I’m loving this little tachikoma by Lord Dane. It’s another creative new use for the figure bases from the new Toy Story army men set. Even if it’s not quite as brilliant as the motorcycle we featured recently, it still looks good, and makes use of an otherwise useless part. Better still, this tachikoma is true to the inspiration from Ghost in the Shell, and can accommodate a minifig.
I’m all for using parts creatively but the stands really blow in my humble. They conceal a lot of detail that looks like it’s pretty nice and they throw off the color scheme. I’d love to see pics without them on.
Ree that the bases are an issue for the color scheme, but I think this thin needed the color, and more green should be added elsewhere to make it work. I also think that the bases add some much needed curves to something that might otherwise be too boxy. Are there other ways to accomplish this? Sure. Are some better? Probably. I spent more than an hour looking for stuff to blog on Sunday, and this was the thing that caught my eye.
The above post should begin “I agree.” This is what happens when I try to post from my phone.
I must agree with the sentiment that they seem tacked on. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the overall build, I especially love that it fits a minifig snugly. Like stated already, if more green were added, then maybe the bases would have worked better, but at this point, I’m not of fan of the ‘bases just because’ use. I must say though, the use of those white skid pads as eyes is wonderful, love that look.
Calling those pieces “useless” and the use of said pieces “not quite as brilliant” makes you seem biased, blog-guy. Obviously, they have as many uses as us LEGO enthusiasts can think up. Ever stacked them all together? Makes a very interesting background.
No, SubcommanderShran, they make it sound like I have an OPINION. It is not preconceived or prejudiced, but based on experience, and therefore not a bias. Obviously ANY part has as many uses as LEGO builders can think of. It certainly sounds like you have some sort of bias, or at least opinion, against me amd/or or this blog, though.
@ SubcommanderShran
No need to be so critical, he’s simply stating an opinion of the piece itself, and he does happen to be a blogger of TBB, so he’s quite entitled to one of those.
I think we can generally agree that those parts that are seemingly useless can look amazing when used well. Their difficulty only adds to the wow factor, not to mention the sense of uniqueness.
“Legohaulic brings death from above” is a great, and recent, example of this.
I prefer the term “challenging” to useless, but that’s me. :)
I use the term “useless piece/part” all the time. Unless you designed the part in question, I have a hard time imagining why anyone would take umbrage at that. It’s a term of art that doesn’t mean the piece is incapable of being used, just that it’s very specialized in a way that makes its uses limited.
Similarly, “not quite as brilliant” is simply an opinion comparing a technique used in one MOC with a technique used in another. People get to have opinions on their own blog. It’s not a value judgment.
@SubcommanderShran-Guy
Dan is quite entitled to his opinions. We want our contributors to air their opinions. For the record I agree with him. This use is not quite as good as when they were used on the motorcycle. Do you think this is better?
If I could revisit my post. I didn’t mean to suggest that the base pieces are defective as a brick. I’ve seen them used very well in a lot of MoCs. They are very green and that has been a problem for in modelling for a lot of builds that use them. My objection is that they detract from a good representation of the object modelled here:
http://authenticorganizations.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tachikoma.gif
Having tried my hand at building this little robot several times in the past, I’m very impressed with this build’s character, scale, and functionality. I just don’t like 4 of the bircks that were put on it.
Honestly I don’t think it would be too blocky without the stands, and do agree that they feel tacked on just to say they were used, but hey that’s the creative direction the builder decided to take. I think it’s a great little MOC either way. I think enough people have commented on SubcommanderShran’s comment that not much more needed to be said about it, I just wonder when this blog had to be “No MOC left behind”? Criticism is a good thing.