Pellaeon

Ah, well that leaves Captain Antilles for me. I'm glad that's worked out for Mos, Inconspicuous, and I. I'll send a PM right away; thanks KimT.

Congrats to all the winners, and a thank you to everyone who threw a vote or two my way. Also a big thanks to KimT for putting together the contest and handing out such lovely prizes. I'm surprised how close the final vote was in the vignette category -- by my rough count, I was behind Inconspicuous by only a handful points in the end, and I believe there was a close race for 3rd place as well. If only I'd stuck my entry in the freezer, surely it would have won! Ah well, next time. I really, really would love to have Antilles, so I hope Mos goes with the EB Stormtrooper. Maybe I should try to influence his choice... a little bit of "Jedi mind trick", or a bribe if the Force doesn't work.

In the U.S. and A., my local Lego Store had a handful of last year's sets on sale: a couple of smaller Rock Raider sets and the Pirate Coin Bank were all 50% off, and the Indy Kingdom of the Crystal Skull magnet set was $3.98. (!) They also had the 2010 Star Wars battle packs in stock.

Your turbolaser is looking fantastic, pedro, I'm very impressed. I love all the greebles, the design on the walls, with the slopes and dark gray stripe leading up to the emergency lights, and your technique for the gun itself (nice use of the 1x1 round plate with hole, btw). I can see you've got a few filler pieces in there, but it's easy to imagine what it'll look like once you get all the parts you need. A couple points, though: 1. Where is the gun mounted? If it's attached in the middle of the base, the gun will have a pretty limited range of motion. I realize you're stuck with an outside wall that's 16 studs wide, but the closer the pivot point is to that outer wall, the greater the gun's firing arc will be. The cannon will start to look unbalanced if you shift it too far that way, but it's something to keep in mind. 2. The cones on the end make it look like a drill bit. An awesome, greebly drill bit, but still. I think it needs to look more like a cannon with a traditional barrel, and not something that tapers to such a fine point like that. After all, the Separatists will only see the "business end" of our turbolasers, so we want something that'll scare the socks off them -- if battle droids wore socks! Can't wait to see the final product!

I think I can see the bricks you're talking about in this picture, no_skill. It does look like the front could be built up more solidly, as you suggest. I'll have to remember that, whenever I do finally pick this set up. Has anyone had any luck shoring-up the SNOT parts or arch at the rear of the bow? Bricklink.com has a mind-numbingly thorough list of parts, if you need to look up the name of something. Here is an a link to axel 4. The "4" or "5" refers to the length of the axel, in "studs". So, if you have a spare axels lying around, just find one that's the same length as a 4-stud brick: EDIT: no_skill, you snuck in there ahead of me re: axels! I have a picture, though.

Well I certainly approve of puns! I guess the neighbors don't mind, so can you put my Racquetball Court in Room 22 of Venator 2, Eskallon? Thanks!

I put together a racquetball court. I don't have a spot yet, so you can put it where ever -- maybe Room 22 on Venator 2, so it's near the bathrooms, arcade, and training rooms? I pity the Jedi in Room 21 though, sandwiched between a turbolaser and a racquetball court... he should ask for a different room.

Racquetball Court (location TBD) by Pellaeon I haven't signed up for a slot, but I figured it can't be that hard to fill a 16x16 room... especially if it's a racquetball court! It's not my most colorful or most elaborate MOC, but hey, even clones need their leisure time. The view from the hallway -- note I've removed the "glass" to make for better pictures. You'll see the windows and door in the other pics. The room is pretty empty, as a racquetball court would be, but there is a spot to stash your helmet and a sports drink. The clone trooper looks very focused on his game. As always, more pictures can be found on flickr, and comments/criticisms are welcome (over in the discussion thread, of course).

The 2009 Pirates have shooting cannons in the US, so go pick up a set if you can still find 'em! The European cannons have always fired like the 2009 ones do, but this is the first time they've been widely available in the US. This is the first firing cannon I've ever owned: (which should answer the question of "how??" )

LuxorV - 1 Erdbeereis - 1 Svelte - 1

I'd like the Commons (55), if it's still available. It seems like it could be fun, and it'd give me an excuse to order some more food pieces!

Hmm, this reminds me of my 16x16 entry to the Eurobricks Xmas contest for some reason... Are you allowed any overhang? The Xmas contest didn't, but I think if you're allowed overhang, you could make better (and more interesting) use of the space by putting the shuttle in one of the corners.

I got the magnet set containing Squidward and Gary for my sister, and I didn't see any quality issues with the figures. I also haven't had any real problems with the more recent Star Wars magnet sets, such as the one with the AT-ST driver or the one with Dooku -- the plastic doesn't feel quite as nice if you compare them to real minifigs, but they look fine. Some of the older ones feel cheap and look lousy, in particular the Royal Guard set.

It looks like a straightened-out Indy whip, though it's presumably a new whip mold. There seem to be one in 7571, on the stand in front of the camel. I'm diggin' all these new weapons, I just hope the ostriches don't push this set over US$25. I love the crates on the camel too, it's a nice touch. It looks like there's a brown lightsaber bar between them, and the tile on top of the crate must be a tan 2x2 jumper.

I didn't realize we had so many large entries... they're very impressive. The one issue I have with some of them (an issue in the medium builds too), is that I don't think a simple scene of "everyday life" makes for a very strong entry, given the theme. Everyday life is dull... I want to see what the pirates/redcoats/bluecoats are doing with their newfound free time, and "going about their business" isn't the answer I'm looking for (at least not in this contest). That means I did pass over some beautiful entries... and I still think they're still stunning, even if I didn't vote for 'em. Okay, my votes: maydayartist - 3 Guss - 2 marshal_banana - 1 I Scream Clone - 1

I was away for work all week, so I'm glad this has stayed open! As for voting, I'm going to spread points around once again. The main thing I'm looking for is a well-built, amusing scene that (most importantly) fits with the theme. Thus: Etzel - 2 74louloute - 1 Darth Nick - 1 Joose - 1 Tereglith - 1 Dr. Steve - 1

Despite my previous record re: overhang, this one is totally legit. The shuttle was actually no problem, it's the Christmas tree I had to fiddle with to make sure none of the corners poke out over the edge. I can take a top-down photo at some point if the judges want to be sure... And thanks for the kind words, everyone!

An Unexpected Pleasure A Christmas 2009 Vignette by Pellaeon Version 1.1 A surprise visit from Lord Vader is rarely good news, but sometimes all he wants to do is spread a little holiday cheer: Vader's shuttle arrives, bearing gifts. Yes, the entire idea is based around a pun on a line from Return of the Jedi. The "Jelly of the Month" membership for Moff Jerjerrod is a reference to the movie Christmas Vacation, where it's the terrible "Christmas bonus" from Chevy Chase's cheapskate boss. Hopefully some of those other gifts are better... I used a couple of the free holiday Lego sets (thanks, Toys R Us) to make a shorter, fuller Christmas tree. More pictures can be found on flickr. Update 1.1: I took a few new pictures, cleaned up the tree a bit, rearranged a few presents, and gave the Moff a cap. Comments and criticisms welcome!

I took a quick look at bricklink, and it appears the wheels and brackets have never been green before. I don't think any of the other parts are newly green, though some of them have only rarely appeared in green.

I know one of the soldiers gets stepped on and broken in the first movie, but I don't recall if he was a minesweeper guy or not... Thanks for the review! I hope someone puts together a "new parts / new color" list for this set -- I wonder how many of these pieces have never been made in green before!

They're still up at FBTB, in the Features section: http://www.fbtb.net/features/gregs-comics/

JKooL - 1 Nate - 1 JDHinten - 1 curtisrlee - 2 jansued - 2 I'm extremely impressed with the quality of the entries, and it's great how the non-violent theme for this contest led to such creative (even demented) ideas. As such, I spread the love around a bit... JKool's "Warrent Service" for design (the chair, the mix of uniforms, the catty-corner floors), Nate's "Late night visitor" for design (his MOC has atmosphere), JDHinten's "Gardening" for creativity (and oddness), curtisrlee's "Trail of Candy" for outright dementedness , and jansued's "Pain in Paradise" for a very well executed, very silly idea. Great work. And thank you to everyone who's voted for mine!

With a few tweaks, that one made it into the small category, so currently I'm entering both.

Updated with better pictures! I also changed the dad's pose, so he's doing something a bit more in character. There's a bunch more shots on flickr too, so be sure to check them out.

Hi, quick clarification: does the contest end midnight GMT on the 30th, like the other contests typically do? As in, I've still got about 18 hours to take better pictures? Thanks!