Purple Volcano Lagoon

After I posted my submission to different groups I received some nice feedback on the build and even some ideas for improvement. One of these comments was that "A crocodile would be nice". I think the person meant the traditional minifigure croc/alligator but my mind started to race immediately with thoughts of a brick-built crocodile.

Below is the finished version:

Brick-built animals are a common sight in the 3-in-1 sets and I love the creativity of those. So I took on the challenge to design my own croc.

Quite a challenge it turned out to be! Just creating the basic shape did not come by itself and the very first draft looks like something out of a 19th-century dinosaur book (see below).

I was not very good at perceiving the scale and initially wanted to add a ton of detail to the head and skin. Eventually, the appearance started to resemble a lot more like an actual crocodile but the size of it was still on a prehistoric monster level (see below).

I decided to go with a less realistic look and managed to decrease the scale and simplify the build by focusing first on the legs and torso. It still took many tries to get the head right with a movable jaw. Finally, I had a model I was happy with. Now, it was just about trying different color combinations.

I settled for a more classic green look but with a twist of the orange spikes (below).

You may be able to see there are some other aesthetic updates as well, different colors and techniques on the rockwork mainly. I think the Croc fits this set nicely and adds to the playability and fun of it all.

Hope you enjoy it as well!