MOC: Gail Nealor Lyner

Meet the second character on my SYSTEM steampunk figures line, heroine Gail Nealor Lyner. She is more action-oriented than Miss Izzy and therefore wear more protective outfit.

This time I used the new ball joint as I promised on the last post. They give both durability and mobility, and Gail is quite a posable; however, some furniture would be needed to show that and I didn't built any. Hopefully the other photos show that though, there's plenty of more in Brickshelf when moderated.

The build was pretty normal SNOTty work with round shaping and some detail. I began with the legs (I usually do) and after getting them right (Boots were tricky, the shape was not easy one) the body came up quite quickly. I gave a special thought on colors: Dark bley trousers and gloves to match, light grey belt and medium blue upper shirt thing to give some fresh color. Dark red and brown with gold buttons were trustworthy steampunky elements which worked well. The body is a bit similar to my Comedian, as those 4x4 wedges give such a nice shape. The unsymmetrical buttons where there from the start.

I'm very happy with the head and the practical but feminine hair achieved with tri-bar 1x2 plates. 1x3 tile makes sure that the stylised face is not too blocky. There is of course plenty of SNOT in the head as the 1x2 double slope is upside down.

I pondered a while what I would do with Gail's accessories and finally ended up with a pistol holster with simple short chain. I think is works well. I also tried to make a longer rifle, but had no idea how she would carry it. I guess Gail is a fast shooter!

-Pate-keetongu

MOC: Miss Izzy Orchard

 After those Bionicle models I posted on last three days, I'll present you some poseable SYSTEM figures. They are steampunk-themed, which is, as you have probably noticed, one of my favorite themes.

I built this MOC few days before I got my first new ball joints when I bought Gorilla and Eagle legend beasts from sale. So, this MOC doesn't use the new ball joints; the next one on my series does. Izzy is "fully articulated" (except the fingers though, impossible to build those in that small scale) using basic ball-clip joints in lower legs, normal-size ball joints on hips, double clip - towball on shoulders and even old arm hinges on the arms. There are double joints on the elbows to allow better movement.

The legs are partly inspired by Moko's work. I wanted them to be mobile enough to allow some posing, but they are not very sturdy. I probably could have achieved a sturdy design with those new ball sockets, but finished the model anyway before buying some. The minifig ruffs were a last-minute addition.

The body is pretty basic stuff with some nice curved slopes and wedges, with embedded double clips to make the ball joint sockets for the arms. The skirt was here from the beginning, and I'm very happy with the bags and packets on the belt. Izzy even has a booklet with the printed tile from Lady Liberty minifig.

The head is not rocket science with inverted, simplified face and golden locks. Bowler adds some steampunkiness. I'm proud of the hands, as they are hard to create in such a small scale. The connection might be a bit stressful to the parts, but I don't think it's that bad. Izzy has four fingers as most of my MOC figures, both Bionicle and SYSTEM-based. Five is just too much to handle! Badum-tish.

I had to build a chair for Izzy to sit on as the legs are not that stable and I'm going to keep this MOC on display for some time.

-Pate-keetongu

MOC: Metorakk

 Here's the last MOC on this batch of Klaanon MOCs. On contrary to Kepe and Snowie, Metorakk is definitely not a laid-back peace-loving good guy but a ruthless bad bounty hunter. He works for General Gaggulabio, a cigar-loving skakdi officer who is one of the Alliance commanders. Metorakk isn't his master's servant though, and is likely to go where he likes; that means the places with the bloodiest battles and best lootings.

Metorakk is a 100% fighter. He wears nazorak-made elite battle armor with leg thrusters, arm-mounted missiles and a protective helmet. The armor is still aerodynamic enough to enable Metorakk to move sharply. His favorite choice of weapon is powerful morning star.

This MOC is loosely based by an old creation by a man caller Dr.U. I picked the helmet idea, which looked excellent and gave heaps of character on U's MOC. Otherwise this was quite a simple humanoid MOC. I'm happy with the aerodynamic torso and the hand design especially; Movable finger usually give extra character on a MOC. Metorakk is holding a stolen magic sphere which is said to give overhuman powers to some special Vahki units.







This MOC combines Bionicle, HF and even small amount of SYSTEM parts. HF parts are used on the upper arm as I did on Kerosiinipelle, but there have also some extra beefing and Metorakk is more muscular guy. The legs are rather basic stuff. I made the ankles a bit sturdier, as just a ball socket on a piraka foot looks way too weak. KK2 armor part was an easy solution, but I like how it flows with the simple shape of Vikings dragon skull.

-Pate-keetongu

MOC: The Snowman

 After posting a new version of Kepe yesterday it makes perfect sense to post a revamped version of The Snowman (Or Snowie-Sno-Snögubbe-Snobla-Snörbels-etc.) today. He and Kerosiinipelle are always paired, and while Kepe is the brains of the outfit, Snowie definitely isn't its muscle. Of course he's bulky, but not a fighter at all, even though he once beat a flying cigar-smoking skakdi (or at leat that's what they say).

 Snowie's body consists of snow-like material that he can arrage in the way he likes, which makes him nearly indestructible, but not resistant to pain; he usually tries to avoid the conflict as much as he can. Bio-Klaani often sends him to convert factions to their side. But as a peaceful and laid-back guy Snowie is one of those who make sure that Bio-Klaani is the good guy of the conflict. 

I have build Snowman before, and that even made it to Mike Doyle's wonderful Beautiful LEGO book. However, I felt the old model had too many holes, pins and axes sticking from the white mass. Building white mass definitely isn't easy with Bionicle parts! White nuva shoulder armor is the key piece here; thanks to those very odd NHL player sets those pieces exist. Getting them to the right angle was very hard, and this MOC was on a progress state for a very long time. I had to sacrifice some mobility and the look of the back for decent front view. There is rather lot of SYSTEM there, especially on the legs. They are probably my favourite area on this guy, and they were a lot easier to build than the body. I think the hero feet look great there, as they lack the biomechanical detain and have only a simple roundish shape.

There will be some more Klaanon stuff tomorrow, and then you'll get some steam straight from the 1800s. I have plenty of time in my hands now and lots of finished stuff - Stay tuned!

-Pate-keetongu

MOC: Toa Kerosiinipelle (+delays are "dangerous")

Hey readers, nice to see that many of you have been browsing my blog during the last month even though I haven't blogged really anything! But don't worry, I have been building a lot, and there is several MOCs, Bionicle, SYSTEM and minifigures, coming soon.

I have been lazy updating this blog, but if somebody said that I have been lazing, I would probably punch them on the face (or not, as I am not a violent man; but I would stare at them on a nasty manner). I have had my final exams on Finnish Upper Secondary school; they are bit like A-levels on Britain, or at least that's what I have heard. The exams (I had Finnish, English, Swedish, long math and physics) lasted to weeks, and then there were three weeks of reading break - I used that time to do my advance exercises for the architecture department on university. And as I said, I have been building, as it's nice contrast to all the reading and, well, knowing. Writing a blog on a language that it is not my natural one wasn't, so I just build the MOCs to release them afterwards. But now I have a bit less than three weeks until Model Expo, the biggest exhibit of Finnish LUG Palikkatakomo RY, and I have some projects to finish for that; but I have no school anymore, so I'm a free man. Brilliant! But now, to the MOC.

I have built Toa Kerosiinipelle three times before as he is one of the basic characters on the Klaanon story, but those MOCs were either too muscular or too small. Kerosiinipelle, or Kepe, is not a fighter Toa. No, he's more like the scientist guy, and even though he has elemental powers of ice and plant life, he has tendency to panic on tricky situations, and save the day with a fire extinguisher instead. 

This MOC is a dyed-in-the-wool Toa-mod. The legs are basic stuff: foot, shin, shin fillings, upper leg socket, armor on the both sides. The torso is a bit more interesting if not incredible ingenious, with some embedded system to achieve a better shoulder connection. The arms and hands are the best part here, and I built them first; the hand and its connection to the arm is similar to Floresta's design, with skeleton arms as fingers and boat stud to make the shape a bit more organic; they are among my favourite pieces. The arm is combination of Bionicle and HF stuff, and works quite well. Thanks god I had a lime green ball joint, as a black one there would have ruined the color flow; White and lime are definitely flashy.

-Pate-keetongu