NiceMarmot

Great landscaping and foliage (as usual from you)! But the cool part is really the roof. Very interesting design, and it looks really good. I'm not sure a real-life roof would be made like this. The reason the boards/logs/tiles usually run vertically instead of horizontally is so the rain (and snow) runs easily off the roof; there's a danger with this style that water will collect between logs. But it looks really cool! And the two-gabled style is a nice touch too. My guess is that you have technic pins in one end holding the cones onto the bottom of the log bricks. Or the cones on one end are not fastened to the roof at all, but held by the 1x6 tile, which is then SNOT attached to the end wall.

I thought it was based on my Mt Agnathka watchtower But seriously, really nice job with this. I like the way the pathway turned out. The tree branches on their sides make realistic bushes. And that little campfire is great!

That is one sweet ride!

Oh, it won't be that easy to do away with Murdock! I'm sure Hannibal, B.A. Baracus, and Faceman will be along shortly to rescue him, after crafting a trebuchet from some rubber bands, three feet of rope, six milk pails, and a turnip. Then they'll wreak havoc on the hapless village guard, free their buddy Murdock, and escape to continue their quest to help those in need. I love it when a plan comes together! If you're puzzled by this, you need to brush up on your 1980s American TV! Hmmm, that gives me an idea for an MOC...

Hit the Santa Clara and San Mateo stores today and both had grab bags. Almost out of them at Santa Clara, but San Mateo still has a bunch left. Haven't opened them yet, but they look good. Fair amount of minifigs in the Santa Clara ones, plus lots of pieces from a display Town Hall they took apart. Hard to tell where the San Mateo ones came from; lots of random stuff.

Judging from your work so far in Historica, I'd say that nothing is beyond your ability, Robuko! Go for it. BTW fellow guild-members, heard some interesting news today. Since I was in the area, I stopped by the LEGO store today to get a few PAB cups and continue my futile search for Roman solider collectible minfig. As I was paying, the clerk told me that they're running special on PAB cups on April 10 and 11. For those two days, VIP members get a large PAB cup for the price of a small one! That's a 47% savings! Not sure, but I think it might be US & Canada only. I'm sure this information is posted elsewhere on EB, but I didn't know it. Might be a great way to load up on Kaliphlin style parts for challenge 3!

Great to meet you at last! Tales of your brave deeds have reached us here on the south coast. We are glad to have you protecting the northwestern frontiers. Welcome to the Guild! - Gex Marmota

Yes, I'm interested in how this works too. What was the timeframe? How many builds were judged for each guild? What was the average "score" of the builds for each guild? I'm trying to get a feel for whether Avalonia did better just by having more builds, or better quality, etc. Is Kaliphlin a high quality / low volume builder, or vice versa?

I didn't mind the LDD at all, although I did think the pictures could have been a bit bigger.

I think the overall design and look are by far the most important. Everything else is secondary, and probably only comes into play when comparing two MOCs whose overall design is equally impressive. For instance, several of the Valholl microscale MOCs impressed me equally with their overall design, so then I had to really look into the details. Other factors (in no particular order): Photography & Photoshopping - I'm not consciously looking for this, although I will severely ding an MOC if the photography is so bad I can't see what's going on (usually because of bad focus or poor lighting). And maybe my bar is a bit higher on this -- I see plenty of MOCs with lousy photography. But I admit that good photography and Photoshopping probably does unconsciously make me like an MOC more. Nice Parts Usage (NPU) - Not necessary, but but gives a bump to my overall impression, especially if there are some really innovative techniques I can learn from. Size - Not a factor for me, unless it's just jaw-dropping (and I mean huge, at least as big as my embassy). But if it's really huge, the design and techniques still have to be there. No points for a huge but boring, lousy design. Story - Yes, definitely a factor, if it's a good story and well-written. I think Sirens-of-Titan's Return of the Mage sets the bar here. But even smaller stories like the Kaliphlin myths, or Robuko's vignettes really add something for me. Details - Worth a small bump. I appreciate things like a well-constructed interior or landscaping with the right amount of detail and clutter. Innovative Techniques - Definitely worth a bump. A well designed MOC with no innovative techniques is still a very good MOC, but the same MOC with a few unusual or innovative techniques is a bit more compelling. Action - Definitely helps to have something going on. A cool building with minifigs doing something (or at least standing around going about their business) is more interesting that just a cool building. Originality - Worth a small bump, but I see very few that are truly original. I don't think any of these is going to compensate for a poor overall design and look. A lousy design with lots of details and innovative techniques is still a lousy design.

Bumping, as I've just posted scene 2 of this myth. See the edited first post. A few more scenes to go after this one.

Wow

I should have seen that one coming!

That is a really good MOC of Rick! Amazing level of detail. Great job. Couldn't find the thread for it though.

So, as long as our sigs are not as tall as Hinckley's, are we OK?

Where's the Kaliphlin embassy? Great microscale! Having just done my first one, I can appreciate that making stuff this small is not easy. Great job, and also nice work outside the city walls too, like the river and farmlands.

Well, I'm definitely going to do something water-themed. Not sure what, and maybe not underwater. I don't have a lot of blue unfortunately. Have two or three Atlantis sets however. I haven't come up with a real story or big idea for challenge 3 yet, although I haven't really devoted much time to it either. I was hoping to do a bunch of small vignettes leading up to a bigger, final MOC, but considering my inability to get the myth mini-challenge done even close to on-time, I'm not sure I'll be able to produce that many scenes before the end of April. Especially since we've got some vacation coming up in April. And I do have to work too. This darn job thing keeps getting in the way of building LEGO!

Impressive. Quite large! With lots of nice vignettes inside. I think the window treatments with the arches and cylinders turned out quite well btw. And the color scheme is spot-on. And I really like those cups up on the roof with the cones set into them; great architectural detail that I might have to borrow for a future build...

I was checking out another thread this morning about using 3D printers for LEGO blocks, and I immediately thought -- I could design and print my own animal pieces! Well, maybe in a few years. I foresee a huge number of custom designs for 3D printing for minifigs, animals, unusual parts, etc. So if TLG doesn't want to give us animals, we'll just make our own!

Yes, very interesting. I was wondering about creating my own LEGO-compatible blocks after seeing these 3D printers in action at the MakerFaire last year. In discussions with the people who make the printers, two issues came up: 1) the resolution and tolerances, and 2) the softness of the plastic material used. They felt that in several years the resolution and accuracy would be close enough to LEGO that you wouldn't notice the difference in most cases, but that it's definitely noticeable right now. Likewise, the printers are getting better at handling a wider variety of materials. But they felt that the best applications for these printers in this area in the near future would be for custom bricks and pieces, things that TLG doesn't yet produce, as well as custom minifigs and animals. But I would imagine that the possibility within ten years of printing your own near-LEGO-quality bricks has a few people at TLG very, very worried.

Interesting. I hit the Santa Clara, CA store on Saturday (big mistake, it was a total zoo). They had a great selection of Kaliphlin-style bricks there for once! Including: 2x2 tan, 1x3 tan and dark bley, 2x4 black and dark bley, 2x3 dark bley and white, 4x6 tan and blue plates, 2x6 tan plates, 2x3 black slopes, 2x6 light bley, 1x4 reddish brown log bricks, and a few other pieces that I didn't pick up. If anyone of you is in the area, it might be worth a trip.

I'd say the end of the roof is the first priority. Make it extend a stud or two past the end of the building and add a beam along its edge (see Derfel's guide), or make it end before the edge of the building like in the picture from De Gothia above. BTW, I think getting roofs right is one of the hardest parts of making LEGO buildings. Then you can work on greebling up the window treatments if you want, or adding more texture to them.

Looks good. Don't mess with Ginny! Can you post a pic of one of those minifigs close up without the sword and shield blocking the torso and legs? Can't fully see the torso in those shots. Good looking bed too. I built a four-poster for the embassy build, and it wasn't easy. I used bars for the posts, which was a pain. Those cone pieces are probably a better choice. I assume you've got a pin or bar inside them holding them together. Nice arachnid btw. I like the Ahsoka head-tails on the spider's head. Can't see the body very well, but the legs look great.

Well, since we're going to get orcs, goblins, and trolls this summer from the LOTR theme, perhaps we should name these something different. Like ogres? Or hobgoblins? Bugbears? Or make a name up?

Shouldn't Clint Eastwood be off on the side, shooting the hangman's rope with his rifle?