John Williams in LEGO

[Bayesian 1,359]

45 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I didn't remember this thread. I guess I better post a link to my own LEGO JW here as well:

 

http://bricks.schedenig.name/2020/02/08/john-williams-brickheadz/

 

I like yours better. LEGO people always looked ugly to me.

 

incidentally, a few months ago I priced out the materials for your brickheadz and it came to something like $114 with shipping! I decided it was something that would have to wait for now. Even so, I’m absolutely amazed by your craftsmanship here and will definitely be making a pair for myself one day. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

2 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

I like yours better. LEGO people always looked ugly to me.

 

It's infinitely harder to accurately portray a specific person with minifig parts because you pretty much have to use whatever designs are available. But don't knock minifigs, they're awesome!

 

2 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

incidentally, a few months ago I priced out the materials for your brickheadz and it came to something like $114 with shipping! I decided it was something that would have to wait for now. Even so, I’m absolutely amazed by your craftsmanship here and will definitely be making a pair for myself one day. 

 

I think I paid something like €30-40 for both, including shipping. But it did take several hours of searching (and I used one or two parts from my own collection because they weren't easily available).

[Pieter Boelen 740]

10 hours ago, John Takis said:

Lo, almost 15 years later...

 

 

What?!? Where did THAT come from???

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

By the way, I strongly feel that the thread title should be corrected to the proper spelling: "LEGO".

[John Takis 206]

4 hours ago, Pieter Boelen said:

What?!? Where did THAT come from???

 

The BrickLink webstore, mostly! It's mostly reassembled from LEGO's Harry Potter collection: the body is from Cedric Diggory; the head is from a recent Dumbledore; and the bald hairpiece is from Ernie Prang. Even the "baton" is Voldemort's wand! The metallic gold statuette appears in a number of sets.

 

I considered adding the cloth tuxedo tails from the CMF Professor Flitwick minifig (which I do have), but they weren't all that visible, and the texture difference between the cloth and plastic didn't look great. Still, it's an option!

 

24 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

By the way, I strongly feel that the thread title should be corrected to the proper spelling: "LEGO".

 

Seconded!

 

Marian's BrickHeadz are fantastic! I'm not a huge fan of the theme, but if I were I'd definitely have parted one or both out by now.

[John Takis 206]

5 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

It's infinitely harder to accurately portray a specific person with minifig parts because you pretty much have to use whatever designs are available. But don't knock minifigs, they're awesome!

 

Indeed! I customize virtually every LEGO set I buy. Usually, it's because I want a more compact display model rather than a play model, so I rebuild the set (keeping as many aspects of the official design as I can) or, alternatively, create a vignette for the purpose of highlighting the minifigures. Eventually, I started tweaking the minifigures themselves -- replacing accessories, swapping out legs or arms or hair for greater film-accuracy. But in a handful of cases, I set out to create recognizable characters that LEGO had NOT produced using (mostly) official LEGO parts. It can be extremely challenging, and you often have to make compromises ... but it's just incredibly satisfying when you find the right parts that make everything click! For example...

 

LEGO Sherlock Holmes

The pipe is a custom LEGO-compatible part, but everything else is "purist."

 

LEGO X-Files

100% purist.

 

LEGO Monkey Island

This one is maybe 95% purist. The voodoo doll is a fan mold; it can be swapped out for a trophy (I have a tan one that I erased the printing from), but the way it's held doesn't look quite right. I rubbed the printing off of the LEGO CMF Highwayman's legs to get boots for Elaine. LeChuck's head is genuine LEGO, it's just a rare misprint (officially, it only comes in gray). A few colors remain off ... I really wanted Elaine to have her signature bandana, so I had to compromise with black hair. LeChuck's short beard doesn't currently come in black, but it's the only beard shape that looked right to me. (I may repaint it eventually.) So I may continue to upgrade this one if new parts become available.

 

In addition to LEGO John Williams, I'd love to make a LEGO Jerry Goldsmith ... but I haven't yet found a face that really looks like him to me. Also, while you could go with the mop-of-white-hair look, I'd ideally want him to have his signature white ponytail. LEGO makes a ponytail that might work (the one that comes with Kanan Jarrus, for example), but only in black and brown, so I'd have to take the trouble to repaint it. Perhaps someday!

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

1 hour ago, John Takis said:

For example...

 

These are fantastic! Love your Guybrush. You might want to tweet your X-Files diorama to Gillian Anderson.

 

1 hour ago, John Takis said:

In addition to LEGO John Williams, I'd love to make a LEGO Jerry Goldsmith ... but I haven't yet found a face that really looks like him to me. Also, while you could go with the mop-of-white-hair look, I'd ideally want him to have his signature white ponytail. LEGO makes a ponytail that might work (the one that comes with Kanan Jarrus, for example), but only in black and brown, so I'd have to take the trouble to repaint it. Perhaps someday!

 

I've been meaning to get started on a Goldsmith BrickHead ever since I finished the two Williamses. Years ago, before I got back into LEGO and when I only had my old childhood leftovers, I made a primitively customised Goldsmith minifig:

 

 

The face and torso are badly painted, and the hair is a standard minifig hairpiece with a cut-off Classic Castle plume glued to it and badly painted white.

[Romão 2,274]

4 hours ago, John Takis said:

 

Indeed! I customize virtually every LEGO set I buy. Usually, it's because I want a more compact display model rather than a play model, so I rebuild the set (keeping as many aspects of the official design as I can) or, alternatively, create a vignette for the purpose of highlighting the minifigures. Eventually, I started tweaking the minifigures themselves -- replacing accessories, swapping out legs or arms or hair for greater film-accuracy. But in a handful of cases, I set out to create recognizable characters that LEGO had NOT produced using (mostly) official LEGO parts. It can be extremely challenging, and you often have to make compromises ... but it's just incredibly satisfying when you find the right parts that make everything click! For example...

 

LEGO Sherlock Holmes

The pipe is a custom LEGO-compatible part, but everything else is "purist."

 

LEGO X-Files

100% purist.

 

LEGO Monkey Island

This one is maybe 95% purist. The voodoo doll is a fan mold; it can be swapped out for a trophy (I have a tan one that I erased the printing from), but the way it's held doesn't look quite right. I rubbed the printing off of the LEGO CMF Highwayman's legs to get boots for Elaine. LeChuck's head is genuine LEGO, it's just a rare misprint (officially, it only comes in gray). A few colors remain off ... I really wanted Elaine to have her signature bandana, so I had to compromise with black hair. LeChuck's short beard doesn't currently come in black, but it's the only beard shape that looked right to me. (I may repaint it eventually.) So I may continue to upgrade this one if new parts become available.

 

In addition to LEGO John Williams, I'd love to make a LEGO Jerry Goldsmith ... but I haven't yet found a face that really looks like him to me. Also, while you could go with the mop-of-white-hair look, I'd ideally want him to have his signature white ponytail. LEGO makes a ponytail that might work (the one that comes with Kanan Jarrus, for example), but only in black and brown, so I'd have to take the trouble to repaint it. Perhaps someday!

 

 

Great job the Monkey Island figures. Meleé Town was actually the first LEGO large scale build I ever did (it looks really rough, though) and took me down my current professional path. Guybrush looks pitch perfect. For LeChuck, I wonder if Blackbeard's beard piece might actually look better:

 

 

As for Goldsmith's minifig, this might work:

 

[John Takis 206]

24 minutes ago, Romão said:

Great job the Monkey Island figures. Meleé Town was actually the first LEGO large scale build I ever did (it looks really rough, though) and took me down my current professional path. Guybrush looks pitch perfect. For LeChuck, I wonder if Blackbeard's beard piece might actually look better:

 

I have that piece, but LeChuck just doesn't seem like LeChuck to me with his skeletal mouth obscured and most of his torso covered up. I actually tried out a number of beards, and here's the result...

 

 

The one on the far right is just a Sharpie job, as an experiment. But the ink leaves a sheen that doesn't look natural on LEGO. And my experiments with dying the part were a thorough failure. So I expect I'd need to invest in a decent primer and matte black paint to truly do the job properly. Ideally, of course, I'm trying to get as close to the box art as possible given the available parts:

 

 

56 minutes ago, Romão said:

As for Goldsmith's minifig, this might work:

 

 

Yeah, that's probably about as close as can be achieved right now. But the hair is fuller than the Kanan mold, and doesn't really capture that tight, slicked-back look Jerry sported. Coupled with the lack of an ideal face, I'm probably not going to be building a JG to join my JW anytime soon.

[Romão 2,274]

I'm working on a model of the Washington National Cathedral right now, but hopefully once that is done, I can focus on a large scale Monkey Island themed display I've been planning. Really great job on those minifigs

 

6 minutes ago, John Takis said:

 

I have that piece, but LeChuck just doesn't seem like LeChuck to me with his skeletal mouth obscured and most of his torso covered up. I actually tried out a number of beards, and here's the result...

 

 

The one on the far right is just a Sharpie job, as an experiment. But the ink leaves a sheen that doesn't look natural on LEGO. And my experiments with dying the part were a thorough failure. So I expect I'd need to invest in a decent primer and matte black paint to truly do the job properly. Ideally, of course, I'm trying to get as close to the box art as possible given the available parts:

 

 

 

I do like the one on the far left, it reminds of the flowing beard in Secret of Monkey Island, although I do get you're going more for Lechuck's look in MI2. I still have hope something Monkey Island related gets approved on LEGO Ideas, so we can finally get some official Monkey Island figures, but in the meantime, I think I will steal the design of your MI2 Guybrush, looks great

[John Takis 206]

16 minutes ago, Romão said:

I do like the one on the far left, it reminds of the flowing beard in Secret of Monkey Island, although I do get you're going more for Lechuck's look in MI2. I still have hope something Monkey Island related gets approved on LEGO Ideas, so we can finally get some official Monkey Island figures, but in the meantime, I think I will steal the design of your MI2 Guybrush, looks great

 

Yeah, the beard is just a question of personal taste. And definitely free to steal the Guybrush design! The body is Norrington from POTC, the head is Aquaman, and the hair is Lloyd's from Ninjago. (I did try various ponytails with Guybrush, but then you don't get his trademarked wavy and unkempt look. So since he's mostly going to be viewed from the front, I resigned myself to Guybrush sans ponytail.) I think the map is from the CMF Scallywag pirate -- though any number of LEGO treasure maps would do. And I think Murray is from the Aquasharks line? I may replace him with one of the newly molded evil skulls from this year.

[John Takis 206]

It occurs to me that the new Florean Fortescue figure wouldn't make a half bad 1960s-era Williams!

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

11 hours ago, John Takis said:

It occurs to me that the new Florean Fortescue figure wouldn't make a half bad 1960s-era Williams!

 

And what a cheap set he comes in…

 

So now the thread has been moved, but the title is still wrong. @Jay?

[Jay 37,322]

All set

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

Much better!

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

I wonder if John Williams plays with LEGO.

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

This just reminded me that I build a couple of authors for Christmas book gift cards last year:

 

 

 

 

Stephen King and Margaret Atwood are passable, I think, but I'm really happy with Pterry (although he could probably do with a better jacket).

[Pieter Boelen 740]

23 hours ago, John Takis said:

It's mostly reassembled from LEGO's Harry Potter collection: the body is from Cedric Diggory; the head is from a recent Dumbledore; and the bald hairpiece is from Ernie Prang. Even the "baton" is Voldemort's wand! The metallic gold statuette appears in a number of sets.

 

Ahaaa!! That's really clever.

And works well.

[Thor 7,478]

Personally, I never played with LEGO, not even as a kid. I was more a PLAYMO guy (before moving on to action figures).

 

But I did visit Legoland in Denmark once, back in the mid 80s.

 

That being said, some of these are quite clever.

[Romão 2,274]

This is my own JW LEGO minifig, photographed by Peio at the Musikverein Concert in January:

 

 

And next to Brahms:

 

[John Takis 206]

Made a more permanent display stand with the help of a recent acquisition...

 

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

The LSO likes my LEGO Johnny:

 

[LB Makes Stuff 240]

I'm reviving this page.