Elostirion Posted January 20, 2018 (edited) Basement House, Montoya Street, Jameston, Celestia Jameston had attracted many foreigners over the past few weeks. Rumours had gone around of an orchid to be found on Celestia, an orchid so beautiful that everyone in the world would stop in silent adoration and just want to watch it for the rest of their lives. Juan Alfonso Fontonajo had assembled a small group of people around himself to lead an expedition into the inner parts of the islands, up the mountains. He had recently been to Cocovia, to get an impression of what might be the future of land based mobility: The Wagonway. And impressed he was, though also certain that this was not what it should be in final perfection. When he boarded a ship to Celestia with his servant Barlo Forga, he met a group of people who shared his same goal: Finding the most beautiful orchid in the world on Celestia. They decided to join forces and set up camp in Celestia first. Fontonajo hired a group of builders to construct the house that one of his new found companions, Luca do Figino, had designed. They dug about a metre deep into the ground and made a half open-basement - half of which soon became a barn, while the other half became a workshop. As it was rather warm and moist on Celestia, this was the perfect way to keep the air fresh while working on the preparations for their journey. They had even planted some of the native Celestian flowers, with lightish blue patels. And they planned to add more of the things they would find on this beautiful island. Hence also the barn, which might soon be home to some of the island's native anmials. Fontonajo's expedition group: Juan Alfonso Fontonajo, heir to Román Esteban Fontonajo, fromer member of the Eslandolan Colonial Council and still official mayor of Nova Terreli (though other family members are doing his duties during his absence. Lady Ludovica Grande from Mardier, born rich, married into nobility and a widow for more than 15 years after her husbands mysterious death. After the end of the long-lasting Mardierian Civil War she decided to leaveLonda and discover the world with her friend - whereever they might end. Luca do Figino, craftsman, inventor, visionary - from Terraversa. He had left his home in young years and sailed to Mardier in the old world - where he found nothing but hostility towards him, because he was from Terraversa. It was Lady Ludovica Grande who left him into her home and may well have saved his life during the end of the Civil War. "The Doctor", a man from Corrington in his fifties who refuses to reveal more than his profession about himself. He has been with Lady Ludovica for a while, and the two are said to be a couple. Barlo Forga, the bad-tempered servant of Juan Alfonso Fontonajo, who complains that that he has to do all the work. To which Fontonajo replies not with words but with a decent weekly pay. Edited January 20, 2018 by Elostirion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted January 21, 2018 Love the concept here with the open basement, the light yellow and dark brown also make for a great combination! The use of dark tan slopes in the barn section is masterly, though I imagine it might be a little tough on the olfactory nerves to have that so close to everything... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Buckethead Posted January 21, 2018 Absolutely fantastic Elos, I think you've nailed the Jameston style and all of the small details just make it pop. And what a lovely multi-national expedition, a Mardierian, a Terraversan and an Eslandolan, I look forward to seeing how this progresses. Though my favourite has to be The Doctor for obvious reasons. Great job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roadmonkeytj Posted January 21, 2018 An interesting floor plan and quite the story to match ... I like the window treatments. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrlego Posted January 21, 2018 Fantastic entry here Elos. I don't think I've seen the barn in the basement concept done here before, and it is a great idea. The stone work is beautifully textured and I absolutely love the bright light yellow upper level. How did you do the clear plates behind the windows? Are they just one stud behind - in the pictures it kind of looks like they are somehow inserted into the frame (which I'm pretty sure isn't possible... ) I like the design of the lamp on the exterior with the black horns, that's a great idea I will probably borrow at some stage. I like your expedition team, like with Lord Buckethead, the mysterious Doctor has especially picqued my interest! All the best on the expedition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdeathgr Posted January 21, 2018 A very nice entry! Superbly fleshed out characters and I really like the different photographs (one with the entire building/top floor and the other only with the basement). I also like the trans clear plated behind the windows as they "complete" the whole view (trans clear easily beats black bricks I guess ). For the history/architecture lovers, I have to mention that this building design of yours was really common in Europe (and elsewhere) back then, as the family used to live on the top floor and at the basement, they placed their livestock. All in all a great moc and good luck at the challenge! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garmadon Posted January 22, 2018 Nicely done, Elos - great concept with the half-opened basement, and you've pulled it off really well too! The inclusion of the lanterns adds a lot, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this expedition comes across! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Wolf Posted January 22, 2018 I love the design of this house, especially the half basement! Lovely architecture, and the basement/barn detail is excellent. Some great head/torso/leg combos on your minifigs as well! I'm also happy to see the Fontonajos active again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike S Posted January 27, 2018 Excellent build! I really like the color and architectural style! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elostirion Posted January 30, 2018 On 21.1.2018 at 1:43 AM, Kai NRG said: Love the concept here with the open basement, the light yellow and dark brown also make for a great combination! The use of dark tan slopes in the barn section is masterly, though I imagine it might be a little tough on the olfactory nerves to have that so close to everything... It's only a temporary residence, right? Those poor neigbours, though... Thank you for the kind words. :-) On 21.1.2018 at 5:00 AM, Lord Buckethead said: Absolutely fantastic Elos, I think you've nailed the Jameston style and all of the small details just make it pop. And what a lovely multi-national expedition, a Mardierian, a Terraversan and an Eslandolan, I look forward to seeing how this progresses. Though my favourite has to be The Doctor for obvious reasons. Great job! Thank you so much! :-) On 21.1.2018 at 5:51 AM, Roadmonkeytj said: An interesting floor plan and quite the story to match ... I like the window treatments. Thanks! I made quite some attempts at achieving the windows this way, actually. On 21.1.2018 at 9:50 AM, Ayrlego said: Fantastic entry here Elos. I don't think I've seen the barn in the basement concept done here before, and it is a great idea. The stone work is beautifully textured and I absolutely love the bright light yellow upper level. How did you do the clear plates behind the windows? Are they just one stud behind - in the pictures it kind of looks like they are somehow inserted into the frame (which I'm pretty sure isn't possible... ) I like the design of the lamp on the exterior with the black horns, that's a great idea I will probably borrow at some stage. I like your expedition team, like with Lord Buckethead, the mysterious Doctor has especially picqued my interest! All the best on the expedition. The plates are exactly just one stud behind. For the square windows I took the ones with some golden decoration on the glass, which might affect the visual density? But nothing fancy actually, just behind. (Though I mixed 1x2 and 1x1+1x1 each level. Feel free to copy everything as usual. The lamp designs are losely based on at least similar design I have seen here before. Thanks for the praises. Expedition will continue (already has, by now, actually). On 21.1.2018 at 4:39 PM, blackdeathgr said: A very nice entry! Superbly fleshed out characters and I really like the different photographs (one with the entire building/top floor and the other only with the basement). I also like the trans clear plated behind the windows as they "complete" the whole view (trans clear easily beats black bricks I guess ). For the history/architecture lovers, I have to mention that this building design of yours was really common in Europe (and elsewhere) back then, as the family used to live on the top floor and at the basement, they placed their livestock. All in all a great moc and good luck at the challenge! Trans clear for the win! But now that I think of it I should have added one layer of trans orange or two layers of trans black behind it to make it look really "complete". And thanks a lot for your nice comment. On 22.1.2018 at 12:18 PM, Garmadon said: Nicely done, Elos - great concept with the half-opened basement, and you've pulled it off really well too! The inclusion of the lanterns adds a lot, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this expedition comes across! Thank you! Feel free to read on the two next chapters, which I posted last night. On 22.1.2018 at 9:30 PM, Capt Wolf said: I love the design of this house, especially the half basement! Lovely architecture, and the basement/barn detail is excellent. Some great head/torso/leg combos on your minifigs as well! I'm also happy to see the Fontonajos active again. Yeah, Fontonajo's never die after all (well, actually some might, at some point, just for story purposes). And thank you so much for all the kind words! :-) On 27.1.2018 at 5:22 PM, Mike S said: Excellent build! I really like the color and architectural style! Thank you, really appreciate it. :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
