Sunday, November 28, 2010

Day 76 - Creations for Charity - Steampunk Sniper




As mentioned in previous posts, all of the Creations for Charity figures have been designed around a specific BrickArms prototype (for their regular weapons visit BrickArms website) - in this case rust swirl Sten prototype with U-clip ammo attachment.  I was going to replicate my Wierd War Paratrooper - Black Legion Falcon:





The issues with replicating this figure were a few (okay, more excuses, but still) - 1) The torso choice was much more expensive to use (Cad Bane Torso), and this figure uses a LARGE amount of BrickArms protos (some of which were permanently modded for this figure - i.e. the re-breather, the panzerfaust, and to an extent the viewfinder).  Regardless, I decided to make a new figure for the other rust swirl Sten that I received, and following in line with the Steampunk Clone Trooper, I thought a more traditional steampunk figure might be enjoyed.

So, what to do with a steampunk trooper - well, my typical thought is to give them lots of dials and pressure gauges - which this figure has plenty of  -3 pressure gauges, and 1 modded Arealight jetpack warhead (available at Arealight Customs) which functions as a dial.  More noticeable in this picture:


My largest goal with this figure however, was that I wanted to add as many playability features as possible.  Where should I start with playability?  Well, the weapon of course!  However, I come to a brick wall at this point - how do I take a BrickArms prototype and mod it in a way that allows for the steampunk theme, playability, and at the same time not permanently altering the weapon (many BrickArms fans do not approve of their BAPs being permanently modded)?  Well, the answer was to create a mod that was removable.  In this case I used a piece of Lego tubing/hosing that had a fairly decent amount of surface tension that allowed the tube to remain on the tip of the Sten while at the same time allowing me to use some trans-neon pieces for the scope and rifle barrel.  This mod is completely removable and actually usable on other BrickArms that have the thin tip rifle barrel.  I also included a bayonette from my collection to create a walking stick that allows the bayonette to be removed and used as a weapon should this steampunk scientist find the need.  The final piece of built-in playability with this figure is found in the lever on his back - I was playing around and thought it would be neat to have a "working" power switch on the armor - the lever actually moves up and down and can be played with to "power" the armor or turn it off (although, it doesn't do him much good in the back where he can't reach it...). 

In finalizing the figure - put on some coats of varying shades of bronze, add a little blue for the oxidation spots, and seal the figure.  Overall, I'm happy with how the figure came out, although I don't think he'll make my top list of favorite minifigures. 

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Day 75 - Creations for Charity Steampunk Clone Trooper


My figure for today is a Steampunk themed Clone Trooper - I know several customizers have delved into the theme of Star Wars and Steampunk - one of my most favorite Star Wars Steampunk custom minifigure creators is Jasbrick, illustrated with his Steamtrooper (also using a BrickArms Blaster Rifle prototype):


I have also done a few other steampunk Star Wars themed figures, like my Steampunk Mandalorian -


As with all my Creations for Charity figures, I have been designing them around specific BrickArms prototypes (Brickarms website), and in this figures case this was a pair of rust-swirl color Star Wars Blaster Rifle/Pistol. I had thought about creating another Post-Apoc figure, but I felt it would be nice to have a different focus (and, in my opinion, is there a huge difference between Steampunk and Post-Apoc?).  I decided a steampunk figure would go great with the two BAPS (brickarms prototype).  I also decided to focus on a clone trooper (partially because I have a much larger proportion of clones rather than stormtroopers) but also because I haven't seen many steampunk clone troopers done either!

How to achieve a steampunk clone trooper?  I started with the helmet - and for a clone trooper they have the distinctive T-visor helmet.  I didn't want to have a regular T-visor, as it wouldn't set the figure apart, but then I thought - what if I give him a goggle system?  I started playing with a few different ideas, and what ended up working best was a pair of modded binoculars with trans-neon yellow bars/antennas.  I think it looked great as a steampunk figure!

The other element that really establishes this figure as a steampunk trooper is the power generator on the back:

I used a bionicle piece that I love using for steampunk figures, which I then enhanced using a technique of painting lighting/energy bolts running through it.  This is attached to the BrickForge Space Marine armor (BrickForge website) through the tab on the back of the armor and a whole on the Lego piece.

Overall, I think this figure was very effective, and the choice of the brown Indiana Jones jacket and tan Indiana Jones legs work really well with this figure!  I think it is unified very well, and in the end looks like a great Steampunk trooper, at least in my opinion!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Day 74 - Post Apoc Orc

Day 74 - Post-Apoc Orc

As I was working on this figure for the Creations for Charity event I was trying to think of how to vary my figures.  As with all of my Creations for Charity figures, I am featuring various BrickArms  prototypes (in this case a podgun) - incidentally, a great big thank you to Will for his generosity.  After choosing which weapon to use, I started working with some Amazing Armory. I wanted to do something different with it than I usually do, and I started adding a few things to it, and I started playing with the GOW shield as well.  As I was playing with ideas, I realized that this figure needed a Lego...troll...cough...orc.  I started playing with adding some more elements to the shield, and realized that it needed some gore to it.  The shield is playing with a specific technique used very often for Warhammer Orcs - where you take the brush bristles and flick them at the shield.  It works really well - it's best to layer with a darker color underneath and then a brighter color layered over that. After I was finished, I thought the shield needed something a little extra, and as I was piecing it together I saw a bag of items I recently recieved from BrickCommand.net and I used one of the throwing stars they offer (which are usable for a minifigure - really wonderful)!


The other element I was really working on here are the armor horns - which use a technique called feathering.  It involves layering colors over one another and letting a wet brush create the "horn" effect.  Most of the other effects with this figure utilize a wash.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with how this figure turned out!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Project 365

What is Project 365?  It is my quest to create one custom minifigure per day for one year with the focus of improving my craft and art of minifigure customization.  This is a very exciting time right now for the Lego minifigure - there is an ever growing list of independent Lego accessory vendors - companies such as BrickArms, BrickForge, Amazing Armory (each with a growing list of resellers), Arealight, BrickCommand - just to name a few provide accessories which are not offered by Lego.  In addition to the independent vendors, Lego has also recognized the growing trend of minifigure collectability as seen in the creation and subsequent release of the Collectable Minifigures (Currently Series 1-3, with more planned).

With all this in mind, there is no lack of minifigure customizers out there - JasBrick and Morgan190 are the first to come to mind, however, every day more and more Lego Minifigure fans find themselves involved in customizing their first minifigure.  Each person that I see customizing minifigures has their own strengths and weaknesses - and I find we can learn things from each other which will help each of us to continue creating better minifigures.  This blog is my journey for 1 year in creating custom minifigures - some figures are created to better hone a particular technique, or to test a concept for customization.  Within this blog I will share each days minifigure, and what I was trying to achieve, and what I think I still can fine-tune to help make my craft better.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

A few of my figures for the first 75 days:


Day 2:


Day 16:


Day 29:


Day 45:





Day 58


 Day 60:






Day 66:

Day 71: