Mark Kelso

Ha, yeah...there was still some trepidation. I'd had some experience before, however, using steel wires for support of other large SHIPS of mine. This was certainly the heaviest, but still well within the wire's tensile strength.

Thanks, guys - I'm really happy with this one, but I'm so close to my own work, it's tough to know how others see it. Always nice to hear good feedback.

A long running project of mine finally finished... full pics and background info: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/380177

Actually, I'm afraid I don't. I considered this MOC (as bad as this sounds!) to be a bit of a throw-together. So when I manipulated the pics, I did the manipulation to the originals. I try never to do that, knowing that you always want to keep pure source material...but I was in a hurry. Low and behold...another lesson that I still need to learn! (starts whackin himself in the head - "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!)

Thanks for the good word. To answer your question about lighting - I used an underexposed shot, and a flashlight for the candlelight. The flashlight was small to begin with, but I built a mask made of bricks with a single "1 x 2 technic w/ one hole" piece in the very center. The mask resulted in a very focused beam of light that I could then use to emphasize a certain area.

I'm sorry for being a bit late in posting this (it's been up for a week or so elsewhere) but hopefully better late than never. Inspired by the 1931 Dracula movie starring Bela Lugosi. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Part 1: - Part name: Wedge Tile - Part description: --> A tile verion of wedge plates in 2 x 3, and 2 x 4 sizes - Part usage: --> A tremendous number of builders are now building with a no-studs approach. We currently have no good solution to angles with tiled surfaces, and this part would be an outstanding addition to a very strong trend within the community. Thanks!

For Brickworld 2010 in Chicago, Keith Goldman is organizing a missing man formation of Vic Viper VOATs to honor the recently deceased Nate Nielson (nnenn). Keith asked if I would join in, and having corresponded with nnenn for the last couple of years, and being so inspired by his work, I was delighted to contribute. I'd also like to mention that the design was heavily inspired by the amazing work of Rob Dasnewten. A couple other shots and info at MOCpages

Nice job on the area feeling overgrown. The grass placement is spot on!

The idea was to do a sister ship to the SOF, called the Eye of Chaos; similar in form, with a few variations. It's not actually a part of the Halo story line, but something I came up with myself in order to emulate the SOF's basic design, while having the freedom to take the build my own direction when convenient or more visually interesting. And thanks very much...I'll do my best to see the project through to completion!

Honestly, I'm wondering about that myself! It's going to be so parts intensive that I hate to keep all of those sweet dark bleys out of service indefinitely. So it'll probably get junked at some point. But I'm sure I'll keep it together at least for a few shows before tearing down. Maybe I should just use the "dustometer" as my guide...when the dust gets so thick that you could peel it off like dryer lint, then it's time to tear down!

Very thorough review...many thanks! I'm personally excited about the figs in this set. The only other shirtless torso that I was aware of was in the IJ set, which was more than I was willing to spend for that part alone. And for just one of those shirtless figs on Bricklink I'd pay about half of the US cost of the set. The 2 x 2 jumpers, the ostriches, the rarer colors, are all bonuses for me. Can't wait to pick up one or two of these!

Just some more shots of the project with interior stuctural approach, and shots from recent progress. Additional pics with descriptions here: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/192664 Thanks for looking! Kelso

A quickie I threw together for the MOCathalon contest on MOCpages. Had some fun techniques on this one, if not a bit pushy in regards to LEGO purity. (Used some white Exo decals for the kicking fig.) Here's the post for a bit more: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/187679#reviews

Absolutely wonderful work! Proof for sure that a LEGO MOC doesn't have to be gargantuan to be extraordinary. Brilliant composition, color choices, parts use, and presentation. Couldn't imagine this being done any better.

I know by this point, it's sounding a bit redundant, but I had to chime in as well...beautiful! Fantastic work on the bridge, of course. But the extraordinary environment created for the train and bridge really enhances the impact of the build quality. The composition works wonders, as well, leading the eye right to the focal point. Just wonderful work!

A fun design with both the ship and the tank. I particularly like the swooshability factor on that ship! Some nice work.

Really nice of you to say, thanks very much. It's still got a hell of a long way to go (and as I always say...there's still time to screw it up! ), but progress has been good, and I'll post of few more WIP threads as it moves along to keep the masses entertained. Cheers!

Very cool! Love all of the attention to detail on both the interior and exterior portions. I wouldn't have minded seeing some rounded surface areas in some capacity, but nevertheless, it's still a really nice design. Thanks for doing a show and tell for us on this one!

Wow, nice. I particularly like the HK. These would be great in a larger dio, too. (wink, wink...nudge, nudge).

Nice parts use, and the color choices are terrific. I also think that...hey, wait...I think I see Arnold schwarzeneggar!!?

Stinkin' BRILLIANT!

Thanks! I spent a good bit of time talking and hanging with Brian Kescenovitz, and he has a particular taste in building styles that I admit has had some influence of how I'm approaching the look of this thing. I'll be sure to post some pics as it progresses, and thanks for your interest!

Yeah, honestly I'm not a huge Halo fan either (although, I've played my fair share of the games and I'm "okay" with it). I was considering several different reference shots and concept sketches when I stumbled on to this beast. It was lust at first sight!

The color scheme isn't what I would choose if I were trying to make a replica from either the original series or Sy-Fy's BSG. But if you're interested in your own variation, thent that's very cool. Meanwhile, the basic form looks quite good to me. I'm wondering if the sides are getting just a bit to texturally busy with the multiple tiles and wedge plate?