LEGO Xeno

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

Wow, what a cool thread. Unbelievable amount of time and effort. Hector, those screen pictures...man, patience and dedication. Very nice.

[jwyblejr]

I take it the Lego Store doesn't carry the bricks you need?

[Hector]

I bought some from the Lego Store, but they don't carry many of the older rarer pieces...like brick 6177. You can do a lot more on BrickLink and BrickOwl, you can communicate with the independent sellers, they help and guide you, they offer discounts, its user friendly, it's more specific and detailed than the Lego Store, which feels like an empty corporate hospital, lol.

BrickLink and BrickOwl are like Steve Wozniak.

The Lego Store is like Steve Jobs...

[Hector]

Wow, what a cool thread. Unbelievable amount of time and effort. Hector, those screen pictures...man, patience and dedication. Very nice.

Thanks!

rche is doing his thing too...

[rche]

yeah - lego store is good for common items; but some of the bricks used in this (and other great custom) build are set specific. Some of them saw very limited use in kits. It is LEGO tho, so there is usually a work around, tho that may not be as visually appealing as the first choice brick.

Hec paid a pretty premium for the 'pool of blood' brick at the bottom of the chestburster build. There are many other things that could work there, but they would either have seams or studs and not look quite so much like a contiguous puddle.

Another example of this, with the Big Chap Alien, is the breathing tubes on the back. The ones that look best saw a limited release in a kit that has long been discontinued. The XB set actually has both suggested versions for the tubes included. I built them and did an A/B comparison and decided the one piece design looked best. Interesting that the kit had both options tho.

[rche]

Thanks!

rche is doing his thing too...

thanks, Hector.

[rche]

btw - arms are finished with a little over an hour put into that part of the build.
Head, tail, and final assembly tonight after the kids are in bed. woot!!!

[Hector]

Awesome! Can't wait to see pics of that bad boy completed...

[Hector]

Yeah, that pool of blood brick comes in a smaller size, super cheap too, but it just doesn't have the desire effect, not bloody enough. You can find the same size in different colors, super cheap too, but it's not going to be dark red, unless you paint it or something.

I said the hell with it, get the real deal, you only live once, lol...

Yeah, the Big Chap's back breathing tubes, I just couldn't find the first choice bricks, had to go with the Arvo Brother's alternate ones. Hey, that's cool that your Xingbao kit had both options...I hate you, lol...

[rche]

took a little longer for the update than I anticipated. I had to go take time away from my busy building schedule to go to work.

You are spot on considering the weight of this build, Hec. I can't imagine trying to get that to stand up to some tremors in CA.
Considering some of the absolutely fantastic textural uses of the LEGO bricks, I am surprised that all of that weight is supposed to be supported by the two pins on the hip sockets.
Most of the bricks on this non-LEGO kit snap together well and have a decent fit and hold. Unfortunately, the two pieces that compose the pin joints (for both the arms and legs) are not at that level of quality. They never quite 'pop' in and make a positive connection.

So - I spent several hours and a few close to massive collapses trying to get all the pieces together to complete the Alien. I was planning on moving the model to a better area and using some decent lighting and a camera for my final build pictures, but I was worried that the Alien would not keep standing long enough for me to get those photos going, so I just shot as fast as I could with my point and shooter camera.

I plan to get some actual LEGO brick for the trouble joints and see if that helps alleviate the standing issues once all the weight from the torso, arms, and head are on the legs. If that does not work, I may resort to gluing the pins in place, or perhaps work up some sort of support for the upper body so that all that plastic is not held up by those small pins.

I ran into my office to set my '79 big chap up next to this just so I could have some comparison shots. It really is a pretty impressive model while it is holding together.

SAM_0292.jpg SAM_0285.jpg SAM_0284.jpg SAM_0290.jpg

- my apologies for the sideways pics. I will have to fix that in a bit.

[Hector]

Looks great!

Let me know if you come up with an effective method of keeingp that sucker secured and upright.