x105Black Posted October 31, 2015 Posted October 31, 2015 I am still planning to give arms to Smaug, but it will surely be around Christmas time until I find the time. As the dark red arms are relatively cheap, I suggest carving them exaxtly to fit Smaugs body. If they don't fit, get new arms and try again. This way there is little risk of damaging the expensive dragon body, because you just apply the glue when you have already tried that the arms fit exactly. I suggest filling the hollow Joint with something and then applying the glue there on the inside instead of glueing the edges of the joint which will leave visible glue marks. IMHO there is no way to get the arm moveable because there is no straight surface on Smaugs body where they could rotate. So you have to decide which angle you want and then carve the joint accordingly. You cannot just attach the arms without modifying them because there is no flat straight surface for that, at least not where the arms belong. This may sound complicated, but there is little risk of damaging the dragon and failing. Worst case is maiming a few dragon arms for a few euros each. If you cannot cut them to fit, you can still leave it as it is and enjoy your dragon unharmed. I'll have to look at it and decide. I'd really prefer to have them articulate, so I'll definitely have to research it. Thanks for the informed opinion! Quote
Wardancer Posted November 3, 2015 Author Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) On demand: Overall size tails aligned by MWardancer, auf Flickr Overall size by MWardancer, auf Flickr Dragons Friendly by MWardancer, auf Flickr Edited November 3, 2015 by Wardancer Quote
Aanchir Posted November 3, 2015 Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) This is a great discussion to read along with. LEGO dragons are of particular interest to me, since the first Castle theme I really got into was Dragon Masters (the American name for Dragon Knights). I think themes like Dragon Masters and Fright Knights played a considerable role in shaping my love of fantasy. Brick-built dragons or creatures cannot compare to molded. That Bahamut dragon above is nice, though. I used to feel this way as well, to an extent. I was fine with brick-built dragons in the Creator theme, or dragons with brick-built bodies in the Ninjago theme, but I felt there was no substitute for a dragon with a molded and printed face. After all, I expect most LEGO animals to look at least as lifelike as LEGO minifigures. Stick a brick-built LEGO seagull from LEGO Creator next to a molded one from the Collectible Minifigures and it's obvious which one seems more "alive". Some of the recent LEGO Ninjago dragons have led me to change my tune, though. The Titanium Dragon, Master Wu Dragon, and Morro Dragon achieve a level of lifelike (or in Morro Dragon's case, death-like) brick-built detail that I could never have dreamed of seeing in a set five to ten years ago. They do so both by taking advantage of both AFOL-level creative part use and elements that didn't exist until recently, like small curved slopes and the various tooth and joint elements from the Mixels theme. They're still a bit blocky, of course, but I personally feel like minifigure animals and monsters should be a bit blocky, so as to fit in with the minifigures themselves. I'd almost go so far as to say these Ninjago dragons have spoiled molded dragons for me. I will agree with those who have said Smaug has a stunning level of articulation, but the number of new and specialized elements he uses starts to seem a bit outrageous when you look at what is now possible in other themes! Granted, a lot of that has to do with IP constraints — a LEGO Smaug has to not only look lifelike, but also look like the movie's depiction of the character. That's a constraint that creatures from themes like Ninjago and Legends of Chima can't be held to, since LEGO maintains full creative control of those properties and the sets themselves are the source material. So in a licensed theme, a certain number of specialized molds are practically inevitable. I know the Ninjago dragons are probably not of much interest to many of the people in this thread, who are looking for Western-style dragons to use in medieval layouts. But they show a glimpse of what is possible with recent parts and building techniques, as does this year's Creator dragon mentioned in a previous post. I look forward to seeing how next year's Elves dragons do when it comes to fitting in with figures and animals that are decidedly less blocky by default, since I've been struggling for a while to figure out how an adult version of the LEGO Elves baby dragon might be built! Edited November 3, 2015 by Aanchir Quote
Captain Nemo Posted November 3, 2015 Posted November 3, 2015 Thanks for the pictures Wardancer! Smaug really looks stupendous in size compared to the Armored Green and Horntail dragons. On the Ninjago dragons, am I'm very impressed with the recent ones. I felt the previous Ninjago dragons were very robotic and unnatural. These latest ones however, specifically the Morro in my opinion, look amazing. It seems Lego is finally reaching the balance between play-ability/pose-ability and aesthetics. The recent review of the Morro by Exetrius may have sold that dragon for me, because I was very impressed with forms being used throughout, and it wasn't until I looked at the in depth pictures that I realized this (I previously just passed it up at a glance). These latest dragons, like the molded ones, seems to have personality which really shines through to make them successful overall. Quote
Wardancer Posted November 3, 2015 Author Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) Bonus picture for those who still doubt the size of Smaug the Tremendous: Dragon and Griffin by MWardancer, auf Flickr The problems I have with brickbuilt dragons are these - head - often not detailled enough in comparison to the fig on the dragon - wings - often either too thick or not realistic - joints - often visible and unrealistic, often in the wrong color The Ninajgo dragons were ok in terms of head. The wings were utterly nonsense, no dragon could ever fly with wings without membrane (Yes, I am aware they could never fly in reality...). The joins are also like no living creature has their joints. It would be interesting to see more combinations. A brickbuilt Smaug with the original head and wings. A green fantasy dragon which has a brickbuilt body, but the original legs, arms, tail and DOUBLE heads/necks. I always wanted to do that and even bought two green ones, but never tried. Currently I am trying to solve the wing problem with altbricks leaf pieces. They are very sturdy and could make nice leaf wings for a leaf dragon. Edited November 3, 2015 by Wardancer Quote
kouz-one Posted November 3, 2015 Posted November 3, 2015 The perfect brickbuilt wing is a cloth, but doing your own in good quality, I don't know if it is easily feasable Quote
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