BEAVeR

Thanks a lot to MKJoshA and the SoNE staff for hosting this episode and handling things in such a mature way. Your work is really appreciated, and all of the efforts you did to extend the deadline, judge the freebuilds in time (and, on a personal note, to keep allowing digital builds!)etc., make us very grateful. If no one already told you: you're doing a great, fantastical, phenomenal, unbelievable, incredible, marvelous, wonderful and unique job! Thanks (to keep in the theme of this episode) to make it such a fun and succesful episode, with a lot of builds and maybe the most participants ever (but I haven't checked that, it's just a feeling...). We're all in awe of what you do, and wish you the best of luck in finishing this round, and continuing this priceless project. Thanks to all of the participants as well to enter so many great builds (although the Rebels should have been a bit less productive ) and keep interested in this exhausting episode. This honestly was the toughest contest I ever was in, with a lot of building and writing. I can't imagine what our Iron Builder and Steam Wars guys must have gone through. Anyway, this didn't allow to write a lot of feedback. I'll still try to do that in the next couple of days, and even though you can't change the entries anymore, I hope you still find it useful and can grow in building with our awesome SoNE. Just that you know that I'm spamming the forum, necromancing old topic for a reason the couple of days... I have a bit of feedback on this episode as well. It was very nice to see such a huge amount of entries, but the downside of it is that the forum got really crowded with builds and some rapidly sank to the bottom without a lot of feedback. Maybe the problem was that it was hard to get an overview (thanks for keeping the scores, BTW, MKJoshA!). I don't know how this could have been prevented, apart from a shoutout to all of the members not just to have a look at the topics at the top. I'm also working on a little something to give everyone an overview of how productive this episode was, but more about that in a couple of days . So see you in the next episode! The judges can take their time though, as I really can use some rest now...

We’re approaching the surface of yet another planet. But this time, it’s going to be different. I’m not here to discover more atrocities. I’m here to end them. Let Felucia be the planet of life once again. The arms dealer told us we might find him here. But he is not my only source. That datapad, once used to disguise the bounty hunter’s actions, might serve to uncover him. It contained more information than I thought. The bounty hunter must have thought that as well, otherwise he would never have left it behind. The Rebel he took it from must have been very close to finding him. So close that Fett found him first. And the Rebel left all he knew on his datapad. He had a list of locations. One of them on Felucia. That knowledge is now mine to use. And I intend to use my inheritance well. I put the landing craft down near the location. Now is the time. “According to my information, the hideout of the bounty hunter is two hours north from here. I’ll stay with the ship. We don’t want to get stuck on this planet.” Nobody questions me. Agent An and the fantroopers of the bounty hunter depart, eager to meet and thank their idol. [soNE Ep. VI] 5 - Delivery, deliverance by Bert.VR, on Flickr But I don’t want them to. Boba Fett doesn’t deserve that kind of thank you. How could someone possible thank him for his work. For his work, his atrocities, all the horrors I’ve been through to find him. All the bad examples he gives. All the low things he inspires and propagates. How can this monster possibly be received like a hero? [soNE Ep. VI] 5 - Two ways by Bert.VR, on Flickr The troopers are out of sight. I leave the ship, and I start walking south, to where the datapad says I can find that bounty hunter. I’m going to bring him another message, another kind of thank you. I’m going to show him who he really is, what he really does. It’s about time I finally do something with all of those thoughts I had. No more hiding inside myself. I’m going to step to him and use the most effective weapon of all. A weapon that can destroy people. A weapon that shatters them. A weapon that can give them new life. A mirror. I pay no attention to the flora around me. I don’t care if it tries to kill me or tries to make me alive. I don’t care what my colleagues are doing. I wouldn’t care if they fell into a Sarlacc pit. I only feel determination. No turning back. But what if he isn’t there? What if he shoots me? What if… I don’t have the courage? Then that will not be the end of my mission. It will continue. I’ll track him down and deliver my message. I will evade his shots and prevail. I will deliver myself from my eternal passiveness. Because this can’t go on. Because everything can’t be in vain. Because these words… are true. To Boba Fett, bounty hunter Thank you. Thank you for showing that a killer can never become a hero. Thank you for teaching me that there are things, supported by you, worse than war. Thank you for waking me up that your deeds cannot be just another horror. Thank you for causing these ruins among ruins of war. For all of that was horrendous enough, not to scare me. It was atrocious enough to wake me up. It gave me a purpose. A purpose to end what you do. A motivation, that there are such horrors out here, that thinking about them is not enough. A meaning to this mission, that this delivery might bring deliverance. And a question. They say you can do everything, but can you look in a mirror? __________________ As usual, LDD file available here. I found Felucia the hardest planet to build on in this entire episode. Maybe because it came last, but the fact that it is really hard to do a lot of flexing in LDD (I hope overhang is still acceptable), and the fact that I couldn't use tons of transparent pieces without finishing my renders in a week or two, really didn't make things easier. It was also tricky to do something 'new' on this planet. So I just stayed with the over vegetated surface of the planet, with tons of weird plants. I had to be creative with parts, and I restricted myself further to not using parts that are intended to be used as vegetation. So hats, wigs, beards, animals and other oddities it is! I hope you enjoy spotting all kinds of far fetched parts usages in this creations. As I said, I found it hard to do something different, content wise. Therefor, I decided to make an original presentation. I hope you like the contrast between the greyscale and the colors, as it was hard to get it right. You have to have some kind of continuum in the vegetation, but not all of the parts are available both in color as in shades of grey. But I did my best, and I hope you like how it turned out. My goal was to make the story more visual, even on a symbolic level, and I hope that works. So that was it for this episode. I hope you enjoyed following the entire story, as we had a lot of fun writing it. Thanks again goatman461 for all of the feedback and the great ideas! I hope this can continue. Anyway, if you lost track of the rather big story, I don't blame you, and here is a little overview to help you out: Part 1 - When did the killer become the hero?by BEAVeR Part 2 - Something smells fishy by goatman461 Part 3 - Worse than war I by BEAVeR Part 4 - Worse than war II by goatman461 Part 5 - Just another horror I by BEAVeR Part 6 - Just another horror II by goatman461 Part 7 - Ruins among ruins by BEAVeR Part 8 - Ruins on top of ruins by goatman461 Part 9 - Delivery, deliverance by BEAVeR Part 10 - Felucia by goatman461

Amazing SHIP (Smallish Huge Investment in Parts), goatman461! Despite it not making the 100 studs, it still is very impressive both in size and in detail. The shape seems a bit boxy at first, but you did a nice job in breaking it up with several sloped sections. And the low profile at the top makes sense considering the function of the ship. And despite the low profile, there still is a lot of detail and texture present, so it seems to me that you succeeded in a lot of delicate balance exercises! What I love most is that the details aren't just technical ones. Sure, you have vents and fins etc, but you also worked with tiles and offsets, and the seems between the tiles must all be part of your plan to make this ship look awesome. The features like the nice cannon or the delicious front make it even better. Yes, that front is really nice. Not only are the details there very nice, but you also integrated the slopes very nicely, so that that section sits firmly in the ship. That's way better than 'slapping it on', and makes this ship stand out. There are some strange things to the front, however. Firstly, I would like an explanation for the fact that just one of the cones is of a smaller size. If there's some super nice story behind it, incredible! But if not, then you could have tackled this a bit better. If it is because you don't have enough of those larger cones, then you should add more of those smaller ones, so that there is a particular pattern to it, and one can easily assume it's there for a reason. The ones in the four corners could all be a bit different, for example, as those are the ones to really grab on. Use it as an idea and integrate it as something that can be seen, and don't try to hide it. These probably are some great sources of inspiration! The second thing is that I don't really see how the ship mechanically works. In the sense that when it 'hooks' itself to another ship after ramming it (maybe the 'Leech' would be an equally suitable, and more disgusting, name), I don't see how the crew gets out. So it might be nice to have some pistons to indicate how the doors move exactly or something like that. You're not just building beautiful ships here: you're trying to design a thing that looks like it can work. Then your ships will have a new level of realism, and will stand out a bit more... if they even need that, because it's already such a beauty. It's nice to see that you built this ship as something that can be viewed from every angle and still look amazing. The only thing that is a bit inferior to the rest, is the back of the ship. It isn't designed to travel long distances, but there should be sufficient power to give it enough speed to ram (oh, and then there should be safety features so that the crew doesn't get shaken around!). So there could be some more beef to the engines, possibly with some small boosters. And another suggestion to make it better, is that when you introduce texture to your build, almost everything should be covered in it, so those last smooth areas in the back could be considered as an area to show off your nice techniques even more! Of course, those remarks are only in the margin compared to how incredible the rest of the ship is (including the boarding party with that mech that might have been an afterthought, but really doesn't look like it!). When we can build again at full scale in future episodes, I have no doubt you will be the nemesis of all Rebels with such amazing builds. So keep it up and keep making the Empire proud! Here's some propaganda:

Excellent work, markus1984! It's nice to see that you finally made one of your dream-diorama's, and although it isn't all that big (in your book, that is ), it still is very beautiful and has a certain vastness. Another work of art! I love the way you made the snow. It's smooth like the eternal snow on the poles, and has some texture to it as well, making it more interesting. Those small bumps come in just the right quality, and they bring some 'action' to the scene as well, as you can imagine those are the results from lost blastershots etc. So it is nice how you put the peaceful nature against the battle. The perturbation of the snow is most apparent in the two sides: at the trench and around the AT-AT. I love how the snow is disturbed around the feet of the walker. One point of critique is that there are no previous footprints, however. The feet of the snowtroopers didn't leave any inprints in the snow, but it is even stranger that the AT-AT didn't leave any. In theory, there should be a footprint right in front of the most hind leg. Of course that are just details, and I don't think it bothers anyone, but I guess you try to make the most realistic scene possible, so why don't do that? (Maybe it's just to leave a small mistake in there so that I have something to say? ) Really, that of the footprints is probably the only thing that could be improved. The snow is beautiful, especially with that black base. That really is an incredible sample of presentation, and I hope to see you future MOCs enhanced with similar class. But... if you pay attention to the presentation, you should also make sure that it comes through, or else a lot of the work you did gets lost. In this case, the photography has some faults here and there that make it a bit harder to appreciate the creation. The shadow of the AT-AT in the background, for example, is a bit distracting as nothing is supposed to be there. And the small grey areas standing out against the background around the sattelite dish shaped cannon in the first picture is a bit weird... So it would pay off if you invested some more time in picture editing. It would be nice to have a picture with the Hoth background, for example, for extra effect. But I already said that there's nothing to say against the build. Once again, it's a stunning piece of building. The snow is quite novel, and the trench is absolutely beautiful. And I love seeing you come up with these 'new' kinds of presentation. So definitely keep it up! And keep improving in the little area's you're not yet a complete expert in.

Okay, we can still do this! With MstrOfPppts' and my recent Bothawui entries, it's now 6-7 on that planet there. That's the planet that we're closest on on winning back, so if you can still do one more build, I think that is the place to strike! As for me, I'm working on my fifth entry, for Felucia... and once I'm done with that, I'll begin the huge task of commenting on all of your builds! Things are really busy, but we can still do this! Even with the (welcome) competition of the Rebels.

“There it is.” Dressed in smuggler clothes, we approach our destination. Just agent An and me, two pilots, on a rapid reconnaissance mission while the rest of the troops continue to search Ord Mantell. There’s only a small chance we will find him here. But the files on the datapad have led us to this once beautiful temple, hidden between the forests on the surface of Bothawui. They are rumoured to be infested with Rebels. Still, nothing indicates this place is of special importance… not anymore. “See that antenna hidden on the roof? We’re here alright... Yes, here is some kind of hatch. Let’s go in and take them by surprise!” Things always go so quickly with agent An. Frightfully quickly… “We aren’t wearing these smuggler clothes just to blow are cover the very second we enter the place. You don’t even know what we’ll find. It could be a Rebel cell wiped out by the Bounty Hunter. Or it could be a whole battalion of Rebels. If you’re not careful, you drop right into a sarlacc pit.” “What do you propose then, genius?” My colleague can be awfully sarcastic. Like a little boy robbed of his favourite Ackay action hologram… “Why don’t walk in casually? Pretend to be one of them, whoever is down there. Talk them into giving you the evidence. Why would you make this a massacre?” “Oh, I see… What if I go in and… improvise, while you stand guard here. Someone has to watch my back. Just blast anyone who makes a fuss here…” Sarcastic as his proposal may sound, I consent. I’m not getting involved in whatever happens down there. And the chances someone comes here are slim. “That’s what we’ll do. And if someone shows up here, I’ll… improvise.” He already threw open the hatch and descends the stairs. A muffled cry. I’m not staying here to find out from who. I’m not going to stay here to witness yet another tragedy. I don’t want to be part of this scene of death. I turn away. That temple… it seems like it is consecrated to life, to nature. Those two beautiful columns, with a closed bud and an open flower, the geometric patterns evoking foliage… I wonder what it was used for, what it all means. Yet, I’m attracted to it. It’s strange how nature is destroying the homage to itself. And even then, there might be a meaning to it all. This really is a sacred place. A reflection by… [soNE Ep. VI] 4 - What's the meaning of all this? by Bert.VR, on Flickr That was close. I got behind this rubble just in time. I don’t think those Bothans have seen me. But what now? What if they enter the hatch. I can’t just kill them… they might be civilians. I don’t know how it will help me, but contacting Goatm is the only thing I can think of. Our communication only makes things worse. Below, there will soon be an even greater ruin than up here. Gunfire and cries. The Bothans seem as distressed as I am, and decide to leave quietly. I guess they don’t want to be in this as much as I. So far for giving my colleague back cover. [soNE Ep. VI] 4 - Ruins among ruins by Bert.VR, on Flickr I can think again. So it is true: there really are… or sadly were Rebels down there. How did they get involved with the bounty hunter? Why would Boba Fett bother to steal a genuine Rebel datapad somewhere? Surely, a smaller clue would have done to blame the Rebels for that atrocious deed on Ord Mantell. Unless… he had it already with them, stolen it from Rebels that he had encountered. Maybe the datapad still holds some information. It was never meant to be investigated, but that might be the reason there is still useful information in there… It doesn’t take me long to find what I’m looking for. Indeed, the mission of the Rebel this datapad once belonged to, was to track down Boba Fett, in an attempt to rescue a certain Solo. So the Rebels are after the bounty hunter as well, at the same time. What a coincidence. At least, they have reason, unlike our own absurd mission… The truth is simple and astonishing. Our mission isn’t to get Boba Fett and deliver him some ridiculous ‘Thank you’ card at all. Sure, finding the bounty hunter is our priority, but the reason is something else entirely. This mission is a mere excuse to get to the Rebels. We only want to track the bounty hunter to know where to find the Rebels. It isn’t about finding him, it’s about finding those that are searching for him. Our real bounty, are the Rebels… Ruins. But why? Why weren’t we just told that we were hunting Rebels? Why did they try to conceal the real purpose of this mission from us? Is it to give us a false feeling of safety? Is it so that we ask as few questions as possible? Or is it to make us forget what we’re actually doing, to turn us into mindless machines? Why? I don’t know why. But what I do know, is that this is intolerable. One cannot just conceal a war from the people that are suffering the consequences! If there is a war, you can’t hide it. People have the right to know what’s going on. So that they either can support or resist it. There’s a difference between people that live to ignore the war, and people that live in ignorance of the war. But neither of them can have an opinion, neither of them gets listened to, neither of them gets a chance to stand up and change things. And both of them should be awakened. It’s hideous to hide things from people, without hiding the consequences for them. If people don’t know what’s happening, they have no chance of fighting back. Hiding these things, silencing them, is a crime. It is just like that bounty hunter, who’s example the Empire is apparently obediently following. He commits an atrocious crime, and walks away, blaming it on someone else, so that people are powerless to fight back. It’s like blaming the supernatural for something you did, so other people can’t do a thing about it. It’s hiding what you did behind an unbreakable façade. And that hiding, is a crime. And it has to be stopped. There’s only one way to break this wall of ignorance down. People have to know what’s really happening. Somebody has to tell it to them. No, not somebody, someone far away. Everybody. I have to tell the world what’s happening. Maybe that’s my purpose in life. It’s a nice feeling to know that… Of the whole world, I already informed one, myself. Next up, someone that has to know what he is doing himself… Boba Fett. ___________________ LDD file is available right here. As you might have noticed, the story is a collaboration with goatman461. The link in the middle leads to his entry, as the story could be inserted there. Be sure to check his fantastic entry out as well! And thanks a lot for the inspiration, goatman! With 1411 bricks, this is a rather parts intensive MOC (there are more pieces in the creation, than there are words in the enormous story above, 1133 words to be exact). That's due to the different patterns, on the wall and in the floor. When I look at it in reverse, there could be less, with areas of the ground that are already covered, but with this tight deadline, I'm leaving it as it is. Apart from the different patterns, I also tried to incorporate some extra nice features. I'm very pleased with the columns, and I tested the design in real life, so they're absolutely clean, and maybe I'll post a tutorial someday on how to make those shafts. I admit that the tree is probably a very fragile construction. I already tested this technique, but i can't assure this particular configuration will hold, so I hope you're fine with the fact that the idea is possible. The roof construction is overly complicated, but I like the way the bricks form nice patterns, so let's stick to this fragile design. There are also some features that aren't clearly visible on the pictures, like some cracks in the ceiling and ornaments towards the roof. You can check these out in the digital model. So I hope you like the MOC and the story, as I put a lot of work and thought into it. Let me know what you think. PS: I hope the story made you think once again, and I would be very pleased to know what you think the 'hidden' meaning of the temple (and the way it is destroyed) is (yes, I really put a meaning in there!). Cudos to the one that gets it right!

It's amazing what you can already achieve with a 'simpler' build! I love the way you used small offsets all over the place to create small gaps and borders. It's a really nice way to separate the sidewalk from the road. And those tight slits are a nice recurring architectural feature. So it's nice to see that you don't only play with details (like the very nice greebles on top of the building), but with schapes and negative spaces as well. Fantastic that you build a MOC on so many levels! I said that this is a somewhat 'simpler' build. But to be honest, I don't see a lot of things to improve on what you built. It's more that it is a bit 'simple' in the matter of layout. You have a horizontal plane, and then a vertical plane, and that about is it. Of course, you gave some textures, but there is no real depth in you build. One often sees that with these kind of vignettes, all of the attention goes to the background, making the front look rather plain and just an area to place the minifigs. But if you place certain elements towards the viewer, you get different layers, more depth, that will make the scene look more lifelike. These don't have to be very big or prominent elements (as that would block the wonderful background), so having a few simple elements there would already do the trick. The most obvious element to add here that would easily provide more depth, would be some kind of lamppost, or even a railing along the edge of the pedestrian walkway. There could be a small structure overarcing the road. You see, these elements don't have to be loose from the rest of your build: you can create depth by adding some protrusions to the building itself. Make it fill space more instead of being a flat surface. So the doorway could be recessed more, or could just protrude more on the contrary. Or there could be somekind of roof that comes forward from the building, towards the viewer, and hangs over the walkway. You can do all you want depending on the atmosphere, as long as you keep thinking in three dimensions. We live in a 3D world after all, so if you take depth into account, your scenes will turn out even more interesting and realistic. Again, those are only remarks on a rather subtle, conceptual level. Know that everything that is already there is marvelous to me, but that it could be even more... Good work, and may it only become better!

That's an incredibly nice entry! The sense of height (or rather: depth) is well done, and defines a lot of the atmosphere. At the same time, the space is well filled with the girders. So awesome job on the overall design! If there any improvements left to make, it's in the details, because the main shape is quite perfect. Details that would give this creation a bit more sophistication. You already have some nice textures with the mix of greys. I don't think the black patches fit in too well... they look a bit too harsh. There are two big options: either you make it a lighter kind of grey, staying in the color scheme, or you go for an entirely different color, that would brighten up your creation a bit. But you have to be careful: this room isn't meant to be pretty. So every detail you add, should have some meaning. The details should be utilitarian. For example, there could the sports of a service ladder on the wall, which would also be good to give you an extra way out. There could also be some cables coming out of the console at the wall. And most importantly, there should be a reason for the console to be there. Right now, it just seems like it is there only to be able to give this information. so if it is a service computer, you should show that. There could be a big pipe (with some nice gauges for extra details) that has to be controlled, or some fans to regulate the air control. So apart from adding elements with meaning, you should also consider the prupose of the elements that are already there. People took the trouble to create that walkway and install that computer there for some reason, and if you depict it, it will add nice details to your creation, and add extra depth to your story. But apart from that, this is an excellent MOC. It would do well with a better presentation, however. Not that the present one is bad, but there could be done more to create the atmosphere. For starters, maybe it would be better if the background were dark/black, because now the background heavily contradicts the atmosphere, and that's no good. Of course, you'll need lighting, preferably harsh one, because the only light in the MOC would come from a small amount of spots. So having a hard, industrial looking spotlight on your MOC, casting some hard shadows, in combination with the dark environment, would enhance the feeling of being far underground in a dark building. It would bring your MOC out more, and that is what such a nice build deserves! So keep building amazing creations, and look for new ways to make and present them better, and keep having fun of course!

Another nice ship, and quite... an interesting exploit. Maybe, to comply with the rules, you could make the ship in such a way that it is designed to stand upright, so that you still have all the details, a more impressive scale and a 'legal' entry. But for now, let us speak about the ship we already have. I really like it: beaten up, dirty and the shape reminds me a bit of a Sandcrawler. That might be one of the things that makes it feel so in-universe. Great! I also like how the ship is detailed at every side, both on the top, the side, and the back. So no complaints about the details. The overall design, however, could be changed a bit to better represent the function of the ship, so that it more tells a story. So it would be great to have some kind of access-hatch, and small viewports, and possibly a large panel that can flap open to show of the 'merchandise'. You could make it look more like a flying shop in several ways, and then you would have a really unique ship. So more of the details like the (prison?) bars at the top, details that make sense. Also, maybe the driver would want some more protection in his cockpit? The base is quite simple, but then again, I imagine you don't have too much plant pieces. That leaves the ground very bare. Some small rocks would bring some more variation. Or you could (again) have a makeshift path the troopers are following, because now they don't really have a particular reason to be out there. There isn't any building of significance, and there isn't a path either for when they're on the move. So think about easy ways to give more interest to the scene. It's a good start to think about elements that should be there, but don't leap to your imaginary eye immediately. So have some 'reality-practice', and it will make your MOCs more realistic and will give you more ideas about what to build. So again, great entry, with a nice ship and a good begin at a textured ground. Keep fleshing things out, even if it takes a lot of effort with your bricks. I'm excited to see what creative solutions you will come up with!

Excellent entry, MontyPython. This proofs that you not only rock at building ships, but can produce some awesome scenes as well! Probably my favorite part is the ground. you create a good texture with just a few pieces, and the fact that there is some kind of path that people take a lot, is very nice. You could make this impression stronger, by adding more pieces of junk outside of the path. Small pieces would do, as there is a bigger construction that counter weighs it. It would also be great if you'd expand on that tube. That way you would have an even better mix of elements that are purposefully there, and random junk, so that you really have that feel of a junkyard, without it loosing the definite character it has now. It often is important to have a bit of order in all the chaos, something you can hold on to. And make those less random elements your strong parts, as that is what people will remember. Randomness is great to create an atmosphere, but people won't remember a plain wall of greebles for long. that tower, however, gives identity to the MOC. So great work on considering that, and keep it in mind if you're building more ambitious MOCs. The main attraction, the tower itself, is nice. I especially like the shape and the way it looks very top-heavy. I'm less convinced about the details. First of all, the technical details. It's great to have that X-bar piece there, but you should make use of the openings to show details that are still behind it. This working in layers of details will give your building a rather sophisticated, but still scrappy (because it isn't concealed neatly) look: perfect! For the technical details on the roof, I think that you used too much big parts. It's better to have a small clutter of small parts, so that it is harder to identify individual Lego elements. Here, you could go for a hoist of antennas. Of course, detail isn't all about greebles. There's weathering as well. You tried that here with the variation between light and dark grey. It's too crude to be realistic weathering (again, you can see the pieces easily), but too irregular to be some kind of patchwork. To make it look weathered more, try building it with plates, that give you a higher 'resolution'. go for a ragged edge between the two areas. there can even be some small 'islands' of one color in the other. And there could be other colors as well: some tan would do well near the bottom, and old grey and beaten up bricks (you could even use ones with bite marks!)... you can put them all to good use for once. Still, this is a nice build with a lot of character. The atmosphere could be set a little more, however, and I've given you some hints on how you might do that. But remember that you got the stuff that matters most right. So my compliments on this nice creation!

It would be nice to have some kind of overlay function, both for flat images as for 3D models. Having a reference image in the background would be great to quickly lay out proportions. And it would also be great if you could import a model and display it half-translucent on the screen. It would be just an image that exists in space and that you can look around, but it wouldn't be "physically" there. So you could be making a big building with e.g. an interior courtyard, and then you could see how your new sections looks next to the original model (again, it would be good for proportions), without parts snapping there all of the time. As an small added feature for the proportion thing with the background image, having an option to go for orthogonal views would be great for that. It's a bit of a stretch, but I would love to have Duplo bricks in LDD. Not only to quickly shape big volumes, but seriously, have you had a look at some of the Duplo parts? There are some really great curvy shapes there , like the swirly top, curvy point and even the cupcake wrapper... not to mention some great plant pieces. Having these elements would greatly expand the possibilities, and it would be hilarious to spot them on super-serious SNOT-heavy MOCs .

Excellent work Rolli. Your view of things, following what you want and not really caring about the (lack of) comments, is admirable and makes you more than just a builder that piles bricks. I hope you still want to listen to what I have to say however . But first things first: amazing job in making this final an amazing Markus vs. Markus duel, ready for history! Now about the MOC. It has been said plenty of times how amazing it looks. the colors and details are alone for manly tears. And the way you made all of the round parts with different techniques is beyond my imagination. I especially like how those 'fins' come out of the rear blades. Another thing that I appreciate a lot is the fact that you didn't overlook a single part of the build. I sometimes see that people build excellent motors to a podracer, but neglect the pod itself a bit (because it is too boring?). You, on the contrary, made of the pod an independent work of art. The extra turbines and engines are nice, and I like how they complement their big brothers. Also, from what I can see, the actual interior looks very cosy. It's a shame there aren't too much pictures yet. I'd like to see those flames, that cockpit, that saw and the inside of the wings. I'll stay tuned... What I liked so much about your previous entries, was their originality. You mentioned it here that you couldn't really think of another function to give to this fearsome racer, and I see that is very hard conceptually (although highway police would have been hilarious). But you don't necessarily turn it into something completely different. You can stay in the racer theme, for example. But you could translate elements differently. the big 'wings' for example, could be made into real wings or spoilers. Or those grills in there could be transformed into a suspension for the real engines at the tips. Technically, you could even give wheels to it, making it into some kind of monster truck, but I can't really imagine that myself... And there are other options. The cockpit, for example, could be attached in a different way to the model. It could be between the engines, or those engines could be placed vertical to each other. And the power beam in between them could be yet another suspension system. There could be a protective roll-over cage in the cockpit, and somewhere hidden parachutes ready for the brakes. So all in all, there are still plenty of possibilities (and I bet there are better ones than i could imagine) to make it original, without making it entirely different altogether. You don't always have to turn a mosquito in an elephant. You can just as well turn that mosquito in a super badass secret agent in exosuit, so to speak . Apart from my lazy and far-fetched comparisons, trying to convince you to be once more creative but in another way, this MOC doesn't really need that. In fact, it is a great Steampunk creation in its own right. But I think this contest has learnt us all that there is so much more possible on a conceptual note, and you were one of the greatest contributors to this notion. So amaze us once again, not only with your incredible techniques, but with your amazing mind as well! After you have let of steam, of course... I'm curious what we could get then. Because this is already awesome. And it's a really good sign if we're living in a world where this kind of MOC doesn't even win a contest. But you can be proud. You already won at least one avid fan in me, and I wish you good luck with everything still to follow for you!

Incredible work, markus. It is amazing how you keep outdoing yourself with every MOC. I can't imagine what you'll build in a year from now... Staying in the present, what an amzing Falcon you have there! Regarded just as a MF, it is equally impressive as the official UCS. But you surpass it by adding those details. The signature log bricks, the panels with printing, the grills... they are all over the place. Maybe the best detailing is the expert way in which you exposed studs. It perfectly matches the atmosphere, and it all seems intentional. The fact that it has such a beautiful interior just blows my mind. I really like what you did to it. Some people may think it looks a bit empty, but I say it looks very industrial and efficient, with large spaces to move the coal about, nice storage rooms and a clear layout. Fantastical! The thing that strikes me though, is the fact that the interior and exterior are a bit out of sync. The exterior is very messy and beaten up, while the interior is so clean. I think you could even this out a bit more. There are already some 'cleaner' areas on the exterior, like the part with all of the log bricks. The interior could be made a bit more filthy however. People are working there with filthy machines anyway. So especially the area around the machines could use some 'weathering'. The grills in the ground are a nice touch, but I think the ground could be bit more darker towards the machines. It would also be nice if the clean look of the rest of the ship could be justified by some cleaning equipment in some corner. I've said this several times, and you are progressing, but still I find complete originality a bit lacking. don't understand me wrong: there are some very creative touches like the boilers taking up those 'cavities' in the hulls, the storage place for water, the nice 'windows' at the docking area and whatever that amazing satellite dish thingy is. But these are details, and there are no big conceptual changes present in your MOC. For instance, all of your Steampunk creations have propellers. This is getting a bit old, so maybe it would be nice to explore other methods of propulsion, like flapping wings, balloons and steam jets. If you don't have enough inspiration, look for the most prominent feature of the ship. In this case, that would be the front, with the two protruding parts. You could turn these into giant wings, or claws if you make it a salvage ship. You see that starting from one prominent feature and fantasizing about it, that you can easily imagine the rest of the ship. Sometimes, you can go for something different entirely, not just by changing certain features, but by changing the way the ship works. It would be awesome if you turned the ship at it's side, so that the cockpit would be at the top. That would be really unique and eye-catching, and it would make for an even more appealing MOC (if I believe my imagination). You could, for example, work with all kinds of smaller levels inside, much more like a ship with decks. So I hope I got your juices going to explore new concepts, and embrace the creative possibilities it offers. If you add that to your amazing techniques and genius, then you will get at a new level, and as I said at the beginning, then I really can't imagine what will be next. So keep rocking and keep improving! I hope my suggestions are of some use, but I see there really isn't a lot to improve. You truly are a MOC expert, and I look forward to every one of your builds. And I like as much people as possible to enjoy it as well. Therefor: And congratulations on winning this high-caliber contest. I hope you found some time to enjoy it, between all the 'pressure' of the building!

Same here, with all the building from my part, I haven't had enough time to write my usual epistles down. Maybe i'll do it after this episode, but still, with 50 entries, that will be quite a challenge. It's great that the balance between the amount of Imperial and Rebel builds is slowly restoring, and it's nice to see all those familiar faces again, even if they make it harder for us to win this round and get the tag. And about the tag: any progress? Keep it up!

It's amazing that you actually try to make this model a reality. If it is done, it will be a new icon for the AFOL MOCcing community and, as you say it, a work of art. Good luck on this exhausting journey. You have the support of the blog.

Thanks again for your comments! Of course, a good MOC isn't defined by some NPU's, but I have to admit it is often such a new parts usage that starts it all with me. In fact, I had no idea how I was going to build this, until I read a review of Cragger's command ship, mentioning the olive green rafts. The connection was rapidly made, and the whole MOC just started from there. So if you ever get stuck, just have a look at some wacky parts, and they might inspire your entire build! It's fun to watch, but definitely fun to build as well with those pieces. They always provide new challenges (e.g. those snow ploughs have a width that is out of system, so I had to figure an entire construction out behind that wall), and often accomplish new things. Well, I don't know how these quotes are going to help me to build better MOCs ... Seriously though, they illustrate that I'm not the only one having these thoughts, so that they might be important after all. I'm just a single link in an entire world that is trying to say something sensible, and I'm glad that some of it has come through. Thanks for the insightful background information! Thanks a lot! Though if it's amazing what is buildable in LDD, you're actually just saying it's amazing what is buildable with Lego. I'm doing nothing here that can't be done in real life (I hope so, at least). Sure, I have infinite bricks, but I lack the physical contact and the particular way of viewing the brick like that, and building complex structures is a real nightmare. And the o so useful illegal connections... I have to do without them. In a way, I can only connect bricks the way they were intended to, instead of discovering all kinds of accidental connections. And an unlimited supply of bricks is sometimes annoying as well: with a limited supply, it is way easier to 'see' what you can build. But I'm not complainging... as long as you don't treat actual and digital builds as something completely different. So I am very glad you like it!

It is easy to find something on Ord Mantell. As long as you’re looking for something that hasn’t been destroyed yet. The facility we’re headed to is surrounded by junk, and seems to be mostly built with junk. But still, it has something… different. It seems like the one place on this planet where something constructive is happening. Approaching a free space that seems supposed to be a landing platform, that thought becomes contradictive. This constructivism seems to come forth from destruction. Yes, the equipment seems to be made from old parts, nothing fancy here. And the facility seems to be made to recycle the pieces of junk that have replaced the planet’s vegetation. That explains why this facility is a concurrent to that… cancer on Fondor. There, they squeeze the planet out, not caring about the consequences. Here, they relieve the planet. For once, industry makes me happy. But the ominous absence of employers, the lack of movement and the complete silence remind me of the reason why we’re here. We’re here to find this constructivism probably destroyed… As the cloud of dust settles from our landing, probably the only living human in the environment approaches. A lone, shadowy figure. “We’re here to investigate the murder of your employer” There’s no escaping the truth. “Investigate? No one ever comes here to investigate! This is Ord Mantell. Half of us don’t even know what the word ‘police’ even means. But alright, I don’t want to mess with you. I hope you Imperials will punish the Rebels for what they did. The crime scene is this way. I’m the janitor by the way” Since the facility has no hover platforms, we walk. On the left, giant chaotic heaps of junk. On the right, neatly stacks of cubic blocks of metal. We ascend a riding maintenance platform to have a better view of the heart of this part of the facility. [soNE Ep. VI] 3 - Just another horror by Bert.VR, on Flickr “The trash compactor here is where it happened. The Rebels must have used this very platform to drop their victims in it. A technician once told me there’s a scanner in the machine that measures composition of whatever is in it. That’s to keep the metal pure, and it should prevent people getting caught in the machine as well. But those murderers were prepared, and as far as I can tell, they overwrote the system. Their victims died a horrible dead…” Atrocious. The bounty hunter could just have shot the boss. Maybe he thought that wouldn’t deliver his message clearly enough. No, he disposed of his victim as if the human was nothing more than a piece of junk. And in an act of perverse symbolism, he used this machine that gives new life to the junk to take the life of something as beautiful as a human. A human that once had conceived this great facility, that had tried to give a new life to this planet, hope to the people. And now he’s just another victim… No, it can’t be true… “And why? The boss was a good man. And his family … they didn’t even deserve a worthy dead.” Words fail me. Thoughts fail me. Goatm does the talking. He doesn’t seem to be affected at all. “How do you know it were the Rebels?” “They left a datapad behind, probably the one they used to overwrite the system. I haven’t had a closer look, but it is just too obvious. We don’t need an investigation. And who else would do this? Aren’t those terrorists the only ones who should commit such atrocities? Aren’t they the only beasts that are cruel enough? No one dares to come to work anymore, this might be a sign. I don’t know why, but it seems they want this facility closed. Maybe to prevent people having the means to defend themselves. But only they would be cruel enough to take away the hope of all the workers. I’m the only one left, just looking around to see if something could be of further use…” “Still, you can have no objection for my colleague taking a closer look here. I would like to have a word with you in the meantime.” I descend the platform, still baffled. The two are heading somewhere else with the platform. I can’t get over it. Some moments ago, I despised the bounty hunter, but I thought he wasn’t the only one to blame. There were still the people who gave him the task. If they hadn’t given it, he wouldn’t have done it. But now… murdering the family of the target could never have been the assignment. He did it for no reason, purely for the pleasure that gave him. The murdered boss was a businessman. He knew there were risks to what he did. He could have taken precautions. But his family… they had never taken the risk. Yet the bounty hunter took them, and killed them in the most atrocious way for absolutely no reason. This is no war. This is no job. This is plain murder. Of the most atrocious kind. But this bounty hunter, this plain murderer, he got away with it. Nobody suspects him. They suspect the Rebels. He even gets handsomely paid for this. This can’t go on. But nobody does something. Nobody even seems to care. Nobody knows… This is war. With all these battles going on, all these casualties, all this misery, such a murder is just ‘normal’. People die every day. They die by the hundred. Why care about these unimportant victims? It isn’t even important to find out why they died, not even who killed them. There is no police anyway. These things just happen every day. We should accept this. What has war done to the people? It has made a murderer of many a soldier. And it has made everyone indifferent. Nobody cares anymore. Nobody cares that there are more people dying than living these days. Whether it is in the war or not. From time to time, if someone gets killed they know, people wake up and think this can’t go on. But only to fall asleep again. It’s the war that killed them, and what can we do about the war? This just happens. Killing has become the new normal. How can this go on? How can people keep adoring murderers like Boba Fett? How can we want to thank him for his good work? How can I participate in this madness? I have to wake up, and stay awake. Before I can even start to think how to end this, how to wake up the world, I have to wake up myself. How? I have no idea, but this murdering ‘hero’ is not getting a thank you card from me. But I will find him. Datapad, show me the way to the land of the living. [soNE Ep. VI] 3 - I'm going to find him by Bert.VR, on Flickr _______________ The story continues in goatman461's build, right here. _______________ Thanks for reading another one of my heavy stories. I hope you like it as well as the build, and i do hope it makes you think. Let me know! I wanted to do something else for Ord Mantell. Because it would fit my story, and because making wreckage and pile it is just impossible in LDD. I hope this unexpected take can still please you. I tried to keep everything plausible to build, but with the complicated mechanics, it is often hard to keep track of the stability. And I know those pieces that make up the pillars of the platform have a certain flexibility. Maybe they're rigid enough to keep it up. If not, this would be the equivalent of fishing rope here, and I hope that's okay. Hopefully, this doesn't offend anyone. Finally, if some parts look a bit strange to you, that's due to artefacts in the render. Olive green renders horribly, more like sand green, so I had to adjust everything, and this might have some strange implications. Also, there were some polygons astray, and I had to edit them out. Hope it isn't to offensive for the eye... Thanks again, and if anyone want to have a look around the model, here is the LDD file.

Excellent vignette! You've managed to capture the rugged, chaotic feel, while keeping true to your principle: "studs not allowed". Impressive. I really like the ground. The height differences are remarkable, and the chaotic shapes are very interesting to watch. The strange, layered texture actually seems very appropriate for Felucia. I'm not a big fan of all the reflections, however. They ruin the realism a bit. Maybe next time, if you want a smooth and dirty terrain, try working with older bricks, or give them a dustbath or something like that... if you trust the instinct of someone who hasn't played with real LEGO for a long time... . Another small issue is how the vegetation just pops up from the ground. I don't really see the connection between the plants and the soil. There are no roots, or the ground doesn't indicate that there are roots below. And it would be nice to have a slightly more gradual transition between the ground and the plant. Maybe there could be some small stalks at the bottom, or an area of the soil with a different color... Maybe just some loose tiles or cheese slopes that indicate some sprawling towards the bottom, or fallen leafs. That way, the vegetation would look a bit less artificial in the way it is connected to the environment, and you would have more of a complete scene. Finally, I like how your vegetation occupies multiple levels. Sadly, there are not many places where these levels overlap. It would be great to have some plants overhanging others, as that would create an even denser feel. The vegetation itself is really nice, and it really is Felucia flora (I checked with the reference material), so I can't really comment on the design of the plants. I can only say that it is a very nice translation to the brick, and the color choices you made are really effective. Well, maybe there could be some more medium-dark colors, so that you don't have the huge contrast between the very light colors (tan, white and orange) and the black. Then it would really seem as if the jungle occupies every color of the spectrum, and that would make it even more psychedelic. Now that you've reached this stage of design, it's time for the next challenge. The nice thing about nature is that there are plants in every stage of their life. So it would be great to see here some smaller, not fully grown versions of the plants, and some remains of those that already have perished. That would give more variation within the same species, and a more natural look. It would be a challenge to scale those plants, and you could imagine different stages in the life of such a plant, but you're someone who could handle that. So all in all, this is another one of your marvelous builds. I hope to see more in this episode!

I don't have any experience with other forums, but I think Eurobricks is really one of the best out here on the net. So congratulations to the staff, and that things may continue to improve for many years to come. The moderators do a good job in my opinion, and sometimes I wish they'd be even more active. I've pretty much given up reading the rumor threads, as there is so much rubble in it a lot of the time. It would be nice if the mods would be more present to clearly state what that topic is for. I'd like to see people argue less about unimportant subjects too, and spend more time on writing thoughtful comments, about news or about MOCs. On that matter, I think there might be a slight decrease in the interest in MOCs. They often don't get all that much comments (although that's not the point), and the ones they get tend to be short and without much content. If people want to say a MOC is awesome, then that's just the same as liking something. I'd like more feedback from the members. If they like it, why they like it, so you know what's important. And better, if they don't like it, what they don't like and how you could improve that. The real point of posting your creations is not to get as much comments as possible, but as much advise as possible, to become a better builder. I'd like this form of commenting more encouraged. I try to give a good example myself, but I have no real idea how to achieve that goal in a bigger way (maybe we should have a Comments Academy?). Maybe that's something we all should think about... Anyhow, if people would spend less time on arguing, they might have more time to really comment, and Eurobricks would grow as a bastion of support, having additional value to sites like Flickr and MOCPages. I might have gone a bit off topic here myself, but I do think that we should strive to keep that to a minimum. It's a hard task for mods to keep that up, I imagine. So maybe the staff should grow, or other members should be able to help them. Maybe by bringing certain subjects to their attention, or by taking small tasks. Anyway, I think contacting the staff should be more easy. Now you have to PM, and you quickly have the idea your idea is not important enough to bother them with. Maybe a suggestion-topic in every forum would prove to be useful. Members who don't have the inclination to start something themselves, but do have great ideas, could show them there. It would be a great place for the mods of the forum to see what the users want, and make the forum more attractive and lively. I think some forums are slowly declining, and that such an impulse from the members could help to revitalize it. After all, we're a community. Another advantage of a bigger staff would be that the staff members would all have less work, and can so do better work. Since a lot of the staff members are really good MOCcers, it would be nice if they had some more time to practice their favorite hobby as well. We would get more great builds too. On the matter of English, I don't think we should ask perfect English from everyone. It's important that people take an effort, however. Capitalization and punctuation aren't hard to learn, but they do show a lot of goodwill, even if the grammar isn't very good or there are some spelling mistakes. I have no idea if it would be possible to help users with less capabilities in a language. Maybe there could be a place where members with the same native language can help each other to write better English. Now that would be a nice initiative, and it would help us all to understand each other better, to express what we think better (here or in real life), and be a better community overall. I hope I mentioned some useful things, both for moderators as for 'normal' members. I would like to finish with a big thank you. For reading this comment, and especially for making this such a fun forum to be around on and to spend half of your life . Keep it up!

Interesting entry, you went straight for the pile-of-junk approach, and it turned out pretty nicely! The junk pieces are good, and I enjoy the fact that it looks like they're all from the same ship that got abandoned there and was left to disintegrate. Nice touch! It's good that you added some texture to the ground, as that's appropriate for the junk. Still, a general rule with adding such texture, is to hide the big parts. So you can't have a lot of studs at the same height at the same place. Well, you can, but then it has to be a strange shape, so that you can't see what pieces were used right away. So avoid long, straight lines in your ground, it makes it look very artificial. 1x1, 1x2 and corner plates are perfect to top it off. Also, as a general rule, you shouldn't make height differences of more than two plates. These are just some thumb rules to make the ground texture more realistic. It will also be more chaotic, and that's ideal for the junkyard. Relief isn't all about heights and shapes either. There can be some well made color variation in it all. Dark tan is an obvious choice. Or something else. You already have the red blood (dark red would be more realistic, except if Mandalorians have a weird blood color...), and you could have some kind of oil leak in the same fashion. There are a lot of tricks to bring more texture to the ground. I already mentioned I like your junk. Still, it suffers a bit from the same thing as the ground: in essence and purpose it is very good, but it lacks a bit of refinement. So again, you have big shapes here, but smaller details are somewhat lacking. You use a lot of big pieces. Of course, you already added some smaller details, but there should be way more of them to give it all a substantial junkyard feel. Because how strange as it may sound, it are often the small details that make something appear big (literally, if you want to make a model look big, you should add a lot of details. Because your brain thinks: "There are a lot of details, so there's a lot of room for details, so it is big!" It has something to do with scaling mechanisms, but think about it: in SW ships, greebles often appear on big ships, but small fighters have much lower concentrations... now you know why) This digression aside, it would be nice if the space beneath the junk would be filled with more, smaller junk. Maybe you could make a little hill of grey plates, and just drop some minifig utensils on there as details. Or you could link it more to the ship, as some crate with spare parts that spilled, or something like that. Anyway, it would be really interesting to say that Mandalorion laying on a bed of junk... I hope these tips make some sense and can help you to continue making better scenes. You're already a master in hilarious stories. Whether they're suited or not, they're awesome in their own right

Really nice micro scene you have there! I like how you paid attention to the entire scene, from the ships and their posing to the background and the layout. Well done. I like the micro ships (although, if I'm not mistaking, the Slave I design is from the advent calendar ?), and they are great for the scene, but the coloring is a bit weird. The central cockpit of a TIE should be light grey (unless you have a special edition one?), and some green in the Slave I could be nice (in fact, you have a great opportunity to color the grill tile green, as you have both green and grey in the same area then, nicely blended). Apart from those 'active ships' the wreckage looks good. The models are a bit simple, but they do the job in the blurred background, but as a creation an sich, they could use some more details. So dive into your parts bin and look for those small detailed pieces usually in the form of minifig accesories: they make great details because of their tiny markings and shapes. Some more wreckage would also be nice (I like it that much ), although you should make sure not to loose the deserted feel. So patches with a high concentration of junk would be nice (possibly just a pile of those minifig accesories could be enough). They would also break up the sharp color contrast you have in the landscape right now. The cliff is pretty well made, and the small straight pieces that make it weir in minifig scale, actually do really well in micro scale as ledges etc. But even without those, there are some great parts usages in that rock, and it looks very good, except for those visible studs and random grey bits. You can have them, as long as they have a ledge to rest on, because we don't want to defy physics... And on a different note, the hard shadows of the ships on the cliff ruin the realism just a little bit, because on such a dusty planet, such harsh, direct light would not be too abundant, I suppose... Finally, I like the minifig part, those cockpit pieces are awesome there. I wouldn't so much play with different colors there to make it more interesting, but more with textures like grill bricks or protruding tiles. That would be more Empire-like. But all in all, very nice minifig part and great microscale part. Keep chasing that ship!

This really is a very nice version of Felucia! The dark tan combines very good with all of the flashy plant colors. There's an amazing variety in the plants as well, with a lot of different shapes, colors and heights. I really love the fact that you portrayed both the ground foliage as the higher growing plants. Such layered vegetation really makes it more interesting. Another thing i like a lot is the gradual height difference in the base of the MOC. The path could have some more relief though. Another nice thing about the plants is the irregularity in shapes, with all of the curvy shapes. Still, there is a bit too much structure visible in certain places. Those purple 1x1 round plates, for instance, clearly show the stud grid pattern. The height difference breaks it up a little bit, but randomizing it a bit more would be nice, you could even randomize colors a bit with splashes of blue in between. There are some sharp edges visible as well, that you could ease out with some tooth pieces or something like that. In general, it would be nice if you used some more specialized pieces. You use almost exclusively very standard bricks. The disadvantage is that you have the regularity, and it doesn't allow you to do strange things with the plants, like multiple branches coming from the same stem. So dive into your parts bin, and go completely weird on crazy parts. That will make your MOC more interesting to look at, because there would be more texture, and because it would be fun to spot all of the wicked part usages. I'm curious to see what strange pieces you can find in your collection. Those transparent grill tiles are already a great start! So overall, very nice piece of Felucia. I'm glad that you made it bigger, because now there is more to love! I can almost smell the flowers behind my computer. But I should go on and search for Boba instead, I guess...

Truely superb entry, Goatman461!!! Aesthetically, it's quite perfect. The head is beautiful and grim at the same time, much like one of the thestrals from Harry Potter, which is very suitable for your entry. I wonder what would happen if you built it with black pieces... The way you made the 'manes' is truly inspiring. Also, what happened to the wings is just beautiful:the mechanics around them also add to the reality and fit the description. When the fighter stands upright, it is just beautiful... The flight mode is a bit dull compared to this actually. Maybe because there are no very defined shapes, because the details tend to blend everything together. Maybe in the future, try to have different kinds of details in different areas to split them up visually. You already did that with the head compared to the body, and this section is very strong. The contrast between the body and the wings is much less present, and that makes it a bit hard to appreciate it like that. Also a note on presentation. I like the background story a lot, and you have some really nice pictures. It would help if you learned to use some photo-editing software though, to get rid of the shadows, supporting blocks and wires that ruin the sense of realism a bit of the flight mode. Keep in mind that presentation is a key component in contests like this (also if it should be all about the build). So now that you've shown your building skills, maybe it's time to develop your editing skills... (I have some experience myself, so if you'd ask, I'd be happy to help you along the way. Brickdoctor is also a pro with picture editing) Anyway, great build. I feel honored to be able to help you, and I can't wait to see what's next! _____ That last sentence really warms my heart

I cast 'Summon Bigger Wall of Text'! - It's difficult to explain in so few words, but I guess it is because 500 words just aren't enough to express all of my thoughts about a MOC. From Brickdoctor.

Good work! You made excellent use of the available space: this really looks like a big creation. That part that is tucked in the corner at a 45 degree angle is also nicely done! And the story is of course great as always. Very James Bond-like, I would say... Still, the first time I saw this creation, it felt a little bit weird, because there is no real border between the walkway and outer space. Of course there could be some invisible forcefield, but for a first view you don't think of that. So maybe a large roster beneath the walkway would be nice, as long as you keep seeing what's under it. Or build the upper part of the wall grey, while leaving the space part black. Or some transparent panels could evoke a force field as well. And to top it all off, some greebles at the wall for the generators would be awesome. Greebles would do this MOC good, because I have the feeling the upper part is a bit plain. The overall design is very good, with the narrow walkway and the angled entrance, but it lacks details. There are some details underneath the door, but having some tubes beneath the walkway would be nice as well. I'm not too sure about those Technic levers either... I see that you tried to give us a view at the structural elements, but this seems a bit crude. Maybe covering certain holes could give it some more finesse. The mini A-wing is very nice. You pretty much nailed the front part. I'm not too sure about the back. I'm confident that there is more detail to get out of that area, like actual round engines. And the guns could be refined using some minifig utensils (to double the amount of guns, the binoculars piece is just ideal). You've come as far as to get a very good shape, but now you only have to finish the model with nice details, and then you will have an outstanding a-wing! The choice of planet is nice, and it's good to see That you tried to hide the studs on top by rotating it, but in fact, maybe it is a better idea to leave them on top, because in all of your pictures they would be blocked by the walkway. And about the reflection of the planet... again, I'm not an expert in photography (not even an amateur!), but if there would be no light on the side of the 'mirror', there would be nothing to reflect. So my guess would be to use a very directional light and point it on the side of the planet that is turned away from the reflective surfaces (so, the most open part of the MOC). This will also create a nice hard shadow on the planet, what would also make it more realistic, since a planet can't be lit at every place at the same time. So with less but stronger light sources, the spacey feeling could be brought out a bit more, if the theories of a photograpy-noob make any sense... But good job! I can't wait to see your next builds and to see where you're story is going !