This project began when a Baylug buddy of mine forwarded me the link to this page on ThinkGeek.com. It was a very inspiring concept for a Lego building contest, and after looking through the submissions I immediately had an idea that I thought would be a real eye-catcher!Having seen "Alien" in the theater when I was perhaps a little too young, the titular creature seared its remorseless fear into my impressionable brain with such force that I compulsively dreamt about it and drew it for years afterward, perhaps in an attempt to make it seem less threatening. Of course, there is one scene in particular that affected everybody who saw it, and that is what I strove to recreate.
I must also acknowledge the VERY strong influence of another builder on this project, and you can see his far more brilliant and accurate interpretation here.
Given the location of the 14x20 stud area on the t-shirt, I began to build, and here are few shots of my initial version.
The only changes that I made for the final version were to change the t-shirt color to black instead of white (more gory details on that below) and remove the large brick base that I'd used for the initial construction.
Why change the t-shirt color to black, you say? Well, I'd had a rather gruesome notion as to how to give the contest judges something macabre, funny and maybe a little shocking, but it would require a few photo shoots and several, liberal applications of ketchup before I had my final photo entry.
I was pretty happy with the picture above, but I wanted the sculpture to be a little more in focus, so I tried not shaking my head.
After a few weeks went by, they had a page listing all of the finalists and I was very jazzed to see that my submission made it to the final round. However, it gets even better!
Yes, indeed! I actually came in second! This was the first time I'd ever won anything in a Lego building contest online! Not only was my self esteem given a huge boost, but I also got some very groovy prizes; two big trays of Pixelblocks (which I've yet to use in a MOC) and snazziest of all, a $250 gift certificate! WOOHOOOO!! I browsed Thinkgeek's store and chose two items that I've since enjoyed on MANY occasions!
Oh YEAH!! I was able to acquire both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader's Force FX lightsabers and let me say; THEY ROCK!! If you're a Star Wars fan and you haven't saved the money to get one of these bad boys then START RIGHT NOW. You only need to see the look on my face to know that they are worth every penny!
