. . .
So. This is a bit awkward. For 2025 Secret Santa, the target I received was Xthekitsune, who the boards now know as anon69095387. I’m uncertain if they deleted their account or if something else happened, but on the off chance these see this in the ether, I hope you enjoy it.
Jeff:
Internals:
Designer’s Notes:
Preamble
I hate just getting someone a thing they have on their list, I’d rather it come from my own heart and thoughtfulness. After all, if it is the thought that counts, then the list is a backup plan in case the brain is fried. But seeing my understanding of others be correct and able to find or make something they didn’t know they wanted - that’s always my goal. To give surprising happiness.
Which is easy enough to do for friends and family, but complete strangers? Look, I take a lot of pride, too much pride, in my analytical abilities. So until 2024, when I finally decided to take the plunge, I feared that I would make something disappointing for my recipient because they were someone I could not know. That I would get someone who has little to no information about them whatsoever and be left in the dark. Well, that nightmare scenario happened.
Part 1 - Idea Hunting
To immediately clarify, Xthekitsune, wherever you might be, I am not calling you a nightmare. In fact, you did supply something to help a few days after I received you as my target with the post below:
But that was all I had to go on.
I know they previously went by neodragonx on these boards and a Scalie, but with the name change that probably wasn’t the case anymore. I couldn’t build an anthro dragon if I wanted to since even the Wayback Machine failed in providing me their prior profile pic. And any searches for an account off the boards resulted in unrelated accounts.
There was an unfinished story with some character names but not much by way of descriptions so couldn’t use that. Maybe I could have built a kitsune or even an anthro one, but in what way that wouldn’t come off as generic? Especially since there is a more known MOCist in the Bionicle space with kitsune as part of their name.
Similarly, their profile banner and location seemed to indicate that they were a Subnautica fan. Ghost Leviathan in the picture, location being Subnautica’s Void, so maybe a Ghost Leviathan? Surely, someone else has built that. And yeah, someone else built one out of constraction parts in almost the same manner I was considering so that went out the window. Maybe a Technic Seamoth? Didn’t have the right colors and shaping was taking too long.
Eventually the butcher MOC was posted, there was the axolotl drawing, and…that’s it. The trail is cold. Couldn’t find outside the boards, went through every topic, post, and Like made here and came up with a bunch of dead ends, too generic of ideas, or not having the colors needed. All that was left was Jeff.
Part 2 - Design Challenges
First and foremost issue, I am not TotalMaddness. I was possibly mistaken for them earlier this year (if not TotalMaddness there was only one other option), but we really aren’t comparable in building style and design language. And while I can get into people’s heads pretty well from their writing, replicating or knowing someone else’s thinking for building is a very different set of analytical skills. Copy an existing build? Easy. Replicate the style for new builds? I would need to spend a few years honing that skill.
So turning Jeff into a version that TotalMaddness would have made is out of the picture. But what about my own interpretation? That should be easy enough, right? Right?
Problem - Jeff is too simple.
Or, well, a problem for me and not necessarily with the build itself. And to further clarify, it’s a mediocre simple.
Plenty of micro or nano build MOCs are simple, but their technical usage of their parts is often an expertise-level in order to get things so clearly across as such tiny scales. That’s a level of simplicity you likely can’t improve upon. Same goes for very detailed or massive MOCs - there’s a certain level in which the skill gap prevents improvements.
But Jeff falls into a different of section of the cannot be improved MOCs - directionless. Most bad or mediocre builds can be improved upon. But if the build is very basic, very little notable features, and no real information about them…where do you go with it? It’s not that Jeff couldn’t use improvements but Jeff is, as stated, just a dude. He’s Jeff, just a guy. A simple guy. And by just a guy standards, there’s nothing else to change. So what can I do?
Scale change is normally the easiest answer. But if go Chibi, Jeff is so basic that it would look worse or basically the same. If I go larger and make a titan version then he isn’t just a dude anymore, is he? Well, they did mention that Jeff is a more filled out stick figure, so I can at least do that. Make a custom torso (modified version of Downfall’s build), fill in the gaps, give a smaller waist, maybe a more boots-look for the feet to make the silver more like some armor, and add some additional armor. Make the red more like their actual body/flesh, give a more curvy neck for some fun flare, and a collar because why not?
I did briefly consider making the limbs noodle-bendy like the neck, or at least the forelimbs. But if Jeff is just a dude, is it a bug dude, reptile dude? Not a human dude, that’s clear enough. But wasn’t sure how far as too far so just the neck would do. The arms can be a bit floppy with the shoulder connection and I had other solutions for that but thought it would stride too far in greeble direction for the simple dude vibes.
Conclusion
So in the end we have…Jeff, but again. I so wanted to do more but hopefully this will do. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
