Kodan Black

My most recent free builds:

I woke with my mind screaming: something was wrong. My eyes opened as I simultaneously tried to remember where I was and strained my senses to confirm what my whole body seemed to be aware of. I remembered that I was at a small remote base helping to calibrate a new sensor array by flying a TIE around so they could use it as a target. Seconds passed and then there it was... a barely felt vibration and muffled thud. Something akin to far away thunder or a large, heavy crate that had been dropped. The dim glow coming from the floor level lights dimmed just a touch and the air coming from the vents stopped suddenly. Instinct kicked in and I was rolling out of bed, grabbing gear and my weapon as my mind came to grips with the reality that the base was under attack. I doubted it would be rebels, we didn't have much of value for them. No, I suspected it was smugglers or someone else who was doing something that would be threatened by the new sensor array. Their illicit activities suddenly would be brought to light and the Empire would want to try and stop them. Most likely they would hit and fade once their objective was complete. Without knowing the situation I couldn't tell if it was too late to protect the array or not but I was happy that we wouldn't have to fight off a sustained attack aimed at taking the base. We likely didn't have the personnel for that and relief forces were far enough away that there was only a slim chance anyone would be alive to see a rescue. As I got to the door going outside I tightened my grip on the blaster and opened the door to the first rays of light mingling with light coming from various base lights and the flickering flames from various scenes of destruction. There was an occasional blaster shot, fortunately going in both directions so there were Empire soldiers out there, but it wasn't heavy fire. That meant the attacking force was pretty small and seemed to lack heavy weapons. All good signs. I realized that it was too quiet suddenly and remembered that my gear was set up for the TIE. I was listening in on the sensor array comm frequency which was why I didn't hear anything. As I switched to the base frequency my headset filled with noise. Calls for position of the enemy, requests for medics, etc. flooded in and I tried to figure out where I should go without adding to the noise by asking. It seemed like the bulk of the force was attacking from the north with a smaller secondary attack from the southeast meant to split our forces. Given the array was on the northern part of the base it made sense and I worked my way there being careful not to get shot by our own troops. As I got close I could see the situation laid out before me as the enemy forces took pot shots at us trying to let some of their pinned down comrades escape. The array was severely damaged at best though, so they had little inclination to keep the fight going beyond a small amount of loyalty to friends. And as more and more Empire guns came to bear as more of us woke up and made our way to the battle it seemed that their loyalty was rapidly diminishing. Self preservation was winning out. Within minutes it was over. We had captured 3 of their forces and killed 5, while losing 2 of ours. We had several hurt as well, but all would be back to their duties in days. The array was lost and given the special nature of it would not be able to get replaced for months. They had succeeded. Even if we eventually got the array operational and well protected they would get to keep operating for a while longer and have time to adapt. It was frustrating for me and I'm sure much more so for those who would continue to be stationed here. At least I was able to get into a TIE and head off to my next assignment. I couldn't help shake the feeling that the bad guys won. I know that we don't live in a holovid but the pirates or smugglers won and the Empire lost when we were simply trying to make this a safer place. Security Camera Shots: Please Judge and Critique. I'm trying to get used to my new lightbox, so I know that background is kinda not great. I am also playing with some new lenses, hence the "security cam" shots. Thanks for looking!

Highly creative factory! Loved all the pictures and the story. I liked the machinery inside and yet it still felt clean as it should. The outside was a bit "dirtier" which would make sense as it doesn't have the same concerns.

I found the pick-a-model to be pointless as an AFOL. They re-used so many of the various pieces that the same stock would be there for 6+ months. If they do drop it hopefully they rotate stock more as it gets annoying to see the same pieces on the wall for so long. I get why they do it from their profit standpoint, but it is annoying as someone who tries to visit at least once a month to check out what is available.

I like the overall shape and concept. One thing you could maybe do is use something like: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3475b&name=Engine, Smooth Small, 1 x 2 Side Plate with Axle Holders&category=[Aircraft]#T=S&O={} on a hinge or some other way that it can rotate down and then up for the wing pontoons.

Great hallway scene and I loved the story too. I'm jealous of your variety of minifigs!

I vote for #7 and #9

From the rules: What you build your character doing and what your character looks like should reflect your rank. For example, a TIE Pilot could be a technician aboard a Star Destroyer or pilot a TIE/ln escorting it, but shouldn't be an officer on the Star Destroyer. A Stormtrooper could work with Storm Commandos, but shouldn't be portrayed as one of them. A Rebel Trooper could be shown attempting to defend a starship from being boarded, but shouldn't be able to hold his own against Darth Vader on the Tantive IV. This is not something that can be enforced in a specific set of rules; it's something that will be taken into account in scoring. Builders of the final four ranks (50 XP and up) can build their characters however they want doing pretty much whatever they want, with the exception of a managerial role, which is reserved for those of the final two ranks (100 XP and up). The possible ranks (and their required XP amounts) are: Empire - Stormtrooper/Tie Pilot (0 XP) > Imperial Survey Corps (10 XP) > Imperial Security Bureau (25 XP) > Storm Commandos/Shadowtroopers/Dark Troopers (50 XP) > Imperial Department of Military Research (100 XP) Basically there are Episodes that are like challenges where you have specific goals and a deadline. Between each Episode you may build up to 4 freebuilds that are scored. As you gain in score your rank increases and it opens up more storytelling chances. Once an Episode is posted you figure out what you want to build and make sure to post it before the deadline.

I really like the prison vibe. You have a lot of those torsos! Cool layout and I like the door with the little visor slot. The only thing I don't love is the tiles with studs as they stand out too much. But overall a really nice build and I think the repetitive walls help keep the focus on the action in the foreground.

I'd been assigned to inspect a garrison outpost, one of those jobs I understood the importance of but it wasn't one I looked forward to. Being an officer meant getting jobs you didn't want to do sometimes, though at least this one kept me out of some swamp or jungle. And despite being generally mundane it offered a chance to relax a bit and sleep in a bed. I knew what my reputation was. I hadn't sought it out, but you hear it from little comments or joking with other officers where the jokes contain a bit of truth. I wasn't one of those pedantic officers who insists on everything by the book. I didn't seek to get anyone with infractions and things like proper spacing of tools wasn't something I was concerned with. However, safety items, those were always big for me. Fire equipment being in the correct location, emergency medical supplies readily available, and things like that were not to be glossed over. In a situation where those items were needed seconds mattered and could have a decisive impact on the outcome. Lives could be lost in the blink of an eye. As I arrived I was greeted by the commanding officer, a man by the name of Jamison. He seemed a competent fellow and from initial appearances looked to run a good posting. Everything looked clean and maintained. As we began our inspection I began to wonder why he was here. We all end up somewhere for a reason, I was inspecting his outpost because my commanding officer felt it was our duty to maintain proper postings and he wanted those under him to be responsible and know what we should do if we wound up in command of a base. So why was this officer Jamison here? His files were in order, brief and to the point with all the necessary information. He was clearly a bit fatigued though not overly so and though I'm sure they had prepared for my "surprise" visit (I cannot ever remember being stationed anywhere that we didn't know at least a day in advance of an inspection visit so I assumed they knew of my trip) it didn't seem that he was worried over it. I started to piece together why he was here as he began to make note of shortages. Being an outpost outside of a capital city meant that he was further down the requisition line and being a good and competent officer this meant that he was often annoyed by the lack of spare parts and other items vital to keeping an Empire facility at 100% readiness. He had several vehicles down for maintenance as he awaited parts currently. There was a particular emphasis on how he had stressed this in his reports but that he was still short. It was clear that his superiors had grown weary of his complaints, a failing in many officers sadly. They wanted to believe in the cause so much they preferred blind allegiance and did not want to hear any variation from that narrative. The Empire was always right, so you could never show it was wrong in any way and if you tried it was you who had an issue. Those are the sort of officers that get a lot of people killed because suddenly there is an attack and all those reports outlining the problems are only proven correct. I let him know that I would include the issues in my report but that I wasn't in a place to assure him of improvements. There was a visible easing within his demeanor and I believe the simple acknowledgement that I too saw the issues made him feel better. I had a lingering annoyance that a good officer was being kept at a low priority posting simply because he was bold enough to point out problems. On our way to review his men we paused to view them from an observation station. There was good discipline among his soldiers and their uniforms and armor were clean and worn with pride. I got the sense that they understood they were fortunate to have him in charge and that they would fight hard for him should it be needed. I intended to try and praise Jamison in the hopes that he would be moved to a more important command. It worried me that a lesser officer was at a more critical posting simply because they knew to keep their mouth shut. We officers should want what was best for the Empire even if that meant owning up to the problems. Please judge

This was a fun episode. And I would definitely like to see the cross-contest thing continue. I'd be happy to dip my toes into BoBS occasionally without having to really get up to speed on all the rules and such, would make for a nice change of pace.

A very clean aesthetic. Love the use of colors and the action shots.

That is enormous. I can't even imagine doing a build on that scale! Looks right out of a movie. Some really great photos and photo editing. I liked how you built stuff coming out of the various pipes also, really gives it that extra level of detail. Amazing.

What a strange mission this was. We were being sent to Xizor's palace to help "clean it up" and yet NOT engage rebels. I got it, practical choice and I'm a practical man; the Stormtroopers I was leading weren't quite so thrilled. I'd been given 3 Stormtroopers and orders to clear a specific floor and only take out Xizor forces. Initially there was no resistance and we started to wonder if due to sheer size the palace had diverted defenders to strategic points. Shortly after we found ourselves in an ambush. They took out one of my guys before we dropped several of theirs. That was enough to scare them into fleeing, they weren't professional soldiers and really they were fighting for pay and not a cause. We had no choice but to leave our fallen comrade, though we marked his spot on our map so we could return after we cleared the floor. As we moved on I noticed something strange ahead and fearing another ambush we all were extra cautious. We came upon a rebel in hiding and found out his group had also been ambushed. They weren't so lucky and he was the only survivor. Despite the feelings of my comrades I suggested that he join us until we could locate more rebel forces. Being an experienced soldier I could see the quick calculation of working with "the enemy" versus going it alone and he decided to join us. After some discussion my fellow troopers finally seemed to agree that having an extra gun and pair of eyes was a worthwhile trade and that in general this whole mission was bizarre so in a way it made sense. After another 20 minutes of tense searching we decided to take a quick break and grab a drink of water. The rebel and I watched the way ahead while my guys took a minute of downtime. I was impressed by the rebel, it was clear he had seen plenty of action and could acquit himself well. It was unfortunate that he had picked the other side. He chuckled as he said: "Can't believe I've got a bunch of stormies with guns behind me and I'm worried about what is in front of me!" I replied: "Yeah, this is a weird one. Hopefully we all make it through this and remember that it is possible for us to work together." He nodded quietly and in a few minutes it was our turn to have a minute to drink and "relax". I thought about how even if we made it through this, we were facing an enemy that could cause enough concern for the Empire to work with rebels. Side Note: Yes, I have transitioned over to fleshies. I know... but with new sets coming out in fleshies I felt like it was going to be inevitable.

Danny lives! Yeah, I'm torn on whether to continue or start fresh. I'm leaning towards starting fresh just because I feel like I created too many people and storylines and I'd feel like I should wrap them up... but I probably wouldn't want to.

Same. Though it is from the prequels, I still want the figs and droids.

Lovely interior room, I'm glad you added a pic of it in the spoiler since we never get to see it in the main images and it really is cool. Good story too!

So with 2 A-FXs now out there and not in the same category or day ... I'm guessing they are random? Do either of you have a photo to post?

Hmmm... I like this one a lot. One question, given that I'm a pilot do I need to build in #3 the Skyhook battle? Now that I'm Dark Trooper I wasn't sure if that meant I could build in one of the other 2 or being a TIE pilot meant that I needed to build in #3.

Some really clever entries and some great stories too.

A: 1 - 2 - 5 B: 3 - 4 - 5 C: 1 - 2 - 6 D: 6 - 7 - 10

Nice story and nice build. I liked the action sequences and the crate. You put some nice details into the crate that make what could be considered a background build into something that stood out. Looking forward to seeing more from you and it helps you picked the right side.

I have no idea what this means, but I'm excited to find out.

Got my Prize F yesterday! Quite a surprise it got here this fast. Thank you and supported.

Very clever and creative idea!