Maegnus

I love how you made those popping out windows. I'm gonna remember that technique!

Unfortunately I don't own a single piece of straight track. Only those curved pieces for under the tree.

I sure did build that engine from a plan; the Emerald Night's to be exact . I used it as a guide and modified as I went. I'm no train buff either!

Link to the video Link to the flickr set I built this model over the summer so that it could replace LEGO's Holiday Train running around the tree. It's basically just a lot of blue tiles, headlight bricks, and brown windows (obvious BL orders involved). She runs very smoothly considering the massive size of the locomotive. I needed two 9v motors under the coal car to power it to my liking. There's a battery box in the coal car that powers the light on the front and also lights up the red smoke coming from the locomotive (I wanted it to be 9v but still have the light functional). I'd love to see this running on a full-size train layout some day.

Really loving this MOC. I can't quite put my finger on what I like most, but I think it's just the overall feeling of realism you have created. It looks very believable, if that makes any sense

Link to the flickr set Everyone always builds the Ecto-1 from the first movie. I wanted to do something a little different. I also have fonder memories of the second movie from my childhood. This model has been complete for over a year, but it took forever to find someone to make me a custom decal sheet with all the right elements on it. It's an 8-wide replica; not meant to be minifig scale or playable (doors don't open). It's a pretty nice display piece. I took a long time trying to get it as accurate as I could. Chrome parts are from Chromebricks. Like most of my MOCs, this isn't 100% purist. A few cut stickers and 3rd party parts tend to creep into my models for finishing touches. Elements of the design were borrowed from Rocko's Ecto-1 and the others I've seen around the net.

Looks pretty good to me. Awesome job at creating a very foreboding mood!

Bumped this thread with new pics in first post

Link to the video Link to the flickr set Funny story behind this build: I whipped up a similar looking trap over the course of 3 days last winter. It rolled and had the same functioning lights, but when I showed it to my family, the first thing they said was "what, the doors don't open?" So I immediately scrapped that version and began the long and tedious process of finding a way to make the doors open and close (I am not mechanically minded in the least). 3 months later and this is what I came up with. While I might some day find a way to attach it to a wire/pedal like the movie, I kind of like this wireless alternative. I can roll it across a room and make it go with a Power Functions remote. The clear tiles on the back are to let the IR beam hit the receiver. I used plans from gbfans.com as a reference. Unfortunately, the cartridge does not slide out... for now Oh, and one last piece of advice: Don't look directly into the trap!

Cutlass Iz: 1 point Dix: 1 point Jameson42: 1 point kost u grlu: 2 points

Instantly recognizable! Incredible work, lisqr I love that you made something in a scale other than minifig. Very creative way to make this structure within the 1000 piece limit.

Thanks buddy! The idea of using the trans-clear baseplate as a big storefront window was definitely the anchor that I built the whole structure around, which provided some interesting challenges and payoffs. Glad you like it Thanks tin7! I appreciate your compliments on the exterior, as I put a lot of time and thought into it. It saw at least 5 changes and rebuilds. Initially it was all brown and dark bley, but it ended up looking just like a boring christmas village building. Then I made the window blue, which didn't look right. After I changed it to red and was happy, I added a few other red details like the columns (which were originally power miners rock monster bodies, if you can believe it; complicated techniques don't always mean better looking results). Things like the grinning sign came more naturally and I haven't touched. That is some great feedback, Clone O'Patra. Thanks! I'll take 'appealing' any day! I think my vision of the Harry Potter universe is slightly more realistic than the highly whimsical interpretation of many others. I had considered building the whole thing on wonky angles, but opted for a more subtle approach in the end. It actually came out almost exactly as I had pictured it fitting into Hogsmeade in my head. Just goes to show how unique our creative imaginations really are. There's that word again: appealing... definitely a good sign. I hope my other MOCs get the same reaction; I will be posting some more soon! Thank you for the kind words, KDM! I see you noticed some of the finer details I worked into this creation. After trying all kinds of silly ways to make him look electrocuted, I eventually decided that a carefully chosen head and hairpiece could convey that for me. Good eye, prateek! Thanks for the thoughtful input, Geertos! It is rather clean and tidy for a joke shop, isn't it? I think 'organized chaos' was what I had in mind! And although packing the inside with figs would have created a great atmosphere of chaos and bustle, I felt like it would detract from the details of the building itself, which is the heart of this contest. I also usually try to build with the same styles I see used in actual Lego kits (after all, they are the pros); and by their standards, this MOC already has a lot of figs I totally agree about the high ceiling making the interior feel a little awkward. It was a big challenge, but a necessary evil due to the large baseplate window I'm sure you'll find a great way to make your sign if you take your time with it. I can't wait to see your entry Wow thanks, Masked Builder! I put quite a few hours into it and had a blast with the details; it's nice to see that they are noticeable. Thanks Matn! It feels great to hear that you find my creative process original. I'm glad you appreciate the use of the tube. The column seemed a bit bare, and while I didn't want to use the light brick as a cheap gimmick, I think the effect achieved by the fibre optic tube ended up looking pretty neat! It really carries the light well. Hahaha thank you for the compliment, badboytje, but I wouldn't be so certain of that. There are already some fantastic entries, and I'm hoping to see many more in the month to come. Maybe you could give me a run for my money

This was a fun and challenging build. The hardest part was sticking to the 1000 piece limit. If I had to guess, I would say that this is under 1000 pieces, but probably isn't far off. I think that was the intention of the rule, as I don't want to have to count. I wanted the exterior to embody some classical design elements and look like an old snowy shop that would belong in Hogsmeade. The trans-clear baseplate from the mosaic sets seemed like the perfect piece for a large storefront display window (and also kept the piece count low). But because it's a joke shop, it needed a splash of colour and some sort of zany signage to draw you in (in this case, the laughing mouth). I put things on weird angles to reinforce the unconventional theme of the shop; the main display window is angled, as is one of the support columns. I used a dragon tale and die to make the bending clock post. When it came to the interior, I didn't hold back, filling it with as much colour and silly elements as I could. My thought process involved taking pieces and finding ways to turn them on their heads and mess with their context (for example, the bicycle with the square front wheel). Here is Zonko himself, getting shocked by a handshake zapper. Note the Frog Spawn Soap in the background. This couple is making off with their purchases, including a scary mask being put to immediate use. I used a light brick and a fiber optic tube to spruce up the column a bit. It can be activated by pressing the ball underneath the cash register. You can see the Sneakoscope that Zonko keeps next to the cash so to protect himself from shady buyers. Up on the roof, you'll notice a boy who is finding better uses for the snow than simply shoveling it away (as he was instructed to do). Link to the flickr set (with close-ups of all the details)

Colour me impressed! I'm a MASSIVE BTTF fan, and this is definitely up to snuff for me. You spent a lot of time getting all the components right, and the end result is highly accurate. The time circuits and headlights are my favourite elements. Now you just need to get those flux bands to glow blue ;)

Wow. Loving this MOC. The beds and the toy train are my favourites. You achieved a very cold look from the exterior too. Great job!

So I misread the rules of the contest (thought I had to have it up by Sunday night ), but I thought I'd share my entry anyway, as it was fun to build. The owner of the local cigar store takes the Indian inside every night before sweeping and closing:

For the record, the touch and feel method is extremely reliable. I spent a half hour in Wal-Mart with two friends feeling/guessing, and we ended up being 21/21. Yup, PERFECT. They aren't even lego fans in any way, and were able to figure them out by touch. It was actually a ton of fun, three twenty-somethings standing in the lego aisle feeling up bags. We did get one "you guys aren't opening those, are you?" question from a semi-concerned employee, but that was all. It's very rewarding and a lot of fun this way! My friends had a blast building the minifigs in the car after.

I do. It must be something wrong with the receiver, as I know the remote and motor work properly. Annoying stuff, but I submitted the problem to LEGO.

For the record, when I push the switch on the remote in the direction that does nothing (though is supposed to make the motor turn in the other direction), the IR remote and receiver LEDs flicker, indicating that the signal is in fact being received. No reaction from the motor though...

Good to know that it is supposed to work that way (currently the only remote and motor I have to test). I tried different channels and both red and blue; all yield the same result.

I am probably the least mechanically/electronically inclined person out there, which is why this is really frustrating for me. I have a MOC that needs to work with the IR receiver and remote to get a motor to turn in both directions. If I plug the motor directly into the battery box, pulling the switch in both directions makes the motor turn in different directions; so that works. However, when I plug the motor into the IR receiver and use the remote, only one direction on the remote switch does anything: It turns the motor in one direction. Let's say pushing the switch up makes the motor turn one way, pushing the switch down does nothing. Now if I flip the little black switch on the remote, all it does is make pushing up on the remote switch do nothing, and now pushing down makes the motor turn in that same direction. Shouldn't both up and down on the IR remote make the motor do something? The same is true of the light setup running off the remote. Pushing up on a switch makes them work, pushing down does nothing. Is my remote/receiver broken? Am I making any sense?

Thanks for the input!

I just have a quick question that I could not find the answer to: If I have just put 6 fresh batteries into one of these boxes and I leave it on for around a full day--and there is nothing actually being powered except that green indicator LED--how much power has it actually chewed out of those batteries? I only ask because the model in question will be tricky to change the batteries, and I'd rather not start with them half dead. I imagine it costs almost no charge to keep that light on, and since the rest of my wiring (all lights) were on a second switch (which was off), nothing was actually in operation. Am I making sense. I gather one of the train people must know. Thanks all

Don't forget 1x2 yellow cheese ;)