Mattieshoe

Hey, Fellas. A while back I began working on a project to create brick-built versions of the cars from the 1999 PC game Lego Racers (I know, my originality is staggering) which lead to an interest in creating physical versions of the Minifigure characters exclusive to that game (Rocket Racer and Veronica Voltage namely) And eventually the major characters of the 1997 Lego Island, only one of which was actually manufactured for promotional purposes .Hearing about the pad printing process and its unsurpassed levels of authenticity, I considered contacting Citizen Brick with the project, but understandably they have a strict copyright policy to maintain with The Lego Group, as they're a prominent service that offers unlicensed products of identical form and quality to Lego, and creating physical versions of "official" lego property, even for a single client, would no doubt step on some toes. So my question is, are there any other people or small operations offering pad printing services for Minifigures, ones with less prominence and therefore fewer legal responsibilities regarding projects like this? I of course would never dream of selling them for profit, as the idea of having actual professionally-printed versions of characters this important to my childhood would be a literal dream come true. I don't currently have a program with which to create high quality vectors of these characters, but luckily there are many talented people who have done just that and offered the up for people to use. Even so I intend to ask for permission from every one of those creators before I proceed with this. I posted pictures of the aforementioned brick-built Lego Racers cars several months ago here for anyone interested in checking them out: http://www.eurobrick...09#entry1827894

Also, just to solidify my lack of originality, here's an Ark of the Covenant closely modeled after the one in the same level http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/381592

While I was at it I modeled the two stone heads from outside temple in the Adventure Temple Trail track Both ldrs (only slightly different) can be found here: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/381535 http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/381536

So a few months ago I worked on what I believe to be the most game-accurate Rocket Racer and Veronica voltage car models to date as far as elements and colors (I used all old-grey elements to match the era). Most of the references used were from the opening cinematic and in-race car models, as the in-game buildable models seem to be compromised for the sake of simplicity. The one slight disappointment was the necessary use of a grooved 1x2 tile instead of the much older but more streamlined grooveless tile,but seeing as those haven't been produced since the mid 70s I figured they couldn't have used them even when the game was being developed. Here's what I was able to come up with: As you can see, I haven't added any decals yet. I've been hoping to find a custom printing service that would be willing to print the less-than original designs of these characters and logos onto pieces for me. Until then I'm still satisfied with the results. Here's the ldr models for the cars for anyone interested http://www.mocpages....1392588839m.ldr Rocket Racer http://www.mocpages....1392588709m.ldr Veronica Voltage

I suppose at this point in Lego's history the shift towards a more specialized design sense was inevitable, and I'm not saying there's no value to that, but I would argue that there's something lost to the initial purpose of lego when you design pieces that are neither abstract enough to serve universal purposes or complement the look or feel of lego bricks, like the giant plane cockpit or the excess of softened and curved elements. I'm probably on a minority here, and I welcome different opinions, but that's just the way I feel about it. With that said, though, I really don't care for the sort of faux-postmodern design of either of those buildings, it just feels a bit wonky to me.

I dunno, most of these new designs really feel like they're trying harder to look realistic and "streamlined" than they are fun or appealing. (Lime green is about the last color I'd consider appropriate for a pizza parlor) There's almost a sense of shame towards being LEGO to them, like they're working against the design sensibilities that LEGO lends itself to.

Hi there, Folks. Recently I've come across some old concept art for the 2002 LEGO Studios Monster movie sets. They're really fun and creative, and feature lots of innovative and resourceful use of parts for some of the coolest minifigures ever released,especially for the time. Here's what I've managed to find I believe he was responsable for the comics included in each set's instruction booklet, which are also pretty fun http://www.peeron.com/scans/1382-1/50/ In addition to that, I'm pretty sure he also had a string hand in the design of the 2005 Batman sets. So as you can see the only information towards his identify is his signature, "Chriss". Does anyone have any idea who this guy might be, or what other projects he's worked on? I'm super curious at this point. Thanks!

Thanks, Mfrog :) As I said, I was aiming to recreate the cars in the opening animation, as they had the most realistic construction. I took the colors directly from there, . As for Basil's car, building it like that was the only way possible for me to maintain it's form accurately without the need for piece modifications.

I just finished my LDRAW builds of all the boss cars found in Lego Racers. (except Veronica Voltage. need to beat her to get car reference <.<) I had to use both the beginning animation and in-game models for reference, so there was some conflicting information. Gypsy Moth's car design varied the most, and I decided to just use the game model for the sake of my sanity. Probably going to make more modifications later. But for most of them I tried harder to recreate the models seen in the intro (though I was at the mercy of the cinematics, so I could study some cars much more closely than others) Making them all solid and buildable with real pieces while still as exact as possible was probably the biggest challenge. Some parts are a bit flimsy, but I've put together what I could with my pieces and they hold together nicely, The strength of studs never fails to amaze me. Anyways, here they are in no particular order: (Piece 6125 doesn't seem to be in any parts packs) (same with 6029b) Yeah, I can't claim any kind of creative credit with these, but it was my first time in MLCAD, and I haven't seen super accurate replicas of these guys so far. I'll put the LDRs up in a bit, in the mean time, what do you guys think?

Movie Tie-ins miss the point of LEGO. Most are designed with being true the movie as the priority: not being fun. "Hey boss! I just came up with this awesome trap for the Temple of the Crystal Skull set!" "There wasn't a trap like that in the movie. we can't put that in!" Just look at the Temple Escape set. how many adventures could you possibly have with that? It's just a completely linear representation of what's in the movie. sure the designers used some innovation TRYING to make it exactly like it was in the movie, but that's the problem. they aren't using those talents to create something original and open-ended, such as the Amazon or Egyptian Adventurer sets were. It's fine once in a while, with more open-ended and object-based franchises (the First Harry Potter, Batman) but for things like Indiana Jones, very linear and event-based movies, the play value and Creative potential of the sets greatly decreases. Also, read my whole post before you try and disagree with me.

I love that main temple. Is that new grey it's made of? it almost makes me like bley! What you could do is add in some of the 1999 Jungle sets. they're all very nice models, (If not quite as nice as the Egypt Models) certanly better then the new Indiana Jones structures (I do have to credit that theme on some of the spectacular 30s style vehicles. Much more detailed then most of the adventurers vehicles (though I much preferred the old colors and patterns)

No more movie Tie-ins. LEGO sets should stand alone and have limitless possibilities. with movie tie-ins, what's appropriate to do other then just reenact the movie? It's worked before, with more open-ended and Fantasied Movies (The First Harry Potter, Star Wars) but with plot-based movies like Spider Man or (Bleh) Star Wars:The Clone Wars, it just feels like a diorama of the movie, not something you can make your own stories or adventures with.

why in the hell is LEGO trying to go "realistic?" Sure, if you're making figurines for a movie franchises, it's fine. But these are LEGOs. people like them beacuse their fun and artistic and appealing. I mean, c'mon, sweat stains on a minifig?? Just imagine a standard LEGO minifigure with photographed torso patterns and faces painted on. would that look like the stupidest thing ever or what? So lego, we don't want Photo-realistic minifigs: we want fun and colourful and warm minifigs that make us want to pick them up and play with them. Luckily, the city theme got out of this trend in about 2005.

That's what I thought about the Old Greys and Brown.

Could you by chance re-post it? I've always wanted to see an Adventurers setup. Thanks.

It's subtle, but it's there. and it makes a big impact, believe it or not. these new colors are cold. they aren't inviting to kids (or AFOLs for that matter) they're industrial and dull, and they turn people off. there are theories behind this stuff. the old colors were WARM AND INVITING. they made people want to pick them up and play with them. It's not always about seeing the difference, but about FEELING the difference.

Mostly just friends and family. more importantly, the old colors are more WARM on the spectrum. which, as any artist who's also a toy designer will tell you, makes them more inviting and happy. It's like walking into a cozy house with a fire after being in a blizzard. thwe new colors, on the other hand, are on the COLD side of the spectrum. that makes them more industrial and flat and less inviting and happy. with that said, Many LEGO fans hate the new Greys and brown not only because they're different, but because they're cold and no fun, and it's changing many people's buying habits. some (Me included) don't even purchase new LEGO sets because of this change. color has a huge impact. nobody likes to use colors that are depressing and dingy. they want dark rich colors that scream to be played with. check out John Kricfalusi's blog (the the Genius cartoonist behind "Ren and Stimpy") for color theories like this that prove my point. http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/08/som...s-of-woody.html I hope some workers for LEGO read this, and re-realize the importance of Warm, inviting colors. (like the Greys and Brown of pre-2003) maybe you could even try to collaborate with john on the Color Change. he's also a toy designer.

there's just one thing you haven't counted on, buddy: the new greys and brown won't fade because there's no color to fade. they already have no warmth or depth to them. and four shades of grey would be too much. the new ones are supposed to be the same "Shade" as the old ones, only they're less warm and fun and more dingy and dull.

Who would get Annoyed? I don't think anyone fancies the new grey. It just doesn't look nice. They did it to us five years ago, what's the big deal changing it NOW? and besides, this time it's a change for the better. the old colors are just much warmer and more fun. ask any artist and they'll tell you why. I did a small survey with people who had no known experience with LEGO. I showed ten different people the two Light Greys, the two Dark Greys, and the two Browns. 7/10 people liked the old Light Grey better, 8/10 people liked the old Dark Grey better, and 7/10 liked the old Brown better. pretty unanimous.

Why let it go? TLG has followed our feedback before, so why would reverting to the more appealing greys/browns be any different? I personally hate these new colors. I think they're obnoxious and ding, and they're keeping me from buying any new LEGO sets. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.

I actually started this letter quite a while ago. I found it on my computer, and finished it. It definitely doesn't apply as well today as it did in 2005 (When I started it), but some of the points still apply. I really do feel that we should go back to the old Light/Dark Greys and browns, as well as limiting the use of more "Custom" colors, like that spinach green that comes in only a handful of sets. Also, I feel like the Minifigures of today could be better. They all have that 'Tude expression on their face that makes them look like jerks. also, maybe limiting the use of Technic elements in System sets. Sure they're appropriate sometimes, but they often take from the fun of a set. Otherwise,. I think things are looking up for LEGO. As long as they make these MINOR changes, I think we could be looking at an other golden age.

But that's the thing: Focus testing doesn't get you anywhere. It's like an architect asking the owner how to build a house. they should have Talented designers telling them what to build: not a bunch of Kids. According to kids, 2004 was the best year for LEGO.

I just wrote a pretty Long-winded Message for LEGO telling them what to do to get good again, but I have no goddamn Idea where to send it. is there an E-mail Address for stuff like this? Anyway, here it is: