Swert's Log

Two days ago, I put in the longest work day I've had to put in since I started working for The TbP Group (Dan Parker's company encompassing his commission work, his educational camps and events), namely 16 hours in one huge shift. This blog entry is about that.

What did we do during this lengthy 16 hours, one may wonder? During the 10:30 to 1:00 pm hours, not much. It's when we hit 2:30 up in Seattle, WA that the fun really began.
 

The event we were at was held at CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Sounders FC. We were in a lounge area on the 5th floor, with a relaxing suite for ourselves on Level 6 (reserved for various partners of the stadium and private suites. We missed out on Vulcan, Inc's box. How sad.)
 

Inside of our personal suite, we had the accommodations one might expect from a Seahawks game, minus the adult beverages (didn't matter, we had work to do.) Personal note, I would -love- to have that jersey configuration on my wall at home. Etched glass required. Get the newer Sounders jerseys though.

So now you may wonder, "Swert, why are you linking to amazing scenery of CenturyLink Field? And how does this relate to 16 hours of work?"

This.
 

At the event, we were tasked with building up the nearly six-foot Death Star model we have. This is only the second time we even used this model for an event. It is truly amazing to see it again.
 

My boss, Dan Parker, poses with the model on a very candid shot I took while finally taking a seat. It took us 5 hours to assemble, and the remainder of the night to midnight Friday morning to finish. After 14 hours of work, we then started taking it all down for two hours, going back the next day early Friday morning just taking the rest down.

It was a truly amazing experience, and I look forward to more to come. In the meantime, feel free to comment on any aspect of the build, including the TechReady 16 logo (That was commissioned for lease, I built the main hexagon logo in less than a day. It wasn't easy, but I got it done.)

Hey everyone, I'm happy to announce that HS01 is -finally- ready to upgrade the main page to mimic BS01's in terms of navigation and content.

Aside from some cosmetic changes, the navigation is now fully functioning (or will be when it's posted anyway) and I plan to show off these features in the near future in a blog entry or topic (for both sites, cause apparently nobody uses it on BS01 that I am aware of, simply because nobody knows it's there).

In non BS01 and HS01 news, I get to work five days this week, including an event on Thursday. We're setting up our five foot diameter Death Star and some other minor things for the client, and it's an interactive model. We already have 95% of the model ready to go, we just need to assemble it on site, then work on decorating it. I then help tear part of it down that night, leave it for the next day when we go back up and tear it all down (it's about 4 hours of tear down and proper packing.)

... Man, I did not realize how busy I'd be until just then x_x

I'll never ever EVER watch that show again!

... Oh wait, I never did anyway 8D

Anyway in all seriousness I'm feeling a ton better now, my chest doesn't hurt as badly, and I look forward to getting back to work tomorrow. What am I working on tomorrow, you may wonder? BORG. AND DEATH STAR. AND STUFF FOR A CLIENT NAMED MEECRO SAFT. I think we got that name wrong on the form. I guess we'll find out when the check comes in 8D

But in all seriousness I was really sick D:

I've been saying it for years, the only way I would get sick is if it had to drag me into a bed and find a way to keep me there.
 
Well played, stomach bug. Making me so dizzy I can't even stand is indeed one way to keep me here. But by midnight tonight I will defeat you. I must.

Oh right, I've been around since 2003.

... What is this I don't even.

So, in 2006, I was very poor. This is to expected, I was still in high school. I couldn't afford to buy the good sets like (at the time) the popular Batman line sets. What did I miss out on, one might wonder. Well, the biggie I have is Nightwing the figure. He was only available in the Arkham Asylum set, #7785. He is probably one of the rarest figures I have ever laid eyes on in that particular series. I'd put him rarer than some of the others, especially since he was not re-released in the Batman II/DC Comics series.

Now, my goal is simple. I must obtain my own Nightwing figure. TO VARIOUS ONLINE STORES!

Oh wait... he's like averaging $40-$70 USD. Huh.

Okay, so I'll bypass it... I'll just buy the torso, use black legs I have, get the head and hair...

What do you mean the hairpiece is $10-$33?! THE HEAD'S HOW MUCH AND SOLD FROM WHERE?! AND THE TORSO-

Okay, forget this. So, as I no doubt have said in the past, I work in a LEGO art studio. Okay, so no problem, check our stock in the back... Oh hey, like 10-12 Nightwing torsos! Epic. Grabbed legs too so I didn't need to dig any out.

So now it's on to the head and hair... Oh wait, we have the hair. Sweet. Wait, it's the only one in the shop. Not so sweet. Okay, so leave that. I can find a better one for him later I suppose. Yeah, long hair in black, found that already pretty cheap (didn't buy yet.) So that leaves my head, right? Still expensive and only sold in two stores I found. So, I'm going to forego accuracy and go with a newer Robin head, which uses a similar mask but not the same. I'm fine with this. Also LEGO recently released 3 stud lightsaber blade (bar) elements in trans light blue, so I'd switch to those instead for accuracy to the set.

Okay, so now I have that all done, right? Nope, cause I'm too broke to buy it still. Go figure. Anyway, the long story short, I have a Nightwing torso and legs. That's pretty much it.

As for Red Hood, I decided to not make him using a Deadpool head, I'm going to be painting or affixing something to another red head to make him, I think. Or something. That way I can have both fight it out in an epic layout eventually.

Sorry for the long blog rant, but I figure SOMEONE is bound to read it. TL;DR: I'm a geek.

... I should make a custom Red Hood minifig. That'd be epic at work, especially on my brick badge for Emerald City ComicCon.

I took some opinions I gained from people on my IM, and my limited blog comments, and I created this new revision. The old is just below it.

I think I did a better job on this pass, and it looks more cohesive. I'd love it if we can find a better Missions and possible a better Saga Guides image, but I did make some major changes. In addition, I adjusted the lettering spacing so the I looks cleaner. Easier to read. I also negated almost all gray (the LEGO Black icon is staying, it's the best choice.)

Comments are, again, welcome.

Dude.

... Dude.

Dibs on Deadpool.

Anyway, I'm happy they finally announced another superhero game, and it's even more surprising given I would expect them to release it last year when Avengers hit. I suppose it makes sense to release it when Iron Man 3 hits.

I look forward to it, Fall 2013 isn't coming fast enough.

So, exciting times coming up here in the studio this coming beginning of the year.

We're in the process of making up to 6 different events at the same time happen, including three shows in the summer, a -huge- model for Emerald City ComicCon, an event in February at CenturyLink Field (Probably the WaMu Center... but if it's the real field, I'll be a happy Swerty : D) and another couple of things I forget off the top of my head.

Basically I'm busy. With any luck I'll be able to post teasers of my work, but for now I'm keeping mum. Let's just say Emerald City ComicCon will be amazing with the model we're looking at making, if only because I look forward to inviting one of the main guests to see it completed. With any luck, there will be little resistance on his part. It would be futile.