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For the last KockeFest exhibition, I really wanted to try something new and not just bring along modulars buildings. I had fun building this diorama, although I admit the initial plan was much bigger than this. But then I ran out of bricks and space, and left it like this at 48x96 studs size. However, there's still a chance of continueing this MOC further as planned. I got the two Elves' sets with the dragons mostly for the parts, but then I really enjoyed playing with the dragons (thanks to my 2-year old son), that I saw a bigger potential. That's when the idea started forming, and the MOC was slowly shaping. In addition, I wanted to try different approaches building the vegetation and water features. This was my first attempt at building a waterfall, and I'm ok with this version, although it was challenging mostly because a lot of my bricks is currently unsorted, and finding the right parts (knowing I have them) was taking a lot of extra time. I recently got some trans-clear Technic bricks, and I thought of using them as support for a flying dragon, that's why I set the green dragon up in the air flying above the forrest. Another challenge of this MOC was taking pictures. Since it takes up the width of my kitchen table, it was not easy to set up a white background (the wall) and get the right light from the window on one side. I want to expand this to include also an Elven village, and perhaps add more dragons, and improve the display further, so any comments are welcome.
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The Poacher Chapter I: The Tranquil Meadow Chapter II: Old Bagshaw's Residence Chapter III: The Poacher Chapter IV: Making Camp Chapter V: Solitary Council Chapter VI: Escaping Home Chapter VII: Waylaid Chapter VIII: Archery Practice Chapter IX: Honour the Fallen Bonus Landscape: Avalonian Countryside Averil guided her rowing-boat silently through the morning mist. Her fiery hair damp with the moisture of the fog as she waited for the shore to appear. She couldn't see more than a few yards ahead of her, but she didn't need to. These waters were familiar enough, and she welcomed the cover of the mist. Averil had been poaching in the forests of the Overgrown Isle for years now. Necessity had driven her here despite her fears, fears that had turned out to be unfounded. There had been plenty of game, especially as she dared to travel further inland. She would have plenty to bring back; more than the family could eat, so she could even trade the rest. Those days had been good days. But they lay behind her now. Now prey was scarce, even when travelling deeper into the forest, and more often than not she would have to head home empty-handed. In fact, it had been over a week now since she had even seen anything worth hunting. Averil knew the reason to this; it was due to the new settlement, Newquay, that had been set up on the isle. - 'Those fools are scaring everything off' she mumbled to herself. Back when she had first noticed the lack in game she had tried heading further up the coast to get some distance to the colony, but it had not helped. Either the whole forest was affected, or she would have to head even further away, which would make it impossible for her to make daytrips to the isle. She was getting closer to the shore. She could feel it. Soon she would be able to make out the dark contour of the towering forest through the mist. - 'Perhaps I should start spending the nights here?', she thought. Even after the years she had spent her, the thought of spending a night here was enough to make her uneasy. She had done it once, and she hadn't slept at all. It was the noises. They were... different. Not like the noises of any other forest she had made camp in. No rustling of leaves, no chirping of birds. Instead, the noises were low, creaking and groaning sounds, that did not seem natural, or perhaps too natural, she couldn't decide which. The air had been heavy and still, much more so than during the days, and she had been excessively aware of the noise of her own breathing. It was not an experience she would like to repeat. As the shore came into view, she aptly steered her boat to a suitable landing spot. On impact Averil started gathering her things. She opened the hidden compartment in the bow of the boat and took out her spear and longbow. She put a net over the fish she had bought this morning from old man Gent, to keep it from being snatched by animals while she was hunting. It was meant to be her catch of the day, as people would be suspicious of a fisherman that never brought home any fish. It smelt something horrible though, and on closer examination, no one would believe it to be a fresh catch. - 'It will have to do', she told herself. Spear in hand she lithely jumped over the side of the boat and started tying up the boat to a gnarly old tree. Once done, she grabbed her longbow and headed off. - 'Perhaps we she just move to Newquay', she said to herself as she started to make her way through the underbrush. It was a thought she had entertained many times, but the idea of being closer to authority than necessary worried her. As she spoke the words, though, she realised that she was seriously considering it. Perhaps it would not be so bad. Being based on the isle would certainly expand the area she could cover in a day. Nobody knew about her poaching, and if she was careful nobody would. - 'I'll just be a poor fisherman, just like I am now, and no one will be the wiser.' Her brother would probably like it. He always complained that he couldn't come with her on her trips here. And Gammy would be happy anywhere as long as she was with both of them. Newquay would be as good a place as any. She may even have a chance to hunt legally for whatever lord was in charge there, although that may raise the question as to where her hunting skills came from. And moving to Newquay would certainly mean a degree of lost freedom; always someone around to see you. That definitely did not sit right with Averil. She would have to do something though, and soon. They didn't have much left to eat, and unless she caught something by the end of the week they would start starving. - 'I'll catch something today', she told herself. 'We don't need Newquay.' She knew she wouldn't though. The forest was empty, and so would their bellies be. Newquay was their only option. *** Experimented a bit trying to get a nice mist effect. Got some “non-misted” photos on my flickr, as I felt it ruined to atmosphere a bit to add them here. Also, I would like to request UoP DoH credits for the following: Geography: Oceanside or River scene Hope you enjoyed the MOC :)
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We’re approaching the surface of yet another planet. But this time, it’s going to be different. I’m not here to discover more atrocities. I’m here to end them. Let Felucia be the planet of life once again. The arms dealer told us we might find him here. But he is not my only source. That datapad, once used to disguise the bounty hunter’s actions, might serve to uncover him. It contained more information than I thought. The bounty hunter must have thought that as well, otherwise he would never have left it behind. The Rebel he took it from must have been very close to finding him. So close that Fett found him first. And the Rebel left all he knew on his datapad. He had a list of locations. One of them on Felucia. That knowledge is now mine to use. And I intend to use my inheritance well. I put the landing craft down near the location. Now is the time. “According to my information, the hideout of the bounty hunter is two hours north from here. I’ll stay with the ship. We don’t want to get stuck on this planet.” Nobody questions me. Agent An and the fantroopers of the bounty hunter depart, eager to meet and thank their idol. [soNE Ep. VI] 5 - Delivery, deliverance by Bert.VR, on Flickr But I don’t want them to. Boba Fett doesn’t deserve that kind of thank you. How could someone possible thank him for his work. For his work, his atrocities, all the horrors I’ve been through to find him. All the bad examples he gives. All the low things he inspires and propagates. How can this monster possibly be received like a hero? [soNE Ep. VI] 5 - Two ways by Bert.VR, on Flickr The troopers are out of sight. I leave the ship, and I start walking south, to where the datapad says I can find that bounty hunter. I’m going to bring him another message, another kind of thank you. I’m going to show him who he really is, what he really does. It’s about time I finally do something with all of those thoughts I had. No more hiding inside myself. I’m going to step to him and use the most effective weapon of all. A weapon that can destroy people. A weapon that shatters them. A weapon that can give them new life. A mirror. I pay no attention to the flora around me. I don’t care if it tries to kill me or tries to make me alive. I don’t care what my colleagues are doing. I wouldn’t care if they fell into a Sarlacc pit. I only feel determination. No turning back. But what if he isn’t there? What if he shoots me? What if… I don’t have the courage? Then that will not be the end of my mission. It will continue. I’ll track him down and deliver my message. I will evade his shots and prevail. I will deliver myself from my eternal passiveness. Because this can’t go on. Because everything can’t be in vain. Because these words… are true. To Boba Fett, bounty hunter Thank you. Thank you for showing that a killer can never become a hero. Thank you for teaching me that there are things, supported by you, worse than war. Thank you for waking me up that your deeds cannot be just another horror. Thank you for causing these ruins among ruins of war. For all of that was horrendous enough, not to scare me. It was atrocious enough to wake me up. It gave me a purpose. A purpose to end what you do. A motivation, that there are such horrors out here, that thinking about them is not enough. A meaning to this mission, that this delivery might bring deliverance. And a question. They say you can do everything, but can you look in a mirror? __________________ As usual, LDD file available here. I found Felucia the hardest planet to build on in this entire episode. Maybe because it came last, but the fact that it is really hard to do a lot of flexing in LDD (I hope overhang is still acceptable), and the fact that I couldn't use tons of transparent pieces without finishing my renders in a week or two, really didn't make things easier. It was also tricky to do something 'new' on this planet. So I just stayed with the over vegetated surface of the planet, with tons of weird plants. I had to be creative with parts, and I restricted myself further to not using parts that are intended to be used as vegetation. So hats, wigs, beards, animals and other oddities it is! I hope you enjoy spotting all kinds of far fetched parts usages in this creations. As I said, I found it hard to do something different, content wise. Therefor, I decided to make an original presentation. I hope you like the contrast between the greyscale and the colors, as it was hard to get it right. You have to have some kind of continuum in the vegetation, but not all of the parts are available both in color as in shades of grey. But I did my best, and I hope you like how it turned out. My goal was to make the story more visual, even on a symbolic level, and I hope that works. So that was it for this episode. I hope you enjoyed following the entire story, as we had a lot of fun writing it. Thanks again goatman461 for all of the feedback and the great ideas! I hope this can continue. Anyway, if you lost track of the rather big story, I don't blame you, and here is a little overview to help you out: Part 1 - When did the killer become the hero?by BEAVeR Part 2 - Something smells fishy by goatman461 Part 3 - Worse than war I by BEAVeR Part 4 - Worse than war II by goatman461 Part 5 - Just another horror I by BEAVeR Part 6 - Just another horror II by goatman461 Part 7 - Ruins among ruins by BEAVeR Part 8 - Ruins on top of ruins by goatman461 Part 9 - Delivery, deliverance by BEAVeR Part 10 - Felucia by goatman461
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“We have located a site that might be suitable for the generator,” they said, “but our sensors can’t get a very detailed view of it. Go check it out” So here I am, surfing over the forest of the green moon in my TIE Bomber. And not a tiny bit regretful to be away from battle for this one time. I still need time since… since Sullust. Being away from war, some nature, no killing to do… that will surely clear my mind. My computer says I’m approaching my target location. Not much to see here, except form those tightly packed trees that populate this planet like skyscrapers on Coruscant, making it nearly impossible to reach most places. But they say this particular position offers some kind of tactical advantage. Well, let’s find out. Let’s ready some seismic bombs to clear the area to get a closer look. Let’s pull the trigger, and bombs away… A strange feeling overwhelms me… pulling that trigger… Two loud explosions resonate through the forest. It shivers and trembles as if it’s frightenend. When the last dry creaks and dust settle into silence, the wound becomes apparent. Like the footprint of a giant, all forest has fled away from a gaping patch of destruction. Slowly and carefully I manoeuvre my craft to my newly created landing site. I shut down the engines, and all is silent. [soNE Ep. V] Uprooted by Bert.VR, on Flickr From down here, the destruction becomes even more apparent. Frightened ferns have flocked together, while a once mighty tree got uprooted. Respecting the victims of this unfair battle, I silently unload the analysing equipment. Now it’s just waiting for the long analysis to end. The humming of the machine seems almost disrespectful in this perfect si- Snap [soNE Ep. V] The human in me by Bert.VR, on Flickr A strange, furry creature is staring at me from between the bushes. I must be staring back. The creature begins walking towards me, muttering, accelerating, raising its spear. It comes running at me, suddenly silent, with a look of determination. I already have my blaster in my hands, and I’m ready to pull the… No… not again… I’m acting on instinct now, but somehow something in me – the human in me - is powerful enough to set the blaster to stun just in time. And I pull. The creature stops, and with a look of anger crashes down on the ground. I’m deeply impressed. This might have been my very first shot where I wasn’t the victim of. Instead of blindly shooting, I finally did what is right. Not what’s right according to the instructor of the academy, but what feels right. I’ve spared the life of an innocent creature that had nothing to do with this war. This is what it feels like to be a hero. Heroes must be the ones that know when not to pull the trigger. It seems that I’ve done something good in this horrible war. That uncertainty of the past couple of months… gone. I am a good person after all. I almost want to thank that creature for attacking me… But why would it attack me? Sure, it might have been confused after the blast. Perhaps I destroyed a part of its home. But whatever it was, at least no one died today. No collateral damage this time. Instead, I gently put the unconscious creature in a bed of ferns. A beep from the analysing equipment indicates that it is time for a second sample. With a renewed bounce in my step, I begin to pull it to the other side of the landing site. I stop when I discover a path between the plants. This must be where the creature came from. It goes straight into the forest, until it’s blocked by that tree, where… It can’t be… It may not be… What have I done… My legs give away, and for who knows how long, I just sit there, staring into the distance. [soNE Ep. V] No... not again by Bert.VR, on Flickr I have killed once more. Another creature couldn’t get away in time and was buried beneath a tree. Only its tiny legs remain. And it’s my fault. This time, I caused a fluffy tragedy. I have become as despicable as those who I always despised. Who was I to think I’m a good person after all. This time, it wasn’t even a foe. Not even a friend. The creature had nothing to do with this war we’re fighting. It never accepted the risk of getting killed for its cause. And yet it perished in this war. They call it collateral damage. As if it is not at all important and can just be ignored. This creature, these trees with all the invisible but beautiful life. Just collateral damage. How absurd. Everything that I’ve been telling myself in the past is simply invalid. Nothing is trivial in a war. And not a thing that you do isn’t your responsibility. That’s the thing about war. You start and fight with only your goal in mind. And then you even begin to forget that and only think war… war… war… You don’t see what happens. Well, you don’t see what really happens. You’re not clearing a landing site. You’re destroying age-old fauna and flora. You’re not stopping the enemy. You take the life of a living being. You’re not a hero. You’re a monster. War clouds your mind with brutality. War is blinding. I kept telling myself I could go on with this war, as long as it didn’t involve direct battle. But I was wrong. How can I participate in such an act of collective and destructive blindness, even with trivial acts? This small… small and everything but unimportant event… it uprooted my entire way of thinking about this war. Just like this tree, it was firm once. But one big blast threw it over, causing death and destruction… On the other hand, once the dust has cleared up, new light reaches the soil, and new beautiful things get a chance to grow. Once, I firmly believed in the good of this war, perhaps even without any good reason. I shot, I bombed for it. And my own acts, my own shots I fired, my own bombs I dropped, blew me away. Seeing all the damage I’ve done, all the sorrow I’ve dealt, I lost those roots. And nothing but a wreck remains. Immobile, without any purpose. But new lights starts sipping into my mind. What good is it to leave this war? It will still be as destructive. That’s no way to repay for all that I’ve done. I must end this war without one spill of blood. War will be the only victim of my further deeds. Only then will all of this get a meaning. But how? How can I end this war without damage for my friends and without damage for my foes? What’s good for one, is bad for the other. It’s impossible. I’m just a simple pilot, I have no power. But what about these inspired moments... when I refuse to kill a creature that’s attacking me. Maybe not all is lost after all. When the new tiny plants bath in fresh sunlight, maybe then I will be strong enough to do something. But now, those little plants are fragile… and the eclipse of war is still glooming. But through losing my roots, I think I’ve finally found firm ground. I’m not happy. Just determined. But still sad. The data of the analysing equipment indicate that this site isn’t fit for construction. Maybe it’s for the better: this place might find rest again. But then what was the meaning of all this? That’s the question I have to answer. I feel weak. [soNE Ep. V] Firm ground? by Bert.VR, on Flickr ___________________ You can find the LDD file here EDIT: instructions for the TIe Bomber can be found at Rebrickable, if anyone would be interested. The build consists of 2377 bricks. The TIE bomber (including pilot) has exaclty 1000! I hope you enjoy it. Comments are more then welcome.
