Abu Dun

Thror III. has his settlements in the valleys of the southern Rakath Mountains, but like Dr. Rod most of his people consists of humans. At least I think their dragons don't count as separate tribe, but more as mounts and war beasts. A contest/community build centered around tribes does sound intriguing, though. Undead (esp. skeletons, mummies and ghosts/spectres), werewolves and minotaurs could serve as base, since I have a good number of those.

I know and certainly won't follow a career as a necromancer It's just that this would've gotten a bump some time anyway. So, better now while it's still somewhat fresh than when the last post was a year ago. Or that, alternatively, maydayartist would be forced to open an entirely new thread for the same thing when he gets around to post an update. Which would need him to at least link to this thread and, unless locked, It hink this would automatically lead to someone digging it up in order to comment on the different stages of development.

I'll try to, I want to slowly get back into building as soon as other (slightly more important) stuff is dealt with

Browsing through the thread once again and swooning over the updates I missed left me awestruck by its beauty yet again However, since this still seems to be unfinished (or at least not yet updated to the finished state), I wonder if you've gotten around to add the two chapters you mentioned? I'd guess that one will connect the drawing bridge of the castle with the actual village, whereas the other will be used to fit the carriage maker, no? As such, I'm not in the least sorry about digging this up again

It's been too long since I last was active around here, due to work and other stuff piling up I took a break from Lego Hopefully, I'll get back to building soon and I'd love to continue the as of yet unfinished tale of Lord Thror III. and his people

Retail price for the orc forge is $39,99 or 49,99€, so, yes, >$74 definitely are too much. Aside from the figs, the parts, while useful, are fairly common nowadays and there's not enough weaponry for the included orcs and Uruks to make this an army builder. I think it's nice to have on display, but you should definitely look out for discounts if you think about getting it.

A nice build and definitely a fitting fortress for ths band of forestmen. I especially like that their fallen comrades get shrines to honour them As a comment on Flickr already suggests, though, I'd place some bricks behind the slopes making up the rock, grass and part of the wooden wall to prevent light shining through the back. The way it is now it looks like there are some holes all over the place

I just got it yesterday and after building it I must say I'm impressed at how great it looks. It's instantly recognizable even if you haven't seen any of the movies and it works both as playset and, even better, as display on your shelve. The interior design with the table, the chairs and everything else is just great. With next to no changes you can use it as setting for the first few chapters of the LOTR, change the figs to the other four hobbits (plus Fredegar Bolger, who sadly got left out from the movies despite being in on everything that happened in the Shire) and you can have Frodo give his farewell party just as good as Bilbo hosting the dwarves That the tiles aren't printed is a minor let-down at this price, but the stickers seem to be of quality so this somewhat reduces the drawback. As for the figures, they simply are exceptional The retail price of 79,99€ is indeed quite steep, so I'd definitely look out for discounts (like the one amazon.de currently offers), but otherwise this probably is the best set of the entire line in terms of accurately displaying what actually happens at that particular place in both movie and book. Finally, could it be that you've forgotten to place the trans-clear inverted dish into the center of the large window? At least it looks like this in your pictures.

What a lovely Sandy Claws, and his helpful elves are just as great Using A Nightmare before Christmas as inspiration is no bad idea at all, since I don't know many other movies that fit Nocturnus to such a high degree

Just ordered An unexpected Gathering and the Orcforge at Amazon, to get those while the 20% discount for LEGO lasts.

That's about the best parody I've ever seen. It's both absolutely epic and ridiculously funny at the same time Thanks for sharing

Those are all some really inspiring builds and it's great to see Valyrio taking shape more and more If all things go well, I myself intend to do something with the minotaurs that dwell in the eastern regions of the country, both because the focus until now primarily lied on the human people and because I want to use those in a new build. Here's to hope that I get it done before the deadline

Nice update, the build gained a lot from the better pictures

I just checked today and they've also hit Galeria Kaufhof and Karstadt in Leipzig. The prices, as far as I remember them, are as follows: Riddles: 11,99 / 12,99 Mirkwood: 26,99 / 29,99 Wargs: 54,99 / 59,99 Bag End: 69,99 / 79,99 Goblin King: 89,99 / 99,99 Sadly, neither has the Barrells' Escape and my hopes of finding Mirkwood Elves at a local retailer got crushed.

I got them from Ebay, for 5€ each.

Ordered 7x Uruk-Hai Ballista today to somewhat strengthen the forces besieging Helm's Deep.

Many thanks Many thanks, actually I just went and looked for a fitting hairpiece to go with the beard, and that was the one I own that I think fits the best Making up a background to justify it is a simple task if the fig itself is finished Many thanks From what I've seen of the series, I'm already eager to watch it, since it seems to have captured the spirit of the movie almost perfectly - and even with nearly the same quality of animation, too As for the hat, if I remember it correctly it came with one of my earliest purchases after leaving the dark ages. Back then, I was quite dissapointed since what was sent to me didn't quite fit the description (and I didn't know how to deal with that) and the hat should have been the standard brown, but it was faded to what you see here, probably due to years of exposure to direct sunlight. Now I think it's quite cool and it does stand out from the other forestmen hats to the point of making it unique Many thanks, and if one thinks about it it does indeed resemble the pit of the raptors - only that everybody who fell in there did so due to an accident and because he was to be executed

Thanks, your feedback is much appreciated Many thanks Many thanks. I've really taken a liking towards those large orange teeth and plan to incorporate them in all of my future builds in some way or another. Thanks, I mainly experimented on how much I can fit onto a 16x16 base without making it look too cluttered. Regarding Mablung, well, while his parents are an elf and a human he has ancestors among all prominent humanoid races that dwell in Historica. The elvish blood came through the strongest, as his fair skin and the pointy ears can tell. The dark colour of his hair and ears is a drowish trait, whereas the beard is something he has gotten from a dwarven ancestor - unlike his siblings, who, for some reason, can't be distinguished from pure elves. This different appearance of his also is one of the reasons why he fled Avalonia.

At the place where that collection is located (my home village), I know a couple vacation homes large enough to fit your family. And when you're not sorting, I'm sure you'd enjoy the region as well Only, the airfare may prove to be too steep for all of you Oh well, looks like it'll take a looong time before I finally have everything sorted, but at least I'm making a bit of progress

@ISC: Many thanks, someday I hope to improve them a bit, since there are a few things I wasn't quite pleased with but couldn't come up with a more feasable solution. That aside, I've managed to get another freebuild done, further detailing the daily life outside of war: Inspecting the latest nursery Also, if anybody wants to help me sort this, be my guest : Afterwards, it should look something like this, at least temporarily and neatly stored away:

After the eggs of dragons hatch, the Dreeders quickly sort them into the different types and, like every professional breeder, immediately sort out those with too aggravating features illnesses that prevent life. Unlike for most other species, though, not much counts as too grave: Having a second head? Great, firepower of two for the price of one. Additional, symmetrical wings? Superb, since those give additional flying speed. Being a herbivorous dragon, though, when the parents are carnivors? REALLY bad, as the Dragonpeaks aren't known for their huge fields of corn and wheat and have enough problems to sustain the small population of originally herbivorous breeds. Although the Dragonpeaks are vast and loaded with cliffs and steep precipices, just like most of the rest of the Rakath Mountains, finding a location where you can raise lots of dragons during the early years is a bit tricky, though. It should be a sparse area, well-enclosed by mountains so that the drakes can't escape get lost and hidden from evil eyes (as those creatures love to dine on young dragon). Further, you should build a small shack for the guards Dreeders. No need to make it too comfortable, they're supposed to work and not idle by Ever so often, Thror III. visits the nurseries to make sure his subjects raise the offspring of their benefactors to the best of their knowledge. Not only does he need to make sure that his military strength doesn't decrease due to mistakes done in the childhood of the dragons. No, even though the adult ones didn't really care all that much for them before, now that the have someone raising their children, they have become A LOT more protective once their babies are deemed worthy to grow to adulthood. And, as the Drow learned the hard way, you don't want to make a dragon come after you because of such a reason. So, today Thror, getting accompanied by his trusted general Mablung, travelled to a nursery that opened only recently, partly to make up for the ones lost in the fight against Victor: Thror: "Say, Mablung, why was it again that you have brown, pointy ears?" Mablung: "You know, Sire, there once was a Drow seeking refuge in the Fairy Forest. Seems like back then the elves weren't quite as hostile to their kin as they are today. And now, centuries later, here I am. But, my liege, I have told you this back when I fled from Avalonia and got accepted among your ranks, already." Thror: "True, but it never gets old. Anyway, let us begin with the inspection, shall we? This is not the only nursery we are going to visit until the sun sets. Onwards, call the foreman!" Mablung: "As you wish, my Lord." Thor: "I see, everything is still fresh and in nice shape. And the drakes are having a feast today, it seems?" Gold-Toothy: "Yes, me'Lord, w're ord'red ta feed a fatt pig an' a goat thus week. Tha pig went down a'right, but tha goat struggled a heckuva lot an' broke tha bar o' tha crane just a momen' 'go." Thror: "Well done, now back to work with you. Get this goat down there! And I want this crane repaired before I leave!" Grumpy Foreman: "It shall be done at once, my Lord." Mablung: "If you allow, Sire, the Dreeders do not quite live up to the glorious and proud men they are supposed to be according to your tales. Rather, to me they look more like your average thug unworthy to carry arms." Thror: "Like everything recently, they have been in decline, my good Mablung. See that foreman, he is a quiet man of work, unlike his two companions he is forced to live around." Mablung: "This may well be the case, Sire, but that bumpling crook down there may set a false ideal into new recruits if he were to be seen." Thror: "Nothing we cannot change immediately. Why else do you think no spy ever managed to escape our grasp? Definitely not because we have a lot of prisons. Rather, because the nurseries such as this one here serve just as good as executional grounds!" Mablung: "No wonder I had never heard of your people outside from legends, if not even the best spies of the AAG could make it out alive. Truly, a marvellous idea, Sire." Thor: "And as an aside, it also helps to make the drakes as ferocious on the battlefield as we want them." Bumbling Drunkard: "Aaaaaaaaaah!!!" *crunch* *snap* *munch* Thror: "Now that this matter is dealed with, we should move onwards to the next. And make haste, I do not want to have supper in the middle of the mountains!" Mablung: "Yes, my Lord. I shall call for our steeds without delay." As always, C&C are most welcome and more can be found on Flickr

Could be. Elves are, after all, known to be deviously cunning when it gets to warfare. And there's nothing better to place your actual enemy in false safety than making him believe that war has broken out between allies

A lovely army and I really hope to see those Mirkwood elves arrive in Germany, as well - they're indeed great for army building. That being said, I wonder what the High King will have to say about an avalonian army marching against one of the richest cities of Mitgardia, once news gets to whereever he has hidden himself from the Corrupted Hand. No doubt he'd like to see that army of elves fight against Victor rather than an allied force

That's a nice idea for a community build. It would certainly help to improve building in microscale

The lighting really adds to the atmosphere of this entry, as it enhances both the location and the feelings of the peasants, who probably are quite frightened in regards to what will become of them. That being said, I love how much is going on there and that the members of the corrupted hand aren't treated as VIPs but as what they are - usurpers and traitors Best of luck in the voting