VK-318

Struck speechless. You tell a very different kind of story than BEAVeR, or Goatman461, or Markus1984 and Disco86, but honestly, I like yours best. And this is just about the finest bit of narrative yet. As far as the build itself goes, it's very well done but not obviously Star Wars. To be fair, I'm echoing a critique made against one of my own builds just a few days ago. Still, it might have helped to make things a little more obviously sci-fi. Aside from the Stormtroopers, this looks like it could be a 21st century war zone, too.

I, too, am not entirely pleased with the choice of figures. I should have used heads from the Misty Mountain orcs from the Hobbit sets, but only thought of it after the pictures were all taken, transfered to the computer, and resized. Oh, well. An idea for next time, I suppose.

Yep, that's it. Very entertaining, very strange. To the original point, it's possible that the strange colors used in original sets were at least partly a result of the small color selection at the time. No dark blue, no dark red, and not much use for grays outside of Star Wars and Space, if memory serves.

Personally, I just wish I could make large builds - my parts inventory is pretty small, and my budget for new parts even smaller. For example, if you examine this set of four builds, you will notice that each one is based on a completely different color scheme - this is because I just don't have enough parts of a single color to support two different builds. Tiles and 1x bricks especially are a weakness in my collection, and since smooth, studless floors are generally preferred, I have to limit my builds in order to accommodate that need. I agree with your observations. I should have thought to put black parts behind that door. And with the wood, I was trying to complete an impression of the shoddy workmanship of the Hutts and their laborers, but it didn't work as smoothly as I'd hoped.

Brickshelf (http://www.brickshelf.com) is also a decent image hosting site. It does require the kind of steps listed above, but it is completely anonymous (if you care about that sort of thing). However, it has been known to go down for maintenance often and for long periods of time.

Try Draco Malfoy's hair piece from the more recent sets - it might work. Other than that? I suppose you could try the generic hair piece, like Luke used to have.

BEAVeR rendered speechless ... may we never see the day.

Looks good so far. If you have enough variety in those tiles, you might want to move away from the neat grid you have going, though. It doesn't look very Tatooine-like right now, though I understand that the supply and variety of those tiles is pretty limited so far.

It might be good to see the underside of these, but really, the Hound's Tooth and Mist Hunter are professional-quality models. They should definitely go on Lego Ideas (probably as separate projects). Well done, sir! If you've been watching the Star Wars forum here on Eurobricks long, you've probably noticed Shadows of Nar Eurbrikka. I understand that there's an episode coming up in the next week or two, and with skills like these, you should really consider enlisting with the Empire. We need reinforcements if we hope to maintain our winning streak. Oh, and, by the way, your Slave I is pretty impressive, too.

I can't believe it! MstrOfPppts couldn't find anything to critique!

And... I'm back! Here are my four freebuilds, in order: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=106023 http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=106025 http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=106027 http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=106028

Wow ... For the first time ever, we have episodes ready to roll faster than builders are ready for them. I think we've finally got this system working about right. In other news, I've finally got a new picture for my profile, if someone has the time now to fix it. Here it is: Thanks! Now I'm ready for an episode.

OPERATION REPORT Operative: VK-318 Vladimir Volker Operation Codename: Operation Outlaw *drip drip* *drip* *squeeeee ... * Clang! Once out of the pipe, I pulled off my helmet and helped Raven up. She peeled off her hood and tried to untangle her hair. "I'm not sure what they run through those pipes," Raven said as I took out my weapon and checked to make sure it had not been damaged by the long crawl, "and I don't think I ever want to know. I'll never wash all that slime out of my coat." She looked down in dismay. "And it's such a nice coat, too." Once we had dealt with the three Weequay security guards, we had backtracked to a maintenance corridor. Inside, we had found a pipe that was big enough for us to crawl through and wasn't full of running water - or worse. Judging by the leaves, shreds of paper, and small metal objects which I was now picking off of my armor, this was a storm drain pipe, though what it was doing running through a bank's basement is beyond me. The intricacies - or, more likely, the lack thereof - in Hutt design and architecture have always been a mystery to me. "Did the datatapes make it?" I asked as I holstered my blaster. "Yep. They're all right," Raven said, giving up on her hair and pulling them out of an inside pocket. "Where are we now?" We had followed the pipe until my helmet told me we were in an area marked as being "under construction." The concrete-walled chamber we were in was about fifty feet below the surface, but there was supposed to be a manhole about twenty feet away, through the door. "Almost out of here," I said, scraping grime from the inhaler and eyeshields of my helmet. "What do you plan to do next?" She shrugged. "Leave Nar Eurbrikka, that's for sure. I'll probably try to disappear somewhere, maybe on Coruscant, maybe not." "Why not come work for the Empire? I could use somebody like you on my team." "You have a team?" she asked sarcastically. "I do if you join it," I replied, shaking the leaf litter from my cloak. She studied me for a while. Then she nodded. "Sure. Why not? It's not like I've got anything better to do. And I suppose I owe you one." We shook hands. "Great. Now," I said as I slipped my helmet back on, "let's get out of this hole. I'm going to have to do an awful lot of paperwork before this is done." END OF REPORT I would like this entry judged, please.

OPERATION REPORT Operative: VK-318 Vladimir Volker Operation Codename: Operation Outlaw Once inside the building, it was a fairly simple matter to locate the rigged safe deposit box, open it, and retrieve the tapes. The bank was remarkably elegant for an institution frequented by Hutts - even the wood floor was spotlessly clean. But now there was a ... problem. The door we had entered the bank by was locked again, and someone had jammed it. "Looks like we'll need to find another way out," I said after Raven had given up trying to open the door. "Um ... I don't think that's going to be our biggest problem," Raven said, looking around. I took the first thug down quickly, but there were more behind him. They were probably the bank's security force, and we must have triggered some sort of alarm without knowing it. We took cover behind the heavy wood and leather couch. "We're going to have to get out of here before one of them signals for help," Raven said. "I think I have an idea," I replied as I stuck my head up and shot at one of the Weequay guards. I would like this entry judged, please.

OPERATION REPORT Operative: VK-318 Vladimir Volker Operation Codename: Operation Outlaw "What's taking so long?" I asked. We were standing in a dark alley in the newer quarters of Nar Eurbrikka. "I'm working on it, okay?" Raven hissed. There was a little flash and an unhappy tone. "Confound it! This wasn't so hard a week ago!" Judging from the piles of garbage, one would have thought we were deep in the Eurbrikkan slums, but in fact this alley ran up against the back of a newly-completed bank. It was here that Raven had hidden her data, and, after donning more suitable outfits for the task, we had come here to attempt to break in and recover the tapes. Again, my thanks for the speedy processing of my materials requisition - the armor used by the Shadowtrooper corps is far more suitable for the work of an ISB operative than is standard-issue armor, being less conspicuous than combat whites and offering far greater protection than ISB grays. I will refrain from asking how you managed to obtain it. "Where exactly are these data tapes?" I asked as I stood watch. "In a safe deposit box," she said. "You mean you just deposited it in a box here?" "Sort of. I didn't exactly tell the bank. Their vaults open in response to electronic keys, and I've recalibrated one of the locks to respond to my tool." She waved the glowing-tipped silver rod. "They don't check the vaults regularly, so the tapes should still be there." "Well, hurry up and unlock that door before someone finds us here," I said. I would like this entry judged, please.

OPERATION REPORT Operative: VK-318 Vladimir Volker Operation Codename: [NONE] During our last contact, we were unfortunately interrupted. At the time, I was involved in an extremely sensitive operation, and could provide no details due to the risk to my sources. I am pleased to inform you that this incidental operation has been successfully concluded. I submit that it should be recorded as "Operation Outlaw," and will refer to it as such in further dispatches until orders to the contrary are relayed. Subsequent to my promotion into the Imperial Security Bureau, I was stationed, as you are aware, on Nar Eurbrikka, pending a more permanent posting. Shortly after my arrival, a message was delivered to me by the local ISB station chief. It consisted of the name "Raven Williams," the address of a Nar Eurbrikkan club, a date and time, and a memo from the station chief or his yoemen, which said that this note had been delivered through an Imperial agent in the local Rebel underground, and that I had been identified as the intended recipient by my name and operating number. The name "Raven Williams" was far from unknown to me, and it is unlikely to be unknown to you. Williams was born a Corellian of low to middle class, and was shanghaied by a space freighter at age fifteen. She disappears from known records until age seventeen, when she emerges as captain of said freighter in the salvage documents - the freighter was destroyed by pirates, and, the documents note, she survived by taking cover in a mining facility on a nearby mega-asteroid. She joined the Rebellion at eighteen, and today is an information broker and occasional operative in Alliance Intelligence. What the record does not state, and what has likely been until now unknown to anyone but myself and Raven, is that the facility in which she hid from the pirate attack on her vessel was my own mining base, during one of my early mining expeditions into the Outer Rim. She sheltered there until the freighter with whom I contracted my supplies of consumables made its next visit, and then bought passage away. Evidently, Raven still remembered my name, and seemed to have something worth communicating. I judged the risk acceptable, since I as yet knew little of critical value to the Empire and thus could reveal little of value to the Rebels should this prove to be a trap. Accordingly, I proceeded to the club, and was there at the appointed time, 2300 Imperial time. I wish to pass along my thanks for the timely processing of my materials requisition. My ISB armor would hardly have been suitable for a rendezvous of this sort, nor indeed would have my uniforms. I was, at any rate, sufficiently inconspicuous, even in a nearly-empty room, that it took Raven a moment to recognize me. She was precisely on time, and over a hand of cards she quietly explained why she had arranged to meet me. As an officer in Alliance Intelligence, she was painfully aware of the stark price the Rebellion exacted from its supporters, and the lack of protection it offered in return. She, like myself, had no interest in supporting a lost cause. But the Rebellion polices its own forces as effectively as the Empire, and her dissent was discovered. When she learned of this, she passed a message through a known Imperial agent (in light of this data, I recommend a complete analysis of all data produced by Nar Eurbrikkan infiltrators in the Rebel ranks), hid her data in a secure location, and made her escape. Now, here she was, seeking political asylum. As an officer of the ISB, I had the authority to grant this if it would further the goals of the ISB and the Empire. So, we made a bargain. We would need to recover her data in order to render her useful to the ISB. So, if she would assist me in recovering that data and delivering it safely to the ISB, she would be granted asylum and a full pardon in accordance with the Bureau's war powers. She was quite willing, and now all that remained was to retrieve the data. I would like this entry judged, please.

Wow. This is definitely a good reason to take apart the Zenith. I, too, look forward to seeing the interior, but honestly it was already a masterpiece even with no interior.

I'll be waiting a while. It's hard to get much daylight time when you work the day shift during the winter in Minnesota.

The red pieces do look odd - IF they are the only red trim on the ship. If you are intending to build a much bigger ship than this head module, and use red for trim there, there should be no trouble. Somehow I assumed that this head was the entire ship.

As far as comments or critiques are concerned, adding a bit of neck would be good, to taper the hull back down a little and give a bit more balance visually. If it isn't too much work, try switching the red pieces on the horns to white or dark bley - the sudden splash of red looks a bit off somehow. I can't really recommend how to make the bit of neck work, though, because you've done such a marvelous job giving this model an organic, curved surface that my technical skills are far outclassed. Well done!

"It's nothing personal. It's just business ... Lord Business." I might pick up the TIE Advanced for the Inquisitor minifigure (some great parts there for building custom minifigs ), but otherwise I'll probably sit out the current wave. Nothing really strikes me as being worth the cash yet, not when one of my favorite Space themes is going on sale at TRU as they try to get rid of it.

Regarding Goatman461's rank, I think if he's willing to do that he's welcome, but he might want to look into the Shadow Guards or the Inquisitorius as well. I have no problem with it, though, and I wouldn't put it past Goatm An to fake his own death or something similarly elaborate if he ever wants out. Regarding profile pictures, I have a change coming today or tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates as I am able to prepare and take the picture.

Can we call you Captain Empire now, Goatman461?

A bit late to comment, I suppose, but I love this entry. The Rebels may have more, and sometimes better, builders, but when it comes to storytelling, the Empire has it all the way. My hat is off to you, Birdman.

To me, that polybag looks like a great chance to get a face for Admiral Gilad Pallaeon. I'll have to find one.