It's here! It looks like I am holding two books in this photo but the truth is they are the same book. Variant covers, you know. So exciting! The Librarian! Can't wait to read it- obviously I know what my story says, but I am very curious to see how the other writers handle the shared character of the Librarian and her talking bag-of-holding, Satchel. 

I just need to finish reading Nona The Ninth. It's taking me ages, not because I'm not enjoying it, but just so busy. Actually I love that book, and I thought about rereading Gideon (for the third time) and Harrow before diving into Nona but I didn't. I regret that decision but I will just reread all of them once Alecto comes out.

So yeah! The Librarian is here. I know I've talked about it a bit here and on social media but I'm going to talk about it some more. As a writer every publication is special and it's a validation that yeah, I actually can write and write well. It's an art and I have spent literally 20 years honing it- this 20yo blog is proof of that. And of course, I was writing long before there were blogs. (And long after, some might say lol). Anyways. I saw that cover when the call for submissions came out and I knew I had to write my little heart out to earn a place in the anthology. So I did. Yeah. And I don't mind saying I'm proud of that. I've gotten my share of rejections, sure. No problem, just part of the writing life.  But this is the one that mattered to me. Thanks for letting me flex a bit! Sometimes you need to, even if its just to the void.

Hey, speaking of the void, I got one more book coming out this year- at this point might be early next year- and I will let you know when that comes out. In the meantime my Ursus Verses Lego contest is still going! Scroll down for details!

Wonky TIEs are what got me to where I am today. Broke but with so much Lego. Lol. I built this Scuba TIE fighter by TJ's Lego Room  last week. I love it, the perfect mixture of cool and funny that I love in Lego designs. Kind of reminds me of those weird Batman action figures from the 90s with all the scuba gear. Like why? But also, cool! The TIE Convor by ScruffyBrickHerder was the design that got me into this whole Rebrickable/Bricklink aspect of the hobby. I've loved Lego for years but just kept to the official sets. Occasionally I would get it in my head to build stuff out of spare parts which was fine when I had the parts, but when I didn't I just shrugged and moved on with my life. But with BrickLink (and now my friend's second-hand store The Edmonton Brickyard) you can get any parts you're missing. Now entire universes open up to you!

But let's talk a little about reinventing the wheel. There are tons of TIE fighter variants on Rebrickable. Lego has produced a bench of versions. The eyeball cockpit is kind of the common denominator for most of them. Does that mean TJ or Scruffy or you have to design their own cockpit to MOC up a new TIE? Not at all (though I think sometimes they do, either improving or tweaking previous versions). It would be perfectly acceptable to take the eyeball from 75211 and build whatever wings you want or add a shark fin or whatever. (Please add a shark fin to a TIE fighter!)

I say this because I want my MOC contest to be accessible to everyone, not just people who can design a thousand-piece model with motors and hidden gears, you know? So, for example, I saw this awesome little bear at the Brickyard, and a few minutes googling tells me it is from this set, 31052. You don't even have to own the set, you can just look at the instructions for free and build one with parts you have. And that would be totally fine if you were making a diorama, say, based on a Homie Bear poem from The Ursus Verses. Homie and the Witch, or The F.A.F.A.F. which stands for The First Annual Forest Animal Forum, which is fun to say out loud. That's what I mean by you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can say "This is my diorama of Homie Bear and the Wizard Bear from Homie and the Witch, and I used the bear from that Creator set". Perfectly acceptable! 

On the other hand, though, if you wanted to depict the ancient abomination from Again, the Abomination, it would be unacceptable to make this amazing MOC and say you designed it. Right? Makes sense, I think. OF course, any questions, just ask. Or advice, help, whatever. The important thing is to have fun! Hopefully disaster won't befall you like it did to this Scuba TIE that was tragically shot down just doing a routine patrol:

 Let's talk about prizes! These are the prizes so far:

Modest sets. I like the Creator 3 in 1 sets as prizes as they aren't tied to an IP- much as you know I love Star Wars Lego it feels not quite right to offer licensed sets as a prize for my own writing. I'm an independent author and not affiliated with any of those mega-conglomerations. Anyways, I'd love to get even bigger sets and have these as second or third prizes. But I just need to make sure I don't get carried away, you know? So spread the word! The more people that get on board the more prizes I will be able to get! Cheers!

Contest!

 

Contest time!

Super excited to announce a Lego building contest based on the stories and poems in my book, The Ursus Verses! It's pretty simple- build something out of Lego based on anything in The Ursus Verses! A wizard bear who conjured salmon trees! A plasma dragon. An ancient abomination. A squobster! Make a custom mini figure or a diorama or a creature. Heck, make a movie! Anything goes for the most part. It needs to be made from our beloved name-brand bricks, not knockoffs, and please don't pass off others' work as your own. 

The contest opens now, and will close on January 31, 2023. Lots of time to get your reading in, and then building. But wait! "How do I get my hands on your book?" Excellent question. The ebook is available right now here and here. Physical copies are available in quite a few places in Edmonton: most of the larger Remedy Cafes have copies. Rolling Tales on the south side, Pe Metawe Games on the north side, and my two awesome co-judges for the contest also carry copies. So let me introduce them to you:

First we have Travis from The Edmonton Brickyard (4228 66 St NW, Edmonton). I love that store so much and Travis is such a great guy. In fact, if you go there and buy two cups of bulk Lego you will get the book for free! How's that for a deal?

And then we have Aaron from High Top Bricks at the Super Flea market 12011-111 Ave. Pop in and say hi! 

And yes, there are prizes! We will have two categories, for builders under 13 and those who are 13 and older. Both categories have prizes. which are Lego sets! Two of them are on their way to me right now- and I will post more about them as they arrive. 

So, to enter, send photos or whatever- plus a brief description of  how it relates to The Ursus Verses- to me, either through email ( nwaddell at gmail dot com) or on instagram- use the hashtag #theursusverses - and we will post them on our social media. If you prefer anonymity or a username just let me know, but we will need your real name for the judging. 

Finally the small print stuff- this contest is not affiliated or endorsed in any way by Lego or the Lego Store or any of their affiliates. It's just me. There is no purchase necessary- and in fact you can read The Ursus Verses on EPL's Overdrive app, or if you have a different library, request that they carry it on their e-reader app of choice! Please don't pass another designer's work off as your own, though using elements such as a diorama stand is allowed, so long as you credit the designer.

Have fun and happy building! Feel free to ask any questions, I want to be as transparent as possible, and I am sure I will make mistakes as this is the first time I've ever done anything like this.

Hey Nathan looks like you paid a hundred bucks for that sweet book stand!

Nope I just made it out of Lego. ;)

Although I'm a long way from calling myself a Lego designer, I am pretty proud of this book display stand I made today all out of my head. Us AFOLs call this a MOC. (Us Adult Fans Of Lego call this a My Own Creation). 

It's a little bright, I admit. But look how it looks with my book in it:

Pretty sweet hey? I made this for a very specific reason, which I will talk about more very soon. 

Jawas of Doom!

 

I could've sworn the caption on this issue read "Jawas of Doom" but I guess not. Maybe I got mixed up with another issue? Anyways. All I know is I need more Jawa minifigures since I only have two! From the little battle pack that came out some years ago now, 75198. I didn't get the big UCS sandcrawler though I was sorely tempted at the time. I was able to make these two little builds from pretty much spare bricks- and a healthy dose of Edmonton Brickyard bulk finds. So cool! Love these little microfighters and customs speeders!

The little microfighter in the foreground is a modification of a Star Wars Celebration Exclusive set that I didn't even know about, but I found this MOC on Rebrickable and it was easy enough to build without spending hundreds of dollars on eBay or whatever. And the super cool speeder with treads in the background is by Mr Tarproman. The stand, too, actually. Brilliant stuff! 

 

I know there's been a million Star Wars mashups, but I don't think I've ever seen this done before, exactly. There was an AT-AT done up in Caterpillar colours, which was pretty cool, but not sure I've ever seen mining equipment done up in Star Wars colours. I feel like I am the right guy to do it, given my four-plus decades of Star Wars fandom and my not quite three decades of mining experience. I drove big haul trucks and loaders and shovels and drills and dozers . . . and I should stop talking before I commit myself to a years-long Lego project lol. But I am pretty pleased with this quick build! I just searched up a mining truck that Lego put out, to see what they have, and this set 4202 popped up. Kind of the perfect size, not a huge Technic build. All I really needed to get was the tires (Thanks Edmonton Brickyard!) and a couple of technic arms. Easy peasy! Oh yeah the TIE canopy was one of my very first finds at the Brickyard, and I've been trying to think of ways to use it. Mission accomplished! Fun little goober. Here's some more pics:

 

Here is a photo montage that looks like it was made with a  1997-era photoshop competitor that has gone the way of AltaVista. And I'm ok with that! I'm all about 1997, which is when Crimson Empire came out. I loved those covers! Not enough to buy the series, apparently. I don't clearly recall why I didn't just buy them when I saw them on spinner racks- maybe I flipped through them and didn't care too much for the 90s era story-telling. I have a memory, which I don't totally trust as accurate, of being on my Cross-Canada hitch-hiking trip and seeing one of the issues in a gas station, and if that's the case, I definitely would have left it there as there was no way to transport a comic in my backpack without hopelessly crumpling it. 

Anyways. Not too many people remember ole Kir Kanos nowadays. And that's ok. I've always loved the Royal Guards and their various iterations- the Shadow Guards from The Force Unleashed were especially cool, and might have looked to the Kir Kanos/Carnor Jax stories for inspiration. I was at my local used Lego store (aka the best store ever, but actually known as The Edmonton Brickyard) and they have a table there where you can build a minifigure. One section for helmet/hair/head, one for torso, one for legs, and one for accessories. So I pretty much kit bashed together this Kir Kanos form there. I made his little pike staff or whatever with parts from home. Wish I knew where his legs came from- Ninjago maybe? Not an exact match but a good enough rendition. 

I also made a Lambda-class shuttle for him! Because why not, right? I love my Tydirium, especially now that I have a stand that shows off its full glory, so I thought I would build a whole nother one with Royal Red colours. And, mission accomplished in that I was totally able to replicate a set 75094 out of spare parts I had on hand, the bulk bins at the Brickyard, and not a terrible amount of specific BrickLink orders. It's maybe a bit more candy caney than I had envisioned but I still think it looks pretty cool. They make great bookends!

Since I am a very wee independent writer, with neither the resources nor the catalogue to really manage an online shop, I am just going to make a semi-sticky post that will always be at or near the top of my feed here so that at least the option to buy my chapbook is almost always readily available and findable. Why is this Paypal button so big? Probably has to do with the htmlios being out of whack somewhat.

Price with shipping to:

Canada $10.00 USD USA $15.00 USD Elsewhere $20.00 USD

And for the Kindle edition, which still has the old cover but where shipping isn't a factor, and it's even cheaper:

Happy Halloween!

 

Alright I’m at work right now typing on my phone but I wanted to get a post out before it’s too late! Here’s me as Cobb Vanth. That’s it. That’s the tweet! Have fun!

Ps the first guy is not me the first guy is Timothy Olyphant. The second guy is me. 

 

"Hey Marshal, this town ain't big enough for the both of us!"

"You're absolutely right Gar Saxon. Mandalopolis is waaaay too crowded. Let's build another level!"

"Good idea! You're the best! I heart you!!"

Filoni and Favreau, I am absolutely available to join your writers room, I can make up dialogue like that all day long!

So, I got the Mandalorian Starfighter (set 75316, not to be confused with The Mandalorian's N1 Starfighter, totally different things) primarily for the sweet minifigs. Got it sealed in box but secondhand for half price so I couldn't pass up that deal. Built the ship and it's fine, has cool moving wings and all that, but it doesn't sit in the depths of my heart they way TIE fighters and X-Wings and Imperial Shuttles do. 

So I thought I would dismantle it and use all the plates to build a second level, a boring square one since that's all I know how to do, but when I took the wings off and put them side by side I noticed how they look a lot like a Mandalorian helmet. I mean, obviously, right? So then I thought I would just tie them together (with bricks, not string), do a quick technic stand and voila. The overcrowding problem in Mandalopolis is solved! 

I also was able to put the various pieces of the Armorer's Mandalorian Forge (75319) just underneath for a sort of cave effect. Sweet! Put a micro fighter and some Minifigs on top and Boba's your uncle!

"Good job, Marshal! But where are we going to put the N1 now?"

"Oh sh..."

 Happy 10/22/2022. It also happens to be the 20th anniversary of Pooing in the Woods! I changed the header name a while back just so it looks a bit more professional as more and more of my writing gets out there in the world. But we know the truth right.

Yesterday the girls and I were out in the garage, I wanted Naia to help me with a part of my Halloween costume, so I asked her to spray paint a thing. I was pretty sure I had some spray paint somewhere, some red stuff I "accidentally" took home from the mine a while back. I found it, and it still worked! This was amazing since it's been in my garage over ...many winters now.

"How many winters, Dad?"

"Well, let's see. I remember using it for some reason I don't recall out in the yard before we had grass, so I dunno. 14 years?" (Editor- more like 16!)

This blew their mind, but for me it's just, yeah I had this in my garage for a while.

That's a little how having this blog turn 20 feels. It's just sort of been there, I don't use it much. 

But it's nice to know it's there when I need it!

Happy 20th Homie Bear!

 

Two things turn twenty in this year of 2022- Attack of the Clones, and this blog. Neither has aged very well, it can be admitted, but both are still around, so. Though this blog very nearly died in the Attack of the Social Media. There's a years-long gap in posts a while back. But I'm striking back! Revenge of the ... you get the point.

Most Star Wars fans will agree that the best thing to come from Attack of the Clones is the meme of Anakin and Padme where she's like, "You did the <insert whatever> in the <normal> way, right?", but the second best thing is the Republic Gunship which I have just learned is actually called the LAAT- low altitude assault transport. But no one ever calls it that, same as the AT-AT.

Lego just released the Ultimate Collector's Edition of the Gunship, and it is gorgeous. Stunning. You can imagine the price- heck you don't have to imagine, I will tell you- it costs $400 US, and even more in Canadian dollars. Even the less ultimate editions, retired now, are expensive and hard to find. But of course, Rebrickable has your back. 

There are tons of designs on there, but I found this one on Instagram and loved the size- midi-scale which is a touch smaller than mini figure scale, but the designer, Ron McPhatty, made it just big enough to accommodate some Clones. A fantastic build, full of little details and great work-arounds. Those doors slide open! There's a hidden little speeder incorporated into the hold! 

This was the second big build we did- Pallas was involved in this one right from the start. It took us a while, a lot of the dark red parts are hard to find even on BrickLink stores, so we also made use of the newly opened Edmonton Brickyard bulk bins, but we eventually found the pieces we needed and the time to build it. Of course we used some alternate bricks here and there but overall it looks great.

 Can you stand all these Lego posts? Can't help it, it's what I'm really into these days. Really pleased with this stand I built for my Imperial Shuttle (75094) which I have had for years now but has had to sit, somewhat uninspiringly, in park mode. With the wings up. It looks so much cooler wings-down! 

The stand is a pretty accurate build of barneius' stand on Rebrickable, I just recoloured it to match the Tydirium colours. And also since all of our black pieces have been scooped up for a build Pallas is doing this weekend! So it's a bit patchworky here and there but overall it works fine. Who knew white SNOT pieces were so hard to find!

Michelle has occasionally made comments about how our home decor is a little more Lego-y than she strictly remembers agreeing to . . . so the shuttle might fly back down to its hangar but for now, it enjoys pride of place on our mantle!

 

Microcosms have always fascinated me. Little worlds. I think our own universe, the cosmos, is probably just a microcosm of some other more bigger universe, as in the first Men In Black movie, that little necklace that the dog had. Was it a dog? That movie came out 25 years ago so I don't remember it very well. I know it was 25 years ago though because that is also when I was hitch-hiking across Canada having the time of my life, exploring the microcosm of Canada. Which isn't very micro.

What is micro are Microfighters! Love these little guys, I think they fit the Lego esthetic so well with the design of the minifigures which, after all, were always meant to be cute. The little Y-Wing shown above, the yellow one, came in a book about Lego Star Wars, and I always loved the design. So I built another one out of spare parts. I was going to make it red to be like the Resistance Y-Wing micro fighter (75263) but turns out I don't have that much red parts. I have a ton of grey though! So I built a Mandalorian version. Even stole the nacelles off of the Razor Crest microfighter (75321) which, honestly, kind of missed the mark of that cuteness that I like so much. They plugged right in! Since Din Djarin already has a bunch of ships, and fragments of ships (lol) I thought would give this one to a random Mandalorian mini figure. Pretty cool.

In other news, The Librarian Kickstarter was wildly successful and is going to come to an end next week. Thanks for your support! Completely by coincidence, another anthology featuring one of my stories will launch on Kickstarter next week. One of these days I should do my own Kickstarter since I already am getting kicked so much! Seriously, I would like to Kickstart The Ursus Verses Volume 2. One day. This upcoming anthology is from The Dragon's Roost Press and is called LOLcraft. An anthology of humorous  Cthulhuesque stories. Mine is really fun, I can't lie. It's about the cosmos. Well, cosmic horror! There's kind of a microcosm in it! Several, really. Sort of. Honestly, you just have to read it. Microcosmic horror? Hmmm....

 

I sometimes think space and time are unified in the same way matter and energy are, and that there is a finite supply of both. So as the universe expands- space gets bigger- time gets smaller. Or less of it. There's probably a formula for that but in a less cosmic sense, all I know is I have very finite space to display my Lego collection, and not nearly enough time to build more Lego.

Thus I have developed a somewhat unexpected passion for stands. The Convor is a bit of a space hog for the size of the model. Lots of surface area. It was made to soar, dammit! So I went back to Rebrickable and found this stand, by Fantasts. I was able to build a decently similar thing with parts I had on hand. The nice thing is you don't need to be exact, just need some good greebling. A combination stand and little minifigure diorama! Love it!

 

Years ago I read a book called Accelerando, by Charles Stross. Mind still reeling from it lol. There was a lot in there, but one of the things I often think about was how, in that universe, any raw material like asteroids or, say, the Moon, was a terrible waste until it was converted into processing power. I'm ok with the Moon just being the Moon but my gigantic horde of loose Lego bricks definitely seems like unrealized potential.

Luckily I have discovered Rebrickable! The best way to convert loose Lego into Awesome.

Spoiler- I also discovered BrickLink stores, the best way to acquire even more Lego so that my pile doesn't really actually seem to shrink at all...

So there's this guy that I follow on InstaGram, ScruffyBrickHerder, who is an accomplished Lego builder, and he makes what he calls 'Uglies'- mashups of Star Wars ships. They're pretty cool, the design language of Star Wars being very amenable to this sort of thing. When he posted this TIE ugly, I fell in love. So pretty! He calls it the TIE Convor, after a bird creature seen in Clone Wars, Rebels and so forth. Simultaneously cute and cool. Right up my alley- I had to build one for myself! And he was thoughtful and kind enough to post free instructions on Rebrickable. In my innocence I just started building, from step 1. Oh sweet summer child. I know better now. But this was as far as I got with the parts I had on hand before getting stuck:

Which, not a bad start, but I didn't want to just discard it as I had so often in the past doing similar things. That's where BrickLink came in. Turns out there's a guy just across the freeway from me, so I bought the parts I needed and was back in action. The best part, though, was that my daughter Pallas asked me what I was up to, and I showed her and pretty soon she was right in there, digging for parts and just being a great Lego building partner. In fact, it's become a thing for us now. More on that later! Here's another view of the finished model for now. I stole the cockpit window from Yoda's Starfighter (75168) and I feel bad but he wasn't using it so. Cheers!