Grevling Manor's Great Hall

[MKJoshA]

See the previous tales:

Wyndor's Saga:

Chapter 1
-What Has Past-

Chapter 2
-What Has Past-

Chapter 3
-What Has Past-

Chapter 4
-Grevling Manor
-House Raising Party
-Survival

There are many manors and castles through Mitgardia. A land where snow is on the ground more often than not, buildings in this land are built to keep the inhabitants warm. Inside Grevling Manor the lord of Dalig Ulv takes visitors.

Today a trio of dwarves from Treacleheim come to inform Wyndor on the progress being made in restoring the dwarven city. Some citizens are taking a reprieve from the bitter cold by eating while others are updating ledgers keeping track of business dealings within Dalig Ulv.

The fires blaze hot in the great hall for although it is not yet winter, the temperatures are already cold enough to freeze the whiskers off your face.

OoC: I'd love any feedback on this MOC. I'm going to enter it into CCC and if there's anything I should fix before then let me know!

[adde51]

Nice work. I like the floor and also the walls, works nicely. The mosaic-ish section in the center of the floor looks a bit wierd to me and giving that a bit more attention would probably elevate the build a bit, so that might be something to consider. Overall nice job though! 

[Garmadon]

Well... I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is probably the best build (medieval, at least) from you that I've seen yet!   The cracked pillars are fabulous, and the new windows work really well with the wall technique you've got going here.  The throne and cracked floor are very nicely done as well, along with all the other furniture and figs   If there's one thing I'd critique it'd be the mosaic on the floor, like adde - I like the added green detailing, but I feel like it's a bit too square - any chance you could introduce a curve into the bottom right hand side?  I'm thinking maybe one of these or something.  In fact, if you could possibly just get rid of the square block and build the mosaic right into the cracked floor that'd probably look even better - it'd also be a bit more complicated, though 

Only other thing I can think of would be pushing the brown plates on the wall together a bit more to eliminate the gaps.  But that's really nitpicking and I certainly wouldn't bother taking new pics just for that.

What part did you use for the backrest of those chairs though?  Those look pretty sweet! 

[Kai NRG]

I really like what you've got going with those stone pillars!  Great job giving them a weathered look that seems very Mitgardian at the same time.  Great job on the furnishings of the room too... candlesticks and the bear stand out especially. 

From the higher angles the floor looks a little too gappy especially when you take into account the completely different texture of the mosaic.  @Garmadon may be on to something with the idea of building the mosaic right into the cracked floor, but an easier solution might be to try some lower angle close-ups.

[W Navarre]

Excellent, really good floor and some unique details, my favorite thing is just the way the color segregation turned out with the brown and the greys!

[zoth33]

Love the bear paw in the floor.  The floor is great overall.  The walls are very nice, it has a nice layered feel with the plates upright like that.  Those candle pieces are so useful.  I like all the figs too.  

[Grover]

Nice use of the Hogwarts square lattice windows!  I really love the many layers of boards you have in the wall--it looks awesome.  The tribute to the forestmen on the wall is fantastic--subtle and great.  All the candelabras and the stuffed bear are fantastic, too.  I like how you made the cracked stone floor continue the texture into the walls.  I think that may be what makes the bear claw mosaic stand out so much as other have pointed out.  It would be tough to make the moziac in the cracked rock style, however, and I like the green/grey juxtaposition.  Love the Aquaman hair on the lord, too!

[MKJoshA]

On 11/30/2018 at 3:47 PM, Garmadon said:

Well... I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is probably the best build (medieval, at least) from you that I've seen yet!   The cracked pillars are fabulous, and the new windows work really well with the wall technique you've got going here.  The throne and cracked floor are very nicely done as well, along with all the other furniture and figs   If there's one thing I'd critique it'd be the mosaic on the floor, like adde - I like the added green detailing, but I feel like it's a bit too square - any chance you could introduce a curve into the bottom right hand side?  I'm thinking maybe one of these or something.  In fact, if you could possibly just get rid of the square block and build the mosaic right into the cracked floor that'd probably look even better - it'd also be a bit more complicated, though 

Only other thing I can think of would be pushing the brown plates on the wall together a bit more to eliminate the gaps.  But that's really nitpicking and I certainly wouldn't bother taking new pics just for that.

What part did you use for the backrest of those chairs though?  Those look pretty sweet! 

Thank you Garmadon! For the curve in the mosaic you mentioned, do you mean a green piece to make the bear paw curved in that corner? Or a grey piece to curve that part of the mosaic?

The gaps in the brown plates are architecturally intentional. They don't look great, but they are the only thing bringing tension to all the tiles that make up the wall. Using only tiles still left a small gap so I had to add those "spacers" to keep the whole thing from falling apart. But I may give it another go without the spacers now that I have at least some pictures.

The chair piece is this one. It was first used in a Black Panther set as weapons. But I saw it in a 2019 Friends set as a hoop for a dog to jump through.

On 11/30/2018 at 4:14 PM, Kai NRG said:

I really like what you've got going with those stone pillars!  Great job giving them a weathered look that seems very Mitgardian at the same time.  Great job on the furnishings of the room too... candlesticks and the bear stand out especially. 

From the higher angles the floor looks a little too gappy especially when you take into account the completely different texture of the mosaic.  @Garmadon may be on to something with the idea of building the mosaic right into the cracked floor, but an easier solution might be to try some lower angle close-ups.

Would you suggest more photos like the first one in this thread?

3 hours ago, Grover said:

Nice use of the Hogwarts square lattice windows!  I really love the many layers of boards you have in the wall--it looks awesome.  The tribute to the forestmen on the wall is fantastic--subtle and great.  All the candelabras and the stuffed bear are fantastic, too.  I like how you made the cracked stone floor continue the texture into the walls.  I think that may be what makes the bear claw mosaic stand out so much as other have pointed out.  It would be tough to make the moziac in the cracked rock style, however, and I like the green/grey juxtaposition.  Love the Aquaman hair on the lord, too!

Thank you! You've made some great observations. After so many people have mentioned the mosaic I think I'm going to try to rebuild that section and see what happens.

[Basiliscus]

So I totally agree with @Garmadon that this is your best work yet!

So much to love: the partially broken dark bley pillars looks fantastic, the 1xN reddish brown plates in the wall make it interesting, the minifig posing is top notch and finally the throne has one great parts usage, in particular the ornate 1x1 bricks at the top with the horns.

Great work! 

[Garmadon]

On 12/2/2018 at 1:25 AM, MKJoshA said:

Thank you Garmadon! For the curve in the mosaic you mentioned, do you mean a green piece to make the bear paw curved in that corner? Or a grey piece to curve that part of the mosaic?

The gaps in the brown plates are architecturally intentional. They don't look great, but they are the only thing bringing tension to all the tiles that make up the wall. Using only tiles still left a small gap so I had to add those "spacers" to keep the whole thing from falling apart. But I may give it another go without the spacers now that I have at least some pictures.

I meant a green piece to curve the bear paw, but rounding the sides (I'd go ahead and do all four if you want to go that route) of the gray block might be easier and might do the trick too. 

Hmm, that's strange - five tiles should fit in precisely (vertically) for every two horizontal studs, and in my experience they stay in just fine provided you don't turn the build over or anything   Mathematically you shouldn't need spacers unless the section is an odd number of studs long, which it obviously isn't.  But like I said above, that's really hardly noticeable and I wouldn't bother with it if you're not planning on redoing something else anyways 

On 12/2/2018 at 1:25 AM, MKJoshA said:

The chair piece is this one. It was first used in a Black Panther set as weapons. But I saw it in a 2019 Friends set as a hoop for a dog to jump through.

I don't recollect ever even seeing either of those sets,   Pretty neat piece, though!

[Kai NRG]

On 12/1/2018 at 10:25 PM, MKJoshA said:

Would you suggest more photos like the first one in this thread?

Yes, that's the perfect vertical angle for this build I think, I'd just play around with the zoom/crop and the horizontal angle. 

[TheLordOfBricks]

Ooh wow, this is spectacular, definitely one of your best builds in my opinion! I love the floor, looks really nice, along with that woodwork. And that stonework is really nice! Excellent details spread all around! Keep up the good work! :)

[Henjin_Quilones]

The textures of this build are certainly well done, with very nice stonework in the columns and the slopes in the floor. I think there might be too many windows for a cold-weather building, as there would be considerable heat loss from so many panes of glass around the room, even though it is a very cool effect. I also really enjoy the wood-paneled look of the wall, made with all of the tiles. Are those held in by anything other than tension and gravity? As for critiques, I will echo Kai and say that the lower POV shot looks better with the floor; bird's eye views seldom look good in LEGO, in my opinion, unless they are deliberately intended to convey a sense of position (someone looking down from a tower or hill, for example). Otherwise I think striving for something close to minifig perspective is best to allow the viewer to enter into the picture. As a benefit, it really does help the mosaic to blend into the surrounding floor so much better when the shot angle is lower, since many of the dark gaps disappear and it looks more like a continuous surface. My favorite part of the build, though, is the furniture. I really like the throne, the braziers are super cool (I might have to borrow the idea sometime - though it might look better if you put some of the cold people huddling around them for warmth), but the best are those candelabra in the back; I will definitely need to steal that design sometime! Nicely done overall, and some good fig posing, too. 

[en_zoo]

really nice! I love the texture on the walls (both, wooden and stone part) as well as on the floor, nice furniture and I particularly enjoy the figs here. Keep it coming!

[Beardless Dwarf]

I love the different techniques used here, especially the cracked columns and the wooden walls. And I agree with what others have said about the mosaic and the floor looking happy from the top angle. Still top notch build, the critiques are only minor compared with the rest of it, imo.

[Spader]

The mounted bear is perfect, and I love the way you've done the wood and stonework, they look excellent. 

[MKJoshA]

Alright, I've updated the floor!

I'd love everyone's input on the new design.

@Garmadon @Kai NRG @Henjin_Quilones @Basiliscus

I also have this higher angle:

 

[Henjin_Quilones]

The paw fits in much better visually now, especially using those 1x2 grille slopes to create a bit of gapping in the middle of the paw, better mimicking what is seen in the rest of the floor. I think it still looks better from the lower angle shot, but even from the higher angle shot you have included, it fits much better and does not stand out as an awkward break in the pattern. And you kept the paw itself looking recognizable, too. Well done. 

[Garmadon]

Looks sweet!   Great job integrating the paw into the floor - I think I'm out of critiques  

[Kai NRG]

The new integration of the paw looks much better!  Great job!

[The Last of Nergoue]

Nice i love the walls

[soccerkid6]

Wonderful and unique cracked stonework  The bear rug and mount are wonderful additions, and all the furniture is top notch 
I'll have to get some of the square lattices myself at some point - they look very useful!
All in all, a superb Mitgardian interior