I built this MOC to accompany my New Elementary review of two Dreamzzz sets. I had two options - either use those new scuba helmet/mech torso halves for something dieselpunk-like, or simply answer the call of my soul and build something with those interestingly shaped dark purple and magenta pieces. I chose the latter, as I had another set with those halves to review.
The first part I made were the boots, featuring this neat lacing made of cattle horns. The set included five of them, but I luckily had some more, enabling a decent design. The boot caps use D-SNOTs - another use for those fabulous parts. The more interesting (and challening) part use on the legs is the mega macaroni tube of the upper leg. I used those pieces already on my new Zero Suit Samus to capture curved human shapes. Here, they are used differently, on the actual limb. In real life, human thighs are not sausages with 45 degrees curve; but the dress allowed me to hide the problematic concave, thus leaving only the slight convex visible. It's not so different from slight curves of human leg muscles, even though the bone inside is obviously straight.
Another challenge emerged when I returned to dark purple. I again wanted to use macaroni tubes, this time the middle-sized version, to make human shapes: the shirt emerging from the dress. The ones on the bust have no issues, and I like the Victorian flair of the printed piece below the neckline. However, the ones in the shoulders change the basics of my figure making: while achieving the nice rounded curve of the shoulder, they also turn the shoulder joint 45 degrees downwards. This caused some irks when posing, but I managed to play along.
The hairstyle that uses Dizzie's hairpieces and Never Witch's swirly base pieces was part of the initial idea. I'm quite happy how it turned out, giving the challenges of connecting pieces designed for minifigure looks instead of system requirements. The upwards curve of the swirly bases give this character a sort of brisk style I usually look for when building. As a side note, the medium nougat 1x2 double slope is one of the best recent recolours; this is the first time I use one.
The model was completed with the umbrella, as accessories like this make the posing funnier. I considered some musical instruments, but this seemed like a fresh idea. I'm particularly happy with the petal piece under the strap, and a shepherd's staff is used again inside the ribbed hose to give it the tightly curved shape.
-Eero.
