Gabe

Beautiful stables Mephistopheles, the detailing of the walls and the well contructed roof are really something. You say that you can take the roof off to change the horses inside, does that mean that you have a detailed interior to match the outside? If so, i'd love to see it! One thing you might like to think about in your next moc is the quality of your landscaping - in this instance i feel that it lets the moc down slightly. Not that your landscaping is bad by any means, but just next to your beautiful buildings it seems to lack enough detail. Simple things like adding contour to your ground by adding a plate or two height difference, or varying your foliage etc can make a big difference. Best of luck in the commerce challenge with what is sure to be a very strong entry!

Woot! Congrats on your win at Brick Expo Dr. Rod! I am impressed with how much you've added to this, it looks amazing. I especially like the transition from barren, rocky wasteland to lush forest. The different greys in your walls and landscape work brilliantly too. If you don't mind me asking, what's next to add to this impressive display?

Thanks soccerkid! Yeah, i just wish i had more of those 1x4 brackets in light bley, it's going on my next BL order for sure. I wasn't so sure about the first floor windows - i wanted some light (and breeze!) to get in for my poor cadets, b Thanks soccerkid! Yeah, i just wish i had more of those 1x4 brackets in light bley, it's going on my next BL order for sure! I wasn't so sure about the first floor windows - i wanted some light (and breeze!) to get in for my poor cadets, but i didn't want large openings in the wall there as it detracted from the feel of a fortified building. I guess this was my compromise. Cheers Kayne, glad you like it! Yeah, i had to get a "friend" in there somewhere, it being the month of the minidoll after all. You should try them with the uruk helmet on... scary! Thanks Capt. JohnPaul for your kind words! Thanks DeGothia! Yeah, i'm not sure if anyone else uses the falcons as thier home force? I think they cropped up in someone else's challenge 3 moc as a possessed demon army, but i can't remember who that was. Anyway, they've always been my favourite faction, and they do seem to fit into Kaliphlin quite well. I'm glad you like the cypress, i tried a few different things before i came up with that. I really didn't want to go with the usual Avalonian looking trees as it wouldn't have suited the climate. Basically it's 3 concentric rings of woven foliage pieces stacked on top of one another, resting on a slightly flared tree trunk. (the green small foliage peices at the top are attched to the trunk also) I'm pretty happy with it, though i'll probably experiment with the form a bit more. Cheers Zcerb for your kind words! Are you talking about the curved outside stair or the short flight leading the small stariwell? Both are a little underdone i agree, although i did try to vary the ground on the curved stairs and it looked too much, so i pared it back again. I'll look forward to seeing some falcons in your mocs! Thanks Cara! Thanks turtleman!

A nice start for a first moc, but i suspect that in thinking in terms of a whole villiage, you have been a little over ambitious! Not that that is a bad thing, ambition can really push you to become a better builder by going outside your comfort zone, but certainly when you are starting out it's good to begin small. If you look at some of the vigs that other builders here have done, then you can see how small we are talking - 8x8 and 16x16 are not uncommon. As for your build, you have some nice details going on like the fence, the scarecrow and the farmer sowing seeds. The water trough is nice too, but could be improved by making the lip of the trough a plate or so higher than the water level. The house is a good start, but suffers a little from looking so unfinished. There are ways around this though - you could show the roof under construction perhaps, or just make the house a bit less deep with an open back to show a simple interior etc. It's all about using the bricks you have more thoughtfully, rather than asking them to do too much by spreading them too thin. Anyway, i hope some of that helps. When you are starting out it can certainly be hard to amass the right types of elements in a great enough quantity for your vision, but keep at it and it will come eventually. Check back to DC's guide for ideas about what sort of elements to target on BL, and you'll be building your village in no time!

Nice little scene there! I like the way you work your transitions from the green landscape, to the rockwork at the base and then onto the beacon tower. The roof is also nicely done, although it could be raised a couple of bricks to stop it catching fire... The platform on the side of the tower is also a nice touch. One thing i would urge you to work on is your presentation - some of the edges of your cut-outs from the original background are a little rough, and i'd like to see the main picture a bit brighter to show off your good work!

A very nice, solid looking building, and the interior shots add a lot to the moc as well! The recessed windows look great, especially with the shutters upstairs, and i really like the front double doors. The snow and the cobblestones are well done too. One thing that i would suggest though is to vary the colour scheme of the walls a bit - as they are they look a touch drab and uniform to the eye - just a few corner accents and a stripe or two would work wonders. But then maybe that's just my Kaliphlin love of bright colours showing through? Anyway, nice work! And the rearing horse out the front is a very nice touch!

Very nice snow effects, and i really like the break in the ice - the edges have that crazed and shattered look you'd expect of broken ice. The bush in the corner is a nice touch too, although i think the addition of another tree or bush in the opposite back corner would have made for a more balanced composition. Nice work!

Wonderful - it blows my mind how quickly you build these! Ondylion is certainly becoming a very well fleshed-out city.

A lovely little scene with lots to look at! I like all the little details like the butcher's roof (although it does look to be missing a couple of 1x3 slopes at the front?), the croissant sign and the animal pens. I also really like the gatehouse, especially the view from outside the walls. In fact i would have liked to see the landscape extend out from the wall about another 6-8 studs - it really needs a setting to show off those beatifully mottled walls, curved staircase and off-square arch.

Ahhh, this is so fantastic, you have wonderful composition skills and all the different textures are a feast for the eyes! I love the way you are very quick to work in the new elements and colours in recent sets - it's great to see their potential in the hands of a skilled builder. One aspect of this set of vigs that i really like is the differences between the poorer districts of the city, through to the grander houses and finally the palace - that sense of progression is really nicely done. The ruined tower is also great. Bring on the final chapter - i can't wait!

Cool! I look forward to seeing your fortress.

Aw shucks, thanks! I just wanted to get at least one free-build in between challenges, otherwise i feel like i never make any headway in my "to build" pile of ideas. Thanks captn BB! I do have some more pics i need to take, so i might add some more in the next day or so. Is there anything in particular you'd like a better look at? Btw, that is indeed the Pharoah's Quest raised baseplate, well spotted. I love that baseplate, it's so useful! Cheers fellows, i'm glad you like it! Thanks for the kind words fellow guildie! No, i am not planning on building the rest of the barracks/academy complex, unless... maybe in microscale? I do need to practice my microscale after all... Haha, thanks Axis! Don't worry, you are certainly in the right guild. Yep, it's a drill - i'm not so good at building mechanical whizzbangs, but it kinda looks ok i think if you don't look too critically at it! I'm planning on taking some more pics of my sapper unit soon, so i should get a better pic of it.

Ok, my "West Berigora barracks and millitary academy" build is up now. Click on the image to go to the topic: Hope you all like it!

In the hills on the western side of the port city of Berigora is situated the main barracks and millitary academy of the Peregrinian forces. From this vantage point, the army has good access to both the city and to the causeway road, should an attack come from that direction. The barracks partly uses the natural defences of the landscape for fortification, as well as an outer wall and high gaurdtowers at each corner. Today the barracks are a hive of activity. Waisur Iarel, the runner-up of the Mpya Stedor archery tournament, is rolling out his "Evergold archery system" bows to the Peregrinian archers. This is thier first look at the new bows and they can't wait to get to try them out! Arianna Thunderbow*, a former Nocturnian who sought refuge in Kaliphlin after the archery tournament, was encouraged by Waisur to settle in Peregrinus and join their forces. On her arrival she met and fell deeply in love with Phrixelle, the centaur warrioress who defeated Yavonnel in the Drow gladiator games - the two are now inseperable. Arianna has her reservations about the new bows, not wanting to give up her beloved longbow. But it's hard to argue with the superior range and accuracy of the Evergold system! (*Credit for the creation of Arianna Thunderbow goes to the incomperable Angeli!) To combat the threat of earth elementals, Lord Sansael has ordered the formation of new sapper units. These brave men will use the tunnel networks of the Rakath to seek out forming elementals and destroy them before they have a chance to grow too large and destructive. They are hoping that Professor Mia can come up with a targeting system that can tell them where the greatest concentrations of elemental magic might be - this would make thier job a lot easier! Spot the new recruit! Here is only one of the many buildings within the barracks complex. On the ground floor are sleeping quarters that are accessed through the tower gaurdroom. The smaller building is an alternitive access route to the top floor - this room also doubles as a small storage space. Ground floor of the tower gaurdroom. The top floor contains a small lecture theatre and hallway where one can look over the courtyard. There is also a balcony above the small storeroom and stairway on the left. A window into the lecture theatre. Here Professor Mia is holding forth on her recent research into "Earth elementals and methods of defence against them." The gaurdtower has multiple levels within it for observation - a small walkway at the level of the gold windows, a platform just below the roof and then the rooftop itself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hope you enjoyed my build, thanks for looking! C&c welcome as always.

Just finished my barracks and millitary acadamy free build. :) Still have some more photos to take, but here's a teaser: Now i really should make a start on challenge 4!

Aha! Thankyou robuko, that's exactly where i was thinking of. DaMaximus, perhaps we could add it to the updated map as well? Speaking of updates, i've been adding a few things to the GoH Wiki today - filling in info pages for Berigora and Lord Sansael. I am not that savvy at webpage stuff, so what i've done is a bit rough still. I encourage new members to head over to the wiki and add thier character sigs and locations, it's a good resource if we want to start building in each other's backyards!

Very nice - it's always good to get a comprehensive map update. Although i seem to recall a settlement on the NE coast that isn't on the map yet... i thought it was in the large bay immediately south of the Goolag Archipelago? It had a Japanese inspired flavour to it's name and architechture, and had a reputation as a bit of a black market town. Can anyone tell us more?

Mate, i tell you what - if i ever build a moc of the Australian house of parliment and you suggest adding a few homicidal maniacs with chainsaws, i promise i won't mind a bit! But seriously, take it easy - i recommend stepping away from the monitor and taking a few deep breaths - is it really worth getting so upset over a random comment on an internet forum? You have certainly made your position clear, and a flame war would just derail the thread.

Lol... sounds like you trod on some toes Ryan, but then how were you to know that these guys owned the colosseum? Actually, it kinda reads as though they have an existing colosseum project that they anticipated to be "the biggest in the world" etc - at one stage they express concern that with your model at 200 000 bricks, they are in trouble... (that could be a bad translation though) Oh well, takes all types i guess. At least they enjoyed the popemobile, so they can't be completely devoid of a sense of fun!

Haha, ahhh, you bring the awesome yet again! Amazing sculpting on this, and very well timed with the freinds theme going on on EB. The head and paws are just brilliant, and the whole thing is so imaginitive! You certainly raise the bar on brick built animals.

Great idea! I would love to see you and Angeli join forces to produce an official set of 16... i would buy the hell out of that!

Lovely work and a very original idea Mikel! I love the mask rack, and the fountain is well done too. I especially like the way the curve of the fountain follows the curves in the front corners of the base.

Nice work for a first microbuild, Captn. Microscale can certainly be tricky to get right! The fire is well depicted and the pose of the dragon on the mountain top really sells the scene. I agree with those that have pointed out that the brewery itself is a little hard to distinguish from the rockwork behind it, perhaps different colours would make the buildings pop out a little more? Also, i kinda feel that something is missing from the scene - a sense of chaos, of wagons fleeing the flames, trying to save the ale etc. But i appreciate that would be pretty hard to render at this scale. Looking forward to seeing your challange 4 entry now!

Ahhh! Run, leStrange, run!!! Great moc robuko, a wonderful action shot. The wyrm itself is angled perfectly and the landscaping is very well done. If i have one suggestion, it might be to suggest more motion by somehow depicting the sand being flung about as the wyrm erupts from the earth, and dust tracks as the ostrich races to escape... I hope leStrange makes it!

What a lovely litttle scene! The smokehouse is a great idea and the amount of foliage is just right.