Upcoming Lego Movie 2 sets

Not a big fan of Lego Movie sets, but I want this one! 

Ahem... classic yellow space suit... ;)

Still here :)

It was a long break due to technical reasons.  Bunch of tests were done, but we didn't like the results.  Further "investigation" showed that flickering is a common problem for our setup and settings, so the initial plans were cancelled, and I had to work on major adjustments.  It's still work-in-progress.

1.  My 55mm vintage Nikkor-micro is on the way.  First time I risked to purchase a used lens on ebay.

2.  "Pro" software demo test was such a disappointment.  If developers want that amount of money for it, then why do I have to struggle setting up my camera, following their procedure?   Still can't make it work.  The "non-pro" soft seems so much better.  I have coupe more options to try, but it will take some time.

3.  (rant) Stop Motion Studio developers, if your software has no important camera control options on Android, then why the heck you sell it for the same price as for your damned apples?  It shouldn't be even named the same.

Inside the bungalow.

Oh no, someone sneaked in and took a picture while Melinda and Phil were on the beach :)

Palm trees. Final choice.

Here is the palm tree variant I ended up using.  It's solid, you can bend the tree trunk any way you want, and you can add as many leaf layers as you need.  Looks good for me!

The only tricky part is to cover that ugly square base with smaller plants around your tree.  Not a big deal as long as you have enough small plants :)

3-Piece Suit.

Heads and wardrobe. Part 1.

Something while I'm waiting for (hopefully) the last shipping of landscape bricks :)

Yes, I'm mixing up other movies and real life photos, 'cause, well, why not, just for fun? 

Reference:

And here is what I made with original LEGO parts.  Beware, Mr. Black Belt, if May wears pony-tale, you're in trouble :)

I'm working on it!

No, I didn't quit :)

I was building and rebuilding a lot, learning to make more solid rocks, testing whats the best way to make water and so.  And of course every time I needed some other bricks, had to order and wait for them to arrive.

Any way, I think I'm pretty close to the final look now, so it's getting hard to keep my kiddo off it :)

She did help making the ocean btw.  And it inspired her to draw :)  Pictures are below.

Palm trees 2. The island

I decided to give a try to LEGO classic palm trees.  Guess what.  They work the best.

 

I mean, I like the way those palm tree trunks look and work.  Yes, I had to purchase used parts, 'cause they are note made these days.  2 of them were too lose.  But others work exactly the way they suppose to.  I can bend those trees any way I want, making them look more "live". 

Bungalow + roof

I like the way the roof looks :)

Of course I used up all freshly purchased tiles and didn't have anything left for the porch and railing.  But I also figured out what I need to add to my bungalow design.  Right now it looks good if I take pictures from this angle.  But if I need my camera to look up, like if the minifigure would look at the bungalow - there are grey hinges I'd better cover with tiles.  It will look much better then.

LEGO is an addiction.  No matter how many bricks you have and just purchased - you always need some more :)

Minifigures. Part 2

Classic yellow or light flesh?  Not an easy choice tbh.

Coulson original LEGO minifigure is great.  Yet it meant to represent him on a mission, communicating with fellow SHIELD agents.  His dual-sided head has sunglasses on one side, the other side has a headset.  Sunglasses are cool, but the headset is not something AC would need for this vacation.  So I need to find another head looking similar to his original one.

Vacation time

Waiting for another batch of bricks to arrive.

Bungalow design

Just a quick test for now, the main hut and a couple of plants behind it.
I'm still waiting for 6x16 plates I purchased to make the floor and move the hut partially over the water.

Don't worry about different windows and such, I'm still deciding what I like the best, and may change it all in the end :)

Palm trees

I'm dusting off my good old Nikon D40 + Tamron 90mm and trying to recall how to use them :)
Beware, there are 14 pictures and a short story below.

There are many tutorials about detailed LEGO palm trees, check them out on Youtube if you're curious.  Means nobody really likes the idea LEGO currently uses for their palm trees, say, in recent Pirates series.

It's sturdy and ok for kids to play with, but I personally hate the look of those brown Technic elements used for the trunk.  Also some "arm" pointed up is needed to place this tree somewhere on your landscape.

Dolphin

We went minifigure hunting today.
2nd Walmart we visited had a freshly-opened box of minifigs.  My kiddo founded what we wanted pretty much right away.  Yes, dolphin is a big bulky piece compared to all other accessories in this series.

Minifigures

I've seen several variants of Agents of SHIELD minifigures, both custom and what people make with existing LEGO parts.  For some reason I don't really like May from the popular custom set.  So I looked through all existing light-flesh-female-heads and picked one looking like May... At least I think so :)  Do you?

You probably recognize the jumpsuit I used for her right now, it's not the final decision. And not the only one :)  As for the bike - I thought this one would look ok, but no, now I see LEGO "retro bike" would be better, looking close to that Harley May used in s2.

Inspiration for my project

I looked through a bunch of LEGO Ideas and custom projects people do.
Some of them are cute and simple, some are huge, complicated and magnificent. But all of them are fun to look at.  I'm just going to leave it all here for future reference or you know, just in case :)

Robinson Crusoe Island (LEGO Ideas)

Falconhurst Treehouse (LEGO Ideas)

Tropical Beach Hut (LEGO Ideas)

Hut of Radagast (LEGO Ideas)

Cocoa Jungle Cottage

Holiday Hut

Best Friends on Vacation

Beach House

I should use hyperlinks for all of them, but I don't remember where all of the pictures came from, so hopefully the authors don't mind me posting some pictures as is.  13 pictures are under the cut.

Roof design

Think I decided on the look of my roof.  And which parts I need.

The hut will be 12x16, I don't want it too big.

Below is the photo of some testing.  The "joint" on the corner was my biggest concern, but it ended up looking allright (on the left).  I'll be adding more detailed photos and maybe even lists of parts I used.  For now it's just quick sketches.