Scorcher43

Excellent build. Interesting you've gone into the past as a moc.

Exceptional looking design!

Very nice! That bridge design is clean and I'm liking the simplicity of the whole affair, matches the idea this is meant to be a covert prisoner exchange.

Yeah I tried using the moonlight filter in colour lookup on photoshop to create a darkness, but I might try and see if I can find something darker. Thanks! Surprisingly that effect really put my photoshop skills to test. Not sure if that says more about me or photoshop though...

Location: PSIC FOB Stone, East Burke Atoll After retrieving the nuclear material, the 5th Duke of Telson Lancers had returned to their FOB with other PSIC units and settled in until the material could be removed from the island. At 0330, LCPL Mike Dobson trudged out to the gun pit where two-man piquet was being held. He saw Scofield set up behind the Minimi and slid in, readying himself for the next hour of trying not to fall asleep. He thought to himself that of he wanted to sit in a gun pit, he'd have joined the infantry... "How's it hanging Dobbo?" Asked Scofield "Also remind me why we're doing this? Last I checked these weren't our pits and we were promised a full nights sleep." "I'm surviving mate... but yeah I heard the CO owed a Pilghian Colonel a favour, so whilst his infantards are getting their sleep in, we get piquet..." Mike responded "Yeah figures. How's the missus? You got an approved phone call earlier yeah?" "She's doing alright. I haven't told her about the Fortress yet... keep putting it off you know. She's never been keen on me killing someone..." Then a shot went out somewhere down the line, followed by a machine gun burst. Then more gunfire started up somehwere closer to them and the radio started making noise on the squadron channel. Mike could hear the call for stand to go out and then the rush as men rushed out of their bivvies to the pits. Then the base alarmed sounded and he started seeing movement ahead. "This is Victor 1 1 to all Victor 1 1 callsigns. Engage targets at your discretion. Let it rip boys! Out" "Hear that Sco? At least you won't have to be carrying all that ammo anymore haha" Mike joked "Not a bad silver lining actually..." Scofield responded as a twig snapped. Suddenly the trip flare went off and illuminated two unlucky Tosulese soldiers, yelling as they were temporarily blinded. Scofield let off a killing burst with the minimi and they stopped screaming. Then two more Tosul soldiers emerged and opened up on them next to their fallen comrades. Mike and Scofield returned fire. As one of the Tosulese dropped, Scofield took a round in the armour and slumped back into the pit, swearing as he went. In turn Mike fired on the last enemy. As he went down, Mike did a post engagement sequence and checked on Scofield. "Sco you good mate? He hurt you?" He asked "Fuuuuckkk me, megablock got me right in the armour. Never gonna complain about this heavy shit again though eh haha." Scofield responded. This made Mike laugh. As the sun rose, CPL Wates led a clearance patrol through the area, checking the bodies and securing weapons. "Bloody hell, you boys had a big night. You scared them away before they came to my pit!" Gramson called out as he walked by "Yeah we'll leave some more for you next time eh!" Mike called back. - - - It's been a while since anyone posted anything, so I thought I might change that. Continuing the story a little from the Burke Atoll a little with the 5th Duke of Telson. Also check out the new design for my boys. I reckon the Citizen Brick OCP camo looks a lot more like AMCU with its olive base, don't you agree? Its good to be back

Issues with post have been fixed

Thanks! I put a priority on making the camo seem somewhat authentic and flow well.

So in previous posts I have shown off a couple of my models so far, however I thought i would collate all of my current Australian Army vehicles into 1 post, to be updated as time goes on and I build more. Here is an overall image of them My Bushmaster, a very well known ADF vehicle, from the sands of Afghanistan to the fields of Ukraine. The 40M, a workhorse of ADF logistics so long as Truckies aren't crashing them. They do this a lot... I need to update my canvas cover for the back as well. The Cargo G-Wagon, another logistics vehicle. The canvas cover on this one is in even greater need for an update. The G-Wagon Panel Van. I had originally planned for this one to be the 4 doored standard version, but the second set of doors made it look too long. Until I can rectify the issue, I'll keep it the 2 door version. The Surveillance Reconnaissance Vehicle. The sexiest G-Wagon, allows choccos to feel like SAScats when they drive them because it looks like it was made for spec ops.

Nice build! Good detailing with the earth between the surface and the bunker.

One can only hope mate. I'm pretty sure this is where Elon's gotten his inspiration, he just wants Mars Mission to become reality!

That it did mate. The Ultra-Drill is an excellent set, perfectly captures everything I love about the theme, very happy you've pointed it out. But its also the bane of my existence because mine doesn't have all of the stickers anymore so it never feels complete, hence it also captures my biggest gripe, the stickers... Exactly what I'm saying, the visual storytelling through the sets themselves and the gorgeous colours make it easily my favourite sub-theme. SP3 and Galaxy Squad are close seconds, but they don't do me the same way Mars Mission does. If you'd like to pick up more sets, definitely start with the Claw Tank Ambush or Recon Dropship. They are both great sets in their own right and for whatever reason they seem to have been the most circulated if my ebay and bricklink searches have told me anything, which means they can be easy to find for a good price. That's a very valid point mate, the formula is good when we're talking big single buys, but it has certainly got its drawbacks when considering it cuts off access to what would be perfect low to mid range sets. I also would love to get the mech on its own, and if I wasn't also interested in getting the Infiltrator then I'd be pretty frustrated at having to pay 3x as much for it so I can understand the frustration.

Mars Mission had its flaws of course, the absurdly high sticker count in many sets being the bane of children building sets and collectors efforts to complete them and sure, two piece green aliens aren't a brilliant minifigure design on its own. But I do believe that the theme has been overlooked enough and as a fan I would like to present my reasoning. The greatest aspect of the theme is its excellent vehicle designs. The Astronaut vehicles are quite impressive and as aside from a few exceptions, they have the consistent vision of being civilian mining vehicles drafted into military service. Take the Claw Tank for example, between its massive grabbing claw, the elevated glass cockpit designed for spatial awareness more than protection and its cargo tubes, it’s clear this was intended as a cargo hauler. Furthermore, the Crystal Reaper is literally just a crystal harvester with a single gun and a couple of missiles strapped on for self-defence. These aren't the weapons of an organised invading army, it’s the desperate defence force thrown together with what they had. The alien’s designs are also excellent, all of them being sleek, pointed, designed for speed and stealth, the complete opposite of the Astro's rugged and heavy vehicles. They truly look alien, almost animal-like in some respects with the red teeth accents and flowing green tentacles. I will also issue a small defence of the figure designs themselves. The alien drone designs whilst being lack lustre are purpose built for the sake of their vehicles, you know, the thing you’re buying the sets for. Being only two studs wide, they can fit in places where conventional minifigures cannot, which helps with the design of the vehicles as it makes them far less bulky than they could be. Whilst I admit that perhaps the battle droid design could have been used instead, I think it would take away the more unique aspect of the alien drone design and would simply be a copy of the Life on Mars aliens. The astronauts are also perfectly fine, sure they all have the same uniforms, but each has a unique face print as well which does bring some variety. Keeping in mind this is fundamentally in-universe meant to be the early days of Lego space exploration, so it would stand to reason that they wouldn’t all have personalised uniforms yet. In particular, I think it’s actually very poor the fact that many are so opposed to the conflict in a box formula, when it emphasises the play aspect of the sets. Sure, pacifism and more diplomatic space themes have their appeal, but I think we need to remember these weren't designed with AFOLs in mind and most kids usually aren’t entertained by pure exploration. Most kids probably won't be getting more than one set for a while as well, unless birthdays and Christmas’s are close together, hence its prudent to get both factions into the single set so that kids can get a basic storyline going at least with the first buy. Maybe this wouldn't be an issue if the theme wasn't conflict focused, sure, but then we wouldn't have many of these excellent designs. Also let’s face it, the colour pallet is phenomenal, the orange and white of the Astros is such a good look, very pleasing to the eyes. The alien's black and lime just adds to their mystique, the aura of 'alien', almost evoking the xenomorph with its black form and green acid blood. When put together they create the perfect contrast, complimenting the existing contrast of vehicle designs excellently. It may simply be personal taste, the the colours are the icing of the cake. I would like to hear other opinions on this theme though, feel free to comment and start your own discussions!

Mars Mission is a lot better than many people on this site give it credit, I would even argue it is one of the better space themes. Between its excellent vehicle designs, the impressive atmosphere and the excellent colour pallet, I think it well outshines the themes issues. Even the poor alien drone design is not without its merits when placed in the context of the Alien vehicle design philosophy. This isn't even mentioning the supporting material in the form of the themes broswer RTS and Lego Battles, which fleshed out the themes story and gave excellent context to the sets. Personally, I also like the conflict in a box formula, it offers more far more options for play and allows for two unique faction philosophies to be contained in the single set. Those two philosophies are also excellent BTW.

Very nice moc. I appreciate the simplicity in smaller builds like this, the figures and the technical are also top notch.

Very nice build, the trees and landscape are fantastic. The vehicles and figures are also well detailed, they really bring this build together. Always enjoy seeing your builds mate!