The Real Indiana Jones
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Everything posted by The Real Indiana Jones
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OK, Pogie, now you're just trolling! And there are a million other forums for that debate elsewhere on the internet! -
...Or this. A good example of why the "real-bricks-versus-LDD" debate is silly. Basic fixes like this would take a week of bricklinking and silver-spray-painting. If you refer to this, you might want to quote the image, since we will be on Page 5 now..... Thanks again for everyone's feedback and constructive critique! 5,800 views here, Yay!!
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Like here is a great example of a fix. This took ten seconds. The ship looks less ducky and the horse looks more horsey. A win-win!
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"Uno..." "...Dos..." "...Tres... Catorce... Turn it up loud, Captain!" "All of this, all of this can be yours. All of this, all of this can be yours. Just give me what I want and no one gets hurt." "MOLON LABE...!"
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Uh-Oh, looks like we are all getting a little bit off topic here, including me too! These are all great points, but I know that there are many other forums and threads for these debates! We do need to keep on-topic on the Ancient World and Cuusoo! Let's go back to talking about how my work is rotten and how to fix it! *****
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Thanks! And hey, what's stopping you? Today is the day! Ah, good points, and I am thinking... 1) The Odyssey is the most world-famous story in all of Greek Mythology... 2) The Clash of the Titans is probably the most well-known pop-cultural movie on the topic... Plus '80s movies are super popular on Cuusoo... 3) And 300 is one of the most acclaimed graphic novels of all time, probably the most acclaimed non-fiction graphic novel ever... And the movie made nearly half-a-billion dollars globally, raking in over 7 times more profit than it's whole production cost... So I think we have the makings of a story or two or three in all of this, no? Wow, thanks again...! Although Lego is still reluctant to do anything Biblical, or even anything directly showing a currently-active world religion. I'd like to see them relax that stance, and I'm sure they would start by doing something non-controversial, like the Shinto Shrine build that's presented as one of the options in "Japanese Old-Style Architecture" on Cuusoo. They obviously have done Shinto Shrines for Ninjago, so why not? Or else a nice "Architecture" build of a famous cathedral as a start. But as a nod to the Temple of Solomon, I did do this re-imagining of the Map Room at Tanis and the Well of Souls a few years ago. I made it much more Israelite than it was in the movie, based on a variety of sites I visited and surveyed across the region years ago. The scale of it works perfectly for the scene, and it didn't cost much at all. Now I'm going to put a red "light-up-brick" inside the temple to represent the staff's beam!
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Wow, with all the plagiarism scandals swirling right now, I'm glad I got all my stuff posted in a permanent forum! That was always one of my goals, naturally. So essentially, everything has been posted now, except for a few small items and minor variations. But this one is definitely worth seeing... Shwiiinnng! The Romans are very adaptive, and this is their highly experimental new unit in the field. They will be sending it north, to attack the Celtic fortifications, and to try to knock over the stones of Stonehenge, in a daring attempt to break the fighting spirit of the Celts once and for all... Will they succeed?! It's not a tank of course, since Lego will not do tanks, but it definitely does fulfill the same strategic role on the ancient field. Plus I wanted to give the Greeks and the Romans each a completely unique unit. The Greeks have the "Helepolis" siege tower, and now the Romans have this! Have Fun! "therealindy"
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P.S. - Ah, Wondrous! Even if I just maintain my *current* rates, even with *no* acceleration, then my Spartans will easily pass 1000 before the current Greek front-runner hits 10000, and my Romans will easily pass 1000 before the current Roman front-runner hits 10000. That will put me on their radar screen as a solid contender. Then seriously, it is only fair that Lego gives me 10 to 13 more months to catch up, since they both had an outraaaaageously unfair head start...! Or if I can increase by about 7% average per month, then these will be over 5000 before the two front-runners finish. Or if I can increase by about 9% average per month, then I will finish at the same time that they do. Both of those scenarios are perfectly do-able, compared to other similar sets performance. The top 200 front-runners get almost ALL the views and so almost ALL the votes... Once you get onto the first 10 pages, it becomes geometric...! But I need to "rest my eyeballs" from this project for a few days. Feel free to comment, and then I will do all the fixes, and then do sleek renders.
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Ah, perfect! Now that ALL of the various elements are designed (*whew!!*), people can comment a bit more... Naturally, I want to to get things exact before I start to do the sleek renders... That's next! Ah, excellent, thanks! I do the Eastern Mediterranean, so I did not know that. I just put it on my list of things to fix. Again, that's why I haven't done formal graphics yet, I want to get the builds just right, and then I will render them with advanced software. I think the guy who did the cool new Jurassic Park "UCS" will be doing some tutorials. Ah, no worries! On Cuusoo, it prompts people to vote for the price-point they would be willing to pay when they support, plus it prompts them to say what parts of it they like best and least. For example perhaps the catapult can go, but the elephant should stay since it had a cool scene falling off of the cliff in the movie 300. That's why I made them all as a group of several medium-sized elements, so the sets can all be made a bit bigger or smaller with ease, just by cloning or deleting specific things. In fact, they could easily make a whole bunch of similar small expander sets in the future, just by combining some modular wall segments or outposts, some artillery, and some troops in a small box, a lot like the Star Wars battle packs, or the LOTR Uruk-Hai troop expander. Wow, thanks!! Yes, I found accurate designs for the convex round "hoplon" shield (the Captain America style shield) for Sparta, Athens, Troy, and for the other Civs that appear in the sets. So we could get up to 12 new shield designs. They would all look nicely compatible with all the Lord of the Rings shields too. And I made sure to attach lots of extra shields to everything, as armoring, and as decoration, so you will have plenty of extras to equip your troops! Thanks Again!!
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So this is the last one. Trojan Horse. I invite you to compare it to any image of the horse anywhere, in Lego, movies, games, books, or art, real, or imagined... Four Greek warriors can sit tightly inside, with their crested helmets on, and all of their shields clipped securely to the inner walls. They can peer out between the shields, waiting for their perfect moment. The top opens like a hatch, which also causes the chest to move forward a bit, which causes the head to lift up a bit, which causes the mane to flare a bit, like a horse preparing for battle... It's a nice bit of automaton animation, and a testament to Odysseus's clever designs. And I've put it next to Odysseus's ship, partly for a sense of scale, and partly because if you are eagle-eyed, then you will notice some surprising similarities in the builds... After all, the Trojan Horse was constructed from the partially-burned hulls of the Greek's war-ships in just three days time, and so everything is built of broken and fire-blackened prows, planks, hulls, and masts. This is probably the best possible rendition of the real thing, if it ever really existed at all. According to Virgil, the Trojan priestess Cassandra was tragically cursed, so that whenever she spoke the truth, no one would ever believe her! Being smart, she and others immediately warned there might be soldiers inside. And so the Trojans were ironically "Jedi-Mind-Tricked" into blissfully believing that there could never be any danger. There are lots of versions, which were all retold and given "retcon" by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey, and by Virgil in the Roman Aeneid. The Greeks did not build the wheeled part, because that would have made their ploy too obvious. It was intended to look like an offering on the beach to the gods for smooth sailing home. The Trojans were fooled by the curse, and so they took it in, and started feasting and drinking, putting sacrificial bulls on the altar fires as offerings for their imagined victory. Or perhaps it was a clever test to see if they could "smoke the Greeks out" without harming the sacred image. I based it partly on the well-researched concept art and reconstructions created for the 2004 movie Troy, which are now officially installed at the real archaeological site of Troy on the Eastern Aegean coast. But I gave mine more realistic overall proportions of a horse, and generally modeled it after the stylized way that horses are depicted on Ancient Greek murals and vases. The shield design shows the most common rendition of the insignia of the city of Troy. Let me know what you think of this... In terms of research and imagination, this may have been the hardest one, and that's why I saved it to do last! =) Indy Out
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LEGO Minecraft Rumours & Discussion
The Real Indiana Jones replied to CM4Sci's topic in Special LEGO Themes
Do you think it's just typical internet-driven "fan-boy-hater-boy" behavior, or is there something different or unique about the Lego variety? Is there a discussion thread on that? I'd be genuinely curious to read more...! -
Well I think these are about the last few things I am going to post. I see that over 5,000 people have looked now, but fairly few comments... These are the ships, and I invite you to compare them head-to-head versus my competitors, specifically against "Competitor M.T." in this case. Then you can also compare my temples and mythology minifigs versus "Competitor L.O.", and my chariot, Celtic fort, and war-ship versus the current front-runner, "Competitor G.O.R." They are all scheduled to hit 10k within about four years or so, and so essentially, I just have to get up to at least 1,000, or better yet 5,000 by that time. If I reach 1000, then they will review it, and it will be on their radar screen as one of the several potential winners. And if I reach 5000, then that is the point when they start to build test models in real bricks for themselves, and they will compare me directly to the other Ancient World sets. Naturally, they realize that some people heard about Cuusoo years before others did, and they realize that most of the top competitors in every category had an outrageously unfair head start. So of course, they will make a business decision, and pick the ones they like the best, and not necessarily the ones that started first or finished first! So here we go...! Odysseus sets sail home to Ithaca, under the protection of the goddess Athena. The ship holds 12 extra shields, and I will add the sails in later. For Odysseus's journey into Hades, we have Charon's ferryboat. It's based on the Venice gondola I made for Indiana Jones way back in 2009, with the newer skull elements added to it. This goes with Cerberus, the Gates of Hades, and a minifig of Hades himself. The Odyssey set will have minifigs of Athena and Hades, and so I think the Clash of the Titans set will have Zeus and Poseidon, plus perhaps even more deities. Which ones do you want the most? Ah, and Cleopatra sails up the Nile in her luxurious embassy sail-barge. Let me know if I should alter the color scheme, or add anything extra to it.
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LEGO Minecraft Rumours & Discussion
The Real Indiana Jones replied to CM4Sci's topic in Special LEGO Themes
Ah, well it was done by a casual fan, and it was immediately followed up by a bazillion better follow-up projects, so I think it was bound to be made at some point! -
"Now say 'Hello' to my little friend!" It's name is the Helepolis, "The Taker of Cities". The real one weighed over 160 tons, and needed to be pushed by over 3,000 men. When it was defeated, it was melted down to forge the Colossus of Rhodes. Also, do you remember a few days ago I was asking about shield designs? This badboy will have 24 extra shields plastered onto it. Enough to equip three full cohorts of Greek city-states... Go ahead and pick your favorite ones!
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Wow, thanks!! Well, I am definitely picking up speed to beat the other Ancient-World-themed projects. That's my goal. I do not need to beat everyone, I just need to beat the other Ancient World ones! I don't think they could beat me on accuracy and depth, and I think I have more imaginative and complex builds too!
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All right, modular fortifications for all civs are now essentially complete... If you haven't seen it yet, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon set is designed with multiple interchangeable 8x8 modules, like this... So you can put it together like this... Or like this... Or this... So then naturally, the Egyptians get the same treatment. The walls are all the same height for each civ, so you can use the siege tower on any of them. The separate pieces. There can be a lot more types of wall segments. I think I was inspired by the cubical nature of the MineCraft sets here...! And together. Naturally, you can make it much bigger with more wall modules. Here we have four pharaoh statues out front, like a mini Abu Simbel. This one can be used by the Romans along the northern frontier, or by the Celts, and Germans and Vikings too. Also matches Lord of the Rings. Five 8x8 modules together... All the civs used very similar types of forts across Northern Europe, so if you capture one, you can simply re-flag it. The back structure is designed to look real. The small balcony assembly just above the door is actually what stabilizes the whole central tower. And finally, reddish and black are the last two colors I have not built with yet... That's perfect for Andromeda's Tower, where she is chained for the Kraken in the Clash of the Titans set, and for the Gates of Hades which will appear in the Odyssey set, for the part where Odysseus goes into the threshhold of the Underworld to speak with the souls of his dead compatriots to learn shocking secrets! These two do not have to match at all, but I just liked the overall gate and tower design. These are all still prototypes now, so I might just update them a little bit more. Comments are always welcome! I will make whatever changes I can. Also, as I mentioned, the Sparta set is up for voting now... Have fun! "therealindy"
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LEGO Minecraft Rumours & Discussion
The Real Indiana Jones replied to CM4Sci's topic in Special LEGO Themes
Really? How did people think that MineCraft would fail?? I've only been paying attention to Cuusoo for the last few months now, so it had already passed when I first saw it.... But it seems like a perfect fit to me! -
Review Review: 21103 Back To The Future Time Machine
The Real Indiana Jones replied to Rufus's topic in Special LEGO Themes
Ah, yes, that is even better! I think I will do a quick BrickLink order now and do it your way. Plus this is a perfect example of why they should do a brief "Open Commentary Period" for each new Cuusoo set. Normally, they have to keep their new set designs a strict "trade secret", so their competitors do not steal them. But for Cuusoo sets, the general idea and the general design have already been publicly posted for years....! So Lego is not losing anything at all by revealing their "tentatively-final-revision" of the design, and then giving the fans one last chance, for two weeks or so, to give some final input. In fact, it would create more buzz, and make sure everyone is (more or less) happy! I wrote to them a nice letter to suggest it, and they wrote me a very nice letter back saying that they will consider the idea for the future... I think it's a "win-win"! -
No comments on this.....? OK, then the Sparta Versus Xerxes set should be approved and up for voting in a day or two...! I'd say it's a winner! Personally, I'd get three, because I like to have at least 8 in all of my armies. 8 is a good number for a phalanx or a cohort!
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Edoras (A moc by Infomaniac)
The Real Indiana Jones replied to Infomaniac's topic in LEGO Historic Themes
Agreed, the limited color palette is perfect in this! Superb! Again, is there anything on the interior? -
Thanks a million, and I see that this new version is moving 5x faster than the old one, so I can't argue...! =) So, all right, I was thinking a bit more about various people asking for a "Sweet-Spot Set", and so I put this together as an idea for you... This would be a Spartans Versus Persians Army-Expander set that would be right around $50. It could include all the artillery, plus cool new accurate shields for the Spartans, all styled loosely after the movie and the graphic novel of "300", but not an official license obviously, since the film is *NOT* PG-13 fare. In terms of brick-ratios, I figure that if they did the Lord of the Rings set 9471 Uruk-Hai Army with 6 minifigures, plus a horse, and 257 bricks for only $30, then they should be totally willing to do this set as shown, with 8 minifigures, plus an elephant, and 487 bricks for somewhere around $50. I'm sure a lot of people would want to get multiples. Of course, they might want to release a bigger set like the Roman set, with more traditional brick-built structures first, before they release an army-expander like this... Still, what does everyone think of this...? A real "Sweet-Spot Set"! Maybe I'll post it when one of my sets reaches 300, in honor of the "300 Spartans" at Thermopylae. I gotta admit, I really do love that line from the graphic novel of "300". I've owned it since way before the movie came out. "Immortals... We'll put their name to the test!" P.S. - Over 4,500 views here now! Yay! =)
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OK, now that the big new Rome set is complete and posted, next let me consult the "Hive-Mind" here regarding various prototype shield designs... I will probably choose three or four Greek designs for the Greek set. And then Carthage will be in the Rome set, and Nubia will be in the Egypt set. For starters, for any Greek scene with hoplite warriors, we definitely need to have Athens and Sparta in it. Those are just absolute must-haves. For an Odyssey set, we might also do Mycenae and Troy. For Mycenae, we could use the "Mask of Agamemnon". For Troy, a horse is standard. Argos was also a major player, and their shield had the image of a Hydra on it. This one might be totally optional. What do you think? The Myrmidons are the legendary troops of Achilles in the Iliad. Their Shield could be done with a clever print over a normal round shield. Carthage will appear in the Rome set. They have a lot of different icons, but I like the palm tree. The text says "Qart-Hadast" in Phoenician. Nubia will appear in the Egypt set, also with a War-Elephant. Their text says "Ta-Seti" in the Meroitic Script. Let me know if that is inaccurate! This is the primary source material I am looking at for the Nubians, from various tombs in Egypt and in the Sudan. As you see, they are shown as being distinctly African, and their shields are very similar to the iconic Zulu style. therealindy
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OK, after a surprising delay in the approvals process, the new Rome project is up now for voting. It may even overtake the old one before the end of the day... Click the pic if you want to see!
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Wow! Almost 4,000 views on this thread now...! I re-posted this as an all-new project and it is up now, so go ahead and try clicking the image. I will redo all the graphics with slick POV-Ray and Photoshop renders as soon as I have more time to explore that. The amount of text is brutally minimal this time. Not my usual style! Let me know if you think that works better, Thanks! I.M.C.T.B. Module 2: Caesar Defends the Capitol Revision 03c, August 04, 2013 by "therealindy"
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^ Yes, Agreed! There are hundreds of wonderful quality MOCs to see here on EuroBricks, and all the other AFOL sites... If you don't like mine, then just go look at someone else's! And I've been "snapping a few bricks" since 1978! Believe me, they didn't have LDD back then...! =D Have Fun! Indy Out