My First MOC: the Moonbat

[sean mykael]

Well, I've finally gotten around to posting my first MOC. It's sort of a Steampunk type ship that I call the Moonbat.

Ive posted a short summary of some of it's features at Brick Brick

and you can see the gallery here at Brickshelf

Hope you all like it...
(and if not...well, just go easy on me...like I said...it's my first time)

[porschecm2]

It looks pretty good, from what I can see. I have dial-up, so the pictures are taking forever, but I see that's already been mentioned at CS. Anyway, I like the use of the Batman wings, and the red; too many steampunk models are all grey and brown all over.

And, welcome!

Cm2

[E of Alshire]

It's nice. I would improve on the propellor on top, though.

[Tristram]

Cool MOC! Like porschecm2, I have dial-up, and it takes too long to load pics. In fact, it took longer than usual with yours. But I managed to load a couple and the Moonbat looks really nice. I especially like the working cannon that line the ship. That's neat.

And E of Ashire was right, the color is a nice addition to this steam punk model. How funny, I also have a steam punk MOC I want to show, and mine is all black, brown, and grey! Weird. Maybe I'll add some color to it.

And here's a question:

WHAT is STEAM PUNK? I know what features are common (steam powered, late 18th to late 19th century time frame, dials, levers, etc.) but where did these MOCS originate? What is the reference used? Are they an extension of the Adventurers?

[Dunechaser]

WHAT is STEAM PUNK? I know what features are common (steam powered, late 18th to late 19th century time frame, dials, levers, etc.) but where did these MOCS originate? What is the reference used? Are they an extension of the Adventurers?

Steampunk is not unique to LEGO, and is therefore not a sub-theme of the Adventurers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

That said, the official Adventurers sets do include a lot of steampunkish vehicles and characters, so lots of steampunk MOCs include minifigs from that theme (see Mark Stafford/Nabii's MOCs inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, for example).

Sean, the wings and balcony are nice touches on the Moonbat. I haven't checked CSF, but I suspect you'll get feedback from them suggesting more greebling, and I agree. More hoses, boilers, pistons, and levers!

It's great to see you building. Keep it up!

[Peppermint Pig]

Good work sean. I also like the railing. Is it easy to fire the cannons that are located under the bridge or are they just for show?? You could probably use more propellers on this, but I think that's generally true for any airship I see. Chains look good on the front of the ship.



As far as official Lego sets go, Time Twisters seem to carry the closest spirit to steampunk in the fact that they hodgepodge their vehicles, though you'd have better luck mixing parts from the adventurers and other sets to create a good Steampunk look for MOC's.

That Wiki link is really helpful. To condense, Steampunk is a fictional theme which takes historical periods and hyperdilates the advances of technology to allow for greater application of a given discovery as an element to stories, rpg's, etc.... Therefore the creation of steam powered engines in non-fiction history would then be applied in more imaginative ways, such as steam powered mechs. Early rocket technology would then be translated into grain silo space shuttles.

Final Fantasy is a good example of using some steam-punk elements in a more fantasy setting. Orcs in Warhammer 40k are a distantly related example though they reverse the principle by using junkyard looking machinery that somehow competes against other factions that use more advanced looking vehicles.

[Tristram]

Dunechaser wrote:

Steampunk is not unique to LEGO, and is therefore not a sub-theme of the Adventurers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

That said, the official Adventurers sets do include a lot of steampunkish vehicles and characters, so lots of steampunk MOCs include minifigs from that theme (see Mark Stafford/Nabii's MOCs inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, for example).

Peppermint Pig wrote:

As far as official Lego sets go, Time Twisters seem to carry the closest spirit to steampunk in the fact that they hodgepodge their vehicles, though you'd have better luck mixing parts from the adventurers and other sets to create a good Steampunk look for MOC's.

That Wiki link is really helpful. To condense, Steampunk is a fictional theme which takes historical periods and hyperdilates the advances of technology to allow for greater application of a given discovery as an element to stories, rpg's, etc.... Therefore the creation of steam powered engines in non-fiction history would then be applied in more imaginative ways, such as steam powered mechs. Early rocket technology would then be translated into grain silo space shuttles.

Final Fantasy is a good example of using some steam-punk elements in a more fantasy setting. Orcs in Warhammer 40k are a distantly related example though they reverse the principle by using junkyard looking machinery that somehow competes against other factions that use more advanced looking vehicles.

Dunechaser and Peppermint Pig, thanks for the information. The wikipedia info was a good read. Now I am all the more interested in this genre for LEGO.

One can really get creative with Steampunk.

[sean mykael]

Thank you all for the great comments and advice...as well as the great Steampunk resources.

and lesson learned on the picture sizes

cant wait to post another...hopefully soon!