[COR - Challenge III Category A] - The Shogun's Tribute

[LM71Blackbird]

The Shogun's Tribute

Not much is know about the solitary Kingdom of the Lotus in the far reaches of Southern Halos. However, one element of their society which would surely be laughed to scorn by the major constituents of the New World is the system of governing. The complex feudal system is only upheld by a select few nations who persist in following this way of life.

Weaponsmith 1 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr

While the Emperor rules the land, the Shogun manages the land by way of his nobles.

Weaponsmith 2 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr

Each noble is given a parcel of land to govern and protect.

Weaponsmith 3 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr

The citizens must then pay a tribute to the noble in return for protection in the event of conflict.

Weaponsmith 4 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr

This way of life is not embraced by all, but it is how the Loti society has been structed and rebellion from this system is not taken too kindly by the Shogun and his nobles.

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My entry for category A! As the Loti are supposed to be a mash up of Chinese and Japanese (who held on to the feudal system until the late 1870), I decided to go with a brief intro to the feudal system to hopefully help flesh them out some more. C&C are welcome and appreciated and thanks for looking! Some more pics of the build are in the spoiler below!

Spoiler

Weaponsmith 5 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr

Weaponsmith 6 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr

Weaponsmith 7 by LM71Blackbird, on Flickr

 

[Brandon Stark]

This is a very good build. The rocks that the house is built on is very detailed, and the overall geography is well built. I think the roof was an accurate representation of Chinese and/or Japanese architecture as well. 

[Bodi]

Looking good, I like the trees and the rockwork, nice interior.

[Fraunces]

Nice build! I like the basement which can be opened, it gives it a playable-style. The small story is nice too! I like it

[LM71Blackbird]

17 hours ago, Brandon Stark said:

This is a very good build. The rocks that the house is built on is very detailed, and the overall geography is well built. I think the roof was an accurate representation of Chinese and/or Japanese architecture as well. 

Thank you! The terrain was both fun and a new challenge for me so I'm glad that it turned out!

15 hours ago, Bodi said:

Looking good, I like the trees and the rockwork, nice interior.

Thanks!

6 hours ago, Fraunces said:

Nice build! I like the basement which can be opened, it gives it a playable-style. The small story is nice too! I like it

Thanks! The Basement took quite a while to flesh out until I was happy with it, but I thought it added a lot to the build overall.

[blackdeathgr]

Very nice building (nice interior too) and I think you have mastered the "way of the uphill roads" which is something I need to practice myself. The only thing I would have changed are the color of the rocks which I would prefer them a bit less colorful.

[LM71Blackbird]

8 hours ago, blackdeathgr said:

Very nice building (nice interior too) and I think you have mastered the "way of the uphill roads" which is something I need to practice myself. The only thing I would have changed are the color of the rocks which I would prefer them a bit less colorful.

Thank you! This is actually my first time building a path of this gradual incline so I'm glad it turned out ok! For the rocks, I completely agree. I just use what I got though.

[Tezclatipoca]

Nice build !

The rockwork is quite good. I just find it too colourful though, it's too much mosaic form to be understand as a natural rockwork but I'm nittpicking...

Nice entry !

[LM71Blackbird]

5 hours ago, Faladrin said:

Nice build !

The rockwork is quite good. I just find it too colourful though, it's too much mosaic form to be understand as a natural rockwork but I'm nittpicking...

Nice entry !

Thank you!

Yes, I agree, but I don't have enough slopes in grey as of yet. Some Bricklink order in the future will change that however!

[Maxim I]

Great job!

The real eye-catcher is the house and especially the roof. May I copy that somewhere in the future? :)

[LM71Blackbird]

41 minutes ago, Maxim I said:

Great job!

The real eye-catcher is the house and especially the roof. May I copy that somewhere in the future? :)

Thanks!

Of course! Copy away!

[Ayrlego]

The thing that instantly stands out to me with this build is the variation in the hight of the landscape, it makes the build much more visually appealing than it would be if it were flatter. The vegetation and colour palette give a more rural feel than alot of the entries we've seen and I like the uniqueness of the scene. You've used slightly more colours in the landscape than I'd feel comfortable with, which leaves me conflicted, I like the rustic feel but it's almost too much for the eye... I'll have to stare at it some more!! The house itself is simple but well presented with the stand out feature being the windows. I like the framing of the overview picture. Altogether a nice entry, well done.

[Bregir]

I like the landscaping in this one, and the blacksmith's shop is well done inside and out. There is activity in all shots, and I like how you vary it from shot to shot. I do agree with Ayrlego that the colours used in the landscaping may be too varied. Using some of the more muted lego colours for landscaping may help you (if you have them), as brown, green and grey clashes a bit in some places as being too different. I would also suggest varying the step height a little, as the "one plate per brick" increase almost makes it look like a flight of stairs for being a little too regular. The liberally spread vegetation makes the place come alive, and I like details like the trans-red piece for red hot iron. For the pictures, almost any picture editing tool can help you correct tilt etc. on your pictures. I enjoyed your explanation of the feudal ways, and the way we follow the samurai up the steps.