New Year`s Feast for the World`s End Caravan Co

[robuko]

In reply to the WECC visit to Kaiphlin

"My Dear Hvar Icewind, how good to see you again! And Jorgen Kerrow, our good friend! Thankyou for making the long journey, I hope the seas were not too treacherous? And the road from Barqa was good? You know of course our Mitgardian trade representative, Ingvar Arnoldssen?

Many thanks for the gems and Pikesteel blades. All this talk of assassination and war is deeply discomforting. We hope of course that nothing comes of it, but it is well to be prepared. And for the thoughtful cargo of furs, we thankyou. A lot of outlanders think we have only hot weather, and here in Petraea it`s true, we do have sunny skies. But spend a night on sentry duty at the watchtowers of the Rakath Mountains and you would be right glad of Northern fur!

I see you admire our Festive Tree? Yes, it is a gift from Mitgardia, from our dear friend Mr la Flaga of the East Mitgardia Trading Company, to celebrate your Northern Midwinter traditions. We have granted him the Eastern Mitgardia rights for our unique double crystal glazing in exchange for his kindness. Perhaps we can interest you in the rights for your home of Western Mitgardia? To see the beauty of the winter snow, from the warmth and comfort of your own home, it`s quite a game changer, we like to think.

But I`m talking too much, as usual, do tuck in. I see the girls, Astrid and Sally, are already gossiping over the desserts and cheese and grapes, well, that`s girls for you. The chefs have prepared our New Year specials for you tonight - shimmering trout from the Ras-el Akhan, roast ostrich properly served with stuffing and trimmings, and suckling wild boar in Avalonian Apple Sauce. Tonight we have Dwarven Mead on tap, a Nocturnian Bull`s blood for the red, and an Elven white icewine.

Your very good health! Here`s to Profit and Free Trade between our two great Houses, and a very Happy and prosperous New Year to you!"

Edited January 4, 2012 by robuko

[CptMugwash]

Great moc and happy new year. It looks very festive and cosy there and everyone is enjoying themselves. Is that dark bluish grey hairpiece from potc?

Cheers.

[NiceMarmot]

Once again, Rasputin, you've really nailed it! Great vignette and story! If we ever have a vignette challenge, no one else will enter because we all know you'll win it!

[Viceroy]

"Dear Rasputin, our time in Kaliphlin has been most delightful thanks to your hospitality. The feast was delicious, entertaint fantastic, hostesses enchanting ... also I terribly enjoyed that strange feathered beast that was served basted in honey and dates ... os-ter-ich you say? We have taken several dozen back with us, it appears the Valhollian elite may have a new delicacy for their dining tables.

I was glad we were able to conclude our business regarding your Crystal Glass. All vessels in our fleet shall have their navigation equipment refitted and we expect there to be serious interest from the craftsmen of Omurtag and Pikesteel Mt. Please expect orders to follow soon.

I wish you well for the new year and I am looking forward to your visit in Nordheim. 'Tis but a mere hamlet compared to your great Petrea but I trust your visit will be nonetheless entertaining and productive - we Mitgardians know how to have a good time!

To good health and good fortune!"

- Hvar Icewind

[Basiliscus]

Lovely work robuko, as always. The story is great and the photo is well staged. Nice one

[robuko]

Thanks a lot guys for your kind comments, I am glad you liked it.

I am still not quite happy with the composition of the image, but I took this one outside and the light failed before I could fix it (better positioning of the fish and pig, and trying to clear up the back field confusion of Raoul and the PGTC representative behind Rasputin) and it was a windy night so it wasn`t safe to leave it out and try again in the morning. In retrospect, the whole carpet scene should have been 3 or 4 studs nearer field, but I am learning each time. I guess I am most proud of the tree here, it is based on the winter toy shop but with layers of "tree" pieces in between, I really liked the quasi-natural look.

It has been quite an eye opener for me how difficult it is to take these photographs - there is never a clear line of sight to the best details, and the big screen image is very different to how it looks on camera. I started all my Kaliphlin pictures with some concept of the a frame in the near field, action in the middle field, and a background, but I have been quite surprised by how quickly the vanishing points kick in at this scale, and how quickly you "lose" background to front field details. This vig is around 32x32, but it looks a lot smaller, and to get a really good shot with the full food spread I guess I would have needed another 12 studs of wall to the left on the back. For my embassy, I am putting a lot more thought into the image directing before I do the build. I am learning to really respect film directors, I need around a hundred takes with pretty docile actors and scenery to get a decent static image! If you bring the camera angle down towards minifig head height, which you need for intimacy in a scene like this, you pretty much lose all the nice background stuff especially in the further back planes. But if　you keep the angle high enough to get in the back plane details, you end up with far too much excess height in the foreground, and in my case, unwanted studs showing.

In any case, I am very glad the PGTC was able to offer hospitality to our Northern friends, and Rasputin and Ingvar very much look forward to seeing Nordheim. I am especially glad the Ostrich was well received, it took our chef a long time to dress and balance the bird. We will expand the size of our farmlands to satisfy our new customers.

Cpt MugWash, the grey hair on Jorgen Kerrow is sourced from Joshamee Gibbs of PoTC, who was bricklinked in for the scene. Viceroy`s characters are really nicely put together so I wanted to feature them prominently. NM, I guess I mostly end up with vigs because I don`t know how to take good photos of a bigger scene, but thanks very much for your kind words!

Thanks all!

[de Gothia]

A great moc! Love the busy atmosphere you manage to capture as well as the little details such as the carpet, the tree and the full tables!!

How did you come up with the name? I as a swede surely reconigize it but you live some miles away from here I can see from your profile..

[Rogue Angel]

This is a wonderful MOC! I love the rug and all the little details like the ostrich head and the parka hoods. This totally catches the New Year's spirit!