26 replies to this topic

[Cara]

The Awakening

In the annals of the palace library are were stories that our great city was built in celebration upon the the site where a monstrous elemental was vanquished. Little did we know those that vanquished it did not kill it, but rather returned it to its long sleep.

Now the city burns on the wrath of this elemental as it awakens.

The town in panic rushing to the dock:

The city in destruction:

The Phoenix and the Castle:

Closeup of the town:
(removed the bridge and some landscaping for better access)

More pictures on my Flickr Album!

Edited by Cara, 06 August 2012 - 05:34 AM.

[ZCerberus]

Pretty Phoenix.  

Really nice work with the micro scale(s).  So much detail, and I like that it is micro but slightly bigger under the bridge.  

The castle is very "romantic".  Maybe that isn't the perfect word- it screams "fantasy".  Maybe that is more like it.

The scene doesn't really scream "action to me" but it is really purty!

[Legonardo]

Great job!

[rogueang]

This is a fabulous entry, just like your last one!  The phoenix is beautiful, and the city is fantastic as well.  I love the scale of both of them, and they both look gorgeous!  I also really like the way you built that bridge.  Great techniques here - Amazing entry!

[mephistopheles]

Wow Cara!

I don't what to say other than "perfect".  

The microscale city you did there is plain superb. You've got my vote!

[SkaForHire]

I think the challenge 5 prize should be win a MOCing lesson from Cara.

Dang, this is fantastic!

[kabel]

Great entry Cara, your beast is great and the town has got to be one of the best micro scale mocs I've ever seen. And the bridge is really nice to look at too. All in all and awesome build. Great to have such a great builder with us in the North, Go Mitgardia!!

[Captain Settle]

I love that pheonix, and it may be a little cruel, but I love that person drowning .

[robuko]

What a gorgeous, exuberant, phoenix!  The tails and snake pieces look wonderful.  The micro lansdscape is extremely well realised, especially the disney castle, love that use of the drill.  Great bridge too, it looks like it is angled towards us?  The composition of the first shot is first class, very nicely balanced.  Beautiful entry Cara!

[soccerkid6]

I was beginning to get a little worried that you wouldn't enter in time, glad to see you did!
The city is gorgeous and I like how you did the water in trans-purple, it makes it look like there is a glare on it from the phoenix  
The phoenix itself is spectacular and the burned section of the city is top-notch. Great to have you on our side  

[Rolli]

Lovely color choice my dear Cara. It has a nice fantasy feel but i like that. The castle reminds me somehow of the famous disney castle. Your phoenix is great! I also love how you managed to break up the build into different dimensions, very well executed!

[Hyler Talliwell]

Beautiful.

[Kayne]

Wow, what a great entry for the contest(again!)  I like your take on the micro version of the build.  The micro is the majority of the build, and it really works with that huge Phoenix!

[Jason Cicchini]

Cara, this really isn't fair. I'm going to spend every last challenge now thinking how I'll have to beat something that you'll come up with!
I have never EVER seen such awesomeness in a Micro scene!!!!! The castle is stunning, the city itself actually reminds me of an area in Philadelphia right by the Deleware River, where all the houses are perched on a set of hillsides, looking like a swift wind would knock them right off.
The way it all works with the foreground, and the water effect, and your Elemental...Yikes! This is the one to beat!
Good luck!

[Masa of Kaliphlin]

I have only three words... Brilliant, epic, beautiful!

[Angeli]

lovely, as always ;)
I would love to see some dark fantasy moc from you, a swamp, enchanted forest during the night, dark knight coming home, or similar :)

[Erynlasgalen]

Wow, this is an incredible scene, the micro city is very well done and I love the phoenix. The perspective is really fantastic on it. The whole thing reminds me of an old Renaissance painting with the colors and the way it is staged.

The only thing that sorta bothers me that it doesn't stir any emotions for me of destruction/fear/terror or of Mitgardia, but it is still a very gorgeous piece of work.

[de Gothia]

So beautiful! That micro build is one of the greastest I´ve seen!

[Damaximus]

Okay, I know which one is my favourite entry...

Sorry to all other guys, but this is just fabulous...

[Niku]

I just dropped my jaw.  
Wonderful entry.

[Cara]

ZCerberus, on 06 August 2012 - 04:50 AM, said:

Pretty Phoenix.  
Really nice work with the micro scale(s).  So much detail, and I like that it is micro but slightly bigger under the bridge.  
The castle is very "romantic".  Maybe that isn't the perfect word- it screams "fantasy".  Maybe that is more like it.
The scene doesn't really scream "action to me" but it is really purty!

Thank you. Forcing the perspective change with the micro under the bridge being larger than the micro in the cliff side was important to me.

I really wanted to go all out and embrace that still-frame scene with microscale background of the challenge. A person so terrified they would leap in a river with the city being destroyed behind them. There is a shot on flickr of it from the perspective of the person with huge, out of focus, elemental in the background.

rogueang, on 06 August 2012 - 05:15 AM, said:

I also really like the way you built that bridge.  Great techniques here - Amazing entry!

The evenings I started this build I put a few pictures up on flickr of how I built the bridge. I do that to encourage myself to keep going. I have to have progress I can see in a tangible way.

Captain Settle, on 06 August 2012 - 11:20 AM, said:

I love that pheonix, and it may be a little cruel, but I love that person drowning .

Me too . That second picture was how I imagined the still-frame scene, the terror and need to flee embodied by one person. (With all the other people - minifigure trophies -  in the background rushing to the dock to do the same).

robuko, on 06 August 2012 - 11:33 AM, said:

What a gorgeous, exuberant, phoenix!  The tails and snake pieces look wonderful.  The micro lansdscape is extremely well realised, especially the disney castle, love that use of the drill.  Great bridge too, it looks like it is angled towards us?

It was really fun finding normal size pieces that evoke the feeling of the micro scale. My other two favourite pieces were the Technic driving ring extension (32187) for the smaller turrets because the peaks on the side of it copied the pattern of the peaks on the drill, one pin inside and a cone fits perfectly. And the hinge brick 1x2 top plate (3938) that I used upside down for the crenellations on the top of the walls. This meant that I had to build all the walls upside down and connect them with 1x1 technics brick with holes (6541) so I had a stud to stud connection. Oh, and I guess the trash can for the turret wall. And there are some pieces I particularly enjoyed using in the Phoenix head too

The bridge is angled on each side, where the smaller arches are. Each end curves at about 35 degrees from the center so it all fits nicely inside the 48x48. This build is not built upon a baseplate. I first drew around a 48x48 plate onto my desk, then put down a pieces of slightly larger clear perspex so that I could see the build limits. I built modularly on that so that I could move around different elements of the build to get the composition. I later linked all of the landscaping together.

soccerkid6, on 06 August 2012 - 12:34 PM, said:

The city is gorgeous and I like how you did the water in trans-purple, it makes it look like there is a glare on it from the phoenix  

That was the hope =) There are trans red->neon orange->orange cones in the water too.
The trans purple and the trans orange cheese slopes were on the brick wall a few months ago and it seemed so meant to be that I had to use them. But I used up every bit of flex tubing I have to string the cones upon! They are mixed with trans black and black for texture.

Angeli, on 06 August 2012 - 03:15 PM, said:

lovely, as always ;)
I would love to see some dark fantasy moc from you, a swamp, enchanted forest during the night, dark knight coming home, or similar :)

I would like to too! That evokes lots of great pictures. My problem is lack of time!

Edited by Cara, 07 August 2012 - 10:02 PM.

[Darkdragon]

Wow Cara, This has the be the best microscale castle work I've every seen. Bravo!

Your micro city on the hill is very similar to what I had as a concept too, glad to see it would have worked out if I'd actually built it

[Kai NRG]

That's beautiful!  I dont quite see why there should be purple (although it looks great), but I love all the miniature, and the elemental is very well done  

Edit: I get the purple now, although at first it looked like he was swimming in juice!  

Edited by Kai NRG, 09 August 2012 - 07:16 PM.

[Ecclesiastes]

Great job Cara, the phoenix sure is a beauty. I also like the elevation of the city and the technics like the upside down city wall

[Evan D]

Great build, nice use of the trophy pieces, and awesome elemental!