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Click on a question
below to jump to the answer. If you have any other questions,
visit the contact me page.
If your question gets asked enough, I might add it to this page.
General Questions
- Where am I and who are you?
- Who is Saber-Scorpion?
- Why scorpions?
- What is Nova Refuge?
- Why do you like red and black so much?
- How can I make my own website?
Webcomic Questions
- What is the schedule for your webcomic
updates?
- Do you have any other comics?
- Can you put my character into your
comic?
Art / Writing Questions
- Can you draw/write something for me?
- What do you use to draw the images here?
- Can I use your character(s) in a
story I'm writing?
- Can I use some of your art?
Gaming Questions
- What is your favorite console,
game genre, and video game?
- Do you play games online?
LEGO Questions
- Are the models on this website LEGO sets?
Where did you get them?
- Is it okay if I copy one of your
creations?
- Will you sell your creations to me?
- Can you send me some instructions?
- Where did you get so many LEGO parts?
- Isn't it cheating to cut/paint/use decals on
LEGO creations?
- Can you make creations based on [insert
game/movie here]?
- How did you make your custom minifigs
(LEGO people)?
- Why are all of your custom minifigs
yellow?
- Will you post my LEGO creations on
your site?
Shop Questions
- I need help ordering from the shop!
Forum Questions
- I've made an account on your forums, so
why can't I post?
A: This is Saber-Scorpion's Lair, the personal website of Justin R.
"Saber-Scorpion" Stebbins (that's me). For more information, please see the
About Me page.
A: The name "Saber-Scorpion" started out as my Internet handle and has
eventually become a character all his own.
For information on how I came up with the strange name "Saber-Scorpion,"
visit the About Me page. As for the character,
he originated as a guy I used to represent myself in the various games
that I play and stories that I write. Who he is and what he
does varies from story to story and world to world, but he's nearly always a
loner who wears at least some red and fights with at least one sword.
The main iteration of the character is the one I created for my own
sci-fi universe called Nova Refuge.
In the world of Nova Refuge, Saber-Scorpion is a young man who was
abducted from his family at a young age by the government due to his
so-called "warrior genes." Along with other, similar individuals, he was
put into a special training program called the Enomeg Project. From that
point on, he was raised and trained by the government to become one of
their "super-soldiers." The suit he wears (including the helmet you see
on my website's main banner) is his personal Enomeg exoskeleton, a
highly advanced machine consisting of duranium armor over a nanofiber
mesh suit that is capable of shifting hue, hardening on bullet impact,
dissipating laser heat energy, augmenting the wearer's senses and
abilities, and basically making the wearer even more of a super-soldier,
provided he knows how to use it. I am currently in the process of
writing a series of novels based on the life of Saber-Scorpion in Nova
Refuge. This is basically THE story that I've spent nearly my entire
life developing, and I hope when it becomes available on this site, you
will take a look! Thanks!
A: Since I was a kid, I've been obsessed with insects, arachnids, and
other arthropods... and the scorpion is by far the coolest arthropod in
existence. That is why I chose it for my alternate name. Some people
dislike bugs... I fail to understand such people. Scorpions are pure
awesome, and here's why:
A Death Stalker Scorpion, one of the deadliest types of scorpions in the
world
- Scorpions have a thick armored exoskeleton, eight legs, a tail
tipped with a poisonous stinger, and two pedipalps (those are their "claw arms" tipped with
pincers). That's some pretty awesome natural arms and armor. Despite
what some drawings and toys may cause you to believe, scorpions'
pedipalps do not count as legs. They have eight legs AND two pedipalps.
- Though some scorpions, such as the aptly-named Death Stalker
Scorpion, have extremely deadly stings, others are no more harmful than
a bee. This can usually be judged by the size of the scorpion's claws (pedipalps).
Scorpions with bigger claws tend to use those weapons instead of their
stinger, so their venom is less deadly. Scorpions with very small claws
prefer to sting, so they have more potent venom.
- Some scorpions can actually squirt their venom from up to a meter
away, usually aiming to hit their enemy in the eyes to disable them,
while others, such as the Emperor Scorpion, hunt and kill vertebrates
that are as big as them or bigger using only their bare claws, without
employing their sting.
An Emperor Scorpion, the largest type of scorpion, which can grow to
about 6 inches long. Docile and not too dangerous, they are favored as
pets.
- Some scorpions live up to 25 years, which is much longer than most
arthropods. They were some of the first creatures ever to evolve legs
and set foot on land, and they did so billions of years before us humans
or our ancestors. And they have not had to evolve much since then.
- Scorpions are some of the toughest creatures on this planet. They
can live in the desert for up to a year with no food at all, and some
have even been found alive near nuclear test sites where radiation would
have killed most other forms of life.
- Scorpions perform an elaborate dance before mating, locking their
claws together and moving in wide circles.
- Unlike most arthropods, which abandon their young shortly after
laying the eggs, scorpions protect their offspring until they are old
enough to face the world on their own. The mother lets her young ride in
a large cluster on her back for over a year, until they're old enough to
fend for themselves.
- Scorpions are not aggressive. They are nocturnal creatures who
prefer to hide in dark holes during the day, and will only attack if you
disturb them. Just remember to check your shoes if you're in scorpion
territory though. Then again, you might be in scorpion territory now and
not even know it, since scorpions live all over the world but are rarely
seen, since they usually keep to themselves.
- Scorpions are amazing creatures and have been my favorite animals
for years.
A: Nova Refuge is my own science fiction galaxy, created by
myself, my brother Ryan, and my sister Maegan. It all started when I was
a kid, and I enjoyed writing my own stories. I wrote a little book I
called "The Ultimate War," with two factions in it called the Seekers
and the Strikers, fighting over a planet called Zygbar. My brother Ryan
and I (and later my sister Maegan as well) also made up stories when we
played with our LEGO creations. I had my own faction in my room whose
main color was red, and Ryan had a faction in
his room whose main color was blue. He later made up another faction
that both he and I often played with together, called Grimm's Army, a
band of mercenaries whose main color was green. My
brother, sister, and I made up most of the characters for my world
of Nova Refuge while playing these LEGO games, and a lot of the
story was invented there too. Later, I decided that all of our
factions, characters, and stories should not go to waste, so I began
organizing them, changing them around, and turning them into a whole
new world, which I named "Nova Refuge." You can look at the results
yourself on the Nova
Refuge website. You'll also find many of the new LEGO models
that Ryan and I have made for this world there. One day I hope to
turn Nova Refuge into something really big, because it is, quite
literally, my life's work. Please check it out!
A: I'm not sure, really. It all started when I was a kid, I guess, and I
usually ended up playing the bad guy in all the games. The colors just
sort of stuck, and red has been my favorite color for as long as I can
remember.
If you're complaining about the website having a black background and
grey text... actually, you should thank me. This is a lot easier on your
eyes than staring at a blazing white lightbulb of a monitor, if you ask me.
A: I get this question a lot. The answer is yes, I do have to pay for my
website. My site is hosted through
www.aplus.net, and I
have to pay a monthly fee for the hosting. The programs I use to make
the website, and the forum service, also cost money. For my website
layout I use an old version of Microsoft FrontPage - the same one I've
been using for years - and for the menus and banners I use
Macromedia Flash. For the graphics, I typically use Adobe Photoshop,
sometimes in conjunction with CorelDRAW. I have also used Paintshop Pro,
Corel Painter, and several other programs over the years. My forums run
on Invision Power Board.
If you want to make a website like mine, you're going to have to
shell out at least a little bit of money. I'd recommend getting a good
web development program, but you can actually use a
regular word processor like Microsoft Word if you need to. Just save the
pages as .htm files instead of Word documents. You can also opt to get
an even more complex program like Dreamweaver if you want. Next, you're
going to need a graphics editor. The best program to get is Adobe
Photoshop, or perhaps Corel Paintshop Pro. Alternatively, there are free
graphics programs on the Internet that you can download, such as The
Gimp. Finally, you will need a place to host
your website. If you can get a friend who has a website to let you use
or rent a portion of his space, this is one way to do it. Otherwise, you
can search for free hosting solutions on the Internet. Optimally, you
will probably have to use a service that costs money, like the one I
use.
Of course, if all of this web work is entirely too much for you, you
can always go with the cheapest and easiest of all possible methods: a
freebie website. There are plenty of these out there if you search for
them, including Geocities, AngelFire, Tripod, Freewebs, etc. Be warned,
however: these websites usually offer only a limited amount of
customization and will force their own ad banners onto your page and in
the face of your visitors. Personally, I recommend avoiding this option,
since a freebie website will not earn you any real respect on the
Internet, and you also won't learn much about web development by
building one.
A: It changes with the winds. These days it's one new comic (of a random
type, but usually SYWBAA) each week if you're lucky.
A: I have done a few other comics in the past. If you're looking for
LEGO comics, try the Comics page in the LEGO section of this website. If
you're looking for traditional (drawn) comics, check the art & writing
sections of both this site and the Nova Refuge website!
A: I have sometimes included characters in my LEGO comics based on
members of my forum, but they typically only get minor roles. If you
like, you can go to my forum and post your character information in the
Official Sign-Up Database there. If you do, I *might* eventually feature
the character at some point. But no promises.
A: Possibly. If it's a small and easy project, I might consider
doing it for free (but don't count on it). If it's a larger project, I
would of course ask to be paid for my time and effort. I am, however,
always interested to hear such proposals. If you think you have some
work I could do, please just send me an e-mail and we can work something
out!
A: For the plain sketches that you see, I use two things: paper and a
pencil. No special kind of paper, no artistic variety of pencils. Just a
plain old pencil and a piece of paper. Anything more seems like overkill
to me. Since I'm terrible at coloring and painting, however, I use the
computer for those projects. Sometimes I scan a sketch I drew into the
computer using a scanner and then trace it, other times I draw all of it
on the computer from the start. For drawing on the computer, I use a
Wacom Intuos graphics tablet and usually Adobe Photoshop (sometimes
Corel Painter as well). If you think you can draw on the computer using
just your mouse, you are wrong. It is nowhere near as smooth and
accurate as using a graphics tablet with a stylus, and you won't get the
nice fluctuation in line thickness that you can achieve with a
pressure-sensitive graphics tablet.
A: It depends on the type of story and what you intend to do with it. If you are writing a simple fan fiction or any other story that you
intend to post on the Internet (or elsewhere) free of charge, then the
answer is yes. All I ask is that you try to make the character as
accurate to my representation of them as possible, that you do not use
the character for anything offensive, and that you give me at least a
little bit of credit (to Justin "Saber-Scorpion" Stebbins and possibly a
link back to my site). In fact, please include the character and send me
a copy of the story when you're done! I'd like to read it and might find
a place for it on one of my websites!
On the other hand, if you are writing a novel or story that you
intend to publish or sell by any other means for profit, then the answer
is no. My original characters on this site are my own intellectual
property, to which I own the copyright and sometimes trademark. I will
not allow them to be used for someone else's profit without
permission. Please e-mail me and ask first, and maybe we can work
something out.
A: If you want to use my art for something that is free of charge, then
yes, you may use it, so long as you give me a little credit (to Justin
"Saber-Scorpion" Stebbins and possibly a link back to my site) and do
not use the image for anything offensive. If, however, you intend to use
the image for anything regarding personal profit for yourself, then
please e-mail me first and ask for permission. Hopefully we can work
something out.
A: I buy a lot of video game consoles and usually a lot of games as
well. For the last generation, I had all three of the main consoles: the
Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube. For this
generation, I currently have an Xbox 360 and a Playstation 3. So you could say I'm pretty un-biased as far as
consoles go, despite my usual dismissal of Nintendo consoles as rather
childish. However, my real passion is for PC gaming, and I nearly
always prefer the PC as a platform for games. If a game has a version
available for the PC, that's the one I am almost guaranteed to get. My
favorite genre of gaming has been RPG (role-playing) ever since I
learned what the acronym meant and played Baldur's Gate (the PC game)
for the first time. By "RPG," I mean CRPGs for the computer, especially
those made by BioWare, Black Isle, and similar companies. I do NOT like
Japanese console RPGs like Final Fantasy or MMORPGs like World of
Warcraft). Consequently, my favorite video game of all time is Baldur's
Gate II (and the PC Baldur's Gate series in general). I also count Halo,
Metal Gear Solid, Mechwarrior 4, and Age of Empires II among my favorite
games of all time that are not in the RPG genre.
A: Currently... no. I used to play games online back when everyone used
dial-up to connect to the Internet and I didn't have trouble playing
games like Jedi Knight and Rogue Spear through the MSN Gaming Zone. My
brother and I even had our own clan back then, the Saber Clan, from
which I take the beginning of my name, "Saber-Scorpion." These days, however, games are a
lot more demanding and everyone has a broadband Internet connection. I,
however, live in the middle of nowhere, and no broadband is available at
my location. As a result, I'm forced to use satellite, which has
terrible latency, often abysmal speed, and is downright awful for gaming
online. In short, it's just not an option for me. I don't mind too much
though; I generally prefer single-player anyway.
A: The LEGO models you see on this website are NOT official LEGO sets.
They are custom-made LEGO models designed and built by me
and are not available for sale anywhere.
A: Sure, that's fine. I'm glad I've inspired you to build! If you post a
creation that copies elements of my own on the Internet, however, then I
merely ask that you give me a little bit of credit. A simple line saying
"based on Saber-Scorpion's original creation" or "inspired by
Saber-Scorpion" would be fine, although a link back to my website would
be most appreciated.
A: Sorry, but no. I have a huge sentimental attachment to most of my
creations (the ones that are still built anyway), not to mention my LEGO
collection in general. If I were to sell any of my creations, I would
have to build a duplicate of said creation, and that would be quite a
job indeed. I would have to buy all of the parts again, most of which
would probably be extremely hard to find, build the replica, and make
instructions as well before I sold it to anyone. In the end, it would be
a huge amount of work and quite expensive too, and I'd probably charge
more than you're willing to pay. Sorry.
A: The most common LEGO-related question I ever get. Sorry, but the
answer is typically no. Let me explain how I usually build my LEGO
creations: I sit down with a picture or sketch of what I want to build,
then break out my LEGO boxes (sorted by color), and start building.
There is very little if any pre-planning, and I only know what the final
results will look like when I'm done with it. In order to make
instructions, I have to take the model back apart again and rebuild it
from the ground up, translating all of it into the computer or taking
photos. In most cases, that's just too much work. Furthermore, a lot of
my LEGO creations don't exist anymore; they're just spare parts now. In
order to make instructions for these creations, I would have to rebuild
them myself based on the pictures I have posted here on the website. And
that, my friend, is what I recommend doing yourself. Just look at the
pictures and try your best. Innovate whenever you feel like it. That's the fun of
LEGO building, after all! If you need help, feel free to contact me, and I'll see
what I can do. But no instructions. They're hard to make and I don't get
much out of it myself, except people making copies of my creations all
over the Internet.
A: From buying LEGO sets. I've been collecting LEGO since I was about 5
years old, buying tons of sets every year, spending hundreds of dollars
on my hobby/obsession, and over that time, my collection has really
piled up. I have gobs of parts in my LEGO room, sorted into bins by
color (and also some by size). So when I build a LEGO creation, I can't
exactly keep track of what sets I used to build it (probably dozens in
each model), and I can't answer the question "what sets did you use to
make this?" Sorry. If you're looking to start your own collection,
the best site to visit is
http://shop.lego.com, and you'll also want to check out
www.bricklink.com
for older parts no longer officially available through LEGO. If you have
trouble finding a specific part, the set databases at
www.peeron.com can
really help.
A: In some cases, yes. In others, no. I have my own special policy
regarding such things. Here it is:
- I only cut LEGO parts and use paint when making my custom minifigs
(LEGO people),
because there is really no other way to customize minifigs
satisfactorily. However, I do not resort to such methods on my vehicles
and other LEGO models, because that would be cheating and would take
away the point of using LEGO in the first place.
- I use decals on my LEGO models only to add very small details such
as faction emblems, much like the LEGO company themselves do (and they
often use many more). I do not use decals to substitute for details that
could otherwise be made using parts.
If you're interesting in reading my entire LEGO building policy or
"philosophy," then click here:
A: Possibly. I'm sometimes willing to try out new suggestions if enough
people seem to want it, but usually it boils down to this: I only build
what I like. My usual inspiration for LEGO building is a movie I thought
was awesome or a video game I really enjoyed... or just something I
think looks really cool. If I haven't already made it, then I probably
don't even like it. I have pretty picky tastes, in case you haven't
noticed, and as a result, there isn't much I really like enough to spend
time building LEGO creations based thereon. However, if you really want
to suggest something, just send me an e-mail. I might consider
it.
For your reference, here's a quick list of things I will probably
never build: anything related to anime/manga, Final Fantasy, Gundam,
Zelda, Mario, Fable, Gears of War, Metroid, the Star Wars prequels, superhero comics, WarCraft, Warhammer, Warhammer 40K,
fighting games, sports, music, or anything else I might find stupid, childish, vulgar,
disgusting, offensive, and/or just plain downright boring.
I have had many, many people e-mail me and ask this question: How do you
make those minifigs? Well, here's the answer.
SUPPLIES YOU NEED:
1: A color printer (unless you want black and white decals, that is)
2: Decal Paper
That is to say, sticker paper. You know, label sheets. Either clear or
opaque, as long as you can print on it with the type of printer that you
own. You can find them at most office supply stores. The kind of paper I
use is product number 8255 on
www.avery.com
3: An image editor like Paintshop Pro or Photoshop, though a vector art
program like Corel DRAW works better.
(I'm assuming you already have a computer and some LEGO, or else why
would you be reading this at all?)
STEP ONE - Preparing your LEGO
The first thing you need to do is decide what decal you want to make and
then take the measurements for it. If you are going to put a decal onto
a minfig's torso (front or back, or both) then the approximate
measurements are about a half an inch by a half an inch (with some
portions left off to form the correct shape). For more precise
measurements, use a ruler yourself to measure your minifig. If you are
doing a minifig torso, then you should prepare your minifig by building
a figure with the correct color arms and legs, etc. By the way, LEGO
arms, hands, and legs can all be removed and replaced safely, though
repeated changing of arms and of separating legs from the pelvis is not
recommended. They might break or become floppy. If you're using
transparent decal paper, you'll need to have a blank LEGO torso. You can
get rid of the design on a LEGO torso by using brass polish (Brasso), or
you can just use opaque decal paper and avoid the problem, if you don't
like ruining your LEGO people in case you want to remove the decals
again later. That's what I usually do.
STEP TWO - Making the image
Next you need to create your decal image. Make sure the background color
will fit with the color of the LEGO you are placing the sticker onto
(though you don't need to worry about this if you are printing a
transparent decal). Also, make sure it's the right size. I always draw
my decals myself in a program called Corel Draw. The program is not a
bitmap-type pixel-art image editor like Photoshop or Paintshop, but
rather a "vector art" program. Other vector art programs include Adobe
Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand. Some people will try to tell you
that you can draw vector art using Adobe Photoshop, but it's really not
the same thing. Real vector art programs don't use "pixels" in the way
most images do - they work with lines, shapes, and colors. You can zoom
in and resize these lines, shapes and colors at will, as well as change
them around whenever you want with ease. Because of this, printed images
are clear no matter what size they are printed, and they can be resized
with no loss of quality. If you don't have a vector art program, you can
use Paintshop Pro, Adobe Photoshop, or some other bitmap editor (even
Paint). But if you do this, be sure to set the image to a high
resolution (as high as 300 pixels per inch)! Otherwise you'll have a very pixilated decal. Also, save
your image as a .psd, .bmp, or .png for printing. Jpegs will look fuzzy
and gifs will look grainy.
STEP THREE - Printing, cutting, and applying your decal
The next step is obvious. Place your decal paper in the printer (make
sure its turned the right way, you don't want to print on the wrong
side, which I have done countless times) and print your image. If you want
to protect your decal from the forces of erosion (and to give it that
glossy look) then you'll want to cover it with a strip of clear tape,
like shipping tape. I used to do this more often, but it has one major
drawback: the tape makes the decal really thick, so it's hard to get a
helmet, jetpack, or other minifig accessory to fit on top of it, so I
don't really do it anymore. Finally, cut the decal out of the page, peel
it off its backing, and then apply it carefully to the desired LEGO.
Voila! instant custom minifigure!
About cutting/painting/clay: When I cut a LEGO piece (such as
cutting a LEGO rifle short to make a pistol for Solid Snake), I simply
use my pocket knife. Any knife, as long as it is sharp, will work. But
be careful; LEGO plastic is hard to cut! When done, I sometimes file the
results smooth with the fingernail file on my penknife. For painting a
LEGO, I am not the best person to ask. I rarely paint my LEGO creations
and usually am not satisfied with the results. As far as I know, any
paint designed to stick to plastic (such as models) works fine, and
spray paint works the best. I usually just use Testors model paint. Finally, for clay parts, I use Sculpey
modeling clay from the arts & crafts department of my local Wal-Mart.
You can find it most anywhere, and it's easy to use. However, I'm not
very good at it, and avoid it when possible.
Finally, don't forget that you can now just order many of my decals
from my Shop:
http://www.saber-scorpion.com/shop
A: Because I think all human minifigs should be yellow. It's just
part of being a LEGO minifig. Any other color just doesn't seem right to
me; it's like breaking a fundamental law of nature. Have you ever been
to a forum where all of the smiley images came in various skin tones?
Okay; that's my point. LEGO people are yellow. Period. I sometimes use
other colors for aliens and the like when a yellow fig would simply not
look right at all, but all of my LEGO humans are yellow, no matter what
their race. It's a habit I just can't seem to break. Flesh tone minifigs
just look yucky and lose a lot of their LEGO appeal, in my opinion.
A: It depends. If you build a custom related to Saber-Scorpion (my
character) or any of the characters or vehicles I have invented in my
fan fictions, then yes, I will display your customs in the fan-made
Saber-Scorpion LEGO gallery. Also, if you have made a custom based on
Nova Refuge, you can submit it to my Nova Refuge website and I will
display it there.
For anything other than that (such as customs based on a movie or
video game that I did not create), the answer is no. This website is a
showcase of my work only. But if you want to showcase your customs, I
suggest Brickshelf, MOCpages, or Flickr. You can then feel free to post your creations
on the Saber-Scorpion's Lair Forums and discuss them there!
A: If you have any questions about the shop, check the
Shop FAQ
page. If you still have questions, e-mail me.
A: You just need to go to the "COME HERE FIRST" board, read the rules,
and then post a reply in the Member Confirmation Topic. Once you've
replied to that topic, your account will automatically be upgraded to
Member, and you will be able to post in any of the other boards. If you
have already posted in the MCT and are still having trouble posting,
send me an e-mail.
For other forum-related questions, see the FAQ topic in the "COME
HERE FIRST" board.
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