Captain Dee

Aha... you built it! I believe Corrington now has more cannon foundries than everyone else combined... Nice layout. I like the contrast of that red roof with the tan base. And all the various detailed elements really liven it up. Good job with the different cannon designs, both barrels and carriages. The pouring method is really old, comparable to the early days of exploration. It's cool to see some variety in that regard. The lone off-color roof piece is somewhat distracting, and I think the fence would look more balanced with a lantern on each section, but otherwise it looks good. Keep it up.

The local TRU was discounting everything at up to 30% off, but all LEGO items were strictly 5% off. Perhaps it just varies store to store? I haven't read up on anything since the media rush back when it was first announced they'd be closing, and when every other article on finance was talking "leveraged buyouts."

Nice builds. I especially like the exterior design. And I got a few copies of Salazar just for that printed tile, with the same idea in mind. Too bad they aren't 2x2, which would allow them to be oriented more directions, but it still looks convincing. Oh, and I must always approve of using lots of gold elements.

@Drunknok (and anyone else who's interested), you asked for better transparency regarding challenge judging. I can't speak for this challenge (I've been out of leadership since Era 1 Ch 5 was still running, or approx. a year), but in Era 1 it usually went like this: After each challenge deadline passed and all entries were posted and listed, leadership would briefly discuss the who/what/when of judging. Not everyone in leadership signs in daily, so this might take a few days or a week. Judges were leadership members who volunteered for the role. Usually there were 2 judges per faction, or 8 total; however at one point only 1 per faction was employed (Ch 4, perhaps? I'm pretty sure I was out before judging for Ch 5. This is all from memory.) The judges only scored the entries for the other 3 factions, and did not judge entries from their own faction. (I never volunteered since I am stuck with the mobile platform, and the judging process looked like it would be a nightmare from a phone.) With 2 judges per faction, each entry would be scored 6 times, from the 6 judges outside each entry's faction. With 1 judge per faction, each entry would be scored 3 times. Each judge numerically scored each entry in several categories (build quality, presentation, story, challenge-specific requirements, etc), with higher scores being better; and all the categories were added up to produce the total score for each entry. Usually the build was worth at least half of the total score, with presentation, story, and other specific requirements making up the rest. As you might imagine, some time was required to go through this whole scoring process, particularly when there were lots of entries. When this was complete, all of the judge's scores for each entry were averaged. The average score was then the official score for each entry, and determined placements in the challenges. Faction prizes were not simply based on the average of all scores with each faction; rather, they were usually based on the average score of the top-scoring 3-4 entries per faction. That should be an accurate summary for at least the first 4 challenges. I don't know how this one was scored, but based on available comments I suspect it was something very similar. Yes, it could be done quicker, for while it takes some time to complete the scoring, it really shouldn't take months if it's quickly addressed. Perhaps a judging deadline would help, or having the judges volunteer before each challenge ends instead of after. As I recall, some judges would be finished before others signed up and even started, which tended to drag things out a bit. I don't particularly care to debate the placements and winners - there is potential for that to be an endless argument - but it's important to remember that none of the challenges was ever scored strictly based on the build. Presentation, story, and specific requirements always counted too. The first post in this topic plainly describes the specific judging criteria that is unique to each category (but doesn't really mention how much weight these requirements carry). For example, Cat. C speaks of integration of the orchid in the jungle ruins and tranquility of the scene, or words to that effect. If ultimate simplicity in judging was the goal, a public voting poll might be useful, but there has always been the concern that non-BoBSers would probably vote strictly for their favorite builds while ignoring all the other criteria. Of course, multiple poll components (one poll list for each piece of the judging criteria: build, story, etc) could solve this, but it might prove a chore when there are lots of entries, and people would have to take it seriously or the results would be flawed. If total transparency was the goal, BoBS members only could vote via posting a comment in a dedicated voting thread, the way many challenges on EB are judged, (perhaps listing top 3 best builds, stories, presentation, etc and then adding scores from each category to reach a total) but again, it would require people be serious about all aspects. I'm not suggesting either idea be implemented. The judging form from Era 1 seemed to work well. There was never any hush-hush element that I was aware of. Regarding communication, I'm sure leadership wants to give you the best info, but when judges are still working on scoring builds it's a guessing game as to exactly when it will be finished. I hope this answers some of your questions / addresses some of your concerns.

Wonderful project! This truly is a Great Ball. Both builds are great. The main hall is lovely with the grey, tan and green colors. And I love all those arches. The side rooms are a good idea, and well furnished. The gardens and guest house are quite nice as well, and I like the interior. Of course, the main attraction is all the sigfigs and other characters. Fantastic work there, simply put. All that posing and re-posing for the camera is time-consuming work. It greatly enhances the presentation, even though it didn't really need it. And good work with the story too. Sir Dee (perfectly portrayed, I might add) was somewhat disappointed there weren't more ladies in attendance, but he had a good time anyway. And he didn't spill any of Corrington's secrets to foreign ears.

Thanks. Making the wheels round was pretty simple once the basic designs were established. I was sorting parts, got distracted, started tinkering and after a trial-and-error process the two Technic-brick wheels were the result. But... study my simplistic techniques at your own risk! I like this basic color scheme, but I like many others just as well. Hopefully I can try something a little different on some smaller builds. Oh no! I hope not! I mean, surely the ladies and gentlemen attending the ball will have more stately things to discuss than a bunch of waterwheels! Send them to the gardens!

Those are supposed to be copper domes, not gold, although the story doesn't specify. Check back in a few decades, and the patina should give it away. The cupola domes weren't originally planned, but that vast expanse of CMF baseplates looked too plain and barren without some decor. I suppose the window lattices are copper-based too... Oh ye of little faith! Why do you think I built them?! I should've stopped with the first 48x48 base, really. It would've been so much easier to move and take photos, especially after I decided to show all 4 wheels separately. Oh well - too late now! If you find the domes to be eye-catching, then their late addition to the build was a success - imagine how bland that roof would be without them. The wheels were fun to build, not always so fun to keep intact, but overall they're pretty sturdy. As for the floor plates, I like tiles better, but I don't have enough in that color. It does make an interesting texture though.

Islanders don't "need" to be done again, and I would really prefer other things within the Pirates theme. I'd be happy with a Pirates-specific take on Medieval Market Village, preferably with common people and not actual pirate minifigs. Wishful thinking... I'll have to build my own.

It does. I miss the lantern, too. I thought about replicating exotrator's original design, but then left it out altogether. I also prefer the cylinder roof, rather than round plates. But I don't have enough cylinders in orange or a similar color, and these plates were handy, so I used them. There's no historic reason for the cannon hanging out front. It's simply a nod to the original build. I suppose he meant for it to be like a sign, advertising that they produce cannons. The chains hanging inside aren't really accurate: they should be block-and-tackle; rope, not chain. But I couldn't find my strings with stud ends until after I'd posted this... Technically this is an incomplete foundry. It only shows the molding area and casting pit. The rest of the casting complex - namely the furnace - would be rather large and would have fuel and iron stored nearby. The raw iron ore would first be smelted into pig iron ingots in a blast furnace (which is a totally different function from the foundry), and prior to casting, the pig iron ingots would then be melted down in an air furnace adjacent to the casting pit, which is what the chimney represents here. Yeah, the cobblestone covers a narrow area out front. If it was on a street it would be much wider, but I ran out of room... Speaking of which: The base is a standard tan 32x32 baseplate with 4 16x16 plates on top. The baseplate by itself is just too flimsy, but adding the plate layer made it very solid. I don't know if the lattice windows are period-correct or not. I just used 'em 'cause I like 'em. You may have misunderstood me regarding the build size. I doubt a facility this small could produce much of anything in the way of cannons (small swivel guns, perhaps?), and most certainly couldn't produce something as big as the standard Lego cannon! I mostly wanted to mimic the layout of the original build, but even enlarged, it's still small. A proper foundry would have a dedicated molding facility, multiple furnaces and casting pits, a boring mill, various storage areas, and smaller workspaces for specialized tasks. And lots of people! The back corners of the roof are the exact same height. It must just be an illusion.

It's cool how TLG has redone a few of the classic Pirates factions, and it would be great if they'd do some more. Islanders would be cool again. I just don't understand why a remake of that faction automatically has to be offensive. If people go around looking for ways to be offended, they're almost always successful. Did people / do people have problems with the original Islanders? I always thought it looked harmless - after all, it was an intentional mashup of cultures, which surely can't be taken as a mis-representation of a real culture, can it? Granted, there aren't a lot of real-world cultures in that mashup, but still... I don't see any glaring problem here. They weren't being subjected to slavery or other forms of cruelty in official depictions. I thought it looked very respectful, and I think it could be done again. I think TLG introduced them for children to have fun. It seems a bit overbearing to dissect a child's toy into political correctness when there is no glaring problem - the real problem, to me, is adult hypersensitivity. After all, no one complains that TLG dared create a theme based, even loosely, on real-life pirates who were bloodthirsty murderous thieves who lived violence. I'm not saying Islanders (or any other faction, in any theme) needs to be done again. I just don't see why it couldn't be respectfully done. I won't be surprised to see a radical shift in the Pirates theme, if it ever comes back in any recognizable form. So much stuff has gone all action/sci-fi, on the basis that it's what kids want. The last wave (2015) was thoroughly lampooned around these parts. Some good, some bad, some half-hearted (the Soldier's "Fort" to name one), nothing special, here and gone in less than a year (where I live anyway.) I think they can do better than a 5-set wave with such a short life span (considering Pirates as a theme has only appeared a few times in the last decade, not counting PoTC, which is a different animal altogether), provided it doesn't stretch the company or the total product line too far. They're chasing a lot of markets after all. But I don't want to gripe. As an adult, I probably won't particularly care for any new Pirates sets, and will mostly be interested in minifigs and accessories - provided they aren't all action/sci-fi/zombie and can be reasonably used in a historic setting.

You have certainly mastered the art of the brick, and developed a very recognizable style while doing it. This is simply beautiful, but that's true of everything you build. The architecture, colors and textures, and lovely irregular base all add up to a lovely composition. Well done. I assume the pile of plates with cheese slopes is supposed to represent bark from the logs? If so, that's clever. I'll have to remember that. And the stone wall is nice too. My favorite feature has to be that water wheel. By coincidence, just last week I was envisioning the same hub design in your link (1x1 clips attached to a standard wheel, rather than the better-looking bar clips like you used) while working on my own water wheel project. I struggled to produce a suitable smaller design with the techniques I'd already used (especially the ship's wheel hub which limits the number of spokes) and while thinking about this type of hub I guessed it could be done well on a smaller scale, and you definitely proved it! That's an extremely good design. I can't quite tell in the photos, but it appears you used half Technic pins to reverse the direction of the small round bricks in the spokes? That's what I had envisioned, anyway. I'll keep this topic in mind as a reference. Congrats on finishing Age of Mitgardia. It always looked fun, but I simply don't have time to participate in GoH. Good work. Keep it up.

Good news!! I finally got the rest of the photos posted in the original topic. Here's one: The doors are about the right width, but they're a lot taller than they need to be for wagons loaded with components to fit through. But I tend to think big, and a big building needed big doors.

I'm not fond of that floor technique either, and I agree, tiles would look a lot better. I wanted to use the flesh / nougat color, and I don't have anywhere near enough tiles in that color, so I used the round plates instead. It's... tolerable. Those pieces work better for other things.

It would be a lot more "grand" if the photos weren't so bad. I'm trying to correct this. As for style, it's nothing special, and perhaps even a bit lazy. I like a textured look as much as anyone, but it doesn't make as much sense for a new building. Neat and clean is usually pretty easy, and with my lack of building time I have to compromise somewhere. No, I'm not building a paddle wheel boat. That would be beyond the technological realm of BoBS. I was just referring to the use of the ship's wheel for the center hub of the water wheel. It has 8 handholds, which limited the wheel to 8 spokes.

I'm happy with the build, but not the photos. I just don't have adequate lighting for something this size. I wanted a good accent color for the floor, and medium dark flesh / medium nougat was handy, so I used it. I really like those black framed, pearl gold windows (no surprise there, right?). I struggled to build a suitable small wheel, but these bigger designs came together pretty easy. The trick is to design a workable segment and then replicate it. The big wheel looked better with its original 9 sections, but I downsized it to 8 as shown to fit the ship's wheel center hub. I like white / black / gold for buildings, but the colors of the wheels were somewhat determined by what I had available. The big wheel would look better with black hinges, but I didn't have enough, so I used the flesh / nougat color instead. The whole project is about showcasing the wheels. I didn't measure them, but they would be pretty tall beside a minifig! No, the wheels can't fit through the doors. Everything started getting big - wheels, building, windows - so it had to have a giant set of doors to match. Technically I suppose you could roll a mill wheel to its job site, but it might be a bit difficult, and dangerous! I plan to use these wheels in some forthcoming builds, so you can see them in action then. Thanks all for the input.