Gabe

Lilac in a build! Great stuff, i always like the offbeat colour combos. I really like the curtains too and some of the detailing like the upside-down gold beards. (Brickforge?) A fitting memorial indeed to the courage of the fallen.

During March i took part in the MocAthalon over at MocPages (kinda using it as a spur to get out of a building slump, really) One of the catagories i was handed was to build a life-sized bust of a real or fictional person. And can i just say, man was this catagory hard... special thanks to whoever thought this catagory up, i had a blast and wow, was i stretched as well! It was my partner who actually suggested i make a bust of David Bowie as she is a huge fan - initally i was dubious but then when i recalled the classic "Aladdin Sane" album cover, i thought, could i actually pull off that lightening bolt across his face? I didn't know.. and there was only one way to find out! ;) I had a hard time photographing this with all the brick shine - i knew i wanted some white background shots to recreate the album cover, but i actually thought it would pop better on black and give viewers a better idea of the sculpting involved. So, here is a full revoloution of Bowie on black: The side on angles were the least flattering and showed where i struggled the most with the anatomy. The face is far too flat and you can see how enlongated the head is. But hey, the Ziggy Stardust character is a kind of alien, right? (Ok, just covering my failings i know!) He really did have an epic mullet in those days. Business on top, party at the back! Well, that's it. C and C welcome as always. Thanks for looking peeps!

During March i took part in the MocAthalon over at MocPages (kinda using it as a spur to get out of a building slump, really) One of the catagories i was handed was to remodel a pre-2003 set of my choice. I decided to remodel the classic space set "One-man spaceship" (set # 918) from 1979, as I had this set as a child and it was always one of my favourites - i can't count the number of times i pulled it apart and reassembled it. :) I tried to keep the relative size, shape, colours and functions of my version similar to the original, whilst also adding more curves and detail. I am not really much of a space builder (haven't built a spaceship in years!), but i've recently been perusing the excellent "Lego Space: Building the Future", by Peter Reid and Tim Goddard, and i guess i've been trying to channel some of the excellent models in that book. I do like the front-on angle of the ship - it gives a good view of the major design change i made in placing the engines under the wings. I also wanted the cockpit to sit low in body of the ship, just like the original. It worked out well i think and is one of my fav aspects of the build. :) I also wanted to add storage doors at the rear of the ship, just like the original model. Overview, showing all the detail i managed to fit on the surface of the ship. As the original was a perfectly symmetrical model, i made the detailling on my version symmetrical as well. The yellow stripes on the wing are my small nod to the ship's bigger cousin, the "Galaxy Explorer" (set # 928); which i also had and loved. :) Here we see the revamped 918 delivering some much-needed Bricklink supplies to a far-flung outpost of the galaxy! ;) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Btw, if there are any space builders out there that might have some constructive criticism for me on this build, it'd be muchly appreciated! (I'm not much of a space builder and i'm always looking to improve) Ta for looking peeps. :)

Thanks everyone for your lovely and encouraging comments, i really glad you have enjoyed my build.

Here's to the faerie forest *not* resting in peices, but morphing into something equally spectacular. Brick on, you two.

Congrats on the win Emma, well deserved with this beauty! I love the action pose of this dragon and the light brick works a treat - fiber optic cable is a great trick, i'll have to remember that. The chaos of the ground action is amazing too... fabulous work!

Thanks Torgar! Cheers Gunman. Yeah the course marker/banner base was just something i was mucking around with when i got stuck on some of the neck connections - it was a bit of an impulse addition at the end but i think it suits the scene. Aw thanks MKJoshA, glad you like it! Haha cheers Ska; i'm disturbed by how you say "scrape up", sounds like Kaliphlin jails are pretty harsh these days! Thanks mrcp6d! Yeah i really wanted to use my greens in this build, partic all the new olive green parts i'd acquired - it's such a great colour. Parts restriction was a bit of an issue and i was forced into a couple of colour substitutions, but i tried to make it look as much like natural hide variation as i could. Thanks, Godtshep! I'm glad you noticed the PQ parts, i really like how the pattern on them fits just as well with wing markings as they do with stonework. One of my fav parts of the build too, oddly enough. Sure, just don't make her sneeze again! (she can be a bit ticklish...)

Thanks soccerkid! I've always wanted to make a full minifig scale dragon - i find it's quite a challenging scale to get right with creatures. And of course, with Cape Dahaka (dragon's cape) on the north-eastern tip of Peregrinus, it's a no-brainer that we are going to have dragon riders! Thankyou! Thanks HammerBro, i'm glad you like it! Well i can highly recommend building a dragon if you like a challenge - this definitely tested my patience at times.

Hey fellow guildies; sorry i haven't been so active lately, but i thought i'd post this Kaliphlin free-build i made recently: Click on the image to go to the topic, as usual. I built it as part of the "MocAthalon" challenge thing that is running over on MocPages this month - clearly the last time i entered wasn't enough punishment, or i forgot how gruelling it was, or something. Silly me... Still, i might be able to get a couple more of my catagories to cross-over into GoH territory... wish me luck! Btw, Gideon, that gatehouse teaser looks awesome! Lovely thick walls, it looks like it will be a decent size. And welcome to RoyalBrickCustoms / Prince Themuell! Lots of coast for you to choose from to base your port in, or you could help expand an existing one of course.

Just a free-build for Kaliphlin: Of all the various dragon species, Emerald green spitters are among the most tameable, and as a result have been hand reared in Peregrinus as part of their new aerial defense system. They are fast fliers, acrobatic and accept riders easily. Despite having no teeth, Emerald greens are fearsome in battle, as they spit accurate jets of highly corrosive acid on those unlucky enough to face them. (This is how they "pre-digest" their prey in the wild) However, even with these advantages, the training process is long and arduous. Both dragon and rider must exhibit total control and lightening reflexes in order to graduate to active duty. One of the more important tests is spitting accuracy and the ability to distinguish ally from enemy units on the battlefield. It seems that in this case, poor Daisy and Akmed still have many long hours of practice in front of them... Daisy should have concentrated on the targets on the left, leaving those on the right unscathed. Whoops... (I think she just sneezed) Assessor Harrod sighs deeply. "How about you wheel around and try that again, eh?" Some ex-target dummies. Daisy is determined to keep dilligently practicing until she is centremetre perfect with her aim, even on the move - she can't wait to take to the skies and pit her skills against the rebel Varlyian ships! Thanks for looking peeps! C & c welcome as always.

So the Black Spire won... ah, such mixed feelings. Yay because my team won (and congrats to everyone who worked so hard on thier entries!), but knowing also that this means there are dark days for Historica ahead, to say nothing of our freinds in Nocturnus... I know, i know, the best stories are all about conflict and dealing with loss, but i quite like building peaceful scenes of harmony and co-operation! (world's smallest violin plays in the background, heh)

Thankyou Doom2099, Tuinman and Godtshep for your kind words!

Really nice scene Gideon, well composed and with a heap of cool little details! I'm in the camp of liking the dark orange, although perhaps it could have been broken up a bit with small brown or dark tan plates and tiles over the top of it. The low houses are excellent and the pallisade makes a great backdrop. Best of luck for the challenge! UoP: +1 for all cats.

Really pleasing build Gideon! The tree, wooden walkway and stairs are my favourite parts, they just look so organic and natural. The snotted rockwork is neat too, especially broken up with the olive cheese and foliage, although in places it does seem incongrously smooth compared to the weathered tower above it. Perhaps using so many curved slopes contributes to this... the shiny surface of the bricks rather than the matt of regular slopes doesn't seem to reflect the material it is trying to convey, and the lack of studs also cuts down on available texture. (Personally i think the rockwork section that works best is the back side of the stairs, where there is a mix of SNOT and studs-up used) The tower looks really imposing above the landscaping, well proportioned and the offset windows look really nice! UoP: +1 for all claims.

Really nice little vignette, illustrates the story well. The tan tree looks great with the dark red foliage. UoP: +1 for both catagories.

Yaay, this looks like fun, thanks for orginising it Eryn! Once i'm sorted with the post-convention breakdown (yeah, still going), i'll get started on something for this.

Thankyou! I did try to balance detail with the original joyful feel of the Fabuland world; i'm not sure that i didn't overdo it in places, but i'm glad that it works well for you both! Thanks de Gothia! Haha i think this might just be a little outsized for Avalonian hobbits... giant hobbits perhaps? Thanks Soccerkid! Yeah i have quite a lot of "good 'ol blue" hanging around, so it made sense to use it. Plus, with all the different water techniques out there, i still think that primary blue more than holds it's own! Thanks so much Ecc, that's lovely to hear! The windmill really was the start point for this diorama, and although i think i didn't quite nail the Fabuland scale with it (it's a bit small), it still manages to be my favourite part of the layout as well. Thanks also for frontpaging my creation, i feel very honoured! Thanks gedren! It was indeed a lovely surprise to wake up to this morning! Thanks rogueang! I did struggle with the scale a bit, and although i still think it's a bit off in places, i do agree that it works harmoniously as a whole. Interesting isn't it, how scale can be wrong and yet look right? (Or inversely, be correct and yet look all wrong! ) Of course, seeing it in 2D is very different to looking at it in the brick... i was joking a bit at the convention that if you looked at it from the top of the hill down to the windmill, it almost looked like forced perspective! Thankyou ikba! I don't know if you can tell, but i actually used some of the torso designs from the LoTR and Hobbit minifigs and painted them onto the Fabuland figs. Sadly at the time i'd lost my box of 000 and smaller brushes, and had to make do with a manky old 0 brush. I hope to go back and clean them up a bit later. Thankyou Louie le Brickvalier and thankyou again for following my progress... it is so useful to me to hear what ppl have to say about my WIP's as i post them. This build would not have worked out as well as it did without all the comments and suggestions i recieved! Thankyou very much whydoris! Fabuland really was a magical theme and i'm sure you will find many uses in your moc's for your Fabuland figs! Thankyou all for your lovely and encouraging comments! I'm so glad that you have been enjoying my build.

Thankyou! Yeah i guess there is always that one geek who wants to point out all the inaccuracies... I don't think it was a serious criticism, more of bit of a joke. Haha cheers! I did! Or at least i suspected. Ever since my partner pulled out the Fabuland elephant from her childhood toybox, i knew he would make a perfect Gandalf, and it kinda all went from there... Ah, i see what you did there! Thankyou! Thanks infernum, i'm really glad you like it! Aw thanks so much peeps! I have to say that despite the frenetic pace of building leading up to Brickvention, this was quite a restful build to make. We've had some really hot days this summer, but looking at this always made me feel a little bit cooler. Thankyou so much guys, i really appreciate your kind words. Aw thanks, hearing that brings a big smile to my face. I feel myself that the paintwork was a little rushed (mainly done all in one night), so i might go back and refine those figs a little. Thankyou! Those interiors were fun to build and furnish. Thanks Carson! I was going to make thinner ones but i was completely out of 1x1 round bricks, so i had to think again. I'm quite pleased with them myself!

Wow, that's so impressive! Love the dark blue roof, looks so smart, and the joins on the roof look nicely finished too. The contruction scene on the end is cool as well. Wonderful stuff!

Oh my gosh Torgar, what a brilliant entry! Man that first shot is just gold. I really admire your landscaping style - reminds me a little of Schifo factory with his "studs all sides" technique - such a great way to add texture and create smooth transitions. (I really want to try it now!) The microscale ruined castle is also wonderful, and i really like that little peek of a spiral staircase in your final pic - adds a nice bit of depth to what could have been quite a shallow stage. UoP - you got my vote for all your catagories, for sure!

Super cute build Kai, you managed to make the most of a very small stage! Well presented too - i suspect you've got the best angle on that gnarled little tree and the red in the base picks out the colour of the flowers nicely. (Lovely crisp pics as well!) UoP - you've got my vote for both countryside and raising livestock.

This is my finished layout for Brickvention 2014, a lego convention that took place in Melbourne, Australia in the middle of Jan. Fabuland figures were a big fixture of my childhood (my sister had them), as was The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Mashing up the two themes was a huge nostalgia trip for me. You could tell all the children of the 70’s at the convention open days, cause they seemed enchanted by the distinctive anthropomorphic figures as well! I had a full interior for the upper burrow and a partial cutaway interior for the lower right hand one as well. In addition, this was my first power functions moc, with a switch at the back making the sails on the windmill turn. There is a short video showing the windmill turning on my Flickr, for those who are interested. Some of the figures were hand painted to fit the Hobbit theme better, wheras i made others little vests and dresses out of fabric. The difference in treatment was because half of the Fabuland figs came from my partner's old childhood lego box - i wasn't going to paint on them! Gandalf also had his own robe/cloak made of leather and was topped by the official Gandalf hat, stuck on by a piece of Blu-tack. A photo from my table at Brickvention. You might notice the lack of the small tree on top of the hill - that was a post-convention addition. (As was the swan and ducks) The ineriors seen from the back right-hand corner, (removing that module for better light) I've already been taken to task about how Tolkein specifically said that hobbit burrows were all build on one level; but then hobbits didn't have animal heads in the text either so whatevs. (Plus i ran out of brown bricks for the sides and i really wanted to add a larder!) Bottom burrow - this cutaway was added late in the build, a great idea by Flickr user E.B. so thanks for that mate! It was quite hard to see the detail inside unless i pull the front wall away as i've done here. The button is for a light brick in the fireplace, but sadly it didn't turn out as bright as i would have liked. I was lucky enough at Brickvention to win a commendation from the judges, which was pretty cool! (The prize was the Mini-modulars set, which is a super sweet build btw - now i want to complete it by building the 4 most recent models... ) Thanks for looking peeps! I hope you have enjoyed my build - c&c welcome of course!

Yay, thanks heaps for that gedren, i'll go through that lot today. As a somewhat intermittant contributer here, i have to say that the congenial atmosphere in Kaliphlin does keep me coming back. That and the fact that this guild puts out some of the most interesting builds and storylines, and i don't want to miss anything!

Gosh, so much going on since i've been gone! Sorry peeps, i thought i would be back on the forums earlier than this, but there was a big Lego convention in my town recently (Brickvention) and preparing for, surviving and cleaning up after that really consumed all my free time. I haven't even looked at all the challenge 1 stuff yet, looking forward to catching up on all of that! I've had a few PM's about UoP stuff (votes for old threads) , thanks heaps for that guys. Does anyone know what's going on with the UoP stuff atm? Has anyone been keeping track of what needs votes since i've been away, or has it kinda been taking care of itself? Been loving all the undead banter and jokes btw! Where do you dig them up from... (groan!)

No worries, if no-one has any objections i might shoot off a PM to those three for starters. What about Lord Vladivus as well? I think he suggested the idea a while ago and offered to help. I think it best to ask for help for a limited time only so we don't make it an onerous deal - maybe 2-3 weeks, something like that? Thanks Ska that's a great help. I'll go through and amend the oustanding list now. Brickvention building is heating up for me now so i'll probably be dropping by only sporadically until the 20th.