Nocturnus Minichallenge II: Those Darned Barbarians.

[Ulfraut]

If a place exists, most likely the early generations of Mitgardians had been there first. Before the wars, before the four Guilds were established, the predecessors to the men of the north had shrines and settlements dotting the landscape of Historica. Most of the structures had fallen to rubble due both to age and the battles that ravaged the land. Unknown to many though, was one important shrine in particular.

Deep in a cave, in the northern area of Nocturnus, was a small temple. Devoted to one of the Old Gods of the early men, this was the Shrine of Wodinn, the God of War. Legend says the statue still holds the helm and armor of the god, as well as his golden spear, Gungnir.

Ulfraut Burrvatnr gathered a small group of his most trusted friends and companions and set out on a pilgrimage to the dark lands.

After days of searching, Ulfraut and his companions had found the shrine's entrance.

It was dark and damp. One of the pillars had crumbled into a pile in the corner. But there it was. The statue of Wodinn. The great god of his ancestors. Bearing the armor and spear of the god himself.

This build is for the Nocturnus Minichallenge, Paying Tribute.

This was just about the extent of the grey bricks I own, so I wasn't able to build as extensively as I would have liked, but here it is. I realized after building it did not fit within the size requirements, but what the heck. Mitgardians do it bigger. ;)

Comments and criticism are welcome. Thank you for looking, friends.

[Henjin_Quilones]

You have made an interesting little cave here! My favorite part is the stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. A few of things to work on: first, photography (I am terrible at this, so I won't give you any tips; others, better than I, can do that ); second, sizing, since it does not fit into the 16x16 template--though it could with a bit of modification, especially the removal of the tan baseplate; third, your stone work is very, very busy, with every imaginable texture included, from hinges to grill bricks to brick-relief bricks to the log bricks and more, and it is just too much. I know that you have said that it is all of your grey, and that is fine, but in the future try to avoid so many textures at once; each of them, alone, looks good (except the grill bricks, acknowledged as being inferior for stonework), but together it is just a jumble. I love the story, though, as well as the image of Wodinn, and hope to see more from you soon!

p.s. For which side is this built, the Resistance or the Spire? You should edit your post to declare for one or the other, per challenge rules.

[TitusV]

Nice build! A pity you don't have more grey

[Exetrius]

The stalagmites and stalactites are my favorite features, look good! Yet, as Henjin mentioned, you are having a lot of different features together, without highlighting them individually.

Concerning the base, I suggest that you take your cave structure off the tan base plate and put it on a simple, brickbuilt black base instead (example). To polish your presentation further, I suggest using a blank sheet of paper as backdrop and a light source (desk lamp works for me personally), avoid using the flash of your camera. You could also edit the background away in Photoshop or Microsoft Paint. Happy building!

One last thing: please do not upload the images as files on Eurobricks, but rather use a site like Flickr, imgur, brickshelf, etc. to store your images, and embed them as links here. Here are the tutorials on how to do so: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=71241entry1320172

[Brandon Stark]

Nice looking temple. Like with Henjin and Exetrius, I really like the stalactites. However, I would suggest you add some detail on the tan baseplate, such as a few stones/rocks, a path, or some foliage.

[soccerkid6]

Very cool Mitgardian figs you have there The stalactites are a fun touch for sure, and unique.

I'll second the suggestion for a border, black or otherwise

[en_zoo]

Well I second the others and I add: I'm in love with those figs 

[LittleJohn]

Those figs are super cool The wall texture is nice as well, I especially like the crumbled pillar