Yatkuu

Large category Escape from the Imperial Trading Post by A_Goodman Tapu Island by Marooned Marin Steve's Treasure Hunt by Kolonial Beamter de Martinez Small category The King’s Merchant by Marooned Marin "Infamous Steve and the Fountain of Fortune" by Juhlhaus Steve's Boat by MyFirstMOC-Hun

+1 for @Horation For offering fair and to the point honest feedback in a no-nonsense way.

Here's a new episode of "the birds"! Something is coming for these little guys, as the saying goes... what goes around... What goes around... by Gregory Coquelz, on Flickr

The LEGO IDeas project "For the Birds" is nearing 500 supporters. WOOT! Thank you to everyone who has already supported! To celebrate this milestone, I am happy to share with you the building instructions to make your own small Blue bird desk companion! It's on rebrickable (and it's free, of course) --> https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-186812/Yatkuu/small-blue-bird/#details I hope you guys enjoy!

I made a video presentation for the project - enjoy!

Just wanted to share a new comic! Say what now, a LEGO... Cat?! by Gregory Coquelz, on Flickr Imagine these 2 sets side by side on a shelf... the "Tuxedo Cat" and "the Birds"... I think they would make quite the pair! I am actually having a lot of fun with these comics ;-) Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions on how I can improve these! If you have not yet checked the project, please consider heading over LEGO Ideas to cast a vote my way, I would be very grateful. Squawk!

The story wouln't be complete without it... right? Thank you, it's great to hear this build resonates with fans of the original movie!

Thank you, glad you like it! Here's another picture, this time showing a variant to the scene with the big bird perched on the wire this time... dragging everyone to the ground! 3 is a crowd by Gregory Coquelz, on Flickr

Steve is a great philosopher – what would be the point of surrendering to despair? NO, Steve is more the kind of guy to take things in stride, bide his time and daydream about open sea, spicy rum, juicy contraband... and of course, vengeance on the Imperials! And yeah, that guard is definitely drunk… actually taking a nap right now... tsk tsk, you just can’t find good personnel these days. Obviously, with 200 elements I could not really build a castle (here's a behind the scene look at the build)... but I would like to think that this prison cell is actually located in the basement of my "Hermit Fortress".

I just wanted to share a picture "in the bricks" of the MOC. For the Birds by Gregory Coquelz, on Flickr Some of you might notice a difference with the renders when it comes to the "wire". With the actual build, I tried using regular flex tube but there was .. well.. too much "flex" to support the 2 birds! It worked, but it was a bit wonky. So I came up with an alternative based on technic joints/axles/pins and bars. There is still a bit of give, but I don';t think this will stress the elements too much. Also, I will be the 1st to admit I am a terrible LEGO engineer, especially when it comes to Technic elements and I am sure that alternate options are possible... I just have not been able to figure out any. If you have any suggestions, please share these here!

A few years ago, on a random inspiration, I decided to recreate one of my favorite Pixar shorts – the classic “For the Birds”. Squawk! by Gregory Coquelz, on Flickr To my surprise, this small MOC turned out to be one of my most successful ones on Flickr... but I always thought I could improve it and take it to the next level. Today, I am happy to share the revised/improved/expanded version, which I submitted as a project on LEGO Ideas! While my original MOC only featured the 2 small birds, this new version also includes the big goofy one. In order to promote this project, I also prepared a few comics showcasing the birds bantering while perched on their wire, here is the 1st one! If you like this project, please consider heading over to LEGO Ideas to cast your vote, thank you! Project link: https://ideas.lego.com/s/p:51449e5af1a34810ab09679ed339fa76

Yes, for sure, the walls could have used a bit more texture, and in any other type of creation I would have gone the extra mile but here I kept it relatively simple for two reasons: parts count, highly textured walls are extremely parts intensive and I wanted to keep this one under the 200 elements limit. Granted, there are not 200 elements visible in the final shot and the non-visible parts could have been optimized to offset the overal parts count - but I didn't want to overhthink it all because I wanted to keep it simple. The main focus is meant to be on Steve/the prisoner and I didn't want the rest of the piece to be too distracting. I used my reflex for this one, you can find all the camera setting details on Flickr. I shot this in the afternoon with sun shining in from the right and leaving a small gap open in the cell ceiling to give the "ray of light" effect. The camera was laid flat on the table and I covered it and the front part of the build with a blanket to shield it from the outside light and used my phone as small light source under the blanket to make the guard visible. I was hoping the yellowish light of the phone would give it a latern-like glow - I'm not sure I achieved that, but this was the 40th attempt and I decided it was good enough! Overall I am quite happy (and surprised TBH) with the decent result - my only gripe is the fact that the cell window / seagull is a bit too exposed but I think that fixing this would have required some extra trickery - maybe shooting 2 pictures with different settings and merging them afterward.

What happened to Steve between his last appearance as a merchant at the Imperial Trading Post and his transformation into a pirate aboard Captain Redbeard's Skull's Eye Schooner? Well, if you were to ask him, his stories would vary, often depending on his rum intake that day. Once, he claimed to have traveled to China, where he made a fortune in the silk trade, only to lose it all in a game of dice. Another time, he boasted of rescuing an Indian princess from an arranged marriage, only to find her "quite a handful", as he put it. The truth, however, is much more mundane. Steve was caught with goods on which he had "forgotten" to pay taxes and was sentenced to a year in jail. But Steve never wallowed in self-pity. He took this setback in stride, using his time in jail to plan his future and contemplate revenge against the Imperials... From merchant to pirate by Gregory Coquelz, on Flickr The MOC is just under 200 elements, here's a behind the scene look at the build.

Thank you Eurobricks for running this fun contest and for everyone who voted for my entry! It’s great to see that 2 Islanders MOCs made it to the podium!!

Greetings fellow Eurobricks members! It's 2024, everyone at LEGO is going into Space... even the Islanders! Kahuka-1 on approach! Kahuka-1 by Gregory Coquelz, on Flickr Thank you to the EB staff for organizing this fun contest and good luck to All!