Brick Miner

congrats willy !!! your contributions and dedication to the pirate theme have lead you to this position whole-heartedly !!! good luck ;-) - BrickMiner *on a side topic, its great to hear that ED is expanding, and the need for such help is required !!! GREAT NEWS !!! now we just need to find those Wild West fans and bring 'em here ;-)

well, i guess that settles it !!!thanks so much for your offer sir dillion and starwars4j (i got your PM),... i guess we'll see if these two have the figs they claim ;-) - BrickMiner

ya, the minifig selection was hard... i wanted to capture some figs from different generations of LEGO kids, so that everyone could relate a bit...the western fig is 1996 the adventurers fig is 1998 knight fig is 2000 and viking is 2004 so i captured nearly a decade worth of figs. it would have been great to get a classic castle fig in there... i originally wanted the royal knights king... but he was pretty expensive (incluidng his cape he would have been around 12 USD). remember, im really only a western, adventurers, and pirate fan, so i didn't have a lot of these figs on hand. i had to buy the knight and viking on BrickLink especially for this new skin. also, a classic castle fig (would not only be expensive) but would have not meshed as well with these other, NEWER figs... it was really important that everything blended seamlessly !!! *SIDE NOTE: me and jipay are currently discussing creating a new skin for "theater" and "town" also. if anyone can contribute minifig photos for those two themes, it would be greatly appriciated. i will only be looking for certain figs (not just any will do) and you have to be able to take great photos. that means lighting, resolution, angel all have to be prefect !!! thanks everyone, for all the kind words so far !!! - BM

if you see the minifig face CLEARLY then there is a new post since your last visit. if the head is HAZED OVER by the respective color then there is nothing new... - clear blue for "new replies" - hazed blue for "no new replies" - clear red for "new posts in a hot topic" - hazed red for "no new posts in a hot topic" - clear purple for "new replies in a poll" - hazed purple for "no new replies in a poll" - clear green for "moved" - hazed green for "locked" actually same as before !!! does any of that make sense ??? - BrickMiner

hey everybody !!! im glad the overall response is good... let me take a moment to describe the new skin... BANNER: i wanted to take advantage of so many SYSTEM themes coming together in one forum. this was truly a unique opportunity... my original concept was to have a LEGO catalog cover look, where all the themes are in a juxtaposed fashion. the LEGO catalog covers also tell something of a story, even if it

i agree about the wolfpack, i forgot to mention them in my first post. rouge wonderers is a great idea. this is a sub-theme i've really really tried to like... but there just isn't enough substance there.

though i admit to not being that much of a castle fan, i definitely have a fav... the Dark Forest. great expansion theme that added much diversity on the castle concept. not just another knight sub-theme, IMO. plus, it was a much needed rebirth of the first forest men idea, and much improved. speaking of which, where are the first forest men in the poll ??? - BM

wow, this set really opens up your sub-theme... great addition. *y* this building style requires so much thought... i mean, not only do you have to render the structures and vehicles in the LEGO SYSTEM style... but they also require extra thought and care in progressing the adventure. your concept for a back-story is right on target, Grayner. now that i am seeing more of the story, my only complaint is that i wish the story was told in a more visually manner. for example, you have so many villains running around, that i couldn't tell who was aligned with who. now that i read the back-story i see they are all teamed together. but at first i couldn't tell who the blue coats were, and what there relations were to johnny, the villains, and the environment. to be honest, i thought they were like local authorities of the land of the castle 8-

after re-reading my last post i realize not many here will likely agree with my POTC train of thought... as most here don't try to replicate a LEGO SYSTEM building style as i do. i know Phes has been known to build in this manner, and recently we have seen Grayner doing this. (BTW, he is doing a fantasic job X-D ) -------------------------------------------------- ghoulrealm,just like you i love adding fantasy (monsters or whatever) to my MOCs. but i can't seem to find a way to fit them in with my existing offical pirate sets. to keep the authenticy of my existing pirate sets, BCB, ITP... my fantasy MOCs must blend seamlessly. in my western MOCs i have gotten around this by creating new sub-themes. for example, the subtheme of Ghost Town allows much more fantasy than would be allowed in the standard cowboy line of 1996. this lets me go wild with my imagination !!! its probably my favorite building theme that i have attempted yet. using a sub-theme would be a good way to get around my pirate predicament... islanders seem to reach into fantasy more than the standard pirate/imperial line. so even they fit the "sub-theme-to-stretch-fantasy idea". i could create a new sub-theme for pirates... that could work... hmmmm.... - BM EDIT: ok, thought about that. im still disenchanted with LEGO pirates cause that sub-theme idea would just seem like a copy of POTC... thats not original or fun *sad*

very true !!!ok, let me explain... i feel that the image of pirates (in regards to LEGO pirates) have been tarnished because of POTC. see, LEGO had a very balanced world created for their pirate line... there were obivously things allowed, and things not allowed. anyone who tries to build a pirate MOC in the LEGO SYSTEM style of building will fully realize this. all of those allowances (which are too many to mention) make up the world of LEGO pirates, and thus dictated my image of pirates in general. POTC has intruded on that vision of a pirate world. and it is hard to escape the POTC pirate world, because it is EVERYWHERE right now !!! here comes the problem, i can't pull inspiration from POTC (and i want to) because its world is so different from that of the LEGO pirate world !!! to most this probably wont be much of an issue, but to me, to included these elements into LEGO pirates would be considered very unLEGO like. see, my MOCs apply all the rules and restrictions LEGO set forth in their worlds (pirates included). with all of that said, the main thing is, the POTC world is currently clashing with the official LEGO pirates world. all of my favs, Black Seas Barracuda, Skulls Eye Schooner, the Imperial Trading Post, and so forth, are in a way, being trumped by the new popular culture icon of a pirate !!! -------------------------------------------------- however, im glad to hear a few still love the islanders, i just can't understand why they would be disliked so much... artistically speaking, the sets designs are near perfect !!!

i was under the impression that LEGOLAND (and therefor miniland) were a pretty recent development... however, the minifig design and scale are decads old. can you explain your comment jipay ???i'll definetely make a trip back if the switch is made to minifig scale. i could relate to miniland so much more, because it would be in prespective of all my MOCs !!! and to me, minifig scale is the LEGO scale !!! - BM BTW, KhoRne... your signature has caught my attention. its kinda dark in the lower right corner, but im curious what is going on ??? looks like an interesting story there !!! EDIT: ok , i followed the link in your signature to answer my own question !!!

like the title says, Pirates of the Caribbean has obviously had some effect over the LEGO pirate community and the hobby. im sure for many it has inspired and renewed interest (very evident by the explosion of members to this forum). however, for me it has actually done harm !!! the pirate world of POTC is far different from the world of LEGO pirates. krakens, squid-men, and hammer-head shark people, have temporarily removed me from the basic form and structure of the LEGO pirate world. and its hard to get the image of POTC out of my head, i mean its everywhere in pop-culture !!! i wish either LEGO had explored some of the fantasy elements that had appeared in POTC, or POTC hadn't been so fantastic. after typing that, it sounds like what im looking for is a LEGO pirates movie !!! :-D :-D :-D -------------------------------------------------- the other element which is making me dislike the LEGO pirates theme is this forum. let me explain... see the islanders sub-theme is my favorite part about the pirates. they were colorful, imaginary, and over-all very visually stimulating. yes, its true they were not very historically correct, in the fact that they appeared in the pirates theme. but that is meaning less to me. good set design and visual appeal trump the historically accurate thing. it seems most EBers agree with that, based on what was being said in this thread. so why no islander representation ??? i mean, even the flagship image, which represents this forum (the banner), is absent of an islander !!! even POTC had islanders, probably the coolest part of the movie for me... it was flat out hilarious !!! personally, i would love to give the islanders proper attention here on EB, but im afraid it will fall on blind eyes... plus my next MOC has me too busy with the WW theme. ;-) ulimately this post is to justify my absence from the pirate forum (this is my third favorite theme), i hope this distaste passes soon :-X - BrickMiner BTW, open discussion is encouraged about the above topics.

so are you saying that you don't like any of the officially released LEGO sets ??? as most of them had far more fantasy than were realistic !!! i find that hard to believe, as most likely, their sets designs and overall handling of the theme (fantasy-ish) is what got you interested in LEGO pirates ;-) -------------------------------------------------- in any case, this is the type of quality conversation i was looking for in my thread here. i should have figured only pirate fans could carry on so !!! ;-) now, to the point of the thread... i strongly believe that fantasy in all the historically based LEGO themes adds so many dynamics. i do agree that the amount of fantasy they included was just about right. however, i think LEGO could have taken it just a little farther than they did with a couple themes, mainly pirates and Wild West. it could have greatly expanded the content and range of those themes. however, a good point was brought up in my other thread... adding fantasy to the point where we loose the authenticity of the theme is destructive. nicely put Jack !!!-------------------------------------------------- i think that was the point... speedboats with pirates would be fantasy (time travel, etc...) and this would be a good example of TOO much fantasy !!!however, i do agree, as long as the fantasy elements stay within there own genres, they add so much imagination to that theme... and imagination is what LEGO is all about, IMO. see, if LEGOs were to be constructed only as miniatures of realistic building, boats, people, the entire image of LEGOs classic history lines, including pirates, is disrupted. LEGOS aren't diecast replicas, they are outlets for the imagination !!! if i wanted realistic miniatures, id go get a collection of plastic army men :-D :-D :-D - BrickMiner

there is very limited access to some of the miniland. and your right, some of the second and third streets in are not viewable from the designated viewing areas.washington dc was cool for that reason, none of the building were too big and you could see most of the detail... while new york (with its tall skyscrapers) and san fransico (with its sloped and hilly terrain) made it hard to see everything. HA !!! we should make a suggestion to LEGOLAND... i master-builder size scarecrow !!!- BM

this is kinda funny when i think back on it, but when i was like 16 i made a Wild West RPG. X-D my experience/interest is actually in TCGs (Trading Card Games) like Magic: The Gathering, SW: TCG, and others. in my WW game, each fig had attributes similar to a single card in one of the fore mentioned games. my game played more like a card game, drawing different resources (calvery, guns, horse, etc.) each turn, then getting a fixed amount of "actions" to play them each turn. i had dreams of selling the idea to LEGO one day. :'-) i know LEGO did a card game with Adventures: OE, i wonder how close it was to my WW game that i made some 7 years earlier !!! 8-

the size coupled with the retaining of a LEGO building style is what is most suprb about this MOC. not that it is purely a LEGO style construction, but very reminicent of it. it would blend seamlessly with offical LEGO releases for sure. the overall shape is very very nice, but to call this MOC near perfect is slightly forgiving... i actually think the colors are too bland. plus, i would need to see images of the interior before making such a call. - BM

nice selection of minifigs and pieces... there is a little bit of everything, which makes for excellent detail. and good choices too, especially the minifigs. BTW, i've never seen fruit interpreted the way you have (with the cone and feathers out the top). nice techinque !!! - BrickMiner

sheets on the beds, now thats fun !!! i guess you would have to since LEGO would never give us something so "ordinary."however, now that im thinking of it, there are a couple good pillow options, there is a sloped 2x2 brick, and a new 1x2 tile in the sponge bob sets !!! also, for this MOC and your entire "Johnny in the Land of the Castles" theme, have you tried a different tree option ??? id like to see somthing like in king's mountain fortress. - BrickMiner

ok, im finally getting settled in from being away from the office and workshop (two weeks later !!!). my convention had lots of ups and downs. i mean, it was profitable yes, but lots and lots of work... im just now catching up on emails, commissions(drawings), even errands (like going to the grocery and doing laundry) and yes... the new History & Adventure Forum skin !!! however, there were lots of peaceful times, and flat out FUN ones too... most of my LegoLand trip was the later !!! the trip to LegoLand: California was very motivational. it was good to see lots and lots of kids and parents enjoying the Lego system of toys. it painted a very different picture than what i see when i go to my local TRU (small selections and little space reserved for LEGO products). it really turned some of my negative conceptualizations about the company around. actually, the convention i attended had a large LEGO presence too. there was a giant display featuring all the current lines, and i saw lots of people walking around with LEGO bags (which meant they bought stuff) !!! and it was a lot of people, like 1 in every 10 !!! it was really encouraging... although, with the batman line, it was pretty understandable for high sales at a comic convention. see, sometimes the licensed products move faster than the actual comics. this is probably why LEGO opted for such a large booth space at a COMIC convention. in any case, here are some photos of the LEGO booth at the comic convention. these maybe more interesting than my photos of LEGOLAND, as many more of you have probably been to LEGOLAND than to COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2006... the convention has over 100 thousand attendees (size of a medium-sized city !!!), so this big cub was great advertisement !!! a master-builder batman... SW stuff... nothing to my interest *sad* *sad* *sad* ;-) giant exo-force... this was the coolest set up. it was a mini-fig scale batman city/display. VERY detailed, just look at those buildings !!! 8-

HA HA, very funny. i mean, im no Phes :-D ;-) - BM

Well it took a few hours to get the glue off. but why would you want to take it off, after putting it on ??? do you not keep your MOCs build very long ???BTW, that battle bridge shot is amazing !!! great job, i'd like to see more of it posted here !!! - BM

highlandcattle brings up a good point... the blue coat torsos could partially be removed from the imperial soldier look by giving them different color pants and/or epaulets. may help a little, however, i would still suggest decals. do you mean you glued the paper decal to the torso ??? if so, why are you not going to repeat ??? bad experience ???- BrickMiner

well, im glad i found this one after leaving my comments on your previous thread. this one is much improved, the overall eye appeal is fantasic. the minifig/story conflict in the set is much more clear than in "Key of the Castle Dock" (see comments in previous thread). again, the photoshopping is excellent. but im still having trouble with the blue coats. have you ever considered making some decals ??? the tank explosion is a great borrow from the well designed WW sets. i love seeing this !!! great idea. and even the small detail of the brick steps at the middle front of the base is awesome !!! reminds me of a smaller version of the orient expedition castle. do you have any other MOC threads i could be missing (i've been away for a couple weeks) ??? - Brick Miner

agreed with all of that jack !!! BTW, i think you bought 6277 from me a couple months back. funny id see you hear on EB !!! :-D

that is what i was thinking ;-)POTC was one only element that had me questioning historical accuracy vs. fictional liberties... only my thread got off to a rocky start with all the western controversy. *wacko* *wacko* *wacko* - BM