Bricks in Motion
We are a friendly filmmaking community devoted to the art of stop-motion animation using LEGO® and similar construction toys. Here, you can share your work, join our community of other brickfilmers, and participate in periodic animation contests!
A place to discuss, share, and create stop motion films.
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My original intent in posting this thread was simply to highlight a cool new product, namely...
However, unless I've missed it, I don't think we have a thread for discussing various third-party creators such as BrickForge, BrickArms, and the like.
Have you ordered from these places? What did you think of the product you received? Would you recommend it to someone else?
Wow I didn't know someone made those! That's terrific! Could come in handy some day. Thanks for sharing, Aaron! As far as the topic goes, I have not ordered from any of these places before, simply because I haven't found a need for them yet.
I have ordered Brickarms before, and I really like them. Unfortunately I've found I'm not really a action/gun type, so I don't use them often. 
Thanks for sharing about the legs, I only glanced at the post on BrothersBrick and didn't notice them. These could prove really useful.
Last edited by Mighty Wanderer (December 5, 2012 (10:37am))
@Mighty Wanderer - Same, I have fair share of pieces from brickarms, the guns I don't really use that often, and i've contemplated just using the standard LEGO pistols to maintain the "LEGO" look.
The brickarms figurines I have used quite a bit for all my WW2 themed videos.
The few pieces I have ordered from brickforge have been of respectable quality as well. The brickforge instruments I ordered have come in handy, especially for the music video i'm working on. I really like the acoustic guitar piece 
AW I was wondering where NXT got those guitars now I know.
I'm not really into customized bricks--I feel that using them is something like cheating. It's much more impressive to use official LEGO elements in clever ways to design something, rather than opting for customs.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about the legs. I find they look ludicrously foreshortened, especially in that running pose. Then again, the official fixed legs aren't any longer, and these ones would be very handy for brickfilming.
I really like Brickforge, I've ordered a lot of stuff from there and I don't think it disrupts the authenticity.
Brickarms, however, just feels sorta messed up. It's very disconcerting to see child's playthings holding accurate scale models of guns and stuff. You guys are also forgetting about Arealight Customs. I haven't ordered from them but I really like their design work.
In all seriousness though, brickfilming as an art form has gotten so avdanced in recent years that it's not even worth forgoing these customs in order to preserve the "Lego" feel. Because chances are you've already lost it. Not that there is a problem with that, it is just a sign that the community is maturing as a whole. I'm not telling you what to do of course, but it is just my opinion that it is worth being unorthodox to better achieve your vision. Heck, I put fake candles in the film I am working on. 
Brickforge is wonderful. Their parts are pretty much indistinguishable from real LEGO and they've always got some good bricks for sale.
The other third-party LEGO accessory seller (not technically bricks) is MMCB Capes. I bought a trenchcoat from them once and, while I never got to put it into a film, it too looks like the real deal. Highly recommended.
Those articulated mini-legs 
I ordered minis off of bricklink just to see what it was all about, but was a bit disappointed when the legs didn't move.
Also, that guitar. I must check out brickforge.
I'm glad to here that everyone is happy with brickforge, I'm going to need a violin soon for an upcoming film.
I've made a policy not to use 3rd party bricks while animating "Holding Our Own", even the homemade Brick Warriors that the guy sells out of Christiana Mall in Delaware, next to the Lego store. It would help because I have to make a German WWII guy for episode 3. And while building the school set for EPisode 2 yesterday, I found a red 1x2 Tyco brick from a lot I bought. I had to remove it.
I've ordered from Brickforge several times, and with the exception of the some-what fragile vambraces, everything that they have is top-notch, both in looks and durability. Yes, the plastic is slightly lighter that the stuff that Lego uses, but it's still of a good quality, and they have a bunch of great parts with fantastic printing.
So yeah, don't hesitate to order from them. 
I've made a policy not to use 3rd party bricks while animating "Holding Our Own"...
Since I'm curious and nosy, I have to ask the question....Why?
And with the Tyco brick, as long as the logo isn't showing, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference on-screen. So why go to that extreme?
In reply to Pritchard studios (above!)
The policy is only because I wanted to do my series in a purist sense, using just official bricks. The only nonLego materials I use are sticky tack putty, which I try to keep concealed from the camera, and a wall that I use for sky in the outdoors areas. I also refrain from special effects for airborne objects, lights, liquid, etc., except for captions and transitions. Now, when I wrote the script to "Galaxy Girl and the Space Marines", I decided that if I ever filmed it, those rules woudln't necessarily apply.
I did replace the Tyco brick anyway. Visually, it wouldn't really matter, but I would have known! And I imagined my project like one of Lego's contests, where models were disqualified if they weren't all official bricks.
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