443 - Resumption

After a six month hiatus, I've returned with motivation, and Christmas and Birthday money, to complete my various LEGO projects.

Top on my list is the completion of 443. We recently visited the home that I grew up in, and it has proved to be the last time we'll see it, since the sale of the complex that the condominium is a part of has gone through.

It is a weird feeling, knowing that something that I've long considered as "home" (even more so than the places I've lived since moving out) will soon be no more (it will likely be torn down and a new development project started), but a great feeling trying to recreate that place (and the good feelings that come from it) in the form of a model.

In any case, expect more action on this blog over the next few months, mainly centered around 443, but also some of my other projects (both existing ones and new ones). I may also share some of the recent works that I've built with/for my son and/or works he's built entirely by himself (he is really coming into his own as a builder... this dad is proud!). Stay tuned!

443 - Upstairs

After a period of continual readjustments, I think I finally have the correct dimensions of the house in general to start on the second level. They aren't perfect, but that's what I will just have to deal with given the medium.



So far I've finished with the two bathrooms, hallway and the air well. These are likely to be the hardest portions of my build because of the need to make sure the rooms upstairs are properly aligned with the rooms downstairs.



I do wish the hallway was a little bit longer, but unless I intend to add more height to the bottom level (and therefore a WHOLE lot more bricks), the dimensions of the bathrooms are somewhat confining me to that space.



I'm most excited to finally have the proper framework to start on the second level. The bedrooms were giving me some worry initially, but my parents were kind enough to take some actual measurements for me which have confirmed that I'm reasonably on the right course.



But every step closer to the finish line just acts as another reminder that I am woefully short on pieces. They trickle in slowly as my budget allows, but progress is slow. The good thing though is that it may well line up that I get a chance to visit my childhood home in November. It would make me happy to get a chance to see it again in person before putting the finishing touches on this model later this year. Until then, I make do with what I have.

443 - Patio and Living Room

The framework of the entire first level is finally actualized, although not yet fully complete. I had been waiting on a large order of white bricks to come in, and that has finally allowed me to lay enough foundation to be able to start work on the second level.



My challenge now will be to calculate and properly recreate the rooms of the second level in relation to the bottom level, as well as adjust the build to accommodate the modular nature of the build so far.



The living room has also seen a few minor adjustments. I've added an air conditioner, a small dresser, and adjusted some decorative elements on the side table and on the wall. Also added is what is supposed to be a clock table of sorts, represented by what is supposed to be a circular map piece that was in the set that my children got me for Father's Day (thanks guys!).

I know I say it often, but it remains true: there's more to come. I have a lot of work that I want to and am able to do (in terms of available pieces) in the next week or so, should I have the free time for it. So, stay tuned!

Church of the Master: Concept

It has been a busy month for me personally and professionally, and the blog is long overdue for an update.

That said, even though I have not spent as much time recently with LEGO as I'd like, the blog has been left unattended mostly because my work recently hasn't been cosmetic. For example, I've had to do a foundational adjustment to 443, and I've adjusted The Dark Tower so that I can add to the top half easily using random pieces for a proof of concept (rather than something I'm ready to show).

What I do have to show is a small piece of what I hope will someday be a larger work.

The Church of the Master is a Presbyterian church that I drive by every day as I head home from work. For years, I drove by it, not really noticing it, until recently when my new LEGO hobby opened my eyes to small architectural details in buildings that I once thought I was familiar with and could describe with my eyes closed.



What I liked most about the architecture of this particular church is the tower that features multiple crosses. It sits on the corner of a major intersection and looks quite nice, especially with the sun shining through it at right times of the day.

My hopes for this would be to eventually expand this out into a larger building, and maybe take some creative liberties as far as adding some stained glass and other features from similar churches.

All in due time though; I'm hoping to display some major progress on 443 soon, and that is the project that is closest to completion, so that's where my budget is going for now. Some day though...

443 - Furniture

Now that my build has progressed to the point where I can make adjustments to the living room, I have been spending most of my time building the living room furniture.



Furniture building can be a very simple or very complex process depending on what you need done. There are simple and obvious ways to create couches and chairs, coffee tables and dining room tables, even shelves and cabinets. Then there are complex ways to do the very same things.



Deciding which route (simple or complex) to go, I feel, is the challenge. The important thing is to not sacrifice scale for detail. An ornate piece of furniture won't sit well in a living room filled with other furniture much bigger or smaller than it.



Another thing I've learnt to do is to use color as texture. Little breaks in the color scheme can give the impression of texture, so you don't have to worry as much about complex curves or complicated detailing.



And like a good on screen adaptation of a book, you need to know where to take creative liberties based on the medium. In other words, don't be so caught up in staying "true to the original" that you end up with something less than desirable.



I've also found that you have to be constantly willing to evaluate and change as you build. Compare the antique wooden safe above (brown and gold on the left) to two other versions of it pictured in other pictures in this post. I've yet to decide what I like best, or that I've even found one that will be in my final version.



What I do know is that I shouldn't consider anything done just because I've built it. Unlike other "true" arts, LEGO is a medium that allows for decisions to be reversed. I'm never locked into doing something a certain way, and I certainly don't need to start from scratch if I've made a mistake. As someone who learns a lot through trial and error, this is something that highlights why I loved as a child, and have come to love as an adult, this great hobby.

The Dark Tower - Resumption

WARNING: This post may contain spoilers from Stephen King's The Dark Tower (series of books).

It has been just under a month since my last post, and indeed, my last work on The Dark Tower. Part of the reason has to do with having to wait on pieces to arrive (and the pieces I needed to continue just arrived two days ago), but the other has to do with my mood and inspiration.

I've been watching Game of Thrones quite avidly recently, and it has inspired me to spend a little more time in the world of fantasy as opposed to the world of doors, windows and pink tiles.



The build of The Dark Tower resumes with a new design for the 2nd half of the tower. My challenge here was to find a way to allow the 2nd half to have different textures and eventually build towards a smaller octagon and pointed/domed roof. This new pictured octagonal design is different from the previous in that it connects to a smaller internal octagon, as opposed to an octagon connected by a cross just on 4 sides of the octagon in the previous version. I use wedge plates to fill in the gaps where there would otherwise be holes in the design.

Gone is the circle design I attempted in my last post. In its place is something much more sturdy and that has much more room for me to style and design.

While it may not seem like much now, the new base will allow me to greatly vary up the design of the 2nd half, breaking the monotony and formality of the bottom half. It sets the foundation for what should be a very exciting and very different top half.

443 - Pink Kitchen

Yes, pink. Actually, bright pink to be exact.

As you can imagine, pink (and shades of pink) is a hard LEGO color to come by. I ended up ordering these bright pink tiles from the Netherlands for what ended up to be a very reasonable price of around 9 cents a piece. The color isn't my first choice, but paying $1 per piece to get the rarer regular pink just wasn't something I was willing to do.



Still, the end result works, I think. The brightness of the pink is dulled by the walls and the cabinetry, and will be further dulled once the furniture is moved in.



As you can tell, I have more work to do, including replacing the light bluish gray bricks with proper cabinets, and I also need to come up with a better washing machine which is what that strange white contraption near the oven/stove is supposed to be.





I'm pretty happy with how it all has turned out; the colors don't exactly match the original colors in the actual kitchen, but they come pretty close.



I've also begun construction on the rest of the first level, completing the foundations of the house. The dimensions seem to work out well in minifigure scale, even if they don't exactly match the actual scale.



What I need to do now is to calculate what I need to finish the walls of the bottom level so that I can begin work on the top, and eventually the roof... which I can promise you now is NOT pink.