Posts Tagged ‘Rocketeer lego’
The Rocketeer (2008)
(This entry is part of a look at early mosaics I’ve made).
2007 was the year of 10 mosaics, 2008 was the year of 1. But that one was worth the effort. I’d gotten the idea in my head that I had to build something big, and really iconic. After searching images for a long time, I found the advance poster for “The Rocketeer”, and knew I’d found my subject.
By the time it was done, it was 4 baseplates high plus a row of 32 stud baseplates. That’s about 70 inches to the average person. This created some building issues, such as having to order a LOT of brick. Also, the spacing on my tables became a problem, I had to add an extra row of table to lay the whole thing out. (These days, I just use floor space).
The biggest compliment I was paid on this piece was a comment that praised the use of both sharp lines and soft curvature, something made possible by the size as well as the shading used. My favorite part of this work is the lighting in the background, and the star shape at the lower right. The shading worked out really well.
It was also my first (and to date) only mosaic to be featured on The Brothers Brick site, which is one of the premier “go to” sites for LEGO fanatics worldwide.
It’s also one of the few mosaics that i’m really sad I wasn’t able to keep intact. I suspect one day, when I have more wall space and time, I might revisit this, and build a “keeper”.
The Rocketeer
(Reprinting an article on this build from 2008)
In 2008, I decided to base a mosaic on a movie poster, something that was interesting and sparked my interest. After a couple of Google image searches, I found a few that looked like they might do the trick.
After some early prep work, I settled on the poster from “The Rocketeer”. In order to bring out the kind of detail I wanted, I decided to make the mosaic larger than my normal builds.
It was a challenging build, as I had to both keep the Art Deco style, as well as give a sense of motion. The top section alone was rebuilt a number of times in order to get the lettering right, while keeping the lines below it flowing with the rest of the work .
A few visits to bricklink for more red brick, and a bunch more 1x1s in both greys and also brown, and I was set to go. The build itself took a long time, due to the size and the detail involved. There were some size challenges to deal with as well.
My normal set up is my coffee table(s) in the basement. There are 4 small square Ikea tables that form a larger square when pushed together. When a mosaic gets to a size that is larger than the square, I can pull the tables apart, just enough to give me more space, but not enough to create any issues with supporting the baseplates.
With The Rocketeer, I not only had to stretch the tables out as far as I could, but I also ended up adding my son’s playtable at the top, using cases from games, and DVDs to level things out.
I took a lot of pictures when I was done, and decided to stand it up. Usually, the mosaics are small enough that I can grab the top baseplates, lift straight up as high as I can, and the rest of the piece hangs down. The Rocketeer was the same height as me, and this strategy was clearly not going to work. I ended up taking the bottom half and supporting it from behind with some boards from the garage, and then, (with help from my wife) moved the top piece into place and joining them in place.
It stood in my basement for a few months, but eventually I took it apart. It was a sad day, as I had put a lot of work into it, but I needed the pieces for other projects, and to keep it together would have depleted my stock of brick greatly. It’s still my second favorite mosaic that i’ve built, and the one that has garnered the most attention. I had a thought of rebuilding it for Brickcon, but I think i’d like to bring something new, rather than keep showing the same pieces over and over.
There’s a flickr gallery found here with more pics of the work.