ED-209

Remember that cool car chase scene in Captain America: Winter Soldier? The one where Nick Fury is driving a Chevy Tahoe? I loved that scene, and wish we saw more of Fury's spy-mobile! So it's only natural that I went and made my own! Here you can see the lights used in unmarked law-enforcement vehicles (as well as a vent for the car's surprisingly robust air conditioning system): Now I may have seen too many old Bond films, but to me it wouldn't be a spy car without a few extra gadgets! So here are some missiles concealed behind the grille, just perfect for a little defensive driving: Sadly in the movie the car gets thoroughly trashed before Fury can activate the car's flight mode, but that doesn't stop me from building it into my model! And of course, more missiles launched from the roof! Wooo!! I tried to get a minigun mounted in the centre console (like in the film), but couldn't make it work without losing the passenger seat. So I went with a little more artistic licence and mounted a flip-out minigun on each side: Danger stripes, because that's a dangerous area to be hanging around. And government vehicles certainly aren't exempt from Health & Safety regulations! With everything deployed, I feel the car has a bit of a "heavily armed helicopter gunship" vibe going on. I had an absolute blast making this model, any feedback is most welcome!

I've been offline for ages, and thought what better way to break my hiatus than with 24 consecutive days of posting?! And it's December 1st! Well, at least here in Australia it is. My kids have got their official Lego Advent Calendars, but what's a castle fan to do? Since there's been no castle theme for years I decided to make my own Advent Calendar. And because I'm such a shameless Viking enthusiast, it's going to be a Viking one! Now much like the 2008 "Castle" and 2010 "Kingdoms" Advent Calendars (sets 7979 and 7952), mine isn't terribly Christmassy. They were really just an excuse to get a bunch of minifigs and minibuilds, and that's perfectly fine with me! Mine will just fit in with the ongoing efforts towards my Viking Village display. So without further ado, let's kick things off with: DAY 1 - Berserker Perhaps a bit of an angry start to the season, or maybe he's just stressed about spending the holidays with the in-laws? DAY 2 - Woodchopping Ah, now the Berserker has something to do with his axes! *CHOP CHOP* DAY 3 - Farm boy This young lad has the eggcellent job of collecting eggs! Ah, I crack myself up... no more silly yolks please... Day 4 - Toy boat When he's not working on the farm, the young lad enjoys playing with his toy boat. Day 5 - Old woodcarver An old villager carves wooden figures - maybe statues of the Norse gods? Day 6 - Campfire A simple build technique that's been done before, but now our hungry woodcarver can cook himself up a tasty meal! Day 7 - Blacksmith I think it's fair to say that no Lego Castle line is complete without a blacksmith! Day 8 - Anvil and grindstone Because the smith needs somewhere to work his elemental magic, doesn't he? Day 9 - Maiden Some traditional Scandinavian hospitality as this young maiden welcomes visitors to the village with some delicious freshly baked bread! Day 10 - Barrel o' mead The hospitality doesn't stop at bread! Skål! Day 11 - Pig farmer Home again, home again, jiggety-jig! Day 12 - Haystack A very, very simple build today - just three bricks! But you can stick the underside of a brick onto the end of the pitchfork. So at least it gives yesterday's farmer something to do besides chase that pig around all day! Day 13 - Apiary Hooray, more work for the farmer to do! A couple of beehives (which I made before the new beehive element was unveiled!) Day 14 - Huscarl Personal retainer and bodyguard to the Jarl, he takes his work very seriously. Day 15 - Banner stand Only five parts in this simple build, but I think it looks pretty cute. Plus it gives the huscarl something to stand next to so he can feel important! Day 16 - Cheese table More hospitality and winter feasting with a table full of interesting chesses. Day 17 - Noblewoman One of my custom prints, the noblewoman carries the household keys on her belt. Her cat makes sure the cheese table remains rat-free! Day 18 - Runestone A stone raised as a marker, inscribed with pictures and runes telling of great deeds and the like. If this were a real official Lego set, I'd like to see the surfaces of sloped bricks printed with the inscription! Day 19 - Sacred tree A bit small to be a mighty oak tree, but nevertheless it's part of a sacred grove in the forest outside our viking village. Some wild herbs and a mushroom grow in its shade. Day 20 - Sage And who worships in the sacred grove? Who collects the wild medicinal herbs? The village sage does! Day 21 - Jarl's weapon rack It's a rack. For weapons. Belonging to the Jarl. Day 22 - Jarl's armour rack It's another rack. For... oh you can figure it out! Day 23 - Jarl's throne Sitting. The great leveler. From the mightiest pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn’t enjoy a good sit? Day 24 - The Jarl Who didn't see this coming after the past few days?! A good jarl would rule not by force, but with the support of his followers. He is a strong leader, an inspirational speaker, and a fierce warrior; generous with his food, drink, and coin.

Oh it made complete sense to me when you mentioned it. I was going for a non-mythological theme, but I was tempted to bend my rules and make day 24 Odin when you brought up the idea! And don't forget old white-bearded Odin going on "the Wild Hunt" around Jul-time, the imagery of the clattering hooves across the winter sky... and even the idea of children leaving out a boot filled with straw for Odin's horse Sleipnir, in exchange for which Odin would leave a small gift as a token of thanks. It all sounds very familiar! I think I was in my early teens when I finally learnt about all the pre-Christian Pagan roots of Christmas, and it blew my mind! And don't get me started on the Pagan fertility festival that became Easter! You're most welcome, I'm glad everyone enjoyed it! Thanks, I did try to balance out the minifigs in the same ratio as TLG's official Advent Calendars. Hey that's a great idea! And one just of the figs themselves, something of a final bow.

I propose an elaborate system of 12 Advent Calendars a year, one per month! Language! It's not that type of "throne"! (It was actually a Simpsons quote, in case you didn't spot it!) By all means use the design, is it clear enough for you to reverse-engineer or would you like some brief instructions? Well, we're all done now! Thank you all for coming along on this little journey with me, I've had a lot of fun! Day 24 is up, it's Christmas Day tomorrow, best wishes to everyone!

Thank you, I'd buy it too! Yes some of the builds are very simple, mainly because I was trying to emulate the way TLG makes their Advent Calendars. There always seems to be a few simple builds to keep the overall parts count down. I think the haystack is my simplest build. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, but case in point my daughter opened her Friends calendar today and it contained nothing but a single pony. A few days ago it was just a single dog! It surprised me that even though they're complex elements to mould (and have personalities that kids will imbue them with) there was no assembly of any parts at all on those days at all. Why not?! That must be some mighty good cheese! Almost finished, Day 22 is up!

Thanks again! It's really an improper part usage from TLG's perspective (because they don't treat the hand as an individual element), but I felt the staff just looked a little too plain without something suggesting branches. I had originally based the look on this picture I once found of this kinda crazy-looking pagan wizard, I just found the photo so evocative - this is a character I want to see in a movie/book/TV show! I couldn't figure out a way to make a goat horn on the end of his staff, so I went with the branch look. Oh, that's a fantastic idea! 1x1 round tiles like cross-sectioned slices of a branch with runic symbols carved/burnt into them! I'll have to work on that...

By the gods, these are fantastic!! I love the fact that you keep coming up with more and more designs and ideas! I know I'm late to the party here, but I just can't express how blown away I am! Keep up the fantastic work, I'm dying to see more!

Day 20 is up, and there's your nordic wizard! I was biting my tongue all this time!!

Wow, thanks! I can't even tell you how much I wish I owned one of those printers! LOL plates aren't butch enough perhaps?! Well really they used wooden plates, but sadly Lego haven't yet made the plate/dish element in a woodsy colour! Oh, if the plate and classic mug elements came in tan... just imagine how many inns, taverns, meadhalls and banquet tables across the world would be filled with minifigs enjoying food and drink from all those wooden trenchers and tankards! In the meantime... the cheese just goes directly on the table! By the hammer of Thor, day 18 is now up!

It's cool, isn't it?! I'm also looking forward to the black bear, I missed out on the dark brown one last time... Day 15 is up.

That's right, new beehive element! Coming in some of the City mountain police sets in 2018. It even fits on a minifig's head for comedic results:

There's no rush, the wheel works perfectly fine as it is - it's just a little unsightly on one side! There are actually a couple of builds that I think I'll modify. For the log from Day 2 I'll insert this part in the middle to make it "break away"more cleanly: And for the toy boat on Day 4 I'll replace the 2x3 plate with a 2x3 tile, and probably make a sticker of a billowed sail in that archetypal Viking stripe:

Thanks my man! But how else is a little blacksmith going to keep a sharp edge on all those little toy swords?! It's straightforward enough that you can probably already see this, but the grindstone is made of these two parts: and I'd love the grindstone to be smooth/tiled on both sides! Do you mean to replace the plate with another tile, and position them back to back? It would be doable, but because they both have pin holes instead of axle holes they'd move about feely and the axle would slide out easily (unless you used a longer one with bushings on the end). There may be a way to get a smooth underside to the wheel, but I was just trying to build it with the minimum number of parts I could! Let me know if I've misunderstood what you were suggesting, or if you (or anyone else) has any other suggestions! And Lego? If you're listening: I'd like a new element like this, but round and with a hole through it! By Odin's beard, day 12 is now online and that means we're already half way through!

Well if you're having a bet with yourself the good news is that whatever shows up on the 24th, you're going to win the bet! But the bad news is you're also going to lose the bet! Thank you, I had a lot of fun putting them together. And since I've forgotten which order I put them in, every day is still a little surprise to me! And on that note, day 11 is up!

Aw thanks, that's so kind! I really like the wood carver too! Also, day 10 is now up!

So it is the underpants look. Got it. I AM THE NORDIC WIZARD!! LOL I love that, I feel like I want to walk around wearing some sort of antlered headdress now! The blacksmith is one of the only civilian minifigs in the castle lines! But yeah, he's gonna burn his hands without some tongs! Aaaaaaand... day 8 is up!

Thanks! I think you're right - if I were a Danish toy company, I'd be making Viking toys all the time! :-P My 4yo loves them too! (Although he loves his Lego City calendar as well!) And my 2yo ran off with with the little chicken from day 3! That's because it's a custom sticker I made! Thank you, the woodcarver is wearing one of my standard Norse tunic printed torsos. I had them printed in several colours and have gotten a lot of mileage out of them! What's troubling you about the tan pants? Is it the "squint and he looks like he might be wearing underpants" thing? I originally had him in unprinted pants, but it just looked too plain. My preference would actually be dark tan, if I had something that had a suitable belt and pouch printed on it. And by Frey's golden boar, Day 7 is now online!

Thanks KristofBD! And thanks again Littleworlds! I tried to represent a few different elements of village life. As one of the gripes we AFOLs have with TLG's castle stuff is how over represented soldiers and knights are. I know, I know, conflicts are what the kids like to play out! But nevertheless, I always wanted merchants and tailors and craftsmen and stuff when I was a kid, as well as soldiers and knights! Anyway... Day 5 is now up!

As I'll tell anyone who'll listen, it was the Viking sets that brought me out of my Dark Ages. The sets are a bit dated now though, I really wish they'd do a new Viking line! With some civilian figs in addition to all the warriors. And a longhouse! But then, that's the beauty of Lego - I just make these things myself anyway! Day 3 is now online! (Speaking of civilian figs...)

Awesome! I'd snap these all up if they were real sets! You broke up the tan in the other Imperial sets with some dark tan masonry bricks, is there any reason you didn't do that with the Forum? I think if Lego were producing something like this, they'd use a different colour for the ground and insert a bit of random variation in some of the walls with colour or texture. I'd also love to see a small sticker one one of the walls displaying the graffiti "Romanes eunt domus"

Haha, love it! How did you stick the base to the backing?

Yes! Vikings are always great! Thanks for the kind words both of you, I'm looking forward to drawing this out over the next few weeks! I'll add each new day to the original post... Day 2 is now online!

Fantastic! I love it! The temple, the tree, the boar... and I love how small Hercules looks!

Wow, I love how intricate and detailed it is! Some wonderful texturing in there!

I think I'm not alone in saying that I was disappointed that we missed out on any official sets based on both Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and on Thor: The Dark World. So to rectify this, I made a MOC based on the flying Viking longboats the Asgardians are depicted using. I'm quite pleased with how the overall line of the ship came out. The design could easily be adapted for a castle/Viking theme. The wing segments are each hinged, and joined to the hull by a ball-and-socket joint. This allows the wings to be set at a wide range of angles and positions. Although not depicted in the film, I figured a built in gangplank/step would be suitable! I also incorporated a clip at each end of the boat for the Asgaridans to stow their weapons.