WesternOutlaw

Thanks for the photo tip. I don't usually shoot from the bottom. I tried it and I think it came out very nicely:

Good answer. But what is it suppose to be?

Yes... very strange...

I wanted to try using some fancy graphics like Brickminer and others that do this sort of thing, so here's the MOC as a new Lego Legend, Ninja Canyon Fortress: Note: this is not an actual set. Lego name used only for graphic purposes.

Ninja Treasure Transport #6033 contains a strange piece. In the image of the set below (from the box), the grey ninja grabs a blue "antenna piece" with his left hand. The piece is held on the grey rock formation by a black vertical 1x1 clip. Is this a staff? A scepter/wand? Or just a stick? Or even something else? I find the choice of blue an odd color and it's the only blue piece in the 51 piece set. What is this piece suppose to be? Share your thoughts of this mystery piece.

OK, blending in concepts of existing Lego Ninja fortresses and pictures of Osaka Castle in Japan, I've built yet another Ninja MOC I'll call the Red & White Samurai Fortress. A shot of the entire MOC. It's four floors high. A shot of the 1st floor. Ninja theme castle wall pieces highlight the stone foundation: The third and fourth floors: The Red army leaving the castle for battle: A close-up of the troops. I love their black helmets: A shot of the whole MOC again from a different perspective: I didn't do anything fancy with the interior of this fortress, so did not bother taking any shots. I think this MOC captures the existing Ninja theme design and looks a little more Japanese than the previous Red and Black fortresses.

They're definately not Divers but not too bad. The larger submarine is pretty neat and the shark is pretty cool. 20,000 Leagues, here we come!

Thanks. I was trying to create a little water fall next to the bridge. I did not consider brown around the edges. Good idea. I built this a few days ago and destroyed it to build the Black Fortress.

Well, I destroyed the MOC yesterday evening. Planning on trying something different.

Those are great Hobbes! Now these are grand scale MOCs. If I had the pieces to build either of these, I don't think I'd ever destroy. I'm not sure which diorama I like better??? *wub* I love the Egyptian temple and the mountain and street of the Wild West scene is outstanding! These are some of the best large-scale MOCs I've ever seen. Simply outstanding! Thanks for sharing Hobbes.

*wacko* Ninja Story Flashback *wacko* Around Christmas one year (1999 -2001?), I was in my local Target store browsing the Lego toy aisle, and saw 3052 Ninja's Fire Fortress on clearance. I had not bought a ninja set and was thinking, "oh, I don't need to start another theme". But, I went ahead and bought it at a clearance price (don't remember how much$) and took the set home. That Sunday even, I put the set together and was amaized 8-

White is also a good contrast color to the sand green. I've seen both colors used together and the combination gives a building a very "historic-building" look. In regard to the steps, I know that the lime green is an odd choice of colors, but I wanted something that would give the interior a different look (sort of stand out). I was between lime green and orange). They're just standard 2x2 bricks so I could have used just about any color. I had never tried tiling the inside of a building and actually have to give credit to BloodyJay for the concept/inspiration. I know it's been done before, but BloodyJay did this in his MOC of Crowley Mansion for the mystery and it looked very good. I just wish I had more colors in bulk (so far just white and brown). Overall, I don't think it came out too bad. It's something different I had not tried before. I'll have others, perhaps better.

Great story Hobbes. I like watching the city grow from a few trains to you most recent photo.

Thanks for the positive comments. I'll do another soon. It's about time we get Ninja on the board! Yes! :-D

I mentioned another earlier version of the Black Samurai Fortress and thought I'd share my actual first Ninja MOC, the Red Samurai Fortress. I was trying different concepts trying to capture the Japanese castle architecture. I wasn't very impressed with this but here's a few shots: The front of the fortress: A view at an angle: A close-up of the front. The red ninjas are training on the bridge: A closer shot of the bridge: A view from the top. I don't have any smooth blue tiles (in my loose bundle) to make water, so I did the best I could with blue bricks: The stairs to the 2nd floor. Look familiar? The right side of the bottom floor. Not much of interest: The top balcony area in the center of the fortress: The treasure room. Pretty much like that in the Black Castle: The Emperor's room: And another view of the front: Well, this and the Black Samurai Fortress are my first attepts to build a Ninja MOC. They're not exactly what I wanted, but I'm going to try to see if I can get something more along the line of a real Japanese castle.

You said it right. I agree with your comments.

On an unrelated note, I was just admiring some of the different avatars from posters on this thread, and have to say, I would not trust the gambler with a smile like that. Something says that he's the kinda guy that would have aces hidden in his suit coat. :-D You bet! I'm looking forward to seeing your ghost town.

With all those posts, I'm glad to see that you take time to visit the other forums. But I'm back, so let's see what we can do.

To respond to some of the comments above, and I do appreciate the constructive critisism: My choice of the light green was due to my piece quantity of this color. I actually like the color combination though (at least the green and black). I would agree with those of you who said it's not that Asian or like a Japanese castle. The more and more I look at it, it has some Asian architecture, but really has more a Gothic look. It must be nearing October and I'm gearing up to the Haunted House look. But then again, all buildings are influenced by the architect who designs them. This is a look I like (but maybe I'm better at building mystery mansions). In regard to the placement of the MOC on the baseplate: this was not my first build but rather my second. On the first, I did have it set back with some landscaping and bridge. I planned to add some army equipment, horses, and troops in the back of my current version, so set this toward the front. I'll post some pictures of the first MOC down the road. Well, let's show the inside: The treasure room (2nd floor). Looks like some of those black ninjas have been dipping into that chest 8-| The sword room (2nd floor) The tower (3rd floor) First Floor. The Black Samurai meets with the Emperor to discuss an alliance between the Black and Red armies: The green stairs and the two men shaking hands. Shaking hands? A shot of the whole backside: Another view of the back at an angle: That about does it for this MOC (give or take a few more images of what you've seen). I'm going back to the drawing board and planning to make a "more Japanese castle". Will share when complete. And KhoRne, thanks for the nice comment. My next one will be better.

What irritates me in some of the comments above re. theme unpopularity is that they sound like comments from a financial analyst or accountant. We're Lego enthusiasts/collectors, not employees of Lego's financial board. That's what most impresses me with the old Lego phylosophy is that they weren't concerned with sales as much as product quality and the imagination of children. This is exactly what happened wrong with many old toy companies. Cheaper Chinese-made toys flooded the market. Instant gratification took over, and now children would rather play video games then spend time constructing great MOCs. Why spend a lot on a toy that Timmy will only play with a few times, then toss it aside? I think this is why quality is diminishing. This thread was about the popularity of the Lego Ninja Theme. Not from the perspective of a sales analyst, but rather to us as collectors of great Lego themes. Snefroe, what are your opinions of the theme? This is what I was asking. I can see by the votes, that the Ninja theme is in fact well-liked, at least by the fans of the History and Adventure forum.

Ya, I thought I had commented. Maybe just the MOC. I admire your graphic ability.

The Black Samurai's army leaving the fortress: A close-up of the troops and door: Good shot of the roof: I considered the less angled roof tops, but I only have them in red. Maybe I'll try just to see. And here's a shot of the side at an angle before I take you inside: Images of the inside coming later today...

I love mines! Not sure about the prisoners though, but looking forward to seeing. I've only seen a few mine MOCs over the years.

I had never built a Ninja/Samurai MOC before, but had always wanted to give it a try. Doesn't seem too hard if you look at some of the existing Ninja fortresses. The attached image is what I call the Black Samurai Fortress, my first Ninja MOC. I'll add some pictures of the detailed rooms/bachside later.

In my opinion, I think that Lego introduced some of their best themes during this time span. Some include: - The introduction of Lego SW. They weren't the best sets, but Lego finally jumped on the SW band wagon. Up until then, us 70s children were building our own SW MOCs with standard bricks. - Adventurers / Jungle. - Adventurers / Egypt. My favorite of the Adventurer sub-themes. - Ninja! Regardless of what shop owners say, as an AFOL collector, I think this era was very good with the number of sets to the above themes that Lego offered. Ninja was another great theme in the overall history of Lego, and unfortunately, short lived.