Today I’ll be showing you two MOCs inspired by elements from 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon. Coincidentally, both concern liquids which is appropriate given Sisu’s affinity with water.
The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed there’s something missing from the set image. Well there’s a very good reason for that which will become clear as we discuss my first build.
Upon opening up the set, it was so tempting to pop out the foil sections that adorn the body and tail of Sisu from the larger sheet they come on. But if LEGO cardboard boxes can be useful for mocs, I figured a pristine sheet of dazzling iridescent foil definitely would be.
Departure from the Observatory
I thought the printed patterns and reflective nature of the foil would be perfect to represent the wake of a ship or two on a magical looking river.
Given the size of the sheet, microscale seemed the most appropriate scale to work in. Some rocks, a few trees and a suitably mysterious destination complete the scene. The observatory is quite the hodgepodge, using elements from 71746 Ninjago Jungle Dragon, 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon and 43104 Alien DJ BeatBox - can you spot them all?
I also turned to the Jungle Dragon for some small ornate pearl gold elements to compliment the bright red of the Emperor's flotilla.
Careful placement of the ships and rocks was required to obscure the sheet's punched holes and printed text. Though thinking about it, the holes could prove useful if you need a sturdy mount point for something else in the water. A trio of flamingos strolling in the shallows perhaps? Or even a less than idyllic scene depicting an oil rig spill?
Ideas I may well return to another time. But for now, speaking of spills…
Can we get a mop over here?
Far more artsy than my usual subject matter, this build was chiefly inspired by two Medium Azure elements:
Plate 2X2,2/3 W/Krydshul & Crown Leaf (6058746 | 15469) and the new for 2021, Neck - Tail, Dia. 15,83 - Dia. 7,84 (6324389 | 67361).
Some fancy SNOT work was needed for the paint splat - which inevitably necessitated even more fancy SNOT construction in the base. Plates, arches, curved tiles and brackets all played their part in eliminating gaps and smoothing out the shape of the liquid.
Micro Spaceship
Did I say two mocs? Well seeing as this last one is only a single element relying on a photo edit to make sense, it doesn’t really count as a ‘creation’ in the traditional sense. My sci-fi brain can't help but see Raya’s weapon of choice, Sword, No. 23 in Sand Green (6331737 | 75604), as a micro spaceship - complete with its own wiggly contrail!
Conclusion
While I feel the Raya and the last Dragon subtheme as a whole doesn’t quite manage to capture the beauty of the film’s locations, the sets generally provide an excellent array of interesting parts. 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon is no exception, especially with that gorgeous foil sheet and an abundance of medium azure for all your aquatic MOC building needs.
READ MORE: See how Caz Mockett used her Raya elements to make wearable jewelry
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Oh, using the foil still on the sheet for a MOC like that is amazingly clever! The reflective shine on the water is really striking and not something you could achieve with traditional parts.
ReplyDeleteThe paint bucket vignette is also very nice looking. I do like that new tail piece for seeming to be a better fit for the system than the old dinosaur tails, even though I haven't gotten any of that part for myself yet. In addition to its use as a tail in sets so far, this part was also spotted in a background on the Vidiyo app where it was used for a palm tree, so I hope it maybe shows up in sets for that sort of purpose at some point.