Brick Miner

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im looking at my calendar... there is no way i can finish a "new" fig for the contest by the end of next week.can't we make the deadline, halloween night... or maybe the eve ??? or did you want to announce the winners then ??? -------------------------------------------------- i sure hope so ;-) - BrickMiner

yoda, yours is a little TOO scary for me :'-( im just so used to seeing little cute minifig heads everywhere on this board...i feel like im on some kinda "death-metal" forum when i see that image :-D :-D -------------------------------------------------- i'd like to make my avatar the same as my entry for the halloween minifig contest... hopefully i get it done in time ;-) - BrickMiner

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i enjoy horror in my entertainment the most... but it has to be artistically orchestrated. there is a lot of films done in bad taste. horror movies seem to have a bad rap, comparatively. - Brick Miner

i don't know if the two actually ever crossed paths, they are both kind of a anti-hero... like the punisher. and appear in separte story lines.however, i could be wrong... there might have been a cross-over (<== comic jargan ;-) ). my Ghost Town has far more fantasy than Jonah Hex ever encountered... but, even though the stories were more realistic, he was always presented in a mystical fashion... and in comics, that is sometimes more important. as iconography is so important to the medium.Hex is always presented in a coming "out-of-the-dark-dust-bowls" kind of way... very often he is half in the shadows, and he carries a feeling of mysticism about him. i actually don't think the wikipedia article does him justice at all... to me, he is kinda the western zombie. -------------------------------------------------- but similar to how i like movie posters for inspiration (more than the movie itself), the cover of a comic get my creativity flowing (more than the actual stories inside). i am so into iconography... its like story-telling through visual cues ;-) - BrickMiner

i think my problem is the opposite... i have become so engulfed in creating my MOCs that im not buying sets. i used to be a hardcore MISB collector... now i find my self only placing orders on BrickLink for MOC pieces. Brickster has an excellent point/idea/suggestion here... this is the main reason MOCing has taken over my hobby. and its not a bad things... definitely good. im getting way more for my money. but it is time consuming... but that is what a hobby is, right ??? something to fill your time.my last two MOCs took me four months each, now that is a good hobby !!! - BrickMiner

this Halloween forum is great idea !!! i never liked the holiday as a kid and teen growing up... this holiday, unlike others, is more of a peer holiday... as opposed to a family holiday. and i was never that popular amoung my peers in elementary through high school... i was the weird artist loner guy :-D therefore, i never had friends to go trick-or-treating with, and never got invited to the high-school halloween parties... that is where all the popular kids got an excuse to drink and do other "cool" things |-/ well, now i am really appriciating it, cause i did grow up on horror movies... and i like a good scare. now, halloween is more of an literary entertainment source... and the lore of halloween is a great creative source. and creativity is my specialty ;-) ---------------------------------------------------- BTW, that looks really good Brickster... lets get that on the homepage !!! - BrickMiner

this is a really cool topic B... i just wish i had some really good answers for it, as horror movies are my most favorite kind ;-) however, right now im drawing a blank on "the scariest". i mean, i know the ones i like... but that is for other qualities, like directing. im BIG on directing ;-)-------------------------------------------------- :-D i remember that one... and i remember the sequels also !!! is i recall, that little evil twin got a love interest... now that was really scary :-D -------------------------------------------------- i disagree... i think the more recent movies are scarier. i mean, yes... my memory of the older movies are scarier. but when i rewatch them, the thrill is gone... and the movies end up seeming cheesy :-D -------------------------------------------------- this is possibly my favorite movie of all time. but i don't think its scary... i like it for the directing... romero created art when to told the "large concept" with a "small execution". it was just brilliant.i love the scene when ben is talking about the truck being overturned by the zombies... it is mearly a dialog scene, but the vision that it creates for us is so vivid... romero didn't have enough money to film the scene, but he gave it to us anyway... it was great execution... that scene and the whole movie *y* -------------------------------------------------- ok, other movies... when i saw it in the theater, the new "house on haunted hill" really scared me. but when i bought it on DVD it had lost its edge somehow... now i just think its cheesy. "the ring" had great potential (and it was extremely scary) but the story was disappointing. again, the concept was great... but the execution of the story was really bad. all-in-all i didn't like the movie... but i think its a good one for THIS list, cause those freaky faces were just plain haunting. -------------------------------------------------- i think the grunge is a great movie all around... the story was good, the execution was good, AND it was scary as hell. BTW, has anyone seen "pulse" ??? about the dead people in the computers ??? i saw the japanese version and it was terrible... but i think some of the story was lost in translation, cause it didn't make a lot of sense... however, the english redo looks pretty good. - BrickMiner

maybe he paved the way for Johnny Thunder and his leading commonness :-D ya, it's a huge assumption... probably steams from the fact that i like the look of the black-dressed bandit better... he just seems more prominate to me ;-) :-D im yet to go back, since my second reply in the thread... im sure it might take awhile to get though it, so i need to save a block of time to commit to reading/replying ;-) - Brick Miner

ok, at the request of Brickster... here is an official "inspirations for the Ghost Town sub-theme" thread. here was the original exchange that spark the topic... JONAH HEX: "He is a bounty hunter whose face bears a scar from a hot tomahawk, and whose attitude is fittingly surly and cynical, although tempered with a personal code of honor. Throughout the character's history, the western genre conventions are heavily subverted. Though he traveled extensively throughout the American West, he also ended up in South America and China." whole wikipedia article... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Hex though, he is much more bad-megablocks than the article sounds ;-) here are a couple of my favorite jonah hex covers... enjoy !!! - Brick Miner

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oh, i thought you were referring to the building technique :-D i don't know you were making a joke !!!and becasue you are an educated LEGO fan, i just took your word for it !!! i guess we now know that i would never second guess your wisdom, Norro... so don't take advantage |-/ :-D - BrickMiner

:-D sounds like we might have another "steve" story in the making... http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/eurofo...?showtopic=2590 -------------------------------------------------- hmmm... its possible, but i don't know. because the black-shirted bandit is also more prominate in the sets too. he seems to be the leader, there also... so we can't fault the commercial producing agency for that one too.i think, as phes mentioned, it was a mistake on LEGOs part... its even possible that the artist drew the wrong face on the wanted poster... no one noticed, and it went into production... then it came time to make the commercial and someone noticed that the bandit leader's face on the wanted poster didn't match the fig. as im sure the products were made, far before the commercial was planned. other theories, anyone ??? - BrickMiner

yup, your right... 600% is just my estimate and example anyway... however, one would have to assume there is SOME kind of mark up ;-) when i sell items at conventions, that is the golden number (however not always possible :-D )... and i have been told this number applies to other retail industries. however, within the same industry: when our distributor sells a book to the retailer they reviece a 60-65% discount. which means the retailers only gets around a 300% mark up. so again, its not a definite number. and every seller on BrickLink charges a different price anyway :-D so there is definietly not a hard-and-fast rule out there ;-) it sounds like BrickLink sellers may only ask a 300% on their inventory (based on my HAUNTED PASS calcuation anyway :-D :-D :-D ) in any case, when i say "cacluation based on BrickLink prices for new bricks" there is definietely a mark up over the LEGO retail price. -------------------------------------------------- :-$ *sweet* - BrickMiner

yes, so do the pants on the other guy... i bet those are standar-blue pants just like the torso. Brickster must have adjusted the hue/contrast to the photo or something... - BrickMiner

here's the BrickShelf gallery... http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=209471 i love the shark cove detail !!! however, i would like to see some carvings out the rocks (moai style), since this is an "inslanders" island. that said, as a islander MOC, i don't think this is very good. i think the moai are what make the islanders cool. - BrickMiner

ok, i'll try to get another Ghost Town monster done (but you know how long these things take me)... so if not, you'll see the Ghost Miner ;-) i have an idea for a western zombie (always love jonah hex comics). he was going to appear in Precarious Bridge, we'll see if i can get him done in two weeks. also, thought id share jonah hex.. for those who aren't familar.. so where do enteries go ??? in this thread ??? - BrickMiner

makes perfect sense... and that is what i was suggesting.thanks Norro !!! - BrickMiner

this is a nice touch... love the johnny thunder... and can anyone tell what techinique was use in making that cactus ??? it looks interesting. - BrickMiner

ohhh... a bunch of Black Barts, interesting concept (as i have always seen him as a unique individule also). that is a great use though, considering he is way too abundant in the LEGO WW sets. this answers the question, "so what do you do with 4-5 extra bandits" ??? make a gang ;-) i have thought about this too... you would think (as most character archetypes structuers go) the wiser crook is the leader. and the dumber, more physical-powered crook is the follower.. that character structure is used in so many cartoons (from TMNT to bugs bunny).so, this does speak very highly of FFT, if he dares reverse the roles !!! -------------------------------------------------- FFT is the only one universally named. however, Euro boxes also name "Sheriff Duke" and "Colonel Jeffereson." well, the wanted poster is a universal piece used in every set... so his name is definitely Flatfoot Thompson. as for the commerical... it is targeted for north america, because the retail boes at the end of the commerical have the words "Wild West" in the top right corner triangle. only boxes from north america feature that... as all other boxes (for the rest of the world) say "Western" in the top right.- BrickMiner

i don't see how i could make it any clearer :-D i guess not everyone knows that sellers on BrickLink part out sets that have been bought at retail prices. if BrickLink sellers parted-out and sold at the retail price they bought for, they would not make any money. so a set that costs 60 USD would have 60 dollars worth of parted-out pieces... but that is the wholesale price (for the BrickLink sellers)... a good mark up is usually 600% from wholesale to retail... so that 60 USD becomes 360 on BrickLink. so, when i say "caculation based on average BrickLink prices" you can safely assume those pieces are at the BrickLink 600% mark up over the LEGO retail price. well, im sure members were aware of the economics of BrickLink... but probably not in the context of my "value = X" statement. oddly enough, my caculation above would suggest that GHOST TOWN's HAUNTED PASS would retail for around 28 USD !!! (28 USD LEGO retail at a 600% BrickLink mark up = nearly 170 USD) so maybe BrickLink sellers only mark up around 300%. i don't really know, i've never tried to part-out a new set ;-) i just used 600% as an example, and it is the "standard rule of thumb" for retailers here in the US. -------------------------------------------------- but good point about my presentation. i guess, there is a little part of me that would like to see people buy the parts and make these models for themselves... i mean, you have to admit, that would be pretty rewarding :-$ - BrickMiner

ooohhh... i really like that well. nice use for the 4x4 barrel. i was trying to incorporate a well into HAUNTED PASS, but couldn't get anything i was happy with... *considers adapting the 4x4 barrel idea* :-P though, im not sure about that tree. i mean i like the "black tree" concept (shivers run down my spine 8-

and you have changed it... the potato sack is gone !!! so Brickster, are you getting pretty comfortable with digital graphics ??? i mean, it seems your becoming quite the little graphic designer ;-) -------------------------------------------------- now i would like to see all the logos consistant (i.e. on both MOCs). - Brick Miner

i suppose i should enter a NEW fig, right ??? i mean, not a certain Miner we all know of... ;-) oh, and shouldn't this contest go in the MOC forum (like the create-a-hero contest), as it is not limited to H&A ??? this should get some good enteries either way, nice idea Brickster *y* - Brick Miner