greg3

Looks great... I love these old spacecraft designs and think they'd make great official sets!! Excellent stuff!!

That looks awesome!! I love the way you've created the shape and details with some creative part usage... Great background info too (At least one of the unused capsules was bought by a private company (Excalibur or something similar) for use as a "space hotel" and stored here on the Isle of Man a few years ago!! I think the company eventually went bust and the capsules were taken away - I remember being stuck behind one being transported to the boat!!) Anyway, excellent work... Would make a great official set!!

These are great!! I especially like the rocket and the balloon stage coach is brilliant!! Nice work!!

Here's my entry... might tweak it a bit over the next few days but it's pretty much finished!! [Thrawn] - The Last Asogian Thanks for organising this - I really enjoyed the build!!

Very nice!! The interior looks great and the bus design is spot on... interesting story behind it too!! Excellent work!!

Great eye-catching design!! I especially like the old style pump designs and it looks great all lit up... nice work!!

On board the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera - currently in orbit around the 4th planet of the Zamor system. “Admiral, orbital scans have detected only simple lifeforms, no sign of any technology. Shall I give the order to resume course?” “No Captain, we remain here. Deploy the probe droids - have them target the valleys in the north western desert region” "But sir, our orders… the rebels on Lothal…" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Lothal can wait… What’s down there is far more important. Tell me Captain, what do you know about a species called the Asogians?" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "The Asogians? Well, they were part of the Republic, gifted farmers and plant scientists from what I can recall." Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Yes… it was said that their ability came from what the Jedi called the “Living Force”. The Asogian homeworld was believed to contain more species of plant than any other - in fact their name means "Children of the Green Planet" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Of course, now their world is nothing but a lifeless ball of molten slag..." Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "What happened to it?" "Simple… they defied the Emperor. You see in the last few years of the Republic, Asogian scout ships were said to have discovered a route through the Great Galactic Hyperspace Disturbance - the barrier that prevents travel beyond our galaxy. Their Senator, Grebleips, funded a large expedition with just one aim - to travel to another galaxy! "Another Galaxy? But if that were possible, the implications…" "Would revolutionise our knowledge of the universe - not to mention the strategic value of such a route - new systems, resources, species and technologies. Unfortunately, the expedition returned just as the Clone Wars were beginning. In the ensuing chaos, their findings were never formally announced. Then as the war neared its end and the Jedi tried to overthrow Palpatine, Senator Grebleips showed his true colours when he refused to condemn the Jedi treachery and actively began to oppose the formation of the Empire. When the Emperor learnt that he was planning to give the navigational data to the Rebels, he sent a fleet to their home world to retrieve the information. The Asogian's chose to resist and paid the price but a handful of ships escaped; including one carrying the only known copy of the route. As a result, Imperial standing orders were issued to capture or kill any Asogian on sight. All but one of the members of that intergalactic mission have since been accounted for…" "And you believe that he's down there?" "I know he is. See this?" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "What is it?" "An Asogian Life Sculpture. Asogian explorers would create one of these when their time had come to settle down. It would consist of materials and images representing locations that has a special significance to the sculptor... their first alien world, their greatest discovery, and so on. This one was found in Senator Grebleips office after his arrest. It's carved from wood that could only be found on the Asogian homeworld and I believe it was a gift to the senator. What makes it of interest to us however, is that central flower carving" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "There's no record of anything like it in any Republic or Imperial data bank and yet Asogian artists were famed for the accuracy of their work - there's only one plausible explanation.." "You mean..." "Our mystery sculptor has traveled to a previously unknown world. The outer carvings however, do match a known species - a desert dwelling vine native to only one world..." Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "The planet below us?" "Exactly - the valleys of the north western desert region to be exact. I think the creator of this piece was on the Grebleips' mission, he escaped the Emperor's reprisals and needed somewhere remote to hide out. What better place than a remote world he had previously surveyed?" "But..." "Bridge to Thrawn" "Go ahead" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Sir, one of the probes has found somthing...." "Put the images through." Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Sir, is that a ship?" "It is, an Asogian short range shuttle to be precise... ET Class. It appears that the surrounding rocks must have shielded it from our scans" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Look sir.." "Our missing Asogian." Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "What is he up to sir?" "Hmm... Most of those plants aren't native to this world... It would appear that he's trying to recreate his homeworld" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Is that even possible?" "Unfortunately we'll never find out... deploy the stormtroopers" "Their orders?" "Capture if possible but the data is the primary target - we cannot risk loosing it now" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr A short time later... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Report Sergeant" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Sorry Sir, He gave us no choice. He tried to set off a series of linked detonators - the whole place would have gone up" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Most unfortunate, I think I would have enjoyed talking to him about his experiences. However, if he was willing to destroy all this, then the data must be here" "It is sir, the scanning crew found this hidden inside the ship it's heavily encrypted but it seems to be navigational data and ship logs." Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Excellent! With this in our hands, the Rebels have nowhere to run to and their defeat is now inevitable. Once our victory is achieved... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr ... then the Empire can turn its attention to new conquests" Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Here's a few pics of the MOCs... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Inside the ship is the Asogian's (his name is Zrek apparently!!) collection of plant species, ready to be transplanted to their new world!! (I imagine that having settled on this world as a new home, that he's removed all the flight controls etc and converted the ship into a kind of plant nursery - the interior is inspired by an image I found online of an unreleased ET play set from the 1980s!!) Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Thanks for looking - I have to say I've really enjoyed putting this together and coming up with the story (mainly inspired by online background info I found linking ET and Star Wars following the appearance of the aliens in the Phantom Menace) The ship was especially challenging!! Finally thanks to the competition organisers, I look forward to seeing the other entries!!

That's a cool looking fire station. Love the compact design and the fire engines are spot on too!! (Good use of the buckets!!) Nice job!!

These are really clever!! I think the snack bar and sports car are my favourite!! Nice work!! (Makes me wish for old days when every set box had alternate models on the back!!)

Great looking building!! The use of different textures and the exposed brick work really works well and gives it a perfect run-down look!! I love the pigeons too!!!

Well my entry is just about finished... Should have it posted over the weekend (just need to take the pics and write the background story!!)

A after seeing an image of this building in a news report this morning, I thought it might make a nice build. A couple of hours building this afternoon and this is the result... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr A bit of background info... Although most countries keep their own gene banks of important plant types, these sites can be vulnerable to accidents, disasters and war/civil strife so it was decided to build an international seed vault which would hold duplicates of these seeds. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was officially opened in 2008 and acts as a backup storage site for important crop seeds from all over the world. It's built on the island of Spitsbergen just over 800 miles from the North Pole and construction was funded by the Norwegian Government. Seed storage is free and the running costs are shared between Norway and various other Governments and foundations. The site currently stores around 900,000 different seed samples and in 2015 the first withdrawal of seeds took place to replace research samples destroyed during the Syrian Civil War. The seeds themselves are stored in vaults some 120m inside the mountain and kept at around -18º C. The only part of the structure visible from the surface is the entrance. In accordance with Norwegian law which states that publicly funded buildings over a certain cost must include artwork, the building features a public art installation above the entrance and along the roof. Called Perpetual Repercussion it involves a series of mirrors and prisms that reflect the polar light during the summer and are lit by fibre optic cables during the winter. The building was designed to withstand any potential threat but has recently suffered it's first case of flooding, caused by the melting permafrost (thought to be linked to Global Warming). Although this flooding was restricted to the entrance hall, work is now being carried out to improve drainage and waterproofing. (which is why it was in the news!!) I like the way the "art installation" catches the light in this pic!! I tried using tiles but the cheese slopes seemed to work better. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr I'm pretty pleased with how my version came out - but might tweak the landscaping a bit (also I couldn't continue the art installation along the roof - might have to look into using a sticker!!) Anyway thanks for looking - comments are always welcome!!

The people of Ballabreek are used to seeing unusual loads being transported through the town but this morning a very unusual load held up the traffic... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr A life-size rocket ship - recently restored and once used as prop in a popular 1950s Science fiction serial "Space Squad"!! Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr The rocket ship is being transported from the restorers back to it's owner (a wealthy local business man and self confessed sci-fi geek!!) but before that, it's making a stop off in Ballabreek for a mini convention. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr "Space Squad" it turns out has quite a cult following among my minifigs and with this year marking the 60th anniversary of the filming of an episode of Space Squad in Ballabreek's mine, it's the perfect opportunity for a bit of Cosplay!! As well as the rocket, there's also the added attraction of a signing with one of the original actors. Now in his 80's he still relishes his time as a "hero of the galaxy"... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr A happy fanboy gets his limited edition helmet signed... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr There's also a chance to pick up a few collectibles... replica helmets, ray guns and even a rare model of one of the spaceships (this gold coloured one appeared in "Invasion of the Hawkmen" (other classic episodes included "The Slave Mines of Mars", "Rise of the Robots" and "Planet of the Insects") Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr All in all, everyone seems to have enjoyed the day and a new generation have been introduced the wonders of "Space Squad"!! Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Unfortunately, the episode filmed in Ballabreek is one several lost episodes but a number of still images are said to exist in private collections... who knows, maybe one day we'll see them in a future update!! Finally, a few more shots of the rocket... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr I wanted to try and make something similar to the CMF rocket suit and was inspired by the work of a fellow Eurobricks member... My version is still a bit of a WIP (will probably extend the red fins forward towards the cockpit) but when finished, I'll post it in it's own topic in the ski-fi forum. In the meantime, thanks for looking and comments are always welcome.

Nice looking build - I like the way it opens up/come apart and the interior and the giant coffee cup signage is perfect!! Thanks for sharing.... and good luck in the comp!!

Awesome looking build!! Loving the big tool signage on the front and that interior is excellent!! (It's certainly well stocked - I think the power tools display is my favourite part) Thanks for sharing!!

Great looking layout!! I really like the way you've adapted the official sets (that's what LEGO's all about!!) as well as creating your own. My favourites are the post office and petrol station!! The vehicles just add that finishing touch!! Excellent stuff!!

Cool!! I really like the way you've used official sets and builds as well as your own creativity!! Nice job!!

Beautiful looking build!! The fountain, the paths and the plants look spot on!! This would be a great addition to any city and looks perfect in your layout. Excellent work!!

Hi This sounds like a great competition (Thrawn being one of favourite characters!!) and my entry is well under way!! I do have a question though about the number of photos allowed. Is it ok to post more than 1 pic of each MOC? If so, how different could images of the same MOC be? For example your second MOC has images with and without the troopers on the top. Could I for example show the before and after of an attack or is it just a case of being allowed to move/pose minifigs? Finally, could I show 2 different scenes in the first MOC (for example an undercover Thrawn acquiring an item, and then him in uniform back on his Star Desroyer explaining its significance to his fellow officers? Hope that makes sense!! Thanks in advance....

That looks really cool!! You've created a perfect shape and I'd much rather have something this size than the outrageously sized Batmobiles of recent years!! Although I do prefer the black/grey version - not being familiar with the source material, somehow the blue/black/grey don't quite have the same Batman vibe to my eyes. Excellent stuff!!!

This week sees the re-opening of the beach cafe - since being taken over by a new owner it's been undergoing a bit of a revamp!! Originally built almost 4 years ago, the cafe had provided beach goers with tea/coffee, cold drinks and snacks such as toasties, sandwiches and ice creams but with the owner retiring it was put up for sale. The new owner is finally fulfilling his dream of running his own place after years of operating a mobile hotdog stand!! He's given the building a new colour scheme and plans to make it THE place to come for good quality, good value food; freshly prepared using local ingredients!! Here are a few before and after shots... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr As you can see - it's had a lick of paint and some new signage which is a tribute to the new owner's father who once owned a hamburger stand in the village (set 6683 was always one of my childhood favourites!!) and who has recently passed away. The inheritance he left paid for the purchase of the building and so it was only fitting to recreate the signage from the old man's first business!! Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Inside has also been redecorated and just a few minor changes have been made to the kitchen... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Here is the new owner... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr He hopes that as well as the great location, specials such as the "monster burger challenge" will pull in the customers and get his place talked about!! Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr But he's not forgotten the basics... polite, friendly and efficient staff!! Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Not to mention a clean attractive environment; even the bins have been replaced with seagull proof containers... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr So there we go, the newest place to dine in Ballabreek!! Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr As you can tell, this was inspired by the CMF hot dog guy!! Now I'm going to have to find a way to use all the other series 17 CMF figures!! Will I do it? Who knows... you'll just have to watch this "space" (little hint there to the next update!!) Thanks for looking!! Comments/suggestions welcome as always...

This certainly an eye-catching build!! Love the colour combo and the design is spot on with an excellent attention to detail!! (hope they get that broken window fixed though!!) Excellent stuff!!

A stunning looking building!! I really like the big window and the staircase!! Nice work!!

Great build!! I love all the interior detail and decoration especially the brick built statues/totems!! My favourite bit though is the rooftop hot tub!! Excellent stuff!!

Wow!! That is amazing - I think the phrase "climactic battle" just about sums it up!! (Well worth the effort you've put in!!) I especially love the range of supernatural opposition you've crammed in - I think they're going to need bigger proton packs!! Excellent work!!