Paws off what doesn't belong to you!

As fluffy and adorable as he may be, Newt Scamander was forever chasing after his pesky pet, who had the most ingenious habit of escaping at the slightest sound of dropped change.

 

"The Niffler is a British beast. Fluffy, black and long-snouted, this burrowing creature has a predilection for anything glittery. Nifflers are often kept by goblins to burrow deep into the earth for treasure. Though the Niffler is gentle and even affectionate, it can be destructive to belongings and should never be kept in a house. Nifflers live in lairs up to twenty feet below the surface and produce six to eight young in a litter." - Newt Scamander

 

(...but really actually, J.K. ROWLING...)

 

I created this MOC for a 16x16 vignette competition for my local AFOL group (SAFOL). It has been my largest and most detailed build to date and I had an absolute blast putting it together!

 

Thanks must be giving for Titus Verelst's (Titus.V) awesome Tudor tutorial over on BrickBuilt.org which helped with a style I've never built in before.

 

And I would be silly not to thank my awesome wife who was happy to have a relaxed weekend on the couch while I tinkered away to meet the competition deadline :)

 

I was planning on going all out with lights to create this look, but actually managed to pull off the effect I wanted with a super diy approach. My downlight in my lounge was the mail fill, a LEGO Light Brick inside the Tudor section created the glow through the windows and on the alley wall, a laptop screen with a warm toned image cast warmth on the left building, and then just a little light painting with a phone screen to brighten up Newt and the Niffler. In hindsight that is quite a mouthful, but it was actually pretty easy and nice to work with contrast lights for a change (my studio work is normally 100% flash...).

 

I hope you like my new build :)

And please feel free to weigh in with any constructive advise if you want.

 

- Ross

Done