mccoyed

Stunning build. So much detail, must have taken a ton of parts.

Those elves have made strange dietary choices. I thought elves only ate flowers and drank dew?

Great idea for the foam or head on the cups. Like that mace, too.

Love that tree, wow!

Great looking build. The framing of the scene, especially the first shot, is great. The details of the build like the rockwork and tunnel are excellent. My favorite detail is the "seated short legs" technique you've devised. Brilliant!

This is awesome. Very small, very detailed, and with a sense of fun in spite of the somewhat gritty subject matter.

Thanks! Sounds like I hit all my targets haha. Thanks, Garmadon! Thanks! Some dwarves like to be tossed. It takes all kinds! Bregir also liked this idea. Tuval not so much. The Berserkers later claimed to have thought of it first. Funnier and funnier too. Haha. Thanks Kai. That second one was one of those rare times I felt like I'd nailed it with the first photo. I'm not sure how effective the dwarfapault really is. I mean, just look at those Drow... they ain't happy!

Category C: The Dwarfapault... FOR THE DWARVES!!!

Category C series is here, finally!

This is my Category C build for the Dwarves. As per the Challenge, this is a series of discrete builds telling one story, all about a special Dwarven siege engine used against the evil Drow. Part 1: Bregir's Workshop Unlike most dwarves, leading engineer Bregir Breakwall appreciates the fresh air. His workshop is carved into a section of mountainside where the rock is thin and a dwarf can get a view. He is working with his new assistant, a Southron dwarf named Tuval. "Tuval, this makes no sense. These catapults are too big!" Bregir complained. "Master, they have to be. The walls of surface castles are many feet thick. I know you underground dwarves are accustomed to shooting at armies, but up above armies tend to hide behind stone walls." "Ridiculous," Bregir spat. "Yes master, but if the Drow insist on adapting to surface conditions in warfare, so must we dwarves!" "What do you have there, lad?" "This scroll is from the University of Petraeus and discusses wind conditions and drag on projectiles," Tuval explained. "And the the other one is your lunch order from two days ago, master... do you want the same thing?" "Yes, yes. I always have an entire roast duck when I'm working on a new project. Don't forget the gravy!" Part 2: Inspiration A short time later, Bregir and Tuval were passing the Berserker Training Pits where the toughest, craziest dwarves fought each other all day long. "I say, Tuval... this gives me an idea!" Bregir exlaimed. "Quick, write this down!" Tuval noted the intricate, brutal looking armor of the Berserkers. "It may not work against stone walls and nonsense of that sort, but I still think it's worth trying..." Bregir mused. Not liking where this was headed at all, Tuval reluctantly drew a parchment and quill. Part 3: Test Run Dwarves typically preferred to test their ideas in the field. With only the time required to build a prototype and assemble a raiding party, Bregir and Tuval made the trip to the front to test out the Dwarfapault. "But we're supposed to come up with something that is useful against stone walls," Tuval said, gesturing to the black palisade protecting the Drow encampment before them. "Pish-posh, Tuval my boy. This is more fun! Now keep that shield up, eh? There's a good lad." The Berserkers were perhaps more enthusiastic than even Bregir. They are, after all, diplomats at heart. Dwarves are fairly widely known as habitual isolationists, after all. The Berserkers agreed with Bregir that it was important to break down barriers and stretch your comfort zone. Tuval just wanted to go home.

This is a deceptively simple build, but the presentation is aces. Great photography and contrast choices.

Awesome! Somewhat similar idea in my third build for this category! I think this is much, much better than mine though.

That roof technique is indeed neat. I really like the height of the catwalk and wall, though. It really gives the impression of a massive, well-engineered structure.

Love the shaping of the buildings. I like that even though these aren't the typical underground dwarves, they have a neat sense of consistent architecture across your builds, Ecc.

Thanks. Definitely was going for that! Haha. Strange and curious eh? Thanks! This is just a part of the structure. Behind what we can see is a catwalk and stairway leading up to the bell part! It's an alarm bell for Ruadh. I should have built the whole thing I had in mind but was trying to keep the focus on the minotaur hijinx.

Thanks Milo. I'll be doing the next book pretty soon. Just gotta wrap my head around making a giant cyborg bear...

I thought I'd try using GIMP to fix these pictures. Am I allowed to fix the lighting on this to the best of my ability before the end of the Challenge? I really do think this entry, at least, is a contender and therefore want it to be as good as it can be. Old Version: Improved Version:

Fantastic. Maaaan, how many of those tentacle-spiny pieces did you use here, Ecc?!

One of the most convincing techniques for "loose" SNOT construction, let alone CIRCULAR construction that I've seen. You ever gonna share how you pull this stuff off, LD?!

Love this. Great idea using the elves' traditional association with animals.

Very cool gift. Didn't know you had ties to Canada, ME. I wonder if your mom would make other such books on commission?

Awesome idea. Love the idea of two dwarves inside one Hagrid. Very good use of that fig.

I like the cutaway technique too, because it's easy to imagine a lot of different structures that could make up what we don't see. Is this just the side of the building where it's built into rock and the rest is a more conventional structure? Is it a hollowed out horn of sheer rock, perhaps originally carved by dwarves? Or maybe it's totally outdoor!

My favorite part is the old wall ringing the property. Stunning build altogether, though. I'd love to see what an interior would look like in one of these Cesbrick structures!

Gorgeous build, SK. I like this stone technique even better than the other experiment you attempted. Does the lighting have to be kind of just so for it to work? What I mean by that is, with all those gaps and crevasses it seems like light would show through depending on how you set it up when viewing or photographing. I like all the interiors but I also really like the external shaping of the structure. Especially how you set the doorframe at the ground level. Magnifique.