Legos, anyone?

[M'Kyuun]

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know who that is, although I assume it's the VG pilot from the game. Google was no help.

To answer the question, no plans to make a custom fig. Just not in my spectrum of interest, so far as LEGO goes. That's not to say I wouldn't buy a nice custom from someone who was good at it, if reasonably priced. Honestly, I never give much thought to the minifigs piloting my mecha, Macross or not. My Monster happens to be done in Classic Space colors, so I've got a red astrofig at the helm. I used the Collectible Series Space Marine (Luiz) for my VF-4, and I've got the aptly named Hikaru from Exo-Force in his 2006 deco, reminiscent of the VF-1's chest, at the controls of my Variable Glaug. His hair doesn't fit, but a helmet does, just barely.

I suppose I should care more, especially when building something from an IP, but I don't. I'm always much more concerned about the model itself, and trying to make it functional while adding as much detail/features as I can. I never worry about convention goers pointing out my pilot follies, as the vast majority of folks I've encountered at conventions, literally tens of thousands at this point, don't recognize any of my Macross builds. Just the way it is. Shrug.

[David Hingtgen]

I just kinda assumed that if you knew the Variable Glaug in that scheme, you'd know the game/pilot it's from. 

Moaramia Fallyna Jenius, the adopted one:

She's the test pilot, and pretty much THE pilot, of the VG. 

[M'Kyuun]

I recognize the middle name, Fallyna, and of course, Jenius, so I must have seen it somewhere before. The blue and yellow color scheme comes up if you just do a search for Variable Glaug, so that's what I went with. Plus, I like dark blue, so personal bias thrown in.  As I recall, I watched what must have been a cutscene from the game featuring the VG, but beyond that, I mostly took inspiration from Kawamori's Design Works, internet images of the blue and yellow version, and pics of the model that I referred to in an earlier post.

On a side note, I bet it'd be fun to fly that thing in a combat game. It's such an unconventional design, but I dig it.

 

Dammit David, now you got me wanting a Maoramia minifig. Been checking out minifig customizers. There's a guy called Behance who did a nice Hikaru Ichijo (Rick Hunter), but I'm thinking I need to find someone who does their own parts, although, I don't think a custom helmet would fit in my VG. I'm using a regular helmet sans visor, and it just barely fits. A small purple hair piece might fit, though.  BTW, did some research- cool backstory for Moaramia.

Edited January 29, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[sh9000]

 

[wwwmwww]

On 1/27/2020 at 8:57 PM, M'Kyuun said:

After about five or six years of tinkering, and with renewed commitment in November to have at it again, I finally finished what is for me a bit of a dream 'valk' from the Macross pantheon. It's fully transformable, no parts-forming necessary. Hope you guys like.

Like!?  I love it.  I don't suppose you have any plans to make instructions.  I'd buy a set if they were available.

Great job!!!

Carl

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

M'Kyuun, maybe you post it on the Hoary Froating Head's FB page. He'd definitely get a kick out of it considering he uses Lego to design valks.

[M'Kyuun]

4 hours ago, wwwmwww said:

Like!?  I love it.  I don't suppose you have any plans to make instructions.  I'd buy a set if they were available.

Great job!!!

Carl

Most kind of you, Carl. Haven't seen you post anything in some time, so I'm quite flattered that you left a kind word for my Glaug. As to instructions, I designed a fair bit of this thing in LDD, but the digital model isn't complete at this time. Moreover, I probably used some parts that LDD doesn't have due to its having been retired by TLG. Too, LDD won't let me construct the engines the way I did with brick; for some odd reason, they didn't impart the ability to pass a bar through the bar sized holes in this gear, which was key to getting the intake to offset from center. I suppose I could always take a picture or two showing the innards; it's really not a complicated build, but it took me a few tries to figure it out, nonetheless. Brilliance is not one of my talents.  Let me work on the file tomorrow to clean it up and try to complete it, and I'll send you a copy. LDD is still free to download, AFAIK, and it has a built in instruction feature. It's not a perfect program, but its sheer usefulness and ease of use make me wish they'd continued to update it into perpetuity.

1 hour ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

M'Kyuun, maybe you post it on the Hoary Froating Head's FB page. He'd definitely get a kick out of it considering he uses Lego to design valks.

Heh, I didn't know Kawamori-san had a Facebook page, but I guess it figures. I'm waiting until Friday to take some , hopefully, better pics, as the lighting in my mancave is crap, and we're supposed to finally get a little sun on Friday, which usually helps a bit. I'd love to show it to him in person, but I doubt that'll ever happen. I've harbored a secret wish that he'd come check out BrickCon in Seattle one of these years, as I'd have all my Macross inspired builds there for him to see. If I get some clearer pics, I may just post them on his FB. Thanks for the recommendation, Valk Hunter D.

[Lexomatic]

On 1/27/2020 at 10:57 PM, M'Kyuun said:

After about five or six years of tinkering [...] I finally finished what is for me a bit of a dream 'valk' from the Macross pantheon [the UN Spacy Variable Glaug from the Macross M3 video game (2001)]. It's fully transformable, no parts-forming necessary. 

I'm not a fan of the Variable Glaug's proportions, but this is a very impressive interpretation. "Five or six years ..." As a fellow AFOL MOCist, I know the feeling.

On 1/28/2020 at 2:15 PM, M'Kyuun said:

I'm taking this guy to Bricks Cascade, a LEGO convention in Portland, OR, at the end of February/first weekend of March.

I was thinking of attending that one myself -- it's been 13 years since I did BrickFest PDX in the same venue. (The first Modular Town set was revealed there, the 10182 Café Corner, with a "here are several copies of the set -- stack it taller" activity.) Would you like a second copy of your MOC, so that it can be displayed side-by-side in two modes simultaneously? I don't need full instructions; if you temporarily break it into sub-assemblies (which you may be loath to do, fair enough) I can probably interpolate the specifics.

[M'Kyuun]

Hi Lexomatic. Nice to have another fellow Pennsyltuckian and LEGO enthusiast among us. I'm originally from Ridgway, in the northwestern part of the state, and settled here in WA after retiring from the military.

Concerning the Glaug, having a mate would be a first, as I never make copies of my MOCs; instead, I make info sheets showing all the modes. About one out of five public spectators bother to read them, and even then, I don't think folks get that my MOCs transform.  Anyway, I appreciate the compliment, even if the Glaug isn't to your taste. I feel the same way about the VA-3 Invader- just an ugly design, but a lot of folks like it. As it happens, I completed the design digitally today in Studio, which is basically LDD on steroids; it has a lot more functionality and receives constant updates. best of all, it's a free download from Bricklink.  I'm providing the file here for anyone who wants to build their own. 

A couple notes: I couldn't assemble the engines in the program due to its not allowing bars to fit into the bar sized holes of this gear, which is necessary to complete the assembly.

I used a number of retired parts throughout the build, so that may complicate matters as they're more difficult to come by these days. You're nigh resigned to buy from European sellers for those older parts. 

In the program, I built the bicep section of the left and right arms differently, placing the elbow ball joint connection one plate's difference from the other. I did this, as digitally it lined up with one, but physically, it lined up with the other. I struggled a bit with alignments on this build. Anyway, I thought I'd put that option into the digital design. I also built the forearms slightly differently, just to provide two solutions depending on what plates one might have.

The pics I attached show the engine construction, as well as a top down view of battroid illustrating how the armature should sit when stowed. I straighten the linkages so the only two bend points are immediately at the engine attachment, and at the ball joint where it connects to the double Mixel joint linkage at the body. The engines should snug into their alcoves, and by rotating the engine linkage inward, it should catch and hold under a little protrusion built in there. The rest of the transformation is pretty intuitive. Other than the hip position, which relies on a double-ball jointed linkage rather than a slider, it pretty much follows Kawamori's line art. 

I designed the internal hip joint to rotate to put the external hips closer to the forward fuselage in battroid. It looks better, and helps with stability.

I think that's it. I welcome anyone to take a stab at this. I'd love to see variations/customs. This is the first of my large MOCs to have a complete digital design, and who better to share it with than fellow Macross fans. And maybe a few LEGO fans, as well. To those who give it a go, good luck!

 

Variable Glaug Final_Copy.io

Variable Glaug Final_Copy.ldr

Edited January 31, 2020 by M'Kyuun
had to fix the Studio file.

[M'Kyuun]

I'm still trying to figure out how to get files to show up in Studio. I'm new to it, so learning as I go. I posted the ldr. file in my previous post, as you should be able to import it once you have Studio 2.0 installed. That's my understanding right now. I hope it works.

[Lexomatic]

7 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I used a number of retired parts throughout the build [...]
I welcome anyone to take a stab at this. I'd love to see variations/customs. [...]
the hip position, which relies on a double-ball jointed linkage rather than a slider,

I've been accumulating LEGO since 1978 with no "dark age" interruption (with eclectic coverage: DUPLO, System, Technic, Bionicle, CCBS, Znap ... but not Modulex), so obscure elements probably won't be a problem, but thanks for the advisory.

Ooh! Redecos! Blacktron I and Ice Planet 2002 are perennially popular among AFOLs.

Some models, a person can't really appreciate the ingenuity until their fingers get into the nitty-gritty. I mean, in the photos above, M'Kyuun has somehow used a minifig-accessory sai in combination with a claw-click hinge connection to ... limit the travel of that joint?

The lack of compact, medium-friction sliding-joint/telescoping solution is really the single greatest obstacle to LEGO transformations, isn't it? It's not even available to LEGO's own designers of action-oriented models (Ninjago, Chima, Nexo Knights, etc.).

[M'Kyuun]

My story's similar. I got set 386 circa' 76 or '77, moved on to Classic Space and Town in '78, and never stopped collecting after that, although I did slow down a bit through the nineties. 

I hadn't even thought of CS themes for the Glaug, but yeah, why not?!  I built a Classic Space Konig Monster (actually two of them), so by all means.

You give me too much credit; the engines are a simple solution that took me a long time, and many tries, to arrive at. The sai are placed on either side of the clicky hinge to, as you surmised, prevent it from rotating on the bar. The intake with the claw just snaps into the female end of the clicky hinge; there's enough clutch power there to hold it. The effect is such that the intake is mounted off-center, which allows the engine to be mounted in a more propitious manner as it relates to the shape of the leg. Simple but effective.

My laundry list of desired parts, including a greater array of telescoping elements with varying sizes/friction, is extremely long. Just for starters, we need better joints, and a plethora of inverted modified plates, hinges, and slopes. 

[M'Kyuun]

I see some folks are downloading my VG  file. Just wondering if it's working ok for you guys.

[Tking22]

Anyone watch LEGO Masters on Fox last night? Pretty damn awesome show, I'm hyped to have a show like this week after week, it's about time too, LEGO has deserved a show like this for years. From what I've read, the BBC has had its own version for years already. 

[Bolt]

Saw a commercial for it and was pleasantly surprised. Looking forward to checking it out. 

[M'Kyuun]

Just watched LEGO Masters- for a long time AFOL, there's a lot to love. while I'm not familiar with judge Amy Corbett, Jamie Berard is a bit of a celebrity within the community. He's a Design Lead for Creator, specializing in many of the Expert Creator sets. He designed the Café Corner, which started the whole modular building theme, the Winter Toy Shop, which started the Winter Village theme, as well as the Ferris Wheel, the Sydney Opera House, and many more.  Guy's just an amazing builder, but he's also a really good speaker/presenter, which is a talent he's employed for LEGO's many Creator Videos explaining behind the scenes stuff about new sets. Definitely an excellent choice for judging a competition like this.

Some extraordinarily talented folks in this first episode. I'm familiar with Tyler Clites, who goes by the handle "Legohaulic". He's the guy who built the egg drop. I'm also familiar with Boone and Mark, as I've seen them in person at LEGO conventions here in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, I'll likely see them at the end of the month for Bricks Cascade in Portland, OR. Hoping I'll get the chance to congratulate them on making it to the show, and wish them luck. I'm looking forward to some of the builds, as I always champion any venue that really demonstrates the potential of LEGO, as even today, I think a lot of people are locked into the thinking that it's just a bunch of 2x4 red, yellow, and blue bricks, b/c that's what they had as kids. I hope some of the builds down the road get into techniques, like making stuff like this, or this, or this, where the focus is more on the artistry of the build over movement.

Lots of potential for a show like this, and the fact that Australia, and Britain, I believe, have already had LEGO Masters shows gives them a tried and true blueprint to follow for the American take.

[Hikuro]

Being from the northwest I wish those guys the best. I was legit bummed by the mechanics mishap during the reveal.

 

[Bolt]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

as even today, I think a lot of people are locked into the thinking that it's just a bunch of 2x4 red, yellow, and blue bricks, b/c that's what they had as kids.

People that think that mustn't be online.  I've seen all your examples just perusing online and utube for lego creations. These days lego is next level. As many know, even Kawamori San builds his prototypes from lego. 

[Lexomatic]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I hope some of the builds down the road get into techniques [...] where the focus is more on the artistry of the build over movement.

I also watched the first ep last night (on live TV, which is unusual for me), with my parents. From the clips of future episodes on the official site, it looks like the models get more complex. I suspect that during the first challenge, the contestants were still getting accustomed to an alien build environment -- the bricks are waaaay over here, and how are they organized? Moreover, we didn't get a close look at contestant technique, or specific criticism from roving judges Amy and Jamie ("colors X, Y and Z work well together", "have you considered a chain of gears?") -- that might just be lack of time in an episode with all ten initial teams.

I'm also curious about the 15-hour build time. If stuffed into one day, that would be 7:00 to 22:00, or similar, not even counting the judge-review and results-reveal -- a real marathon, and it would be counter-productive if the show's contestants dropped from exhaustion. Maybe it was actually split across two days?

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, Lexomatic said:

I Maybe it was actually split across two days?

That was my thinking; they probably get two workdays to complete their projects, allowing time for lunches, and personal time when they're not filming, and a good night's rest. I can attest, even as a casual builder, that MOC building can be draining both mentally and physically. These guys are on the spot with a very finite window in which they need to meet some difficult challenges, so rest and refueling is a must. Same goes for the production crew, who often put in 14 hr days on set. That becomes a grueling pace- done that on deployments, and it starts to take a toll.

4 hours ago, Bolt said:

People that think that mustn't be online.  I've seen all your examples just perusing online and utube for lego creations. These days lego is next level. As many know, even Kawamori San builds his prototypes from lego. 

I know what you're saying, but honestly, even if you have an online presence, if you have no interest in LEGO, chances are you'll never come across it in your searches, and even if you do by chance, the uninformed may not recognize it as such, especially some MOCs that don't look like LEGO because they're built studless, or nearly so. I've been in the hobby a long time, and I've seen a number of MOCs that had me fooled, or at least required closer scrutiny because the parts used, or techniques didn't look like LEGO, or the build was done so realistically that it looked like a photograph of a real object. I submit this incredible MOC by Mike Doyle as an example. What's really amazing about this model is that it was his first or second MOC. I wish I had an iota of that kind of skill. Anyway, folks not in the hobby and who don't follow it have a generalized idea of LEGO as the iconic brick, either a 2x2 or a 2x4, and have an expectation of LEGO built stuff looking blocky. 

Heck, I'm still amazed by what's possible with it when I go to these conventions, and by so much of the incredible stuff people post on Flickr and such. And even by sets. So many of the designers creating current sets are former AFOLs who are now working for LEGO. That's a good thing for us fans, as that's a hell of a talent pool.

[Lexomatic]

"LEGO Masters" (U.S. version) on FOX, episode 2, 12 February 2019 -- The challenge: build a space-themed model that can shatter dramatically in slow-mo when dropped from a height, struck by a "space"ball bat, or detonated from within. (Insert Macross 7's Gavil cackling, "the beauty of fragmentation!") Special guest: Mayim Bialik (Blossom, The Big Bang Theory).

Strangely, nobody (host nor contestant) used the term "piñata", nor did any contestant admit/gripe "this is the opposite of the usual design goal" -- but maybe the challenge is precisely that nobody has any practice in this direction, so the teams are on equal footing?

Under "will we learn anything about technique?" (as you often do on cooking-competition shows, or Syfy's Face Off), the two judges (Amy and Jamie) introduced the term "SNOT", but there was no close-up of suitable elements.

If you're worried about "manufactured reality-show drama", team guy-with-flower-in-mohawk had coordination problems ("I think you don't actually understand LEGO") and host Arnett had to do some couples-counseling, and a second team simply had a stress near-meltdown. My mother is getting suspicious that the teams were picked for "interesting personality" appeal rather than talent. (We don't know how many applicants there were, but "pool of AFOLs who have talent, are accustomed to building in teams, and who can sacrifice up to seven weeks of time" can't be too abundant.)

[M'Kyuun]

I also get the vibe that some contestants were chosen maybe more for their tendency towards drama than for talent. Of all the contestants, I was only familiar with Boone Langston, Mark Cruikshank (the Bearded Builders), due to my convention attendance, and Tyler Clites from looking at his stuff for years online. Tyler is a very accomplished builder, so he, at least, was chosen for his acumen. The Beards are also good builders in their own rights (I've seen their stuff firsthand). The rest of the teams were unknown to me.

Sam Hatmaker rubs me the wrong way; I get the sense that he was chosen for his unconventional dress/hair, but perhaps also b/c there was an inkling of his snotty attitude. I looked him up, and while he's a professional toy designer, his LEGO portfolio is not really that impressive, especially when compared to his partner Jessica Ragzy Ewud, who has exhibited her builds in numerous venues, and sells her LEGO art. Between the two, my sense is that she is the far-more accomplished builder. But he's a jerk, and that garners attention.

Also in the drama category is Kara, the older lady with the big hair, who seemed to have a weird facial expression almost every time the camera trained on her. I didn't get the sense that she or her partner were very accomplished builders. 

Spoiler

My wife liked them, especially Kara, but their builds both last week and this were a bit underwhelming, and I wasn't sad to see them go. I don't intend to be cold-hearted, but my sense early on was that she was chosen more for her personality quirks than her talent. Her partner just seemed to follow her lead, without much independent contribution. I didn't see them keeping up with the folks with strong talent for long.

Out of all the builds last night, Tyler's was really the only one, IMHO, that could just stand alone as a really cool MOC. It looked amazing, and it was almost sad to see such a nice MOC get destroyed. But it smashed beautifully. I think, and I hope, that he'll be among the finalists, as he's one of the most talented AFOLs I'm aware of, and I hope this venue gives him greater exposure, as I think he'll produce some impressive stuff on the show. Christian and Aaron, IMHO, are a force to be reckoned with, as well. While their build last night wasn't really the best for the 'smash' category, it was a beautiful build on its own- outside of the box thinking with a really neat structure . If they'd filled that crescent with a big orb, or the like, filled with lots of little multi-colored bits, I think it would have helped their standing. Still, when I see that level of technique brought to bear, then I'm impressed. 

Obviously, I'm enjoying the show so far (can you tell?) I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and all the challenges they throw at these guys, and all the varied approaches these teams take to meet them.

As to Lexomatic's observation about techniques: While it'd be cool if they delved deeper into that, as it would appeal greatly to those of us in the hobby,  given that they're trying to appeal to a broader audience, i.e. those who don't build, or just build casually, or just buy LEGO for someone else, I can understand why they go more for the personal drama over the technical aspects of LEGO building. It can get dry, especially if you start talking L units, and geometries, and nomenclatures, AFOL terminology vs official LEGO names for colors and parts  (Light Bley vs Medium Stone Grey, slopes vs bows), etc. The mention of SNOT was cool, but only quickly mentioned before moving on to Will Arnett's antics, Flynn's emotional breakdown, Kara's facial expressions, Sam's and Jessica's dysfunctionality, and pretty much a pointless visit from Mayim Bialik, other than to just have someone famous on the show. I know some upcoming special guests, like Terry Crews, are known for building LEGO as a hobby, so I look forward to having some folks with LEGO experience come on and share their views/enthusiasm. 

Edited February 17, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[Tking22]

Definitely loving the series so far, but there's no denying it's falling into some of the worst reality TV trappings, there's always gotta be some drama :(. That said, it's really not that egregious, there's always gotta be the one team that's new and just doesn't perfectly mesh like the others, and there's always gotta be the dramatic pauses and commercial moments when they argue :). 

Definitely an interesting build last night, lots of cool ideas, as M'Kyuun mentioned above, the husband and wife combo is really impressing me, they don't come out of the gate as quick as the rest, but they have made some cool stuff and always pull through on the final lap. That tentacle monster was impressive, and the little bomb they built did just as they had hoped, well done. 

[M'Kyuun]

Perusing the Brothers-Brick LEGO blog, I discovered the works of BigPlanes on Flickr. As the user's handle suggests, he builds large scale aircraft , and they are incredibly detailed and realistic looking. Knowing that there are any number of aircraft enthusiasts here, myself included, I thought I'd share. 

His five foot long Concorde was the featured model on Brothers-Brick, and from a distance, it's difficult to see that it's made of LEGO. Just a thing of beauty. The rest of his aircraft models are just as impressive, especially his Air Force One. Absolutely brilliant.

Edit: just wanted to add BigPlanes' YouTube channel, as he does vids of his builds showing features.  I'd love to see this guy's stuff in person- just amazing.

Edited February 20, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[jvmacross]

[Tking22]

4 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

 

Damn, that looks pretty good, I think I need it. The Lego Baby Yoda is pretty damn cute too, plus Lego Carl Weathers? Yup, I need this, 

[M'Kyuun]

Just wanted to post this: Jens Nygaard Knudsen, inventor of the LEGO minifig, main designer of Classic Space, early LEGO trains, and much more passed away on 19 February. He was 78. What a legacy he leaves.

Edited February 22, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[Old_Nash]

On 2/22/2020 at 1:11 PM, M'Kyuun said:

Just wanted to post this: Jens Nygaard Knudsen, inventor of the LEGO minifig, main designer of Classic Space, early LEGO trains, and much more passed away on 19 February. He was 78. What a legacy he leaves.

Thanks for the minifigs..

[M'Kyuun]

So while Transformers are garnering more Toy Fair attention this year, decidedly with good reason, LEGO unveiled a few new things. First, the aforementioned Razor's Crest set from The Mandalorian (scroll up the page for posted pics). I've not seen the show yet (I want to, but I'm not paying extra for Disney just to watch one show), so I can't judge how well it's done. I've seen some excitement about it on the various LEGO blogs, so I'm guessing it's well done. There's also a UCS scaled model of D-O from The Rise of Skywalker. Moving on to Minions: The Rise of Gru sets. Here's a link to pics courtesy of ToyArk. Having bought some of the previous Mega Bloks Minions sets, sadly, these LEGO sets are a few steps backwards. The best ones are probably the fully brick built Minions which  have an opening hatch at the back to store stuff that's, I guess, indicative of that particular Minion. The three Minions featured as brick built models are Kevin, Stuart, and Bob.  Moving on, LEGO's releasing the twentieth series of their Collectible Minigures in blind packaging, and these things are always fun to collect, although I personally dislike the blind packaging, which necessitates feeling bag after crinkly bag for extended periods of time in the LEGO aisle to try and get the ones you want, I don't mind walking around with a LEGO set under my arm, but there's something about standing there feeling through bag after bag that makes me feel conspicuous and icky.

Another new set that they revealed was this: 

Not sure if this is from some continuity, but it seems a very odd choice for a Spiderman set. I guess Spiderman's cool, Venom's cool, and hey, why not a venom-ized T-Rex just for fun. It does look like fun, if I'm being honest, but a bit out of place in the superhero theme.

There are also a handful of new Minecraft sets.  I'm not a fan, but good for those of you who are.

Anyway, it's the weakest showing for LEGO that I can remember. There were Ninjago, Technic, City, and other sets on display, but the majority of those are already out at retail, so I didn't highlight them. These were pretty much the new reveals this year, and honestly, I find it all a bit underwhelming. Nevertheless, I thought I'd share. Cheers!

Edited February 24, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[anime52k8]

The Venomasaurus comes from old man Logan.

[M'Kyuun]

Ah, I'm not a comics reader, so some of these references are foreign to me. Wikipedia set me straight.

 

While I'm here, shameless plug: If anyone's in the Portland, OR area this weekend, Bricks Cascade, a huge LEGO convention featuring MOCs by hundreds of AFOLs, including yours truly,  from around the globe, will be taking place at the Oregon Convention Center both Saturday and Sunday.  There will also be a number of contestants from LEGO Masters there, so you'll have an opportunity to meet them as well. It's a fun time, and so many of the MOCs are just awe inspiring. I invite you to come be a part of it.

Edited February 25, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[Vifam7]

Anybody here building tanks & AFVs with Lego?

Youtube's algorithm recommended a video from Brickmania late last year and ever since watching that video, I've been drawn into building AFVs with Lego bricks. Already purchased a few from Brickmania, a handful of the Cobi brand tanks, and some instructions from various sites.

Brickmania M4 Sherman

Cobi Leopard 1

Cobi Challenger 2

 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

2 hours ago, Vifam7 said:

Anybody here building tanks & AFVs with Lego?

Youtube's algorithm recommended a video from Brickmania late last year and ever since watching that video, I've been drawn into building AFVs with Lego bricks. Already purchased a few from Brickmania, a handful of the Cobi brand tanks, and some instructions from various sites.

Heck yeah I do!  No tanks from Brickmania, just a couple of aircraft kits from them.  I have several tank kits from Cobi for rainy days, the only one I've built so far is the Koenig Tiger.  I really dig their modern MBTs, including your Challenger 2.

[Lexomatic]

"LEGO Masters" (U.S. version) on FOX, episode 3, 19 February 2020 -- The challenge: tell a story by extending a non-LEGO seed object that has been cut in half (telescope, diving helmet, etc.). Build time: 12 hours. Special guest: None. Focus on technique: None. Bottom team: "Brothers Who Brick" (Travis & Corey of New Jersey).

The two teams that had melt-downs in Ep 2 ("Sam & Jessica, Flynn & Richard) have regained their groove. Of the nine seed-objects, there was contention for only one, the cuckoo clock. "Brothers Who Brick" didn't realize their concept was too large to build in the allotted time (I presume that pace-intuition is stymied by the need to repeatedly move between supply wall and build-table).

Some judging principles are becoming apparent:

• Finish your model.
• It must speak for itself; you can't do a sales pitch.
• Build a coherent shape that's apparent from a distance, rather than a miscellany of vignettes that must be microscopically scrutinized.
• If using a "seed part", don't conceal it under your own ideas.
• Make the model solid enough to move to the review area.

I'm paying attention to clothing, and the interspersed "emotional reflection" segments are the same outfits in each ep, which are not the outfits worn during the ep, which implies they were filmed all at once post-events.

See also:

• https://www.fox.com/lego-masters/credits/
• https://www.brothers-brick.com/2020/02/25/leaving-lego-masters-an-interview-with-the-second-team-to-leave-feature/#more-198900
• https://www.brothers-brick.com/2019/12/22/lego-masters-reality-show-announces-teams-including-some-familiar-faces-news/#more-194075

[Lexomatic]

Bad news, I won't be attending Bricks Cascade this year. (I like to play tourist when I visit a city for a con, and Portland's not at its best in late February.) Good news, I've started building M'Kyuun's Variable Glaug MOC. I haven't used Stud.io in-depth previously, and I had to contrive how to interpret the not-divided-into-steps model, i.e., flay it layer-by-layer using the "hide" tool as I circulate between my PC and brick supply.

Is there functionality to show the description of an element when you rollover it? That would be faster when elements are partially obscured and ambiguous (is it a bow or inverted bow or slope-with-notch?). EDIT: Yes, but it's not rollover; you have to click the element (which makes it incompatible with "click to hide" mode). The description appears at the bottom of the model pane.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Lexomatic
Answered my own question.