Gabe

Fishing is an important livlihood around the coastal areas of Kaliphlin, at both a subsinstance and a commercial level. Outriggers like this one are very common for fishing and pleasure cruising in Peregrinus - many families either own or have access to such a boat. Looks like our crew have a decent catch already! This build was pretty much constucted around a technique that i saw a while ago on Malte Dorowski's MOCpages homepage, where he used lots of clips and flex tubing to create subtle curves on his Porche models. I was messing about with ways to construct small boats at the time and thought i'd give it a try. I chose the traditional Sri Lankan outrigger as my departure point as i love their elegant design and i thought they'd fit right into the Kaliphlian fleet! I originally wanted to have a forced perspective view of Audax Arazi (the island off the east coast of Peregrinus) in the distance, but for one reason or another it didn't quite come together and i scrapped it. I might go back and have another go at it, perhaps after Brickvention (which is only 2 weeks away now - argh, better get my display finished!). Thanks for looking peeps! ~

Thanks for the great review Brickviller, i've been waiting to get a good look at this one, and i want it even more now! Great to see some CFA (Country Fire Authority, for non-aussies) type fire vehicles, it might inspire me to get back to some town building. I agree about the lack of tools and an offsider, but they are dead easy mods if you pick up the Fire ATV (4427) as well.

Most venerable and noble Warlocks, we would be honoured if you would host our Kaliphlian embassy in your lands! We shall bring most of our building materials on barges through the swamp, if you could garrentee us safe passage. We have no wish to despoil your lands, and shall build wherever you see fit. In the name of Dexterus Flagg, we offer you the hand of free trade and freindship between our mighty guilds! Yours in peace, Lord Erudhalion Sansael In addition, Peregrinus would like to extend an invitation to all other guilds to build embassies on our land. For the uninitiated, our port city of Berigora is a sheltered, deep-water port built on and into the surrounding hills and mountains. Space is at a premium, and houses are often several stories high, and built of Rakath granite, sandstone and painted timber. We value colour, beauty and grace in our buildings, with delicate arches, spires and ornamentation a predominant feature. Many of our houses are topped with terrace gardens, this helps to keep the heat down and makes good agricultural use of our limited space. <out of character> For srs, i am pretty excited at the prospect of doing some down and dirty swamp building in the Moruth! Yippee!

Wow, this is awesome information, thanks NM! I love maps and have long wanted to make my own, but they never seem to work out the way i envisage them. I'll return and study this in more depth for sure.

Agreed on all points! I reckon you've got a good high ground with the back right-hand corner, now you need to get some gentle undulations going with some plates. You already have some areas at one-plate hight, i would suggest you increase the oasis to 2-3 plates hight, going from tan to dark tan to green and possibly recessing the pool a plate as well. Then you could surround the oasis with a few sand dunes in a similar manner - about 2-3 plates high, or maybe a touch higher if you can. Just remember to try to "dither" the edges between layers so that they look less blocky and more organic. (lots of 1x2 plates are great for this) It takes a little bit of working out, but the effort is well worth the trouble. If you are struggling with a lack of parts in suitable colours, you can always reduce the overall area of your moc, you do have quite a bit of unused space that you could dispense with. Compressing the detail into a smaller area can give the moc a lively feel that it might not have when it is more spread out. I do hear what you are saying about pulling plates away from the baseplate - it can be hard work. The brick seperator tool can struggle with the larger plates, but it should be fine with plates up to 2x8 at least. For the larger plates you can always bend the baseplate away from them to get a initial purchase. Peronally i find tiles harder to get off baseplates - i use a minifig crowbar to jimmey them off, but it's fiddly work. I'm very much looking forward to getting one of those new brick seperators with the tile removing tool!

Very nice! That fountain in particular is a sight for sore eyes. I would consider adding some palms or something though, it's always nice for travellers to park thier ride somewhere shady, and water on that scale usually supports a bit more greenery around it.

Thanks for the review "lostcarpark"! It's great to get an early look at these sets. After some initial uncertainty, i'm liking them more and more, and i'll def be getting this one. I am a bit sad about the limited posability of the dollfigs though. Just a minor edit to your review btw - the coloured part of the eye is called the iris, not the pupil. Haha, too true! Also, what is on that blackboard? I'm no mathamatician, but it looks a bit to me...

That looks great Elander! Perhaps not to scale as you say, but instantly recognisable as the Black Gate. I'd love to see an function where you could pull a couple of trolls along the battlements to open the gate though, that'd be sweet. ps. Nice work on the Mouth of Sauron btw - great head choice!

Hooray! I'll try to get a brick map of it up soon. Yes please, although Audax Arazi could use the volcano, if that's ok? (Got to keep those dragon eggs nice and warm!) Thanks NM/Gex, sorry if i'm being a bit of a pain! Your detailed maps are looking amazing, and the scale indicators will be very useful when i come to plan my builds. Thanks again!

Whups, sorry i ducked out on this convo, i had to pack to go away for a few days over Xmas and i completely forgot about replying! My bad... Anyway, back to what we were talking about: Thanks for the suggestion - i do like them, but i'm not sure if they have the right fit with my other names. I have quite a bit of Latin in my place naming so far, so after thinking about it some more, i've decided on "Audax Arazi" (or "audacious land", which could have quite a few interpretations!) Ah cool, now i see what you mean! Actually, those two flame-topped tan cones aren't volcanos, they are meant to be lighthouses or signal towers - all the tan and light bley cones (and the gold and silver ones too) are structures like towers and gatehouses. The one by the entrance to the harbour is meant to be Arad Dukkar, actually. There is also a natural resevoir high up in the mountains, between the grey mountain pass watchtower and the north-eastern lighthouse. And much of the east coast is cliff-face... think Great Australian Bight abruptness, like the coast has been sheared off from another land mass at some point. (Yes, i have a storyline in mind about that too! ) ps. Hope everyone had a great Xmas! I not only got NO Lego in my prezzies, but a couple of ppl actually gave me Nanobricks!! Whhhhy people, oh the humanity! (That aside, i had a really nice Xmas actually!)

Hail and well met Lord Damaximus! As your nearest neighbour, Peregrinus and Berigora welcomes you and your people to Kaliphlin. Please feel free to visit our fair port city, and if your new town needs provisions such as timber, ale and food whilst you get yourself set up, i'm sure we can do business.

Nice names! I am terrible at coming up with names, it took me hours to come up with the few that i have already for people and places. Wonderful regional maps, Gex/Nice Marmot! It's really helpful to see the notes on yr flickr images, showing where everyone else's builds are. I did comment on the south-east map, though i'll add my thoughts here as well; could we please relocate the active volcano you have on the north tip of Peregrinus to the island offshore? I am planning to moc that island as the breeding grounds of the Great Southern Wyrm, and a volcano would help keep thier eggs nice and toasty as they incubate. :) (Still haven't thought up a name for the isle though - anyone have any ideas?) Also, and i'm sorry to be a pain, but i also envisage the east coast of Peregrinus to be largely cliff face, and for there to be a decent sized forest on the north-western side of the mountain range. (Important for my ship-building aspirations!) I made a small brick-map which might be of assistance... Thanks again - i love that you're getting down to regional maps now - they look great!

Thanks mate! Yes, i feel like i'm the only Australian who is not a part of Nocturnus atm? But then i am based on the east coast of Historica, so perhaps that's something. And i'll be paying you lot a visit soon with my embassy build - i'm looking forward to that!

Haha, i nearly fell of my chair laughing when i saw that giant 4-headed dragon... oh Ninjago, you will never fail to amuse me... Edit: I think i'll be passing on these, just too many other awesome sets further up the list. But i do kinda link the tank thing though.

Wow, how have i missed this? Lovely scene Viceroy, it has a really colourful charm, almost like an Asterix cartoon. Such a lot of busy action and detail, with lovely touches of colour like the yellow roof. Your standard is awesome too. Great work, one of the picks of Mitgardia for me!

Thanks de Gothia for your kind words, i really appreciate them! I believe the PoP headgear are called Keffiyehs, at least that's what BL calls them. Ok, time for a small update - now with added mini-catapults! They aren't much to look at for sure, but they get the job done. Each catapult is wheeled for ease of movement around the battlements, and each carrys on-board ammunition of 2 rocks and 4 pitch bombs. They don't have a great range, but anyone trying to storm the harbour can be assured of a firey reception! And another shot of the mini-catapaults in place on the battlements. Thanks for looking peeps! Have a great Christmas/holiday season!

Great modifications Toa! I agree that the wheels look better than the skids, and the ability to modify the angle of the main rotor is well thought out. I'll have to come back and check out these mods some more once i get my hands on this set. (Which could be a while, mind you!)

Haha, pure genius! Love the use of the Ninjago dragon claws around the flame, it always warms my heart to see builders use large elements (so often derided as "useless") effectively. ps. Quik! I haven't had Quik since i was a kid. I might have to hunt some down at the supermarket this arvo.

Wow, a new guild challenge is up already, that was quick! Looks like an interesting one - I might have to build in Nocturnus this time, I've already got a few ideas.. I'm glad that we have a good couple of months to get this done, I was worried that I'd have to choose between this challenge and my Brickvention (19-21st Jan) display, but this way there will be plenty of time.

Wow, more new pics! My eyes are going cross-eyed from staring at too many blurry pics, trying to make out stuff. This looks really mixed to me - some amazing things like the hearse, car in the castle set, the new swamp monster, return of the fencing foil, ghosts and zombies (!!); and overall suffering a bit from that chucked together look that ppl are commenting on. But hey, they are prelims after all. I'm really interested to see what thier final form will take!

Uruk-hai is black speech, isn't it? And anyway, why are you so anxious in particular for Mordor orcs in the first wave? I reckon TLG have done a stirling job with the number and spread of baddies in this wave, and as you say, we haven't even seen the orc forge set yet. It would be churlish not to appreciate what's there.

Ooh, that sounds promising! Although they are saying "Castle", not "Kingdoms" i note - could this mean new factions and backstories are in the offing?

Not true - there are 4 Uruk-hai in the army building set, and looks like another 5 (at least 4) in the Helm's deep set. Uruk-hai just means "orc-folk", after all. And we get a couple of goblins, and a troll in the Moria set! For Mordor orcs (or snaga ) i guess we'll have to wait for the second wave of LOTR sets in 2013, but i see that as less of an issue than the lack of Arwen or Galadriel or Eowyn.

There is a wealth of lovely techniques in here - nice touches on the castle walls, the wooden staircase inside the castle, the gentle quarter round shape of the cow pen, the variations in colour of the gently undulating stream (and the bulrushes are a nice touch too!).. etc. You've even got a weatherboard feel to the upper story of the house. I like the subtle stripe in the base as well. Great work!

Huh? What barrel? Are you talking about the Weathertop set, or something else?? ps. Are you trolling us with this talk of Arwen??