Lego Empire Strikes Back Bounty Hunters Diorama!

I've been wanting to make a diorama of this scene for years now, and since Lego has FINALLY GIVEN US A ZUCKUSS minifigure, it can now be done.

Thank you to my Danish overlords for FINALLY GIVING US THE LAST BOUNTY HUNTER.

"THAT man is playing Galaga!"

The Things That I See (continued)

In no particular order, here are some random things I've encountered in the last few months.  

First up, from Ebay, was a 1996 catalog by "Hollywood Archives" that included a few storyboards.  In the middle of them was this gem, complete with their description:

Umm...I don't remember this scene.  Or even seeing this storyboard anywhere before.  Also, I am not sure that is even what's going on here.  Moving on...

While we are on the subject of Star Wars, I've been re-reading the newspaper strips, which have been very nicely reprinted over the last year, and here is a panel from volume 2:

Poor Dengar can't catch a break.  Here's another oddity from Ebay:

Unfortunately, auctions like this one that involve deformed potato chips or particularly-burned toast have become all-too-common in today's world.  Also, it did not sell.

Here's a FAIL from Wikipedia that cracked me up.  Note the photo's caption!

This seems as good a place as any to put this photo.  My collection of Chinese "BootLego" characters continues to grow slowly.  As you can see, some are real winners (that Lego needs to make), but some just aren't.  The large Lizard was a particular disappointment, and needs to be repainted.  

Lastly, I was admiring the U.S. poster for GHIDRAH THE THREE HEADED MONSTER....did you ever notice how the artist sort of phoned in Rodan? And how he looks like a Bat-a-rang? 

Scientifically-enhanced close-up photo provided by handheld lithium-powered
telecommunication device(TM)

So, therefore, insert one time-wasting Photoshop here:

Bootlego Ultraman and Baltan minifigures!

Yes, these are Chinese bootlegs, but they are irresistible ones...I was very surprised to see these pop up, as the people who produce "bootlego" have moved into lots of original directions. First up is Ultraman:

It goes without saying (or typing), but I certainly hope they produce some more of the Ultra Brothers in the near future.  I ordered two of these figures, and I'm glad I did, because the dreaded Quality Control issues definitely come into play with a figure that has such a complicated paint job.  I had to mix and match parts to make one passable figure...he's not 100%, but close enough.  You will see the leftover parts shortly, in a photo below.

Next up is the Baltan:

I hope they don't go too crazy with villain kaiju, but Ultraman definitely has some great and iconic foes to be made.  There is a design flaw in the giant claws, in that they won't insert completely into the arms, and with bootlego, if it "don't fit," you "don't force it."

Baltan attack! (Insert scary slow-motion laughing here.) Here you see some of the "factory error" parts that I couldn't use, including an Ultraman head that is so mangled and mispainted, it looks downright creepy!

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

40th Anniversary of the LEGO Minifigure

Here, side by side, are two minifigures, 40 years apart! On the right, the very first minifigure, the Policeman, from set #600, made in 1978.  On the left, the "chase figure" from the newest (Series 18) set of Lego Collectible Minifigures, who is based on him!  As you can see, this first minifigure featured a sticker on the body, rather than printing. Happy birthday to the Lego Minifigure!  

Even More Bootlego Minifigures!

Woah!!!

A while back, we looked at some of the various "bootlego" minifigures that are available inexpensively from China (seen here).  

Now, before we continue, there are two kinds of Lego collectors:

1) Purists who say they will only support Lego, and anyone else making Lego-compatible items be damned.

2) Collectors who don't mind buying another company's product, when it's something that Lego just doesn't make.

I'm not here to argue, but admittedly, both my categories are simplified.  The sticky part of the issue is that the Chinese companies that make these new items are usually also bootlegging real Lego sets, and therefore taking away from Lego intellectually, monetarily, and so on.

But, you can guess which camp I'm in...so here we go with more proof:

Okay, let's talk about this Walrus Man for a moment.  You may know that Lego just released their third attempt at a Mos Eisley Cantina, and their third failure.  When I first saw this Walrus Man, I assumed it had been leaked, and therefore copied ahead of time.....wrong.  While the new Cantina did give us the bartender, there were no new aliens.  It almost isn't a type-able sentence to say that you could even fathom to put out a Cantina without any new aliens.  But it happened. We will come back to this in the near future, when I finally do an article about my version of what the Lego Cantina should look like.  Stay tuned.

Yes, it's the Colonel. There is also a hilarious Ronald McDonald that I don't have a photo of.

Golden Age Batman.

Clayface.  This is what he looked like in the Lego Batman video games!

Back to Godzilla, this one is actually available in a ridiculous amount of variations and colors, including transparent colors*.  I can only assume that the intention here is for this to be the PLANET OF MONSTERS Godzilla from the new anime film.  In that case, the one at the top of this post is the correct color!

*Like this

LEGO Fantastic Four & The Baxter Building!

Recently, I started working on a project to create a Lego version of the old "Marvel World" cardboard playset from the mid-1970's...and the first thing I wanted to do was give the Fantastic Four something to live in.  Astute observers will note that Lego hasn't produced any minifigures of the team, but Chinese ("bootlego") figures are available, that try to reproduce their likenesses from the first Marvel Lego Super Heroes video game!

I wanted a building that opens, and after looking at some classic depictions of the building, such as this:

...I started to plan the layout.  The left side of the opened building is divided into four rooms.  First, a gymnasium for the Thing:

Next, a lab for Reed Richards (pardon the glare):

Third, a kitchen and rest area:

Lastly, the first floor would be a lobby and reception area, complete with receptionist...

The right side of the opened building is a launch bay for their rocket (later, Pogo Plane).  The great thing about the rocket is that each segment allows for storage, specifically alternate versions of the characters you are displaying! If Sue is invisible at the moment (and a clear one is available, and currently on the way to my house), you can put the non-invisible one in a stage of the rocket, and the same for the Human Torch, which is handy.

Lastly, I built them a Fantasticar.  If you remember your comic history correctly, the car was able to split into four smaller pieces, and still fly around:

It was also important that the Fantasticar be able to park on the rooftop:

By the way, H.E.R.B.I.E. is simply a physical representation of the design used for the first Lego Marvel Super Heroes game...well, except his arms are supposed to be white, and that part is really rare in white, so I used dark gray.  No big deal.

My other projects are:  an apartment building for Peter Parker, a taller Avengers Tower (I added an extra bottom floor to give it height), and a building version of Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, which I haven't gotten around to yet...but I am probably most proud of this Baxter Building!

1980-something Spaceman Reunion!

Lego #76057 Expansion Project (Web Warriors Bridge Battle)

I know this was a popular idea, when this amazing set recently came out, to buy more than one and "extend" the bridge.  From the way it's designed, I think this was even what the Lego Group had in mind.  I was lucky that a local Wal-Mart ran a sale on this set for $78, instead of the $99 it originally was.  I don't know why they did that, but I haven't regretted the second purchase for one moment.

And of course, it provides room to involve the other current Spider-Man sets!

First off, let me say that I did absolutely nothing fancy.  I could have done a lot of modifications, but

I didn't see the need.  All I added were a couple of large plates to connect the two bridge playsets together, three baseplates for water, two minifigures (a fireman and a driver for the second taxi), and some clear rods and bricks to make the gliders fly.  That's all it took.  Really, you could modify this thing as much as you want--unless I'm parting out a set I like to keep it complete, so I just built the whole thing, and left off the final, small segment (where the street signs and trash can launcher is).  Not building that last part gives you the plates you need to hook both sides together, and fill in the missing street plates. 

I have over 300 Lego sets, and I have to say that this very well may be my absolute favorite set that has been made.  Definitely the best Marvel set, hands down!

Hey, I just remember that Doc Ock was involved when Capt. Stacy died in the original comics.  This was a happy accident.

If only they had given us a Gwen, instead of Aunt May.  Oh well, it feels just as therapeutic to dangle her from a bridge!

A better view of the translucent bricks and rods, which of course would work for the Vulture too.