swils Posted October 27, 2011 (edited) Serrus, the Druids' Claw Far to the south of the royal kingdom there exists a vast marshlands. In ages past, roads and bridges wove their way across this swampy region. At its heart, there had existed a temple, dedicated to nature. It was tended to by the druids, men devoted to the natural world, in tune with the wind, the currents, and the wildlife. When the Age of Magic had seen its last, the kingdom turned to the druids for guidance. When should they plan to harvest? When would they finally get rain? The druids, as far as they had removed themselves from the modern world, had somehow found themselves at its very heart. Villagers began making pilgrimages to the temple, and the druids were revered as holy men. But they were not miracle workers. They did what they could to help the kingdom, offering advice and guidance, but it wasn't enough. Nature was going to take its course, and the druids could only predict it; they had no power to prevent it. Almost as quickly as they had gained popularity, they fell out of favor. Folk abandoned the region for 'greener pastures', leaving the marshlands a mess. The roads were left to the weather, and soon swallowed by the swamps. The druids were eventually all but cut off from the outside world. Were it not for dutiful scribes and scholars, the temple and its keepers would have been lost to the annals of time. It was only a few days ago that the messenger had arrived. How he had gotten here, Serrus had no clue. There were no roads, and it had been ages since the area had been mapped, as far as he knew. But somehow, the young man had made the journey. And now, it was Serrus' turn. He was to travel to the royal castle himself, and appear at The Tournament as a representative for his temple. It was the elders' wish that he attend, and win, so that he may request aid on the druids' behalf. The order's numbers had dwindled over the years, and the temple itself was beginning to fall into disarray. If only they could rebuild the roads, they might be able to restore the order to its former strength, gathering more who wished to strengthen their bond with Mother Nature. Gathering his equipment, he recalled the elders' advice. He was not to take his scythe nor his sickles. As effective in combat as he was with them, the elders believed that the crowds would not understand their use, and may fear him, rather than sympathize with his cause. They had told him he was only to bring a sword, shield, and lance, but he insisted upon having his halberd at his side. With his faithful page at his side, he set out from the temple. Just in case they ask him to joust... Brickshelf folder, for when it's made public: Clicky Cost of materials: Materials used in the final piece? I'd say less than $5.00 USD Materials used on all prototypes, and including excess/leftover? Heh, well, much closer to $50.00 USD I bought 5x 12ml Citadel paints, lots of superglue and frayguard, several yards of cloth, and some jewelery wire/chain/string. I've got a *ton* of left over material, and plan on doing a lot more customization work. Post-project thoughts: *I really wish I'd managed to get a cape design that I'd liked, to work. Or at least had something to do with the back of the fig. I didn't want to load on more chainmail, nor did I want to just draw on a design. *I'd gone into the project with the goal of making a custom cloth barding and armor for a horse, but again ran into the issue of not being able to settle on a design that I liked/that worked well. Additionally, plans for the figure changed a bit, and I opted against using a horse at all. I'll definitely keep working at it though, as I plan to make a small faction in this theme. *Parts selection. Ugh. I wish I had my full LEGO collection at my disposal. Probably my biggest regret? Not having a plain white torso to use. I had to paint one white, and this means that the arms are fairly set in stone. The pauldrons are glued onto the arms, and before painting the torso, the right shoulder moved with the arm a bit, but the left wouldn't stay glued to the arm, I had to secure it to the torso. Unfortunately, it was still sort of attached to the arm, so the left arm has been fixed in place for quite some time. Also, painting the legs made it almost impossible to reposition them without ruining the paint. I might have to try my hand at decals next time I work on a figure. *More to come, I'm sure. It's late, I'm tired, these were my main thoughts. I'll edit more in as they come to me. Archived, first post: **Still very much WIP** **STATUS: PREVIEW, C&C** I will update the post in due time with the appropriate photos required for qualification, the backstory, parts cost, etc. For now, I'm looking for any C&C you can offer. Please go easy on the paint details (helmet especially), I'm basically using a paperclip for the finer elements, haha! And yes, the name will fit into a medieval theme without drawing from too much of a fantasy element, don't worry Stuff I'm considering/looking into right now: -Weapon will definitely be changing before this is finished -Helmet may get retouched, tassel/cord might be replaced with a plume -Customizing a cloth cape is giving me more trouble than expected -Making a jousting lance for the final version Thanks for reading&commenting! Edited November 13, 2011 by swils Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wardancer Posted October 27, 2011 I like the overall color scheme, collar and the shoulder pads! Maybe cleaner lines could be achieved by using tape, painting over and then removing the tape. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuxorV Posted October 27, 2011 Nice custom, swils. I see it's a WIP, please make sure your entry fulfills the rules: you must make a vignette for the figure, plus post back and side shots of it alone (I think the one currently in your post is the front shot, right?). You have almost 3 weeks to make this up-dates, but don't wait for the last moment! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swils Posted October 27, 2011 Thanks, guys. @Wardancer, I hadn't even considered using tape on a model this small, I'll give it a try when I touch up the helmet. Thanks for the reminder! @Luxor, Yup, I'll have the vig and other angles up sometime in the next week or two. Wanted to keep a few tricks up my sleeve, with so long left in the contest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tomcat RIO Posted October 30, 2011 (edited) wow some neat tricks, this has great potential! are those shoulder paldrouns made from the cone helmet cut in half? the ringmail is great work, how is the cloth cape giving trouble? Edited October 30, 2011 by Tomcat RIO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swils Posted November 1, 2011 wow some neat tricks, this has great potential! are those shoulder paldrouns made from the cone helmet cut in half? the ringmail is great work, how is the cloth cape giving trouble? Thanks, and yes, the shoulderpads are a cobe helmet sliced in half, minus the neckguard (took a nice chunk of my finger with it, heh). The regular cape pattern doesnt fit between the pauldrons in the back, and barely/doesnt fit properly underneath them, so I've been toying with thinner designs, havent found any that I've loved yet, though. I really wanted to equip him with a cloak that fully surrounded him, shoulders to.ground, but that just wasnt cooperating at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuxorV Posted November 8, 2011 Rules check: Please finalise your entry with the required shots and info to qualify. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swils Posted November 9, 2011 Rules check: Please finalise your entry with the required shots and info to qualify. Aye aye, won't let ya down, cap'n! Got the story written up and the vig more or less designed in LDD, just gotta make my way downstairs to hit up my friend's LEGO bin today or tomorrow Oh, what I wouldn't give to have my collection up here with me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted November 9, 2011 Great customization work! I love that helmet hi-detailed! Beautiful colors scheme Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swils Posted November 10, 2011 (edited) Thanks, 12 Volts. I built the vig last night and got the pictures taken, going to take one last stab at a cape/cloak tonight before finalizing the original post, hoping to have that done by tomorrow evening at the latest. Edited November 10, 2011 by swils Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kongumster Posted November 13, 2011 This figure looks awsome. Nice job on the detailing and color scheme! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swils Posted November 13, 2011 Thanks, Kong. First post has been updated, I *think* it's in accordance with the rules now. Care to give me a once-over, Lux? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuxorV Posted November 13, 2011 First post has been updated, I *think* it's in accordance with the rules now. Care to give me a once-over, Lux? It's perfect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
