Yeah, this has been accumulating for months 
1 Like
Ok, time to throw my two cents in.
I’m getting the impression that if your MOC isn’t 40-60% custom, then it’s a lackluster, simplistic build. If it’s mostly custom, then it’s a garbled mess that looks godawful.
It feels like you must have some form of a complex build to be “good”.
a somewhat changed CCBS frame isn’t going to cut it, unless it’s hidden behind a bunch of shells that make it look complex.
So, it feels like, in the eyes of the critics, you have to be complex with your MOCs.
5 Likes
Yeah I’ve been victim to that too. I actually got a few posts going “One of them’s complex but the others are basic.”
Thank you. Thank you good sir.
3 Likes
Exactly what I went through with my Eljay MOC
“Mesonak was way better, this feels like a side piece”
as in “this thing is just a side piece to mesonak, and nothing else”
3 Likes
Playing with simple builds is nothing wrong, it depends on what kind of system you’re building with. The pros and cons of a simple build are about as much as the pros and cons of the official sets that build is used for.
If you’re using the old BIONICLE system, it’s very, very easy to end up with a very complicated MOC that has so many textures running around on it that it loses its appeal. If you were complaining about my “Inikabuild as Heck” comments, that wasn’t to demean the Inika build - the way you used and/or added on to that system made the MOC overcomplicated to the point that it didn’t appeal to me.
Using the CCBS system is a lot easier to do without making the MOC overly textured. But you also run the opposite risk of making the MOC too smooth or too bland, unless you have the right type of shell add-ons. The benefits of custom limbs comes when you are attempting to blend the smooth designs of CCBS and some of the more textured designs of the BIONICLE system to create a MOC that is detailed but not overbearingly textured, or if the MOC in question has a specific armor placement you want that cannot be accomplished using standard bones.
I do believe that there is some standing in critcizing a very simple build if it obviously has no effort put into it. You can make something good out of a simple build system when you make efforts to fill in the flaws of the basic builds while retaining that basic build, but you have to keep in mind the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the building system you’re working with - whether that be the varied textures of the G1 system or the smooth, mechanical appearance of CCBS, or some kind of custom based hybrid.
TL;DR complaints about simple MOCs - if they visually are not simple, that is should be interpreted less as complaints against the fact you used a certain building system and more against the flaws that are inherent in said system.
6 Likes
Well, what if there’s a mix of both CCBS and classic, like in this:
http://board.ttvpodcast.com/t/my-custom-eljay/20570
2 Likes
Custom Torso: Yes
Custom Limbs: No
5 Likes
Just because a MOC doesn’t have a fully custom build doesn’t mean it’s bad.
4 Likes
Mocs are like movies. Complicated ones can be incredible, but simple ones can always be just as good.
9 Likes
As someone who uses custom in all of my MOCs, but normally only for torso’s, it really comes down to how you execute the MOC. I have seen some stellar MOCs that use nothing but just CCBS and some clever techniques, are they simple? yes. are they bad? no. It depends on the preference of the viewer. Complexity in and of itself is not a bad thing or a good thing, a MOC should be built in a way that works for the MOC, if that means totally CCBS, then that works too.
(I also totally agree with everything Hawkflight said.)
4 Likes
Depends on whether or not the CCBS and old system are balanced well. If the torso and arms are all old system but the legs are CCBS, you notice the difference.
Take @Invader39’s Arker, for example. The legs are solid, and the torso and arms are solid, but together they very clearly look like they belong in different places.
7 Likes
I personally find making custom builds difficult, so my MOCs tend to stay on the simple side. I wouldn’t say my MOCS are terrible, though, although I wouldn’t say they are amazing. While I admire the effort that goes into complex builds, I don’t feel they are always necessary, though when done right (which tends to be when using simpler builds is out of the question), they can be great.
4 Likes
Danke, Leo.
3 Likes
As I’ve said, this question has been accumulating for months. I’ve wanted to ask the community this before but never got around to it.
2 Likes
In my book, how custom a build should be really depends on what the build is focusing on. If the build was focused on a vehicle instead of it’s pilot, then I don’t really care if the pilot has an Inika build. But if the MOC is supposed to be based around a titan-like set, I’d expect some complexity and not just an Inika build.
Not to say that I don’t like Inika builds, I’ve seen people do really creative things with it, it’s just that a Makuta or prominent character shouldn’t look like Kongu Inika.
4 Likes
As someone known for simple but good, I’ll throw my two cents in here as well.
Complexity for the simple sake of complexity is bad. Complexity as a means to do something you couldn’t do simple is good, but only if executed properly. If you’ve got a super complex thirty piece forearm, but it looks like crap, you’d be better off with a simple CCBS limb with an armor shell. It’d get the job done without hassle and still look and function well.
On the opposite side, if your MOC is a CCBS (or Inikabuild) frame with a few shells added on and a head, I’m not going to be even 1% impressed. This is excluding the times where people can actually make it work in various ways, such as taking it upon themselves to fix the fatal flaws of basic CCBS (particularly open backing).
Now, I hate to be that guy, but to demonstrate the next point, I gotta pull in a current WIP of mine.
This is the Ekorak V2 WIP. To point this out, the lower legs are 100% custom from scratch. The upper legs, however, are not. Those are simple CCBS joints with a shell snapped on and the new addition to V2, custom back armor.
The point I’d like to make with this is that while one is basic as it gets, and the other is an extremely complex design, they don’t look like they belong on completely different MOCs. If you are going to use complexity on a more simple MOC, the styling still has to match. On the other side, if your MOC is complex, you need to be careful with your simplicity or else the simple parts will look out of place.
(In addition, mixing most G1 parts with CCBS just flat out looks bad because the styling is all off, however there are a few armor bits that match almost perfectly)
As would be expected this is just my opinon, so if you do any of the things I mentioned it’s not a direct attack. Heck I don’t know 90% of you guys anymore because I’ve been gone too long, so it literally can’t be a direct attack. Take it with a grain of salt, and no debates will be had.
9 Likes
I’ve wanted to talk about this topic before, but sadly I have barely any right to. All of my MOCs are average at best when it comes to the build and apperance. And adding insult to injury, my experimentation is limited because I often don’t have the money to buy parts. Plus I feel I get frusatrated at things I shouldn’t be getting frustrated at when it comes to critique and criticism.
I try to pull off complex builds, but it alwqays has mixed results. So I do feel that you should strive for complexity. But if you don’t have the parts to pull off something you see on the MOC spotlight; oh well, crap happens. To make up for that, I do try to give my MOCs interesting character and backstories, but unfortunately that doesn’t matter when it comes to MOCs.
3 Likes
I’ve seen some great complex mocs, but at the same time I’ve seen some complex mocs that look like someone smashed pieces together in a garbage disposal.
I enjoy complex mocs done right, but I don’t have the parts for it myself. I mainly build custom torsos due to the fact that I HATE just using a normal torso and armor add on.
6 Likes