Still Raindrop

The other day I decided that, in between making buildings, I would try to improve my detailing, including making small two-walled areas look like full-sized buildings. I did this (and will continue to do so) with a story: having a news reporter interview various Rossville residents. Here is the first (it also contains the first images of my newest building, Castilla Amarilla Mexican Restaurant. It will get its own topic soon. Ray Porter: Hello, Rossville. I'm Ray Porter, and tonight I will be interviewing police officer Leo Flatfoot, one of Rossville's finest law-enforcement officers. Ray Porter: Excuse me, officer--I'm here for the interview with Officer Leo Flatfoot. Officer: Of course. Unfortunately, none of our conference rooms are open, so you'll have to conduct the interview in interrogation room #5. Down the hall and to the right. Ray Porter: Hello, Officer Flatfoot. It's a pleasure to be interviewing you. You are without a doubt one of the most dedicated and talented police officers Rossville has. Officer Flatfoot: Thank you, Ray. I take my call to protect and serve the residents of this fine town very seriously, as I think all of our officers do. I wouldn't say I'm any more dedicated or talented than them. Ray Porter: You are, however, the man who put notorious criminal Rob Banks behind bars. Officer Flatfoot: That is true; however, I believe any of our fine officers would have done the same. I was simply in the right place at the right time. Ray Porter: Interesting. Now, some would say that you take your job a little too seriously. Officer Flatfoot: I don't think that's possible when you're a police officer. Ray Porter: I am, of course, referring to the incident with the mime and the gorilla suit guy. Officer Flatfoot: Of course. Ray Porter: We have a tape taken by one of the parents at the incident. Perhaps, while we play it, you could tell us what was really happening? Officer Flatfoot: . . . . I suppose I could. Officer Flatfoot: I got a call about a disturbance of the peace outside of Castilla Amarilla; apparently two street performers were making it difficult to enter the restaurant or walk safely on the sidewalk. Ray Porter: I see. The children look so happy, though. Officer Flatfoot: That's true. But look how happy they are to see a police officer. It was at this point that I asked if they wanted to help me with a case; they were completely ecstatic. I told them to get behind me and watch a policeman in action. Ray Porter: Then you informed the street performers that they were under arrest for disturbing the peace and being a public nuisance. Officer Flatfoot: Yes. Ray Porter: The children don't look happy any more, officer. Neither do the parents, for that matter. Officer Flatfoot: Perhaps I didn't handle that situation in the best way at the time. Nevertheless, the law is the law. Moreover, I helped these two performers get a permit to perform in front of the restaurant; now they help draw people into the restaurant rather than keeping them from it. Everything turned out right in the end. Officer Flatfoot: Now, if you'll excuse me, I just got a radio message and am needed back on the streets. Ray Porter: There you have it. Officer Leo Flatfoot--perhaps a little intense, but he does his job well, and always makes sure that justice is served.

I updated some areas of the clinic; here are the new photos compared with some of the old ones (I updated the first post). Old: New: Old: New:

Hi, everyone! My second anniversary is coming up in a month, so I thought I'd make my wife a mini-scale version of the chapel where we got married--Shove Chapel (in Colorado Springs, on the Colorado College campus). Here it is--let me know what you think!

So, it seems that the first deal fell through; is anyone else interested in trading anything for these torsos?

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I'm working on improving the interior of the ophthalmologist's office, and have already made a better chair and tweaked the phoropter to fit on the chair; I'll upload pictures of that soon. Slit lamp is up next. I'm still having trouble finding a way to do a display of different glasses frames--does anyone have any good ideas of how to do that, especially in a limited space (I'm thinking of putting those out in the waiting room)?

Thanks, everyone! I'm glad you like it! I, too, felt like the office was a bit bare; I had made some other ophthalmology equipment, but I wasn't satisfied--it ended up making everything look too cramped, and nothing looked quite right (I had LASIK last year, but I've been to the ophthalmologist's plenty of times before that). I'll fiddle around with the interior on that one some more. I was also thinking of having a display with glasses, but I wasn't sure how to go about it--does anyone have any suggestions? It might look odd to have minifigure heads with glasses just sitting around, as they're a bit too lifelike for mannequins . . . perhaps I should use the aviator goggles? But I'm not sure how I would make that into a display without the helmets. Any suggestions would be most welcome Legocrazy81, I think he must be starting by painting the plants around her Redcross, the project almost started with the eye; I was making another building, but wasn't quite sure what to do with it, and wasn't getting great results; when the eye came along, the rest of the building kind of followed. I suppose you could say that making it an ophthalmologist's office gave the whole building a new focus By the way, in case anyone was wondering, I forgot to mention that the other minifigure names are based on wordplay, as well-- "Isaac Lear" sounds like "Eyes Are Clear," and Iris Hazed refers to an eye color and a part of the eye.

Hi, everyone. I recently finished a building I'd been making for a long time, and wanted to post some pictures. I know the lighting isn't the best (it's been cloudy here lately), but I just wanted the photos out there--I'll take better pictures on a brighter day. Now, on to business. The ground floor of this building is the Rossville Vision Clinic, run by Dr. Isaac Lear. The top two floors are an apartment currently being rented by the artist Art M. Tate (his name is a pun--it's easier to get when you say the name of his hypothetical autobigraphy, "Art M. Tate's Life"). Here is the exterior of the building; on the back you can see the stairway that leads to Art M. Tate's apartment: Here are some views of the first floor, the Rossville Vision Clinic. The secretary, Iris Hazel, is typing diligently, booking appointments, and waiting for the phone to ring. The waiting area, complete with a magazine, glasses display, mirror, and couch. Inside the office you can see the letter chart on the wall and Dr. Lear on his computer. Is he looking at a patient's eye map, or playing a computer game? Note that this has the old version of the phoropter. Here is a patient looking through the phoropter. The second floor is Art M. Tate's main living area. Here is the kitchen: Living room: Entryway: Bathroom: And an overhead view of the second floor: The third floor loft is where Art sleeps; it also contains a balcony where he does much of his painting. Here is the artist himself, about to begin a figure painting. What concentration he has on his face as he prepares to make the first stroke! The artist's muse and assistant, Athena, posed in a flowery bathrobe for another masterful portrait. Hope you like the building! Please leave me comments with feedback--I'd like to know if there are ways for me to improve it.

It was my decision--I just told her so she'd hold me to it. (we're both in college and working multiple part-time jobs, so finances are kind of tight) Also, I am negotiating a trade right now--if it works out, I'll post it, so that this topic can be closed.

Wow, those product descriptions sure could have used some revisions. They claim that the Earth Defense HQ has more minifigures than it does, as well as consistently calling the reporter in the mothership set "he."

Unfortunately, I decided I wasn't going to spend any more on LEGO (apart from shipping on trades) till 2012--and I told my wife so.

I'm afraid I'm in the US.

Hi, everyone! I've decided not to buy any more LEGO this year (I need to save some money, and I've already bought quite a lot), but there are a few torsos I've been meaning to get my hands on: this one and this one. Would anyone be willing to trade anything for these torsos (in perfect condition)? I have lots to trade--if you're interested, just let me know what you're looking for, and hopefully we can figure something out. Thanks!

Great review! I like the layout and all the space inside . . . still, I think the Apple Tree House (modded) is going to remain my minifigure-self's home. It just looks nicer overall, I think.

I think that, as has been mentioned before, most downtown pet stores wouldn't have massive signs, just simple painted ones. As far as the house you linked to . . . it's a totally different architectural style.

Lots of interesting parts use for the interior details. The paint roller and pan are brilliant. It looks like the toilet bowl is made from this piece in white, rather than making this piece, which has been used for toilets before, in white. It's an interesting decision, but good in that it allows for a tank to be affixed (though I'm not entirely sure how, as the tank looks like the studs are oriented up). Looks like they used a black lightsaber handle for a phone; another interesting decision. I'm not too impressed with that lamp, but that's a minor thing. The interiors of both buildings look great, with lots of nice details!

Interesting question! I do have some strange elements in my town, though they're different from yours. If there's a non-town theme that I'm currently interested in, or that I think would make funny scenes, I'll try to throw a small reference to that theme into my town. For example, I used to have Squidman standing in line at my town's fish and chips stand and a ninja hiding behind the clock tower on the town hall. Now I have a gorilla suit guy perched atop a building and an alien sneaking around a construction site.

Even better!

I have to say, I'm pretty excited about this set! It's the first modular set that I think could fit into my town nicely; I'll have to ask for this for Christmas.

Peanuts, I don't think your is very funny right now. However, that could all be fixed with the wording. Making it simpler would be ideal; perhaps have him doing something at Leia's table to a response of "Darth Waiter. Only you could be so bold."

I find it interesting how many people see the sailor's face as winking--even the official LEGO photos help this idea out by having him put the telescope up to the "winking" eye. To me, it looks like he's squinting through one eye so that he can see out of the telescope; thus, the telescope should go to his other eye, leaving his squinting/winking eye visible.

You still do have a mixture of yellows and fleshies; the "natives" are made from flesh and dark flesh minifigure parts. Still, good MOC; I like all the action and detail.

Very nice! If this were a real set, I'd want to buy it. I love how well the playability meshes with historical accuracy.

Thanks for the review! It's interesting that the license plate spells out "Patton" (when one converts the sevens to the letter t).

I like the beard on the Rowan Williams minifigure. Suits him perfectly.

I'm pretty sure he's holding a bottle in the polybag set.