SarahJoy Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Just outside of Ruadh, there is a large camp of minotaurs. Though fearsome in appearance and in battle, they are actually quite personable. This particular tribe is noted for their rich culture and sense of humor -- they can be quite punny. Many of the tribe members serve in Ruadh's Brute Squad, acting as peacekeepers in the settlement. As a weary traveler approached the old city walls of Ruadh, he couldn't help but notice the fearsome Brute Squad members guarding the door. A bit intimidated, the traveler decided to cool off a bit at one of Ruadh's fountains before approaching the minotaurs. As he leaned over the water, he overheard a bit of their conversation, and grinned. "Did you see the rack on the new lady minotaur that just moved here?" "Haha! How could I miss it? She has the finest pair of horns I've ever seen on a lady!" A photo of the build without figs: Conceptually, the Brute Squad has been floating around for a while now. After the discussion in mccoyed's thread, I thought they ought to finally make an appearance! The wall design is loosely based on Maxim's Ruadhi build. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. My primary camera is on the fritz, so I had to make do with what I could coax out of the phone camera. As always, comments and constructive criticism are most welcome. Edited November 25, 2014 by SarahJoy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slegengr Posted November 25, 2014 Very nice build, SarahJoy! My favorite is the simplistic realism of the fountain. The falling and pooling water are excellent! The wall is nice with the arched holes that access the ground from the battlements and with the variations in texture and color. The ground is excellent as well with the color and "material" variations. The photographs do not look bad at all to me. The phone camera must be fairly decent. Nice story as well! It is nice to see that not all creatures should be judged on appearance. Brutes are still ordinary beings! Brick on, SarahJoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Gareth Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Another nice addition to Ruadh, SarahJoy! I love that fountain. The water is beautifully realistic. I really like the whole Ruadh concept. It's inspired me to build my own city. Keep up the great work. I look foward to it! Edited November 25, 2014 by Sir Gareth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccoyed Posted November 26, 2014 Ah, so glad to see these guys. Great execution of the concept for this build too, by the way. I look forward to doing a build in the near future involving a certain lady minotaur and her magnificent rack... ...of horns. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahJoy Posted November 26, 2014 (edited) Very nice build, SarahJoy! My favorite is the simplistic realism of the fountain. The falling and pooling water are excellent! The wall is nice with the arched holes that access the ground from the battlements and with the variations in texture and color. The ground is excellent as well with the color and "material" variations. The photographs do not look bad at all to me. The phone camera must be fairly decent. Nice story as well! It is nice to see that not all creatures should be judged on appearance. Brutes are still ordinary beings! Brick on, SarahJoy! Thanks, Slegengr! The camera on the phone is pretty good (especially for snapshots); but it's not great at photographing objects. I just miss the control I have with a "real" camera. Another nice addition to Ruadh, SarahJoy! I love that fountain. The water is beautifully realistic. I really like the whole Ruadh concept. It's inspired me to build my own city. Keep up the great work. I look foward to it! Thank you! I'm humbled. Ah, so glad to see these guys. Great execution of the concept for this build too, by the way. I look forward to doing a build in the near future involving a certain lady minotaur and her magnificent rack... ...of horns. Thanks! It's a pretty straightforward simple concept, but it was fun to build. Looking forward to seeing the lovely lady! Edited November 26, 2014 by SarahJoy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hobbythom Posted November 26, 2014 Awesome wall and great little story! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Vladivus Posted November 26, 2014 Wow! I love the path to the door, and the fountain- excellent! Are the brute squad wielding enchanted githril weapons by any chance? Super stuff- it's nice to see a different side of Ruadh! Looking forward to more! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted November 26, 2014 As I said on Flickr, I really like the fountain, it looks deliciously cool and clear! Good job on the entry way as well. Personally I think there are a few too many colors on the ground, but that may well be just me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jakorin Swiftsword Posted November 26, 2014 Beautiful work, SarahJoy! That groundwork is really something to admire. And the fountain and wall each have a high amount of detail. Well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccoyed Posted November 26, 2014 Thanks! It's a pretty straightforward simple concept, but it was fun to build. Looking forward to seeing the lovely lady! Once that Bricklink order shows up, I'll be swimming in minotaurs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MassEditor Posted November 26, 2014 An elegant and uniquely Kaliphlin build as always, Sarah. The fountain is a great touch, too. Once that Bricklink order shows up, I'll be swimming in minotaurs. Now that's a mental picture I didn't need this morning... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahJoy Posted November 26, 2014 (edited) Awesome wall and great little story! Thank you Hobbythorn! Wow! I love the path to the door, and the fountain- excellent! Are the brute squad wielding enchanted githril weapons by any chance? Super stuff- it's nice to see a different side of Ruadh! Looking forward to more! Thanks Lord Vladivus! There is indeed a chance they're weilding enchanted githril, but that portion of the minotaurs' story hasn't been finalized yet. As I said on Flickr, I really like the fountain, it looks deliciously cool and clear! Good job on the entry way as well. Personally I think there are a few too many colors on the ground, but that may well be just me! Thank you Kai! In regards to the ground, I don't think it's just you -- while I'm pleased with how the topography turned out overall, I struggled with getting the color balance just right, and was never able to come up with a truly satisfactory solution. Beautiful work, SarahJoy! That groundwork is really something to admire. And the fountain and wall each have a high amount of detail. Well done! Thanks Jakorin! Once that Bricklink order shows up, I'll be swimming in minotaurs. An elegant and uniquely Kaliphlin build as always, Sarah. The fountain is a great touch, too. Thank you MassEditor! Edited November 26, 2014 by SarahJoy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gideon Posted November 27, 2014 Great idea with friendly minotaurs, and the dialogue was funny! Regarding the build, my favorite part is the fountain. I had thought of doing a similar thingbin my big Barqa build but ran out of wall space...but this looks even better than what I had in mind The only nitpick here is that I find the double row of crenelations sloping in different directions a tad too busy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kabel Posted November 27, 2014 Very nice texturing of the wall and a very funny story. I like it a lot! It's good to see that you stay with us and that Ruadh keeps on evolving, since unfortunately most female GoH members tend to drop out of the project after a short while. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahJoy Posted November 27, 2014 Great idea with friendly minotaurs, and the dialogue was funny! Regarding the build, my favorite part is the fountain. I had thought of doing a similar thingbin my big Barqa build but ran out of wall space...but this looks even better than what I had in mind The only nitpick here is that I find the double row of crenelations sloping in different directions a tad too busy. Thank you for the compliments! Terrible as it may be, I'm glad you didn't do a similar fountain -- this build has enough Barqa influence already! Looking at the build with fresh eyes, I think you're right about the crenelations being too busy. I started there, when the build was in its early stages before color and texture variations, and it added necessary visual interest at the time. I should have reevaluated as the build progressed. Very nice texturing of the wall and a very funny story. I like it a lot! It's good to see that you stay with us and that Ruadh keeps on evolving, since unfortunately most female GoH members tend to drop out of the project after a short while. Thanks kabel! I'm glad so many have enjoyed the silly story. I'm afraid y'all will probably be stuck with me for a while. Do you think GoH has has a lower retention rate for women, or just doesn't attract many women in the first place (compared to other Lego themes)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garmadon Posted November 27, 2014 Nice build, I really like the path, door, and fountain I do agree with Kai about the colors on the ground though. Looking forward to more of Raudh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted November 27, 2014 Personally I wouldn't have used either shade of green or brown and probably not dk grey either, but I'm on the extreme side as even I'll admit. Probably sticking with one shade of green and no brown would be sufficient, IMHO. ...I'm afraid y'all will probably be stuck with me for a while. Do you think GoH has has a lower retention rate for women, or just doesn't attract many women in the first place (compared to other Lego themes)? Well we're pretty far in the minority in general, and probably even more when it comes to the Castle/Medieval theme, so proportionately GoH probably has it's fair share. In fact I don't think I know a single FFoL that builds in the castle genera outside of GoH. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soccerkid6 Posted November 28, 2014 Excellent fountain design, the water looks very natural Very good ground texturing too, the wall does look a tad too busy with so many colors and textures Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike S Posted November 28, 2014 Love the fountain and ground cover! Funny story too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahJoy Posted December 5, 2014 Nice build, I really like the path, door, and fountain I do agree with Kai about the colors on the ground though. Looking forward to more of Raudh Thanks Garmadon! Personally I wouldn't have used either shade of green or brown and probably not dk grey either, but I'm on the extreme side as even I'll admit. Probably sticking with one shade of green and no brown would be sufficient, IMHO. Well we're pretty far in the minority in general, and probably even more when it comes to the Castle/Medieval theme, so proportionately GoH probably has it's fair share. In fact I don't think I know a single FFoL that builds in the castle genera outside of GoH. That shouldn't surprise me, but it does. And it's just the two of us here, a far as active FFOLs, correct? As far as the ground texture goes,I think a slightly more restrained color palette is a good plan, but I probably won't take it as far as you'd like -- I like some color variation personally. Excellent fountain design, the water looks very natural Very good ground texturing too, the wall does look a tad too busy with so many colors and textures Thanks SK! I think you're probably right -- I may have jammed too much variation into to small a space. Next time I'll let the plain tan breathe a bit more. Love the fountain and ground cover! Funny story too! Thank you Mike! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted December 5, 2014 ...That shouldn't surprise me, but it does. And it's just the two of us here, a far as active FFOLs, correct?... Well there's also Emma from Nocty who's fairly active and Cara from Mitgardia who drops in every now and then. Been a while since I've seen Erynlasgalen (Kali) though she used to be pretty active as well. As far as I know there were only ever two more (I actually can't remember names but that number strikes me as right, maybe three). Unless of course there are some who aren't saying anything... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
de Gothia Posted December 8, 2014 Great idea with the minotaurs! The wall and fountain are lovely! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SarahJoy Posted December 8, 2014 Great idea with the minotaurs! The wall and fountain are lovely! Thank you de Gothia! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
