Ayrlego

Nice boots! Great idea for the crocodile island.

After some time away from my bricks (and the internet), my family got me the 3in1 Creator Castle for Christmas, which I have been eyeing off for sometime (anything Black Falcon themed is a must have as far as I am concerned!!). So to get back into building, I debated whether I'd build it as per the instructions or use it for MOC parts... I quite liked the tower option but it was a little simplistic for my taste. After reviewing several excellent modifications/re-imaginings of the set by other AFOLs, I decided to try my own version. The rules I set myself were that I wanted the same shape and same colour combinations (except the red and white banner - that had to go!!!), and to try to stick to the style and pieces used in the set. I started by enlarging the top yellow section by two studs per side, which led to the larger dark blue roof - the rest followed from there. The landscaping was were I significantly deviated from my rules, I attempted brighter greens but wasn't happy with the contrast. The two bases are build on a Duplo foundation and I couldn't resist the drawbridge instead of the normal bridge on the original model. Happy New Year all!

A great compact and colourful little factory Spud! Nice to see the tea industry taking off on Avestia.

Hey!!! those are geninue Lego sheep!! You can't blame me for this one!!! Great build as usual Evan!

Colonel Allcock decided that after the effort his team had put into restoring the monastery, it would be a pity for such a delightful location to fall into disrepair again. Thus after the conclusion of the talks, Corrington will maintain the monastery as a neutral meeting point which can be used by citizens of all nations. The hall that formally housed the monks will be turned into accommodation for citizens who are recuperating from injury and illness, while the main chapel building will be used as a conference hall. OOC: After some discussion amongst our members, Corrington will submit this build for licensing as a Royal Art and Culture. It will not count towards settlement totals for North or South Silithona as it falls within neither. A precedent for Royal builds outside of faction territory has been previously set by Oleon with this Royal build.

The Allcock Trading Company has added a class 4 merchant vessel to the fleet. In the tradition of the company the vessel has been christened with a name starting with 'A' - Amelia. Musket use borrowed from Evancelt's micro! My last micro license for Challenge IV.

As the delegations meet for the first time across the table in the main building of the monastery, Colonel Allcock began by introducing the principles for the Corlander delegation. Representing the Crown of Corrington are Colonel Dirk Allcock, Lord Fredrick Spud, Major Nathaniel Brickford and Captain Jonathan Brickleton. After the groups had been introduced and pleasantries conducted, Colonel Allcock opened the summit. "Esteemed Gentleman, thank you for accepting our invitation to treat here today. It is an honour to meet you all in person. As we are mostly military men; and are here to primarily discuss military matters, please forgive my lack of diplomatic protocols and flowery speeches. I believe our goals here can best be meet with direct, plain speech - let the diplomats wax lyrical later on these topics, but let us get down to business." "I regret the recent conflict between our two great Empires - despite our historical enmity, I have always been of the opinion that we would better serve our Crowns working together in this new world. Had there been more plain dialogue between our nations prior to your expedition to King's Port, then I dare-say would could probably have avoided the recent state of war between us." "By now you will have seen the dossier I forwarded to your delegation on the worrying build up of Lotii forces on El Oleonda. I am sure you have received similar intelligence from your own sources in the area. Without a coordinated response, I believe the enemy may succeed in their goal of wiping out our settlements in the far east - especially if we continue to fight amongst ourselves in the area." "To this point I present you our baseline position. Corrington feels that we must act against the Lotii on the ground on the island of El Oleonda. We recognise that The Empire of Oleon has extensive interests on the island and wish to ensure you that should our troops land on the island, they are only there to act against the Lotii threat." "The Crown of Corrington has no designs on permanent settlements on the island - on successful conclusion of hostilities against the Lotii, all Corlander military personnel will withdraw from the island, both from former Lotii territory, Carnite territory or Oleonese territory (should our negotiations here allow us entry to your territory on the island). The Crown of Corrington would recognise that El Oleonda would fall within an Oleonese 'sphere of influence' and would recognise the legitimacy of all Oleonese settlements on the island, both current and future." "In return, we ask that the Crown of Oleon grant us a similar 'sphere of influence' on the island currently known as 'Arlentina' and recognise the the legitimacy of any future Corlander settlements on that island whilst refraining from establishing your own settlements there." "Should these terms be agreeable, we would also seek your position on possible military cooperation in a campaign against the Lotii on El Oleonda. This concludes my opening statement" OOC: over to you Oleon! @KotZ @Ross Fisher @CapOnBOBS

Customs Office licensed as a large commerce for Jameston.

The dockyards in the bustling commercial port of Jameston have expanded to such a level that a dedicated customs office is required. Here Royal Customs officers ensure trade is carried out in accordance with Corrish law. I've really been inspired by @CapOnBOBS' series of dockyard builds in Breshaun and have wanted to attempt something similar in Jameston. Here is the first - hopefully there will be more coming. I've included Technic connections to join other sections to. Will be licensed as a large commerce for the faction.

Great expansion of your wine brand! I especially like the idea of the woodfired pizzas - something I have been planing for one of my own builds for a while now. The whole scene gives of a great energy. Nice work!

Nice work Mesabi, it's a good little scene which conveys the bustling sense of energy with minifigs going about their business that is becoming your signature. The building facades show nice variation and tie nicely back to the styles of the first builds for the settlement by the Eslandolan builders. My only tip with them would be to put a temporary back on them for photography (some up-turned plates or something) so that you can not see straight through the windows to the background behind. I find this helps give a sense of depth and was a useful tip that someone pointed out to me with some of my earlier BoBS builds. Another suggestion, although again this is my personal sense of taste, would be to make the pavement a bit more varied. The facades show some decent ware and tear, but the pavement and roadway seem brand new and shiny. Story wise I liked the way you tied the history together and having them originally move to Fatu Hiva was an interesting touch. I also like how you changed the contrast of the past pictures - that was an excellent touch! I would have liked more of a focus on the family's residence - it feels a bit like a Waymart with a house tacked on the side. Perhaps if the house was a bit larger you could have presented it as a separate but joining build that sat next to the Waymart? Then you could have licensed them both? Just a thought. Anyway overall, very nice work expanding New Haven lore from me for GoC

10 528!

Sitting on a small island in the mouth of the Sil river, is a small abandoned monastery. Once home to a small cell of monks from a larger institution in the Terraversan town of Silithona, it now lays derelict due to the drawing of the new border running through the river Sil. A cool breeze gently flows through the stand of pine trees on the islands western shore and the smell of pine litter create a peaceful atmosphere that the monks once found a most soothing environment to meditate in. Belonging neither to North or South Silithona, it was selected as the perfect place to hold talks between Corrington and Oleon. A small party of joint Corlander and Oleon engineers has worked to clean up the place and set up for the negotiations. Now it lays ready to receive the delegations. Blue and Red coats form a small honour guard to ensure the monastery remains secure until the delegations arrive. _______________________ Loosely based on Sveti Đorđe island in Montenegro which I found on the internet and looks like an amazing place to visit one day!! My first foray into Stud.io and I have to admit, It takes some getting used to after only having used LDD! I actually started the build in LDD but on attempting to add the first pine tree, I lost about three hours of work in the first crash - so I gave up and went over to Stud.io. Much more stable, and well worth it for the new pieces and better placing options! @KotZ @CapOnBOBS@Ross Fisher I can email you the .io file if you guys want to play around with it and add/expand (just PM me your email). My laptop couldn't handle the rendering when I started to add more so the side away from the camera isn't completely finished and I would have liked to tidy up the ground a bit better. Also there is no interior of either building, so it leaves it open for your interpretation should you wish to depict the actual meeting scenes. Corlander representatives will be Colonel Allcock @Ayrlego, Lord Spud @Spud The Viking, Major Brickford @LM71Blackbird and Captain Brickleton @evancelt. I will open the negotiations shortly with an additional post in this thread.

Citizens of Oleon: a small accounting matter. I have re-credited the Fatu Hiva account 200DB for upkeep for the small fort there and removed upkeep charge from the Sep-Oct account sheet. I have done the same for the large fort in Fatu Hiva from the Oleon account (credit of 800DB applied). When you have repaired the forts, just re-submit a license form and I will re-activate them and re-apply the upkeep charges. Until then they will continue to count towards settlement size, but will not be available to defend the settlement if required.

Dispatches have just arrived in Westface for Colonel Allcock after a long journey from the New Haven Sea. Colonel Allcock and Captain Brickleton examine an intelligence report from Brickford Landing. Prisoner interrogation report - Brickford Landing - August 621AE Prisoner captured 1 August 2021, believed to be Lotii irregular militia scouting defences. Prisoner revealed he had been scouting Brickford Landing for ***redacted***. The following information was extracted from numerous interviews with the prisoner. Interrogation method ***redacted*** A new Lotii commander has arrived on El Oleonda replacing the previous Viceroy, who has been executed for losses against combined Mardrician forces. New commander possibly named Zhu Shizhen. Imperial warlord of some renown. Known as a reformer who has worked to modernise the Imperial army. A large professional army has arrived with the new viceroy. Previously Lotii forces on Oleonda (Lotii refer to Oleonda as "Jīnzi" isle) were local colonial militia or Monomonto 'samurai' mercenaries. Core of new army are a type of musket armed infantry similar to Madrician line infantry. by @evancelt Musket types are believed to be a type of flint lock not dissimilar to Madrician designs. Prisoner claims some units use a monopod, but it is unclear if all troops use such a device. Other infantry carry a type of hand cannon. It is believed these troops act in a shock troop role similar to Madrician grenadiers. The army also likely contains a contingent of cavalry. In addition to the above, the army likely also consists of professional artillery, colonial militia of various types and more Monomonto 'samurai' mercenaries. Prisoner claims to have been one of a large number of scouts sent to reconnoitre Madrician settlements and positions. Claims the new Viceroy has vowed to remove all barbarians from Jīnzi and surrounding islands. End report. As a result of this information, I have began to strengthen the defences around Brickford Landing. A new stores depot has been completed and we are on track to finish a large fort by the start of November. Despite these preparations, in my assessment ***redacted***. Captain Keats, Officer in Command (acting) - Brickford Landing. Colonel Allcock: "I think this report will be useful in our talks with our Oleon counterparts." He summoned a clerk, "Please remove reference to the integration method and how long the spy had been lurking around the settlement. Remove Captain Keats' assessment and send a copy to the Duke of Vitoria (@KotZ) with my compliments." _________ A small collaboration between evancelt and myself to show some Lotii soldiers. The information has been obtained from a prisoner and has not been independently verified (OOC: this is a fun build from us and is not Court endorsed - so the information may not be correct!). The Chinese parts are from Koruit who apparently released a series of Ming Dynasty troops which we felt filled a gap for historical Chinese minifigs in Lego. So the minifig parts are a mix of Koruit and Lego.

So it does! fixed

Sep-Oct Summary I will have another week to make any changes before I go away without internet for a while - so let me know any issues quickly!

I honestly am not sure where I got the torso from. I never had them when I was young- I was a black falcons kid! And I acquired it pre-Bricklink. I can only assume I picked it up somewhere as a teenager.... I see a lot of comments about removing arms but to be honest, I have only ever had issues with some of the newer torsos, usually dark red ones. We changed arms all the times as kids in the 80s and 90s, and I don't ever recall it being an issue them! Probably my last vignette for a while as I have had to travel unexpectedly for work, I won't be back before Christmas but I hope that I will revisit this series on my return. I managed to get this last one photographed before leaving last week!

I like where this is going, they are some very nice artillery positions and are very realistic when compared to the 19th century harbour defences I've visited spread around Sydney harbour. The mortars are a particular favourite of mine. I look forward to seeing the rest!

The ETTC have opened a regional office in New Haven.

Great immersive scene! Your miners have discovered another rich seam of iron.

Primarily populated with ethnic Madierians seeking a new life in the Corlander Empire, New Haven has taken a distinctly Mardierian style. The leading citizens; lead by Mayor Giovanni Lorenzini have began a program of public works to build a network canals around the sheltered bay the settlement sits on. The work is ongoing, but smaller sections have began to take shape. In one of these sections, the ETTC has taken the opportunity to open a local office. Here, two ETTC agents can be seen discussing development opportunities with Mayor Giovanni Lorenzini. Below, an ETTC sepoy discusses life in the settlement with a soldier from the Queen's Mardierian Legion, easily recognisable by his dark orange coat. Licensed as a medium commerce for the ETTC.

Probably the best micro ship I’ve seen! Superb colour use as well, especially the light/bright blue (no idea on the official colour name!). Brilliant work!

The Tiger of Illaryian: Part IV L'incontro sul Balcone. Part I Part II Part III The soft sound of water plashing up against the canal walls was the only sound to break the stillness of the night. A somber shadow flitted silently across the waterway, making its way towards an impressive orange building overspread with balconies and terraces rising into the night sky. Slowly the gondola in the water pulled up to the steps on the side of the canal and at the same moment a set of footsteps resounding through the streets merged with the noise of the canal waves. “Tutto bene?” whispered a sinister voice. “Tutto bene,” echoed a low girlish trill. “Prince Råiden?” “He comes beyond the bridge. Let us go up.” In another moment three shadows gathered on the second tallest balcony of the great orange building, known as the Scale, beneath the shade of a pleasant wooden lattice enveloped in the vines of a vite plant. Arama di Athena De Cioto was there to revenge herself on the ignoble Rego who had pressed his secret suit upon her, Ilazio Moccenigo had come to avenge his dead father, and Prince Råiden wanted to seek justice and vengeance, for a fear had crept into his heart, lest by some twist of fate he should lose his dear little ambitious Arama. What human might not choose power and wealth above ground instead of less power and less wealth beneath the dark and cruel crust of the earth? Such were the motives that thus brought this unlikely triumvirate together in the dark of the night to plan the downfall of the completely unsuspecting Rego. Luca di Carli had no idea that any of this was going on! “Do you hold, still, your sentiments from the day before?” began Ilazio after a long silence in a low, dreary voice, pacing up and down the length of the terrace and looking fiercely at Arama. The girl pulled down the edge of her cape and frowned. “Ilazio, the Rego is un assassino a sangue freddo! This note proves it.” She snatched the paper out of Råiden’s hand. “Do you think I would hold back my help against a villino? Your father knew somehow that he was in grave danger. Who knows what ricatto and le malignità the great Rego might have pressed upon him? No doubt all the records were stolen along with the crimine. We must make him pay!” Ilazio pulled the paper out of her hands and wrote upon the back of it. In another second he slipped it back into her possession. Arama hurriedly read the note to herself under the light of the lanterns, adding another sentence at the end of it with the quill which Ilazio handed to her. This is treasonous talk, read the note, and, Treason or patriottismo, no man can escape innocent with blood on his hands, she added boldly. Råiden Tígrisdýrið smiled grimly when they passed him the note. But if the Rego suddenly dies without cause or blame attached to him, there would be an uproar, and the murderers would be hunted like bloodhounds, he wrote patiently across the side of the small paper. Arama’s eyes lit up and she whispered cannily, “Then we must make the people angry. The people and the Kolgari.” “How?” asked Råiden darkly, grabbing Arama by the shoulders and staring into her eyes. “The Kolgari are my people, Arama.” Ilazio listened morbidly. “It would be easy enough,” smirked Arama. “L'amuleto, Råiden. Don’t you know that the Rego will send an embassy to the sunken city in due giorni? I discovered it mo’. And we only need take the amulet and set it in the Rego’s palazzo, and the rest would happen by itself. You could easily arrange to have the Kolgari send a spy to search the Rego’s quarters and find him guilty. There would instantly be an uproar amongst the Kolgari throughout the realm, and the di Carlis position would at once become… instabile.” “For the Kolgari,” mused Tígrisdýrið, “stealing the necklace would mean death. But the people…” “The people love him,” Ilazio finished gloomily. He was eager to wash out the deed in blood, oh, he would sacrifice himself without a thought! It was well for Luca di Carli that neither of the others mentioned to him who the man in the golden mask had been, or it would have become cracked and bloody before it left the ball that day. “Bene?” whispered Arama. “If it all went just as you suppose, mia ragazza, there might still be a desperate struggle after all between the humans and the Kolgari, and Varlyrio might be torn apart." “Al demone with Varlyrio!” Arama and Ilazio cried together. They froze and looked at each other. “We must make the whole guild lose trust in di Carli. They must hate him as we do—for the same buone ragioni that we do.” “And then,” Ilazio halted. His silence was more expressive than words. “Isn’t that enough?” pleaded Arama uneasily. With frightened eyes she looked back and forth between the conspirators by her side. “That’s not enough,” muttered Ilazio. “‘He who sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.’” “Then,” said Råiden, “we need a better reason for the populace to hate him. Will they believe that he murdered the famous architect only because of a paper that could be fabricated in dieci minuti? Would your famiglia even believe it?” Ilazio opened his mouth and then shut it again. Would they? It almost looked implausible, unless they felt it, knew it, the way he did! He knew his father’s handwriting. The note was enough to prove the Rego’s guilt, but still there lay those uncomfortable gaps, for what if Brabantio had been mistaken? He knew his family might doubt the paper's authenticity, for no one knew his fathers hand like he did. His father, with whom he had planned out palazzos and written out contracts! “Kidnapping?” Arama whispered suddenly, interrupting his horrible reverie. “The death of a child?” He didn’t know what she was talking about. “But amici, we don’t want blood on our hands.” “None but guilty blood,” Ilazio agreed in a low voice, looking at the girl keenly. Perhaps she was too weak for this job. “The De Ciotos aren’t popular now,” Arama said ruefully. Ilazio’s stare went by unnoticed. “The De Fioris and the Conzagas and even the Rego blamed us for the assassinations that recently occurred. But even then, a noble family like ours…” What was she getting at? “The De Ciotos from the East are coming to stay at the Amancio Mansion in two days.” “Is your little nephew–” murmured Råiden. “We cannot harm him!” Arama interrupted, her cheeks flaming red. “No, no,” Råiden assented. “But if he were to disappear… if this evil Rego were to use him as a bait, to force you to agree to whatever he wants with you… you who he ought to hold politically aloof! what a terrible sensazione that would cause!” “I like the plan,” Ilazio muttered. He bent forward over the balcony and stared down into the water far below. “Tre giorni. On the first Prince Råiden takes the amulet and soon it is safe within the walls of the Rego’s Palazzo della Tigre. Rumour says that the Rego is desperately in love with Arama di Athena De Cioto. On the second the populace is fermented by more rumours and suspicions, as the Kolgari search high and low for the stolen relic… higher and higher and higher. Until at last, on the morning of the third day, Prince Raiden remembers the suspicious visit of the royal ambassador on the day of the theft, and, since that morning the little cousin of Arama disappeared, kidnapped perhaps by the Rego himself, who wants young Arama De Cioto at any cost, the populace bursts into the Rego’s palazzos, and the Kolgari search his inner rooms and take him hostage…” “When they find the amulet,” Raiden finished soberly, “the Rego’s fate will be sealed.” “And if they fail,” Ilazio swore, “I will kill him then!” As for Arama di Athena De Cioto, she had other plans… .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Exactly! Although with the boar, I've discovered that when you remove the saddle the hole created is too big for a 1x2 tile but too small for a 2x2 tile - very frustrating!