BrickArms News and Notes

[Blue Moon Knight]

After a bit of reaserch it seems the classification of a longsword varies. It seems many longswords are two handed, but some are light enough to be used with one hand.

[The Blue Knight]

Out of curiosity, what about it seems "off" to you?
badger

I said "a little" off. As Will and I discussed, the blades are a little too wide to be a longsword, though fine for a broadsword. Though then the handles may be too large for a broadsword. Again, Will has always found the right balance between real and Lego chunkiness. I would be thrilled with any of these designs. And don't let that make you think that I am anything but enthusiastic about all the new stuff.

[the enigma that is badger]

I said "a little" off. As Will and I discussed, the blades are a little too wide to be a longsword, though fine for a broadsword. Though then the handles may be too large for a broadsword. Again, Will has always found the right balance between real and Lego chunkiness. I would be thrilled with any of these designs. And don't let that make you think that I am anything but enthusiastic about all the new stuff.

No worries at all! Honestly, Will loves feedback like this, the more open and specific, the better! His son Ian is by far his harshest critic, but that blunt and honest reaction to many of his designs has made for much better items.

Thanks for the feedback!

badger

[The Blue Knight]

I said "a little" off. As Will and I discussed, the blades are a little too wide to be a longsword, though fine for a broadsword. Though then the handles may be too large for a broadsword. Again, Will has always found the right balance between real and Lego chunkiness. I would be thrilled with any of these designs. And don't let that make you think that I am anything but enthusiastic about all the new stuff.

No worries at all! Honestly, Will loves feedback like this, the more open and specific, the better! His son Ian is by far his harshest critic, but that blunt and honest reaction to many of his designs has made for much better items.

Thanks for the feedback!

badger

And Ian is his biggest inspiration, his ideas lead to many finished products. Our sons got to rove around together and wreak random trouble and mischeif last weekend, and make a few figs.

[KuvarBlodøks]

Out of curiosity, what about it seems "off" to you?
badger

I said "a little" off. As Will and I discussed, the blades are a little too wide to be a longsword, though fine for a broadsword. Though then the handles may be too large for a broadsword.

It would need a baskethilt to be a broadsword. And that would be a pain the the arse to mold. :p

[the enigma that is badger]

Quick update for everyone: some nice shots of "The Damien" in fig hand!

Forward shot:


From the side:


And another big thanks to the entire community for their feedback on this piece. The wheels of production are starting to turn at BrickArms, and I think folks will be happy with what they see!

badger

[Chaotic Good]

To be honest now, actually, although this is a good sword, I wish that BA hadn't made a foray into Little Armory's territory. I see Brickarms as the people for modern/WW2 weapons, not swords, really...

Although I'm not complaining. This thing is still great!

[Damien]

Territory? I don't think anyone in this small community really has claim to any. Little Armory has had Star Wars-inspired firearms for a very long time, and released a series of modern firearms shortly after BrickArms first appeared.

And of course, BrickForge has been doing historical and fantasy weapons, including armour, helmets, and even a couple of firearms, for a long while as well.

Ultimately, there's a lot of cross-over between all three of the big names. What you end up with is different vendors excelling in different areas, but they should never be shy to branch into other areas as well.

'Course, it's a great thing for fans of LEGO-compatible accessories. It just means people have more to choose from, and can add even more variety to their MOCs. That's a good thing, is it not?

[Chaotic Good]

Yep. You are correct there, but LA was the first to begin the whole idea. BA and BF have only been around for a small time in comparison to LA.

but they should never be shy to branch into other areas as well.

Good point. As another point you can again point out that LA has three areas...if Jeff had stuck to castle then there's no telling where we'd all be now.

All in all, I guess you are pretty much correct on all accounts. And as long as we all don't end up with another LAS fiasco (Not BA personally...just generally) we can all work together in peace and harmony.

Considering they all sell weapons.

Thanks for clearing it all up!

[Damien]

LAS - bah! We all know who to go to for the real stuff. People like that are scum, and we all know it. It's one thing for different vendors to make items within the same genre, or even of the same type. It's wholly another to outright steal items. That's something I hope we never see again from anyone.

Me, I just love the diversity that happens when different people try their hand at this hobby within a hobby of creating custom accessories. A good example is LA and BF both offering a great helm design. Despite being the same item, they're very different and each has great applications and can be used side-by-side in displays. To me, it's so cool to have those options available to me.

Look at the budding offerings from UAS as well -- now we not only have the historically-accurate heater shield from LA, but two other variations on the 'kite' shield from UAS. Options aplenty!

It's a good time to be a LEGO and LEGO-related toy fan, that's for sure. Well, good and bad -- good for you, bad for your wallet.

[Chaotic Good]

LAS - bah!

Actually, I've been wondering why on earth Kemperman did it. I mean, it's not as if he even makes a profit, or enjoys the hobby, as I've never seen him on forums.

It's a good time to be a LEGO and LEGO-related toy fan, that's for sure. Well, good and bad -- good for you, bad for your wallet.

Sometimes I'm not so sure. The resin casters are gone; no Tothiro, no MiniMitch, no RecluceMage. Only AreaLight. It's as if the (excuse the Cliche) "Golden Age" of casting, as it were, is over. Not that it's bad now, far from it. Just that the days of Tothiro's scene, for example, are long gone. I sometimes wonder what the future holds for this hobby...only good things, no doubt.

But too finish this off; it is indeed a great time for Minifig Customization. And I hope it can only get better.

[the enigma that is badger]

Sometimes I'm not so sure. The resin casters are gone

That's probably more a function of the relative difficulty in casting in volume as well as maintaining quality. I'm a huge fan of Arealight's work and have several pieces Recluse Mage did back in the day, but while they're fine work, they just aren't injected ABS. Injection molds are certainly a more expensive investment, but given it allows you to mass produce accessories in the same kind of high-quality, durable plastic TLG uses, it means you can reach a much wider audience in a way that's less labor intensive.

Talking to Arealight, probably the most talented caster that's ever produced minifig-compatible items, for every successful cast he makes, there are many, many failures. That's the advantage of a metal mold; once it's cut properly, you can inject several thousand accessories and get the same level of detail and accuracy to the original design every time. Casting if fine for personal use and very limited runs of items, but for a business that wants to make their accessories widely available at a price range that's comparable to the secondary market for TLG accessories, injecting is the gold standard.

badger

[Chaotic Good]

Absolutely true. It's also way more expensive. But I see your point; casting in the current mass-producing market is difficult, has too many errors and is less suited to the ideals of the selling market unless you are very, very good at it.

[Pharazon]

Hmm, the things you see when wandering aimlessly around forums.

Only AreaLight. It's as if the (excuse the Cliche) "Golden Age" of casting, as it were, is over.

Au contraire CG. Check out that awesome tunic to eh Damien? Badge is exactly right. When it comes to resin casting, at best it's a roll of the dice with every cast. It's tedious and time consuming with wavering results. The fumes can cause one can have engaging conversations with their pets however. I ought to rename my cat Carl Sagan.

To try and keep this on topic. I'm totes digging the Rapier. For some reason the guard on the Longsword doesn't tickle my fancy, which is okay since no body wants to see that. V2 "The Damien" would get my vote.

[Damien]

Phar! I sent you like three or four other designs a few weeks back and never heard from you. E-mail me, bro!

Looks like I copied the template correctly, though. Did the belt come out too dark to show up? Hard to tell from the picture. Either way, I like it! I really do have a soft spot for that 'Ibelin' scheme.


And I gotta agree with the guys; resin casting, which I looked into a few times, is just not cost-effective, which is likely the reason so few people do it. Even at best, no resin-caster can match the prices of someone that manufactures in plastic for all the reasons previously stated. I'd love to see more of thes talented customizers find a way to work in injected ABS, though. Especially with Pharazon's most excellent shields and Arealight's marvelous hair pieces.