Math Wizard

Ahoy Matey @Brickshipyard! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment) [I know the contest is officially over and voting has begun, but I’ve been busy of late and didn’t get to post crits of all the last builds so I’m just starting now] Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. The story is quite robust in explaining what happened to Steve, and is very well thought out. I love how while the story comes before Steve is at the trading post or the pirate ship, it hints at how both of these are yet to come. The build itself looks real good, but I do have a bit of an issue with some of the photos. The second one is probably the best- I would suggest rarranging them to make it first. And the final two appear to just be screenshots from Stud.io, which makes it feel very unfinished. I would render those as well if I were ye. Me favorite part o' this build is the playability. The way the back and roof hinge open gives a great view of the interior. I can see many a child wanting this to play with! I love how many details you were able to put in as well, from the stables to the upper rooms. Fair Winds Matey!

Ahoy Matey @CaptainDarkNStormy! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment) [I know the contest is officially over and voting has begun, but I’ve been busy of late and didn’t get to post crits of all the last builds so I’m just starting now] Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. This makes a great middle step for Steve as he transitions in life! I just hope he’s careful- it seems his customers can teleport! In the first photo thaey are outside, and mere seconds later they are all inside causing problems :P This built is quite good indeed and it was real hard for me to come up with a critique. The only thing I can think of is the stone dock area. I like those black traingles as much as sI like Ol’ Redbeard, which is to say, not at all! I would either replace them with more gray ones. Light gray would look best, but perhaps dark gray or even olive green could work as well if you want variation of flagstones. Me favorite part of this build is all the details. From the turtle hiding under the dock and seagulls perched on a pole, to the bloody fights and feasts inside, everything was well though out. Also I want to congratulate you on adding stairs. It’s crazier than me sailing a ship how many poeple forget to add ways for their minifigs to get to the second level and beyond! Fair Winds Matey!

Ahoy Mateys @Sebeus I and @Legostone! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment) [I know the contest is officially over and voting has begun, but I’ve been busy of late and didn’t get to post crits of all the last builds so I’m just starting now] Ye and yer mate did a great job buildin’ this! Yer text seems to imply that Steve was a pirate and is now a merchant…what an interesting twist! From merchant, to pirate, back to merchant! This built is quite good indeed and it was real hard for me to come up with a critique. The only wee thing I can think of off the top o’ my head is that perhaps you would need some barrels or crates on deck to store the powder or cannonballs for the cannons. Me favorite part of this build is all the details. From the brilliant little cannons to the figurehead everything was thought out. Gold details, anchor, cannon flaps, cargo below, rudder, lamp- everything is thought of! I also really like the blue tiles, especially in the first photo-they represent the water quite well. Great work! Fair Winds Matey!

Ahoy Matey @-DoNe-! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment) [I know the contest is officially over and voting has begun, but I’ve been busy of late and didn’t get to post crits of all the last builds so I’m just starting now] Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it! I really enjoyed reading your account- your prose is right on point. I ne’er woulda’ guessed Steve was a governor at one point! Me biggest critique here is the plain white wall. It’d be great if ye could add a few dark red bricks throughout to match the printed pieces on the corners, though I get that ye were tryin’ for a more classic look. The only other wee thing that bothers me is the yellow plates as a base. I’d think that with the rocks changing color and the dock that this would be over water, not sand. If I were ye I may think ‘bout swapping the yellow for blue. Me favorite part of this build is the classic look. This perfectly recreates the imperial/pirate nostalgia, and somehow looks really clean and not over-studded, as commonly happens when people attempt a more classic build. Also good job adding a ladder to get to the second level. It’s crazier than me sailing a ship how many poeple forget to add ways for their minifigs to get to the second level and beyond! Fair Winds Matey!

Agreed! I became a huge Tolkien/LOTR fan after they stopped making sets. Now it is just Rivendell and Barad Dur, which are both enormous and expensive. It would be nice if they made more smaller LOTR/Hobbit sets too.

Good point. I'm hoping to sell some of my GWPs and sets I won in contests in order to "discount" the price of Rivendell. Amazing set, but not really in my hobby budget

Same. I don't usually like to spend a whole lot on LEGO, but a $20ish gift for a brother plus a $20-30 PAB order to get a $50 GWP is a good deal in my book, so those are the instances I use it. Other than that, I make do with what I have, and builds become more creative because of it!

AFOL life is certainly not easy- there's the constant threat of reddish brown pieces breaking, the deadlines for contests, the times when you're missing that one piece you need, etc.... The only time I really use PAB is around the holidays. I'll usually get my younger brother some specific pieces he wants, and add a few of my own to the order. Sounds reasonable- usually once a certain number of pieces are missing, it basically needs taken apart since its just a mess of pieces and chunks

Of course- anything but the boring old crackers everyone gives them! The shots look far better now- Great work! Thanks for taking my suggestion- usually people with physical builds are less likely to take suggestions and make edits and go through the whole process of re-photographing, so it means a lot!

That's a good idea! While it may work for sets, I don't know if it will work for a lot of my MOCs though. Most are quite fragile and end up falling apart with just a few pieces removed. Just look at this build for an example I often intend to "just borrow" pieces for a little bit, and then a little bit turns into a longer bit, and eventually so many pieces are missing I decide it is better to disassemble and sort than to rebuild.

I have this issue all the time! I can never find enough grey pieces. Probably a good idea with the minifigs- no need to damage extra figures. If you don't look closely, it isn't super noticeable

I do the same. Even most MOCs don't last much longer than a month. I always feel bad, because I like to leave my builds together, but they just use so many useful pieces...

Cool! Sounds like you really put a lot of effort into this! But for good reason, I keep coming back to read the story

Yep! I use it for any and all LEGO profiles. You can see them linked in my message signature below.

I'm pretty sure I'm following you on IDEAS already You could always add links to your LEGO profiles in your message signature. That's what I just figured out how to do since I keep seeing it on others. You go to <your username>, account settings, signature. Then you can type whatever and it will show at the bottom of all messages you send.

Ahoy Matey! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment). Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it! I really enjoyed reading your account- the first person made it quite good and memorable, and the way you alternated text and photos really helped the story. The enthusiasm and vigor is palpable! Me biggest critique here lies more with the photos than the build. While a lot of the closeups look really good, the overall shots are somewhat lacking. Sometimes you can see other things in the background, and sometimes parts of the build are quite out od focus. For example, in the first build, both the islander and one of the imperials are blurred, while the front of their boats are clear. Me favorite part of this build (aside from the story) is all the little details that create a story. In particular, I like the roasting fish, buried treasure chest, even more buried treasure and gun, and hidden cave. I also really like the crab stealing a fish in the first image- what a fun detail! Fair Winds Matey!

Ahoy Matey! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment). Ye did a great job buildin’ this so we know what happens to Steve later in life. Thanks for unfolding the next chapter of his saga! I’m glad you updated the design- the second version looks far better! It’s crazy how much just a few more rocks and bigger baseplate make- it is far more balanced now. Me biggest critique here is the yellow stripes at the corners. I’m not sure why they stick out extra far, but it looks kinda awkward. Maybe find an alternative solution if possible- would SNOT’ed slopes fit better? Also, while I appreciate the extra weathering you added, I would make it dark red rather than grey, in order to give another nod to the original color scheme. Me favorite part of this build is the interiors. They are really well detailed, especially for such a small space. The simple meal of bread and cheese looks good, and the candle/table and chest really fill out the room. I like the bedroom and top too, but the office space really takes the cake for me. Though I do wonder…how does Steve climb between floors? Does he just scale the exterior and go through a window? Fair Winds Matey!

Always the bane of my builds- limited pieces! This uses just about every dbg piece I have, which is why I had to start getting creative with parts to use

Ahoy Matey! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment). Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. I ike the suspense of the story, we don’t know exactly what is going to happen next. Me biggest critique here is really just the studs on the sides of the boats near the back. It would be nice if they could be hidden. Also, the sloop needs a monkey. If it has bananas, it must have a monkey Me favorite part of this build is the shaping of the boats. It is really well done and captures the types of ships well. The mast and rigging is also quite well done. I love the nostalgia from the original sails and the posing of the crooked mast adds to the story. Fair Winds Matey!

Ahoy Matey! They call me Captain Crit in these parts and I heard that polly wants a sandwich (They’re fed up with crackers apparently) - a criticism sandwich that is! (For you landlubbers, that’s 3 seas [Cs]- Compliment, Constructive Criticism, and another Compliment). Ye did a great job buildin’ this and writin’ a story to go along with it. The build really tells it’s own story, without the narration even being necessary, its so good. Me biggest critique here mainly what others have already said. The studs on the side of the first floor should probably be hidden, and perhaps the butcher level as well, whihc could definitely use some blood. My only unique ciritque is the minifigure dangling over the slimes- I think you should try to give him a better torso for the time period- he seems a bit out of place. Me favorite part of this build, aside from the storytelling aspect is all the details. From the hands in the shop, to the body being hauled in outside the second level, the the cute little slimes, everywhere you look there are more details to be discovered, yet it is all a consistent story. Fair Winds Matey!

Ahoy Matey! You know me by now- It’s Captain Crit, back with another criticism sandwhich for ye polly! I’ve been busy for the last week and not had time to look at entries, but I must say this one is quite good, possibly even better than the last one. You did a great job integrating the comments and critism from the last one to mae this one truly excellent! This build was so good it was real hard to come up with a critique. The only thing I can think of is the front bow of the ship could use a cleaner curve, and come further back the ship. The best way to do this would probably be using a piece that curves in two directions and then SNOTing it in upside down or sideways into that corner. Me favorite part o’ the build is all the little details. I particularly like the anchor, hats, cannons, ladders, and shark. And for the micro figs, I thik the one on the round beicks looks the best, mainly because it doesn’t seem to take up as much space as the others. Fair Winds Matey!

Ahoy Matey! You know me by now- It’s Captain Crit, back with another criticism sandwhich for ye polly! I’ve been busy for the last week and not had time to look at entries, but I must say this one is quite good, especially the story. I love how you put so much effort into created a detailed comic to go along with it. I’m glad I didn’t see it earlier, or I would have had to wait for each chapter This way I can at least read most of the story. How many chapters will it be? Also, What did you use to make it? This build was so good it was real hard to come up with a critique. The only thing I can think of is the waterfall, and I’m not even sure what about it- something just seems slightly off. Maybe its the contrast between the blue of the hinges and transparent blue of the tiles, or maybe its the base of it. I might add some white or trans-clear elements to represent the foam at the base. Me favorite part o’ the build (aside from the comic) is the modularity. This is super creative an dwell thought out. I also think you did a really good job integrating the jungle foliage. And one more thing- the little outrigger looks great! I think the new design with the printed sail does indeed look better, btw. Fair Winds Matey!

@Horation Sorry about that- life has been super busy recently so I haven't had time to reply to anyone. That's also partially why I stopped at 50 for critic counts, since I didn't have the time to go further. Anyway, I think the update looks great! This works quite well. I especially like the apples spilling out. The one thing that bothers me now is the extra row of bricks at the bottom. Is this necessary for the structure? If not, I suggest removing it, it makes the ground part seem too big. If it has to be that high, than maybe add a few layers to the wall, so it is proportionally a bit taller. As for the poster, I would raise it one row of bricks. Imagine a minifigure standing at ground level where the poster is, and see where he could "place" it.

Thanks! I would love to expand it, but I don't have the time or the parts. I was hoping to do another small build for this contest, but life has been busy and I'm starting to doubt I'll even be able to do that.

Also @Mister Phes I just had another idea for a prize. What if you added one for the best storytelling? It could be something that is voted on or just selected by a judge, but it could be another end of contest prize.