goatman461

great SNOT technique

I think that is a good place to start. Any volunteers to do the math? Will we be trusting the Rebels not to read this forum?

I like the mini-bomber, building, fence, and pipes coming out of the building. The base has too many studs for my preference and I think a wide establishing shot would have helped me follow the story better, but some of your action shots are pretty cool, especially the shadow and kicked-in door.

I like the interior floors a lot better than the round tiles outside the building, same for the interior door over the outer door. The rounded lbg bricks you've used on the interior walls and outside roof seem to stand out too much; I've had trouble finding good uses for those as well. I really like your use of color throughout; it's subtle and not overstated but still livens up the predominately gray build. The framing of your shots is good, except for the black studs visible in the last two shots (just adding a brick on top would have fixed those satisfactorily). I also think the balcony could use a redesign so that your parts worked together more smoothly. The balcony kind of looks like an afterthought as is, but those arches in the doorway look really good. I hope that wasn't too negative. I can see that your builds are really improving and your story is good. I'm ready to see what's behind that door.

[soNE Freebuild] 8.1 - The Wastelands of Aquilae please judge, thanks

Immediately after [soNE Freebuild] 7.4 Off the Books Goatm and his nurse disembarked the Imperial freighter both with their respective roles. Amid the constant noise and bustle of the docks Goatm would dicker out deals with the local merchants for the sale of the white saplings, so precious to the nobility of Aquilae. Many of the interested merchants were developers for high-end shops and personal landscapers for the elites; they paid little attention to Goatm other than to ask him when he would be returning with more and to schmooze him for the purpose of some future economic familiarity. Goatm had stayed in his Imperial white for this very reason; the merchants only saw a faceless officer rather than the dead man Goatm intended to keep hidden. Just as the last sapling was sold, Goatm called his enslaved Wookiee from the cockpit to inspect the freighter’s hull before takeoff. Shock and awe echoed across the dock as the merchants and tradesmen alike caught sight of the beast. The Empire had been especially jealous of its new species of slave and few had surfaced in the legal market. Meanwhile, after downloading the local Imperial intelligence reports on Aquilae, the nurse went about acquiring civilian clothes for the two ISB agents. Goatm had given her strict instructions to start at the shops outside the Imperial outpost and work her way across town, stopping at the stores of ever lowering levels of economic strife. Ideally, her effort would allow her to disappear with no one noticing the Imperial officer that traded in her illustrious uniform for peasant rags. Goatm’s refusal to sell or trade the Wookiee led to the high-end restaurant overlooking the dock where the merchants continued to hound him and liquor him up. Eventually Goatm found his mark. A flamboyant Ithorian strutted across the dock with a Kowakian perched on his back. He was inspecting a shipment of mining equipment aboard a large freighter and savagely berating the crew for some minor infraction. It wasn’t long before Goatm and the Ithorian –Ng’Ray Sti a mining entrepreneur, surveyor, and equipment supplier– were leaving the restaurant to discuss the Wookiee’s ownership on their way to Gordon –a dubious spaceport far from the capital. There, Goatm would rendezvous with the nurse, take on the new identity she prepared for him, and sell the Imperial freighter to a chop shop. Goatm had exchanged the Wookiee and their remaining cash for Ng’Ray’s stock of mining equipment and a one-way, no-questions-asked ride into the wasteland of Aquilae. The wastelands were known to the locals as barren, toxic, and completely devoid of life, but Goatm had suspicions to the contrary. He remembered his mother recounting the countless green hills under the beautiful green sky of Aquilae where she would play as a young princess. Imperial maps noted many long and entangled canals that led to hundreds of reservoirs far from the city, but only grey wasteland could be seen from above on the rare occasion that the pale green overcast lifted. The city-dwellers didn’t dare to test the longevity of their breathers outside the tall city walls and told horror stories of the deadly gas pockets and nocturnal predators of the wasteland. Something was amiss. To test his theory Goatm and the nurse set out with the flamboyant Ithorian surveyor for the reservoirs hidden in the Aquilae wasteland. Ng’Ray’s ship stays low across the grey, endless plains, avoiding any possible detection along the way. Hours later they drop into a valley to find a bright blue reservoir surrounded by deep green grasses and piercing white flowers. Goatm lowers the cargo door, clipping the canopy of the low lying trees, and the nurse leaps into the canal below. Ng’Ray, rattled by the unexpected departure, screams over the internal comm for Goatm to explain but realizes his radios are dead. Goatm is gone, already tumbling through the thick grass as the Ithorian hears a deep growl from the cargo bay below. [soNE Freebuild] 8.1 Escape to the Wastlands of Aquilae 2 by goatman461, on Flickr [soNE Freebuild] 8.1 Escape to the Wastlands of Aquilae by goatman461, on Flickr “I guess you were right about the reservoirs, but who’s going to check the air first? Our ride just crashed into the cliff side.” “I was actually wrong about the reservoirs. Look; the water is flowing FROM the city; these valleys are being irrigated, not consumed. “As for the air, well, if he made it, the Wookiee will test out the air first. But that’ll mean we’ll have bigger problems… Ever been hunted by a Wookiee?” (To be continued…) [soNE Freebuild] 8.1 Stingray by goatman461, on Flickr Please judge, comment, and criticize. Thanks in advance.

Does this mean my secondary character would have to be a pilot? Thanks for putting in this new rule. Getting Goatm to Tatooine would have been difficult. And thank you for putting together a new episode; this should be interesting.

Good list. This is what I did for the Sharp Spiral last year... SoNE IV - Cutlass 9 Mod 7 E by goatman461, on Flickr Slave II is a bit underwhelming, but I really like the curves on the Manka Hunter

New to-do MOC... Not sure whether to use dbg or olive green... thoughts?

My local LUG is having a theme swap competition and I've been wanting to make a steampunk cloud car for a while. Please let me know what you think and areas where it could improve. It took a lot of rebuilds to get the middle section to take the weight of the two pods, but now it does a pretty good job. Theme Swap - Steampunk Cloud Car sq by goatman461, on Flickr Theme Swap - Steampunk Cloud Car by goatman461, on Flickr Theme Swap - Steampunk Cloud Car top by goatman461, on Flickr

Very cool. Great ships to choose and you did a great job building each of them. I really like how clean the mist hunter looks. Here's my solution for Zuckuss if you're interested; I just stole several ideas I'd seen around flickr ISD - 6 - bounty hunters by goatman461, on Flickr Looking forward to seeing what you have in mind for him.

Yep... DSCN3518 by goatman461, on Flickr

Dark Turquoise X-Wing by goatman461, on Flickr A little redesign for my daughter (due 4/1) to match her nursery.

A lot of great new techniques and amazing details. I feel like a MOCer could pour over this for a long time and learn several new things with each picture. The amount of time and dedication you put in is awesome. Can't wait to see the inside.

Thanks for all of the nice comments and generous judging. New edit at a different angle, w/ some story spliced in. Just had some extra time at work today and thought I could have done better at editing originally. Took out the N-1 and STAPs because it made the shot too busy. Hope y'all enjoy the bonus. [soNE Ep. 7] Past scene revisited by goatman461, on Flickr

I'm not sure it'd be appropriate to start out as a spy. Maybe as an Imperial technician you could work your way up to a spy, or start as a Rebel pilot and turn on them (which might mean losing all your XP). The real question would be: "What kind of MOCs do you want to build?" and/or "What kind of story do you want to tell?" On the other hand, a good story arc might be a stormtrooper that joined after defecting from the Rebelion and has to deal with distrust among his peers and loss of the prestige and excitement he had as a spy. Freebuilds could be used to show past spying that forced your character to join the Empire.

I'm not crazy about the headdress. I've used that head with Ahsoka's montrals, which is approprate to the skin color. I also think that you could use a different lightsaber color, like yellow or purple, which would look better against the purple torso and cape. Some white accents on the arms or pants might help the white lightsaber fit in. I do really like the dark purple and lightsaber/horn.

Thank you for all of the kind comments. I agree and I plan to change that as soon as I get the parts. I only had 4 of those longer lbg bars

I'm putting a Planet Series mobile back together for a Spring LUG event and decided to update my previous Y-Wing and add an ISB to the mix. There's a lot of inspiration from other builders in the Y-wing especially (from Miro Dudas in particular X-wing Y-Wing Redux by Miro78, on Flickr)I hope y'all like them. Please leave suggestions for improvements. Mini-Y-Wing by goatman461, on Flickr Mini-ISD by goatman461, on Flickr

I don't feel particularly limited by the EU. I'm sure there are lots of great stories there, but they aren't canon so I feel like I can just pick and choose where I see fit.

I could TOTALLY make that work. (Don't worry BEAVeR, while you're my SoNE bestie, you're nonetheless safe) Thanks for the feedback so far guys. Does anybody disagree?

Would anybody have a problem with something like this? SoNE Sig by goatman461, on Flickr ...other than Rebels, of course

A lot of great details in here, but I don't get a strong Star-Wars vibe from it. Making it a non-Empire hospital helps, but I think it's the general color scheme and minifigures that make this look like a City build, IMHO. The surgery room equipment is very well done and your third picture makes me want to see more of the hallway. I also like how you can see the medical droid in the window behind Birdman. This is an interesting turn in your story arc. Goatm knows a good arm guy if Romeo is interested.

Thanks for the comments. I used the dark red partly out of necessity (limited bricks) and partly because I just like the way the dark red looks. I agree that it looks a bit too rebellious, but, to be fair, we haven't seen the inside of very many Imperial ships, especially those used as day-to-day freighters. I should note that I got the idea for the tree from Ordo on Flickr On his heels - Star Wars "Uncertain Ways" 1.11 by N-11 Ordo, on Flickr I don't think Goatm would care whether or not the Empire owned the ship; he kind of just does whatever he wants, anyway. When I put in the logo I was thinking of it more as a licensing stamp or registration; that' why it is not very prominently featured (although, that may be debatable). The real reason he's selling the ship is so that I can build a different one to feature in a future freebuild. And yes, that is Goatm's mother and sister watching. Glad that came through. I like to add a lot of subtle things but they're usually too subtle.

Thank you They are, of course, welcome to limit the scope of their judgment however they see fit. The XP is just bonus anyway.