the enigma that is badger

A few Castle-based figs I recently threw together: An undead/biomechaniod knight of my Thulian faction I created the lance by removing the pommel from a BrickArms Damien Blade and crafting a small connection piece by trimming down and Sharpie-ing a Technic pin One of my favorite mythological characters, Sun Wukong from the Chinese classic, Journey to the West Dadao blade is from BrickArms and the hairpiece and tail are from Arealight. A knight from my Arrakean faction, a desert-based group: Not much, but I'm a big fan of keeping color and tone consistent for a faction such that even a knight like this matches more modern-based figs that are part of the same faction. Enjoy!

As soon as Will has them mass produced! Designing, testing, and mass producing custom accessories of the fine quality and detailing that BrickArms accessories feature takes time. That said, as I've stated a few times before, there's a reason the latest batch of BrickArms accessories was called First Wave 2009

No As I said, not everything can fit into a single production mold. The MG42 design is still a work in-progress, and although it was nearly ready for this mold, the design just wasn't up to Will's high standards of accuracy and playability yet nor was there sufficient room in the mold. The Brodie helmet is a special case in that specialized types of molds are needed to produced headgear. As I imply above, Will is developing more headgear, and when he has enough designs to fill a production mold, he'll produce and add them to the BrickArms line-up. None that I'm aware of.

Yeah, it really makes you wish someone would produce a high-quality, minifig compatible M1 helmet that was easily available. But really, would who do that?

The BrickArms M1 was from Oxford. Best-Lock did copy that design, but upon picking up a few of those sets, they aren't nearly as polished and durable as the Oxford versions.

Only so much can fit into a production mold! This one was the largest yet, with over 14 new accessories. Unfortunately, not everything can fit, but then there is a reason we're calling this First Wave 2009 Unfortunately, that accessory (and a few others) has been permanently discontinued due to issues beyond Will's control. If you mean the Mega Pack that contained every accessory BrickArms had to offer, then yes, that pack was discontinued as it just getting too big! Even including just one of every item would put the pack at too high a price point. Look for smaller, theme-based packs from BrickArms in the future.

Glad to hear you folks dig the new items! Historical items are a new direction for BrickArms (and are mostly due to the constant begging and pleading of Damien and myself for Will to try his hand at designing some!), but I think these accessories show how beautiful the results can be when Will chooses to tackle them. . .not to mention those great colors! That said, swords and historical firearms are a new direction for BrickArms, and if you'd love to see more in the future, the best way is to order the ones currently available! Difficult to say. Will is moving from using decals to a pad printer for his custom minifigs. This will allow him to print the design directly onto the minifig torso (or other part) in the same way LEGO does (or used to before decals) and make for much more durable custom figures. However, as you can likely guess, he's likely to be very busy with orders for the next weeks. That said, when the tidal wave of orders for these new items subsides and with the weather turning from the bitter cold of winter to spring, Will has plans to get his pad printer humming and getting some great designs applied to figs! Also an issue is headgear. Losing his source of the M1 Helmet (the only BrickArms accessory not designed and produced by Will) meant alot of his figures had to be discontinued. However, that's another area where Will has big plans for the future

Forgot to include this: a nice shot illustrating the perfect color-matching Will has achieved with these new items. BrickArms Dark Grey and Gunmetal are identical to LEGO Dark "Bley" and Pearl Dark Grey No, not specifically. Will does have some big plans, but he's likely to be plenty busy for a least awhile with all these great new accessories he's just added.

Now available from BrickArms: First Wave 2009 Accessories! Read all about them here Also new: several great new accessory packs Enjoy!

A point of clarification here: while the Minigun (and many of these other great accessories) will be mass produced, the next wave of BrickArms accessories that will be added to the BA line-up when the site updates next week will not include any of these items. After all, Will's only just prototyped them! Many of the designs still need work (some more than others). That said, there's a reason Will is calling the new batch of BA items "First Wave 2009"

Naa, I just a camera and a Flick account. It's Will Chapman that deserves any and all accolades about these! I might have been a passionate advocate for a few (the Minigun has been on my "dream list" for years now!), but it's his design skill that gives them life and makes them work so well. Admittedly, the rounds of the Buildable Ammo Chain are slightly oversized for their weapons, but in the caricature-based minifig accessory aesthetic, I think they work well, especially for the larger Minigun. There's also the issue that once you make an accessory too small, even if it's in perfect scale, it becomes impossible to build with. That said, while I've used black BrickArms U-Clips to connect the Ammo Chain links, you could use gold colored ones that would blend more seamless with the links.

Glad to hear you guys like them! I've been hounding Will about a minigun for years now, and now that I have it in hand, I can't overstate how darn excited I am! Hard to say exactly, but Will isn't calling the latest wave of BrickArms accessories First Wave 2009 without good reason!

Direct from Brickfest, some neat new prototypes from BrickArms that represent some very cool future accessories. Probably the most exciting bit of new: Will has taken Ol' Painless out of the bag! PPSh with removable magazines: Flame Gun: BuzzGun: P08 Luger: Buildable Ammo Chain BAR More pics and info here As exciting as these new prototypes are, what's even more fun: BrickArms will soon be updating their site with bunches of new accessories in several different colors. Watch this forum for updates!

That statement is all that can be said regarding this issue. However, as some have noted, some have become available, albeit in an exclusive way. All I can say is keep watching the BrickArms website!

Indeed it is! It's a darn useful piece - bayonet, shiv, and stiletto knife all in one!

I'm a big fan of the new hyperviolent [adult swim] show Superjail! and thought I'd share this cameo of our favorite building toy in this slice of animated insanity: The Warden of Superjail, being forced to relive every traumatic moment of his life while in timejail, remembers that MOCing led him to his life's work . . . and inheritance. Note the "swooshability" testing! badger

If they are willing to accept what they see in The Sun as fact, I'd say their relative level of intelligence and intellectual curiosity speaks for itself. If they were acting without the express permission of TLG, such a business would be violating TLG's intellectual property rights and be subject to possible legal action. BrickArms and all other custom accessory vendors produce ONLY accessories meant to compliment TLG products, never entire building sets that are meant to compete with TLG in the market for building toys. THAT is the key difference between custom accessory vendors and clone brands. badger

Make sure you get your shots before the damaged sale! Lord knows what you could contract from an AFOL bite! badger

Because BrickArms is a custom accessory business whose products are meant to compliment LEGO products, not replace them. A BrickArms accessory without a minifig is not unlike this situation. BrickArms has not or will it ever produce bricks or other building components that are imitations of or meant to compete with LEGO building sets. The Sun article, piece of poorly written and researched tabloid garbage that it was, as far as I am aware had no direct negative repercussions for LEGO (or BrickArms for that matter). As noted, the vast majority saw the article and other media coverage for the confused, obtuse, and inflammatory journalism it was and appreciate the building niche BrickArms fill with its accessories and custom minifigs. While the overwhelming majority of my collection is LEGO product, I have purchased a few clone brands now and again, mostly for minifig accessories. Of all that I've encountered, the elusive Oxford sets were of the highest quality (especially the accessories). It's really the quality (or lack there of) of clone brands that turns me off more than the fact the brand isn't LEGO. If a building toy company were to start marketing sets that were compatible with LEGO, were of the same quality and aesthetic, and had elements that I could find useful in my building, I'd likely purchase them. As yet, that's a situation I have yet to encounter. badger

Given that Pirate fans seems stoked for this one, I thought I'd share this pic of the production version of the BrickArms Rapier: The blade in flat and thin but is still strong enough to hold up to a good deal of pressure. Use it in your MOCs or cocktails! Release date is still in flux, so I can't give a specific time when this will be available for purchase. That said, Will is working with his tooler to perfect a new production mold, and when there are new BrickArms accessories available, including this Rapier, I'll certainly let everyone know about it! badger

As much as Blagojevich earns my ire as someone who has clearly abused their office in attempt to benefit financially and mismanaged Illinois state government for years, the primary target of my political wrath in IL continues to be Todd Stroger, the personification of nepotism and he who I can thank for me needing to pay 10.25% sales tax on every LEGO set I buy at the Michigan Ave store and yet we still don't have a balanced city budget for all the bloat and graft packed into it. I'd say something about Prince Daley, but I don't want my apartment turned into the next Meigs Field! badger

Neat build! Simple, but you've captured the essence of the lightcyle perfectly! End of Line badger

I live in the Chicago area and have attended the Brickworld event for the past two years, once as a visitor and once as a registered attendee. In regards to the atmosphere there, both times it was an incredibly vibrant, welcoming place with wall-to-wall amazing MOCs and talented builders happy to talk about their work and share building tips with anyone interested. As for people under 20, while conventions do usually attract an older crowd in terms of registration, at Brickworld last year there were many younger registered attendees, not to mention hordes of younger builders on the public days. There's nothing about the event that a younger builder wouldn't enjoy or a parent/guardian would have concerns about. If you can make it, I cannot strongly encourage you enough to make it out to the event. Posting online is fun, but conventions are an absolute joy. You get to see some fantastic MOCs in person and meet some amazing, friendly people, possibly making a few new friends in the process! I'd also be remiss if I didn't also state several custom vendors, including BrickArms, often unveil new products and/or prototypes at conventions, some of which are sometimes even convention exclusives. Given Chicago is my home turf, Will and I are already working on plans to making Brickworld a very memorable experience for fans of BrickArms! If you can make it, GO! badger

Those are some neat ideas for items, CPT. Jr! Clearly, there has been a painful lack of custom accessories for the Pirate theme, and with the rebirth of the TLG Pirate line, there's clearly a market for these types of items. Indeed Will does! Already showcased and sailing quickly toward being added to the BrickArms website (and being discussed here) are the BrickArms Rapier and Bayonet (clippable for your convenience!): Those are the first round of Pirate items, and should they prove to be popular, Will has many ideas for future Pirate-themed custom accessories, including several of the items discussed above. While the concept of a lack of "cross-over" between custom accessory vendors has been mentioned before, Will selects items to produce he know he will enjoy designing within his own particular design aesthetic (he's a loves new challenges!) and thinks the community will want to add to their collections. Will and everyone at BrickArms wishes to see the custom accessory community continue to prosper and grow, but ultimately, Will plans to continue to explore new and exciting direction for BrickArms and is happy to let the community decide which custom accessories, regardless of vendor, best suit their work. badger

While my statement taken from the BrickArms Forums that was posted earlier in this thread are really all my feelings on the subject (note to younger members: feel free to blame me when your mother catches you browsing Page 3), I just wanted to give a big thanks to the many, many signs of support Will's gotten in this thread and emails sent directly to him. BrickArms products are clearly mean to enhance and compliment building and play, and Will does not endorse or promote any violent ideology through his fine minifig accessories. And yes, sales were up yesterday. Really up. Hugely up. So up, Will needed to disable the shopping cart function to catch up on the huge volume of orders he received yesterday, the vast majority of which came from people new to BrickArms. This negative piece of yellow journalism might not be the sort of attention Will would have preferred bring people to BrickArms, but when they arrived, they liked what they saw and responded with orders! badger