Henjin_Quilones Posted February 18, 2017 (edited) The Eagle at the Great Wall of Hesperia A build for the Alliance in Book II, Challenge V, Category A "We have to make all speed, Aeriglaaac, to get this message to King Fingolë the Golden," said Celdrian the Eagle Rider. "The eastern elves were very particular about making haste. The heir to Cedrica returning will be news welcome to his ears, I think, even if the humans of Avalonia and all of Historica are hardly his concern. Lord Ravaage certainly is his concern, though." "EEAAAAAK!" "You're right, Aeriglaaac, as usual. It would be fun to buzz the tower over at the peak of Oronech, wouldn't it? I love keeping those guards on their toes." "EEAAAAAAAAAAAK RAAAAK!" "You see Prince Fingalad at the tower with your eagle eyes? Excellent, a chance to show off our flying skills!" "EAAAK EEEAAAAAAK EEEEEEK!" "Ok, alright, your flying skills, then." "EEAAAAK!" "Let's go!" "What the..." said Prince Fingalad. "Eagle Riders. Cocky bunch. How I despise them, however useful they may be." More pictures: Spoiler With no eagle: Front: Back: The Bird: _____________________________________________________________________ .......................................................................................................................................... Thanks for looking! C&C welcome. Hopefully the overhang is not unreasonable. The base of the build is 248 studs, slightly smaller than the 256 of a 16x16 base, though the decorative border adds to that (but doesn't count, thankfully). Edited February 19, 2017 by Henjin_Quilones Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leonardo da Bricki Posted February 19, 2017 That is really cool! I never imagined you could do this with a 16x16 limit... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LittleJohn Posted February 19, 2017 Wow. That eagle is downright epic. The feathers, the posing, the beautifully shaped head... just wow. Truly a fantastic entry, Henjin, and probably my favorite build from you yet! Besides the amazing eagle, the wall is excellent as well, the incorporation of curved slopes is wonderful The decorative base adds a great finishing touch to a gorgeous build. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted February 19, 2017 Fantastic hawk! Great job on the wings especially! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TitusV Posted February 19, 2017 You're eagle is absolutely stunning. I really, really love it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
de Gothia Posted February 19, 2017 You really nailed this one! Great work to fit this one into the allowed studs! The eagle is so great and looks so natural! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
halixon Posted February 19, 2017 Woah Henjin. That is.... quite the eagle. Amazing job with the wall! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henjin_Quilones Posted February 19, 2017 21 hours ago, Leonardo da Bricki said: That is really cool! I never imagined you could do this with a 16x16 limit... Imagination is the key...and a willingness to tear something apart five times or more before finally settling on a proper base. The build started with the idea for a brick-built eagle, which ended up being about three times larger than first intended, leading to many adjustments along the way... 21 hours ago, LittleJohn said: Wow. That eagle is downright epic. The feathers, the posing, the beautifully shaped head... just wow. Truly a fantastic entry, Henjin, and probably my favorite build from you yet! Besides the amazing eagle, the wall is excellent as well, the incorporation of curved slopes is wonderful The decorative base adds a great finishing touch to a gorgeous build. Thanks, LJ! High praise from you, and I am flattered. I'm glad you like the head, as that was what I started with, and it grew (quite literally, as the size was not what I anticipated at the start) from there. I am rather pleased with the final product myself. 20 hours ago, Kai NRG said: Fantastic hawk! Great job on the wings especially! Thanks, Kai! The wings took a while to figure out, but I thought they looked pretty nice by the end. 14 hours ago, TitusV said: You're eagle is absolutely stunning. I really, really love it! Thanks, Titus! I am glad you like the eagle, since I sure do. I will be sad to take it apart. 4 hours ago, de Gothia said: You really nailed this one! Great work to fit this one into the allowed studs! The eagle is so great and looks so natural! Thanks, dG! Since there are no height restrictions, per se, I took advantage of the vertical space, as well as the horizontal equivalent of a 34-stud build, to create a structure that was suitably imposing without going over my base allotment. Glad you like it! 3 hours ago, Windusky said: Woah Henjin. That is.... quite the eagle. Amazing job with the wall! Thanks, Windusky! Glad you like both parts of it, since the wall took twice as long as the eagle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tezclatipoca Posted February 20, 2017 Wow ! Excellent eagle ! Amazing ! You did it perfectly well ! An excellent entry ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legofin2012 Posted February 20, 2017 Oh wow, that eagle is a stunning creature! Although the wall is very nice too, and the way they're both connected is particularly clever, there's really nothing to criticise here, fantastic work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slegengr Posted February 20, 2017 Excellent, Henjin! As others have said, your eagle is absolutely stunning! What a way to utilize the limited footprint! (I had considered a bird for a mount in a similar position, but I could not have done so nearly as well as you have done) Nice pose-ability on the eagle, though now you just need to make the wings able to be folded back into a rest position. The wall section and border are nice accents to the eagle with enough details to avoid looking bland next to such a magnificent bird! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Umbra-Manis Posted February 20, 2017 That eagle is killer! Incredible work on the wings, and the head, and fitting that all into the area! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blufiji Posted February 20, 2017 The imagination that went into getting all of this on that footprint is to be commended. Your eagle could have used to some under wing texturing, but it is fantastic nonetheless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrcp6d Posted February 21, 2017 Wow. Just wow. That's all I've got. Wow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soccerkid6 Posted February 21, 2017 Now that's an eagle! Really nice job with the in flight pose, in addition to all around great shaping on the eagle Lovely ornate Elven architecture on the wall/tower too, particularly the battlements Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garmadon Posted February 22, 2017 Wow that eagle! Now that is really impressive - especially with the size limitations! Loving those wings and the head, and the wall is quite nice as well! This would be quite probably my favorite of your builds yet, keep it up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muakhah Posted February 23, 2017 That eagle is beautiful and practical which I always like! I like to see that it isn't just evil with gigantic creatures and monsters to call upon. The wall and tower are lover with the different color and textures of stone. The only thing I don't like is the way the tower juts from the wall with exposed entrances. It just seems a vulnerability of the design. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henjin_Quilones Posted February 26, 2017 On 2/20/2017 at 5:36 AM, Faladrin said: Wow ! Excellent eagle ! Amazing ! You did it perfectly well ! An excellent entry ! Thank you! I had a lot of fun making the eagle. On 2/20/2017 at 6:57 AM, Legofin2012 said: Oh wow, that eagle is a stunning creature! Although the wall is very nice too, and the way they're both connected is particularly clever, there's really nothing to criticise here, fantastic work! Thanks, Legofin! I am glad you like the wall and the eagle both; I tried to make both to a high standard, rather than one part good and the other mediocre. On 2/20/2017 at 10:00 AM, Slegengr said: Excellent, Henjin! As others have said, your eagle is absolutely stunning! What a way to utilize the limited footprint! (I had considered a bird for a mount in a similar position, but I could not have done so nearly as well as you have done) Nice pose-ability on the eagle, though now you just need to make the wings able to be folded back into a rest position. The wall section and border are nice accents to the eagle with enough details to avoid looking bland next to such a magnificent bird! Thank you, Slegengr! I am sure you could have come up with something impressive, too. As for the wings folding back, I'll get right on that, right after buy the Lego bricks that magically fold in on themselves, like Iron Man's watch/armored hand... On 2/20/2017 at 10:27 AM, Umbra-Manis said: That eagle is killer! Incredible work on the wings, and the head, and fitting that all into the area! Thanks, U-M! I had to be clever with the footprint to try to minimize the overhang after I build a giant eagle (I had intended, when I was imagining the build, to create a bird about a third that size, but after I made the head, I had to build a body to match, and the rest is history...) On 2/20/2017 at 11:43 AM, Blufiji said: The imagination that went into getting all of this on that footprint is to be commended. Your eagle could have used to some under wing texturing, but it is fantastic nonetheless. Thanks, Blufiji! I would have done something under the wing, except that it needed to be structural there for the mounting function and I did not want the wing to be overly thick. And I did not really have the right pieces for good under-wing texture, too. On 2/20/2017 at 9:59 PM, mrcp6d said: Wow. Just wow. That's all I've got. Wow. Thanks! On 2/21/2017 at 8:20 AM, soccerkid6 said: Now that's an eagle! Really nice job with the in flight pose, in addition to all around great shaping on the eagle Lovely ornate Elven architecture on the wall/tower too, particularly the battlements Glad you like it, SK! I am glad you like the Elven feel, as it is the first of hopefully many more to come detailing the architecture of Hesperia. On 2/22/2017 at 1:04 PM, Garmadon said: Wow that eagle! Now that is really impressive - especially with the size limitations! Loving those wings and the head, and the wall is quite nice as well! This would be quite probably my favorite of your builds yet, keep it up! Thanks, Garm! I'd agree, I think this is my best all-around build as far as stonework and overall design, too. On 2/23/2017 at 11:28 AM, Muakhah said: That eagle is beautiful and practical which I always like! I like to see that it isn't just evil with gigantic creatures and monsters to call upon. The wall and tower are lover with the different color and textures of stone. The only thing I don't like is the way the tower juts from the wall with exposed entrances. It just seems a vulnerability of the design. Thanks! The elves of the Enchanted Forest have tamed many large creatures of the forest, and this eagle is no exception. As for the exposed entrances, I agree 100%; I did not have a good way to fix it, though, without a radical re-design or an even greater overhang for an enlarged walkway. The "jutting" part was deliberate to allow the build greater balance and stability with the cantilevered eagle wing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merc4Hire Posted February 26, 2017 Wow this is incredible! That eagle is amazing, impressively well detailed and at such a large size. You especially did a good job with keeping the build look organic and seamless with all the curves. The fortress architecture also has much to admire. Fantastic stuff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Exetrius Posted February 28, 2017 Best entry of Cat. A, in my opinion, by far! It's got everything: it's huge, it's majestic, it looks dynamic, it fits the challenge very well; it just has the "WOW!". Amazing work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henjin_Quilones Posted March 5, 2017 On 2/25/2017 at 8:23 PM, Merc4Hire said: Wow this is incredible! That eagle is amazing, impressively well detailed and at such a large size. You especially did a good job with keeping the build look organic and seamless with all the curves. The fortress architecture also has much to admire. Fantastic stuff Thanks, Merc! I spent some time on those wings, trying to make them as feathery as possible with hard, angular Lego bricks. On 2/28/2017 at 8:31 AM, Exetrius said: Best entry of Cat. A, in my opinion, by far! It's got everything: it's huge, it's majestic, it looks dynamic, it fits the challenge very well; it just has the "WOW!". Amazing work! Wow, high praise, Exetrius! I am flattered. Thank you, and I am glad you like it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grover Posted March 15, 2017 The giant eagle is pretty cool! It looks a little forced into the space required because of the angle, but I like the eagle when it's on its own. The wall and the texture there is nice, especially with the gilding along the bottom. Nice build! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
