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If you have seen THE engraved Brick Badges at BrickworldTM and other LEGO® conventions, you have seen the work of Tommy Armstrong, the Brick Engraver. He can engrave names and line art directly to a brick, making it a unique item for things like keychains, badges, awards, and models. If you’re interested in seeing the wide assortment of brick engravings and finishes and now PRINTING that Tommy offers, you can go to www.brickengraver. com and browse through his catalog. You can see his work at events worldwide.
BRICKJOURNAL ISSUE 10, VOLUME 2 • MARCH/APRIL 2010 • LEGO ATLANTIS, BRICKCON 2009, LEGO PUZZLES, BRICKSET
Not Your Typical Bricks
The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages! Issue 10 • March/April 2010
8.95
$
in the US
Going Undersea to Atlantis!
You’ll see that his work is not typical. And neither are his bricks.
Instructions: Mermaid LEGO Puzzles Deep Sea Diorama Features Reviews AND MORE!
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74470 23979
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A plea from the publisher of this fine digital periodical: TwoMorrows, we’re on the Honor System with our Digital Editions. We don’t add Digital Rights Management features to them to stop piracy; they’re clunky and cumbersome, and make readers jump through hoops to view content they’ve paid for. And studies show such features don’t do much to stop piracy anyway. So we don’t include DRM in our downloads.
At
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TwoMorrows.Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics. (& LEGO! ) TM
TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com
Issue 10 • March/April 2010
Contents
From the Editor.........................................................................................2
Event Reports
Brick Adventure 2010..........................................................................3 KidsFest 2009.............................................................................................8 My First Convention...........................................................................12
People
Letters to Indiana Jones TM............................................................17
Building
LEGO® Atlantis: The Secrets Revealed...................................20 Sea Monkeys: Creating a Fan Theme....................................28 Jesper Jørgen..........................................................................................30 You Can Build It: Mermaid.............................................................32 You Can Build It: MINI Deep Sea Diorama.........................35 You Can Build It: Seated Woman..............................................38 Rapunzel, Rapunzel...........................................................................40 How the LEGO Group Turned Adversity to Opportunity......................................................................................43 Puzzling LEGO Models....................................................................46 You Can Build It: Sliding LEGO Puzzles.................................48 Minifigure Customization 101: The Best of Sculpting........................................................................52 Set Review: 10198 Tantive IV........................................................56
Community
Pirates in LEGO Land.........................................................................60 Visiting the LEGO Archives............................................................64 History of Brickset.com....................................................................66 Mastering FIRST LEGO League: Calibrating the Robot (Turning)................................................68 Not Quite LEGO: Marvel Minimates......................................74 Community Ads...................................................................................78 Last Word...................................................................................................79 AFOLs...........................................................................................................80 Art: One of the sketches for Atlamtis, provided by the LEGO Group.
From the Editors: This issue, I decided to step back for a moment to let the other half the of BrickJournal staff - the European Bureau.
March/April 2010 Volume 2, Issue 10
Editor in Chief Joe Meno Photography Editor Geoff Gray Business Manager and Proofreader Carin Proctor Copy Editor Allan Bedford Proofreader Eric Nolen-Weathington European and LEGO Group Bureau Editor Megan Rothrock Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Todd Kubo Ashley Glennon
Contributors:
Mariann Asanuma, Jared Burks, Nina Chatelain, Mette Christiansen, John Cooper, Christopher Deck, Didier Enjary, Geoff Gray, Felix Greco, Ian Grieg, Matthew Hocker, Jesper Jørgen, Cale Leiphart, Sylvain Lelarge, Randy Miller, Tatiana Znayenko - Miller, Huw Millington, Jette Orduna, Jordan Schwartz, Hadley Scrowston, Dan Siskind, Mark Stafford, Tommy Williamson, William Wong, and Greg Hyland Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal: www.lUGNET.com, www.Brickshelf.com, www.peeron.com, www.brickmodder.net www.rustyclank.com
About the Cover: An Atlantis set cruises in the depths of the ocean, with a sub following. Art by Mark Stafford. This issue is dedicated to Tokie Nakano Meno, otherwise known as the Editor’s mother, who passed away in March of 2010. Rest in peace, Mom.
Hello to all of our readers out there! I’m Megan Rothrock, the European Bureau Editor. Though not new to BrickJournal, as I have been a contributor since the online days, now thanks to Joe I get a chance to say hello to you all. As this month’s articles came in, I was fascinated to read the secrets behind the scenes of the development of LEGO® Atlantis, and as always dealing with LEGO has been a pleasure. We are working hard here to bring you more behind the scenes and exclusive interviews with LEGO employees; we hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy writing them. There is a lot going on out there in the rest of Europe though, and there’s no way I can make it to every event or know every story that’s happening, so if you have an event report or a good story about the fan world, please e-mail them to me: megan@brickjournal.com. I can’t promise they will make it into the magazine, but there’s a lot of room on our new website and it’s always nice to hear from our amazing community! Joe Meno Editor
Megan Rothrock European Editor
P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at admin@brickjournal.com. I’m open to suggestions and comments and will do my best to reply. P.P.S. Yes, BrickJournal has a website — www.brickjournal.com! Twitter? Yep, there too - http://twitter.com/brickjournal. Facebook? Yup - http://www.facebook.com/ group.php?gid=58728699914&ref=mf
Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) NLSO (Non-LEGO Significant Other) MOC (My Own Creation) TLG (The LEGO Group) BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece) LURP (Little Ugly Rock Piece)
POOP (Pieces—that can be or should be made—Of Other Pieces) SNOT (Studs Not on Top) LUG (LEGO Users Group) LTC (LEGO Train Club)
LEGO®, TECHNIC, MINDSTORMS, Belville, Scala, BIONICLE, ExoForce, Mars Mission, World City, and other LEGO theme lines are trademarks of the LEGO Group of companies. All articles, photos, and art are copyright BrickJournal Media, LLC 2008, TwoMorrows Publishing and the respective writers, photographers, and artists. All rights reserved. All trademarked items are the property of their respective owners and licensees. Subscriptions: $57USD Media Mail, $75 Canada, $86 International Surface and can be purchased at www.twomorrows.com or payment sent to: TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. The editorial/advertising office address for BrickJournal is: BrickJournal Editor, 5600 Oak Meadow Lane #1108, Raleigh, NC 27612 USA or admin@brickjournal.com. First Printing. Printed in Canada. ISSN 1941-2347. BrickJournal and its staff would like to thank the LDraw community for the software it makes available to the community, which we use for making all of the instructions and renderings in this magazine. We would especially like to thank Kevin Clague for his continued upgrades of the LPub tool that is a part of the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.
Event Report
Brick Adventure 2010
An army waits for the order to attack.
Article by Dan Siskind Photography by Dan Siskind and William Wong
My normal participation at big public LEGO events is running the GMLTC train layout or sitting behind a table selling Brickmania kits. On this trip I would strictly be an observer, and as an added benefit meeting and swapping techniques with some the most active and talented builders on the other side of the planet. Conversely, I found myself being treated like royalty by the event organizers who were excited to have their first American “pro builder” (their term, not mine) ever to come to Hong Kong for a fan event.
Brick Adventure 2010 took place at the City University of Hong Kong from January 27th through February 12. The event organizers, consisting of a loose-knit group of adult builders calling themselves “Legend Bricks,” planned to create Hong Kong’s largest non-commercial public LEGO exhibition. The specific goal of the event was to promote the creative aspect of the LEGO brick through several large displays built by the event organizers and other invited participants.
Hong Kong is a large port city located on the south coast of China, with a population of about 7 million people, inhabiting a space of less than 500 square miles (making it one of the most densely populated places on earth). A British colony until 1997, it is now a special autonomous region of mainland China with its own currency and local government. Due to its special status and history, visitors from the United States do not need a special visa to enter. English is a common second language in case you don’t speak the local Cantonese.
The event was brought to my attention through friends on the various LEGO groups at Flickr.com. I was really intrigued by the idea of such an event in Hong Kong (of all places), and after a quick check of airfares (which were quite reasonable) I decided to go see it for myself. The event lasted a total of 17 days, but I choose to attend over the middle weekend in order to be there during the Hong Kong-wide meeting of LEGO enthusiasts.
The exhibition took place at the student activities center of the City University of Hong Kong. The school is located in the easily accessible Kowloon City District and is easy walking distance from the MTR station, Hong Kong’s lightning fast commuter rail / subway system. Having access to a large and centrally located space was obtained by the principal event coordinator and tireless promoter John Ho, who is also a student at HK City University. 3
Event Report
This model of Fenway Park was one of the awesome kid-built creations on display in the kids model area.
Event Report:
KidsFest 2009
Article and Photography by Cale Leiphart
November 2009 saw the debut of a new type of LEGO event for the US. That event was LEGO KidsFest and it was held November 20th through the 22nd, 2009 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut. What made the event different was that it was the first large-scale event in the US organized by and sponsored by the LEGO company. KidsFest is aimed as an event for the whole family and features as one of its main attractions a large display of MOCs created by AFOLs. Several LUGs participated including ParLUGment from Canada, PennLUG from Pennsylvania, and NELUG from New England as well as other AFOLs. Displays included two huge train layouts, a Great Ball Contraption display and individual creations spanning themes from Castle to Space and Sculptures to Games. Other attractions included a large collection of LEGO sculptures from the LEGO Group’s own model shops, a large build area filled with brick for kids to build and play with, building contests for kids, live stage demonstrations, interactive games and a sneak peek at the inner workings of LEGO’s model shop. As a special bonus, LEGO Club members were allowed into an exclusive (closed to the public) area to view some of the upcoming sets from Prince of Persia, Toy Story, Ben 10, and the new Atlantis theme. Vincent Rubino was the main man behind the event and took the time to talk with us and answer a few questions. What was your role in planning LEGO KidsFest and how did you become involved with the event?
Matt Hocker’s stunning 1948 Tucker cruises down the street on PennLUG’s train layout. The shiny bit from ChromeBricks.com give it extra gleam.
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Vincent Rubino: I was the primary person responsible for managing this event for LEGO Systems, Inc. As Manager of Event Marketing, it is my role to oversee Brand activities and consumer events. We had established a new concept to partner with external organizations to collaborate with and fund LEGO events since we do not have the personnel to do these types of events ourselves. We chose to partner with Life Marketing and Events (LM&E) who have experience in running large scale events in the Connecticut marketplace.
Mythical Master Builder Dan Steininger gives the kids a peek at what it’s like to work in the LEGO Model Shop.
Where did the idea for KidsFest come from and what were the goals of organizing this event? We had a meeting with Michael Guinan from LM&E a couple of years ago for another potential project that never panned out. During those discussions, the idea of a KidsFest arose and as we began to discuss in more detail, the genesis of a plan began to evolve. The idea was to create a family-friendly event that could be organized in cities across the country with activities evolving around the LEGO Brand. There would be other activities as well but LEGO events would be the overarching component. How long did it take to plan and set up the event and what was the reason for choosing Hartford, Connecticut to host? We worked on the development for close to 2 years. Since this was going to be the pilot event and a learning experience for us as to how we can improve for future venues in other cities, we decided to do the first one close to home. Hartford is a nice city with some venues that lend themselves well to family events. Also since our corporate HQ is just 15 miles up the road, it is good for us to be able to do something positive in our community.
Nathaniel Brill’s 12v Amusement Park Train proved to be a more thrilling experience than all the other rides in the park combined.
What were the major challenges in putting the event together? • Finding the right balance between LEGO and non-LEGO activities (since this would be for the whole family we needed multiple types of entertainment for boys and girls and younger and older kids) • Securing other corporate sponsors to get involved • Finding the right venue to house the event
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Event Report
There are several stages in a typical AFOL’s descent into brick obsession. Most of us start our fascination as children, kludging together towers in DUPLO, graduating to smaller sets and eventually begging for the super sets like the Death Star every holiday season. Some build only sets, some build creations from their imagination and some are content to just put bricks together. The collection grows and moves to ever-growing boxes and crates. Eventually, in most cases, our interests move on and our LEGO collections are relegated to a box in the attic or (gasp!) sold in a garage sale. While we’re busy trying to garner the attention of the opposite sex and keep acne at bay the bricks collect dust and are mostly forgotten. This time is usually known as the Dark Ages. Then one day, we “wake up” and rediscover just how satisfying it is to click little bricks together and gradually see our imagination come into being in three dimensions. For some, this becomes just a side activity to enjoy with their children and pass the time creatively. For others it becomes more of a hobby, buying quite a few sets a year and even buying or ordering Pick-A-Brick at the LEGO store or online to stock up on special pieces. For a select few, it becomes a passion. We build nearly daily, continually expanding our collections and pushing our skills to the limit with new techniques. No matter what your level of enthusiasm, eventually the notion of visiting a LEGO convention crosses your mind. If you are lucky enough to live close to one you may even act on that notion. Or if you’re like me, you won’t let a little thing like distance get in your way.
The author with his award winning zombie harvester.
Tommy Williamson:
My First Convention
Article by Tommy Williamson Photography by Joe Meno and Tommy Williamson
I’m on my way to BrickCon in Seattle and also displaying for the first time. I have been building for months for this event. My Miniland scale reproduction of the set from Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report has been slowly taking shape in my living room (to the growing irritation of my wife) for over a year. I posted pictures of it online and the reaction was overwhelming. I’ve been flooded with e-mail, with praise and requests to blog it. I also created a couple of vehicles for the community build sponsored by LEGO fan blog The Brothers Brick, the Zombie Apocalypse! To say I’ve been looking forward to this is a bit of an understatement. What I hope to do with this article is inspire you AFOLs (and those interested in becoming AFOLs) to take the plunge and attend your first convention. I have a pretty good idea what to expect, having perused multiple websites and Flickr galleries. But I am a total noob (newcomer) and I suspect I’ll be bumbling my way through the next 4 days. Regardless, it’s going to be a blast.
Day One: First Contact After arriving in Seattle, I made my way to baggage claim with a sense of foreboding. While I packed my creations as carefully as I could in a trunk bought specifically for this trip, I’ve seen first-hand the destructive capabilities of the airlines. I’m happy to report United did not destroy my trunk. After a less-thansmooth Alamo car rental pickup I went to my hotel. Checking in, I headed off to drop off my trunk at the convention hall. As I wandered in, I noticed the hall was buzzing with activity.
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I had no idea where to put my stuff, where to set up my creations, where to get my badge, nothing. With some kind help of other attendees, though, I got myself situated. Then it was time to open the trunk. Sure it was intact, actually almost unmarred, but there were fragile LEGO models inside: what was left of them? My Colbert Report model made the trip
Tommy’s Colbert Report model. remarkably well, with just a couple of repairs needed. I had the forethought to individually bag every component making repair easy. My camper and vignette models also made the trip with very little trauma, setting up in just a few seconds. My harvester, however, was a horror show. It was in a few large pieces, with dozens of loose parts floating around in the bag. It took half an hour to put back together. Once my stuff was safely reconstructed and displayed, I took some time to wander and look at some of the stuff that was already set up. There are some absolutely stunning creations here, leaving me in awe of the talent. I also got to meet several people I’ve only communicated with online. I eventually met up with one of the event organizers and The Brothers Brick (TBB) zombie-in-chief, Andrew Becraft. He introduced me to the rest of the TBB crew and invited me to dinner. After dinner we made our way back to the hall. I spent a little more time gawking at the incredible work but decided I was tired, smelled bad and probably looked worse. It was time to call it a night on my first day of BrickCon.
Day Two: It Begins Day two began early. I have no idea why but I awoke at 5:30, up before the sun. I took this time to read the show schedule and go through my goodie bag — yay! Free Brickarms (minifigure compatible weapons)! After getting a quick breakfast at the hotel I headed off for the convention center. I wandered around a bit and was surprised to see yet more MOCs had appeared (they have a way of doing that). A bit later I met up with Iain Heath (flickr name Ochre Jelly) and we relocated my Colbert Report and organized his “characters” display. I then hooked up with BrickJournal’s very own Joe Meno. While Joe and I have been conferring for months online, we had never had the opportunity to meet face to face. Joe’s an excellent guy who shares a lot of interests with me (to an almost creepy level actually) and we enjoyed a long chat while he broke out and assembled his MOCs. Then LEGO opened pick-a-brick sales so me and 100 of my closest new friends filled our bags with LEGO bricks and elements to buy. Afterwards, everyone was very happy. After lunch, I was back in the hall for an advanced techniques book roundtable meeting. We all had a great discussion about how the fan community could work together on a collaborative book project. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more
A...battle bug. about this fascinating project in the coming months. After taking (and failing) the LEGO Super Quiz - a tongue-in-cheek trivia quiz, I returned to the apocalypse table to help out with setup. By now most of the creations were present and it was time to get organized so we could arrange the zombie chaos. With a layout established, everyone 13 pitched in to get all the baseplates and buildings in
The LEGO Group
THE
SECRETS
REVEALED
Ar ticle by Hadley Scrowston • Photos by Mark Stafford
BrickJournal had an opportunity to talk to the Design Team behind the new LEGO® Atlantis line. Here’s what they had to say: First tell us a little bit about yourselves, who are you, where are you from, what is your job, and how long have you been with the LEGO Group (TLG)?
in Grindsted, located 10 km away from Billund. I’m Project Supporter in Play Themes. I have been at the LEGO Group for 16 years, the last 3 years as a Project Supporter.
William Thorogood: I am a 27 year old designer from the UK and have been working with the LEGO Group for 5 years, currently as a Design Manager.
Menelaos Florides: Hello there! I come from Cyprus. I have been working as a designer here at the LEGO Group since October 2008. My job involves a lot of brain shakes, research, concept generation, new element design and model building.
Niels Milan Pedersen: I am Danish and I have worked as a Designer and sculptor at the company for over 29 years. Betina Herskind: I’m 40 years old and I live with my husband
Tim Ainley: I’m from Manchester, England. I’ve been at the company for 4 years working in the Playthemes design team. I worked on EXO-Force, Mars Mission, Power Miners, Space
Police and Atlantis. Before, I studied design for around 7 years and then started working for the LEGO Group straight out of University. Outside the office you will find me mostly running around in a cape and falling over. Harry Botterill: I am from London, England. I am a Product designer working in LEGO Playthemes. I have been with the company for two and a half years. Kjeld Walther Sørensen: I have been at the LEGO Group for some years now. Now I make graphics for different projects and that include all decorations and labels. But
Early sketch models of the Typhoon Turbo Sub (top) and the Neptune Carrier by Harry Botterill earlier in my career I also built models and made new elements. Raphael Pretesacque: I am 32 and come from Paris, France. I joined the LEGO Group about 7 years ago and I work as a Product Designer. During those years I had the pleasure to create a lot of sets for multiple themes (Spiderman 2, City, Aqua Raiders, Indiana Jones, Agents, Pirates, LEGO Direct and Atlantis). 21
Building
Sea Monkeys:
Creating a Fan Theme Article by Felix Greco Photography by Felix Greco and Joe Meno Every theme has a small number of elements that make it instantly recognizable. Stone walls, monsters, and knights tell us this must be a Castle theme. Starships, aliens, and astronauts? Must be Space. Underwater science fiction also has these components: yellow submarines, scuba gear, and anything related to the myth of Atlantis. A theme becomes remarkable when it captures the imagination and building takes one into a direction other media had never explored. Certainly, castle and space builders have been able to take the standards of their theme much further than video games, movies, or books had ever imagined. This is one of the great things about LEGO; the medium allows a builder to explore infinite possibilities. In this article I will explain my fascination with underwater science fiction and the manner in which LEGO helped me create my own sub-theme, the Sea Monkeys. LEGO has very generously embraced the idea of under water science fiction. In 1995, the first incarnation was introduced in the form of Aquazone. This theme had many of the staples one would expect. The good guys had yellow submarines and wore white. The bad guys had shark shaped submarines and wore black. The Aquaraiders made their first appearance two years later with menacing dark subs. In 1998 the theme moved forward with the Hydronauts and Stingrays. Interestingly, the theme was never formally named Aquazone, but many enthusiasts were quick to give it this label. This was certainly understandable since the Hydronaut sets shared a lot in common with their Aquanaut predecessors. The Stingrays were remarkable not only for the abundant love of their namesake, but also because they were the first minifigs created that were alien in any way. Thanks to Alpha Team: Mission Deep Sea, underwater science fiction never left the shelves. A dedicated underwater science fiction line then returned with the reinvention of the Aquaraiders. This time, large underwater monsters were the adversaries. Currently, the Atlantis theme is available combining 28 many familiar elements of its predecessors with
unique submarines, cool minifigures, and the staple of underwater science fiction… the myth of Atlantis. Since 1995, underwater science fiction in some form or another has been made available by the LEGO company. Aquazone was the theme that brought me out of my dark ages. As a young college student majoring in biology, the idea of the future undersea seemed very real to me. The oceans of our world are abundant with life. As we explore the planets of our own solar system, the search for life continues to coincide with the search for water. For me, the thought of a future exploring either our own oceans or the sea of some distant planet seemed very believable. At first, my concept of underwater science fiction was very “spacey”. I created underwater submarines and robots, but all of these held to the same standards that I felt necessary to communicate that they were under water. My submersibles were yellow, I incorporated lots of propellers, and I used minifigs with masks and flippers. As subsequent underwater subthemes became available, I (like many other enthusiasts) referred to anything related to underwater science fiction as “Aquazone”. In time I thought I had reached the end of my creativity with Aquazone. There are only so many yellow submarines one can build, I thought. As is so often the case, I found inspiration through the creativity of other builders. In 2001 the fad was to create fads. Space in particular had exploded with Pre-Classic Space, Skulls, Pods, and a number of other fan-designed subthemes. The themes often worked on limitations of form and color a builder had to work within. Interestingly, numerous builders showed prowess in
A transport for the Sea Monkeys. working within the confines of these specifications and the online community was rich with creations. I flirted with the idea of creating my own Aquazone subtheme, but choosing
an alternate color scheme or some specified shape seemed too simplistic. Toying with pieces one day, an idea emerged from a simple click. The Life on Mars aliens had immovable legs that made a click attachment to their torso. Replacing the legs with quarter dish radar piece instantly gave the appearance of some kind of aquatic creature. Sea Monkeys seemed like a natural name for fun aquatic life that had come from almost nothing. To that point, no one had utilized an alien species as an idea for a subtheme. Most would probably have set to building, but I opted for more thinking. I had a lot of fun imagining how my Sea Monkeys lived. I was determined to invent their culture and biology first, and then let the building naturally flow from there. I had posted a few pictures of the Sea Monkeys and some small creations online at which point Joe Meno became interested. In a series of e-mails we began bouncing ideas off of each other. I told him my idea of how I thought they lived, how their biology worked, and how we could build around these concepts. What emerged was probably one of the most specific set of
Land gear for the aquatic beings.
A hammerhead-inspired attack craft. criteria to date for a fan-created subtheme, but one of the most enjoyable builds I have ever had. I created a website on LUGNET called the Aquarium where I explained everything about the Sea Monkeys. They were a telepathic species with a hive mind. Concepts of individuality were unknown to them. Their gas and nutrient exchange occurred through the movement of their tail. Reproduction included two phases. In the first phase, they took on the original aquatic appearance, but in the second stage of life their consciousness was transferred into an immortal crystal form. These crystals formed the basis of the Sea Monkey religion. The Elders, as they were referred to, contained the collective knowledge of everything ever known by the Sea Monkeys. While many other subthemes were limited to a mere color palette, Joe and I made building specifications that outlined arrangements based on the biology and culture. Vehicles were modeled after sea creatures; we were inspired by shellfish, sharks, and fish. Many other builders contributed and took the Sea Monkeys in their own direction. In the grand scheme of the online building community, the Sea Monkeys were perhaps a blip in the radar. Other fan created subthemes have become imbedded in the online culture we have created together. But the Sea Monkeys were something different. Joe and I were able to break through the constraints placed on underwater science fiction and let our imaginations run wild. Creations didn’t have to be about Atlantis or yellow submarines. We were able to take a genre into a completely new direction
inspired by nothing more than our imaginations. The momentum of the subtheme most likely came to a halt due to my own lack of building. I had more fun creating the website and biology of the Sea Monkeys whereas Joe Meno was the creative force in his builds. The Sea Monkeys remain one of the most fun experiences I have had with LEGO and show that creativity can stretch far beyond the bounds of a genre’s staples.
A hermit crab transport.
29
Building
The main characters in this creative adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairly tale!
Article and photos by Benjamin S. Schwartz This MOC is my tallest to date, measuring a whopping 37” tall! But it did not begin as Rapunzel’s Tower. Just like all of my other creations, early on I establish a very basic idea of where I want the project to go – a sort of mental blueprint – without having expectations that the creation will look like that in the end. In this case, my initial concept was simply to build a tall tower. However, the original plan would have called for either a massive tree or a spindly beanstalk to sprout from the top. I cannot exactly pinpoint where these ideas came from, but they certainly possess a certain fairy tale quality, to be sure.
In the end, however, I felt those concepts were a little too “trippy” – if I did not understand the MOC, how could I expect my peers to? So I figured choosing a classic, widely recognized (but still rarely built) story (like Rapunzel) would suit the venture well. What never changed during the planning stages, though, was the color scheme. Every creation seems to have one feature that makes it what it is, and I feel my color choices really make this piece pop. Tan castles are rare; incredibly rare, actually. It is unfortunate because tan stonework is easy on the eyes and stands out against all the grays of other castle MOCs. Gray bores me, even if it is more accurate! The other two colors I relied most heavily on were light
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yellow and bright light yellow. By far, these are my two favorite LEGO colors – so buttery, smooth and soft; they are far too rare in my opinion. And obviously, with rarity comes a higher price tag. Frankly, the project was a good excuse to splurge a little (70 light yellow 2 x 2 tiles – yes please!) The lesser colors were dark tan, blue and the lighter shades of green. A few minor dark tan accents can be found around the model, along with various blue splotches (I.e., the roof and wagon wheels.) Finally, bright light green can be found around the base and up the side of the tower as ivy. If one word was to sum up the vibe I wanted to convey through colors, it would be “mellow.” Although it was considerably more difficult to gather the parts I needed, it was worth the extra effort. The major obstacle I faced in building the tower was my stubbornness in wanting to make it round. The most common technique in round castle building is the combination of 1 x 3 or 1 x 2 bricks and 1 x 1 round bricks – obviously, though, it does not create a particularly “brick-like” texture. Luckily, while browsing online, I came across a brilliant brick technique by the illustrious Deborah Higdon (d-higdon on flickr). She discovered that using 1 x 2 - 1 x 4 brackets with 1 x 2 plates underneath them, along with an alternating tile combination on the outside, creates a surprisingly realistic brick texture. She
Detailed look at the cross section of one of the ring sections utilizing the 1x2-1x4 brackets and 1x2 plate combination. Once stacked and connected together, the tower comes to form with some beautiful detail!