Gabe

Ack, finally found some time to vote, (even though i haven't commented on all of the entries yet - still mega busy but i'll get to them all in the end! ) for the challenge 4 entries - such a hard descision as there were heaps of great entries. Sorry again for my recent absence - i've got about 2 weeks left of super-crazy work schedules, and then i can finally get back to some building! The mini-challenge looks interesting, i'm looking forward to getting stuck into that. Ooh, and i just noticed that i've got a green star...?? A bit embarassing as i haven't been around much of late, but i'll try to make up for that soon! Better go now before i collapse at the computer... another early start tomorrow...

Aha, and now we come to it! I've been looking forward to commenting on this beauty for some days, but have determined to go through the entries from furthest down the list first, meaning this has been a deferred pleasure. So my apologies Robuko, for not commenting on this masterpeice earlier. I mean, way to come from left field with such a great take on the challenge! It's one of the things that i really respect in your creations, that there is always so much thought put into them. And i know you credit Bosch with the original artwork, but that doesn't make your treatment of it any less masterful (Your compression of the composition is perfect, for example, as is your translation of the grotesqueries in the painting), or diminish it's artistic merit as an object in it's own right. Oh, and i love your depiction of Bosch's wierd mash-up of vertical, narrative and 3 point perspectives as well - brilliant, and actually echos the Mughal and Ottoman painting styles that use vertical perspective too, so is a perfect fit for Kaliphlin! Best of luck in the voting - i'm sure you'll do very well!

Very nice entry Styrbjorn! That first shot really is gold - the low eyeline makes the elemental really look formidible as it rampages through the town. The microscale view from the battlements in the fifth pic is also pretty sweet. I do think you could have culled your pics a little bit better though - some of the pics, especially the blurry ones, don't do your creation justice. Better to leave them out and just put in your best ones i reckon. Best of luck in the voting!

Great entry Kabel! The fortified building is very nice and the action going on around it really shows the panic and urgency of the attack. Despite others saying that the elemental isn't that scary, i find it quite effective - the fact that you only see it fly in from the corner of the pic really makes it seem hard elusive and hard to combat. If you really wanted to refine it further, you could aim for more articulation at points in the wings, maybe also give it some talons or something as a secondary weapon? I have to say that i LOVE the microscale component, just beautiful, especially from the high vantage point. The distant hill is expertly sculted and the finger joints for the battlements is a great touch. Best of luck in the voting!

DaMaximus, i'm really glad that you made the effort to put in an entry for the challenge, however small - kudos for being such a team player! As others have said, the striped walls of Mypa Stedor are very recognisable, and i do like the way that the small boat is being flipped in the air. However, there are quite a few elements in your moc that you could target for improvement - for instance, i would have liked to see a larger elemental, possibly surrounding the boat with tenticles or claws (or something!) and more movement in the water around the monster and the capsizing boat. Also, you might want to consider some micro-landscaping in the empty area to the left of the city - sand dunes or mountains, maybe palms etc? Small details like that can really add a lot of depth to your builds. Anyway, nice entry and best of luck!

Congrats on your first GOH moc Penkid! You certainly chose a complicated challenge to open your account with, and you've pulled it off nicely. My favourite part of your moc has to be the partially collapsed tower and hamlet - the sense of destruction in progress is very convincing. The various minifigs and microscale elements are well done too - especially the dress on the woman facing down the elemental with a frying pan! (She may be dumb, but she certainly doesn't lack for bravery!) I like your idea for the elemental too, although i feel that it could be worked on more to give it more bulk and presence - as it is, it seems a bit spindly and static. The other suggestion i would make is to make your lovely microscale city more visible in your main pic - it deserves much better than to be hidden behind your tower! Anyway, lovely moc and best of luck for the challenge voting!

Great entry Legonardo, i really like the shape of the base and the microscale volcano. These elements combined with the dof in the first pic almost gives the illusion that the surface of the moc is curving backwards - it's quite hypnotic! The half-burnt out house is well done too, and the minifig posing really adds life the scene. If your moc has a weak point, it would be the elemental - it just looks a bit rough and could probably benifit from some more refinements. But overall this looks like a strong entry. Best of luck in the voting!

Wowzers - stonkingly great build Z, very inspirational and i'm not at all surprised it got the TBB treatment. The level of detail and life in the scene is amazing, and the power functions really are a showstopper. The microscale looks neat from the top of the tower too, although i wish you could have found a way to make it more prominent in the main pic. But i guess compromises are inevitable with so much else going on in the build. Oh, and i have to mention the base too - really lovely work and shows it off well! Best of luck!

Very nice entry Soccerkid! I like the shape of the front walls leading into the gatehouse, i can imagine it would be quite intimidating having to run the gauntlet of those ballista towers. (and props for making them functional too!) The elemental looks pretty sweet and the ice effect is well done, although i would have liked the fight scene to be a little less static. I understand that the rigid dwarf legs can be restricting, but you can get around that by having dropped weapons, fallen defenders, valiant defenders jumping onto the elemental's back etc. I think part of the problem here is that you didn't have very much space for the confrontation to take place... i think 4 or so more studs in any direction would have made the world of difference. I like your microscale component in the first image, although the backdrop by itself is confusing in scale because of the figures climbing the mountain path - there just isn't the depth to fool the eye into beleiving that the mountain range behind them is anything more than just a section of cliff. Anyway, great effort overall with a lot of very cool things going on - best of luck!

Stunning entry Erynlasgalen, the colour scheme is superb and the contrast between the intact and destroyed building is very well handled. I really like the posing of the elemental dragon on the side of the building too, it looks ready to spring into action! My favourite part of elemental would have to be it's tail, the way it fans and the spiked ends are just perfect. The wings are pretty boss too. The neck looks a bit weak though - maybe some flags or curved slopes attached to the back of the head could cover that join? I can't finish without mentioning your minifig posing and microscale in the background either - both are fantastic and complement the scene brilliantly. Top work and best of luck!

Ah, it may fit in perfectly for now, but for how long? (Thanks DaMaximus!) Thanks! I'm quite happy with this one too, although i reckon it's a bit soon to be talking about mastery... Thanks Cara! Still grinding away on the free build. I took the opportunity to demolish a section and rebuild it more to my liking, so i'm sadly not too much forwarder yet... Thanks fellows for your kind words! I'm glad you like it.

Woah deGothia, great entry! So much chaotic detail to take in, yet the overall layout is still well composed and thought out. The little microcastle in between the two houses really fits the space well and lends a sense of depth to the diorama.(although i would given it a bit more altitude) The dark blue and nougat accents really pop and the profusion of vines works very well. Quinn's desecration is a super-creepy touch too. Top work and best of luck!

Great little ship Sebeus, looks nice and fast! The tapered shape of the stern is especially lovely. Now i'm thinking that i really ought to go back and work some more on my ship... (At the moment it is in the growing pile of unfinished mocs!)

A very interesting entry Rolli, that's a brilliant idea to merge different types of elementals to create something unexpected. I love the roof design and the colour gradations, nice to see those olive cheese slopes get a run already! The decay elemental design is pretty sweet too. One area that i think could have been better thought out though is your overall composition - at the moment the placement of things looks a bit haphazard. The microscale component is a perfect example - stuck behind your elemental it is pretty much invisible in the main pic. Anyway, nice work and best of luck!

As others have said, you really did go for broke in making 4 elementals! I do like the defined colour scheme for each elemental, and your use of large and uncommon parts. The whole layout gives me a bit of an "alien planet" vibe, which is pretty cool. A few things are a bit jarring though, like the abrupt transition between the pirate baseplate and the dark bley rockwork. Nice work and best of luck!

Hee, that's a sweet little micro build, robuko! I love the shape of the air elemental, it really looks as though it is picking up the houses in it's two enormous arms. I would have thought the locals would be more concerned about that huge wave though, especially being in such a low lying area...

Welcome Abdas! That's a lovely homely tavern you have there. The colour scheme and design fits into our guild perfectly, and it's great to see all the interior details as well. One thing i might suggest is to brighten up your pics a bit if you can - they are a tiny bit dark. (Or maybe it was just a cloudy day when your artist painted this? )

Wow, such a unique entry, i love the idea! The microscale as a bird's eye view works a treat and i really like the brick-built tornado as well, it shape is quite dynamic. I am not sure about the other white parts that are meant to show the wind though... to me they seem a bit too solid to be really believable? Or maybe that has to do with the fact that some things (like the trees) look like they are under a lot of strain, yet others, such as the wooden staircase and barrel covers, look as solid as a rock! The last pic is the best though, the different layers give the floating island a real sense of altitude. Nice work and best of luck!

Ahhh, what a hard question to answer! I am tempted to say Green Grocer, as it's price is well out of my reach now, but i think i'd have to go instead for 6086 "The Black Knights' Castle".

Damn Mikel, that is one creepy elemental! It looks positively gleeful about swamping that ship. Great stuff. I like the way you have tried several different techniques in combination to construct the wave-scape... water is certainly tricky to get right! I find that understanding how waves behave is the key to get ocean scenes to look believeable. I do like your ocean scene though - it does look unexpected and even jarring in places, but it sort of has a stylised feel to it that is pretty cool. So the only question remaining is - when are you going to post your awesome big ship?? ps. Glad you are starting to feel better now!

Thanks, i'm glad you like it! Cheers Torgar, thanks for your kind words. Thanks rogueang. Yeah, i was bummed too, i was really hoping to participate in all of the challenges. But i've been lucky with my timing up to now, (especially with the extension of challenge 3) so i shouldn't winge too much! Anyway, i'll be posting an elemental build soon, it just won't be part of the challenge. Thanks fellas! You may yet see something like that... Thanks Legonardo! I know what you mean, it does look a bit like a peice in a larger puzzle, but no, i have no plans to extend it at this time. The idea is something i have been thinking about though - ever since i saw Siercon and Coral's excellent modular microscale landscape a while back. Thanks TenorPenny! I'm quite fond of the cave too, although i kind of regret not making some tiny beastie or elemental to go in there... Cheers soccerkid, glad you like it!

Ah, now that is ingeneous! Thanks for the tip!

Nice entry Jason! The elemental is great, looks like it is bursting from the earth. I especially like it's ferocious face. The microscale outpost shows a nice amount of detail for it's size too. Best of luck!

Interesting take on the commerce challenge Robuko... if somewhat depressing! Reminds me of the bushfires around here a couple of years back, certainly gave a new meaning to the term "fire sale". I love this build though, it has so much character and tons of lovely details. Nice to see the liftarm technique for making walls get a run, and the alcove at the back is a great touch! The furniture is also inspired.