Episode 748

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It's going to be a busy week in the strip - I'm closing off a few dangling plot threads and setting things up for the final chapters of this story/arc/whatever.

Episode 747

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Again, on the road so today's strip isn't hooked up properly yet. You can read it by following the link above for now, and it'll show up in the other feeds on Saturday sometime.

Episode 746

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I'm on the road for the next few days, so comment moderation will be slow if I get a chance to do it at all. If you want to discuss the strip, might I suggest following the BCN link over to the right...there's a Brick House Forum in there where you can interact without that pesky delay.

Episode 745

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Teen Whiskey and Mary Sue are up late...or up early...or they're just teenagers and don't sleep. You make the call.

Episode 744

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Is Donut right? Will they all be saved?

Don't count on it.

Episode 743

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Sorry for the delay - internet was out at home last night. Double post today - second strip will go up around 2:00 EST.

Episode 742

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Now that there is a Friday cliffhanger.

Episode 741

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It's a bit hard to make out in the strip, but Scotch is riding a stripped down version of the walkers that Juan and the Herring Guard get around on.

This is also the first strip in a while that wasn't taken with flash photography. I recently moved things around in my LEGO workshop, and it let me set up a camera stand and light. I'm still tweaking settings, but I think the end result is much nicer - check out those great shadows on the detailing behind Juan.

Episode 740

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Yes, this joke was built into the strip from day one. It just took me nearly three years to set it up.

Sad, really.

Episode 739

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My first draft had the third panel blank - but I use that pacing far too often. Hence a bit of text to keep the flow going.

That's Billy Mays on the TV - It's good to know that in the alternate reality of the Brick World the pitch goes on....

Introducing: The Brick Comic Network

Are you interested in LEGO Webcomics? Run one yourself? Thinking of starting? Have we got the place for you...

Say hello to the Brick Comic Network!

Celebrating Brick-Based webcomics the world over, the BCN is a forum where authors can swap ideas, interact with fans, and share our resources. Our goal is to help build a LEGO Webcomic community - one that will help bring our particular style of comics to a larger audience.

Interact with the authors of Irregular Webcomic, Legostar Galactica, Adventures of the S-team, The Brickworld Saga, Brick House, Tranquility Base, Glomshire Knights, Tabletown Online, Harry Potter Comics, and more!

We're still getting started, drop by and help shape the future!

Also! Look for a BCN dropdown on some of your favorite LEGO comics...it's a quick link to other quality strips that you might not have seen before!

EDIT:
Figures. The moment I make an announcement my host has SQL server problems. Will update with status when I hear something.
Edit 2:
SQL server rest by hosting company - things are back up. (Hopefully they'll stay up, too.)

Episode 738

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Mary Sue: Ever the optimist.

Wow.

Lately, I've been working on some LEGO-based mosaics. I'm new to the concept, and still working out ways to be creative.

I saw this on Flickr today - it's a black-light active mosaic with some really interesting build techniques. (Follow the link for a blog post from the builder, Baggadonuts, that talks about how this effect was achieved.)

It's inspiring work!

Episode 737

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More of the cast returns from the Limbo of Plot Device Drive. Things should be good and chaotic soon.

Toybox of FAIL: SOLDIER Part 2

Please take a moment and read the Toybox of FAIL Disclaimer. Thanks!
-=-

Yes, the Toybox is back, and still filled to overflowing with bad knock-offs and questionable items. Sorry this took me so long to get back to - things have been busy for me lately.

Anyway, picking up more or less where I left off, here's the second in the SOLDIER series of FAIL.





As you may recall, the first SOLDIER was a a strange mix of Bionicle and Star Wars. This second SOLDIER shows that BRICK was satisfied with a single Vader head, yet strangely decided to duplicate the Bionicle color-assortment with its various weapons.



Say Hello to Rahaga Kualus, or "Santa Kualus" as I like to call this snow-themed bootleg.



The back of the SOLDIER's box again doubles as an instruction sheet. Notice, though, that they did include both the correct white color scheme as well as the correct weapon for the toy. That's more than BRICK usually manages. Of course, the drawings still aren't to-scale with the real toy, making the technic rod length diagrams pretty pointless...



And speaking of pointless, check out this little gem. This set came with a half-molded brick! This is the pin that's used to hold the figure's head onto his neck...



And its lack leaves the toy in a somewhat...less than ready for action state.



Adding insult to injury, this set was also missing the technic rod to complete the figure's weapon. Missing AND broken parts. If there were ever any doubt about this being a bootleg....

Oh well. At least White SOLDIER has a free hand to carry his head around. Maybe he can audition for a role as the Headless Horseman...

----======-----
As always, many thanks to Joe from The Undiscovered Playthings for sending me this set to review.

Episode 736

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Episode 735

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Episode 734

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The alien in the cell will get some better screen time later this week. In the meantime, long time readers might recognize a slight similarity to a guest star from Strip 191.

Oh. And, yeah, new set.

Episode 733

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Episode 732

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Episode 731

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Yes, another WoZ quote. I'll be done with that little kick tomorrow.

I also wanted to add that drawing the "whisper bubbles" in today's strip was a total pain. Photoshop doesn't have an easy way to add a dotted-line border to things. On the other hand, there are some great quick-n-easy tutorials out there on the net for the workaround. (Basically you have to create a custom brush to do the dirty work.)

Episode 730

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Episode 729

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I didn't want to smash the ship up *too* much at this point, but I think the askew-windows and bits of trim give the right impression of crash damage.

Episode 728

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For those of you wondering, the "impact crater" graphics were created by using two pre-printed LEGO baseplates. It was a lucky break - I needed more tan "landscape" due to the depth of the Owlship, and the only large flats of tan I had on hand were those and these.