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The topic of baseplates in general still being an option for designers outside of the modular buildings series is strange, not to mention raised baseplates being an option, given that I thought Lego has communicated they are trying to phase them out of production. They technically are only partially "in system" and are expensive for a variety of reasons compared to plate elements; this is why in City we've got a new baseplateless standard for roads, sidewalks, and whatnot--that includes brand new elements to support the standard. Interesting that the designers said a new raised baseplate was not completely out of the question.

Here's another from our own @Ecclesiastes:

I voted for my favorites as they are today, but like Sir Dano above, I really, really like the variety of helmet, armor, and shield options we have. I not only use specific headwear for typical roles, but use these minifig accessories to help make each of my factions more unique/recognizable from the others.

My thoughts on factions run like this: Black Knights / Crown Knights / Crusaders / Kingdoms These are the top dogs and they're all pretty equivalent in my mind. Design and execution of these factions was on point. Great variety within the minifigs, plus a ton of sets that enabled Lego to show the factions off to their potential. I don't think this last fact can be understated in our perception of the factions, and it's huge in my opinion especially with respect to sub-themes/eras. Black Falcons / Dragon Knights / Royal Knights / 2013 Lions Starting with Black Falcons, they were just too similar to each other and this lack of variation pulls them out of the top echelon for me. Dragon Knights are really cool, and are in fact my absolute favorite theme; but the factions in the group above are more complete--even if they don't have Majisto! Royal Knights were a good expansion of Castle, and they gave us the crown piece, but other than that, I can't say there was anything special about this faction. The 2013 Lions were pretty good and certainly the spiritual successors to a couple early '90s factions. Despite some pretty good minifigures and variety the 2013 factions just feel a little too crisp and polished, if that makes any sense at all. Vikings Fantastic minifigures came out of this sub-theme! Dwarves / Trolls These I think were really cool innovations within an already really cool and innovative sub-theme/era of Castle. Great new pieces here and these factions expanded the art of the possible within a Castle sub-theme. Fright Knights / KK Bulls / 2013 Dragons I really don't think there was anything wrong with the Fright Knights save for the overly comical Willa, this faction just didn't get to be fleshed out as much as those above. KK Bulls had some really nice torso and leg printing--versatile too. Ultimately though, they were kind of a strange faction with the Dragon Knights helms used to hold horns and the attempt at "bad guy" faces didn't work in my opinion. The iconography of the 2013 Dragons was too cartoonish; and they did the whole "evil face" design thing with this faction that I appreciate just as much as I did with the KK Bulls. A better sigil and way less black everywhere would have lifted this faction up the rankings. KK Lions Oh boy.... These (and the KK Bulls) came out around the time Lego was really struggling with its business. The torso and minifig face design in this faction was generally a downgrade from everything that came before, and most that came after. KKII Scorpion Knights / Skeletons I think the Skeletons were actually awesome and very much in line with my thoughts on the Dwarves and Trolls above. There's just not that much they could have done here though. Scorpion Knights weren't horrible, but very monolithic. The baddie faction they evolved/changed into for KKII I think was better, but it was so limited that I'm not sure you can really call it a faction. KKII Jelly Knights I can't really rank Forestmen and Wolfpack against the "knightly" factions as they're totally different IMO. However, if forced, I'd add them to my list of #1s above. Forestmen were complete and cohesive, Wolfpack was just plain cool.

Oh, this idea sounds AMAZING! There were some really cool tensegrity MOCs with castle/fantasy themes that came out of that COVID building fad, but a much larger scale build like this idea definitely has my brain wondering about what that could turn into--especially since Dragon Masters are my favorite castle theme...

Simply an epic dio! Each building having its own design and architecture and interior really moves the eye around the MOC, and I love that longboat!

I don't see these going out of stock frankly. I went to a couple physical LEGO stores yesterday (looking for those White Falcon/Phoenix figs! Only got two.... The new pick-a-minifig wizard is pretty freaking cool too though*!) and they both had a ton of them sitting there. And since they're going to release them again in August, I'll bet the production run initially was quite large. *Makes the new Majisto in the Lion Knights' Castle really disappointing.

Built mine this afternoon. Awesome GWP set! Looks really nice with the "modern" rounded parts compared to the 45 degree angles of yesteryear. Handlebars as tree branches really works well, I'd never thought of usig those elements in a tree and I'll definitely be doing that with some MOCs!

@The Stad When you were removing the arms, were they at the same relative angle about the centerline of the torso? The socket joint of the arms have that split down the middle and I wonder if pulling them out with one arm twisted forward and the other backward would create the wrong stresses on the arms that broke.

Great ruins! I like how you set up the suits of armor in the columns, and the sunken bits are great as others have states above.

It had tried Majisto's patience for months, the attitude of the young wizard recently taken under the protection of the Black Knights. The new mage was constantly boasting to any tavern wench or random farm hand about how he could summon an army of demons from an unnamed void that would be stronger than any dragon the Dragon Masters could raise. Well, it was time to teach this kid a lesson--for the soul of a dragon set loose in its pure form of fire and rage is a very nasty opponent and Majisto had figured out long ago how to bind many of them to a specially enchanted lantern... My entry for the CCC XIX "Battle" category. More pics in the Album. C&C Appreciated!

Thank you so much for the comprehensive comment! The small 1746 Wizard's Cart was one of my first sets I remember as a kid, and I've been playing with some Dragon Masters table scraps and whatnot for a while wanting to get an MOC put together in the theme. Thanks! Thanks Niku! Yes, black lights plus a small handheld flashlight with weak batteries. Long exposure under only the black lights while "painting" some of the areas I wanted more light/better color on with the flashlight. Majisto in particular needed some help to avoid being washed out by the black light since he's mostly blue; caused a bunch of glare at his feet that I should have edited out but oh well. I wanted to try to do everything in one shot rather than taking multiple pictures under different lighting and then stitching/layering images on top of each other in post.

Nice castle! I really like what you did with the tiles on the sides of the battlements, narrows the gaps as well as provides some additional detail.

Strangely, I wasn't expecting an actual teal river when I clicked on this topic. Sure am glad that's what you built though! The color works quite well against the dark brown and lime; plus it makes the light aqua work perfectly as the transition into and out of the waterfall. Solid keep too!

Really awesome MOC! So much detail on the interiors and the brick-built reliefs are impressive in the walls.

1 point for 7. BardDandelion 1 point for 16. Henjin_Quilones 1 point for 18. Aurore

1 point for 8. Aurore 1 point for 10. KKJoshA 1 point for 11. Kahir88

I decided to go with an overall theme this time rather than simply and only focusing on what might work for each Guild. So, I present to you: "Legends and Horror Stories of Historica" There are all manner of scary stories told throughout the ages in Historica. Some are surely simply tales created for entertainment around a fire on a fall evening. Some may be fairy tales sometimes used by parents to try to keep their children close to home during dangerous times. Some may result from the, er, "impaired" sensory experiences of wandering travelers. But, some, some are true..... Historica is an ancient land with magics and mysteries stretching many generations. Who can tell the fact from the fiction? You? I doubt it. Flickr album Congrats everyone on 10 years!

These are crisp Gideon, very nicely put together. The Satyr axeman, the Algus warrior (obviously!), and the Werewolf bounty hunter, are great; but the Rego palace guard, the Petraean swordsman, and the Herbalist are my favorites!

Thanks guys! Lego has invented a bunch of stuff for their CMF series, so why not break the mold a little bit eh? Thanks Umbra!

Oh, I like this series! The Teacher made me laugh, and the Ranger, Wraith, Mercenary, and Royal Guard are strong entries. My favorite is the University Researcher! Good to see more lore added to Nocty's pumpkin pies too!

Gee-wiz, the rendering capability of the 3D Lego software has become incredible. I was working through these and thinking "oh, that's made in that color now? Sweet!" so often, and now I'm sad lol. My favorite fig here is the Mountain Hydro Mummy! What piece did you use for the head? The abacus is a really great design, makes me wish those One Rings existed in more than one color!

Great stuff here Kai! I really like how you used the brick bricks in the columns, I'll have to borrow that in the future.

Nice statues in the columns Maxim! I also really like the tan ruined/fallen head--mixing in the dark tan is great!

Here's my CMF entry: 10 years sure has flown by!