FBTB Mech Madness 2012 Building Tournament - Secret Crisis

[Mister Ed]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8009 ... f1ae56.jpg

Have you considered using the Leprechaun hat from the collectible minifigure (if you have access to it, of course)? Seems more his style.

EDIT: Though I just looked up your stated source material version of Mad Hatter, and I guess the black is closer in appearance to that version.

EDIT: Oops. Sorry about the picture quoting faux pas.

[bartosza6m]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8009 ... f1ae56.jpg

Have you considered using the Leprechaun hat from the collectible minifigure (if you have access to it, of course)? Seems more his style.

EDIT: Though I just looked up your stated source material version of Mad Hatter, and I guess the black is closer in appearance to that version.

Yes, I have Leprechaun's hat, but it's more accurate to his green-comic version.
I also tryed white rubber but it was too wide...

[Darth Mitz]

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent

thanks for that Morgan19, that's going to be very helpful.

[naugem]

Still plugging away. Oddly enough, I seem to have fallen into starting at the extremities and working my way in. I've got hands, feet, and most of a head, with the beginnings of arms and legs (as well as a chest plate of sorts that I'm quite happy with...provided I can figure out the best way to integrate THAT). Still I'm developing a cautious optimism that I might actually finish this thing some day.

Biggest problem now is turning out to be figuring out how to attach all this stuff and make it at least moderately poseable. Connections are tough. Kind of makes me wish maybe I had bought more technic or Bionicle-type sets in the past.

I'm in the same boat. Already have the arms and part of the head and legs, but no middle section, and struggling to make the connections.
Building mechs is hard.

[Ultron32]

Arming this thing is going to be another challenge. I feel like armaments look better the more INTEGRATED they look, but I've got no real ideas on that score.

I also am having trouble with weapon ideas. My mech doesn't really consist of much BIONICLE parts, just all made of brick. I'm not sure if that makes it easier or harder to integrate a weapon into the meach. I think harder, unfortunately.

[Master Beef]

After Ra's al Ghul's latest trip to the Sahara Lazarus Pit Spa and Resort for the Mortally Wounded and Sick, he had a mental breakdown of sorts (caused by the pit) in which he not only maniacally laughed as usual, but spoke some nonsense as well. Ra's al Ghul's servant, Ubu, discarded everything Ra's said about mullets and sandwiches, but still couldn't shake one thing: Ra's wanted Ubu to build a mech. Now Ubu is portrayed as the strong/silent type who calls everyone infidels in the cartoons, but what many do not know is that Ubu graduated from Cal Tech University with a Doctorate in Biomechanical Engineering! In short, Ubu built and built and built some more until he finished an enormous mech which he named "The Knight of Ra."


The Knight of Ra by Master Beef (with fries), on Flickr
One thing I wanted to do was to mix the futuristic "Dawn Forge" style with the old, lanky robot style. Also, I'm usually a "no studs" kind of guy, but I thought that at this scale, studs give the effect of giant bolts holding the machine together.



The Knight of Ra - Cockpit by Master Beef (with fries), on Flickr
Notice the little similarity to everyone's favorite Chewbacca driven chicken walker?



Ra's al Ghul by Master Beef (with fries), on Flickr
I wonder what kind of budget he has for hair gel...


Last but not least:

Do you think I'd only take three pictures of this massive mech? OF COURSE NOT! You can check out my Flickr stream if you want, but PLEASE look at it on MOCpages as all of the awesome features and functions are disected in detail, and you wouldn't want to miss out on the rest of the comedic backstory, would you? Here's the link:
http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/341915


Good luck and keep building everyone! (:D

[Lego junkie]

I have a strange desire to go work on my Mech now.
: D

[Master Beef]

And I have a strange desire to destroy my mech now. :P

Just kidding, although it ALMOST did get destroyed a few times during the pic-taking process...

[Ultron32]

I wonder what kind of budget he has for hair gel...

That Ras Al Ghul looks kind of like wolverine. For the face, I suggest using the head of the character "Nizam" from prince of persia. He was the villian--you know the guy, hes bald and he wears robes.

I have a strange desire to go work on my Mech now.
: D

looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Master Beef]

I do have Nizam's head, but the Ra's from the comics has very large mutton chops, which Nizam doesn't have. The Wolverine head and hair were the closest pieces I had to Ra's' look, so that's just the way it worked out.

[Ultron32]

I do have Nizam's head, but the Ra's from the comics has very large mutton chops, which Nizam doesn't have. The Wolverine head and hair were the closest pieces I had to Ra's' look, so that's just the way it worked out.

I see. Very cool mech, by the way!

[Lego junkie]

Unfortunately, the MocOlympics decided that they didn't like my estimate of when I'd be getting my entry submitted.

I've made very little progress on my mecha, so hopefully I can still find the time to enter!

[Mister Ed]

I'm becoming more optimistic that I will be able to scrape together something that I will actually be proud to present here. Arms and legs are completely finished. I was able to modify my cockpit/head so that I was even happier with the result (though I'm still puzzling out the connections on it, both to the torso, and the ability to actually OPEN. I'm assuming that the cockpit has to actually hinge or something, and can't require removal of an assembly to access).

And, of course, I still have to construct a torso. That's barely been started. But I can visualize a satisfying end result now.

[zhouston]

I'm assuming that the cockpit has to actually hinge or something, and can't require removal of an assembly to access)

Actually I don't think it necessarily has to hinge, as long as you have a picture showing the hero/villain in the cockpit. For example Master Beef's mech doesn't have a traditional hinge (it may swing open, im not sure, but it doesn't show it in that picture)

[majortom]

Hmm, this maybe a problem for me too. I've used two technic bricks with pins and holes (brick link refs 32000 and 30526) to attach the 'lid' of my mech to the body. I didn't think too much of it until you brought it up, but of course, please tell me if im doing it wrong! Access to the controls doesn't require any major deconstruction, though.

On another note, I'm finding it hard to incorporate colour into my mech. This stems from having a brick collection of predominantly bley/ dark bley/ black parts. Is anyone else having a similar problem?

[zhouston]

It says nowhere in the rules that the cockpit must hinge open. All it says is that you need a picture of your dude inside. The folks at FBTB aren't typically the kind to tack on a thousand different building limitations; they like to see originality and creativity. I may be wrong (and if I am I will surely be corrected soon) but seriously I don't think your cockpit has to open up easily or anything.

[Mister Ed]

Huh, I guess you're right. In my case, though, if it doesn't hinge, I'll have to take the head apart to be able to see the pilot, since there're no windows through which he could be visible. So I'll still be trying to hinge it if possible. Guess it's good to know that if I can't solve that problem, I can just build the pilot into the head...but that still seems lame to me. (I'd probably feel differently if I had a window that he was visible through, but that's not an option.)

[Master Beef]

I'm assuming that the cockpit has to actually hinge or something, and can't require removal of an assembly to access)

Actually I don't think it necessarily has to hinge, as long as you have a picture showing the hero/villain in the cockpit. For example Master Beef's mech doesn't have a traditional hinge (it may swing open, im not sure, but it doesn't show it in that picture)

I can't remember if I showed it in the MOCpages pics, but I just used clip-hinges at the back of the "neck" and the top of the cockpit.

[sparkart]

There are plenty of examples of real-life vehicles that don't have a hinged canopy, that have a canopy or access panels/door that come off that have to be re-installed when the vehicle is put into use. Off the top of my head, the Gee Bee Z air-racer didn't have a hinged canopy; The pilot climbed in, and someone else would stick the canopy on top of his head. You can see this in "reel-life" in the opening scenes of The Rocketeer, here en espanol.

[Ultron32]

(though I'm still puzzling out the connections on it, both to the torso, and the ability to actually OPEN. I'm assuming that the cockpit has to actually hinge or something, and can't require removal of an assembly to access

Actually I don't think it necessarily has to hinge, as long as you have a picture showing the hero/villain in the cockpit.

I've used two technic bricks with pins and holes (brick link refs 32000 and 30526) to attach the 'lid' of my mech to the body. I didn't think too much of it until you brought it up, but of course, please tell me if im doing it wrong! Access to the controls doesn't require any major deconstruction, though.

It says nowhere in the rules that the cockpit must hinge open. All it says is that you need a picture of your dude inside.

Huh, I guess you're right. In my case, though, if it doesn't hinge, I'll have to take the head apart to be able to see the pilot, since there're no windows through which he could be visible. So I'll still be trying to hinge it if possible.

There are plenty of examples of real-life vehicles that don't have a hinged canopy, that have a canopy or access panels/door that come off that have to be re-installed when the vehicle is put into use.

All I can say on this subject is, I sure HOPE it doesn't need a hinge, because otherwise I'm somewhat screwed. I suppose I could probably attach a hinge in there somewhere, but it would make the mech look worse overall.