Subject:
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Re: Invictus Horriblus- 'The Unconquerable Horror'
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.build.mecha
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Date:
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Mon, 26 May 2003 17:43:08 GMT
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Viewed:
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572 times
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In lugnet.build.mecha, Dave Johann writes:
Hey, Dave! Congratulations on finally getting this one done and posted!
I've seen many great mecha from you @ Lugola meetings, but you haven't
posted them
:(
I remember at Brickswest 2002 when you set this up, and it fell over in the
middle of the mecha section :( Glad to see that it has fully recovered!
Well, comments: First off, I agree with the statement that this thing must
be seen IRL to get a good feel for the color scheme. I like it! Also the
feet are really cool! I also like the detail.
Personally, I'm not feeling the torso. It looks too long, and to
cylindrical with respect to the rest of the model. But, of course, that's
just my eye. I've been trying to shrink down my torso dimensions in order
to get my mecha more "in proportion". But What's "in proportion" is
certainly subject to interpretation. Gundams, for instance, are not in
proportion with the human body - but we are so used to seeing them now that
they look correctly scaled. So, I guess what I'm saying is that we're
probably just on a different page about what we want our mecha to look like
at this time.
There seems to be some trick to getting a mecha with distorted proportions
to look right - I'm not quite sure what that is yet, but I hope to learn one
day so that I can diversify and build mecha creatively like yours!
Later, Chris
> I'll subtitle this: 'If at first you don't succeed...'
>
> Post mod pics: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=44319
>
> IH is a Long term project that lasted close to two two years partly due to
> structural flaws and partly
> due to a lack of parts in the needed colors. Brown (Bone/feather), Dark Grey
> (mechanics/armor), and
> Sand Red (fleshy bits) were the colors chosen for this project, but some
> reliance on Light Grey and
> Black was needed as well. In the end, IH was a resounding success with only
> minor problems/
> concessions.
>
> Here's what I set out to build:
> 30+ inches tall, preferably 36+ inches
> 5 wings coming off the back, much like the fins on the Lego Dinosaur sets.
> http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=40385
> A cockpit in the torso complete with escape pod.
> A menacing Tendril-filled head complete with maw.
> 15+ points of articulation.
> Vestigial arms/hands (think T-Rex)
> Use of my leg design using Toa Torsos and gears.
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=128905
> Rocket pack calves
> Using nearly every theme Lego has ever made (ZNAP ok, NOT Paradisa or
> Belleville)
> A Dragon-esque design with aquatic elements (squid head, webbed feet, etc.)
>
> What didn't happen:
> It's only 34.5 inches tall. Not the 3 feet I was shooting for.
> 3 wings instead of five. It turns out wings are quite heavy. ;)
> Rocket pack calves (ultimately became the basis for head design)
>
> Okay, now the real details: For the longest time, I've been talking with
> Bryce McGlone and Eric Sophie
> about entering the giant mecha club (as if it really exists). Their take on
> it was quite simply, 'Dave,
> you've got the skills-just use them!' So I did. Inspiration for the model
> started way back when I first
> found .build.mecha- Karrim Nassar's Dragon mecha. I'll also cite the detail
> Brian Cooper put's in his
> models as a partial inpriration. Invictus Horriblus ('The Unconquerable
> Horror') was
> truly a labor of love for me to finish. After the disaster
> http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Legomaster/Exhibits/BricksWest-2002/2legomecha.jpg
> at BricksWest 2002 where a joint popped free and IH came crashing down, I
> knew I'd go back and
> finish it, but I also knew the fight had been taken out of me. I didn't want
> to touch mecha for nearly
> 6 months after that and I certainly didn't want to revisit this model during
> that time. Why? Because I
> knew I had to tear it completely apart and start from the
> beginning-literally. I needed to know what
> went wrong in order to make sure it never did again. I needed to fix those
> things about this model
> that didn't quite work for my tastes and I knew that would take time and
> patience I just didn't have.
>
> August 2002 rolled around and I pulled IH out of containment and spent a day
> rebuilding the torso
> from the BricksWest disaster. Three days later, I had IH standing as it had
> for a split second during
> BricksWest minus the one crucial part that never made it's way back into
> IH's container-a single
> Technic Ball joint that had popped free due to the forces of the joints
> surrounding it. This was the
> weak link. This was what needed reinforcement.
>
> I tore the hips and waist apart for a total rebuild. If I couldn't get the
> ball joints inside the hips to
> hold their positions, all was lost. The only way I could find to properly
> reinforce them was to
> surround them with technic bricks so the ball sat with the technic brick
> holes holding them in place.
> I locked the bricks in place and began the slow rebuild of the hips. After
> all, if the ball joint came
> loose a second time, I'd be lucky if no one got hurt by parts flying at
> great speed. That wasn't going
> to happen. IH's hips and waist also grew a bit taller during this process as
> I wanted more definition
> and detail. The result of this rebuild was clearly viewable at BricksWest 2003.
>
> The other part of IH that didn't initially work in 2002 were the wings. They
> were too heavy and
> caused the center of gravity to shift even if the slightest breeze hit them.
> The connections at the
> back where the wings connected to the torso were also weaker than I wanted,
> so I needed to go back
> to the drawing board completely to rebuild them. There was only one problem:
> What I was
> attempting to do had never before been attempted using Lego. In other words,
> all I could do was get
> advice on how to proceed, but no one could show me how to do it. Both Bryce
> and Eric held the keys
> to my success and didn't even know it at the time. One of Bryce's gearing
> prototypes combined with
> one of Eric's gearing successes provided me with 2/3 of the answer.
> http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/hardcore/Mecha/InvictusHorriblus/wing_connections.jpg
> The final third came from the unlikeliest source of all: 8002 The Destroyer
> Droid.
> http://guide.lugnet.com/set/8002
> It turns out that the curved spine of the Droideka is much stronger than
> advertised. Strong enough
> to hold IH's wings while being moved via gearing. Ultimately, five wings was
> too many-IH wouldn't
> stand with that much weight, so I dropped it down to three wings-1 static
> and two with mobility
> supported by the Droideka spines.
>
> Some of the highlights of construction (parts used):
> 32x http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=30388 Just for the torso shape
> 24x http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4201 Also for the torso
> 20x http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=30180 for calves and wings
> 30+ http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=30382 Mostly wings, but also
> structure for
> legs
> 8x http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=32489 for leg strength and
> design. Could have
> used 16, but these weren't readily available at the time.
> Hundreds of slopes, hundreds of bricks, and a hundred or so Technic Friction
> pins.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Storyline: Ersatz Enterprises was getting clobbered in the mecha production
> business by HardCore
> Industries Temporal Mechwerks. They needed a low cost, high volume solution.
> They needed to
> breed mecha. They needed a living cybernetic organism that could be bent to
> the will of it's creator.
> This began the evolution of the being they would one day call 'Invictus
> Horriblus'. Unfortunately for
> Ersatz Enterprise, the IH Project would work all too well. It's growth rate
> unchecked, IH ultimately
> became nearly 50 times larger than it's creators had intended. The rogue
> agent that stole the
> prototype ultimately spelled doom for EE as he used Invictus Horriblus to
> tear apart the production
> facilities of the company in order to prevent more IHs from being 'born'.
> The beleaguered Ersatz
> Enterprises could not come back from this major financial setback and was
> ultimately taken over by
> their main competitor HardCore Industries Temporal Mechwerks. HCITM has the
> means to take down
> their former competitor's last, foolish project. The real question is-when
> will they use it?
>
> -Dave
> (Who's happy to be done with this project at last and has more pics to
> upload later) :)
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