MOC: Nori

 It hasn't been long since Glóin stumbled in from the green round door, but here's Nori, the thief of the group. Played by Peter Jackson film veteran Jed Brophy, Nori has joined the company to leave the town and get some profit from Dragon's hoard. He's brother of Dori and Ori and distant relative of Thorin Oakenshield.

Nori is quite a basic dwarf construction-wise. There's some little tricks used to make his unique - The use of old dark grey and dark bley to create the correct color patterns, the hidden knives and foremost the odd starfish hairdo. I'm especially pleased with those whips used to connect the eyebrows to the hair. The beard has design similar to Thorin, but with three braids added. The side braids are minfig legs, similar to Glóin moustache. There weren't much joint pieces in brown so I had to improvise again, but it looks quite cool.

The torso is basic brick-on-brick build with some SNOT on the belt (or, of course, the whole thing is SNOT when the dwarf is standing, but you know what I mean) and tiling inside to add that zipper-like armour thing. The back of the belt has scabbards for Nori's double daggers. The back uses inverted tiles and this is actually the first time I used them on a MOC (I have 150 or so).

The arms are deadly similar to Bifur's with barrel bracer and all. Boots have some diversity, though. Back of the have couple of hidden knives in case of sticky situation or goblin kerfuffle. As always, the were the last part to be build.

Now it might be a while before I have the next dwarf built. I have only three left: The three of the youngest, Fili, Kili and Ori. Ive already built Fili's and Kili's heads, but have lack of dark brown parts to build their coats. Ori is another challenge. I have no sense how I could achieve the lavenderish color of his coat! But time will tell, as always.

-Pate-keetongu

MOC: Glóin

 Hip-hey! Say hello to Glóin son of Gróin, who's the newest dwarf in my Hobbit dwarves project. Glóin, palyed by talente Kiwi stage and screen actor Peter Hambleton, is father of Gimli of Lord of the Rings and younger brother of Óin. It's three months from the last dwarf (Bofur) but I promise the next one will come out faster - probably in three days or so!

The beard and hair was the first thing I built on Glóin. I think it was the last summer, so it has been quite a while on a WIP stage. Dark Orange isn't that common colour, but luckily I bought some via LUGBULK last year and also Bricklinked some wedges. The moustache is built with minifig legs, connected to a bar via minifig hands; I'm quite pleased with the look of it. Glóin's ornamental beard featured some greyish metal ornaments, which I included in the MOC. The beard uses even a couple of chicken legs with old-type bushes to represent Weta's design!  

The body involves more SNOT than the average dwarf like Bifur or Bofur, but not as much as Óin or Bombur did. The distinguishable pattern is achieved here with simple angled plates on a studless surface, but it has a nice effect. The belt has some bags and containers, as Glóin is the Money of the company.

The shoulder joint have couple of ball joints and even a short HF bone to allow enough movement. The elbow works with a T-bar, though the connection isn't very stable. Gotta ponder if I would come with a better alternative later. The boots are basic stuff and always the last part to be built, but I think these are some of my best. The round shape came out well to my eye.

Glóin also has his battle axe which is later given to Gimli. It isn't that sharp, but I like how the shape turned out; It can be seen better here. The handle would be better in dark brown, but I didn't have enough free 1x1 bricks or round bricks.

And on the end there's a picture of sons of Gróin:

-Pate-keetongu

Steampunk Burghers Barf!

 Here's the third and last steampunk figbarf for this instance. These people are more or less regular citizens of Victorian era towns.

 Miss Ambrelyn Sundison is a daughter of a rich and overprotective father and that's why she has to wear a steel armour inside her corset... Or at least that's what she says! But some who know more than the others claim that she's no human at all, but a ultra-tech clockwork robot on an undercover mission...

 Baron Frederick Von Fraadbrick is the old master of Von Fraadbrick manor. He's the foreman of a mighty family and spends most of his time on the gentleman activities - Fox hunting (On homing bomb-pigeons), Bear Polo (With gas-powered clubs and flaming ball), rowing (his aids row, of course, while he stands on the bow in a heroic pose) and so on. But he always prefers fiddling with top hats over everything else, of course.

 Miss Michelle Pearlbury is a fine lady and the head of The Care Foundation for Victims of Explosive Boiler Accidents. She is one that would be called a good person, but of course the most think that she is only promoting his own interests... But she doesn't care, not when there are unstable boilers around!

Barbara Nardon works as an alchemist in one of the city's shady garrets. But she's not mad, uncommunicative and explosive. She's well-educated and ready to bring a liberal and fresh touch to her sector. Barbara combines old lore and chemical formulas to create new substances from exotic jewels to handy engine oils.

Mark "Gingerbeard" Haystett lost his leg in the Third Europe-Wide War and has made his living as a famous war novelist. His books describe the war experiences of the sons of Britain in a human and warm way without losing the sense of realism. The leg wasn't the only thing he lost in war - All of his friends died when the Belgian Air Defence dropped one of British Airships. Nowadays Mark's beloved pipe is his best and only friend.


-Pate-keetongu

Spectacular Steam Heroes!

 Ladies and gentlemen! Here's another barf straight from the boiler! These are more adventurous sort, definitely a pack to survive from different situations!

Mr. Aaron Birmingbeef is a stylished and modern huntsman. Urban areas are his speciality and he hunts everything that lurks around the block - rabbits, foxes, sewer crocodiles, dock seals, gulls and rats. Mr. Birmingbeef is not afraid of getting his hands dirty. The most important thing is that the ladies of England have nothing to worry about!

Mathias P. Hotkins is a renegade and full-time adventurer. He definitely doesn't have taken a bath in a few years, and the barber is not one of his trustees, but his enormous moustache, straightforward attitude and exploding sense of "humour" attract women in a very, very odd and twisted way. Or at least he thinks so.  

Miss Emily Barber is the chief of home security squad and has brought quite a few crooks behind the bars. She wield a powerful air shotgun with a climbing harpoon. Emily isn't afraid of grazes and scrapes, and does everything to keep her mother's tea pot collection safe,

Alan Granter is a well-known mechanic and inventor. He knows engines, pipes, boilers and fireboxes. Granter's father was a suspended monorail engineer, and his mother was a self-made aircraft inventor. Alan got his first tools when he was three, so he absolutely has the skill needed to be a revolutionary technician!

Norah Allison doesn't like the Industrial Revolution. He wants to protect trees from becoming firewood, stop factories from pumping gas to the atmosphere and save endangered frog species from new suburban areas. And she's ready to use hard means with her duties. Woodcutters should definitely wear helmets when she's around, but Norah is so good at lurking in the forests that she might be hard to notice before it's too late...


-Pate-keetongu

Steampunk figbarf: Arctic Explorers!

The new Movie Minifigure series is out, as well as the new 2014 January releases. I bought a handful of figs alongside with the escape glider set, and here you can see the consequence - a barf of Steampunk figs! And this won't be the last one. This time the Victorian adventure takes place around the cold waters and glaciers of the North Pole, so don't forget to dress up properly!

Bratislav Tupsaar is a huntsman and tracker from the Far-Siberia. He's been hired by businessman Bob Rikoff to stop the British explorers from discovering the underwater coal beds on the bottom of Arctic Ocean. Tupsaar knows how to live in extremely chilly environment, so he's just the right choice to the job! But poor Bratislav don't know that his master wouldn't allow Mother Russia to have the energy resources neither...

 The British Empire needs the coal to run its numerous steam engines, but Half-British and half-Russian businessman Bob Rikoff is planning to set up a business and a monopoly of the northern coal resources! Bob gained his status among the lords of economy with his diamond mines, but his senses say that the industrial development is a lot faster way to the real fortune and glory.

 Elena Rikoff is Bob Rikoff's daughter, but not so fond of his father's plans. She has studied economical science in the Bufferburg University for Talented Women and is now part of the expedition of the northern sea regions. Yet no one knows which side she will choose - The British Empire's, Mother Russia's or his Father's?

 Mr. John-David Matson is a geographer and an adventurer, one of the trustees of his country. He's eager to discover the new northern lands and new, undiscovered tribes and peoples. Matson doesn't care much about the coal resources and don't see why the "bad guys" want to disturb their work for the science and knowledge.

Miss Monica Rutherd is an athletic and fit scientist from The Great Britain. She uses the expedition to north as an excuse to have good time with her rocket skis and stylish winter sport outfits. But she's a smart woman, and secures Matson's back when he's too busy with outcrops, lichen or samojedis.

WIP: Aikapoika - Time Boy

Here's a little sneak peek of one of many projects - An action figure of a steampunkish time traveler Aikapoika who is sort of an alter ego of myself:

The head is a rather SNOTty build with scuba helmets as a goggles, which looks rather good for me. The scale is a big bigger than in my dwarf figures (stay tuned for Nori and Gloin when my BL order arrives) and the rest will be built using a similar Bionicle/SYSTEM fusion style than in Samus etc. More of it later.

-Pate-keetongu