Gabe

Thanks! I'm getting stronger every day - i had to have a day of rest after photographing this, but i'm back on track now - some boats/ships and a harbour shall be next i think. The Dark blue and red cheese on the rooftop battlements were a fallback as i didn't have enough tan cheese (looks wistfully at the way-out-of-my-budget Tower Bridge!), but i like the way it's turned out. Hooray for happy accidents, hey? Glad you like the bunk beds - you gotta have well rested troops, after all! Thanks Wahil/Basiliscus, i really appreciate yr kind comment, coming as it does from a master lighthouse builder. The tower ended up being quite a bit taller than i imagined, mainly because i had to incorporate a means for the flame platform to be raised and lowered so the gaurds could climb up underneath it. I still don't know who is going to climb up and clean the shiny roof when it gets all sooty though...!

I enjoy building interiors as it gives a very finished feel to the building, and can really make you think a lot more about things like window placement, balconies etc. Plus making furniture is fun! Of course sometimes wanting different colours and texture between the interior and exterior walls can make life difficult, as can deciding things like where to put access points between floors and what ceilings/roof beams should look like from the inside etc. Different approaches have different problems - i find myself habitually making buildings without a back (like a dollhouse) as it gives very good interior access, but i am keen to try making hinged buildings and ones with removable panels so i can plonk them in the middle of a dio, with stuff all around them, rather than just on the edge of something. (I am currently experimenting with this approach for the stairwell in a castle gatehouse) Removable roofs like the modular buildings is another approach, but getting enough room and light to take photos of the inside is problematic. One thing i've learnt from doing interiors is to always give yourself more floor space in your buildings than you think you need, especially if you have interior walls! Things get cramped awfully quickly. I like the approach of making seperate vigs for interiors, although i guess you'd have to be careful to get the scale right, so that you don't end with impossibly large rooms for the exterior view! I think though, if you have a story to tell, like Sirens-of-Titan, that it's the best way to stage manage your figs. Mr. Xenomurphy recently showed a very interesting way of showing an interior space in his amazing MOC Superman & Young Justice vs. Brainiac - a room seen through a smashed section of wall. I guess that's another way to suggest an interior (where a complete interior may not actually exist) - shallow DOF glimpses through windows or doorways etc. Good luck and thank you! I've certainly enjoyed thinking about this issue some more.

Very nice - love the outdoor forge and chimney! Great little touches on the roof as well.

Great stag, looks perfect where it is - i wonder if it would be a touch small if the fig was standing next to it, but the vig gives it a slight forced perspective which looks just right. The shaping on the flanks is great too! Just wonder though if the archer's head should be turned sideways a touch more - he doesn't look like he is sighting along the arrow very well...

Wow, i did not expect to see pics this early! I'm even more excited for these sets now - sure they are prelims and stuff will change, but the Helms Deep and Urak army sets look great, and although i'm a bit sad about the moulded hill troll, the Moria set looks pretty good too. I do like the spread of the minifigs in the sets - Frodo is the main repeat, in three sets, and Aragorn and Gimli and Legolas in two, but otherwise it looks like you have to get all the sets to assemble the entire Fellowship. It's hard to make out which hobbits are in what sets, but i'm guessing Sam is in Shelob attacks (duh!), Merry in Weathertop and Pippin in Moria. Maybe some ppl won't be happy that they can't get the Fellowship in just a few sets, but as i'm planning to get the lot, i'm just happy that i won't get too many repeats. I do wonder what is up with the horses though. I haven't seen bendy-CGI horse (or minifig) legs on box art before. I would have thought that LEGO had learnt from sets like Isle de la Muerta that they people get pretty upset when what is on the box doesn't match what is inside it. Still, i do hope we get that dark tan horse! Ooh, just spotted something else - if that is Theoden on the horse in the Helm's Deep set, then shouldn't the horse be white? Not that i really care, but his horse is called Snowmane, after all. ps. I wonder when they are going to start making that "brick brick" in colours other than dark tan?

Oh, stunning! Beautifully proportioned and i love the details like the corners, the door and lamps and the little wooden shelter. The landscaping is great too for the small amount of land you have around your tower. ps. Just noticed the green stripes running around the middle of the tower! (Yeah i know, i'm observant... ) Surprising, but it blends in really well and gives the tower a lovely splash of colour.

Yeah, this is my attitude too - i understand that yellow and the light flesh tone can be somewhat jarring when placed together, but if the moc is big and/or detailed enough or the composition is compelling enough, surely that dissonance should be diluted or negated? It should all be about the build anyway, surely. Also, if i'm going to put dark skinned figs in my mocs alongside the yellow figs, it seems rather arbitary to exclude light flesh figs just cause "they look ugly" (in some ppls opinion!) I may as well never leave the house if i subscribed to that view! . Well put, i am in total agreement.

Great build SI-mocs, great to see the Christmas spirit! Love the little workshop. Now, if you can just send some of that snow our way - i have to say i'm very jealous of you northern hemisphere lot right now...

Yes! Join us... join us.... you know you want to... Just kidding, but if you happen to be passing Peregrinus someday, feel free to visit - you may never want to leave! Why thank you sir! Your kind words are most appreciated.

Aw, is he just the cutest undead ever? I look forward to his (and luncheon's) further adventures! ps. Interesting looking tower, btw! Some cool shapes going on in yr photos.

Great landscaping with the sand dune, it looks very natural and organic piled around the base of the tower. The tower is pretty nice too - it could use some more weathering and texture around the bottom half, but the top part has a wonderful derilict feel to it.

Hey Brickmaestro; this is a great first moc mate, really well composed and finished. I love the different levels and the way the bottom layers are built into the rock. I'd love to see some minifigs bring it all to life - i hope they haven't been overcome with fumes from the oil moat??

Off topic: You know what i'd like? Sweet ninjago vehicles in lavender and pastel pink. That way we'd see a lot more of these new colours in greater quantities/set! Who's with me? Let's get together and petition Lego for a pink kitten mech or something! End off topic/ Actually, i'm a bit concerned about the accuracy of LEGO's market research when they come up with statements like "girls hate minifigs" - i'm yet to find anyone human who hates minifigs! (ps. I'm serious about that pink mech!)

Ah, come on now, ppl have been speculating in this thread about a possible LOTR theme for a few pages now, so i'm not really that off topic, surely? If i'd started a new thread about it then i'm sure someone would have suggested that it should be merged in here anyway. I hear what everyone is saying about the likely end of kingdoms - it's sad i agree, but as others have said it's not the end of castle, some castle theme or another will be back once the Hobbit films peter out. And we do get the brilliant joust set as a nice send off too. I'm just so excited by the potential for new prints and elements - i really liked most of the POTC sets in that respect. From the set listing over in the licenced theme thread, it sounds like quite a few of the sets will include orcs and goblins too, which i am VERY ok with!

aghsfjfjghsifgifbdsjkfvhskidjfhg!!!!!! :grin: check this out peeps!! Cannot speak for the awesome. I am so happy right now, i cannot even.

Thanks Dharkan, Ru, glad you guys like it.

Looks great, nice to see some Mitgardians venturing southward. If you are returning up the east coast of Historica and you have the time, you might want to consider weighing anchor at Berigora - we can sell you fine ales, honey, olives and other southern fruits, and fine dragon bone products. Our skilled shipwrights and sailmakers can also make any repairs or upgrades to your ships that are required. We have a fine deepwater harbour, very sheltered from the unpredictable storms that plauge the east coast this time of year, and we will make you and your crew very welcome. Just look out for the lighthouse due west of Cape Drahaka, and signal for a tug to guide you into harbour.

Incredible stuff! I am not sorry about bumping this back to the top at all.

Wow you guys, you never fail to impress. The imagination on show here is awesome - a geode cave! It's just brilliant. So much to take in and admire in this - the large geode with the crack in centre, the smaller one on top of the cliff, the brilliant pine trees, and the hoard!! Great stuff.

Great idea, looking at it is like reading a story from right to left. I like the haphazard and ramshackle buildings, they suit the "new camp" feel very well. Will the buildings get progressively larger and more complicated as you progress?

Wonderful tower, i love the almost monochromatic (save for a few stripes and accents) colour scheme, it really makes all the textural variations and interesting shaping stand out. I agree that some landscaping or minifigs would really bring it to life, but part of me likes the eerie emptiness of it - like some accursed tomb or something.

Great work Dr. Rod! The lava flow is spot on and the mix of grey and bley adds subtle variation to the walls. The lighting your last pic is wonderful - really looks like moonlight, the way it reflects off the slopes and the edges of the dragon's wings. ps. I love that it's got a working drawbridge as well!

Very imposing tower Angeli! The red background looks brilliant, really sets it off well.

Love it! The tavern is just perfect. Great to see new elements like the dino head and the "brick bricks" getting a run too.

Love the idea of a hanging tower, it looks so striking and original. Although i feel for the poor troll though, all he wanted to do was practise his bouldering skills! Great work, i really want to see a complete bridge version now!