships to defend their own claims and attack others (to get more gold). However, the team could not just build anything it wanted to: there would be limits to what they could make each round (and here is where the board game mechanics really come into play): Teams would all start with an even amount of gold, and before each round of building, teams would have the option to purchase several building categories, based on what is available for that round. Overall (across all six rounds), there would be more land options than ships, but in any given round that could change, as the options are drawn randomly. Each land option is coupled with a faction--soldiers, pirates, islanders, in ascending price order. Also, land options come in three varieties, described as parts of an island (as seen in the picture below), each of which would allow a variety of building possibilities. These possibilities will be explained later but for now it should be clear that the middle sections of islands can only be explored once the beach has been discovered, and an island is not complete unless it has one of each of the end sections. The end sections may stand alone, however, under certain circumstances. The way these building options would be bought by teams is that each team would start with a certain amount of gold, and the available choices would be placed around a wheel that describes the prices of each option (12 per round), with ships being more expensive and islands being cheaper, as in the picture below. Factions are represented by tricorne hats (imperials), bicorne pirate hats (pirates) and islander hair with bone pieces. (A note: prices on the pictures below are low, so we would probably raise them x100 (1=100, 11=1,100, etc.): Any option on the wheel is available for purchase, but as the cheapest options are bought, the price wheel turns, lowering prices across all remaining options, as seen below. You might notice that one of the options is free (price is 0). This option cannot be bought until it is the only one of its faction left. Using the picture below as an example, there are three options that belong to the imperial faction, one of which is the free one. The options that cost 100, 200, and 300 gold must be bought before that free one can be bought (for free). While teams may decide to buy any of the more expensive options, the free one cannot be taken until it is the only imperial option left on the wheel. Once the free one is taken, the wheel rotates so that the cheapest option left becomes the free one, in this case, the pirate middle island section: Thus, a team may want a ship but decides to hold out until other pieces have been bought so that it will be cheaper. However, then they run the risk of the option they really want being snatched up by someone else. Do you pay the extra for a sure thing? The land options and their accompanying faction must be kept together, so while a team has some options for building given a certain land option (we're getting there, trust me) a team could not buy an imperial beach and build, for example, a pirate hideout on it, it would have to remain imperial. Ship options purchased could be used for any faction the team decided. (Because of that, however, when only ship options were left, the wheel would rotate until the cheapest ship cost 100 gold, rather than being free.) They could then use the ship to attack another team’s building, or to defend one of their own (but only of the same faction if defending). In the picture above, all ships are pictured with a 2, but in reality each ship would have a different number, ranging from 2 to 8, indicating the number of guns aboard and thereby attack/defense strength. As far as I have determined (and for simplicity), battles would be done Risk-style, with dice. Land options would have a comparable defense strength, depending on what was built and increasing with island size (multiple land units joined under the same faction would be stronger). Teams would get gold by successfully attacking other teams’ ships or land (after every other round) or by completing other achievements (after each round or after the last round, depending on the specific achievement). Some possibilities for these achievements are listed below. The team with the most gold at the end of the game would be the winners! It might be hard to have actual in-the-brick prizes for an entire team, but maybe each team could have prizes for its own Most Valuable Builder (based on whatever kind of individual achievements we dream up) or runners-up. That will all depend on participation, I presume. Tags are always nice. The actual building and stuff Now I know what you're thinking...where does actual LEGO building come into all of this? As stated, before each round, the team's available building options would be decided, and then team members could volunteer (or be assigned, that would be up to each team/team mod) to build one or more of those team's options. Each land option would be limited in size (probably 16x16 or 32x32), and conjoined land options would need to be built modularly, so that if a beach option has a dock, it lines up with the trading post on the middle land option, etc. They would probably not need to match stylistically, but merely join up in the right places. Ship building would not be limited except in the number of guns available, based on the option purchased. Probably, there would be multiple volunteers for each option (and members could build for more than one option and more than one build for each option), in which case, they would submit them to their team, which would vote on which one they wanted to represent that option in the game. This might be a way for individual team members to get points. Once the final builds were decided on, they would be posted in a master thread for all teams to see, and then battles, or achievement gold, etc. would be dealt with and meted out. As also stated, each land option would have a number of building possibilities. Here are my suggestions: Beach options Dock/shipyard (as part of a larger island) Part of a fort/outpost (as part of a larger island) Deserted island (as a stand-alone island) Shipwreck (as a stand-alone island) Middle island options (can only be part of a larger island) Trading post Fort Tavern Islander palace Other creative options: government houses, shops, etc. would go on this kind of section. Rocky cliff options Jail (as part of a larger island or stand-alone island) Treasure cave/house (as part of a larger island or stand-alone island) Reef/Sandbar/Sea monster* (as a stand-alone island) Part of a fort/outpost (as part of a larger island) *if we decide to go the fantasy route, which I am in favor of as long as it is more like the first POTC movie and not like the others (well, maybe a bit of the second, you know, the part with the kraken) Other possibilities can be suggested and accepted, but no changes would be made once the game began. Islands would not need any specific pieces, except that any larger islands (2 or more options joined together modularly) could not have more than one of any option except the middle island option, i.e. cannot join two beaches or rocky cliffs together, but can join a beach and a rocky cliff (either or both) with any number of middle island sections between them. In this way, islands could only be made longer, not wider. Achievements Each of these possibilities would enable teams to try for other achievements, such as most completed islands (only counting islands with two or more options joined together modularly), longest island, or completing one of every kind of possibility (regardless of faction). Other achievements by which teams could get additional gold might include: People’s choice: a game-final vote across all teams (or even public) on the best built of each possibility. Iron builder: a few key parts are chosen at the beginning of the game, and the best options/modules to capitalize on that/those part(s) usage are awarded. Largest faction: the largest pirate, islander, and imperial factions (i.e. the most completed land options for each faction). Largest fleet (per faction): same as faction, but considering only ships, not land options. Most of any single building type: for example, who has the most treasure caves? Best characters/backstory: again, a kind of people’s choice award. Like before, other achievements could be decided, but not changed once the game began. (Whew, you made it this far! We’re almost done!) Pros and Cons There are some clear advantages that I can see at this point, but also some disadvantages, which I have put out below. I am sure I have not thought of everything. Pros: -Every team can build from every faction, members can volunteer for the factions they prefer regardless of their team -Different building possibilities allow builders with small or large collections to participate -There has to be some actual teamwork to coordinate the larger island builds (at least connection points) -Despite the need for teamwork, most options allow builders to work fairly independently -Board game style mechanics make this game much different from GoH or SoNE (I think) -Definite game completion: if the game isn’t successful, it won’t drag on interminably. If it is successful, we can always play again (and maybe change up the rules while we’re at it)! Cons: -Coordination of teams during purchase wheel phase and attack phases would be difficult. To help ease this, maybe only team captains participate in this (with suggestions and feedback from team members?) -The game purchase rules are a bit complicated at first** -Limited-size builds (I actually think this is a plus, but some of you may not) -Limited options for building categories (again, I personally don’t see this as a bad thing) -Lack of individual achievements (which could be introduced easily, I just don’t have many good ideas) -Lack of discrete factions: Some of you might not like Pirates, Islanders, and Imperials on the same team, or Bluecoats and Redcoats intermixing. (I admit, I put all my imperial figs on the same team: reds are officers, blues are enlisted men, and Armada figs are nobility, but I know that not everyone feels the same way) -Definite game completion: even if the game is successful, it will come to an end at some point ** If only team captains participate in the most complex parts (the purchase wheel, for example), then newcomers can simply understand, “wait until your team lead tells you what options are available for you to volunteer for”. This would cut down on trying to get the team to agree (and to coordinate that agreement) at every turn on the purchase wheel. However, most of the strategy comes not in the building phase, but in the purchase phase, meaning that the winning or losing is almost exclusively in the hands of the team captains if we adopt this kind of hands-off approach from the rest of the team. One way to give some of that strategizing back to the team would be for the captain to handle the purchasing, but then let the team decide which different building type to pursue for each option, or even build multiple possibilities for each option but then make a firm decision when it comes time to submit the team’s builds for that round. So, in summary, the game mechanics are for strategy, while the building is for fun! I think that’s it for now, although I will continue to fine-tune some things and brainstorm additional achievements. Thank you! for reading this far, please let me know what of this you think of this whole idea is feasible (and fun). Again, if you quote this post, please only repost the essential bits you are commenting on .

I have some pretty good ideas (IMHO, of course ) for ways to divide the factions and make the mechanics of the game work, but it will likely be a lengthy post. I'll see if I can't get them written up and posted tomorrow. More to come!

Agreed. Likely in multiples.

I usually feel like most Brickfilms aren't worth the time it takes to watch them (so I very tentatively clicked the play button), but this is good quality, both the animation and the sfx. Well done!

I would be interested, but I agree that simplicity is needed--I too considered joining GoH but lost my way when I tried to understand it all. There should be some story behind the conflict, but not so complex that it discourages newcomers.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes was a superb animated series that paralleled BTAS in terms of quality. Unfortunately, it was canceled in favor of the current Avengers Assembled, which from what I have seen isn't nearly as good. If we had had EMH sets I would have no complaints. At all. As is, I would have loved some Thor 2 sets. Generally speaking, I don't collect minifigs, but as a big Marvel fan I make an exception for the Avengers. I would have totally bought up enough sets to amass an army of Dark Elves. (Apart from a Winter Soldier minifig, I don't think TWS has much to offer in terms of sets than what the Avengers already did. Maybe an exclusive fig with the DVD release?) However, I do think that TLG doesn't really have as much creative control over their superheroes line as we might think. As Marvel likes to be fairly tight-lipped about the specific plot details of their movies, no doubt they give Marvel very little to go off of when designing movies sets, but are more willing to do so with their cartoon series. But that brings me to a point which others have made, but with which I disagree: that AFOLs are not the target market. For TLG, that is true; however, for Marvel we are exactly the target market. Collectors, grown up but not grown out of toys but now with somewhat more disposable income. It seems like Marvel would be encouraging TLG to produce more AFOL-targeted sets--even to the point of including it in their licensing agreement. Not to where they would be excluding children, but to produce cartoon sets and MCU sets side-by-side, to draw kids toward the movies, and adults back toward the cartoons (as I was to EMH), and increase viewership and brand loyalty of both. Although I have only talked about Marvel, I believe much of the same is true for DC. That and the need for DC to embrace more of their universe than just Batman, both in LEGO form and on the screen.

I'm not really a gamer at all, but occasionally I pick up Chrono Trigger for a healthy dose of nostalgia.

I can see the Hulkbuster armor being brick-built with some bigfig parts--i.e. using the Hulk's handpieces recolored. Whatever we get, it will definitely be an improvement over the last wave of IM sets. The Igor suit was blue, so I thought it was kind of a giveaway. Not only that, we actually see it doing some heavy lifting in the final fight sequence. But I guess, given the suit's size, and the sheer number of suit variants in the film, it is a logical conclusion that one of them must have been the Hulkbuster. As long as we actually get it this time around...

Taking my first trip to LL CA in about a month, I am pretty excited. Probably as much (if not more) than my 5-year old. Best thing is that they have a deal now where if you pre-book one day, you get a 2nd free. As if I needed an excuse for another day...

"Oh, wow. That is cool." Usually I hear this in the following context (or something similar): wife's friend comes over, wife explains that yes her husband still plays with Lego, and then she goes and gets something I have made and brings it out to show off. While I hear this way too often, I could also stand to hear it even more

I would be interested in helping out. Creating and writing a story, fleshing out characters, or model design; whatever you need, I'll try to help out where I am able.

I think the yellow headrails actually look good, but the problem is that there isn't really enough other yellow detailing throughout the rest of the ship, so it looks out of place. Put some other small yellow details--even a couple 1x1 rounds--and it would help tie it all together IMO. Love the rest of the ship, though. Fantastic work.

Here is one tip that I have found very useful (and it sounds like you are kind of doing this already): every time I get a new model, after building it I take it apart and build something new from just those parts--kind of like how older sets came with alternate builds on the box, or the current line of 3-in-1s. This technique has several benefits: 1. The big picture: if you decide what you want to build before you start, you have that vision of what you want the final product to be. But having the limitation of only the pieces from that set forces you to get creative with them in order to accomplish that vision. This is even more true if the alt build is from a different theme than the original (for example, making a spaceship out of a City set). 2. Individual pieces: even if you don't decide early on what your going to make (let your fingers do the thinking), the limitation of using only that set means you will still try several different methods of connecting the same pieces for a different result. Making tablescraps like this can lead you to find unusual uses for ordinary parts, or ways to make a fragile build more stable, for example. 3. Familiarity with your own collection: the most important thing (IMO) with a small collection is knowing your limitations--on size, color, part variety, etc, so that you don't undertake some huge MOC only to discover that you simply don't have enough to finish it (groan!). Handling the same pieces multiple times in a short period to build different things helps you know and remember what you have in your collection as you add to it. That way, when later on you are working on a MOC using your whole collection, it is easier to know exactly what part you need and about how many of that part you have. Granted, this is easier if you build your collection slowly and with smallish models, as was my childhood, but even now as an adult, with my collection growing more quickly and with larger sets, I think I have a pretty comprehensive idea of every single piece. So while you have already done some of this, try taking one of the Creator sets (or a different one, whatever) and build an alt model that doesn't come from the instructions. There's no reason why every set can't be a 3-in-1. Finally, I'll respond here to others' comments about sorting and organizing: it does keep your pieces nicer, esp. the transparent ones, but complex sorting methods aren't that important when you are first starting out--for a long time I just kept everything in a big box. Unless you suddenly get several hundred dollars' worth of LEGO at once (which while awesome makes sorting a logistical nightmare), I wouldn't worry about it; wait until you know how to build effectively with what you have, and then you will be able to sort and organize according to your own building style, rather than trying to create a building style from the arbitrary way you have sorted without really knowing what you were doing. But sorting really is a whole other issue to itself, and there are other threads for that. I'm now 25 years into this hobby, and while I have left the big box sorting system behind, I still haven't discovered how to make my system perfect yet. So don't fret too much over it. Welcome, and Good Luck!

One word: Abomination.