Capt Wolf

@SkaForHire, can you tell us which ports were blockaded?

Thanks to both of you! I'm glad you liked the bed; I was pleased with how it came out. I was happy that I didn't copy someone's existing design but worked it out on my own. Good idea. I wish I'd thought of it! I hadn't noticed that. You're right ... but now you've revealed his identity! And thanks!

That is handled by MCTC finances and I haven't made the transfer yet. It will show up as a normal transfer.

Wow, Weelond is becoming the financial center of the Brick Seas! Cool build! The architecture should fit right in with other buildings in Weelond, and I really like the use of sand green with the dark green window frames. Nice use of grooved and masonry bricks, too. The town council might ask you to cut those weeds, though.

Thanks all! The floor didn't take as long as I thought it would. It mostly was tedious. The tough part was figuring out the dimensions so it would fit snugly. I wasn't sure it was going to work unitl, all of a sudden, it did! This was my first work with a cheese slope mosaic, and I'm looking forward to trying some more. Thanks. I was especially happy with how the blankets worked when he's sitting up in bed. Good point. I hope her local boy never breaks her heart!

That's exactly what I thought was going to happen, too! I also agree that the coatrack is pretty cool. And that admiral is buff! Good job!

Great job with the "stacked" build! And I love the flowered vine on the wall. Nice architectural elements in such a small space. And I'm always on the lolokout for how people do bells in bell towers. I like this one. Well done overall!

That's a beauty, LS (even in blue)! And the deck is alive with activity.

There's a lot to like in this build. The old, gnarled tree trunk looks good, and I love the crow flying above it. Mateo's bandana and leg turning from white to red is a nice effect. And kudos for putting the scene on a hillside rather than flat terrain. And great figure posing all around!

Shhh! You're not supposed to notice the holes. But a technic pin fits in them nicely, which can be used to anchor a minifig, as in the third pic.

Nice posing of the running figures. And the knife through in the belly and the blood is excellent. But I would like to know more about this act of revenge. And which nation prevails?

Not who he was expecting | Capt Wolf | Eslandola | for Eslandola Cat 5A

My name is not important, but my story may be of interest to you. I met with Maria late one night in a part of Kings Port I doubt she had ever been to before. She is the daughter of a wealthy merchantman, a partner in a large trade consortium. Her father had prospered with the opening of Kings Port to all, but now her father was afraid that King Alphonse XIII would reclaim control of Kings Port. If that happened, her father wanted to make sure he had the connections to continue to prosper. Maria’s father was a good merchant, but not a good father in Maria’s eyes. To secure his company’s future, he had arranged for Maria to marry into Mardierian nobility – specifically, she was to marry Prince Enrique, 17th in line to the throne of King Alphonse. That Maria was in love with a local boy meant nothing to her father. It should have. That is how Maria came to be talking to me, late at night in this part of town. She sought someone who could solve her problem, but did not want her boyfriend put at risk. After some discreet questions of dock workers around her father’s business, she was eventually directed to someone I trust to recruit business, and from there she was directed to me. I solve people’s problems … when those problems can be solved by a timely death. She had ample gold to purchase my services. She told me that Prince Enrique would be in Kings Port soon to meet her. I told her what to do. Soon thereafter, Maria met Prince Enrique formally, chaperoned by her father, among others. She acted excited at the prospect of marriage to the prince, and secretly told him that she would like to visit him tonight, unchaperoned. If he would make sure that his bodyguards were away and door unlocked, she would come to him to … er … confirm their compatibility. But Maria is not visiting the prince tonight – I am. Maria had been very convincing, or perhaps the prince was as stupid as he looked. Regardless, I had no trouble entering the residence and finding my way to his room. He was half asleep in his bed as I crept closer, past the window. A squeak from the intricately detailed wood flooring alerted him that someone was in the room. He sat up in his bed. “Maria?” he asked. But then he saw it was not Maria, but me. I swear that he should have let loose a blood-curdling scream, but nary a peep came out of him, despite his effort. He was dumb with fright! With one quick motion, I slit his throat before he could find his voice. That gave me the time to clean off my blade before I left. And so Maria is free to marry her local boy. Her father will have to hope Garvey and Eslandola prevail against Mardier and keep King Alphonse out of Kings Port for good. --------------------- This is an entry for Eslandola's side. A view of the whole build: And an extra shot from a different angle: All C&C welcome.

Lovely build, and an interesting story to go with it! I love the tree trunk and the use of dark green for the leaves, and I like that the whole scene is on a gentle hill. As for the story, I'm very curious to see where this goes. Good hook!

Very nice! I like that you've added interiors; I think that improves a basic building façade a lot. And you've got some nice details on the ground floor. Good use of minifigs inside and along the street, too. I will echo bd that some texture elements or other items to break up the smoothness of the building fronts would greatly enhance the build. I used to have a lot of trouble figuring out how to introduce texture into my builds (truth be told, I still do!). So, some tips that helped me out: consider using an occasional brick with grooves, masonry texture, or even an occasional 1x1 round to give the wall some texture. An awning over a door (just a few slope pieces), or some ornate cap (or not that ornate, just simply a different color, or a 1x2 or 1x4 tile attached to 1x1 "headlight" bricks) above the windows would do a lot. You could also add a flag hanging from a short bar attached to a headlight brick (or other brick with an open stud on the side) as a sign for a business. And you could rough up the street with a mixture of tiles and plates, or sprinkle in a dark grey or tan or dark tan piece. Some ideas for next time. But I like what you've got here! Looking forward to seeing who moves into the upstairs room!

I have always viewed Eslandola and its trade companies as partially inspired by the Netherlands (breaking away from Mardier/Spain). Additionally, the rebels in the Mardierian civil war are known as the "United Provinces forces." And I had it in my head from somewhere that the color for Garvey (also a breakaway from Mardier) was orange, but in the post above it says they're purple, so maybe I'm wrong there. But there is material to work with for a fan of the Dutch in the Age of Sail.

I love this build and entry! Great job combining marriage and assassination into the same story! And Ayrlego beat me to commenting on that door. Great piece usage! Given the architectural style, I'm just sad this couldn't have taken place in Weelond!

I was about to mention the same thing. The main PC factions are distinct, and we have several NPC factions fleshed out. I don't think we need to assign a distinct color of the rainbow to every nation.

I love the kneeling van Draumen! And head choice, the ring, all very well presented! The frog in the fountain next to the princess is a nice touch as well. Excellent build!

Excellent story, well illustrated, but I must admit my favorite part were the hidden pictures and comments. The overall build is wonderful! Nice architectural detail above the doors and windows, and especially along the bottom of the roof. The street pavers are a nice touch!

A very elegant hall, and a fantastic build! And the harp is quite clever! I would love to see an overall view just to get a sense of the size of the build. And Guy's Uncle gave him the map. Hmm... Very interesting...

Here's the stern. It was a bit of an experiment and didn't turn out as I had hoped. For some reason it doesn't fit together quite as well as the stern on the Far Horizon.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and feedback! I'm glad the sails are a hit. I use paper sails, so printing designs on them is an easy step to give them some character. The size is very similar to the classic '80s and '90s Lego ships, which I've always liked. Thanks. Once I tiled my first ship, it became very hard to go back to studs on the decks! I enjoy working with the prefabs because it's my connection to those classic early Lego pirate ships. You are correct that the yellow striping really helps define the shape. I use some form of striping like that on most of my ships. And using slopes rather than hinges to get the tumblehome of the sides does make a very solid ship. The decking in front of the windows really doesn't have a place for any guns (hard to see in these pics), so I didn't include gun ports there, but I am on another ship I'm working on. I agree that would be a great place to gun 'er up. Thanks! I struggled with the length of the bowsprit on this one. It's shorter than on the Far Horizon, which is very similar, and I played around with the length a bit. For whatever reason I settled on this length, but it is a short version of the variations I tried. Thanks. I believe a good figurehead is a must for these captured ships. And I'm glad you like the overall shape; I'm pleased with that as well. And of course the colors are very Eslandola-ey.

I think for the moment upkeep is paid by the licensee, so it would be coming out of the faction coffers at the moment (since ESL has licensed all the forts to this point, I believe), but I agree that having upkeep come out of the settlement coffers makes more sense. We have to make sure each settlement can afford it, though. I'm not sure that we need to subsidize the building of forts at the moment. I think increasing settlement size is more important. The forts will come.

Yes, you were quite speedy!