I feel a BURP coming on...

[SavaTheAggie]

I'm looking into the future, at possible future designs I might work on, and I've been contemplating using BURPs for rock landscaping.

For the uninitiated, BURP stands for Big Ugly Rock Piece, with it's little brother the LURP, or Little Ugly Rock Piece. These are they:



So what is your opinion on using BURPs and LURPs in landscaping? I've seen great MOCs go either way.

Some Pros:

Filler - they take up space and save on bricks.
Strong - they support a lot of weight for their relatively light structure.

Some Cons:

Repetition - while the pieces themselves are not symmetric, using them over and over poses the threat of showing too much repetition in the texture of the rock.
Difficulty - the LURP especially can be hard to work with due to it's tapered shape. The BURP has that dip in the top of it that requires a plate to fill the gap.

So what say you?

--Anthony

[CAI]

I frequently use both.

Like stated...they're great fillers but I disagree with repetition to an extent.

For a mountain or small hill...i use them for the initial shape and build over them with green/brown and grey bricks. Once you fill in a few crevices, the BURP's look very distinct.

Yes, they can be difficult to place.

[Shadow]

Good topic! I chose option #2. Sometimes I use both BURPs and LURPs, or only one of them to decorate my MOCs.

[The Hordesman]

I mostly use them in large structures, mostly to castles or other fortification since it makes the situation more varied than just a castle in the middle of the plains. I should also mention that I use all mountain color variations to make the mountain look varied (grey/bley, dark grey/bley and brown/new brown), though it takes some work to make them look decent together.

I usually dont build buildings, since Im not a so good builder (more of a customizer and army builder) but when I build I build houses and progresses the wall for my current castle so I use them infrequently, actually, when I use them, I tend to use all of them.

1000 Posts!

[eNiGMa]

I use both infrequently. I may choose them or standard bricks, depending on my resources, the size of my creation, and my mood. I think they look good if used right, and like CAI said, building over some of the crevices takes care of the repetition problem.

[TheOrk]

I voted for option number 2.

To make something on a large scale, I would need to use all of my bricks in three different colour schemes; so I'm forced to use them both. But I usually just use the BURPS. I only use the LURPS when they fit into postition without causing problems. I use most if not all of them for outdoor MOCS.

[E of Alshire]

Some of us don't have endless collections of landscaping bricks.

2)

-Ethan

[bannear]

Good topic. I like burps and lurps to start a landscape. I have been working a lot with these in my train tunnels (got that and Vikings for Christmas) and find that if you add even a few bricks, you can break up the repetitive look quite easily. I try to randomize whether I use a burp or a lurp as well so I get different combinations of rock face. sometimes my randomization sucks though and I have to rebuild. I have thought of setting out bricks and pieces in 20 piles and then rolling a 20 sided dice to determine which pieces I use to add texture - haven't tried it yet - I will post some results if I do though.
thats my 2 burps worth.
Bert.

[BreadMan]

As others have said your fears are not totally unfounded Sava, I have seen many boring cliff faces where someone just lined up a bunch of burps and called it good. But that doesn't mean they can't be used right, all it takes is a little extra effort. When I build a cliff I throw in burps and lurps at random, deliberately leaving gaps, and then landscape around them. It gives a nice natural look (example). I just keep a pile of dark and light grey 2x1s and 1x1s nearby and sort of sculpt the burps in.

[HenrytheV]

I like to use LURPS and BURPS, so I voted "I frequently use both". I don't really have a problem making them look random, just slap some plates here and there.

HenrytheV

[Formendacil]

"I frequnetly use both"- although the truth would be that I use both, but they are all tied up in one creation at the moment (er... at the year), and are thus unavaible at this time.

Unless you stack them symmetrically, I don't think that they become too patterned-looking. Also, as already noted, with a liberal sprinkling of regular bricks throughout, it's very easy to disguise any symmetricallity that may have inadvertantly slipped in, using a modicum of bricks.

[VikingLord]

I use them both. They can be pretty usefull, you know.

[Gumby]

If you're doing any kind of mountainous landscaping, you can't avoid these pieces. I haven't counted recently but I probably have 100+ LURPs and close to 100 BURPs.

Like many others have said, the repetition can be minimized by scattering small bricks & plates while you're building.

[Moroder]

Oh yeah, I frequently use both! What would be a dwarven mine without one? Or a piratey isle? Go, URPs!

I'm with Ethan. Having a little collection of bricks, I almost HAVE to use them in my creations.

[Sir Terrance]

I use Burps and Lurps sometimes, but not to often, since my building style doesn't match them too well. Here is a Burp-y wall a member in my LUG built: Picture. As you can see, in this picture it does look a bit repeated, but you have to look hard.

~Chris Perron