Killjoy

This is Killjoy, from the Klaanon project, and long-term readers might remember the earlier versions: 3.0 from 2014, which was in one piece until New Year 2026, and 2.3 from 2012, which is reworked version of (links to Flickr or Brickshelf) 2.2 and 2.1. And then there was, of course, the original version from 2010. That's many, but 12 years from the previous one was enough. Furthermore, I reviewed the new (and good) Iron Man character model set for New Elementary, and the parts it provided helped me to accomplish this new version. Essentially, both Killjoy and Iron Man are dudes in red mechanical battle armours, except Killjoy is partly mechanical to begin with.

 There are several versions of Killjoy's armour in the Klaanon story, and honestly speaking I'm not an expert on them. I wanted to build the Platonic idea of a Killjoy suit: bulky, red, and somewhat menacing. With cool, striking blue eyes and black hands and rocket booster boots. Something inspired by Moko - whose work I've been following since we got Internet in 2007 - and universal sci-fi aesthetics. Looking back to the older versions, this is the first one that actually feels like Killjoy, at least in this particular moment. Despite the fact that I ditched the missile battery "function" and missiles, is something, are essential Killjoy. However, for a Lego model, good shapes and general integrity were more essential. You lose some and get some.

The previous Killjoy versions were primarily dark red, with the previous version using some regular red as well. I went with that, stripping the greys and pearl dark grey in favor of more coherent colours. More focused colour blocking is a norm in MOC building these days, and the combination of dark and regular red helps to balance the colour scheme with black - two colours would have too a stark contrast. Nevertheless, dark red was the main colour, partly because I like it and partly because the Iron Man set had so much of it! However, I was enamoured with the new curved slope / wedge/ windscreen part from the tulip bouquet, and it defined the helmet as regular red. Another one is used on the pelvis.

 Kalmah foot is a beautiful Bionicle piece, and had appeared on Killjoy's chest in each version, so I had to keep it. I could have, an probably should have used more Bionicle pieces, but eventually all I used were the chest and back armour and the (okay, Hero Factory) foot pieces on the feet, along with Slizer feet. However, in a bulky and large model like this, the pattern of most Bionicle pieces were too small-paced (potentially making the MOC too noisy) and the CCBS parts were just too small. Again, System-heavy "Bionicle" MOCs are probably frowned upon by the young neo-Bionicle fans, but the again, I built what I please, and it's good to leave the Bionicle part energies to Bio-Cup.

The large pauldrons are very defining for the silhouette, and they were inspired by Klaanon art by Aleksis Shi. They are hinged from the lowest panel to allow better posing, and they look great when angled upwards, like in the first photo here. This was something I noticed only when photographing this. The same layered armour design continues to the legs, and I'm particularly happy with the red areas over the knees. There are some asymmetrical details in this area to establish the feel of mechanical utensils built it the suit. The lower arms are slighly asymmetrical, as the left arm (viewer's right) turns into a cannon. The difference could have been stronger, but I wanted the model to feel natural in the standard mode with both hands connected.

Killjoy has also rather distinguishable buttocks, but this is simply true to the reference material. 

-Eero. 

Curtiss R3C-0

This is the second seaplane I built for my Pavilion of the Seaplane Association. The first was a real-world flying boat. Having cleared that, making a float plane (seaplane which hull does not touch the water) was a natural choice. They're less special and elegant that flying boats, although there are some really beutiful ones. However, it was easy to settle on Curtiss, famous from Porco Rosso. It is a real-life plane, American Curtiss R3C, armed with twin machine guns and with its wing-foil cooling system replaced with a radiator under the engine, like a jutting lower jaw (slightly misaligned in the photos with the stand). The real Curtiss was piloted by Jimmy Doolittle and beat the Macchi M.33 (last of the competing Italian flying boats) in 1925 Schneider Cup. This is references in Porco Rosso; Porco's rival Donald Curtis (with one s!) was inspired by Doolittle and Porco's fictional Savoia S-21 flying boat was inspired by Macchi M.33!

Porco Rosso is my favourite film, and as I had already built Porco's plane in miniland scale (and several times, too), giving some attention to Curtiss was a pleasure. The plane is easier that Savoia S-21, which is good as smaller scale has its challenges. This is strictly in minifig scale, although unable to fit in a minifig - they are so wide. With the wingspan of 25 studs, this isn't very big model. 

As there are no creative choices behind the process, it's hard to say very much about this. The pontoons were the most difficult part, and I'm not quite satisfied with them, but with the current rate there will be perfect curved slopes for them sooner or later. I'm happy how well the windscreen works, and with the white stripe behind the cockpit. The piping between the pontoons and the hull looks fragile, but is surprisingly sturdy. And finally, the 2x2 quarter round curved slopes from PaB elevated this to the next level - the photos of the Pavilion used baby bows with cut corners.

-Eero.

Macchi M.17

This is the Macchi M.17 from my Pavilion of the Seaplane Association. It is not a completely faithful rendition of the Italian flying boat, but close enough given the randomness of reference material. I simply wanted to make a flying boat racer/fighter (weaponless), elegant but typical enough. Something to take the viewer into the general aesthetics of Porco Rosso and late 1920s nautical aviation without the exclusiveness of Porco's fictional Savoia S-21 or its real-world paragon Macchi M.33. Monoplane flying boat fighters were extremenly rare, and having the cockpit behind the wings and the engine was uncommon, too. The .17 was a generic but very elegant example of this common typology: first cockpit, like a thin speedboat hull, then biplane wings, engine and a slender tail. The .17 apparently had versions with the engine positioned either on top of the wings or in the middle of them. The former felt more beautiful, as it enabled to keep the height of the wing structure lower.

Otherwise, this was a fast build. The main trick was to give the wings a slight curve. In my Savoia S-21 this is done illegally with a small triangle that uses swivel plate joints; but it breaks the geometry and is based on the tolerances of the physical bricks. This, in contrast, is entirely legal, using the method of freely sliding elements - that is, the 1x1 round plate with handle (expresso filter) pieces stuck into Travis bricks. The whole wing structure is then connected only by the Travis to the hull, enabled by the very sturdy connection of th Travis brick's hollow studs. 

The rest is more common; I managed to use the pretty round 4x4 dome and the weird yellow gear from Botanicals dandelion to bring some extra flair in; the pieces of the nose are among my favourites for shaping, and the corner curved slopes on the wing tips are just so nice... And yes, dark red, yellow and tan colour scheme is pretty nice.

This model was proven extremely difficult to photograph. The wings simply obscure most of it when photographing, hiding the elegant silhouette. I think it looks better from the back, but then again, people unfamiliar with old flying boats might not perceive what it is from the back view! I'll post the Curtiss later when I get dark blue 2x2 quarter round curved slopes from PaB.

-Eero.