ZCerberus

A single Ideas link is okay, but on Eurobricks we prefer you make the post about the MOC first, and the ideas project second. Check out a modified version that is properly formatted.

Civil war over? Not yet boys and girls, not yet.

Nice figs. We totally need more Orcs!

I was literally going to front page this myself today, but Ecc beat me to it!! Sweet build bro!

I cut the GIF. It contained a word that would have hit our language filter. In addition, it was just plain annoying.

Let's not solicit sales in the general forum. We have a place for that in the buy/sell/trade forum for long time members with high post counts (and don't try to bump your post count just for that) but I would go to Ebay or Bricklink before soliciting members here. The forum is supposed to be about MOCs and LEGO sets, not about soliciting sales.

This thread was resting happily in lala land until revived. I guess you're still on topic and relevant but let's be careful when digging up nearly 5 year old threads please, especially if there is other new threads to discuss. The thread is timeless in a way, so no need to stop the discussion, just make sure digging up something this old can still have fresh discussion and make sure the first new post really makes the topic bump worthy! My suggestion would have been to bump once you were ready to post the updated set idea as well. Happy New Year posters.

Please read our site guidelines and format this post to be about the sheiks MOC itself and not the ideas project.

Feels very "dwarfy" for sure! Great architecture!

I swear I've seen that dark brown and brown color scheme mixed with a stone tower in the Mitgardian snow somewhere before... But oh yeah... Totally forgot to post on EB. Great work with the interior detailing.

Yeah. Let's try to remember that. Bringing back an old thread is generally frowned upon. There is new/fresh stuff to discuss, so let's stick with that please. You can still enjoy MayDay's work, and if he ever returns, hopefully we'll get an update. Until then, let's talk about something new or check out the latest Guild's of Historica challenge!

Well done.

I can modify the front post of course. I have been busy with real life. Our plans were slowed by my accomplice moving as well, so we'll hopefully be back on track soon. That give you plenty of time to get in on the Frozen Beyond!

Thanks. I guess I describe my style as "enhanced classic". I will use SNOT and find a new use for a piece, but going super illegal with wacky and precarious connections is not what I do. That said, there are a few bits LEGO would not sanction for an official model due to how easily they can come off during play, though post Wall-E my faith in LEGO's design requirements is a bit shaken.

Project M continues with this blue dump truck. The cab is 6 wide, but in reality, the truck should be wider, so I made the dump bed and fenders about 8 wide to make it fit a little better and give a little more room for play. I embellished a little on the sides adding a control box that would be absent on a "normal" dump truck. The ones I saw either had an extra set of retractable wheels or nothing in the area, but I wanted to spice up the model a little. I the box design is a little off but it looks solid on display, so I am sticking with it. On some versions I saw, the mudguards were attached to the bed itself, but that would have cause issues with my truck, so I attached them to the frame instead. The skid steer loader getting the dump truck ready to haul some materials. Bonus shot. Checkout the Project M description and Excavator by clicking the picture ==>

Who said it wasn't you pep? I actually think it wasn't me who was the original topic of discussion!

I feel honored to have made the rude moderator list twice!!! Khaled Yousef: As for the issue in the LotR thread- yes, please reread what I wrote. We have a policy not to discuss how we discipline other members so perhaps you weren’t getting the full picture (hint, hint). This case was fairly simple to me. I said we could discuss sales ideas and figures and I even argued for both sides, I simply wanted anything resembling a direct insult to stop. You weren’t in any sort of long term trouble and the member you think I didn’t rebuke was definitely part of the pointed criticism I made. “No more calling other people’s MOCs stupid” or whatever I said was indeed directed at one particular often times rude member who may have been addressed in other ways (hint, hint again). A public step in to tell people to play nice, with the hint at using the stick known as the chamber if needed, is really the lowest level action by a mod. I do not recall receiving a PM from you on this issue, which you would have been welcome to do. As for the specific mention of a Mod who may have said everyone posting in a particular thread (Nexo Knights 2016) were acting like a bunch of idiots (thanks for the reminder CM4Sci)- well that is me again! The issue in that thread was the constant posting of confidential images and information, then people requesting more confidential information after multiple Mods demanded it stop. I had PMs with several members involved and also had to discuss what was happening in the thread with the other moderators. What people need to understand is there is staff discussion that goes on behind the scenes as well. In this case, we were discussing what to do with the thread and the sketches since they weren’t exactly outside the rules and while I removed the pictures pending discussion with notes from me and other mods not to post confidential information, MORE confidential information was leaked and posted. This makes not only everyone posting look bad, but it also makes me look bad for “letting” it happen on my watch. It is beyond frustrating to have the issue boil over outside history and require question and extended discussion with all mods. In this case, everyone who failed to read all the warnings that were posted were indeed acting like a bunch of idiots and not seeing past their own desires for information and how it could hurt the site’s relationship with LEGO, the forum’s relationship with its moderator, and the moderator’s relationship with other moderators. I probably also acted like an idiot when I said everyone else was acting like an idiots but ultimately it helped stopped the leaks… at least for the next few days until non-confidential information was released! What people need to understand is moderators are trying to do what is best for the site overall. Can this mean taking a firm approach at times and seeming rude? Sure. Can it mean choosing to not act at times as well? Of course. There is also a delay factor due to the site being global. Sometimes mod action is needed, but the mod may be asleep or at work and not get to your issues immediately. That can make is seem like certain activities are being ignored when really they just simply haven’t reach the right person yet. By the time the mod sees the incident, it can already have escalated beyond what it should have and forceful intervention seems needed. I don’t want this to seem like an excuse for rude behavior, but I agree that I think the few firm to somewhat rude posts are what is remembered and may not be reflective of everything a moderator has done or said on the site. I would recommend reaching out to a mod in private if you feel they have crossed a line to find out why a seemingly rude post was made. At times it may simply be frustration with members pressing the boundaries of acceptability, at other times it can be a misunderstanding and perhaps sometimes it can even just be a moderator acting like an idiot and some reflection is needed.

The hair is just barely above the car- and those are low riding sports cars. In my little car, my whole head is above the top of the car. Well that is the whole thing for me here- I am not even trying to bother with dealing with a realistic scale- just whatever seems "reasonable" as compared to the figure and other trucks- hence the reason I call it "illusion scale"... Whatever size or scale is necessary to give the illusion of being realistic as compared to the figure. If you really want to determine how well I did... for the excavator- real ones are widely variable in size. Small ones can be only about 2 meters wide while larger are more like 4 to 4.5. They vary greatly in depth and height as well. This one is 10 studs wide on the body so it is on the larger side. The base is SNOT built, so I would have to examine closely to get the stud length.

Sure. The shape of the mini figure isn't really in scale with a human. They are too wide for their height which stops them from sitting two people in a cab at the standard car width. LEGO trucks are similarly out of scale. Standard car width of 4 is too small for a real sedan but the width of 6 studs would be too big. 6 is probably a bit under a true truck width, but 8 would be too wide. Go stand next to your car. Are you taller than your car? Unless you drive a huge pickup truck, you probably are. Have your minifigure stand next to even a small Lego car- which is taller? The car. Hence your typical LEGO car isn't really in scale with the figure. That is why I call the LEGO standard minifig illusion scale. The term actually first cropped up when discussing pirate ships. Real ships are 20-30 meters wide when scaled-up, while LEGO ones are only 3-5. Way out of real scale, so the LEGO standard became known as "minifig illusion scale".

Cool! Good work AC!

Yes! The ability to share the hobby with your kids is totally rewarding! Miles can talk very well for a two year old and he lights up when he sees a new build. It is also teaching him the names and roles of the equipment. He can now identify the "excabators" and "skid steer lowders" when we see the equipment in real life!

I also built this little skid steer loader affectionately known around here simple as a "bobcat" after the brand made in North Dakota. I also built a tracked version which I think is actually even better!

First up is the excavator. This is my second attempt- the first one being too big. I managed to shrink attempt 1's 14 stud main body width down to 10. I also stabilized the arm a bit more and shrunk the cab from 6 down to the more LEGO appropriate 4 stud width. As you can see it is pretty "posable" with the arm having good articulation. The arm is still a bit fragile- it tried several different arm/piston type assemblies to find the one with the clutch strong enough to keep the arm from flopping, but light enough to not rip the arm apart in other areas when trying to articulate. A close up of the cab. My first attempt had a 6 wide cab which allowed for much more room to add controls and color design. It was just too big. This cab is better scale but a bit fragile. And a shot from the rear for some of the finer details going on in... de tail... Excavators are clearly not street legal so they don't have tail lights. They do, however, have red reflectors on the back to keep people from running into them. You'll have to excuse the photos a bit- it is dark in Minnesota when I leave for work and when I return, so I have to use a few camera tricks to get the photos looking solid.

Project M- I will be updating the first post here as I get projects done. I am not a “City” builder guy. One look at my Flickr and you’ll see it is castles- and once and a while a spaceship- but nary a car or boat or truck to be seen (except for the LEGO sponsored alt model challenge). This year, however, something has changed that has made me reconsider my self-imposed City embargo. My son, Miles, will be 2 and 1/2 in December and he LOVES construction trucks. My wife and I bought him the Juniors Garbage Truck when he turned 2, but he wasn’t very skilled at handling it and pieces went flying everywhere. I put the garbage truck back up on the shelf until we purchased another Juniors construction set as a gift for a family member last month. We also picked one up for Miles so he could join in the fun and it became clear to me that not only did he love the new set, in the 4 months since he had turned 2, he had become much more adept at handling a model without breaking it. So here I am, looking at our two somewhat under whelming Juniors models now wishing I had more construction vehicles for our play. After deciding I would embark on a construction truck building mission, I decided I would check out past LEGO construction vehicle sets for some inspiration. I was surprised a bit by the somewhat limited range of minifigure scale offerings over the years. Technic has dozens of construction trucks while the normal City theme has been somewhat lighter over the years. There have been construction themes in a few years 2005, 2012 and now again in 2015, but I was surprised to only see one or two excavators or bulldozers have been made over the years (though admittedly the bulldozer models have been fantastic). While construction is a current LEGO theme, my 2 year old is not the best sharer, so if I want to play with him, I am going to need to build some trucks to join in the fun. I decided while I would purchase some of the current city wave- those would be primarily his play things while I would build advanced models for myself. This project could go anywhere, so I am going to need some ground rules to help shape my decisions. Rule 1. Minimal Bricklink ordering. Since the 2012 and 2005 are the relative recent past, I can get some nice yellow and black specialty parts for my builds, but I have to be strategic and not order a ton of parts I already have or can scrounge myself. If part of the MOC process is to save some dough, especially since I will be picking up a few of the City sets for Miles, then I can’t go crazy on BL as well. Luckily, I am blessed with a rather large collection, so it won’t be as challenging for me as it would be for others. Rule 2. LEGO minifig illusion scale. Since I want to be able to play with my son, I want them to be minifig illusion-ish scale to blend in with his Juniors and city models. This will be a bit challenging as I am used to building big. I realize there is a stud or two leeway here, so I think I can do it. With no specific part count, hopefully I can pack the small models with some nice detail even at their scale. Still, I plan to conform to the typical 6 wide truck cab and four wide single person cabs on the construction vehicles as much as possible. Rule 3. I am not going to model my construction equipment after any specific brand or model. They will merely be based on whatever source material and ideas I like. Rule 4. I have decided that while I will make the models reasonable stable, I am not going to try to make them “Miles proof”. In other words, I will use SNOT and other delicate technics to get the forms to look good with the knowledge that my son will have his trucks and the MOC ones will be “daddy’s” models when we are playing- as much as it is possible to keep him from wanting to play with daddy’s models that is… Okay. So now that I have the rules, let’s get started with picking the vehicles. I am from the USA, so I will use the terms as I know them- you may have to google image search to know a “dump truck” is essentially the same thing as a “tipper truck” etc. The common names and the official construction names also vary widely even across locations in the US, so while I will do my best to explain the piece of equipment I am talking about, let’s not get too picky about the official name of a certain piece of equipment. 1. The first thing I want to attempt is an excavator. Where I live, we have a lot of summer road construction. As such we see a lot of excavators around here. Those things just scream construction to me, so that is where I want to start. Some may also call an excavator a" trackhoe" or maybe a digger- though backhoes (see below) are sometimes also called diggers, so I’m sticking with excavator for this one! Click image to jump to excavator. 2. Dump truck. Miles’s garbage truck has been subbing in for the real thing (his garbage truck is actually structurally more or less exactly like a dump truck) but I think we can do better. One interesting note about the dump trucks I see around here- they are usually not yellow or orange like other construction equipment, they are often blue, white or red or some other more subdued color. It will be a good spot to save on some yellow to use on other construction equipment. Click image to jump to dump truck. These builds will pair nicely with LEGO 60075- which I bought on discount at Walmart.com, though I am not going to build them for Miles until my MOCs are complete and we are ready to play together. It looks like the “excavator” in the LEGO version has something like a crane attachment on it and is a wheeled instead of tracked version. 3. Bulldozer. I must admit, the 2015 LEGO version is pretty sweet (as is the version before that). I am not too sure mine will be that much better than what LEGO produced. This one is an obvious pairing to LEGO 60074 4. Backhoe (and front loader). A front loader is a term for a truck or tractor that has large square bucket on the front that can lift, move or load other materials usually into a dump truck or onto a conveyor belt. A backhoe is just a hoe/digging bucket attached to the back of a tractor or a front loader. In the US, the combo of a front loader with a backhoe is often just referred to as a backhoe. This is a great piece of equipment- very versatile and seriously bad megablocks! Click image to jump to backhoe There is a front loader in the demolition site set- LEGO 60076. This one will be a gift from Santa (purchased during double VIP days), so I still have a little bit of time to build the backhoe and decide if I should also build a crane with wrecking ball and another small dump truck to match the LEGO model. 5. Anything else I come up with... Click image for jump to skid steer loader and compact tracked loader Click image for jump to forklift. Click image for jump to telehandler. Click image to jump to front loader. Click image to jump to crawler crane. Any piece of sweet or essential construction equipment missing from my plan?

It tooks months of begging- but we finally got our banner!!