[COR - FB] The Present Will Be History

[SilentWolf]

Elizabethville has been growing in leaps and bounds. The efforts of the WETEC in enticing new settlers to the settlement has been paying off. They have seen an influx of people which has necessitated various industries and services. As any good Corrie would know, education was the key to progressing in the world. With this in mind, Micah had convinced Aaron Jenkins to settle in Elizabethville, and found its very first school. Due to the work needed to be done to settle the land, the class time is in the evenings. Schoolmaster Jenkins has set up a small classroom in the front of his house.

During the day time, he has taken up his favorite hobby the most important discipline of recording the happenings of the present so that history will be preserved for the future. He has been several works in progress, including a history of the Corrington Empire. However, his newest work is tentatively titled A History of the Corrington Settlement on the Untamed Island of Lacryma in the Sea of Thieves and the Relations with the Natives There. (He is after all a true historian who would never use few words when more would suffice.) He intends to use this book in five years to teach the younger children. Today, he has been writing about the agriculture that has been taking place on the island.

Feel free to open the pages of the history of Lacryma.

Mr. and Mrs. Westbrook founded a small farm fifteen miles north of Elizabethville. They had been granted a title to the land under the stipulation that they improved it and raised crops. As was the custom, the townspeople got together and helped build a house for the newest settlers. As simple folks, they opted for a log cabin using the trees they had to clear for their fields. They left the one big tree out front of the house as it was such a beautiful tree and provided a great evening shade. They planted corn to barter to the other settlers, and a vegetable garden. The squash is just now ripening up. In addition to planting the fields, Mr. Westbrook has offered his services as a lumberjack for the future construction projects.

The Tindall family came to Elizabethville with the intention of growing a cash crop to trade with the established cities of the west. Three generations of the family have made the move to Lacryma, and they intend to not move again. They have planted acres and acres of cotton fields. Soon the cotton will be ready to be picked and shipped to factories in Corrington or Eslandola. They also have come up with the idea of planting a late crop of wheat to harvest in the Spring. The natives have informed Elizabethville that the winters are mild here and some crops grow year round. The Tindall's intend on capitalizing on this idea and have begun plowing up more land to begin sowing the wheat crops.

Others have come to raise livestock on the plains of Lacryma. The land is great for herds of horses or cattle. The WETEC have the primary interest in horses on the island, but several families have brought small herds of cattle to raise here. The majority have attempted to raise their herds in fences near their cabins. The Appleby's, however, have decided to let their cattle roam freely under the oversight of their two sons and, at present, three hired hands.

In Elizabethville, the five boys have begun to be called the "Appleby Cow Boys." The boys work in week long shifts and it has become common when out on the plains to hear the crack of the whip as they herd the cattle away from local farmsteads. There have been a few issues with the cows visiting flower gardens and vegetable fields, and the Applebys would prefer to avoid such conflict. In the future, they hope to fence off a portion of the island where the cattle could roam freely without hindrance and reduce the labor required to raise them.

Notes: This is going to be licensed as a large education build. The book was built as an entry to the Texas State Fair. The books measures 57x38 studs (just under 18x12 inches) with a height of 12 inches. This is by far my largest physical build. The log cabin was the second version attempted which proved far stabler than the one used in Those Smelly Pig Farmers... Oh Bacon! Here is an overview shot of the book.

As always, complements, criticism, and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

[Garmadon]

Very nice builds, Silentwolf, the inside of the schoolroom looks great, I really like the official looking desk and the bookshelf! I'm not sure if the siding doesn't seem a little too modern for this time period though!

Excellent job with the log cabin, it simply altogether is superb! The cotton plantation, corn crop, and cow herders are very nice as well, and the book aspect, although it is not completely convincing (maybe it would help if you extended the pages to the end of the border? Or maybe if the base was just shorter...) is a clever and neat idea too Keep it up!

[TitusV]

Very Nice builds, I especially love the second one, the dividing up in sections is a great idea!

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine, fine!

[SilentWolf]

Very nice builds, Silentwolf, the inside of the schoolroom looks great, I really like the official looking desk and the bookshelf! I'm not sure if the siding doesn't seem a little too modern for this time period though!

Excellent job with the log cabin, it simply altogether is superb! The cotton plantation, corn crop, and cow herders are very nice as well, and the book aspect, although it is not completely convincing (maybe it would help if you extended the pages to the end of the border? Or maybe if the base was just shorter...) is a clever and neat idea too Keep it up!

Thank you, Garmadon. I was trying to improve on the executive desk, though it definitely turned out huge. In regard to the siding being too modern, are you referencing the clapboard siding outside, or the wood paneling inside?

Before I finished the ground and locked the pages in place, they would swing back and forth. I made them the same size as the pages that you see that are built in. So I think making them longer would make it look less accurate. Bringing the front back to the pages might work out. I will look at it more when I get it back at the end of October.

Very Nice builds, I especially love the second one, the dividing up in sections is a great idea!

Thank you! I was wanting to portray the different parts of history, without doing multiple builds. I had considered doing quadrants, but the book idea seemed to be a cooler concept.

Here are a couple different views.

I won't be getting the book portion of the build back until the end of October, as it won first place in the adult Lego category. It is the first time, I have presented my Legos anywhere outside of EB, so it is exciting to win something. (Though the Texas state fair is definitely not a Lego convention.) I hope to get some other pictures once I get it back, particularly one of the overall but angling from the cabin side. .

[Ayrlego]

Apologies Silentwolf, it has been remiss of me not to comment on this great build until now!

Firstly congratulations on the win!

The concept here is a novel one for BoBS, and one I have not seen before. I really like it, each scene is really well presented and the book binds them together well (pun intended! )

A well done log cabin is always impressive and this one doesn't disappoint. I also like the corn in this build and how you have used the two different colours to represent it. NPU on the fence as well.

For the second scene all that cotton looks impressive and the plough is great - I will be fav'ing that on flickr for future reference! The wedges for the freshly ploughed ground are also very effective!

Lastly that sure is a lot of cows - but the thing that immediately drew my eye when I first saw the whole MOC is the cowboy with the giant hat - that is an awesome figure!! I'm assuming the hat is the one from the new CMFs? Unfortunately we have yet to see them arrive down here!

Anyway an over all fantastic job, keep up the great work!

[Garmadon]

Thank you, Garmadon. I was trying to improve on the executive desk, though it definitely turned out huge. In regard to the siding being too modern, are you referencing the clapboard siding outside, or the wood paneling inside?

Before I finished the ground and locked the pages in place, they would swing back and forth. I made them the same size as the pages that you see that are built in. So I think making them longer would make it look less accurate. Bringing the front back to the pages might work out. I will look at it more when I get it back at the end of October.

Ah, I thought they might be the same length as the others already, and as they are, I would agree with you that making them any longer would definitely look odd! Shortening the base (or maybe just making the entire book bigger so as to cover it all, if you'd prefer that) would probably be a better idea! And yes, I was referring to the exterior clap-board, not the wood, which itself looks perfectly fine and time-appropriate.

[Elostirion]

Very creative apporach to an educational property, and lots of effort have gone into that MOC - fantastic work!

I think I've already told you that your improvements over the last month have been absolutely incredible, but this one I am quite sure is your best work so far.

I love how you went some extra miles to cover all those small details as well (like the backside of teh book, or the facade of the house).

I have been looking at your pictures to find any aspect that I could constructively criticise - and I haven't found any.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Elostirion

[Tezclatipoca]

Great work on that book idea !

The design of the book separating the different part the of history Is just excellent. And it's great to see you particularly paid attention to build it.

Good job !

[SilentWolf]

Apologies Silentwolf, it has been remiss of me not to comment on this great build until now!

Firstly congratulations on the win!

The concept here is a novel one for BoBS, and one I have not seen before. I really like it, each scene is really well presented and the book binds them together well (pun intended! )

A well done log cabin is always impressive and this one doesn't disappoint. I also like the corn in this build and how you have used the two different colours to represent it. NPU on the fence as well.

For the second scene all that cotton looks impressive and the plough is great - I will be fav'ing that on flickr for future reference! The wedges for the freshly ploughed ground are also very effective!

Lastly that sure is a lot of cows - but the thing that immediately drew my eye when I first saw the whole MOC is the cowboy with the giant hat - that is an awesome figure!! I'm assuming the hat is the one from the new CMFs? Unfortunately we have yet to see them arrive down here!

Anyway an over all fantastic job, keep up the great work!

The book concept was inspired by a fairy tale build I had seen on Eurobricks, though with a lot of alterations for my own needs. I didn't want to use only yellow for the corn as it is a bit unrealistic so I hoped the mixed colors would aid a more realistic approach. I am glad the plow could be an inspiration for the future. I do have one dairy cow, but that is the end of my cow herd which is the most under-used animal Lego has IMO. I bought these right after they were first introduced and I wish now I had bought more as they are A LOT more expensive now. You are correct that the hat is from the CMF. It is the Mexican with the guitar. In American history, there was a lot of crossover between the Mexican vaqueros and the American Cowboy so the hat seemed quite in place for the Texas theme. Definitely is a huge hat though.

Very creative apporach to an educational property, and lots of effort have gone into that MOC - fantastic work!

I think I've already told you that your improvements over the last month have been absolutely incredible, but this one I am quite sure is your best work so far.

I love how you went some extra miles to cover all those small details as well (like the backside of teh book, or the facade of the house).

I have been looking at your pictures to find any aspect that I could constructively criticise - and I haven't found any.

Great work on that book idea !

The design of the book separating the different part the of history Is just excellent. And it's great to see you particularly paid attention to build it.

Good job !

Thank you very much for the compliments!

[Kolonialbeamter]

Boah, this is just so very pretty and thought through, loving all about it And Jenkins' book even is green!

Where were such history books when I went to school?!

Wow, just wow - truly a masterpiece! I hope it found a center spot on your bookshelf.

[SilentWolf]

On 9/20/2016 at 3:15 AM, Kolonialbeamter said:

Boah, this is just so very pretty and thought through, loving all about it And Jenkins' book even is green!

Where were such history books when I went to school?!

Wow, just wow - truly a masterpiece! I hope it found a center spot on your bookshelf.

I intentionally chose the green book for the desk. Glad someone caught the connection! I don't know where these books were. We never had Lego history books in my schools. Hmm....

Thank you for the compliments. 

[Bregir]

I am just going to report in to join the swooning! This is a really cool concept, and executed to neigh on perfection!

Thinking of your first builds here (which weren't bad at all) I think you have shown a very steep learning curve, so far peaking with this build! The worst part is that this will be hard to top! ;)