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Swert

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Blog Entries posted by Swert

  2. Swert
    So awhile back, I posted I had collected all original 100 2001 Bionicle masks (aka, the ones from any 2001 set that was commercially available, minus the red Ruru). Of course, that's without the misprints and other sharp rarities such as a 14 karat gold Hau, but those are sadly going to be out of my reach for a good long while.
     
    Once I finished amassing this collection, I asked the million dollar question: How do I display it? Well, make a plaque like everyone else, of course! Wait, I ran out of wall space with my three large bookcases. Huh, okay let's just.. uhh... make a stand? Sure, let's do that. Okay, how? Well, I knew Technic would be a little pricey, so I tried out system plates and stuff.
     

     
    ... That didn't work out so well. What about brick?
     

     
    ... Nope. Okay, back to Technic! What about this?
     

     
    ... We're getting somewhere. But at that pace, I'd need to make about 18 of them just to display my masks. What can we do with that?
     

     
    ... I think we have a winner.
     

     
    Oh yeah, found a winner. So basically, I prototyped out a single unit, used bulk masks we have in stock at the studio (we have a TON of these, so many that Xccj and I used some of them in the Mata Nui model we built a few years back) and tested the math a little. With some adjustment, and some PAB mayhem, I was able to solidify a design I'd be proud of.
     

     
    The parts for this unit are already on their way from PAB, and I will able to build it and put the first set of Kanohi (Akamai's group I think, or Gold/Silver/Matoran, haven't decided yet) on it. I also plan to display the pair of Avohkii I own (Gold and Transparent Gold), my Kraahkan (MEK and standard), the Copper Masks, Rahi masks, and one Silver Avohkii to represent my old character Scohu.
     
    So yeah, I hope this (extra long!) blog entry will help to inspire some members in displaying items. Each unit will only measure 7.5 inches wide, be less than 4 inches deep and only go up to about 5 inches in height. This will easily fit on my bookshelf units on top, though I will most likely have to retire a few units to a box from there (or just clean it up x_x). Oh, and if you feel you could use those system prototypes for anything, go for it. I washed my hands of them months ago
  3. Swert

    The Collecting of Masks

    By Swert,

    About 2 weeks ago, my boss' son came to the studio with about 3 bins in hand. Each one filled to the top with Bionicle.
     
    "What's that," I asked.
     
    "I'm selling my Bionicle to my dad," he replies. "I'll give you first dibs, though." He knows me too well.
     
    So I sift through the first bin, and I notice a pattern. There's -plenty- of Kanohi in here. We're talking A LOT.
     
    It was in this moment I elected to go ahead and buy all the Kanohi from him. Literally every one I could find. So I did.
     
    And then I talked with Toa Lhikan Hordika, who sent me his spare Kanohi as well.
     
    And then I got permission to check the other overstock Bionicle in the shop we had left over, to find more masks I needed. I was left needing only 25 more.
     
    I then checked Bricklink. I found every single mask I needed.
     
    EXCEPT. FOR. ONE.
     
    A stupid Red Miru. Nobody on Bricklink is selling it. Figures.
     
    So I'll probably track it down via friends first, then if that falls through I'll come here to BST. Once I secure that one, I'll probably move to buying whatever I need left off of Bricklink, though I bet I could buy more from my list of needs here more than I could there.
     
    Anyway, rant over basically. Worth mentioning, I have no current desire to track down Krana, Kraata, Kanohi Nuva, or Kanoka. Likewise no misprints or prototypes. Strictly 01 Mata Great and Noble. That may eventually change, but I'm a simple man who is more than satisfied with the simplest collection known to Bionicle fandom.
  5. Swert
    Whew!
     
    Okay, so... for the past 6 weeks or so, I've been swamped at work. I've had to build 10 large skyscrapers (4 to 9 feet in height, pure Lego no gluing) plus set up for another show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (which we handled, the client loved it, they want more work, yay us). This is literally the first night I've had where the next day I get to do absolutely nothing. I'm going to be seeing Man of Steel in the morning. NO SPOILERS KTHX. (Cue the several "HE'S FROM KRYPTON!", "HE'S CLARK KENT" and "HE'S SUPERMAN" replies.)
     
    I'll try to get photos to you guys asap. So far, the exhibit's still being set up down in Florida.
     
    Meantime, I'm just posting here to show up again and assure people I'm still alive. However, I just learned today I missed out on booking a hotel in Seattle for BrickCon.
     
    ... ALL the hotels in Seattle, that is. Guess I'm busing it in every morning.
     
    Great.
  7. Swert

    Sick Day Koff Koff

    By Swert,

    But in reality? I'm working on the island project from home. And I was too tired to work anyway.
     
    Soo... how's dem ToyFair pics? Yeah and stuff. Oppression from Admins and stuff. *running out of blogging material*
  9. Swert
    So now I'm left with a dilemma, really.
     
    I'm quickly coming up on my sister's graduation (on saturday). I wanna design a congratulations card for her.
     
    What should go in it? XD (And do not fear, she does not even glance at BZP... or even BS01. Nothing said here will be read by her.)
     
    Also IWANNASELLYOUAHAT
  10. Swert
    While this entry may be kept open, remember that if a staff member locks an entry, it stays that way unless an administrator opens it back up. You do not have the authority to just unlock an entry, especially when no blog staff member was given any notice or made aware of any exceptions. You also may not edit out a staff member's edit.
     
    Your blog will be available until sometime tonight, so when you are able to use it again next year, if premier perks are again a part of the celebration, do not forget that. -DV
    Obviously not a problem now
    So in continuation of this entry, I've begun stage two of the Grocer project.
     
    I had two choices for the floor. These are 15 studs from front to back, and 11 studs front to back. We chose the 15. After making a floor, I began making the actual design. This is the ending to the project, once I make a shop underneath it. It's being held up by nine 1x4 bricks right now.
     
    After the first was made, I began copy-building them. First, the second (third) floor. Then, the third (fourth) floor. Then the Attic. I forgot to take a photo of the roof, but it's gotta be worked on anyway.
     
    Tomorrow, I have to fix some minor details I missed (but my boss Dan saw them) and so forth. But beyond that? It's almost done.
     
    Now, it's up to YOU! I wish for ideas to build under this new tower. So far, I've decided on either a record store, or my boss has the idea to make a bookstore. So what do you guys think? Or maybe something else altogether? GIVE ME IDEAS D:
     
    Oh, and hooray blags.
  11. Swert

    Top ten... whatevers.

    By Swert,

    #1) Lego
    #2) Bionicle
    #3) Internets
    #4) Peace
    #5) Land
    #6) Bread
    #8) There is no seven
    #7) This is #8
    #9) Confused yet?
    #10) Me too.
    #11) Wat?
     
    Long day at work, fad on the blogs started, I jumped in on it, typical Swert behavior.
  14. Swert
    Now when I say "For a more pure Floyd listening," nothing can obviously replace just listening to the albums. I recommend that for anyone, of course.
     
    But if you just want a good sampling of Floyd songs? Cholie and I came up with two good playlist options, and what albums to find them all from.
     
    For our Album selections:

    Astronomy Domine (From Piper at the Gates of Dawn)
    See Emily Play (a Single released by Floyd, it's findable on multiple Best Of CDs, and probably elsewhere)
    Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (From A Sauceful of Secrets)
    A Sauceful of Secrets (From A Sauceful of Secrets)
    Summer '68 (From Atom Heart Mother)
    Fat Old Sun (From Atom Heart Mother)
    One Of These Days (From Meddle)
    Echoes (From Meddle)
    Wots... Uh The Deal (From Obscured by Clouds)
    Stay (From Obscured by Clouds)
    Money (From Dark Side of the Moon)
    Us and Them (From Dark Side of the Moon)
    Welcome To The Machine (From Wish You Were Here)
    Have a Cigar (From Wish You Were Here)
    Wish You Were Here (From Wish You Were Here)
    Dogs (From Animals)
    Sheep (From Animals)
    Hey You (From The Wall)
    Comfortably Numb (From The Wall)
    When The Tigers Broke Free (From The Final Cut)
    The Gunner's Dream (From The Final Cut)
    On The Turning Away (From A Momentary Lapse of Reason)
    Terminal Frost (From A Momentary Lapse of Reason)
    Wearing The Inside Out (From The Division Bell)
    High Hopes (From The Divison Bell)

    And that's just THE ALBUMS. 3 hours (plus or minus a few seconds) of pure Pink Floyd recoded goodness.
     
    But we have a -second- list. The Live stuff. Keep in mind, this particular list is made up of 3 live Pink Floyd and David Gilmour live albums that Cholie and I both own. Your selection may vary. Again, I will list what -we- chose our album of. You may substitue or exclude as necessary.

    Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5) (From David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album)
    Learning to Fly (From PULSE)
    High Hopes (From PULSE)
    Hey You (From PULSE)
    Sorrow (From PULSE)
    Fat Old Sun (From David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album)
    Castellorizon (From David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album)
    On An Island (From David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album)
    Red Sky at Night (From David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album)
    This Heaven (From David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk album)
    Speak To Me (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Breathe (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    On The Run (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Time (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    The Great Gig in the Sky (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Money (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Us and Them (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Any Colour You Like (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Brain Damage (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Eclipse (From Dark Side of the Moon, The Experience Album)
    Wish You Were Here (From PULSE)
    Comfortably Numb (From PULSE)

    And that's it. We chose the Experience edition over PULSE due to the fact it was all recorded in one location and in one take, which to us sounded much more pure. You may substutue as needed, of course.
     
    If Cholie had Delicate Sound of Thunder, I'd have taken a few tracks from that as well (they did a WONDERFUL edition of On The Turning Away on it) but such is life.
     
    Now, this is just the Cholswert list. I recommend you experience Floyd how you wish to. In fact, you can experience -any- artist in any way you see fit. Want to make a Beatles list? Do it. Want a Metallica list? Go for it. There's certainly enough material now to get 3 hours out of Linkin Park, go for it.
     
    And enjoy.
  15. Swert
    So, my boss (Dan Parker, if you're new to my blog) asks a valid question, one I feel we should address to you all.
     
    The island is now looking to be 10 feet (120 inches, 12 32x32 baseplates) in length, from Po-Wahi to Le-Wahi and all its surrounding islands. We're anticipating the width will be 5 feet (60 inches, 6 baseplates) or so, and he was going to design little block figure Toa and Matoran, averaging about 2 inches for Toa, one inch for Matoran. A few friends have suggested I'm exaggerating details quite a bit on many things, including these figures.
     
    So now I ask you: Should we design 2 inch Toa for a 10 foot island of Mata Nui, -or- should we just focus on the island itself?
     
    Another question: I'm expecting to be able to use real Bionicle elements (such as a Gold Kaukau for the waterfall, and gold masks for the statues in Po-Wahi) but people suggested those are WAAAAY too big for this scale. So do we want to exaggerate the size there in those (thus allowing you all to submit) or do we just skip them?
     
    Also, though I won't be taking any model submissions yet, how about we compile a list of the MNOLG and MNOLGII locations and landmarks we can include. I want this to be a mindblowing creation, so big and effective that Mata Nui himself would pop his eyes out (and crush 5 blocks each). However, I want to know what you see when we build Mata Nui the island. Do you want to just see one landmark per location? Maybe 3 per? Do we want to add a cutaway to see Onu-Koro? I'd honestly like to hear your input.
     
    And finally, one last question. This one is a short one, I promise. What do you expect to see other than this model? Do we want to try and create other things towards it, like maybe larger Suvas, or even a large mask? Do we need any of that?
     
    All of this and more down the line will help me better prepare for the task upcoming. I'm honestly looking forward to it. Except the volcano, that'll be a big task
  16. Swert
    So let's briefly break down my sleep schedule from the past few weeks...
     
    Every day prior to last night: 1-2AM sleep. This is in between working on BS01/HS01, moving the files from one server to the new, cancelling the prior one, getting the new one tricked out, and then moving on to webcomics and/or internet videos of the funny kind (no ponies >: O) and generic sit down and talk to friends online.
     
    Last night was different. I was asleep at 9 PM. No webcomics, no funny videos, no friends. I was just asleep.
     
    I think I finally cracked.
     
    I did end up waking up at 3 AM, 5 AM and finally 7 AM this morning, however.
     
    And worst part? I'm used to five-six hours of sleep for my daily routines now. So to get from 9PM to 7 AM with brief interruptions? My body isn't used to this bliss.
     
    Oh and I work today.
  17. Swert
    So, there's an upcoming project on the way, and it requires numbers be put in it.
     
    My boss looked at me and said "I wanna put numbers in here in the geekiest way possible."
     
    So I came up with one:
     
    10111011100000
     
    Translated, from base 2 binary, that's 12000. The highest value we had to insert on this model. 11 numbers are going on this model, and they go from (0)2000 to 12000 in thousand increments. Keep in mind it all has to be one color. So how do I build it? Very simply.
     

    That's how. That's one plate for a 1, one round plate/dot for a 0, and the tile spaces it. That's all.
     
    And yes, it's going to be an amazing thing we've made. Now I just need to design the remaining 10
  18. Swert
    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:
  19. Swert

    Black Mesa Source

    By Swert,

    It's finally coming.
     
    ONE DAY. BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY.
     
    It is clearly a sign. They want me to not work that weekend.
     
    I must answer the calling!
     
    "Welcome to Black Mesa Research Facility. The time is 8:20 AM."
  22. Swert
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    Thank you.
  24. Swert

    BrickCon 2016

    By Swert,

    ... So I might be going. Depends on funding and/or events leading up to the show.
     
    ... So what should I build in celebration of my return from a 2 year exile? XD
  25. Swert

    I Can Has Recon?

    By Swert,

    Sorry, I just had to do it.
     
    If you get the joke, more power to you.
     
    Otherwise, you'll be wondering why I asked I can have Hero Recon rather stupidly.
     
    But yeah, looks interesting. I'll probably download LDD later to try it out *dedicated LDRAW user*
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