Bill Ward - All - LEGO - Models - Sculpture - Pokémon

Bill Ward - All - LEGO - Models - Sculpture - Pokémon http://bill.wards.net/blosxom Bill Ward's Blog, powered by Blosxom (All - LEGO - Models - Sculpture - Pokémon) en Pokémon http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/2003/08/15#intro <p>Here are models I built of the characters from the popular Pokémon TV show, mainly during 2000 and 2001. Why Pokémon? At the time, my wife and I were collecting and watching video tapes of the show. It seems like kind of a dumb show if you just see one episode, but if you follow the story in sequence there is a certain logic to it. It's basically a samurai story, and as students of Japanese culture we found it very interesting.</p> <p>In late 2000 my brother-in-law <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.wirefarm.com/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.wirefarm.com/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Jim</a> told me about a <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/08/27/2244229" onMouseOver="window.status='to slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/08/27/2244229'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Slashdot article</a> about a LEGO Desk built by <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Eric Harshbarger</a>. I looked at the sculptures on his site and said to myself, "I could do that" (I must have been a guitar player in a former life...)</p> <p>So I went down to Toys 'R Us and bought several big blue tubs of LEGO. At the time, they were selling <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://guide.lugnet.com/set/3033_1" onMouseOver="window.status='to guide.lugnet.com/set/3033_1'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">set 3033</a> for $20, containing 1200 bricks in the basic colors. My first construction was the Pokeball, shown below with Pikachu. Then I tackled Pikachu himself. That's what started my current association with LEGO, and I haven't stopped yet!</p> <p>Pictures of the <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/lego/events/baylug/baylug-2002-01-05.html">January 2002</a> meeting can be seen on my site. You can also view more pictures of the <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.baylug.org/fests/2001-03/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.baylug.org/fests/2001-03/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">March 2001</a> and <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.baylug.org/fests/2002-01/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.baylug.org/fests/2002-01/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">January 2002</a> meetings on the BayLUG website.</p> <p>For detailed pictures of my Pokémon creatures, see <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/lego/models/sculpture/pokemon/pikachu.html">Pikachu</a>, <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/lego/models/sculpture/pokemon/bulbasaur.html">Bulbasaur</a>, <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/lego/models/sculpture/pokemon/bulbasaur-internals.html">Bulbasaur Internals</a>, and <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/lego/models/sculpture/pokemon/squirtle.html">Squirtle</a>.</p> <p>These three pictures were taken at <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.baylug.org/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.baylug.org/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">BayLUG</a> (Bay Area LEGO User's Group) meetings.</p> <p>Pokémon is a registered trademark of <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.nintendo.com/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.nintendo.com/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Nintendo</a>.</p>  Pikachu http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/2003/08/15#pikachu <p>My first sculpture was Pikachu. I started with his eyes and nose and then worked around to the rest of his head. Then I proceeded down, building upside-down until I reached his bottom. Pikachu is one of the longest-lasting models I've made, being built in late 2000/early 2001, and not being disassembled until early 2004. But don't fear, I made an electronic copy, and could recreate him if I ever want to.</p> <p>Pokémon is a registered trademark of <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.nintendo.com/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.nintendo.com/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Nintendo</a>.</p>  Bulbasaur http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/2003/08/15#bulbasaur <p>After creating Pikachu, I wanted to create another of the Pokémon creatures to keep him company. I chose Bulbasaur for this. The big challenge here was caused by the fact that the bulb shape required him to be an odd number of studs wide. As a result, I could only use 1- and 3-wide bricks down the centerline. This made him rather fragile, especially before the model was completed.</p> <p>Pokémon is a registered trademark of <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.nintendo.com/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.nintendo.com/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Nintendo</a>.</p>  Bulbasaur Internals http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/2003/08/15#bulbasaur-internals <p style="clear:both">I make an electronic copy of the design for all of my major models. Starting at the bottom of his feet and working towards the tip of his bulb, I transfered each brick from the sculpture to a table and recorded it in <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.lm-software.com/mlcad/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.lm-software.com/mlcad/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">MLCAD</a>. At five points during this process ("stages") I stopped to take pictures. This lets you see his internal structures. Here are the pictures from that process:</p> <p>Pokémon is a registered trademark of <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.nintendo.com/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.nintendo.com/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Nintendo</a>.</p>  Squirtle http://bill.wards.net/blosxom/2003/08/15#squirtle <p>My third Pokémon model, Squirtle, was never really completed to my satisfaction. I ran out of blue bricks before finishing his hands, feet, and tail. These pictures show him at various stages in the construction process, which is good if you want to see how his internal structures are designed.</p> <p>Pokémon is a registered trademark of <a href="http://bill.wards.net/blosxom?redirectURL=http://www.nintendo.com/" onMouseOver="window.status='to www.nintendo.com/'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Nintendo</a>.</p>