Laura Beinbrech

That's one sleek, HUGE submarine. I could easily believe that tops 600 studs in length: It actually took me a couple seconds to realize that most of the curves on the forward end of the ship were 1-wide slope pieces, at which point I was like, "Holy crap!"

What do you use for your shots? I've personally found that using some thick marker/tack board (which you can get at Michael's or AC Moore) works out great as a quick set-up and take-down light box (one section for the bottom, one for the back, and two half-sections for the sides)... I used that for my recent AV-12 Buteo photo shoot.

WOW! I didn't know that LEGO even MADE that much dark red! Anyways, Really nicely done: Nice dieselpunk airship, with almost enough "dakka" to make a WH 40K Ork Clan proud. I'm happy to see you decided to go ahead and make this thing for real. BTW, I'd love to see some close-up shots of the crew members' uniforms (maybe with the crew standing in formation in front of the ship)....

Excellent work there, very convincing abandoned mineshaft, although I have to say that I agree with this: Exactly! Even professional Cavers (I was heavily into that at one time) tend to steer clear of abandoned mine shafts: The main danger comes from the fact that, being man-made, they are dependent on supports (many of which will have likely rotted away) to keep from collapsing, and even where the supports are sound, unlike natural caves where the rock surfaces were gradually eroded, relieving tectonic pressure, mines were rapidly dug, and this same pressure can cause bits of rock to violently pop off the walls or ceilings (which is one of the main reasons they wear hard hats in mines)....

Nice work on the battlecruiser, instantly recognizable! Back when I played Starcraft, I would sometimes deliberately prolong missions in single player until I got a full "key" of fully upgraded battlecruisers with Yamato Guns, then just roll over the enemy bases with them.... Nothing more fun that wiping out half their infrastructure with your opening salvo.

"I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to post this MOC, Dave." Awesome rendition of the creepiest computer AI ever!

Sci-MOCs: Oh, I see it was the sticker you didn't like... Well, all I can say is that we'll just have to chalk that up to a difference of opinions, because I actually like it. As for the Federal version, I do realize that it is essentially the same color scheme used by LEGO City hospital and fire-fighting aircraft, but I had previously come up with it for this particular faction's aircraft, and wanted to keep each faction's aircraft (and space fighters) with their own, unique and consistent color schemes, hence Red and White for the Federal Republic of America, Tan for the Republic of New Jersey, Black and Yellow for the Grand Duchy of New York, Bley for the Confederate States of America, etc. As you can see here, it fits in quite well with the other Federal Republic Air Force fighter I built a while back: Yellowjacket & Thunderbird Top by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr Only Sinner: Thanks, glad you like them and the Background info: I always try to come up with some kind of story for my creations and how they fit into my overall setting.

Yeah, when I first saw the Jet Copter Encounter set, I thought, "You know, I bet I could turn that into something like a 40K Valkyrie or Vulture, or that Dropship from Aliens...." I unfortunately don't have hardly any light blue, particularly parts that would work for the wing assembly.... I would have used Yellow for the tail assembly, if they weren't so darn hard to find in that color on Brick Link... The only thing I could think of would be to maybe re-do the missle launcher assembly parts of the wings in Yellow, but I don't have the right parts in yellow, and I'm on a very limited budget at the moment (and what money I do have to spare for LEGO is going towards the Dolphin Cruiser and Coast Guard Patrol Boat). I also think the color scheme, while not perfect, works plenty fine, especially in regards to the above limitations... So, what do you think about the red one (aside from the fact that it "Goes Fasta")?

I know it's been a LONG while since I posted any MOCs here, and I even actually had these MOCs finished for a while, but hadn't been motivated enough to properly photograph and post them until tonight... Anyways, without futher ado, I present the re-done ADU and the Federal Republic of America Buteo Gunships: Buteos Side by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr The AV-12 Buteo Gunship was the result of a top-secret joint project between the Federal Republic of America Air Force and the Airborne Demolitions Unit (ADU) to develop a multi-role Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) attack aircraft that could fill in for roles formerly held by such aircraft as the AV-8B Harrier, A-10 Thunderbolt II (although there is still limited production of those going on in the Federal Republic) and even possibly the AC-130 Gunship. Buteos Front by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr The end result of the project was a rather large, heavily armed and armored VTOL gunship, borrowing design elements from the A-10 and the Mi-24 Hind helicopter that manages to cover most of the roles listed: Armed with four Merculite Missiles (in twin wing-mounted launchers) for use against armored vehicles and heavy fortifications, two twin, wingtip-mounted Blaster (plasma) cannons for general purpose ground (and even air) attack use, dual Laser Cannons, also for general-purpose and anti-missile defense, dual M-242 "Bushmaster" 25mm Chain guns for antitank use and dual 0.50 caliber miniguns for light anti-material/anti-personnel use. Buteos Rear by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr Propelling these monstrosities through the air are two 32,000 lb thrust turbofans, which are mounted high on the fuselage to minimize FOD (Foreign Object Debris) hazards when taking off and landing on rough/improvised landing fields on or near the front lines. The massive thrust of these engines also give these hulking brutes a surprising amount of speed, being slightly faster than the pre-Final War A-10 Tunderbolt II's. Buteos Top by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr The Landing Gear of the Buteos is all placed under the bulky part of the fuselage, allowing them, in case of an emergency, to (very carefully) land on the Helo decks of Federal Navy John Paul Jones Class Guided Missile Destroyers (and the Republic of New Jersey variant, the Samuel B. Roberts Class) and Antietam Class Guided Missile Cruisers. Pilots by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr Pictured here are the pilots of these two Buteos. The Federal Republic Air Force pilot on the left is Major Ulrika Da Flymek, Ace Pilot and crack aircraft designer, who was also a key member of the AV-12 Buteo design team. Ulrika is the daughter of the (in)famous Orc Mekboy, Kog Da Flymek, who designed the Deffkopta (among other things) for the Chaos Air Force, but eventually defected to the Federal Republic of America because he, to put it in his words, "Got tired of dem Chaos gitz usin' me an' my boyz like 2-bit grotz," and went on to help design a number of Federal Republic aircraft (including the F/A 210 Thunderbird). Ulrika was thus exposed to, and enamored with, all things that fly since she was little and quickly followed in her father's footsteps when she grew up. While I was initially satisfied with my earlier version, something just didn't seem right with it, and when I tried turning the wings around, so that they were swept back, instead of forwards, it looked 200% better. I also, after seeing the Galaxy Squad Swarm Interceptor had the white versions of the wings used, I decided to see how hard it would be to make a red and white (Federal Republic of America Air Force colors) version, and surprisingly, I was able to get all the missing parts I needed for the project with just two Bricklink orders (this included an almost mint condition 2x2 red slope with the old LEGO Town system #3 race car print on it). Like I said the last time, they are somewhat based on the Jet Copter encounter set as well as the Vulture Gunships from Warhammer 40K, and the miniguns I made by combining two spare BrickArms minigun tips with 1x1 round bricks and "One Rings" from the LoTR and Hobbit sets to cover the ugly gap that would otherwise result from such a configuration. I hope you guys like them!

I've never played Borderlands, but those are definitely some sweet Post-Apoc attack buggies.

Good looking tramp freighter, Cran! The functional cargo holds are really well done, and I rather like your alternative solution for pushing it across the floor. Definitely looks like some of the river boats I've seen over the years.

While I'm not overly fond of the color scheme for this summer's Coast guard sets, I DO really like the gray uniforms... They look kinda similar to the old US Navy dungarees or Utility uniforms (although those had light blue shirts instead of light gray), I might pick up a couple of this set (for the small boat pieces and unifors) as well as Brick Link the Coast Guard torsos. I'm probably going to buy the Coast Guard Patrol boat to make into a Corvette....

That is one freakishly awesome mobile artillery unit! Granted, I'd have probably added some yellow bits here and there to bring it closer to the classic Blacktron I look, but that's just me (The first LEGO set I ever purchased with my own money was a Blacktron Alienator in 1988, so I have a bit of a soft spot for Blacktron I).

Nice! What purpose does the yellow frog serve? Speed/power regulator?

Nice! It kinda reminds me of some of the steam tank designs from the Sakura Taisen games and manga...

As a long time fan of Steampunk (I was a fan of it before they even called it Steampunk), I just love this creation: It captures the perfect Victorian Sci-Fi aesthetic without going overboard. I also like your highly original method of using Dinosaur Tails/elephant tusks to represent the smoke. Nice touch, that!

I know my wife's going gaga over the fawn... She's been ardently collecting the collectible animals, and only has one set with an actual minidoll in it, namely Olivia's Newborn Foal. As a result, since she has them all displayed next to each other, she's taken to joking that Olivia is an animal hoarder.... Oh, you just wait until I get hold of one: I'm planing on turning it into an Armed Merchant Cruiser (how else is a passenger ship line supposed to survive in a post-apocalyptic setting?), complete with 8-inch howitzers lining the broadsides of the upper deck and heavy machine guns for repelling pirates and enemy patrol boats....

Nice build. definitely killy enough with the big guns. The module separation is also nicely done (better than most of the actual sets) as well.

I really like both designs. The bike looks like a slimmed-down version of the Bat Pod from the Dark Knight trilogy, and the Wasteland buggy is definitely scrappy enough. Heck, if you were to replace the black parts making up the frame with red ones, you'd have a good, serviceable Ork vehicle.

Nice work! I'm not exactly a die-hard 40K fan (the setting is too depressingly, unredeemably dark for my taste), but I do like the various character and vehicle designs (plus the Orks are always a hoot) and I AM a big fan of Warhammer Fantasy. I do like to incorporate stuff from 40K into my own LEGO setting (which is more like LoTR meets Fallout meets Rifts meets Star Wars meets Warhammer, but with tongue firmly in cheek). The biggest thing I did was to kinda merge the Warhammer 40K Orks with LoTR Orcs, particularly the traits of being obsessed with "More Dakka", painting vehicles red to make them faster and such. As a matter of fact, I'm trying to piece together a Captain Bluddflagg fig to command one of my navy ships....

Nice using the boat hull to make a seaplane! The only thing that would make it better in my opinion would be if you added a 120mm cannon, like the flying boat in "The Expendables II" had.

Very nice tramp steamer. Definitely would fit in with the African Queen and other such ships. You all might find this rather odd, but I've actually seen such ships still plying their trade around Indonesia as recently as 2001...

This is only $70?! I could have sworn, based on earlier pics that this was going to be another $100 ship (since that seems to be the usual going price for ships that use those Pirate hull pieces)... I want it more than ever now. Heck, I might even eventually get two (probably not). I like the boat parts and overall color scheme, and this would do nicely (once I re-arrange the interior a bit) as a cruise ship (although since this will be going in with my general setting, I guarantee that it will essentially be an armed merchant cruiser :D). I do have a sneaking suspicion that my wife may try and abscond with the dolphins, though.....

I'll have to see about posting a pic of the paratrooper with the mods I made next to some actual ADU troops... Yeah, I actually thought of a use for the Motorcycle mechanics (in my setting at least), particularly if you combine them with the hair from the Punk Rocker, the Iroquois warrior and Exo-Force. Specifically what I'm alluding to is Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic Motorcycle-based wasteland raider gangs.... Ooooohhhh yeaaahh!

The retailer that shall not be named is, of course, Walmart (I got the idea from TV Tropes/this one series of anti-Walmart Youtube Videos called "Harry Potter vs the Dark Lord Waldemart"). As for the ADU thing, that just proves that great minds think alike. ( )