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Elzy

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Everything posted by Elzy

  1. I felt the serpent had the best intersection here of HF aesthetics and technical design proficiency, and that it was more tactful in its part spam than the behemoth - viz, its use in the snake had a practical purpose. I still think it has a few design flaws, primarily in the core segment directly rearwards of the head, but it does a good job nonetheless.
  2. Almost voted for the two-headed wyvern, and I probably would have done so if this weren't a contest based around designing Hero Factory fauna. Frankly, none of the entries in this poll exhibited the aesthetic principles of HF design - they all came across as Bionicle MOCs with some HF pieces added for contest eligibility.
  3. I might have voted for Brickeens' entry if he had implemented any of my suggested modifications, but alas, he did not. And while I still feel that VampireBohrok's use of yellow minifig hands ended up looking dreadful in actual application, it still comes out on top here by a healthy margin.
  4. I still don't know what's going on with the lower half of Golem (beyond "giving up"), but again, its design demonstrates the most technical proficiency, and the use of the minifig helmets to cover open balls provides a fairly unique aesthetic.
  5. While I don't care for a number of the aesthetic decisions made on Scrofadillo, it shows far more technical proficiency than the other entries in this poll, and was really the only one that warranted a vote.
  6. So I'm a big fan of HF sharks. I think the smooth plates and the ball joint system can lend themselves to their design a lot more readily than System or Bionicle. This shark is a nice practical implementation of this, very simple, but really capturing the shark essence. But the thing that surprised me the most about it was the Fangz head. I'd never paid attention that set, but seeing it here, it occurs to me that that head is an almost perfect head for a Dunkleosteus. I might have to tinker with something...The Andalite lacks in that simplicity, or rather, it lacks in elegance. The basic form is good, but the details aren't quite there. The legs, for example, lack a proper unguligrade skeletal structure and get thickest at the bottom. The tail doesn't taper and is in fact thickest around the centre. The plates making up the lower torso concentrate their bulk to the rear rather than having an even distribution. And the head ends up looking rather blocky, especially because of the eyestalks and the lack of ears. As a simple remedy, I'd suggest flipping the order of limb segments in the legs upside down, moving the larger plates towards the base of the tail, and flipping the Bohrok ribs to be aligned hips-front. Anyway, it's still a far cry above any other Bionicle Andalite that I've seen.
  7. Felix, thank you for posting less MOCs in one topic than Christo. I never did give much proper critique on these, just a few words when they came up, so here are my quick thoughts on them:Unhuman Biology - The bases and tubes here are absolutely hideous, but I think you know that. What I do love is how the Hunas and ankle guards fit together. Definitely a technique worth revisiting in the future.Thaleen General - Tail and weapon are clear exercises in partspam, but the head's really the centerpiece here, and its' not bad. I'd love to see some plumage coming out of the top of that yellow panel. The rest is fairly dull.iCU - Another experimental piece. The torso is interesting, as are the hip guards perhaps. But the limbs are really just slapped on there, no real substance to them. The Gali hooks work, I suppose, but they still seem just stuck on. A more creative use of them would probably have made them an integral structural component of the MOC. Really, I'd be more likely to believe this was made to use those big spiked wheels.Jel'eh - I like the head, gives a kind of ice mite vibe. The rest of the MOC is just a fairly standard small humanoid MOC, although the colour distribution isn't bad. Don't care for the Piraka head feet, here, though. Feels like it wants some longer, thinner, grasshopper-style legs. Really play up the insectile feel.Piece Out - I made a comment before on this about flensing the skin off the tips of your fingers. I like the form it has (especially in that pose, so you can't obviously tell that the pink is too long), but this could have really used black finger tips with some of these plates from Ben 10's Big Chill as finger nails. That or some Click'Its pieces.Spike - Really liked these feet, really ambivalent about the rest of the MOC. I assume it's called Spike because you went crazy and partspammed like a madman. But they detract from the teeth and the claws. I'd suggest removing the ones from the back (or at least replacing them all with black, what's with that odd spike out?), and then rotate the white tentacle tips forwards, putting something on the tips of them to act as eyes and having eye stalks on it. Make it properly alien.Combustible - I liked this a lot more when it was a starfish. That was really unique. This might have been somewhat unique if you hadn't done it as the starfish first - now its just derivative of your own work. I do like that the tubes along the legs there are subtle, because they certainly aren't on your last MOC here.F33 X-2 - This was a major improvement over the flag bearing thin-footed armless version you had before. I have to ask if the knees can unbend at all, though, because I can't quite tell. Really not a fan of the tubes wrapped around the arms - they look ridiculous, and don't even go to anything. I could maybe feel them a bit more if there were lasers coming out of his palms or something, but still... Guns are better than they were the first time, though I don't like the open, black axle in the centres of them. On the whole, though, a pretty solid MOC. But I'm still not keen on the crotch.
  8. Jesu Christo, thirteen MOCs in one topic is a bit much, don't you think? Makes critique difficult, so what I will do is a blitzkritique, just zeroing in on what seems the weakest in each of these MOCs, or any improvements that could have been made (don't know if they're already cannibalized or what.)Abracadabra - This is almost too weird of a piece to comment on. The gears on the shins do nothing for me, nor do the inverted studs on the crotch. Clip on the hat could stand to be black, mouth could stand to be an actual flat 1x2 plate, and the back of the head could use some depth. Maybe some corrugated tube around the staff handle. Also, what's up with the head of that staff?Crankcase - Do you know how sad I am that this doesn't even attempt to transform? I realize though that that would be very difficult while maintaining movie aesthetic and using non-System parts. The head's the best part, hands down, looks movie style. The Bohrok legs on the thighs look pathetic; they need to be better integrated. Add some junk to the trunk, his thighs lack any bulk, and the thigh and forearm plates are too smooth for movie style, put some greeblies on them. And maybe add more fingers. And maybe add a bumper across the back of the shoulders to further indicate a vehicle mode.Eunder - The skull with the Takanuva masks is nice, very pleasing to the eye. the rest of the MOC doesn't do it justice. Legs are nothing special, and the claws on them don't seem to flow with the rest of the aesthetic, and I'm rarely a fan of tentacle spamming. I'd almost like to see this hanging down inside a rib cage of some sort of monster, using an evil skull as a heart kind of thing.Faleeon - Well, the System pieces here certainly seem like a "fale"iure, very blocky and the domes look slapped on. The head is obviously the centerpiece, and it's well done, evokes a fly or a chameleon. The rest of the MOC doesn't deliver on that, though, and goes against the head's smooth aesthetic. The tentacle legs feel far too cartoony, like a joke. It's like Eunder, really, it looks slapped together except for one really interesting part. Consider maybe reusing it on an actual fly or chameleon MOC, or modify this one to have a smoother, more-plate based design, perhaps with a black skeleton underneath.Gali - Torso seems like she's doubled over in pain. Someone broke this poor girl's back, possibly when they were giving her a monobreast. The shoulders aren't too wide for a female MOC, but giver the girl some hips, and some thighs. The big stompy shins don't say "Gali" to me. Nor do they say feet. Put some flippers on there, or some turbines or rockets or something – something serious, not those wimpy boosters on the sides of the shins. Also, while you're at it, the HF symbol on the back of her head and its connector could stand to go. They looked tacked on and don't really add anything.Radium - I'll just come out and say that I hate the look of the System plates here. You've got some fairly smooth curves in the legs and chest and head, and then you've got these sharp, angular, stud-covered intrusions into that aesthetic. Angular plates over a smooth skeleton can work. Smooth plates over an angular skeleton really can't. Also, hate the elastic covering the chest. I know they're useful at times, but it's important to tuck them out of the way, maybe near the bottom of that chest plate. Consider also giving him an actual hand and filling in some open ball sockets.Obscuruum - Let’s cut to the chase here, what's up with the Piraka spine and head sitting on the back there? Is that the actual head and the thing in front is a mask, or is it just a blob that's sitting there, because it is ugly as all get-out. The back of the front head is, too, with those little horns and the exposed axles. In either case, none of them are over where the neck should be, so it's pretty ghastly from the side view. Move the front head back and remove the Piraka bit or stretch it down so the neck join comes out of its mouth. The big gears on the sides of the arms don't seem to add anything, and the Bohrok arms don't really align with them, so they're even more obtrusive.Vearl - The teal here really lacks any integration, it just looks tacked on. At least the orange is somewhat structural. The back of the head is woefully exposed, and it could use an eye in a non-orange color to provide contrast there. The teal L plates on the shoulder ruin any visual cohesion they could have, and the plates on the sides of the shins are an eyesore. They don't even run the length of the shin; they just jut out back there. Maybe keep the shoulders, head, and torso, add some more panelling and try again?Tantabus V - This is nifty. I hate the Hau there, though, I wish it had a proper, smooth, cockpit-esque piece there instead that wasn't so stub-nosed – something that would line up with the tip of the throwbot foot in front. The undercarriage is a mess, so I wouldn't suggest showing it off when on display; too much black down there especially. Biggest gripe is the 2x2 round plates near the read ends of the blue panels. They don't seem to add anything; they're a visual detractor from the smooth inner surfaces. I gather they fill a hole, but consider filling it with a 2x2 round dish on each side flush against it with a short segment of tube to hold them together.Tortuga - Again, I like this. The 2x2 round transparent floater on the top could stand to be on the bottom, though, as this MOC strikes me a lot more as a submersible ROV than a space ship. On the whole, it's a solid piece, my main gripe are those big wings on the back. The launcher arms don't line up with the top edge of the panels, and that really disturbs the flow they have. Also, the exposed pins are nobody's friends.Takkamega 01 - I'm not a fan of gear spam, especially where it prevents your limbs from having any articulation. The backpack and gun are pretty good on greebling, as is the head, but I'd try those legs again, give them some range of motion beyond the hip, maybe integrating the gears into an actual joint instead of impeding one. Oh, and I'd stick to a single dark grey shade here if at all able, and if not, than with another colour entirely.Sanguine Noctis - I'm not sure what the weapon thing here is, but I have no confidence in the ability of those hands to grasp it. Forearms suffer from blocky system; upper arms suffer from skeletal technic and gaping holes in the tops of the shoulders. HF head is woefully small behind that KK helmet, seems a mistake to use it here at all. The shoulder octagons really want another pair of red Bohrok eyes, three more pairs if possible – with black friction pins. The feet certainly seem good and big, could use a better transition between the cylinders and the sides of the roborider heads. Some System slopes, maybe. Legs remind me too much of Makuta - kneeless arcs with nothing to recommend them. Consider putting pistons in the open sockets at the backs of the thighs to provide some extra detail and support. Consider also dropping the flat plates on the back, the diamond configuration o those liftarms, and the hunchback. Give it some actual trapezius and latissimus dorsi muscle forms.Royal Hard Suit - I think I need a KK set with one of those helmets, because I hate having to cheat to make a connection with a KK visor. Love the basic idea; enjoy seeing mobile suits for these figures. Wish both his control tubes were black, to give actual contrast with the rest of the MOC. The drill arm suffers again from blocky System use, while the other forearm is very flat, really needs more bulk – especially where it's carrying that sword. Legs are nothing special, fronts of the feet are interesting, but the liftarms on the backs of them are way too blocky. The back pack arms could use some rocket boosters on the ends or something; make them a bit more practical. Turbines on the sides of the hips don't make any sense to me, and the back is too flat – could use some plating back there to give some textural contrast.There, 1500 words. That’s too much writing to have to do for one topic.
  9. I think I've given you my critiques of most of these before, LO, with the exception of the Tank (which is fairly boring, total overkill on the treads and could use some tread guards to cover them up top) and the Aperture Bot, which I saw on BShelf the other day and was waiting for you to post somewhere. Because I rather like those feet. Those are Rebel fighter helmets for the toes, right? Anyway, it's an interesting configuration, though I don't care for that ball hanging there between the two toes. and I really don't care for the white elastic holding down the roborider heads on the shins. Come on, man, you must have some black ones around somewhere, if they're needed at all. Like the sword arm, it's cute, and its mount is integrated into the arm nicely, as is the tube, the other hand is just plain-Jane, and I'd like to see you make something with a different hand design than that. The tube spine is nice, the eye is fit well, the torso's solid, and the gun isn't bad, but it is crying out for a white HF panel to cover the front top of it. But looking at the gallery for it, though, it's like looking at a DV MOC - a lot of pictures, but it's all one pose, and most of them are from the same angle as the others. I mean, you could have cut that down to four pictures instead of 18 of them, and it's sad to note by the numbering that you already cut them down. What's the point in having articulation in a figure if you aren't going to demonstrate it during shooting. At least give us one or two candid shots of some different poses so we can see it's level of articulation and balance. Otherwise, you might as well be making a statue (another statue, that is, after that deity shrine thing.)
  10. I don't like to post in MOC topics unless I have actual critique on the MOCs and changes to suggest, but I saw these a while ago on BShelf and pretty much fell in love with them. They've got a nice amount of complexity, but not much more than a typical Lego set, and they have a simple, internally-consistent aesthetic that makes them flow nicely together as a theme. Between the cast of characters, the similarly-designed-but-different dragons and the various action functions, they really feel like actual sets that could see production, possibly in a more AFOL-oriented Castle line.You've got sets covering the typical Lego theme gamut in terms of size, and the wide range of settings in them really grabs the attention. I guess my main gripes about them is the fact that they aren't sets and that I can't have one of them to screw around with on my desk. Oh, and that I maybe wish the trebuchet didn't need to use coin stacks to function, though I can't think of any actual LEGO pieces dense enough to provide close to the force that needs to work well.
  11. Brimstone: Be the shy pony.Being RAPTORIX certainly hasn't been working out for you, and the last ponyyou want to become is PP, so you become the shy pony instead.Your name is FLUTTERSHY, and you are a pony of some little renown, you guess,I mean, if its okay with everypony. You wouldn't want to be a burden, really.That might explain why you live on the outskirts of PONYVILLE, and spend mostof your time with your ANIMAL FRIENDS.You just love animals, from the small and the defenseless to the large andthe monstrous. You spend most of your time helping ailing animals, owing inlarge part to your great KINDNESS, and not at all because of your staggeringSHYNESS. Honestly. When not tending to your charges, you enjoy spending timewith the GIRLS, in pony or over the computer. You go by the NICKERBACKERhandle of faunaSequestrian, and you tend to whisper in a "small, meek voice".Today is the day your friend BRIMSTONE moves to town, but right now you'rewaiting for ANGEL to bring you the beta CDs for SPONY so you can play withyour friends.What will you do?
  12. Have you procured any of the smaller white HF panels in the interim since this was first posted? I know you don't have an amazing tendency to go back to finished products, but I'd especially like to see this with those, and with the grey HF limbs from the newer sets to replace the trunk. As an aside from the actual contest entry, you know. Also, I still wish this had some bulk on those legs, but the optical illusion the different orientations of the large panels provides still helps those thin-as-all-get-out legs from look too embarrassingly nonelephantine.
  13. Raptorix: Stop being the trilobite. If you recall correctly, you never succeeded in becoming the trilobite known as WALLISEROPS, primarily due to the fact that they have been extinct for a hundred million years. Nor could you become any of his other UNDERWATER FRIENDS, due to the fact that you don't know that anything lives underwater. Frankly, you're just happy to be back to your old self. No extra arms, no OTHER DINOSAURS, just plain old RAPTORIX. In fact, you are so happy that you decide to spin around in a circle on a MAGIC REFLECTIVE DISCUS and bleat like a goat. Yes, the world is your SHELLED MEAT PRODUCT, ready for the taking. What will you do?
  14. Jinzo, why must you deprive these kids of an education in the nature of cat placentas?
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