Commander Turtle

Great work Orenji. Good to see your uniform is similar to my lietenant's, it seems the dress code is finally being adhered to. My team has returned here from Serium with tankers full of Awesomnium!

Nice sub and nice picture editing with the lights. Captures the underwater look :)

Thank you all very much. I should add that it is actually supported under there since the pics hardly show it. I think it is structurally sound too :)

"Our drilling team have reached the Awesomnium site in the North Crater. Commander Turtle, your unit will take a fleet of K14 SSTO-tankers so we can ship this fuel up to the satellite station." "Affirmative. Leave it to us." More pictures and commentary: Mandatory Flickr link.

Niloc, that is absolutely fine, everyone will have commitments sometimes. You can always submit a "minifig on a plate" for 1 domination point anyway I have had to build two weeks' worth of builds in two days, and they're digital since I am staying in another country. One is rendering now, I'm very pleased with and want to enter it straight away, but my other one will work best if we're still on Serium next week! I will have to prep both entries today so I might have to just run with it!

Friday morning, 9am GMT. So basically Thursday. Beware! Don't want to have any accidents :) And we'll definitely have to build multiple times, some locations could take 4 weeks if they're not a priority.

If anyone is considering joining now, at present the team sizes are: Octan - 19 Kawashita - 15 Mantis - 8 Just so people can stop saying Kawashita are getting too many people and signing up for Octan after reading the first page of this thread

N.K Markus, I do approve of your plan towards Guinevere. Combined with the move into the outer ring with Marden, this will give us control over our sector of the system. Together, no corporation will be able to sneak through our sector. I look forward to having a consistent secure channel so that we may discuss this in greater detail!

I really like the dialogue, I'm enjoying how this challenge lets us all express our ideas creatively and in all sorts of ways. And cute build, very corporate!

My understanding is that entries must be in by 9am GMT on Fridays. Bob cannot see into the past though, so if he judges yours at 10am GMT and the image has been improved I am sure he will mark it

I am awaiting the launch window, hopefully my craft will be departing on Wednesday for Serium. Currently there are three brave pioneers exploring Serium (alongside the two in the Hamilton belt), if we can get this up to nine then we may be able to accelerate our plans...

N.K Marcus, thank you for your input. At present, some hackers calling themselves "Brickshelf" have made your image unavailable. I suggest encrypting images with Imgur.com or Flickr.com security solutions, as these are less prone to unauthorised takedown. My only worry is spreading our forces too thinly. Colonisation will be most efficient if we focus on two CEO-approved planets in any given phase. Our second probe suggests Wastyria is not actually capable of providing 750 water as our first probe suggested, so we have downgraded it to 500. This makes our solar system have three-way rotational symmetry - extremely curious, I am sure you will agree!

This is a fabulous build. When you build to the relevant planets/scenarios, your work could be a challenge to beat!

Something observable about our current state of affairs is that there appears to be an outer ring to allow for faster travel. Our scientists (okay, our spies and pirates) tell us that it is theoretically possible to get resources from planets 2 warps away from each other. We must have access to all resources, and our only source of Mithril is extremely far away... As such, it is imperative to plot a route that will give us access to this. I therefore propose we target this outer ring primarily, so that we can guarantee some access to every resource type. If we are cut off, we must use our diplomacy to build relations and trade, so it is imperative to avoid direct conflict if at all possible. Going the other direction around the solar system is equally viable. We should assess our position when we secure Marden. Another alternative would be to target either Onix or Gynevere and attempt to block access, however this strategy would prove extremely costly and make us many enemies. We can also forgo these valuable planets and seek to maximise our control over this side of the map for maximum resources. Either way, we must secure Marden if only to prevent some other company from attempting the strategy I have proposed here!

Sir, with all due respect, we have brought enough water to survive for a while yet. Lorstan II would be but a diversion, and I assure you my reasoning is based on the strongest data. Can we have a bug scanner in here so we may talk openly?!

Sir, I believe it is imperative that we immediately move towards Serium. This will fit as part of a larger plan, but I do not wish to tell more until this room has been thoroughly searched for bugs! We cannot have an industrial spy learning of our routes! Serium is a world with water and islands, and already contains oxygen in its atmosphere. Our initial probe suggests that the species present are small and lack the "killer instinct", so they will provide good food our landing parties. The relatively low gravitational field means we will be able to mine and then ship fuel into space efficiently, and no doubt make a great profit on this little introduction to Andromeda. Finally, it is rich in Awesomenium, which is critical for our continued spaceflight development.

Greetings, fellow Kawashita employees. I am Commander Turtle. I know a few of you might not remember me, because the last time I was here was back before we conquered Pluto. But times have changed, and it is thanks to our very company that I am here, with an augmented arm, and with a vision. A vision for our company to be like no other, a vision for our company to bring the world one step further in a quest for science! We shall be triumphant, and we shall make our stockholders proud.

You said using the same name was preferred, and I like being a commander!

Well, given that I have lots of dark red and no Octan logos, I'd better get in on the ground floor! I could loosely manage MANTIS if necessary, but Kawashita is definitely going to be easier for me to build consistently. So here is Commander Turtle, ace driver, checking in for duty. He's a hardened battle hero, but since the ambush which claimed his arm he has never quite been the same. He is most often accompanied by Lieutenant Okura, a rising star in the company who helps keep his temper in check. He has a lot of pride, but those who contradict him successfully will earn his respect. The avatar pic:

Is there any balancing mechanism for when a team has many more active builders? A team with 13 would be at a reasonable advantage over a team of 10 at the moment, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps a small team can submit a few extra builds each week?

I really enjoyed this set, although it helped that I got it for £45 new & delivered. At that price it really is killer, with some interesting repurposeable figs and a generally engaging design.

There are a lot of smart ideas here, I like the hexagonal cargo and the cockpit in particular. Are real bricks available in all these colours?

Very clever indeed. Lego won't make it because it uses old magnets, but it's very inspiring to those of us who can use Bricklink to get some!

Some of my favourites for each didn't qualify. Still, thanks for the contest! Cat A #1 #8 #5 Cat C #9 #8 #1

That's just ace, is it based on any official promo materials? The way the base slopes reminds me of the Oslo Opera House a little.