Gabe

Great review Penkid, thanks! I've been waiting for a review of this set to see the parts breakdown - it looks really nice with all the rarish and new colours. If i see one on sale i might have snap it up. (despite also saving my money for the Hobbit sets! There's clearly too much on my wanted list... )

Hey Ska, just a quick reminder that Emma claimed the long snake/dragon card too... just thought i'd mention it as you put me down for that card but not her as well, despite her putting in her bid first.

Whoa Gideon, that's seriously lovely! I really like the slight angle on that corner tower, and the tree in the central courtyard looks pretty neat too (what i can see of it!) Can't wait to see more pics... where are you going to situate it in GoH? It does have a rather Avalonian look about it.. Yesss... you can do it Damaximus! I'm looking forward to seeing Everlast too. Are you going to be posting WIP pics of your build?

Ahaha... excellent tribe ch_ris127! I once heard a Mitgardian talk about "being grundled", and assumed it was something to do with waking up after a heavy night in a compromising situation, now i know better!

Sorry i'm so late to comment on this beauty Legonardo. I love the rockwork base with it's winding path, not sure why you are disappointed with it - were you hoping for it to look more typically like a skull perhaps? The angle of the small middle timber window is my fav part, especially coupled with the subtle taper of the tower, and the skulls arrayed on their chains against the rock are an appropriately grisy touch! It's a great addition to Nocturnus.

Wonderful brick-built creature Lord Vladivus, the Genosian head looks just right on it! Emma has some great suggestions for you regarding general presentation, i would also suggest that giving your landscape some different levels (trees, deep snowdrift, rocky outcrops, overhanging cliff wall etc) can add a lot of interest to your moc. I look forward to seeing more of these creepy guys in your future builds!

Really nice build mpoh98! The balcony is great and i like the unconventional handles on the well. I like the roof with it's foliage as well and the stained glass window of the tree is a masterful touch. One thing i would suggest for next time is to recess your doors a bit so they are not flush with the wall, and maybe give them an overhanging lintel. Also, what was the outcome of the duel? She looks like she's stabbing him in the back as he's trying to get away!

Thanks guys, i'm glad you like my build!

Thanks Sschmidt! It wasn't really a con, just a small lego display for a country show in Victoria, Australia. It was pretty funny - we were between the show rabbits and the Country Womens Association jam stall! (I saw some pretty crazy rabbits that day, and also got hassled by a creepy clown - fun times) I'm taking it to a metro lego show this weekend too, which is a fundraiser for our LUG. :thumbup:

This is a very interesting challenge Ska, i'll have a go at building some cards and then reassess if i can make something for the first catagory after that. Hard to decide which card to choose, but put me down for the dragon. (I might build something for the cat/fox and tower too, idk!)

Haha nice Legonardo, have to agree with you although i'll be keeping the sweet figs too. Parts are the main thing i care about and while these sets aren't amazing in that regard, there are certainly enough unusual or useful parts to keep me happy. I'll certainly get two of the Mirkwood Elf Army set.

That's an awesome build for one so young! I really like all the different levels, it's a very attractive looking building. Do you guys build together a lot?

Awesome tribe - love the creativity in these and they fit into your built environment really well. Your presentation really pops as well!

Thanks again peeps for all of your comments and kind words! You guys really do make me blush. Thanks mate! Yeah that was lovely to get blogged on TBB - and Mr Goldman is a wonderful builder for sure. Regarding the structural engineering of the dome, i was just lucky in that my first or second solutions worked well enough that they didn't need any major revisions. I'm still a little iffy though that i couldn't make a full inner dome skin, rather than just a central apeture with radiating struts. If i keep it together for Brickvention next year i might try to revsit that. Thanks! Yep, if you get into mosaic floors, then Katie Walker is the person to check out on Flickr - one of her designs forms the basis for this floor. (Apols if you know her work already) Just be prepared to stock up big on cheese slopes. Cheers NM! Yeah i couldn't resist giving Gex a map, had to reference your achievements somehow! The build is surprisingly sturdy - i made some minor adjustments after taking it to the Seymour show (approx 160-180km round trip), as i had a partial dome collapse in the car on the way home. (The inner skin of the central apeture and the upper windows came down) Reinforcing the apeture skin and technic frame behind it also meant i could do away with the white beam in front, letting more light in - a nice bonus! The pic below shows the difference with the finshed moc: At the Seymour show. I didn't have the lamps in there at that stage either and the minifigs were mainly placeholders. Haha, awww, thanks. Don't doubt yrself though, you should have seen the nonsense i was building only 3 years ago!

It's certainly nice having a few different catagories to build for - takes the pressure off having to make one thing perfect i reckon. I'll see how i go but i'd like to put something up for every catagory. As for personnel, not sure yet but i have a couple of new characters which i'm itching to introduce!

Sign me up please! Great throne rooms btw, i can't decide which i like best.

Super build Cpt Flint, simple but nicely detailed and with a wonderfully evil atmosphere. I love seeing that skull peice used too and it looks great here!

Another excellent design - you really have a great eye for unconventional roof shapes! I'm really enjoying your "settlers" designs. The only thing i'd suggest is to recess the door into the windmill - it looks a bit odd being flush with the wall.

Beautiful build DC, love the round corner tower with the jutting out window boxes, and the way the cottage nestles up against the side of the keep - it gives it a real feel of the structure enduring and being added to over the ages. The stunted trees are great too and the foliage colour works very well. I like the bridge too, but it looks like such a temporary structure against the solidity of the main keep..? Your stonework really is amazing - quite dizzying to the eyes, looking at it massed together like this!

Oh and my apologies for forgetting to congratulate Kai on her first TBB blogging! That carriage was really clever, well deserved. Congrats to Sschmidt on yr new member of the family! Robuko, i for one would be very sad if you left Kaliphlin - your builds are always so inventive and surprising and i always look forward to seeing something new from you. Still, it's understandable if you need more time for your family.

Thanks so much everyone for all of your kind words about my build. I know i hadn't built anything for GoH in a while so i wanted to contribute something a little special to make up for that - and i'm feeling very excited about starting afresh in book II! Thanks again for welcoming me back into the fold after my absence. Yeah, the main technical brief i set myself for this project was to build a dome with both an interior and an exterior, so i was really pleased that it came together in the end. The two white fluted towers used a technique for i saw for making a space pod (can't recall by who atm, i'll have to hunt back through my Flickr favs to find it again so i can credit them) - the towers are the most fragile parts of the build and also the sections i feel need the most revision. Haha, good eyes! But i'm surprised no-one recognised Xena and Gabrielle in the front row... No worries! I'd like to include more of the Nestlands folk in my mocs in the future. Ah right, thanks for the correction, my apologies for the mistake! I will amend the name in my sigfig list. Thanks Gideon, especially for the criticism - it's not petty at all, i'm always interested to hear what works and what doesn't for other ppl. I had originally planned to "scumble" (sort of what i would call dressing the surface) the stonework on the stairs and dias at the back, but it didn't end up looking right texturally and also it made everything a tic too high as well, so i decided to leave it in the end. I do know what you mean though, it doesn't bother me too much on the stairs, but the dias at the back is really noticable. (There's always this point where you think, is it worth it to dig down the correct level just to fix a cosmetic issue? I know i face this often and in this case i prob got a bit lazy! ) Thanks Legonardo! Yeah Kaliphlin builds really do involve a lot of fun and colour - it's what makes the guild so enticing i think. Still, Nocty looks like a heap of fun as well... as much (if not more) scope and variation to play with!

Ok, my Petraea University grand lecture theatre is up now! Hope you guys like it. Click the pic to go the topic.

This was my original idea for the Petraea University community build... last year. Yeah, i know, please don't laugh! Anyway, i got it done finally, and now the university has a focal point for meetings, debates, lectures, examinations and demonstrations of all kinds! On the occasion of the opening of the main lecture theatre on the Petraea campus, Kaliphlin's leader Dextrus Flagg is presented with an honarary degree for his services to the guild. Many of Kaliphlins' nobles and notables are on hand to witness the event! Although it is permissable for students and visitors to carry weaponry in many areas of the university, the main lecture theatre represents the heart of peaceful conduct and the pursuit of knowledge on campus, and weapons are forbidden here. The only exception are the wardens of the theatre, who are armed with the ceremonial "spears of insight". (Thier role in keeping the peace is moot, as most university staff are high level practicioners of the arcane, and could do more damage with a wave of thier little finger than the wardens could with a whole host of spears!) Dextrus Flagg is presented with his honarary degree by Chancellor Naseefa Khalifa, who is also Dean of the Law faculty. Herr Liebniz and Doktor Frankenstein have reserved themselves a handy vantage point in the gallery to watch the proceedings. "Goodness!" Herr Liebniz exclaims, "It seems that everyone is in town this weekend! The only noble face i can't see is.... Da Maximus, yes. Must have important matters of state to attend to. But there is Moonlord Kha on the other balcony, who is his companion i wonder? And Ageven Derain, Gex Marmota, Rasputin Jones too. Erudhalion Sansael now too, long time since i've seen him in the capital! And who's that coming down the stairs? Can't quite make them out.." "Oof! (puff, puff).... Am i late?" Abu Ali cries. I found this remarkable scroll in the library and i just lost track of the time... "Shh!" remonstrates Rasputin sharply as he taps the leg of his dress armour impatiently. "They are just about to begin, quickly, find a seat dear sir." Abu Ali gratfully leans back against the nearest pillar. He looks across the theatre, noting the familiar faces of Paulos, Wahil Musca, Amelia Phantomhive, Gideon and Masa of Kaliphlin. "But who is that beautiful young woman in the millitary coat?" he wonders. He winks at her, but Captain Hardiel's daughter is made of sterner stuff, and his overtures fall on stony ground. "Ah well," he consoles himself, "She must be preoccupied with more important matters than a foolish old man like me. Young Lord Drakon isn't having any better luck i see!" Lord Sansael and Lord Parsel's bodygaurds, denied entrance into the theatre, decide to while away the time by playing cards. Who has the better hand i wonder? Ah, it's a students life for me! Better not spill wine on that library book though, i hear the fines can be quite substantial.. A pic of the back of the dome, for those who are interested! And a last pic, just cause i like this view. Thanks for looking peeps, any feedback or criticism would be much appreciated! ps. It was my intention to include as many Kaliphlin members as i could in my moc ... if i have left anyone out i sincerely apologise! I either didn't have the minifig parts to make a recognisable sigfig for you (sorry Da Maximus) or, well, i just forgot. Apols again if so!

Great work on the "Master of Historica" wiki Gex, it's looking really good! :thumbup: The discipline and subject lists are looking quite comphrehensive, and i have a couple of suggestions as well: I reckon the architechture discipline should definitly include a component for interiors - ideally both a moc that is interior only and one that has both exterior and interior. Also, with the "wall techniques" segment, i don't think we shouldn't be restricting ppl to techniques that are currently in use - who knows, someone might come up with a fantastic new idea for wall textures and that should def count as a credit! Likewise with rockwork, trees and round towers - i feel the emphisis should be on producing variations on the theme, rather than just ticking the boxes of existing styles. For the Lanscape design discipline, i would also include snow/tundra and a catagory for "extreme environments" (lava, acidic pools, subterranean caverns etc) For the Hydrology discipline, i would include an underwater scene component - that's always a challenge! Also, i know ships and boats fall under trade at present, but i am tempted to say that they should be included in Hydrology instead? I'm not sure about that but i think it would be a shame for someone to graduate without having built a boat. (Showing my maritime bias i guess!) For the content-related disciplines, i do feel that millitary structures needs it's own section. Maybe with subjects like permanent fortifications, millitary camps/temporary fortifications, battle scenes and seige equipment (extra points for firing models!), maritime warfare? Also on the technical side, what do ppl think about a requirement for moving function(s) in at least one moc? know it might be out of some ppl's comfort zone (mine included!) but it would give graduates another string to thier bow. Anyway, that's all i can think of for now. I have to say, this program is looking really exciting, i hope it attracts lots of students! I'm better go and post my lecture theatre now btw - sorry it's so late guys!

Sweet idea NM, i definitely on board with the idea of a peer reveiwed system that helps ppl stretch themselves as builders. Gideon, that looks great! The little humpback bridge is awesome, and the castle looks very promising. Will you be posting the finished display in the History forums? Oh gosh, a new challenge - i'll have a closer look at this when i get back on Sun. Thanks Ska for orginising it! Ok, i've got to get packed now. Wish me luck that i won't have any smashed towers etc during the show...