#onvermel

[onvermel]

when you do one you must paint them all

[onvermel]

This is the coolest thing ever! I would have loved this.

so was anybody going to tell me that apparently this was the concept design for the mahri boxes, or…

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

Star Wars Shows I want to Whisper in Dave Filoni's ear

So, @onvermel and I were video-chatting to compare notes on The Acolyte (short version, we both liked it), but as the conversation ranged wide over all things Star Wars, we ended up having some rather specific ideas of what we'd like (or like to have had) in a Star Wars show.

Firstly:

Jar Jar Binks After the Prequels

We both agreed that it's probably still a little while before Lucasfilm/Disney is brave enough to dip its toes back in the Jar Jar waters after George Lucas himself backed off royally in Episodes II and III, but we think the time has come. We want a show that follows him after Revenge of the Sith. It could go three ways, and I want to see all three:

The Rise and Fall of the House of Binks: i.e., the dramatic tragedy. After the death of his friend and mentor, Padmé Amidala, Representative Binks is again asked to step in as Acting Senator for Naboo--this time by the Emperor himself. Jar Jar is honoured and humbled to follow in Padmé's steps and takes pride in continuing her legacy. Over the course of the show (at least two seasons), Jar Jar comes to realise what Padmé's legacy really was, and he comes to realise with horror that: a.) he betrayed it with his vote in Attack of the Clones, b.) that his pride in Naboo as the homeworld of the Emperor is profoundly misplaced, and c.) that something is seriously wrong. And once he realises all this and tries to do something about it, the Emperor gets wind of it and sends his fearsome enforcer, Darth Vader, and in his last moments, Jar Jar has a terrifying realisation--this is another man he knows.

Binks: a comedy about Acting Senator-turned-permanent senator Jar Jar Binks. As I put it to Onvermel, a few sad deaths of friends aside, this is the show where Jar Jar is the only person still living in the Republic after the end of the prequels: hesa very good friend of the chancellor, appointed permanent senator by Queen Jamilla in the hopes of leveraging that favour, and Palpatine finds him a useful cog and... the show is just Jar Jar bumbling about in a Frasier-esque existence oblivious to what he's enabling or what has happened. There's some social commentary in this: through Jar Jar's eyes, we see the galaxy as Palpatine wanted people to see it--and as many people (not the rebels or the downtrodden) actually did. It's mostly just laughs until the final episode: Palpatine has died at Endor, the New Republic has taken Coruscant, and Senator Binks as a close collaborator of Palpatine for thirty years is put on trial (after Mas Amedda and right before Sate Pestage) for war crimes. He's taken away guilty at the end--"but meesa knows nothing about the Sith! Meesa knows nothing!" in a Seinfeld-esque downer of an ending.

Meesa Bombad: a full blown, Chuck Lorre-style, sitcom (or maybe Cheers, if Jar Jar takes a Sam-esque role a former minor celebrity opening a bar) complete with laugh-track and three-camera set. Jar Jar doesn't have to be a senator in this one. I'd be happy with one episode as a holiday special proof-of-concept--but I'd also take Three Broke Gungans with five years of 22-episode seasons. Sebulba makes frequent guest appearances as Jar Jar's nemesis.

The other "show" we wanted is less of a show and more of a missed opportunity for The Clone Wars that we'd like to see revisited:

Dexter Jettster's Diner

How did we get 7 seasons of The Clone Wars without seeing Obi-wan's buddy and his diner? Why was there never a scene where Obi-wan went there to relax? It could still happen--so let's manifest that. But imagine what could have been in Season 7:

Ahsoka, just gone from the Jedi order, is trying to make her way in Coruscant's underworld, and finds herself in a diner late at night, eating comfort food. The proprietor, a friendly older Besilisk, lends her a sympathetic ear as she tells him a redacted version of her story: she used to have a home, she used to have family, but she was lied about and betrayed, and no one believed her--they all believed her accuser and no one listened to her. Dexter tells her at the end, when he's trying to give her some comfort:

"Well, it's like I always say, lying only works if you believe it. What your friend told your family might have been true... from a certain point of view."

[The point of this anecdote is the rueful tears of fans--but, more seriously, what is Star Wars without way too many callbacks? If you're going to revisit Dexter Jettster--and they should--shouldn't he be tied to Obi-wan?]

[onvermel]

Matorowhereheshouldntbe...well at a lego convention at the bionicle table? Nah that is matoro where he NEEDS to be.

[onvermel]

the visorak hord

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

@onvermel

Exo-Microforce

So back in 2016 I have been obsessed with LEGO’s boardgame figs so I built a bunch of MOVs scaled to those microfigs, including Exo-Force MOVs of the Exo-Force sets!

I am attempting something here by using mass upload program (PostyBirb) to re-post a bunch of my old MOC images. P sure not everyone who follows me today saw them back in the day, so it’s a bunch of treats for y'all!

Posted using PostyBirb

[onvermel]

It was logical.

[onvermel]

adding some dark grey. Thoughts?

[onvermel]

painting hordika

A little paint goes a long way.

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

Pretty sure Whenua's the self-insert character representing a certain kind of Bionicle fan... looking at you, @onvermel

Shoutout to @lesbioniclepod for reminding me about Whenua's kraata collection

It's really hard to imagine the other Turaga both knowing about and being okay with Whenua maintaining a collection of live Kraata that size. And yet, apparently the others contributed to the collection by catching Kraata in secret over the years and then presumably giving them to Whenua to be put in storage.

And I'd find it hard to buy that the Turaga would think that literally all the Kraata had to be stored in stasis and that killing them was not an acceptable option. Especially since none of them expressed objections to killing Visorak back in the day.

So, my guess is that the other Turaga let Whenua keep a collection of them in stasis so that they could be studied and better understood....

...but his siblings may not have been aware of the exact size of Whenua's collection.

I can imagine him telling the others that they ought to have at least one of each kind of kraata preserved in stasis. This seems fairly reasonable to the others. By kinds, he means kinds of power, right? How many types are there? Eight? Ten? Not more than a dozen, surely.

When he insists that nobody kill any kraata until he's had a chance to look at them and make sure he hasn't already got one of them, they begrudgingly accept that. Alright, they think. But this one's insect control, didn't you already have one of those that Matau caught for you a few years back? At which point Whenua admits that when he says "One of each kind", he's referring not just to breed, but also developmental stage. Alright, they think, he's the expert.

None of the others particularly want a lecture on all the gory details of how Kraata develop, which is of course what they'll get if they try to argue with Whenua. An evil slug wouldn't have that many stages in its life cycle anyway, would it? Two or three maximum, surely.

So the others are thinking Whenua has maybe two or three dozen Kraata stashed away somewhere safe. It wouldn't be good if they were released, but they could handle it if they had to.

Whenua, meanwhile is starting to think he should start a backup collection in case something happens to these specimens. He hasn't lied to his siblings... he said at the beginning that they should have at least one of each kind, and they agreed! So a few backups would be allowed. Maybe three or four of each should be sufficient. Or... five? Hmmm.... he doesn't really trust the number five. Six. Everyone likes the number six!

Anyway.

That's how we ended up here...

[onvermel]

Almost a perfect colour match.

[onvermel]

Toast Dukat

Once a famous po-matoran athlete Dukat had won many copper masks in various sports. He had most his success in Kani-Ra wrangling. He was adored and showered with praise and fame.

However destiny chose him to become one of his islands new protectors. At first this seemed like his dreams come true becoming an even greater hero. However Dukat learned quickly the matoran don't interact with toa as they do among other matoran. Old friends became distant and no one remembered him for his accomplishments. Now he was just "one of the toa". Frustrated with his village forgetting who he was he collected all his copper masks of victory and forged them into him armor. Trying to remind everyone of his past glory.

[onvermel]

WIP Knights-kingdom/Bionicle

[onvermel]

a couple more Bionicle sets yo add to the collection.

[onvermel]

When you know a guy.