Brick Wars 49

And today marks the penultimate comic in Chapter 2 of the Brick Wars Saga. Next week's strip will be the end of this Naboo segment. (Finally).

Also, Lego makes really nice walkie-talkie pieces, but they're really big in comparison to the minifigures. Look at that aerial! It's pretty much the size of Qui-Gon himself!

Brick Wars #47

Wow! A total of three references to past comics! I guess since I'm almost at Brick Wars #50, I can do that.

And it is revealed: the Jedi's cruiser wasn't destroyed after all! Instead, it's still sitting back in the Trade Federation's hanger, annoying that Protocol Droid. I thought up this plot point wayyy back around Episode 25, when I realized I hadn't destroyed their ship like in the movie.

But that's what makes Brick Wars special: we're not afraid to be different! :D

Brick Wars #46

I did something a little different with this comic, playing around with the angles of the set. Literally. I actually tilted the whole set and took pictures from my normal horizontal viewing point.

The script originally had the Jedi talking on a flat plane, but I thought that it might get boring after a while, so I decided to mix things up a bit. And I always do enjoy having a bit of fun with Panaka. :-)

See you next week, for more Jedi 'action'!

Brick Wars #45

Brick Wars returns! This week, we see more of BD-1023 and his new friend, the Protocol Droid. And...whatever could that silhouette in the background be?

It couldn't be the Jedi's ship, could it? Wasn't that destroyed? Are there even pilots aboard it?

Not to fear, your questions will be answered in the next five comics, as well as the story being wrapped up. That's right, the plot will advance! And before Christmas, to boot!

Very well, I'll see you next week with more Brick Wars--set aboard the Queen's starship again.

Brick Wars 44

My! BD-1023 isn't usually that impolite. I suppose he has a lot on his mind, along with the stress that comes along with trying to capture the Queen of Naboo.

And just like C-3P0, this one talks too much about its feature list. I guess all protocol droids are alike, aren't they?

Brick Wars #43

Don't you just hate it when you say 'you too' to someone? Don't worry, BD-1023 hates it too. 

That's about all I have to say about this comic, but don't worry. Very soon we'll be meeting an old friend, along with some new characters!

Have yourselves all a good weekend, and see you next week!

Brick Wars #42

And BD-1023 is in space! The story is just motoring along now, isn't it? This strip was actually super easy to photograph, as I only had to take pictures of  BD-1023 and the Vulture Droid. The main work came in editing the pictures.

I'm satisfied at the way the pictures turned out, and also the shift in tone that occurs when the droids leave the atmosphere.

Anyways, I'll see you next week, as the story continues!

Brick Wars #41

We have a new character! The Vulture Droid is one of the Trade Federation's many starfighters equipped with droid brains to crush their enemies.

Though this one here looks like a nice guy.

Lego has released a few different versions of the Vulture Droid over the years, but this is the original version, released back when the Phantom Menace came out. I had to track down the instruction manual and build him from scratch, as its been a while since I last assembled him.

And it's been a while since we last heard from BD-1023, hasn't it? Only time will tell if he succeeds in his mission...

Brick Wars #40

Oh dear, is Jar Jar experiencing some voter's regret here? Though voting a political candidate for Queen based on the quality of her smile would be conducive to that sort of thing, wouldn't it?

I do love the sound effect bubbles that I sprinkled around this comic. The software that I use to create the comic has them preloaded so I just type in what I need and go. It's kind of like WordArt in that respect, actually.

Well anyways, see you next week!

Brick Wars #39

Always good to have some of that ancient Gungan wisdom on hand. It comes in handy an awful lot, I find. In fact, I try to live my life by following at least one piece of Gungan wisdom per day.

And I originally had this scene be the end of the chapter, and they would jump to lightspeed afterwards, but I decided that the story needed more closure than that, and extended it. To see how I'll do that, tune in next week!

See ya,

Brick Wars #38

And Brick Wars is back, for another comic!

I couldn't kill off R2, now could I? 

New models in the set include the battle droid's console in the first panel, and the turbolaser cannons in the second. I wasn't able to fit enough of a laser in that panel along with the cannons, so I had to make a second panel with more of a laser. It fits together quite well, even if I do say so myself.

Again, the program I use to make the lasers is LSMaker, the best program out there for adding in laser and lightsaber effects to both still shots and movies. So go check it out if you'd like to make lightsaber movies!

Another thing, the Brick Wars Archive is complete, and offers links to all of the past comics, as well as including comments I've made looking back at my old work.

For more Star Wars and me, check out TIE Fighter, the series I'm doing on that classic PC game.

Anyways, see you next week!

Brick Wars #36

So Qui-Gon has puzzled out the Trade Federation's strategy--or at least something similar to it. I'm liking the new Trade Federation battleship still; it actually has antennae, showing that it is the main Droid Control ship. The ship in the actual movie was named Saak'ak, a word in the Nemoidian language that means 'profiteer'. I'm not sure if I'm going to go so far as to invent a language that I can name ships in for Brick Wars, but we'll see.

Wookieepedia link: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Saak'ak

Stay tuned for next week, where R2 faces off against the Saak'aak!

Brick Wars # 35

Welcome! Welcome to the new blog, and welcome to the thirty-fifth Brick Wars comic! 

A bit of behind-the-scenes: I had to build a new Trade Federation Battleship, rather than reusing the original model that was in the second Brick Wars comic. This one looks much nicer, and doesn't require as much Photoshopping, I've found.

The laser effects and explosion are from LSMaker, a fantastic lightsaber program. If you're ever in the mood to film yourself wielding a lightsaber, check it out. It requires a bit of learning, but is actually quite user-friendly.

Anyways, enjoy the comic, and enjoy the new blog!

Cheerio,