It’s been a while since I’ve blogged anything I’ve made but I’m fond enough of this one to put it up. Because if you’re around my age Neo Space Police I makes more sense than Neo Classic Space.
Many, many, many thanks to Pete Reid for this. It wouldn’t exist were it not for him.
Ralph Savelsberg (Mad physicist) has built a colorful and complex model of the Scania R500 recovery truck, featuring remote-controlled drive and steering. I love the half plate inset on the sides and the colored lines that run across the vehicle. As with Ralph’s style, you can see the exposed studs on the top that contributes to the sculptural quality of this model.
Check out the video to see the truck in action.
Like many LEGO builders, I spent the first decades of my life building in isolation, lucky to get suggestions or critique from a sibling or rare friend who also played with LEGO. But in the last 10 years — particularly the last 5 — the LEGO fan community has grown to include a critical mass of people who build in just about every possible genre.
People with shared interests who spend time together online will inevitably run out of solely positive things to say, and as a result, a culture of constructive criticism has emerged among LEGO fans. Balanced against this impetus to critique everything are the planning and research that individual builders put into what they create. In contrast to the solo building those of us in our 30s did 20 years ago, builders today have a wealth of sources right at our fingertips.
What effects do research, critique, and discussion among community members ultimately have on the quality of the LEGO creations we build and share? Since I’ve been on a bit of a building spree lately (amazing what you can do when your LEGO collection is sorted), I thought I’d step back and share my experience.
Read on, and share your own thoughts in the comments…
Before I set out to create a Dodge WC54 ambulance from World War II, I spent a couple hours finding the best pictures and determining where and when they were actually used during the war. Given that many World War II photos were taken by service personnel and are therefore in the public domain, Wikimedia Commons is a great place to find historical photos.
Historical re-enactors and scale modelers also run dozens of sites that pull together vast amounts of careful research. For both my ambulance and later battalion aid station diorama, I turned frequently to the WW2 US Medical Research Centre.
Originally planning to broaden my D-Day beachhead diorama, I confirmed that WC54s were used at Normandy, and even found a photo of WC54s sitting on Omaha Beach. Good enough to start building.
Targeting 1/35 scale, I translating the real vehicle’s length, height, and width into studs and bricks. Remembering what I’d learned from my wildland fire engine, I built from the top down. I struggled with the front, since I had to combine half-stud offset for the three/five-wide hood with SNOT for the grill and bumper, plus tiles (with no studs to sturdy connections on top) for the fenders.
I figured it out, though, and pleased with my results posted pictures to Flickr:
Checking back a while later, I saw a stream of notes from our very own Tim, whose windscreen I’d reverse-engineered for the original ambulance. I gritted my teeth and clicked through. (Honestly, I hate taking criticism, especially when it’s wrong. I’d vented a week earlier that too many of the suggestions to “improve” my M4 Sherman tank took it in more interesting but less historically accurate directions. That’s just plain annoying.)
Tim had seen the mini-rant I’d posted in a Flickr group we both frequent, and his critique was spot on. He made specific suggestions based on the source material I’d used myself, providing solutions where I hadn’t thought the model could be improved. The result is the version I included in my diorama, posted separately below:
The story arc (if you will) started with research, moved through community discussion and critique of the creation itself, and ended with a substantially improved LEGO model. This same story plays out every day in the LEGO fan community today — something that would have been nearly impossible 20 years ago and highly unlikely 10 years ago.
Side note: Looking to future World War II vehicles I might build, I’ll be relying on a copy of World War II AFV Plans: American Armored Fighting Vehicles
Nearly all of the book’s schematics are printed at 1/35 scale, which avoids eyestrain from the WIP-held-against-computer-screen method I’d been using before the book arrived in the mail.
So, what’s your experience with the balance between research or sources of inspiration and constructive criticism?
Just a quick reminder that Canberra Brick Expo is on this upcoming Sunday (8th Aug). They have a promo video too.
See original post here.
After I built my US Army Dodge WC54 ambulance, it deserved a proper historical context — a Battalion Aid Station in a ruined farmhouse courtyard.
In the US Army, Battalion Aid Stations are the first line of medical treatment after battlefield first aid by medics or fellow soldiers. Wars of the 20th-century saw many conscientious objectors serving as non-combatants in the American armed forces, often as medics. Army medics served heroically, charging into battle alongside their armed comrades. Eleven received the Congressional Medal of Honor as a result of their actions in World War II.
My Battalion Aid Station is based on historical photographs from the Western Front in 1944 and 1945, after the Normandy Invasion on D-Day. Naturally, I had to convert a couple of the more immersive shots into black and white:
Though the muddy lane with the M3 half-track and hedgerow was an afterthought — one that nearly emptied my bin of plant pieces — I’m quite pleased with the result:
Because the subject matter fascinates me so much, I built a great deal of detail into this that you can’t see in a single photo. Check out the photoset on Flickr for more.
(I’ll be discussing some of the build process for my improved ambulance separately, because I think the role of constructive criticism in improving one’s models is something that deserves its own post.)
Of the many patterns by Katie Walker (eilonwy77), her offset square patterns are my favorites because they create the illusion of boxes flying out of the page.
The color variations in this one below create the illusion of height. Very clever.
Lovers of Masamune Shirow don’t need to feel left out of the Cubedude phenomenan as Paul Meissner (legosamurai) has rendered the leading duo from Appleseed in blocky glory.
Fan of Angus MacLane‘s CubeDudes will be delighted to know that a second set featuring bounty hunters will be available at Star Wars Celebration V. Click on the image below for more info and an interview with Angus on StarWars.com.
Via FBTB
The viral ad for the Pilot Extra-Fine ball-pens features Lego minifigs with tatoos. Although the effects are made with Photoshop, it’s still interesting to look at all the designs.
Via ufunk, thanks for the tip Titolian!
Ed Diment (Lego Monster) brings us an aircraft of a more terrestrial variety in his Red Bull Air Racer. The larger 1:22 scale allows some nice extra details and a smoother profile.
I have no idea what the name means, but that doesn’t make this ship any less awesome. Robb (Dasnewten) has graced us all with another fantastic creation.
It crams in myriad angles, as well as nooks and crannies. There’s also some great surface detailing mixed in, not too much, and not too little. The overall effect is quite believable as a functional space craft.
Tsang Yiu Keung (chiukeung) built a microscale replica of the China Pavilion that dominates Expo 2010. I’ve been wanting to build this structure since visiting the expo earlier this month, but there’s no need now. It even has lights.
