[Freebuild] Hunting the blue woolly eel (Anguilla galidoris)

[Eyrezer]

The build: Hunting the blue woolly eel (Anguilla galidoris)

The story:

Every spring, baby blue woolly eels migrated up rivers from the ocean, a highly anticipated chance to catch the small delicacy. Its ocean breeding grounds had never been found, a mystery the mermaid Ciara and her ikateren friend, Weroti, were determined to solve. They tracked the elvers into the depths of the ocean, fending off shark and other predators of the deep. Eventually, they came across an ancient seamount, covered with corals, kelp and other life. As they drew close, the pair saw two of the monstrously large blue woolly eels, their gaping maws displaying circle after circle of razor sharp teeth. Could these be the original progenitors of the tiny delicacy? Ciara knew no one would believe them - unless they could bring back one of the eels as a trophy!

The hunters:

• Ciara was a young mermaid, living in a commune off the southern coast of Avalonia. For work, she tended the kelp gardens and warded off the giant sea turtles that liked to uproot the plants. She was often seen riding the wake of the Varlyrian schooners that traded goods along the Avalonia coast.
• Weroti was a wiry ikateren, a tentacled race allied with the mermaids. Weroti was the spawn of the local chieftainess and recently earned his coming of age tattoo on his arm. He was eager to prove himself as a worthy heir to his mother despite it being almost unheard of for a male to lead an ikateren school.
• Ikaterens were bipedal creatures typically patterned in orange, red or green. They had fins on their legs and a long spiny tail that aided in swimming and balance. They had black eyes and two wattles around their mouths.

Build notes:

Spoiler

• This build is for the Brickscalibur category of Monstrous encounters.
• Could this be the Avalonian equivalent of the Drakarkan?
• Blue woolly eels were first introduced in my first ever build for GOH, Fish Tales.
• More images available here.

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by Eyrezer

[socalbricks]

You've been pumping out build-after-build lately (without sacrificing quality)! That seamount is beautifully detailed - I like the little insect antennas near the base of the build. However, my favorite part is the titular wooly eels (complete with teeth) - are those parts from Galidor?

The figures are great too - it's always nice to see a new species introduced into GoH! I like how you implemented all the different parts (from Thena, the CMF "Ancient Warrior", Kranxx, Star Wars, NEXO Knights, etc.) and made them work. I never would have thought to use the Thena torso with the tan "Miralian heads" from Star Wars. Nor would I have thought to use the CMF Ancient Warrior for anything from GoH (I say that as someone who builds exclusively with "fleshies" and thus has trouble finding uses for yellow figure parts). Stuff like this broadens my horizons - great work!

Edited January 7, 2022 by socalbricks

[Kai NRG]

This is super cool, love that eel design!  Your way of using bright colors really works perfectly for an underwater MOC like this, great variety and great layout for the colors too with the blues climbing one side, reds on the other, and green echoing top and bottom.

[Sympatik Brick]

Really nice build. The 1x1 plates and 1x1 flowers are just in my opinion to regular. Maybe you should mixed them (but just a little). Full of color like always! Great job!

[Aurore]

So many nice uses of unusual parts! The tiny jellyfish with the clickit piece and the diamond part are especially clever, and the eels themselves are just perfect!
Overall the colour palette is gorgeous - so vibrant. I also enjoy the shape of the build, and of course the minifigs!

[Eyrezer]

Thanks everyone. I learned scuba diving while I lived in Indonesia and loved the reefs there. @socalbricks, good spotting of the little antenna. I thought that was a fun detail like some kind of anemone. The eels are indeed a Galidor piece: gal32, the upper arm of the character Nepol. I ordered it on a whim but one I had it the mouth seemed obvious! Some of the minifig arrangement was just serendipitous. I'd just bought the Eternals set and the Miralian heads separately on BL so they were just sitting next to each other.

Thanks @Kai NRG. That colour layout was sub-conscious, but now that you name it I see it!

Thanks @Aurore, much appreciated. Good eye in spotting that clikit piece - I though the teeny jellyfish were pretty cute!

[LordDan]

Super cool coral reef! Tons of great colors and parts usage!

[Grover]

Nice work!  I think underwater builds are double-edged.  They are difficult to convey the feeling of being underwater and yet they're a very different world so you can use unusual parts and colors.  I think you did a great job here balancing them.  Love the minis, particularly the orange guy.  Fun use of the hair parts, and I like that your story is short and clear.  Great job!