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Captain Dee

Eurobricks Dukes
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Everything posted by Captain Dee

  1. Captain Dee
    This is a pretty good episode. Redcoats, bluecoats, pirates, ships, a port - everything but some treasure. I especially like the broom fight toward the end! Good to see this project continue.
  2. Captain Dee
    Ah. I suspected as much - and I agree, the prefabs are way too small for a first-rate (half-sized, perhaps?). But she does have nice lines, and the proportions are pretty good - just not for a first-rate. I really like your custom hulls, which would be more suitable for that much firepower.
  3. Captain Dee
    That is one seriously impressive collection of builds. Thanks for sharing! The tall tan building with the ornate dome is especially impressive. Gary the Procrastinator's builds would be right at home here. I'm not biased or anything, but he being a fellow EB member, I think his recent layout is just what this big display needs to be complete... Considering the two root words in its name, does anyone else think "Waterloo" is a humorous name both for the battle and the location?
  4. Captain Dee
    This is a cute little relaxing setting... and my kind of fishing, too! The terrain, water and vegetation all look nice. I like the dam and sluice gate, and the access gate atop the dam is fine. There are a few things to consider. First, you might want to ask the powers that be to change the title to include some reference to the challenge to help keep things organized. I suppose something like [HH] would do the trick. Secondly, the water is really shallow behind the dam. It would probably be more realistic if it was quite a bit deeper - even if it cut into the border. And finally, this almost seems too relaxing for the nature of the challenge, which is a food shortage. There's nothing wrong with showing him snoozing, but his efforts would seem a little more serious if he had several fishing poles rather than just one. Or perhaps you could include several fish that he'd already caught; that would certainly be a serious effort. I realize you wanted this to be humorous, and it's fine that way, but perhaps it should be a little more serious at the same time! I do like your creation, and I hope this is helpful. Nice work and keep on building.
  5. Captain Dee
    This is a very nice kitchen. All the appliances turned out well and the table and chairs are nice. The standard accessories are perfect for this scale, and you've used the seed part quite well. I especially like the rolling pin and dough; too bad the "one ring" piece doesn't come in standard colors, eh? I also think the front border would look better in another color that isn't used so prominently elsewhere. A few more food items (bananas, or pretzels, or croissants or something) would look good as well. But it's a very neat, clean arrangement as shown. Good work!
  6. Captain Dee
    Nice outpost. It looks just like an official set; too bad we didn't get more offerings the last time around. All the basics are there: several soldiers, variety of weapons, gold, palm trees. A boat would be nice too, but I'd buy it as is if it was available. Good work.
  7. Captain Dee
    I voted to keep it simple, but the most important thing is to keep everything clear and easy to understand. I don't have a problem with a very complicated arrangement so long as everything is spelled out well enough that a complete stranger could start up and run with it without feeling the need to ask hundreds of questions. Accomplish this, and I think it will be very friendly to new members. GoH keeps coming up. I already said it's the building aspect that interests me most (rather than gameplay) and considering the time period and realistic happenings, something like the town-building part of GoH is very appealing. I could live with complicated rules if I could build up a town that isn't tied explicitly to the overall story/gameplay. Basically it would be a personal challenge rather than a competition, and there's a nearly endless list of material that could be used for those types of things. But again, the most important thing is to keep everything organized and explained well enough to not look like an imposing mountain for starters - whether us, now, or a newcomer years from now. I really like the idea of requiring newcomers to build their way in with a very specific list of requirements, so everyone starts out by completing the same tasks rather than a free-for-all like GoH, which I strongly suspect is the root of most confusion in that forum. Thoughts?
  8. Captain Dee
    The crew lies well beyond my area of interest but the ship is very nice. The shape and colors are good and the custom hull and rigging are excellent. All the different details look great and of course she packs a furious punch with that many guns. Good work and good addition to the "fleet!"
  9. Captain Dee
    You've built yourself a very nice frigate. The classic black-and-yellow colorscheme looks nice and I like the masts and rigging, but based on the pictures, I believe you when you say the masts are fragile. Everyone is familiar with that figurehead - use it! I like all the details, and the cabin in particular is nice. The plank floor is fine. I see the bow chasers are brickbuilt - what about the main batteries? This would make a welcome addition to any fleet. With regards to the tutorial, its creator (CGH/CRH) is just one of several of the "old guard" here at EB who have been very quiet for quite some time... Good work and keep on building!
  10. Captain Dee
    Well... okay. You're the builder/designer, so if you say so... I'm curious. Do you think it's "retarded" based on the narrow scale and rigid design constraints imposed by the prefabs, or do you have other reasons? The scale is obviously small for a first-rate, but regardless of scale or armament, I think she looks pretty good.
  11. Captain Dee
    If they believe in good-luck charms, they've got a collection of rabbits' feet to do the trick... Funny little build. Good use of the CMF too. Is there any more to see? Or have we seen it already?
  12. Captain Dee
    Start 'em young! If he keeps it up he'll be turning out fully-rigged, custom-hull ships-of-the line by the age of four. That's pretty good for the circumstances. And no, I don't love to hate on Megablocks. Just don't "Enlighten" him as he grows up. Once he has some real Lego he might make the case for a toddler division at EB...
  13. Captain Dee
    Those curved slopes really work well for a boat hull. I like the rudder and rigging, and Sir Drake is reasonably portrayed. But he must not be as smart as I thought to not notice he wasn't in a standard boat hull. Or perhaps he's planning a round-the-world trip or something and just didn't notice... I'm going to comment on the waves anyway. There are many ways of depicting water, and I usually prefer a studs-up technique (concealed by smooth surfaces like slopes, curves, etc) but a basic water technique like this built from blue, white and clear plates can still look nice with good surface "motion." At the very least it won't spill off the base like the really "advanced" techniques... Good work. Perhaps Drake will be more attentive next time.
  14. Captain Dee
    That's a palace all right. The layout, architecture, and colors all look superb. This is so very detailed, I have to ask - does it have an interior? I didn't see anything on Flikr. The limited landscaping looks nice and I really like the main gate. Excellent work! Now it needs some minifigs to inhabit it...
  15. Captain Dee
    This has a lovely whimsical feel to it. The building techniques are brilliant as usual and the landscaping is superb. Fantasy isn't really my thing but it still looks like a lot of fun. The house looks incredible in those colors and textures and the separate garden is a really neat feature. All the different plants look lovely, as does the waterfall cascading lazily into nowhere. And of course the airship is cool. Excellent work!
  16. Captain Dee
    I'm not familiar with the series, but I've read the entire nonfiction book collection (this would be based on "On the Banks of Plum Creek") and I think you've captured the feel very well. The build itself is terrific with the smooth building designs, detailed interiors, and nice landscaping. The tree and covered wagon are really nice, too. I don't think the minifigs look bad at all. Overall this is a neat project.
  17. Captain Dee
    This is a lively scene. The interior is superb with the nice architecture, stained glass and roof. But the action really steals the show. I started laughing as soon as I saw all those mischievous Forsestmen swinging from the chandelier. The chaos on the ground looks great with all the overturned furniture and overwhelmed king's men. Excellent work!
  18. Captain Dee
    The second pic seems perfectly obvious to me without any title; the first, not so much. I realize the overall building technique is pretty simple, and that dictates a particular style, but I wonder if another more detailed or advanced technique might help. Still, it's obviously a good design when viewed from a good angle, and that importance of presentation may be most of what it needs. Nice work overall even if it isn't perfect.
  19. Captain Dee
    Eeeek! *promptly climbs curtains* Where's a 12-ga. loaded with birdshot when you need it? No, seriously, this is another incredibly good animal from you. As already stated, it looks so natural in that pose and the overall design is excellent. The second photo in particular (the frontpage image) is just perfect. I believe if my cat saw it she'd attack the screen. Good work!
  20. Captain Dee
    This would make an excellent set. The furnace is detailed without being excessive and the bellows and anvil make it complete. It's just a very cute little scene. I assume he's working steel for the sword blade, and the barrel of water would be used for - what's the correct term - "quenching?" Good work!
  21. Captain Dee
    The interior is wonderful. I like the combination of colors and tiled walls, and the decorated windows look nice. The floor, furniture and other details look fine too. Best of all, it looks like it would work well depicting a wide range of time periods, and it has an inviting mood. Your English is excellent. It might not be perfect (whose is?) but it's better than many native English-speakers. Keep it up on both counts!
  22. Captain Dee
    This is an incredible creation and looks very realistic, from the design through the Claas-like presentation. I'm used to seeing these things dirty, and all those shiny clean parts make it look like it just rolled out of the factory or onto the customer's lot. The Orbis big-drum header is just about perfect and looks ready to go munch 8 rows of corn at 7 or 8 mph. I've witnessed several of the 600+ hp 900's less-powerful brothers in action; I believe they're basically the same machine with different engines and outputs. I usually watch from a distance, either from the seat of the truck being loaded or from the silo. They'll make short work of just about anything. All this model lacks is a pickup and direct-disc head to be ready for anything! Excellent work. I'm tempted to do a Deere 7980 or Krone 1100 to compliment it...
  23. Captain Dee
    That's an interesting concept, and the target with bull's eye is clever. I realize you wanted a small scene, but with the tension showing on the bow, I suspect he's going to launch that arrow quite a bit farther out. The bow looks a bit too modern for that era, but overall this is a creative approach to AoM.
  24. Captain Dee
    And yet another ship from my lurking days is brought forth... Yeah, the prefabs can be difficult, but the final result is still excellent. I like the color scheme - whether it's accurate or not, it looks French to my eyes. The overall lines are nice and I like the headrails made from decorated 1x3 plates. The rigging doesn't look bad - as much as I dislike the standard shrouds, it looks ok - and it would certainly be easier than full custom rigging if built from real bricks. The stern cabin lines are perhaps too angular, but otherwise she's a beauty with a powerful punch. Slightly "dumbing down" a design like this would make a tantalizing official set...
  25. Captain Dee
    Hydraulic mining excavators are my favorite heavy machines, and while this one isn't perfect, I still like it. It has the Liebherr appearance and looks pretty good from most angles. The arm may be just a bit crude, and the front-end loader bucket doesn't look quite right, but I can live with that. It's still impressive. Regarding the bucket direction - make no mistake, this is a backhoe-style excavator. The shovels share the same undercarriage, powertrain, cab, mainframe, etc but the entire attachment - boom, arm, bucket, and cylinders - is noticeably different on the shovels. (For example, the arm- and bucket cylinders are underneath the boom and arm, respectively, on the shovels, rather than being on top like all backhoe excavators.) The last time I checked, all of Liebherr's mining excavators were available in either configuration; if I'm not mistaken the prototype of the colossal R9800 was a backhoe-type, but they build a lot of shovels too. Komatsu also offers their entire line either way; Hitachi and O&K (now part of Cat) offer all but their biggest either way, with the biggest being a shovel. The two types are similar, sure, but still quite a bit different. In the real world, track pad width varies according to mine conditions, so I can accept the narrow pads shown here. It's obviously not working the softer conditions of, say, the Canadian oil sands; I'm guessing it's working in heavy rock. Some of the giant electric cable shovels have pads that look downright petite - but they function. Cab appearances can be deceiving. Some of the mining machines have walk-in cabs rather than duck-your-head cabs, and some of them are built really wide, like a mobile office. Shoot, O&K used to offer an optional amenities cab with a fidge, microwave, etc. I'm not very knowledgeable on the R9150, so I can't say much about the cab other than looks can be deceiving. No Lego model is perfect, and this has a few flaws, but overall it's still a nice machine... ...and the big "9150" sticker definitely belongs on the counterweight as shown!
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