ASK HERE MOC-stuck? Ask for general building advice here!

[Rick]

You can see the effect in Jamie Berard's town hall MOC from a couple of years ago.

[Battlegorilla]

O.K., thanks for the info.

[Wolfolo]

Hi there Wolfolo,

I couldn't access your Brickshelf pic...says "...folder is not yet public"

Cheers,

LLL

I uploaded 4 more pictures on Friday, maybe they let pass the week end, tomorrow the folder should be accessible, I hope. This, and the lack of ability to reorganize the folders (move the pictures from one folder to another) are the things I hate about BS :(

As my Brickshelf folder has not been published yet, I post the link to the LDD model I just finished.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Wolf01/MOCs/VicViper/vicviper.lxf

The current status is not what I wanted to achieve, but due to the little time and not enough pieces of the right colours I stopped the construction at this point.

I don't like the bottom part, and I think I'll remove it one day and keep the bottom flat (which looks unfinished too).

If you want the .lxf for the pieces palette just ask and I'll put it on brickshelf.

Edited May 7, 2013 by Wolfolo

[HawkLord]

I recently came into a large number of flowerheads (red), flower stalks, and bamboo leaves due to the Holiday PaB boxes I got. I'm wondering if there are any good tips for how to arrange these.

Currently, I can space them about three studs apart or four studs if I double the height by using two flower stalks - making one section look even fuller. I think I have them pretty well arranged without looking too concise and predictable. I'm not quite sure how to arrange the bamboo leaves or if I even want to mix them in with the flowers.The scene itself will have no specific look, I'm just trying to get the hang of MOCing a garden area for other projects.

[Legonardo]

are you looking for a natural overgrown foliage look that most landscapers go for or a clean cut cared-for garden?

[Bearded Castle Guy]

One place to look at some nice landscaping is Derfel Cadarn's Detailed guide to building a medieval village thread http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=60907

He covers various foliage and landscaping at different parts of the guide, useful even for those that are NOT looking to build a medieval village

[HawkLord]

I'm mostly looking for abstract techniques. Things that look more realistic to nature.

Thank you for posting that Bearded Castle Guy! Those pics are amazing and the technique is genius. Yea, I'm going to be copying a lot of that. Looks like I have some more bricks to buy, as flowers may not be enough.

[Peppermint_M]

You can also try stacking the bamboo leaves on flexi-tube for uncommon angles and such. Though for tidy garden this only works if you are making a climbing plant, for overgrown areas it can be placed any old way.

[spzero]

don't for get to place some between studs. it always helps

[Luke_likes_Lego]

Hi Wolfolo ... nice design,

Is below too simplistic for the effect you were going for?

Cheers,

LLL

[tomdobs55]

I want to put a little hill in my layout any ideas on how to so a slopped road?

[Aanchir]

I want to put a little hill in my layout any ideas on how to so a slopped road?

I've seen a variety of techniques. One is of course to build the entire road using SNOT techniques rather than using prefab road plates. That way, you can use the same techniques to curve the horizontal road surface that you might use to curve a vertical castle wall. But this is probably not suitable for many layouts that aren't planned around the consistent use of this technique.

This piece was created for a LEGO Town construction site set in the late 90s, and allows for a 14-stud road surface. However, the incline is fairly steep (as can be seen here), so it will not likely allow you to put storefronts or buildings on the incline. It is more suitable for overpasses, as in the original set. And anyway, it doesn't likely match the color of your layout's roads.

It may be possible to make a more controlled curve by taking advantage of road plates' inherent flexibility, but you'd need a substantial scaffold to hold the road plates in place at the correct angle.

Using 8x16 tiles with custom stickers might be a viable solution. 8x16 plates have been used for inclined pavement before, such as the absurd driveway on the 2006 Hospital set. For a road, you'd probably want to use them in their 16-wide orientation. But even this will make your curve/incline somewhat more angular than you might like.

This piece traditionally used for train platforms creates a smooth 12-module-wide inclined surface, but it would not elevate your layout very significantly. This slope is 8 modules wide and can be doubled up to create a 16-module roadway, but it's an extremely gradual incline and you'd have to elevate it by half-plate increments to eliminate any bumps.

Hope at least one of these techniques works! And remember, if you're not a purist, you have even more options. Print out or paint a road pattern on a heavy-ish stock of paper, cut it to the width you want your road to be, and you can curve it any way you please, than have it meet up with regular road plates at the beginning and end of the incline!

[gundamz]

I want to MOC Civil War scenes. I know that I can get Union soldiers in the Cavalry Builder set, but I was wondering if there were any official (i.e. not custom or Megablocks, etc.) LEGO sets that have minifigures that looked like Confederate soldiers.

[Aanchir]

I want to MOC Civil War scenes. I know that I can get Union soldiers in the Cavalry Builder set, but I was wondering if there were any official (i.e. not custom or Megablocks, etc.) LEGO sets that have minifigures that looked like Confederate soldiers.

The main gray uniforms I know of in LEGO are those of Imperial officers in the Star Wars theme. However, they trade buttons of the fastening kind for buttons of the sci-fi kind. Example.

This torso from the Indiana Jones theme could work, but the subtle feminine curves and the pockets are not quite accurate to a confederate uniform. This Rebel Technician torso from Star Wars has the same problem, and it'll be hard to acquire in any meaningful quantity.

Why don't you check the Bricklink lists of Medium Stone Grey, Dark Stone Grey, classic Grey, and classic Dark Grey? That's what I would do for this kind of task. And keep in mind a dab of Brasso would be effective for removing any detail on a torso that you'd rather omit.

Edited May 16, 2013 by Aanchir

[tomdobs55]

Another question I have for the experienced city builders out there is...what is the typical scale for roads? I'm looking to recreate a roughly 2 mile long stretch of road, how many studs is that? I've figured about 8 bricks high is a good ceiling height for buildings but length is not really coming to me quite as easy.

[Luke_likes_Lego]

At 5 studs = 6 (minifig size) feet (~30cm), one 32 stud road plate = 0.006 miles.

On that scale, that would be a lot of plates for two miles....some compression to your room size is probably called for :-)

Cheers,

LLL

[tomdobs55]

At 5 studs = 6 (minifig size) feet (~30cm), one 32 stud road plate = 0.006 miles.

On that scale, that would be a lot of plates for two miles....some compression to your room size is probably called for :-)

Cheers,

LLL

I figured it was way too big for the room I have planned curiosity got the better of me

[Wolfolo]

Is below too simplistic for the effect you were going for?

Hi LLL,

the design you made is really good, I'll take it for the next rebuilt (I usually build, make a 3D model and disassemble all to begin a new project), maybe with more new pieces.

Thank You

[SNIPE]

Hi,

I'm trying to make windows using bricks with slots in them but since the actual panes have odd dimensions it's hard.

The most sleekest design uses 1x2 tiles with slots cut out, but I could use 1x2 brick with vertical slot cutout or 1x4 brick with horizontal cutout, and im still trying to get hold of the parts since LDD just deletes the panes, etc due to them being 'incorrectly placed'.

I don't know how to connect the side and top tiles.bricks up.

I am using double glazed windows so either two will fit in the groove in the brick or one will fit in each groove of the tile (it has two grooves).

however Id like to put them side by side too so it looks like one wide window.

here are the panes: I only put the bottom of the frame on.and with one set of windows there would normally be 2 sets of two to make it like one wider window.

[Sid Sidious]

I want to MOC Civil War scenes. I know that I can get Union soldiers in the Cavalry Builder set, but I was wondering if there were any official (i.e. not custom or Megablocks, etc.) LEGO sets that have minifigures that looked like Confederate soldiers.

In real life, Confederate soldiers wore whatever clothes they happened to have, so it was pretty common to see units with soldiers wearing bray, blue, green, tan, brown, black, etc. Basically any licensed torso from a military background without obvious insignia could work. Adventurers had some torsos that might also work. Some police (like the CM2 and CM9 traffic cops) could work, if they don't have obvious police designs.

[Luke_likes_Lego]

I don't know how to connect the side and top tiles.bricks up.

Hi SNIPE,

Some hinges might do the trick for the sides:

Top bricks should be easy enough from there.

Cheers,

LLL

[Emperor315]

Hi All

I am looking for some advice from some of you lego pro's out there.

I am in the early stages making a custom LEGO Batcave. I would like to have the batmobile on a rotating turntable (probably motorised). I am unsure what pieces I can use to make a cicular plate. It would need to be approx 9-10 inches in diameter. Any advise would be fantastic.

Thanks!!

Edited June 22, 2013 by Emperor315

[Hey Joe]

There are some nice turntables posted over in the train forum from time-to-time. It might be better to ask over there?

Have fun, Joe

[CorneliusMurdock]

I'm moving this to General since this really more of a building question even though you want to use it for Batman.

[Peppermint_M]

There are a few methods using aligned wedge plates that create a decent circle base and gearing can make it motorised.