The Plunge

 I built this late last year for a New Elementary article on Battle Droid with STAP. Primarly, I was inspired by the tan recolours of ball joint with through axle hole and the System ball socket. Thus, my character model was to have some bare tan skin visible. As the swimming pool season had just began, I built a swimmer. Having the character gliding through the water was more interesting and elegant than having one standing beside the pool. Furthermore, this side connection enabled me to benefit from the through axle hole. The figure's point of balance is near the waist, so the hip joint was a good place for this connection.

I'm very happy with this. The swimming suit's shoulder straps use the new Slope Curved 4 x 2 with Stud Notch Left/Right, which was perfect for the use. I could make the limbs less sturdy as usual, as this was going to be a static piece instead of a poseable figure, and the legs didn't need to support any weight. Furthermore, it was fun building a character that is almost upside down, as that highlighted the legs, back of the head and the back details. The head is unusual as well, as I wanted to have swimming goggles and tied hair. The ponytail adds sense of motion, especially with the flow of air bubbles. There's even a stud on the place of the mouth, representing tightly closed lips.

 The base was the biggest challenge here. First, I intended to build a normal pool wall-and-floor set as a whole background for the character. But I didn't have that much white tiles, and it didn't even feel very elegant. So I took another route, questioning the concept of "enough white tiles". I made an almost cubistic backdrop of pool tiles, fraying on the edges, with blue ornamental strip adding a sense of culture. I like how the vertical, angular backdrop contrasts with the slender, elegant and rounded human being. This model was fun to photograph.

-Eero. 

Anchovy Walker

 I built this one for Palikkatakomo contest witha brief of Whacky Machnines. The contest was inspired by BONK museum in Uusikaupunki, Finland, which displays it own canon of imaginary machnines and products often based on technology that utilises anchovies. To keep things faithful to the source material, I took this as my starting point. I also wanted to build something motorised, as the contest was about machines. The first idea was an Anchovy Accelarator, which might appear in the original BONK lore; I envisioned a spinning vortex thing with the 1:1 anchovy, furnished with metallic silver finish, in the middle; the anchovy stayed, but the Accelerator felt a bit too obscure and, above all, difficult to built.

Instead, I chose to stick to my strong points; not human characters this time, but rather motorised walkers that I used to build as a kid. Well, I didn't make so many finished ones, but I had a rather simple one built for my first exhibition ever in 2009 (I was 14). It worked well and was a hit with the audience. This uses the same method, except for the battery box, which is included in the walker, making it more autonomous. 

Of course, my 2025 version of the same idea is more refined: the walker structure is U-shaped to fit the large anchovy tub in the middle, balanced by the battery box+motor in the back (both authentic 1990s technology; the motor is directly above the box so there's no need for wires). The power is transferred mostly by axles, as they're lighter and more effective than masses of gears; however, theres both small gear-big gear combo and a wormscrew gearbox in the back to make the movement slow and strong enough for the 90s 9V to drive. This took some iteration.

The cosmetic furnishing is quite simple, as the model had to be lightweight. I think I managed well with the shapes and colours, aiming for a "serious sci-fi" aesthetics to contrast with the silly theme. Especially, as this was a fast build. I won the contest, gaining Pretty Pink Flowers Bouquet - an excellent set I already reviewed for New Elementary a year ago. And, above all, I was able to demonstrate this to a group of pre-school children while setting up a library exhibit last month. They liked it, which was hugely rewarding.

-Eero.

Ps. There's also rumour that this MOC is called Superintendent Silakk. They might as well be true.