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In lugnet.events, Phillip Thorne wrote:
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Ill be traveling to Japan to contribute (loan) LEGO bricks and expertise to
the 65th World Science Fiction Convention Nippon 2007,
the first Worldcon held in Asia, happening in Yokohama on Thu 30 Aug to Mon 3
Sep 2007. Although its a membership-driven event, parts of the con will be
open to the public. Ill be reporting on my
blog, possibly daily.
Ive managed to pack a decent parts and colors selection into a single large
rolling suitcase, so long as attendees limit themselves to Xpod-sized models
-- no SHIPs at this event. Im not yet sure what activities or where --
possibly just an open build, or maybe impromptu QuikWars sessions -- but
itll be fun finding out.
Not too many prefabbed MOCs, though. Gotta optimize luggage volume somehow.
Although LEGO bricks have appeared at at least two regional SF cons in the
US (Balticon and Philcon), this may be
the first time theyve done so at a Worldcon. And although Japanese LEGO
fans certainly exist (sometimes called JFOLs), its a bit tricky for
Western AFOLs to meet or communicate with them. For instance, I have no idea
if any JFOLs will coincidentally be attending -- my efforts at email outreach
were disappointing. Hopefully this convention will help bring the two camps
closer together.
I may also find out what LEGO Retail looks like in Japan, since Ill be
visiting Narita, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe in addition to Yokohama. (Theres a
Click Brick store in the mall near the Pacifico Yokohama convention
center.) Watch this space for reports.
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Wow, that sounds cool. I know for years the Japanese afols have held Military
/Sci-fi Lego cons called LMO. You can read about that in the .mecha section.
Back in 04 when I was in the DC metro area I tried to contact Balticon for a
possible Scibrick/Wamalug display but I never heard back from anybody. I am
interested to hear what the recent Lego/AFOL representation was.
P.S. Dont forget to take full advantage of youre Gaijin Power!
F
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Ill be traveling to Japan to contribute (loan) LEGO bricks and expertise to the
65th World Science Fiction Convention Nippon 2007, the
first Worldcon held in Asia, happening in Yokohama on Thu 30 Aug to Mon 3 Sep
2007. Although its a membership-driven event, parts of the con will be open to
the public. Ill be reporting on my blog, possibly
daily.
Ive managed to pack a decent parts and colors selection into a single large
rolling suitcase, so long as attendees limit themselves to Xpod-sized models --
no SHIPs at this event. Im not yet sure what activities or where --
possibly just an open build, or maybe impromptu QuikWars sessions -- but itll
be fun finding out.
Not too many prefabbed MOCs, though. Gotta optimize luggage volume somehow.
Although LEGO bricks have appeared at at least two regional SF cons in the US
(Balticon and Philcon), this may be the
first time theyve done so at a Worldcon. And although Japanese LEGO fans
certainly exist (sometimes called JFOLs), its a bit tricky for Western AFOLs
to meet or communicate with them. For instance, I have no idea if any JFOLs
will coincidentally be attending -- my efforts at email outreach were
disappointing. Hopefully this convention will help bring the two camps closer
together.
I may also find out what LEGO Retail looks like in Japan, since Ill be visiting
Narita, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe in addition to Yokohama. (Theres a Click Brick
store in the mall near the Pacifico Yokohama convention center.) Watch this
space for reports.
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While at Wizard World Philadelphia, DelVaLUG met one of the organizers of
Dexcon 10, a gaming convention to be held
in East Brunswick, New Jersey, from Wed 18 Jul to Sun 22 Jul 2007. Said
organizer, Anthony Acampora (tinyDE at gmail dot com) was inspired by our
presence to seek any AFOLs who might want to run activities at the con.
It happens that most of DelVaLUGs members will be unavailable at that time, but
I promised to put out a call for any other LUGs or AFOLs in the region
(NY-NJ-PA-DE) who may be interested in executing a display or running LEGO-based
games. (I mentioned BrikWars and QuikWars to him.)
Mr. Acampora, VP of Double Exposure Inc., may be contacted
at: tinyDE at gmail dot com.
Thank you.
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DelVaLUG, the Delaware Valley LEGO Users Group, successfully
exhibited a group layout at the comics and pop-culture expo
Wizard World Philadelphia
pop-culture expo on 15-17 June, 2007, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Participating members were Tim Caffrey, Roy Cook, Alice Leber-Cook, and Phillip
Thorne, plus new members and first-time exhibitors Arthur Stromberg and Amy.
Set up in a 10x10-foot parcel near the front of the show (amidst the major
corporate exhibitors), the layout was 6 Fleske-modules in size, in a J shape,
and featured one train loop, two trains, seven buildings, numerous vehicles, and
a plethora of minifigs; including:
- The Hall of Justice
- Four Freedoms Plaza
- Café Corner
- A dark variant of Café Corner
- Interpretations of robot-mode Bumblebee, Megatron, and Optimus Prime
- Vehicle-mode Bumblebee and Ironhide (from the new movie)
- The three-segment Fantasticar (from the new movie)
- Official minifigs from Batman, Harry Potter, and Spider-Man
- Custom minifigs from the Fantastic Four, Justice League, Spider-Man III, and X-Men
An article
about the show, with one photo of the exhibit, appeared in the Monday 18 June
2007 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer. About 80 people added themselves to
the clubs email announcement list (for post-show photos and upcoming-show
announcements), including several likely prospects for new members. The exhibit
cross-promoted Philcon 2007, which is likely to be our next
major activity.
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DelVaLUG, the Delaware Valley LEGO Users Group, will be exhibiting at the
Wizard World
Philadelphia pop-culture expo on 15-17 June, 2007. The event is held at the
Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Featured elements of the display will be custom models tied to three of this
summers action movies: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Spider-Man
3, and The Transformers.
Behind the scenes: This is an event that DelVaLUG members first proposed before
the 2006 show, but we finally approached Wizard Entertainment this April. You
have to be diplomatic when cold-calling, and cite the right advantages; but they
were very happy to have us. After all, the company isnt just comic books -- it
does publish the magazines ToyFare and ToyWishes, so a toy-based display
that can adapt itself to the shows themes is definitely appropriate.
Well be using this event for AFOL promotion and club recruitment; the product
literature distributed at BrickFest will be used. Since Im deeply involved
with the Philcon SF convention, Ill also be promoting
that. Its not a big segue; a matter of Oh, and well be appearing later
this year at Philcon -- different theme, much more convivial, and you get to
build with the parts.
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In lugnet.events, Phillip Thorne wrote:
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Since Ive successfully run LEGO-based events at the Philcon SF/F convention for the past three years, Ive been asked to
investigate doing the same for the 65th World Science Fiction Convention --
Nippon2007, the first Worldcon to be held in
Japan, in August of next year. But I need your suggestions and tips!
Thanks for your help, everybody; and remember, this is still a feasibility
study.
Who? First Id have to locate American (etc.) AFOLs planning to attend.
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I will be attending.
But, if you search my name here on Lugnet and look at my stuff,
youll find its not science fictional.
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Japanese AFOLdom can contribute even if its members dont attend -- they can
mail-in MOCs (assuming I get some assistance with Japanese parcel post). But
actually contacting Japanese builders is, we all know, difficult. (I can get
recruitment announcements posted via the website and hardcopy progress
reports.)
What events? An exhibit is easiest, with MOCs provided by Japanese and
overseas attendees. An open build would be trickier to organize, because a
parts supply would be needed -- and although I happily loan mine to Philcon,
and the Worldcon will be shipping a bunch of stuff from the U.S., Im not in
a rush to send my own pieces halfway around the globe.
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I agree, I dont see how to get big things there.
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What theme? Its an SF convention, and its in Japan, so the most obvious
models would be mecha -- replicas and original designs. But fans everywhere
build everything, so theres really no distinctive local flavor to that --
is there? Models inspired by the author and artist GoHs (guests of honor)
would be topical -- thatll require some research.
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Dave Brin is a guest, as well.
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(Obviously fantasy castles? Final Fantasy- and Miyazaki-esque flying
contraptions? Gojira & Co.? Mindstorms robots?)
Where? Any suggestions as to where else I should make this announcement?
Mecha Hub and Classic Space are the first that come to mind.
Followups to DelVaLUG since thats my home club, and its low-traffic.
Other discussion elsewhere as necessary.
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Comments intermixed below
In lugnet.events, Phillip Thorne wrote:
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Since Ive successfully run LEGO-based events at the Philcon SF/F convention for the past three years, Ive been asked to
investigate doing the same for the 65th World Science Fiction Convention --
Nippon2007, the first Worldcon to be held in
Japan, in August of next year. But I need your suggestions and tips!
Thanks for your help, everybody; and remember, this is still a feasibility
study.
Who? First Id have to locate American (etc.) AFOLs planning to attend.
Japanese AFOLdom can contribute even if its members dont attend -- they can
mail-in MOCs (assuming I get some assistance with Japanese parcel post). But
actually contacting Japanese builders is, we all know, difficult. (I can get
recruitment announcements posted via the website and hardcopy progress
reports.)
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I might be interested in sending stuff(but Im skittish about this sort of
thing, any assurances I could get would be helpful). Id certainly be
interested if I could get some help to get over to Japan! Bryce, Soren, and
myself have some experience contanting Japanese builders.
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What events? An exhibit is easiest, with MOCs provided by Japanese and
overseas attendees. An open build would be trickier to organize, because a
parts supply would be needed -- and although I happily loan mine to Philcon,
and the Worldcon will be shipping a bunch of stuff from the U.S., Im not in
a rush to send my own pieces halfway around the globe.
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Ahem, see what I was saying above?
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What theme? Its an SF convention, and its in Japan, so the most obvious
models would be mecha -- replicas and original designs. But fans everywhere
build everything, so theres really no distinctive local flavor to that --
is there? Models inspired by the author and artist GoHs (guests of honor)
would be topical -- thatll require some research.
(Obviously fantasy castles? Final Fantasy- and Miyazaki-esque flying
contraptions? Gojira & Co.? Mindstorms robots?)
Where? Any suggestions as to where else I should make this announcement?
Mecha Hub and Classic Space are the first that come to mind.
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Certainly posting to MechaHubs forums would help you out and would be a good
idea.
Mark Neumann
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Followups to DelVaLUG since thats my home club, and its low-traffic.
Other discussion elsewhere as necessary.
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Since Ive successfully run LEGO-based events at the Philcon SF/F convention for the past three years, Ive been asked to
investigate doing the same for the 65th World Science Fiction Convention --
Nippon2007, the first Worldcon to be held in Japan,
in August of next year. But I need your suggestions and tips! Thanks for
your help, everybody; and remember, this is still a feasibility study.
Who? First Id have to locate American (etc.) AFOLs planning to attend.
Japanese AFOLdom can contribute even if its members dont attend -- they can
mail-in MOCs (assuming I get some assistance with Japanese parcel post). But
actually contacting Japanese builders is, we all know, difficult. (I can get
recruitment announcements posted via the website and hardcopy progress reports.)
What events? An exhibit is easiest, with MOCs provided by Japanese and
overseas attendees. An open build would be trickier to organize, because a
parts supply would be needed -- and although I happily loan mine to Philcon, and
the Worldcon will be shipping a bunch of stuff from the U.S., Im not in a rush
to send my own pieces halfway around the globe.
What theme? Its an SF convention, and its in Japan, so the most obvious
models would be mecha -- replicas and original designs. But fans everywhere
build everything, so theres really no distinctive local flavor to that -- is
there? Models inspired by the author and artist GoHs (guests of honor) would be
topical -- thatll require some research.
(Obviously fantasy castles? Final Fantasy- and Miyazaki-esque flying
contraptions? Gojira & Co.? Mindstorms robots?)
Where? Any suggestions as to where else I should make this announcement?
Mecha Hub and Classic
Space are the first that come to mind.
Followups to DelVaLUG since thats my home club, and its low-traffic. Other
discussion elsewhere as necessary.
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Subject:
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LEGO events at Philcon 2006
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.events, lugnet.build.mecha, lugnet.build.microscale, lugnet.castle, lugnet.space, lugnet.org.us.delvalug, lugnet.loc.us.de, lugnet.loc.us.md, lugnet.loc.us.nj, lugnet.loc.us.ny, lugnet.loc.us.pa
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.org.us.delvalug
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Date:
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Sat, 29 Jul 2006 20:50:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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30116 times
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Philcon 2006, the 70th edition of the annual
Philadelphia Area Conference of Science Fiction and Fantasy, will run this
coming November; and for the third year, Ill be conducting a set of LEGO-themed
events. Here are some pics of the
2004 event and
2005.
There will definitely be an Open Build and a MOC display with pre- and
at-con-built SF-themed models, and maybe a Space-themed train layout. I might
run a couple of QuikWars games, or arrange a screening of SF/F-topic brikfilms.
There may be slideshows and building technique workshops.
How can you help?
- Do you want to come and present on a topic such as Bionicle, Castles, Mecha, Micro, Moonbase or Space?
- Want to contribute images and anecdots for such a slideshow, run by someone else?
- Itching to run a game of BrickQuest, BrikWars, or QuikWars?
- Got a fancy new Mindstorms NXT bot to demo?
- Have a MOC you can send by mail?
- Have MOC plans you can send by e-mail, that Ill recreate locally and display under your name?
- Got a brikfilm youd like to screen?
Why should you help?
- To show off your building prowess to an audience outside AFOLdom: over a thousand people from DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, and VA.
- To expand the awareness of advanced LEGO building, and AFOLdom.
- Because you need another collaborative LEGO fix two-and-a-half months after BrickFest.
If youre interested, please contact me at kids2006@philcon.org for details and planning. Thank you. (Philcon is a
copyright of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. Philcon 2006 runs the
weekend of 17-19 November 2006 at the Sheraton Center City, located near City
Hall. LEGO activities at Philcon are considered a sub-track of the Childrens
Program only for organizational purposes. This message has been cross-posted
because... well, there are lots of reasons you might logically be interested.)
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Wonderful!
The skating pond is so simple yet so effective. All the details throughout the
scene are wonderful.
Did you drill holes in the 1x1 transperent rounds to make the Xmas light
strings?
I didn't get a chance to do one this year but you have given me some wonderful
ideas for next year!
Thanks!
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PHILCON is a three-day science fiction convention held
annually since 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. As an AFOL and operator
of the cons Childrens Program (since 2003), I initiated a LEGO sub-track in
2004. (Report to LUGNET.) This year it
had a slightly different location and a much greater turnout.
Although GardenSLUGger Eric Sophie was unable to return this year (his giant
robots are always crowd-pleasers), I instead had the assistance of fellow
DelVaLUG member Joe Cook. (The rest of DelVaLUG was exhibiting at a train show
the same weekend.)
Being an SF con, the sensible model themes were Space, Space Replica, and Mecha.
Since I had to carry everything to the hotel (models, bulk brick, other Kids
Prog supplies) the sensible scale was Micro. (Castle would also be compatible,
but its not one of my own themes.)
In addition to 20 of my own models, and 3 from Joe, I had 14 virtual
contributions from 3 well-known SF micro-builders -- that is, I recreated their
posted designs with my own brick supply, and identified the originators with MOC
cards. (To wit: Jason Allemann, Brian Cooper, and Chris Deck of Germany. My
plan to build a copy of Chris Doyles Snack Sized Serenity fell through.)
Over the weekend, some 20 attendees (both youngster and adult) built 28 models
(more if you count individual customized minifigs), some of them drawing upon
leftover fragments of my own models. Theres more exuberance than skill in
many, but that very separation from AFOLdom resulted in some very interesting
parts use.
Photos of the display, at-con MOCs, and happy builders are in
this Brickshelf
gallery. It also includes a spreadsheet (MS Excel and CSV versions) detailing
the models.
The Display and Build were located in the front of the large room dedicated to
Gaming, just off of and visible from the cons Registration and Info area,
resulting in lots of foot traffic. They ran all-day Saturday and Sunday. On
Saturday it was adjacent to a contingent from the FIRST Robotics League. To
prevent the display of micro-ships from resembling a tabletop parking lot, I
built a docking spire of Znap pieces to elevate them.
Activities:
- Display
- Open Build
- LEGO Gaming 101
- BrickQuest-derived Harry Potter-themed game
- LEGO Builder X-Treme board game
Activities that did not happen:
- Micro Moonbase Themed Build fell through (I didnt get to build any explanatory samples)
- Impressive MOCs slide shows (returning item)
- Stop-motion film fest (returning item)
- Large-scale space combat sim (the cons semi-theme was Mil-SF, thanks to Author GoH David Weber and Artist GoH David Mattingly, his cover artist)
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In lugnet.build.mecha, Phillip Thorne wrote:
> LEGO programming will be returning to the 2005 <http://www.philcon.org
> Philcon> SF convention! This will be the second year with an official
> exhibit and events.
-snip-
Good luck this weekend Phil!
I am unable to attend. Please let us know how things went.
Highlights, thoughts and how the Lego events go.
Thank you!
Eric Sophie
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What:
The NBC10 Consumer Expo was the latest
incarnation of an annual event conducted by Philadelphia TV station WCAU.
DelVaLUGs first public event was at last years Halloween-weekend Tech &
Lifestyles Expo (Brickshelf photos) (and we still dont know how the organizers learned of our
existence). This year the hall was shared by Americas
Videogame Expo. (If wed known that beforehand, we mightve built some themed
arcade game MOCs.)
Where:
The Ft.Washington Expo Center is located
just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Route 276), to the northwest of
Philadelphia. It also hosted the Greenberg
train show (Brickshelf
photos) at which DelVaLUG exhibited this past February.
DelVaLUGs parcel was located in the Lifestyles & Entertainment portion of the
show, the rear-left quadrant, near the Future City
Competition, the Amateur Radio Relay League, and various vacation providers.
It was also proximate to the Videotopia section of vgXpo, filled with three
dozen 1980s arcade games (relatively quiet) and various dance- and
guitar-simulators of more recent vintage (indisputably loud). (By loud I mean
84 decibels -- I measured it. Thats not only strain your voice to be
heard, thats hearing damage with prolonged exposure territory. Ouch.) The
FIRST Robotics kids, with tabletop and lawnmower-sized
R/C robots, were on the other side. (The FIRST
LEGO League, as seen at BrickFest, is the 101 level of FIRST.)
When:
Saturday 11/12 and Sunday 11/13, 10:00-17:00, plus setup on Friday afternoon and
each morning, and breakdown Sunday afternoon. Breakdown proceeded very quickly
-- starting at 16:45 all the MOCs were packed away within 30 minutes (into
Ziploc bags, cardboard boxes, purpose-built wooden trays), and Tims
ILTCO-standard tables were dismantled and toted away by 18:00.
This isnt like BrickFest -- seven hours of standing, answering questions, and
standing poised to answer questions is tough on the feet. Fortunately, this
year our parcel came with two chairs instead of one. (We didnt need to bring
out the two Id brought in anticipation.) (OTOH, its not like the LEGO Road
Show, either -- its air-conditioned.)
Who:
Saturday was crewed by Jim F., Phil T., and new DelVaLUG member Roy F. Sunday
added Tim C. and Jeff S., plus (for several midday hours) two members of
PennLUG.
The usual assortment of hundreds of attendees tramped past the display: casual
glancers, wide-eyed youngsters, LEGO makes trains? incredulites, and a small
number of YFOLs and dark-age potential AFOLs. We handed out a great many
informational mini-flyers, plus various Shop At Home back issues (Where do I
buy trains?) and catalog-request cards; also (to likely prospects) cards
promoting the LEGO program at Philcon this December
(one of two DelVaLUG events that weekend).
The vgXpo attracted a dozen college-age cosplayers (Saturday only, for some
reason), and some vendors had booth bunnies. Few of them managed to drop by.
MOCs:
Ten ILTCO-standard table-modules, featuring: two train
loops, Tim C.s giant sandy mountain with tunnel, Jeff S.s train station, and
more -- Ill address this in detail in a follow-up post. A first batch of 25
photos is now on
Brickshelf. (I apologize for those that are dim or blurry -- the halls
lighting was much worse than it seemed.)
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The primary fighter craft of the Earth Defense Directorate, as seen in
the 1979-1981 Glen A. Larson TV series. (The two-hour pilot was briefly
released in 1978 as a theatrical feature.) Used to defend Earth and attached to
the exploratory vessel Searcher.
The key to the nacelles is the droid cylinder. Unfortunately its not an
integer number of plates tall when its combined, which required some adjustment
on an axle core to match the fuselage and wings. The fins consist of SNOT
slopes instead of wing panels, because I couldnt defise a way to attach them
without clunky adaptors; the ventral fins are mounted to the deltas with 1x2
hinges because theres nowhere on the droid-cyls to do so.
Im planning to print some decals to add cockpit windows to the 2x4x1 slopes,
plus EDD insignia. (Or maybe Ill just mount 1x1 round plates in the droid-cyl
holes.)
Background:
The starfighter consists of a two-seat cockpit embedded within a
vertically-flattened fuselage, flanked catamaran-style by a pair of nacelles
housing the engines and weapons (two pairs of fixed, forward-firing pulsar
cannons). Attached to the nacelles are two pairs of aft fins: horizontal
delta-shaped surfaces, and ventral cranked dihedral fins. Landing gear is
tripod in style, consisting of the weight-bearing ventral fins and a single
retractable nose skid; the combination produces a nose-down posture. Secondary
equipment includes a tractor beam that can be focused forward, aft, or
ventrally. Cockpit access is by steps that fold down from either nacelle.
Typically painted white, with the the shield-shaped EDD insignia towards the
forward tip of each nacelle.
An variant model has side-by-side seating in a wider cockpit, and is painted a
sand-yellow color.
(And thats about the most one can say about it. Disentangling the TECH of this
show, especially the second season, is a hopeless task.)
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From the SF books written by British author Alastair Reynolds: Revelation
Space, Redemption Ark, and Absolution Gap...
...With only 13 pieces (plus two for the exhaust beams) its exceedingly
micro, since the original is some four kilometers long; about 1:80,000 scale.
The gallery includes one in authentic-but-tough-to-see black, and another in
Irken red and purple. (The probability of these Invader ZIM aliens
successfully taking a fully armed lighthugger is remote, even if they do have
conquered Vort scientists on their side -- these are the people who
unsuccessfully exiled Zim The Easily Distracted. Twice.) The Irken model has
two shades of purple, which dont look so good in the photo; also pulsed
exhaust.
This ship (plus a bunch of other easily-transported micro-models) will appear at
the Philcon SF convention this December in
Philadelphia. I think Ill build a vertical docking spire from Znap, so theyre
not all crowded onto a horizontal table surface.
Background:
The majority of lighthuggers are operated by the Ultras, a faction of humanity
that eschews planetary surfaces in favor of deep space, and which provides
interstellar transport of passengers and rare artifacts. Their ships bear names
like Gnostic Ascension, Madonna of the Wasps, Nostalgia for Infinity,
Silence Under Snow, Third Gazometric, Transfigured Night, and Zodiacal
Light.
Lighthuggers earned their label from the high relativistic velocity they attain;
thanks to mysterious sealed engines manufactured by the Conjoiners (another
faction) they can maintain a one-gee acceleration indefinitely. To survive the
erosive effects of the interstellar medium at those speeds demands a streamlined
shape, and an ablative sheath of water ice reinforced with hyperdiamond. The
standard hull form is a pair of cones, base-to-base, with the twin engines on
raked-back pylons rooted near the ships midpoint. (The cover illo for
Revelation Space has been overcomplicated by the artist.) These ships are
massive, four kilometers long, millions of tons, equipped to carry hundreds of
thousands of passengers in cryonic reefersleep. With AI-driven internal
maintenance and redesign systems, they can operate with just a handful of human
crew. Theyre heavily armed to assist in trade negotiations.
Conjoiner-built lighthuggers (and smaller classes) usually have ink-black
stealth hulls, sometimes equipped with cryoarithmetic engines that cool them to
match the cosmic microwave background.
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Everyones favorite mid-80s Autobot leader, rendered with Bionicle Vahki
parts...
...courtesy of the $20 Bionicle Bucket found at TRU. It contained enough parts
for all six Vahki, plus numerous Rahkshi feet and hunchbacks. Thank you, TLC.
Atop the Bionicle skeleton I added tires, smokestacks, torso with windows and
radiator grill, etc. The three-digit hands were inspired by the Technic Pit
Droid model.
The figures one accessory is an orange Energon Axe, made from a trans-orange
dragon wing. I havent built a Laser Rifle yet (although I do have Megatrons
fusion cannon waiting for a body, hmmm...) I did build a mini Autobot Matrix of
Leadership, but theres insufficient room behind his pop-open pecs to store it.
Why is Optimus bionicle-ized? Well, after that unfortunate business with being
repeatedly killed, resurrected by Quintessons, reformatted, turned into a
Nucleon-powered non-transforming Actionmaster, and so forth, he stumbled into
the Web of the Visorak. (Idealistic, inspiring, noble, yes; but sometimes not
so very smart.)
In other photos, Optimus meets Vahki Omega Supreme, and a domesticated Martian
Floater (from the 1953 War of the Worlds movie). Everyone wants the sparkly
green lump of gummy sugar POWER!
I still need to print some custom decals -- then V-Optimus can spit Spinning
Gyro-Discs! Of Autobot! Justice!
(Transformers, Autobots, Optimus Prime, Omega Supreme, etc. are trademarks of
Hasbro.)
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In microscale: a replica of the hero ship Liberator from the 1978-81 BBC SF
drama Blakes 7 (sometimes
spelled Blakes7).
The BrickShelf gallery includes reference pics and numerous prototypes. The
final version must wait until I acquire necessary parts in white and/or grey.
(OTOH, with the parts I have now I could do an 3vil-themed version in red and
black.)
I made a few compromises in this model:
- The nacelle pylons are tapered in the wrong direction -- to actually duplicate their angles would require a larger scale, which I attempted in some of the prototypes.
- The cylindrical nacelles each have a 10-sided collar, which is nicely implied by one type of hard-plastic tire (as seen in one proto) -- but that element is too big for the smaller version.
- The obvious elements for the green-glowing aft globe thingy would be a pair of 4x4 faceted domes, but theres no way to mount them base-to-base; so instead, I use a single dome and a pair of Bionicle tooth pieces to imply the tapered lip.
The small versions nacelles rely on the droid-body part. Longitudinal strength
for all four hulls relies on 12-long axles (and if they existed, even longer
ones would be handy).
The completed version will be appearing in the SF-themed MOC display at the
Philcon SF convention this December.
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A generic Tibetan Zen monastery/abbey, hidden deep in the Himalayas:
I built this for an entry in the short-animation contest at the
Katsucon anime convention -- it would provide the
establishing shots, and Id then cut to a room with minifig guru and disciples.
I didnt quite finish the script, which relied on trading increasing inscrutable
Zen koans until a head exploded in enlightenment. (Exploding minifig heads are
always funny.)
Conveniently enough, we had a heavy snowstorm that weekend. Some shoveled snow,
some artfully placed rocks, and -- voila! -- no need for BURPs, and no sign of
the green baseplate.
Pretend the yellow is gold, pretend the tan is yellow, and pretend the 1x1 green
rounds atop the trees arent Mega Blok brand. :)
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