CDC2 CMF: socalbricks

[socalbricks]

Here is my entry for CDC2 Category 1: Populating Historica. Enjoy!

Cedrica and Valyrio

from left to right:

Queen Ylspeth: The Queen of Historica in her “ceremonial armor”, which she wears at certain military functions/ceremonies. Though she rules securely from Cedrica, she worries that she might one day need to use it...

Marilla Danza: a tiefling and former slave who freed herself after leading a revolt. She and her crew of freedom fighters have been disrupting the underground slave trade between Valyrio and Kaliphlin, raiding slave ships and freeing their captives.

Gerard Renwick Sinclare III: Second son (and the only bachelor) within a powerful family of Valyrian aristocrats. He is the only one in his family without any heroic tales to tell. Having lived an uneventful life, he seeks adventure in an effort to prove himself. 
 

Mitgardia

Ivar Lonswain: an “eccentric” sea captain who ferries “unscrupulous people” between Mitgardia, Avalonia, and Valyrio. His pet lobster, Claudette, is blood thirsty and capable of surviving out of water indefinitely. She has a body count large enough to fill a multi-volume book. Ivar is the only one who can pet her without being dismembered. 

The Ivory Priestess: a mysterious priestess who collects bones. Her methods of acquiring these bones vary from rummaging around in the waste piles of butcher shops to brazen grave robbery. Her intentions for said bones are currently unknown.

Zapato: a Minotaur butcher of few words. How a member of a usually herbivorous race became an expert on meat is anyone’s guess. People ask him if it "ever feels weird for him to be serving beef" - they receive a death glare in response. 

 

Avalonia

Gertrude "Gerti" Eilinger: a prominent cultural anthropologist from the University of Albion. She travels all around Historica with her team of researchers. Having just finished a thesis on Cyclops cultures of the southwest Mitgardian lowlands, she has now set her sights on a group of “camel centaurs” (cameltaurs?) that some allege to exist in the Siccus Badlands. This has elicited controversy among her fellow academics, who claim that her theories are “absolutely preposterous”. This has done little to deter the enthusiastic anthropologist, though.

Brielle Valken: adopted older sister of Ayra Valken, and captain of the Knights of Duranya. Described as a “natural born leader” who leads from the front, she has earned the respect of her fellow knights time and time again. The same cannot be said for her relationship with the bureaucracy. In a field where nepotism and “favors” leads to promotion, Brielle’s polite refusal to “brownnose” has left her without many allies in the upper brass, and without many means to progress her career. Though this sometimes frustrates her, she would ultimately rather be "on the ground" then cooped up in some office.

Shriana: an elven sorceress who betrayed her kind before being banished to another plane of existence. Bargaining with dark powers, she has returned in a cursed, spectral state (neither alive nor dead) to exact revenge on her fellow elves.

 

Kaliphlin

Jalla Vaswani: a naga bounty hunter and assassin engaged in a fierce rivalry with Kars. A top earner among Kaliphlani mercenaries, she has become a minor celebrity in parts of Kaliphlin, flaunting her success with expensive silks and the best weaponry. 

Keeper Radina Roshti: the dedicated (if not slightly aloof) keeper of the Queenscross archives. Located deep beneath the sand, she oversees and guards thousands of years worth of knowledge. Ranging from "schematics of buildings that don't (officially) exist" to "forbidden spells", the texts would prove dangerous if they fell into the wrong hands.

Armando Sabatheel: bar tender at the Tipsy Tree. Applying excessive amounts of pomade to his hair (down to his “trademark curl”), he can be smelled from meters away.  He claims to be popular with the ladies (proof needed). 

 

Nocturnus

Magda: a mysterious chemist with an entirely unknown past. There are no records of them or their work in any of the five guilds - their age, gender, race are all a mystery. Ulriq has deduced that, if those records ever did exist, they were likely wiped from existence by those in power. Magda is too experienced in their field to have not had a history. The only things that are unquestionable is their expertise in their field and their complete sociopathy. Recently, they have joined the Crimson Knives after being offered "career opportunities" by Ulriq.

Bastio: an orc soldier who fashions himself as a “survivor”, allying himself with whoever he thinks is the most powerful. He has allied himself with Ulriq, but will betray him at the first sign of weakness. Unbeknownst to Bastio, Ulriq is well aware of this fact; he only tolerates Bastio because he “drives him to be better”. 

Ulriq: the mysterious and charismatic leader of the Crimson Knives. Hailing from an influential Nocturnan family, he was sent to Avalonia before Raavage considered the family a threat to his power. With his family subsequently purged, Ulriq was the lone survivor. A year later, he would join a Cedrican commando unit, fighting alongside Kars and Cobold. Parting ways after the war, Ulriq returned home to his native Nocturnus and claimed his family’s hidden wealth. With Raavage’s purported death creating a power vacuum, the whole kingdom is now in chaos, and Ulriq has sought to make a name for himself by any means necessary.

Countess Irina Vachau: living in her isolated castle in northern Nocturnus, she has a prized collection of "vintage bloods" in her cellar. Visitors to her castle also have a nasty habit of disappearing. She insists that she definitely isn't a vampire, though.

___________________________________________________________________________________

When I heard that CDC2: Category 1 would involve a CMF, I knew that I just had to take part! 

Given my small workspace and limited parts collection, I've never been able to build larger MOC's - instead, I've focused almost entirely on minifigures these past few years. Something like a CMF challenge was one of the few Guilds of Historica challenges I could feasibly participate in. 

Some behind the scenes info on this series:

Spoiler

 

• My decision to include Ylspeth in this CMF Series was inspired by @Aurore, who made a great version of Ylspeth for her Ladies of Historica series.
• Brielle Valken is the adopted sister of Ayra Valken, another centaur gal who I introduced way back in 2019 (time flies). I revamped her design and retconned the old backstory I wrote for her (instead of being a soldier, she's now a medic). In a way, some of the personality traits of "old Ayra" were transferred onto Brielle. Either way, you'll be seeing the revamped version of Ayra very soon.
• Gerti Eilinger's search for "cameltaurs" was inspired by a conversation I had with a few other people in "Book III - Avalonia: Guild sign-up and Discussion". This happened a while ago, so I don't remember who was involved, I just remember that someone brought up the idea of "camel centaurs" in Kaliphlin. I still think that's a neat concept - if Gerti finds any, I might have to build some!
• I drew my inspirations for some of the characters' personalities from some pretty weird sources. For example, Ivar Lonswain's "eccentric personality" was inspired by Thomas Wake (The Lighthouse), Brielle Valken is loosely inspired by Lin Beifong (The Legend of Korra), and Gerard Renwick Sinclare III is a mixture of M. Gustave H (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Sir Gawain (The Green Knight), and classic swashbuckler heroes (the type you would see in old Errol Flynn films).
• I'm fairly happy with how the whole series turned out, but if I had to pick some favorites (ie. they were the most fun to design), I would pick Gerard Renwick Sinclare III, Brielle, Magda, and Ulriq. 

 

 

 

I had a lot of fun working on this series and watching what the other contestants have/will come up with - I wish you all the best of luck!

Edited December 9, 2022 by socalbricks

[zoth33]

So many great looking figs.  Marilla looks awesome.  Radina looks fantastic.  Great job on all the figs and good stories too.  

[Aurore]

Oh wow, so many details on all of them! I especially enjoy the Queen (that's a gorgeous ceremonial armour) and the aluring not-a-vampire Countess (excellent choice of parts, perfect colours!)

Backstory-wise, my favourites are Gerti (of course)...and Claudette. I love Claudette. 

[Exetrius]

Great combos! Brielle might be me favourite brick-built centaur yet, the dark blue and metallic go great together, as do the torso and shoulder armour. Is that a non-LEGO spear tip though? 😬 Gertrude really has that "scholar in an obscure field of science" vibe, you nailed it! Other figs I like are the Ivory Priestess, Jalla, Countess Irina, and Sinclair. 

Quote

Applying excessive amounts of pomade to his hair (down to his “trademark curl”), he can be smelled from meters away.  He claims to be popular with the ladies (proof needed).

This is quality. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Exetrius

[socalbricks]

@zoth33 Thank you - I'm glad you like them! I was worried that people wouldn't read the backstories because they were longwinded "walls of text" - I'm glad I was wrong!

@Aurore Thank you - that means a lot coming from someone who makes such great figures! The choice to make Gerti a "cultural anthropologist" was partially inspired by Sigrid's passion for herbalism and her journal on Mitgardian flora. I can imagine Gerti is working on a similar compendium of the various cultures in Historica! I'm also glad you like the vicious, cruel, wrathful abomination "friendly little lobster" known as "Claudette". 

@Exetrius Glad you like the figures! Brielle was fun to design - if she went to war, I wonder if she would qualify as "infantry" or "cavalry"? 🤔

1 hour ago, Exetrius said:

Is that a non-LEGO spear tip though? 😬

I've had that piece for a few years now - I either got it off BrickLink or from a Bricks & Minifigs store (probably the latter; they're usually pretty vigilant about verifying parts, but some inevitably slip through the cracks). I was convinced until now that it was this part: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=94158c&idColor=0#T=S&C=0&O={"color":0,"iconly":0}, which came in sets from Kingdoms, Lord of the Rings, and LEGO Games' "Heroica" line.

However, upon closer inspection, that part was only produced in "Dark Bluish Gray". The "Flat Silver" one in my collection also lacks the LEGO logo on the blade, meaning it is likely a knockoff. 😕

That being said, I appreciate you pointing it out - I would have never caught that. Aside from the color and the lack of LEGO logo, it looks almost identical to the "official piece". Now I don't know what to do with the part - it's a great looking piece, but as a strict "purist" it feels wrong to hold onto it...

We can discuss how this affects my standing in the contest in the Discord - I know the rules were adamant about "only official LEGO parts" being allowed, but I'm not sure what the policy on "accidental cheating" is.

Edited September 27, 2021 by socalbricks

[jtooker]

Terrific series of figs! I love the Naga!

[Exetrius]

^I figured it wouldn't be intentional. I have the official piece and knew that it only came in dbg, so I saw it immediately. I'm a very strict purist too, so I feel you there. It's just an extention of a weapon, not something like custom body armour, so it could be worse. 

Btw, I think cavalery seems like the best fit. 

[Robert8]

Brielle is just a piece of art!

I also quite like the Cedrica and Valyrio gang + the Countess 

Thanks for sharing!

[Kai NRG]

What a great series!  I think the Mitgardian trio is my favorite, with several ingenious back stories.  The sea captain in particular, great idea with the lobster!  Also like the Keeper of the Queenscross Archives a lot too.

[socalbricks]

@jtooker Thank you - I'm glad you like her!

@Robert8 Thank you so much! Brielle seems to be popular. Designing a "centaur knight" was a blast!

@Kai NRG Thanks! I'm glad people like the backstories!

 

[Eyrezer]

Hi socialbricks. Another great contribution to the challenge!

Marilla is one of my favourites. The Ashoka head and the Monkey Kid headpiece work perfectly together. I have the Monkey Kid piece on my wanted list. Did you buy the actual set or BL it? I think that series never made it to NZ due to COVID. Are tieflings new?

Ivar is cool but I think the Priestess is my favourite of the Mitgardians. 

Gerti might want to investigate the desert Cyclops of Kaliphlin next - see my CMF entry  #shamelessselfpromotion Brielle reminds me of Brienne of Tarth - in a good way.

The naga is great!

At the risk of channeling my inner Exetrius, to me the Nocturnus folks leap out as being from Star Wars rather than a GOH vibe. I do like the vile appearing over Magda's shoulder though. Very eldritch! 

I am also very impressed by the number of capes and wraps in the series. You must have quite the extensive collection!

 

[socalbricks]

@Eyrezer Thank you so much for the feedback! I'm glad you like the figures.

I got Marilla's "tiefling hairpiece" off of a BrickLink seller for $4.95 back in August (the hairpiece appeared on Gold Horn Demon, whose "set debut" was back in summer 2020). That seller was based in the United States, though; it might be harder for someone in NZ to find it. You could try LEGO.com's Bricks & Pieces service, where they sell it for 4.52 NZD. However, it takes several weeks to ship.

As for the Nocturnus characters, I completely get where you're coming from, especially with Magda and Ulriq. I like their designs, but its quite apparent that I used Star Wars helmets for them. I could possibly pass off Ulriq as a medieval knight of sorts (mainly with the slit visor) but I could see Magda's helmet looking much more "sci-fi". I only kept the helmet because of how much I felt it complemented the rest of their wardrobe, even if it does look a little anachronistic. I'm glad you like the "vial" on their back though - I'm happy with how it turned out. It (along with the character was a whole) was partially inspired by the character of Moira from Overwatch. 

By the way, don't worry about coming across as "too harsh" in your criticisms - criticism is very important if I want to improve as a builder (or anything, for that matter).

11 hours ago, Eyrezer said:

I am also very impressed by the number of capes and wraps in the series. You must have quite the extensive collection!

Thank you! I don't know why, but I love using capes, kamas, etc. for my figures - 14 out of 16 characters in this CMF have a cloth piece of some kind! Queen Ylspeth and Jalla Vaswani hold the record, with each of them having four separate clothe pieces. 

The kama cloth piece is honestly one of my favorite LEGO pieces - it's a shame they can get so expensive on BrickLink!

Edited October 6, 2021 by socalbricks

[Eyrezer]

Vial is the word I meant! 😅 Yes, there are zero Gold Horn Demon headpieces in NZ BL stores and only two, exorbitantly priced, kama!

I actually get a kind of samurai vibe from Ulriq, which is cool. It’s funny aye, if you’d used one SW helmet I’d probably have thought NPU. It was just 3 together.

[socalbricks]

I know what you meant! I meant to write "vial" as well, but for whatever reason I also misspelled it as "vile". 😅

Edited October 26, 2021 by socalbricks

[Grover]

Well done!  The queen is great.  I wish I had one of those macy visors for a helmet, they look good.  The idea of a tiefling is also particularly nice. The avalonian centaur looks fantastic!  Love how you brick built it but with fine detail.  Great use of some of the DC and SW stuff in Nocturnus, too!

[LordDan]

Really detailed CMF series! I especially enjoy the uniforms/ armor you created for some of them, like Queen Ylspeth, Marilla Danza, Brielle Valken. Also, as other have mentioned really nice work with all the different capes/ cloaks/ kamas incorporated, they look really good.

[mrcp6d]

This is generally a clinic of a CMF series as far as incorporating Star Wars and super hero parts into fantasy castle usage goes.  I say generally because honestly all I get from the Nocty group is Star Wars--those helmets are simply too recognizable and sci-fi like for me.  Ylspeth, Marilla, Gerard, Gerti, and Shriana are all really strong characters!

[The Stad]

Outstanding group of figs here. It’s rare to have a group so colorful and so decked out with accessories still feel somewhat grounded (for a fantasy) and not totally over the top, but you’ve pulled it off quite nicely. Brielle is, of course, the star of this lineup. I’m amazed that a brick-built centaur fits so well at minifig scale, and the torso choice with that color scheme is just about perfect. Awesome job!

[socalbricks]

@Grover Thank you! Those Nexo Knights visors are great! I'm glad you appreciate the centaur design too! It seems simple on paper, but it went through 3+ years of trial and error until I reached something I was happy with. It's good to hear that people like the end result!

@LordDan Thank you! A man can never have enough capes. 

@mrcp6d Thanks for the feedback! I agree with you on your Nocturnus comments (especially in regards to Magda). The helmet looks cool but (in hindsight) it doesn't really fit in a medieval setting. I think I liked the overall design so much that I wanted to include it in the Crimson Knives at all costs (in short, just because I could doesn't mean I should). I'll still keep the character in future stories (I like the overall concept) but I'll probably change the helmet/mask.

@The Stad Thank you so much! I'm glad I was able to strike that "balance" with the character designs. Once again, Brielle seems to be a clear favorite of this bunch (she's also one of my favorites)! She was one of the harder ones to design, so hearing that the work paid off is really rewarding!

Edited October 29, 2021 by socalbricks

[Eyrezer]

Just googled tiefling as it wasn’t a word I was familiar with. That head piece works perfectly! Now I want to get one even more!

[Umbra-Manis]

You know how to build some seriously armored figures! Definitely a great Nocturnian contingent!

[socalbricks]

@Eyrezer Thank you - I'm glad I was able illicit your interest in them! I would also recommend checking out "Four Bricks Tall", who made an excellent Tiefling using the "dark azure headpiece".

@Umbra-Manis Thank you! As you can probably tell, I've amassed quite the "armor collection" over the years!