Aurore

I don't know how many times I stared at all the entries, nor how many times I re-wrote my voting comments before posting them...Oh yes, it was that hard to choose!

1 point for 6.mrcdp6d 1 point for 11. KaiNRG 1 point for 17. Eyrezer

1 point for 5. KaiNRG 1 point for 7. LordDan 1 point for 11.Kahir88

I definitely second that. I've been using the Trolls World Tour silver mandolin in my fantasy builds for a while, and I'm so glad to be soon able to replace it with a proper, printed, wood-coloured lute. We're going to get a Madam Pomfrey minifig in an early 2022 HP set, and while she doesn't wear a hennin, I hope her headwear would be useful for your brickfilm!

Here is my entry for Category 1 of the 2nd count down challenge - Populating Historica. Let me introduce you to some prominent scholars and spellcasters of Historica. And some scammers too... Spoiler sections contain photos of the back of each minifig (without cape for those who wear one). There are external links to Wikipedia where I took inspiration from the real world... Avalonia : Derwen, Centenary Dryad Dryads care for seedlings like shepherds care for lambs. Did you really think the Enchanted Forest grows all by itself? - Valtan, elven guide, to an oblivious tourist Avalonia : Angharad, Dragon Breeder Dragon breeding is a matter of hard work, patience, and careful selection. Fireproof clothing is a must too. - Catchphrase of her infamous speech at the 124th Inter-Guilds Dragon Husbandry Symposium Avalonia : Cingwi the Enchantress Don’t judge a book by the cover, they say. Well, don’t judge that girl by her shy smile and sweet nature: she knows her sh*t. - Hatto the Half-Elf, innkeeper and philosopher Kaliphlin : Prof. Tahani Noor Aurea, PhD, of the University of Petraea She’s, like, totally psycho! She turned me into a frog just because I damaged a book! - Miri, failing student Kaliphlin : Saanvi, Gemmologist Diamonds are a girl’s best friends. And so are emeralds, opals, aquamarines, and all varieties of corundum. Lapis-lazuli, on the other hand, can’t be trusted. – Saanvi Kaliphlin : Torghur the Farseer Oh my, the seer had told him his future was cloudy! – Varma, Siccus Badlands merchant, hearing of a peer’s death in a sandstorm Mitgardia : Torvi Ulfberhtsdottir, Runesmith There is such a thing as forgery of forged runes, kid, and the runesmiths are ruthless with copycats. – Gordeghag Grumblehelm, weaponmaster, upon being given a sword inscribed “Ulfbetr” by a clueless and soon very remorseful apprentice Mitgardia : Fridtjof Amundson, (Other)world Explorer Crrrzd hssi, jktlvo shhhha ! Frrrriuzd. - F. Amundson, to nixie warlord Gwr of Jötunheim Mitgardia : Uukkarnit, the Boreal Witch Don’t worry, that’s just a little lady walking her pooch. - Algus captain Ubal, a few seconds before being buried with his whole phalanx under a sudden and unexpected avalanche Nocturnus : Crenath of Aziroth, Soul Collector Why would anyone torture souls when you can neatly put them in a jar and admire their beautiful, vivid colours right on your desk? - Crenath Nocturnus : A'angis, Succubus Mistress Oh hello, beautif….aaaargh ! - Every single man who met her Nocturnus : Ozco, Master Embalmer Ever wondered how to protect your undead minions from decay? All it takes is a good embalmer and several yards of linen. - Lich Lord Thagrasel Varlyrio : Secenri, Subterranean Botanist On the surface, light creates the colours. Here, magic does and it is much more imaginative! – Secenri Varlyrio : Vyelarhin the Flawless, Astromancer Cartomancy is a scam, never trust someone who says they read your future in filthy little scraps of paper. Turn to the stars instead! – Teodolinda D’Augustino, momentarily wealthy dowager Varlyrio : Niccolo di Fiamma, Alchemist All that glitters can become gold - Unofficial motto of the Illyrian Guild of Alchemist Cedrica : Raina the Red, Archimage Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. [She] who has the power is always right, the weaker is always wrong. - Some obscure diplomat, writer and politician

@Zilmrud Thank you so much! Angharad would indeed feel at home in Zamorah!

I have often encountered people mistaking real-life ponies for foals as well (as in "Ooh, is that the horse's baby?" - "No ma'am, the horse is male and younger than his pony friend!"). The old foal mould as well as the new one definitely look like foals in terms of body proportions, but I guess with a little suspension of disbelief it could be seen as a pony... Not just you! I thought the same thing when I saw the leaflet. I'm especially disappointed by the forest gnome, I was expecting something less childish. But anyways, while there is no minifig I really like as a whole and a few ones I don't care about at all, there are many individual parts in this series I'm very interested in. The two new animals, of course, and the lute, and the pink satchel, and many body parts (oh my, that would sound weird out of context). I'll probably get a whole box.

Absolutely nothing special, exactly - my "yay" was intended as sarcastic. I was still secretely hoping for a teal fish...

Looking at the photos at the end of Hellobrick's article here, I also spot an orange fish in the Ice Festival set. Yay. But the ice sculpture that is being made by the lady with the chainsaw, on the right...it's an opalescent trans-light blue penguin! Not really useful to depict an actual animal, but I like it anyway. Edit : given its proportions, I think the ice penguin uses the Friends penguin mold rather than the City one. What do you think?

Wonderful pillars! More generally, I'm impressed by the consistency of the architectural style on the bridge. The statues and the frieze look great - and unique.

@Servertijd Thank you! Fridtjof is among my personal faves too - I love the somewhat enigmatic expression of that head...

I thought I'd never been able to finish that build in time for the challenge...It's my biggest MOC so far, and hands down my most complex one. I don't even know how many trials and errors it took before those wings actually looked like wings! Anyways...here is my entry to the GOH Anniversary 2nd count down challenge, in the "Ancient Wonders" category. --------------------------- The build: A druidic mausoleum, deep in the Enchanted Forest of Avalonia... --------------------------- The story: Chronicles of Embervale Episode 2 - the Moonbird Mausoleum Read the previous episode Featuring… Alrune The Elf Maiden, Lady of Embervale, mage Dresghar The Chronicler, her uncle, erudite Evrart A soldier Ancient heroes, long forgotten "Uncle, would you please pay attention?" Alrune cried out, desperately trying to drag him away from the lute he was tuning. "I’m reading you a message from mom!" "What does my august sibling want?" he asked, out of pure courtesy. "She wants a heart." How great, this time he did react: he was raising an eyebrow. "A heart? Well, I knew she didn’t have one, but I thought she was unaware of it," he sneered. "And not just any heart. She wants the heart of some girl named Lloergan. It seems to be important for her - she even says please. Twice! As if I had nothing better to do than…" "Lloergan, you said?” Dresghar interrupted. "That’s interesting. What else does she say?" "Nothing. She has just included an antique map, with a red..." He snatched the map from her before she could finish her sentence. She rolled her eyes – with him, there was no such thing as a middle ground. Seconds ago he did not give a damn, and all of a sudden he was like a kid on Midwinter morning. "Druidic. From the First Era, I’d say. Most probably authentic," he mumbled, inspecting the map. "So what?" "So it’s likely to show the actual location of Lloergan’s mausoleum, sweetheart." "Holy pretzel, Uncle! Am I supposed to understand what you’re babbling about? Who’s that girl?" He cast her a bemused look. "What, you’ve never heard about her?" She let out a sigh as a few notes suffused, and he began to sing an hour-long epic drama – the story of Lloergan. It was a rather classic legend, featuring an impossible romance, feuding families, and many curses. But in the end, it all boiled town to a shapeshifter, a druid of ancient times, who gave her life protecting her people from an – of course – evil sorcerer. After her tragic fall, struck by a wicked spell, nothing intact remained of her but her heart. The druids of her circle embalmed it and placed it inside a mausoleum built in her honour, somewhere deep in the ancient forest, in a place long forgotten. "And that’s the heart your mother is coveting," Dresghar concluded. "Given the remote location of the mausoleum, there is a chance it has been preserved from tomb raiders and other inquisitive adventurers. Especially when youngsters like you have so little knowledge of ancient lore!" "Whatever. I’ll send Evrart. He’ll retrieve that heart and mom will leave me alone." "You’ll go with him, sweetheart, this mission may require finesse! Besides, it will do you a world of good to go gallivanting around the forest. You spend way too much time inside with your books and your cats." --- The Ancient Forest was tinged with gold and speckled with rust, yet still full of life and sounds: the joyous trills of lively birds, the gentle babble of puckish pixies, the rustling of leaves in the fresh breeze. Before long, morning mists would enshroud the lakes. Valleys would echo with the roar of mighty stags. And nature would slowly fall asleep, in a flamboyance of light and colours. Valiant heart and noble spirit, the Elf Maiden had set forth for the mausoleum of the legendary Lloergan with a single guard. They had ridden for days, following broad paved roads, then proceeding on narrow paths winding through the forest, and finally making their way through the undergrowth. And soon, in a beautiful glade bathed in sunshine, they reached their destination. [Excerpt from Dresghar’s later telling of the journey in the Chronicles] --- The druids had built Lloergan’s mausoleum in the shape of her favourite animal form, a moonbird. Its wings spread around a terrace, finely sculpted, the large figure was still pristine centuries later. At its heart, framed by opalescent stones, were a massive silvery urn and three delicate statuettes: Lloergan herself, and her two closest companions. "I was expecting something more impressive," Alrune mumbled – in blatant bad faith, Evrart judged, given that she was staring at the mausoleum with her eyes wide open. "And I was expecting a ruin, my lady," he retorted. "Could the heart still be in the urn? This seems way too easy." "We’ll know it soon. Let’s go and check!" The heart, skilfully embalmed, was still in the urn. And there was not a single trap protecting the mausoleum. No warden. No protection spell Alrune could detect. The situation was quickly getting on Evrart’s nerves. His conscience already bothered him about desecrating the grave of a hero and, somehow, seeing said grave be so cooperative with plunderers made their mission feel even wronger to him. "That’s ridiculous!" he grumbled at the end of the day. "How can a centuries old, so-called forgotten place be so…immaculate? Apart from a few leaves on the ground, it’s impeccable. No wild grass, no creeper, not even a proper crack in the stone! And the heart is still there, just like the stones and the statuettes!" Alrune shrugged. "We’re in the ancient forest. Maybe some hermit comes from time to time to clean up? Anyways, no-one remembers that place and no-one ever passes by. There’s no-one to damage the mausoleum and loot its riches." "Well, that is, except from us. Aren’t we precisely here to loot the most precious relic from this place?" A frown crossed the elf’s face, and she did not answer. As she spent the rest of the day sulking, giving her guard one-word orders and replies, he began to suspect his remark had hit a nerve. --- In the middle of the night, while he was sleeping fitfully, he was suddenly startled awake by a harrowing cry shortly followed by a low rumbling. Still drowsy, he drew his sword and rushed towards a faint halo gleaming in the direction of the mausoleum. As a second thundering noise resounded, he spotted Alrune firing some kind of shockwave at two spectral beings hovering and wailing around her. "What happened?" he shouted, rushing at her side before realising his bland steel weapon would have no effect on their opponents. "I don’t know! I was in the mausoleum, and they attacked me!" One of the ghosts brushed past him, cold and distressing, and he felt his strength failing him. The constant howling of the creatures kept ringing in his ears, clouding his judgement, slowing his moves. He stumbled, struggling to keep his balance. He suddenly sensed a sharp discharge of energy, and his sword became colder in his hand. It occurred to him that the blade was now enshrouded in a shadowy, ethereal mist: the elf had cast something on it. He heard her yelling something indistinct, seconds before the rumbling of one of her magic attacks rolled again. One of the ghosts vanished in a last shriek. Evrart pulled himself together and attacked the other one. He had been a man-at-arms since he was strong enough to wield a weapon, and his combat reflexes came back quickly. Already weakened by Alrune’s spells and vulnerable to the now magic sword, the second spectre soon disappeared like the first one. "Why the heck were you alone in the mausoleum in the middle of the night?" Evrart asked more harshly than he actually intended, while glancing around to ensure that no threat remained. "I was putting the heart back in the urn. I can’t…do that anymore. Obey orders I don’t understand. Do fishy things on the whim on my mother. I’m fed up with her caprices and dubious plans!" Evrart remained silent for a moment. The lady’s words sounded somewhat bratty and unclear to him, and he had no idea what kind of things she had done before he got to know her. Anyways. Whatever her reasons, her decision of putting the heart back seemed fair to him. "If you were setting things right, then why did the ghosts attack you?" he finally asked. "They were Lloergan’s two companions, weren’t they?" "I think so. But they were probably not protecting the mausoleum anymore. Most spirits fade after un-death, losing conscience and memory. They might not remember who they were, nor where they were. Then nothing heroic remained in them, only the cold and despair at being trapped in between worlds." --- When they left the place at dawn, Evrart turned back one last time before entering the woods behind the elf. And there, in the morning mist floating over the mausoleum, he distinguished the faint figure of a beautiful lady all clad in white, watching them leave with a smile on her pale face.

@Servertijd Thank you so much! I'm so glad this contest happened in the beginning of autumn, I was so eager to use the yellow foliage parts...

How impressive! The build is absolutely wonderful, I love the architectural details you created. The arch above the lioness, especially, is top notch, and the red banners and fire pits really add drama to the whole ensemble. Making a video is such a great idea, it sets the mood and definitely highlights the epic dimensions of the build. I enjoyed the time lapse too - and I'm impressed by how tidy your working desk is during building! PS : I'd be curious too to know how many minifigs you packed in there!

The photo itself is gorgeous, with a great composition an amazing lighting...And the build is impressive! So many details, so much texture! A true wonder it is.

Excellent series! Very clever associations and character ideas. That abacus is really great, and I especially love the Forest Queen. Btw, may I ask what her hairpiece is? It looks gorgeous!

That's just a perfect series! I first looked at it while at work and...well...I had to stop at the third minifig as it was way too hard to maintain a perfect poker face. Anyways. The minifigs do look great and there are many very nice part usage. The dessert king for example...I think most (of not all) of us can relate to this typo, and it's really a perfect use of that otherwise rather odd huge cake! Same with WTF and those long legs. My favourite is the sandmaid, who looks gorgeous, and has a top-notch expression. PS: "Qu'en termes élégants, ces choses-là sont dites!" (Molière, in Le Misanthrope) PPS : so glad to see Bob back once more! PPPS : the Vanished One is art. Pure Art.

@Sympatik Brick Bienvenue! Bon, mois je construis pour Mitgardia et (pour l'instant) pas pour Avalonia, mais ça fait plaisir de croiser un nouveau français! Hrm. Back to english. Very nice army - especially the warrior queens. Walt's story seems most intriguing, looking forward to learn more about its development! @Tanuk1 Welcome to GoH! Your sigfig sports a very nice helmet and axe - may I ask where they come from?

The parts of all the adult minifigs from the Home Alone sets could be useful for Adventurers too, especially the head with the gold tooth! I hoped some of them would show up on B&P this morning, but sadly only Kevin's torso did. I fear the others will be quite expensive on BL.

Here in France the LEGO website had a virtual waiting room to keep up with the orders! I don't know if it's the Batmobile or the Home Alone sets, or a combination of all... B&P-wise, the new stud shooter was out of stock too! Very few interesting parts from the Home Alone set were available (but, lucky me, those were the ones I was most interested in!) : I got the unprinted white bird (41835) and Kevin's torso (6371089).

Hmmmm...How about the torso and head of one of the Ugha warriors from the Indiana Jones theme? They're not very common on Bricklink, but can still be found. And while we're talking dark orange...There is also Pharah's head, from the Overwatch theme, that has a very nice Adventurers vibe with her Eye of Horus tattoo!

@Boindil Lego The golden hand part is this one : Element ID 6354069, from the Eternals sets

@Oky Oh, right, that's way easier. And @Jack Sassy said the same just above my post. Remembers me of a nice cartoon about a bunch of engineers ruining a simple tree swing by overcomplicating it. Hrm. Anyways. I went through New Elementary's lists of new parts from december 2020 to june 2021, and all those ones screamed "Adventurers!" (and other ones too, but which had already been added to this topic) : Available from B&P, Element ID 6332013 Not available from B&P Listed on B&P but (currently?) not available. The recent recolor from Bandmates Series 2 could be useful too. That sword is just gorgeous - Not available from B&P An adventurer can never have too many books - Available from B&P, Element ID 6334605 An adventurer can never have too many maps either - Not available from B&P Field notes! - Not available from B&P To type your field notes! - Available from B&P, Element ID 6323421 Available from B&P, Element ID 6323420 Treasure! - Available from B&P, Element ID 6322171 Classy lost temple decor - Available from B&P, Element ID 6334575

There's probably an easier way of doing it, but as far as I'm concerned to share pictures of individual parts with a link to Brickset I directly write code following this pattern : [url=https://brickset.com/parts/XXXXXXX][img=https://www.lego.com/cdn/product-assets/element.img.lod5photo.192x192/XXXXXXX.jpg][/url] where XXXXXXX is the Element ID. The code itself can work with other links and pictures as well if you replace the address within the "url" tag with the address of the page where you'd like the link to lead, and the address within the "img" tags with the address of the image itself : [url=ADDRESS OF THE PAGE][img=ADDRESS OF THE IMAGE][/url] The tricky part is when pasting the addresses, as the forum post editor automatically interprets them as links or images. You may have to play with CTRL+Z and CTRL+RIGHT CLICK > "REMOVE LINK" to cancel this interpretation. As I said, there's probably an easier way of doing it!

@Jack Sassy Oh wow, thanks to you I just discovered that there are no less than three sizes of LEGO rubber drafts for our adventurers! - A tiny one, 6x10 studs, available in a nice variety of colours in general but only in yellow tones from B&P (Design ID 75977) - The small one, 6x12 studs and with more space inside, available in red and olive but awfully expensive on B&P (Design ID 78611) - The huge one, 10x21 studs, available in many colours but only red and blue from B&P (Design ID 62812)