Scarlet Snapper
It's near the end of the year, which means it's time to get a head start on 2024. The collaborative, themed build for BIONILUG in 2024 is "Horror Garden"! Members have the opportunity to build plants, tourists, and/or scenery, and I chose to make a carnivorous plant.
The focal point of this model is the head with it's sharp, marbled teeth. Xplode Armor parts (87825pb01) were the main parts of inspiration, yet they were quite difficult to work with. The part itself has two 'legal' connection points: an axle and an axle hole. However, due to their softer plastic material, I was able to create a few sub-assemblies that could be held in by friction. These sub-assemblies opened up more connection points, allowing me to shape out the head with dino tails and other organic elements.
While I had a lot of fun developing the head and working through the layering of the stem, my favorite part of this MOC is the base. Particularly, I'm quite proud of the use of Kalmah heads (57549pb01) in conjunction with large figure shoulder pads (21560). The Kalmah head is a single part with two distinct textures - a smooth, solid, dark red section and a rubbery, black tentacle section. The tentacle section perfectly matched the texture of the stem, and by combining the SW shoulder pads, the dark red section could blend in with those respective parts. The result is a beautiful, seemless transition between the two.
Lastly, the base features a few more separation of textures, with the olive green sprouts creating some foliage around the Snapper, and the rough collection of brown pieces to represent dirt/land. As a little NPU, I threw in a brown Bohrok shield (41662) in the dirt assembly. The entire part does not quite match the texture of the other system parts next to it, but by hiding most of it and only having the 'claw' portion visible, I think it fits in quite nicely.
