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LEGO Pueblo

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Lego Pueblo Minifigs

Hi,

Some were commenting that Lego Pueblo Minifigs were looking like great plain native american. Now in some movies I saw Pueblo Indians look like this, but deep in my heart I knew it was not right. The thing is I cannot redesign bricks, I can only use what is available. So I sat down and tried to do it better. Thanks to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, I hope Lego Pueblo Minifigs now look more like Pueblo.

Here for you to remember the "old" Minifigs which are no more:

Here are the newly designed Lego Pueblo Minifigs.

I recall: With the bricks of one set (the basis set) you can choose building either one of four different buildings. Since I did not want to have all Minifigs look alike like twins, I thought some versatility in the Minifigs was necessary. Inside the Basis Set building there are two different looking trousers and some other ponchos hanging on some bars (only color of the poncho changed in comparison to the existing Lego ponchos and I am allowed to do that). This means there is some material to build also different looking Pueblo people and Mexican (2 Mexican hats are hanging on the wall insied the basis set). So here are two pics of further Pueblo people combining all the different bricks:

Since I wanted to use neutral yellow skinned color, if Lego wanted to be a perfectionist they would have to paint the necks yellow instead of flesh color (existing bricks). So it would look like this (see the old man and the kid):

I think it wouldn't be necessary because it could be some cloth underwear, but you never know.

So this is it. Buns are there. I hope you like the new Lego Pueblo Minifigs. Thanks to all of you, especially to all your encouraging comments and your criticism trying to help me improve this. I really appreciate it. So what's next? An update of the plants and another one of the alternative four buildings how they look like now and then I hope I succeed in my most important update: A YouTube presentation video of Lego Pueblo. So stay tuned and

Happy Eastern

Giorgio

 


On

Taos News

Hi,

I just wanted you to know that there is an article about Lego Pueblo in the local Taos Newspaper "The Taos News".

I especially like the title of the article the author came up with: "Lego my Pueblo". It reflects the project's intention of building several buildings according to instructions and if more sets are available making your own Pueblo by attaching the different buildings to each other the way you like it. Here is the link:

http://www.taosnews.com/entertainment/article_8680b052-d3f5-11e4-ae58-6b51acc76853.html

By the way, I am ready with the clothing of the Pueblo Minifigs. Currently I am working on the pictures and hope to post them in a new update this eastern weekend. 

I hope you enjoy the article in the Taos News. Thanks for your support and keep spreading the word. 

Best 

Giorgio


On

The Tower

This is it, the fourth alternative build you can make with the bricks from the Lego Pueblo set "the Basis". This makes the Lego Pueblo set a 4in1 creator set. And if you get yourself more than one sets you can attach the different buildings in whatever way you want. But now to "the Tower" alternative build:

The Tower consists of a sculptor in the base floor, a doll maker (thus a toy-maker in the toy) in the first upper floor and an observatory from where the sun can be observed in the second upper floor. Here a pic from the back:

The sculptor is a great craftsman, but also a good trader he once traded a beautiful sculpture against a hammock from a Mexican trader coming a long way from the south. Now he is the only one in the Pueblo who takes a little siesta while thinking of the next peace of art. Take a look here:

I have built the hammock as a stand alone piece and made a picture for you just to take a closer look on it:

The horno is a double horno with a roof and a hanging Chile Ristra. In the back there is a container that opens up. It holds all that tools and utensils necessary for the agricultural work:

And here a closer look on the container. In the front of the picture a small dam regulates the water. An important feature for the control of irrigation:

Here is another look of the base floor with the sculptor (open up roofs):

And of course I cannot miss to show you how the Tower can detach all those floors in order to take a look inside and to play well:

I don't know if you have noticed. The Minifigs do not look like the great plain Indians anymore. I have worked a lot on the Minifigs clothing to make them look more Pueblo like. I will do a separate update and show you the outcome of the new clothing.

Last but not least I would like to add here that I am not sure if Lego would print all 4 instructions of all 4 different builds. But there are alternatives. Lego could print one and add all the remaining instructions of the alternative builds as a PDF file for download. If Lego wouldn't print or put the different instructions online, I would do it in a separate internet page. I think it is important to have all the options in order to get all the versatility out of the set.

If you like this set and all the alternative builds, tell your friends and make this set known. Thanks to all the supporters out there.

Till the next update, 

Ciao (with a last picture from another angle)

Giorgio

 


On

The Patio

Torn between Kiva or no Kiva from the beginning, after many comments here at Lego Ideas I decided to delete the idea of a Kiva. The small building what used to be the Kiva is so cute though, I did want to keep it as such. So I made a working place for agricultural purposes and storage room. Here the Lego Pueblo inhabitants make their Chile Ristra and hang them up, grind their corn, get the seeds from the sunflowers and other agricultural tasks. In front of the building I exchanged the Saguaro against a Yuca and built an open fire place for cooking.

I now call this third alternative build "The Patio".

Here is a pic of the old Kiva, how it used to be:

 

Here is a picture of the Patio how it looks like now: NEW VERSION:

Here is a shot from above through the roof:

The Chile Ristras are very well tied to the roof and do not move while taking the roof off:

 

I hope you like the changes and keep spreading the word. By the way the fourth alternative build is ready. I am in the course of making the pictures. Come back soon to see how it looks like, I will post it this month.

Thanks for all the support.

Best

Giorgio


On

Lego Pueblo Trade Update

Hi,

I would like to share with you the updated version of the Mexican trader. As mentioned by a user in the comments there was no trade scene.

So what are the Pueblo trading and what are they getting in return? The first pic depicts just the trade itself. The Mexican now goes by foot and carries a lot of stuff on his horse. Shells is one thing he can offer, Turquoise another. What he gets in return are pottery, dolls, baskets, statuettes and sculptures for instance.

The next two pictures depict the trade scene in front of a Lego Pueblo (two sets with alternative builds). As you will notice I have deleted the cacti. I am showing two types of Yucca instead that are possible to build with the bricks incorporated in the set. I had planned the Yucca for the fourth building. As to the cacti I will deal with it in a separate update.

And back to the trading scene. Just as there are alternative buildings possible made of the bricks of the basic set, there will be also alternative traders. Two carrying a lot of stuff and bags, one carrying a bit less but letting the trader ride its horse. Enjoy the pics and till next update, best Giorgio


On

Lego Pueblo Information

First I wanted to share a link with you. It is a local TV station in New Mexico that depicted the Lego Pueblo to show it to the public. I really liked the short presentation. Here is the link:

http://www.koat.com/news/pueblo-legos/31207374

You can also find it in YouTube:

.

Soon afterwards I received some comments and suggestions to improve and change Lego Pueblo to be more consistent with the culture, the geographical surroundings and some suggestions to delete other elements. I take every suggestion seriously and think it over if and how to implement it. Important to know: Lego will not allow any political or religious concepts and limits the designers on the bricks currently available. It is possible to change the color of a brick though, if the specific brick used does not exist in a specific color yet (example the top of the hornos would have to be in the same dark orange color, not brown).

It was not my intention to make a 100% accurate Pueblo village. It would be impossible (technically speaking). Important is a balance between historic accuracy, what is appropriate, what is technically possible and my own artistic freedom. With your help this project can get close to reaching a good balance. Remember I cannot change the front page. A Lego project evolves through time with the updates, the changes will be made there.

By the way, the time this Pueblo scene is set would be something between 1750 and 1830. It should be a time when doors were not yet used in basic floors (at least only partly) and dogs were still in use but then again horses are already common. I did not want to use sheeps introduced by the Spaniards, but cotton clothing. And I definitely do not want cattle. It hurts me enough that I have to take the chicken instead of a non existing Lego turkey.

I would like to comment some new changes, which I yet need to implement.

1. Kiva, including the medicine men, is gone, not appropriate. The changes will be done by changing it to a garden. Some good ideas like a Pueblo inhabitant chopping wood in front of the garden, the chile ristras in the garden are great ideas.

2. That trading scene needs fixing. Aquane is right, it does not show a trading scene. Who is trading what. That inspired me.

3. Kachinas are gone before even implemented. Although my question is: would a doll/toy maker be suitable? I did read somewhere about toys and it would fit quite neatly Lego Pueblo as a toy with a toy maker.

4. Well I guess this is the end for good looking cactus. I depicted that kind of cactus because it easy to recognise as such. I guess I will take a Yucca. I would have loved corn, but with the bricks available, I did not succeed.

5. The Minifigs (with their clothing) will be a totally own update. This will be very difficult, because of limited bricks. I will do my best and post alternatives.

All above stated and more will be done through updates. Stay tuned and let me read your comments when I am done bit by bit.

Thanks and best

Giorgio


On

Lego Pueblo Kiva

Kiva or no Kiva?

At the age of 3 my son became interested in building with Lego bricks. I introduced him to the world of Lego and by the age of 5 he built sets for 12 and 14 years olds. That's what Lego does. By building and playing children learn. Their mind manages to translate 2 dimensional instructions into our 3 dimensional world. Lego is more to me than "just a toy" and the Lego Pueblo set should not only encourage building and playing (4in1 and modularity) but also inspire a passion to read and get informed about Native American way of life, culture and philosophy.

The respect for nature and life are integral parts of Pueblo culture. Within Pueblo society respect and solidarity are values of true importance. A Kiva (in Lego Pueblo the small building next to the tower) forms an integral part of Pueblo culture and the way of living. That is why I introduced a Kiva, to encourage reading. I am convinced that our society needs to embrace more this culture, understand it and integrate its philosophy. We would all be much better off.

Of course I am no Native American expert and my Idea of incorporating a Kiva in the set may be too much. In case the project reaches 10K it is up to Lego to decide whether to use a Kiva or not. I would definitely encourage consulting Native American. I am myself interested in what Native American have to say about this important and sensitive topic (use the comments section to express your opinion openly). Should a Kiva be inappropriate for the set, no problem: very small changes to the Kiva building would make a Patio featuring a small garden.

I would be very happy if people would live their lives considering values of Native American and get more connected to nature. I would like to end this update with an Indian quote that is more contemporary than ever, or better said a timeless quote now more important than ever:

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children"

Thanks for spreading the word and making Lego Pueblo possible.

Giorgio


On

Lego Pueblo Bricks 2

I forgot to mention this modified plate brick (reddish brown) in my last brick-update. So I decided to make a quick update. This is a hard to find brick and therefore relatively expensive. So it would add well if Lego Pueblo became a set. Again thx to Bricklink for the pic.

But since I am talking about bricks: Lego Pueblo has approx. 1700 bricks. A Lego Modular set has an average of approx. 2160 bricks. Lego Ideas project "birds" has the most bricks of all current Lego Ideas products on shelves, namely approx. 580 bricks. I could start streamlining Lego Pueblo set and come down to maybe 1500 bricks. In case Lego Pueblo reaches 5000 supporters I would do that. Otherwise I would rather concentrate on the fourth build and share it with you.

I am asking myself though, if I managed to explain the Lego Pueblo project well. Lego Pueblo is not about a set consisting of a whole village or a series of sets. It is "only" about one set called Lego Pueblo Basis Set, which shall include several different instructions in order to build different Pueblo dwelling arrangements which in turn can be attached to each other and, if more sets are available, form a Pueblo village.

Take a look at my scuba diving homepage where I have presented the Lego Pueblo project with lots of pictures:

http://www.citydive.eu/lego-pueblo/

If you like Lego Pueblo project support it and keep spreading the word. It would be a loss if this Pueblo village would be staying for display on my own shelf only.

Thanks for all your support, Giorgio

One last thing:

There is this beautiful Lego Ideas set that I would like to draw your attention to. It is a modernized version of one of the most beloved sets Lego ever produced. Every Lego fan should strive for such a remake. Here is the Lego Ideas link for you to support, if you like it:

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/68687


On

Lego Pueblo Bricks

Wow, 1000 supporters! A big big thanks to all of you out there. I am overwhelmed by this four digit number. I will continue doing updates in the months to come, one of which will contain the fourth Lego Pueblo building with a really awesome feature. But now let us concentrate on this update dealing with the bricks used.

Brick Use

I have taken great care to use bricks that might be interesting to AFOLs as well, either because some of the bricks are very rare or non-existent anymore (e.g. 1x1 dark orange plates) or because you simply cannot have enough of them (like mini slopes or mini tiles).

Furthermore by adding some bricks that do not exist in a specific color yet, but have a great potential if existed, their production would boost creativity (e.g. pearl gold bar in dark tan would be great to be used as a wall element, no matter if the wall is grey or tan).

Last but not least are new bricks/molds. I know TLC does not want to introduce new bricks within Lego Ideas but still, wouldn't a turkey be a great ad on to existing animals and in case of Lego Pueblo one turkey instead of two chicken would be historically more accurate.

The following list contains some selected bricks I used for Lego Pueblo sorted by "impossible to find" to "very rare" up to "rare/expensive" according to current non-TLC markets like Bricklink. As soon as Lego Pueblo becomes an official set, thanks to production lots all those rare bricks or out-of-stock bricks become available and price goes down to normal levels. The bricks would not be rare anymore. In a few words: No official Lego Pueblo set, no Lego Pueblo in this color scheme possible.

I also would like to use the opportunity to thank Bricklink for letting me use the pictures of all the bricks listed above. And again a big thanks to all the supporters of Lego Pueblo. Reaching 1000 votes is a great milestone. By the way, the topic of my next update will be "The Kiva" and as theme: Kiva or no Kiva? Till then

Best

Giorgio


On

Bridge Set Update

Modularity:

Lego Pueblo is a set with four different building possibilities. That is correct. Not a 3in1 but a 4in1. The fourth building is yet to come. Just like different Lego bricks are used to build a house, the Lego Pueblo houses can be used to build a Lego Pueblo village. This is the Lego idea in the macro view :-). It brings the versatility of the set to a high level. Check out the modularity with the example of the Bridge:

The Bridge:

The Lego Pueblo Bridge is the second Pueblo building possible with the bricks of the Lego Pueblo (basis) set. It consists of two buildings connected through a bridge. Versatility of this alternative build is fantastic as the bridge is easily detachable making two independent buildings, as can be seen from the first pic:

Furthermore, with the leftovers from the Pueblo basis set you can build a wall which fits on top of the roof of the smaller building, see next picture:

The two independent buildings including the wall may now be attached together, forming another cute little building. The following picture shows it from different angles. The last quarter pic adds the Kiva (without the small tower).

The next photo shows another possible arrangement consisting of both Kiva buildings and the Bridge with the wall. The additional ladder is possible with the bricks from the bridge itself (you could build two ladders out of it).

Last but not least, thanks again for the support of Lego Pueblo. Please continue to support this set and share it with friends. Here is one last picture showing several closeups of the Bridge:

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