cows and chickens, pigs and sheep

[LEGOFREAK]

All right - we all know the horse is much better for having gone through "juniorization"... the ones in the yellow castle were cool - but the ones now are cooler.

So couldn't more farm animals be the same way?

(I know I've seen this topic here before, I just want to get an idea of the numbers)

[Troy T. Moore]

I voted yes, but there are some conditions Of course all I say will be biased in a castle way. If there are frogs, cats, spiders, Gungan beasts of burden and big honk'in trolls then why couldn't, or rather shouldn't there be, more useful critters? If it was done well it would be very cool . Cows and sheep would be on the top of my list!

[architect]

These types of pieces have been overlooked too long. We definitely need farm animals. Dogs would be nice too.

Ben

[footsteps]

All right - we all know the horse is much better for having gone through "juniorization"... the ones in the yellow castle were cool - but the ones now are cooler.

So couldn't more farm animals be the same way?

(I know I've seen this topic here before, I just want to get an idea of the numbers)

I voted No.

Why do we need Juniorized animals when we can have the following:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=19268
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/savat ... estock.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/savat ... moocow.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=48

And as for horses:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=521487
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=521488

It has 11 pivot points -- the standard Lego horse has one! I've created a bunch of these in white, black, tan and brown but haven't posted to Brickshelf yet. Maybe by the end of the weekend.

Alan

[footsteps]

I voted No.

Why do we need Juniorized animals when we can have the following:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=19268
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/savat ... estock.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/savat ... moocow.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=48

And as for horses:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=521487
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=521488

It has 11 pivot points -- the standard Lego horse has one! I've created a bunch of these in white, black, tan and brown but haven't posted to Brickshelf yet. Maybe by the end of the weekend.

Alan

Okay, I'm replying to my own post, but now I have some more photos of completed MOC horses:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=62607
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=62602

which I hope shows the improved versatility of this style of horse over the standard Lego horse.

LMKWYT

Alan

[Jojo]

which I hope shows the improved versatility of this style of horse over the standard Lego horse.

Your horses are definitely cool. Now that they are shown in a proper colour scheme they look even better (naturally).
However, I'm, lazy enough to still use the pre-molded horses :-)

As for some more livestock: I enjoy own-created animals a lot. On the other hand the question remains why LEGO produces certain animals (dragons etc) but not cows and sheep? I would have expected cattles when they invented the Western/Cowboy line, but they didn't.

The main problem for me is: The style of these usual pre-molded horses looks that different from built animals being around them. Sometimes I can't decide whether the horses or the built animals look out of place. Probably, if we never knew horses other than those from the Yellow Castle, the pre-molded horses would be the "wrong" ones. But we are accustomed to them.

Hm, what's been the red thread of my posting? I wouldn't mind them to produce molded animals but I can live without them. Obviously.


Bye
Jojo

[footsteps]

However, I'm, lazy enough to still use the pre-molded horses

I agree that the Lego horses are easier, and cheaper too!!! At least, the brown and tan ones are much more expensive to create than white and black.

The main problem for me is: The style of these usual pre-molded horses looks that different from built animals being around them. Sometimes I can't decide whether the horses or the built animals look out of place.

That's part of my motivation to do a MOC horse, so that when I get around to copying the other MOC animals they will all fit together.

I liked the idea of having a posable horse, particularly as I hope someday to do a jousting scene and I'd like to show the horses galloping toward each other.

Alan

PS Thanks for the compliment.

[Stephen]

I voted Yes.

I have long believed that the castle theme needs a good ox. Oxen were the most common beasts of burden in the Middle Ages and having horses to pull all the wagons and carts is unrealistic.

I agree with Troy - I've seen enough bats, owls, and spiders. We could use some cows, pigs, and sheep.

I like Alan's horses a lot, but as Jojo says, they look out of place. And for me (rather clumsy perhaps) they tend to break too easily.

Stephen

[footsteps]

And for me (rather clumsy perhaps) they tend to break too easily.
Stephen

Agreed, they are a bit flimsy that way -- but then you can just put them back together again. With new parts they are a tad more resilient.

It comes down to a trade-off for each person. I'm trending towards MOCs for animals, but others (obviously a majority of respondents so far) would like Lego to make them. Until Lego does, though, MOCs are our best bet.

I hadn't thought about the oxen issue before (re: pulling carts) but you're right. Now I've more incentive to make some of those "a la Sava".

Alan

[LEGOFREAK]

ok - now I am replying to my own question...

My thought is this - If using MOC horses, sheep, cattle etc.. why not go back to using the two part lego people. - no arms, hands or faces?

I mean some premolding is good, but some isn't?

I prefer the premolded horses because I think they work well with the people. But hey - that's just me.

[lemon_squeezer2]

I voted yes.

IMHO, premolded pieces are sometomes better. MOC animals are nice in their own right, but sometimes you need more detail. The frog (www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=x223) is a nice example. It has been kept to scale, and it looks better than a green dot. Making moving, living things out of standard blocks just dosen't cut it sometimes. It just has the look of bieng too blocky.

[footsteps]

ok - now I am replying to my own question...

My thought is this - If using MOC horses, sheep, cattle etc.. why not go back to using the two part lego people. - no arms, hands or faces?

I mean some premolding is good, but some isn't?

I prefer the premolded horses because I think they work well with the people. But hey - that's just me.

Ah, my freaky friend , you have a point -- but only half a one, I think.

Current minifigs are made up of 9 changeable parts (11 if you include head- and neck-gear), making them easy to MOC-ify. They are posable, with 7 pivot points. They are definitely not Juniorized, and are about as "premolded" as any non-2x4 brick.

I would counter that the current molded horses are akin to the original two-part figs. That's why I feel that MOC animals are a better fit for current minifigs.

But hey - that's just me, too

Alan

PS I'm enjoying this exchange!

[Bruce N H]

I voted yes, because I've always thought a molded cow would work very well across many themes--castle, town, train, western. Usually, though, I prefer brick-built beasts, especially when the molded beast isn't generally useful (like, for instance, the SW Kaadu and Dewbacks). With some creativity, it is possible to build many things out of bricks, and there is much more room for variation. For instance, compare Joe Comeau's dragons:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=34380
to the official piece. His are poseable, varied, and a couple of them are even in the same scale as the official dragon element. Not to mention all the cool dragons that are at a larger scale, such as Anthony's. BTW, while searching for those I came across this coo dragon I'd never seen before:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=18135

Alan,
I didn't think your horse looked so good when I first saw it in multi-color, but now that I've seen your monochromatic versions, they're really impressive.

Brendan Powell Smith has a lot of great brick-built animals in his Bricktestament, e.g.:
http://www.thebricktestament.com/genesi ... 41_18.html
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_la ... 11_03.html
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_wi ... 04-05.html
My favorite of his is this donkey:
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_wi ... 22_21.html
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_wi ... 22_30.html
He uses a mix of molded and brick-built beasts and they don't look too bad together.

Bruce

[dannyscastle]

you can make your own what look cute and well made but i think leho should make the sheep and the pigs mabye even chickins

[SavaTheAggie]

My favorite of his is this donkey:
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_wi ... 22_21.html
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_wi ... 22_30.html
He uses a mix of molded and brick-built beasts and they don't look too bad together.

Bruce

You call that a donkey?

THIS is a donkey



Credit where credit is due:

Reed Anderson first came up with the original Donkey of which I slightly modified (and neglected to turn the ears around before taking this picture...ugh). You can find it as well as a few other of his things on this post on lugnet:

http://news.lugnet.com/announce/moc/?n=1280

--Anthony