mccoyed

Thanks, tiger!

Featuring: Full builds and stories available at Build Threads for Hangar E-8 and The MSR-3 "Cub".

I like the Mountain Man quite a bit. Good work!

Thanks, though I'll correct you about the barn. That's actually the Aker family home! The cow sleeps inside during the winter, but sometimes forgets what season it is... Thanks. I have limited capability to photography large builds. You can always spot my biggest ones because I have to use a wrinkly white sheet as a backdrop. :P My wife also pointed out that the entrance to the house looked like some kind of cow totem. Thanks Sleg. I really hate the yellow hands method of doing thatched roofing, but this solutions seems to fit into the general aesthetic I like for roofs, mostly learned from Soccerkid's builds. And I'm glad you complimented the use of the red, as I have been trying to think of ways to make my buildings and such more colorful. Not always brown and gray, brown and gray. :P Thanks LV! Thanks mrcp6d! Thanks Jorrith! Can't take credit for the sheep. Got that from a Classic Castle tutorial I think. I also like SK's method better. :P Thanks SK! Yeah, I didn't think it would work but it kind of... does. I tried yellow first and that was bad. So nice of you to say, Patrick. They're definitely among my favorite to look at, too. But jeeeeez are they hard to make look good. At least for me! I have so few green plates that often I am tempted to just do the leaf-piece landscaping and be done with it :P Thanks. I meant to make even more but, well, haha.

Those cheese slope roofs are amazing.

Really dig that lantern design, and there are many other cool ideas here. Favorites, though, are the pastry chef and lycanthropist (one of the funniest ideas in the whole challenge).

Gorgeous scene. The color is really unique thanks to the red backdrop. The well, trees, and the wood/sandstone construction of the house are standout details, but I also really like the way you did those hanging flower pots.

Very cool build. Interesting take on a black dragon. I like that it looks a bit like the xenomorph from the Alien franchise. Those columns are also very cool, great work on the breakage point.

Dang! Well, it's a nice mirror of the problems we have getting stuff in North America. For example, it's very difficult to get the Legends of CHIMA battlepacks here. Hehehehe.

AoM Farm Phase 3: The Aker Farm / McCoyed / Mitgardia

The Aker family farm is modest, but has been with the family for generations. On the farm, they keep sheep, chickens, and of course Patches the family cow. Patches doesn't always remember that the house isn't for cows, at least not when it's warm outside. Goda doesn't always remember that sheep aren't babies. Maybe it's time her father married her off? It's Burri's job to feed the chickens. They aren't the most friendly animals on the farm, though, so occasionally he considers feeding the dog instead. -------------------------------------------------- Builder's Note: I'm not sure how happy I am with this series in general. I made a dumb mistake with the waterfall, and while I liked my second phase I feel I could have done more with the old stone hut and the stream. In this phase, I fixed a few problems but meant to build a dam and a few more things that I just couldn't get right. It took me a long time to do the house, which maybe sapped my ambition. Thankfully, I think that part turned out pretty good and I like this style of roof thatch. Phase 1 and 2 here. Thanks for looking!

Thank you! They are from Brick Warriors! Thanks, but what's kitbash?

Very cool ideas here. I like the bumpkin and cabin boy, but what also stands out are some interesting parts uses like the lady's flower and the way you positioned the coolie hat on the female warrior from Kaliphlin. Also, descriptions are very entertaining!

I love all those samurai women. One of my favorite figs since I got back into Lego.

That frozen water is incredible. Just the right amount, framed by the landscape just right!

Thanks LV. I have a bunch of ideas, thanks to SK and Kabel and others, on how to do it even better next time! I tried to the shepherd's crook the way you built it, but felt it looked too small and flimsy. How come it looks so good in your build!? Should have went with that! Those river banks look great, btw. Will definitely try that technique next time. Do you know who started that technique for sheep and goats? I know I saw it here and on Flickr but have no idea who began it. Looking at SK's version again, I actually like the full stood 1x2 plates better. Thanks Cap'n. Thanks DG, but there's just no pleasing you purist types sometimes.

Thanks! Actually, I did try the cheese on the end of the three-way handle. Looked even MORE like some kind of pole-hammer or something. :P Thanks Kabel! Thing is, I only have this cow. I've seen the TLG cows though, and I don't disagree with you. I just don't have any and I think they were too expensive on BL the times I've checked.

Thanks, Sleg. I agree that the crook is too large and looks like a brown polearm or something. Any ideas on how to make it better and more curvy? Thanks Patrick. I try to include a lot of rocks so everybody remembers its Mitgardia. I wish I had more olive/sand green stuff because I feel like a different shade of grass would also be better to evoke the North, as you and others have done. The cow is from Brick Forge actually, so much for purism. I do agree about the river bank needing to be one stud higher, but there's going to be a dam in Phase 3 so I think I may be justified. Can't wait to see what Kabel says hahaha. I appreciate the compliment about the crook. I would prefer to have a Brickforge one, myself. I don't like to "overuse" 3rd party elements (as some do), but there's certain things I just like better for variety or detail. Sometimes, though, I use the 3rd party stuff just to justify the purchases. I wasn't as good at thinking around brick-building weapons and stuff like that when I started collected 3rd party stuff.

AoM: Farm Phase 2: Up Sheep Creek / McCoyed / Mitgardia

Thanks! Thanks, Patrick. Now that you mention it, I can see that face! Thanks Goliath. Thanks! Haha thanks SarahJoy. I wonder if we'll see more of Tuval and Bregir...

Farm Phase 1 and 2. Forgot to post 'em! cow by mccoyed, on Flickr and sheepcreek1 by mccoyed, on Flickr

Some distance from where young Burri Aker takes Patches to eat, the Aker family's sheep have gotten a bit out of control. Goda Aker plays her pan flutes and tries to corral them as best she can. Once they're all collected and accounted for, they'll have to be taken across the stream. Too bad it's in a sorry state of repair. Good thing her husband, Burri's father, is there to fix it. Stannar Aker prefers fixing things to dealing with sheep and cows. They always get testy when he's around. ----------------------------------- Phase 1 Here Builder's Notes: I tried to do a more realistic riverbank here... not sure I really pulled it off! That staff in Goda's hand is supposed to be a shepherd's crook. I don't have any of the Brickforge ones so I had to improvise. Hopefully it looks all right. Maybe a simple staff would have made more sense.

After the recent battles, Quinn was getting back down to some good old fashioned thieving in the ripe lands of Lenfald. Unfortunately, her skills are a bit rusty (and she only has the one eye) so she was captured by a local lord called Bosric. After stewing in jail for a bit, Quinn was suddenly and unexpectedly brought before the ageing lord. She was not the only one, however. Kneeling before Bosric were two strange men whom Quinn had never seen before. One looked Loreesi, and the other possibly a Garhim. Neither wore shackles as she did, but both appeared as if they'd also spent a little time in a dungeon recently. Bosric's face was stern as he regarded all three of them. "And here we have yet another thief, attempting to deprive my realm of its hard-won riches." he snarled. The two stranger said nothing, and so neither did Quinn. All three waited to hear what the lord would say next. "But there is a greater treasure than any jewel or piece of gold, and I find myself cold without its presence. Can you three imagine what I speak of? Of course you cannot. All you know is yourselves, the desires of your bodies and the immediacy of the moment. That is not without value, but what value has it when measured against the love of a father for his daughter?" "Uh... not much?" Quinn offered. Her fellow prisoners eyed her, not any more certain than she was whether she'd said something offensive or not. But Bosric only laughed, though with bitterness. "Indeed. Not much. My daughter, the lady Milerna, has been bewitched by a local cult of snake worshippers and fire-eaters. This cult is led by a man who claims to be over a thousand years old, a shapeshifter and warlock too, or so the stories say. I would give all the jewels and gold, everything you three have tried to steal and many times over, to have her back. I ask myself, who better to steal a daughter than thieves?" "Why not your own men, sire?" asked the Loreesi man wearing blue. "Shame is why. The truth about Milerna cannot leave this room or I will look weak and feeble to other lords, and to my own men. This must be done with discretion, by outsiders, but not without great reward." Bosric motioned with his hand and a guard pushed forward a tray filled with jewels. "Take all you can carry. There will be more, much more. If only you can bring my Milerna back to me! I care not how many snake-worshippers you kill! Go thence and do my bidding and I will make lords of you all." The three thieves could not answer him, for they themselves were bewitched by the splendor of all those jewels. They looked at each other, taking measure, and understanding that they were now, for the time being, inextricably bound. "My name is Kubotai. He is Conar," said the Loreesi. "They call me Jackdaw Quinn." To be continued... ------------------- Builder's Note: This portion of Jackdaw Quinn's adventures is based on the film Conan the Barbarian and is meant as an homage and perhaps eventually a slight parody of that (great) film, which is one of my favorites of all time.

Nice work here. Love the shield wall on a beach, very "viking" kind of scene. Also love that runestone at the top of the hill.

One of my favorite castles on GoH. I love the simplicity, the realism, and the unique touches thrown in here and there. I wish there was an instruction book for this castle because I think it has a lot to teach on the aesthetics of brevity and clean design with regard to Lego building. I'm super impressed, even though you always knock out quality DG.