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BenA

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Everything posted by BenA

  1. BenA
    Gorgeous! I'm a sucker for cutaways, playability and fantastic detailed scenery. This has all three. I especially like the way you built the layers of rock and dirt in the caves, and the angles on that castle are so clean! Brilliant work
  2. BenA
    I considered getting a second copy and using lightsaber hilts, but in the end I just ordered extra reindeer and a couple of the longer pearl gold plastic hoses from the grand piano: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=75c26&idColor=115#T=C&C=115 Thinking I should be able to replace the shorter hoses that come in the set with the longer ones, and then it'll be a doddle to attach the extra reindeer (the rest of the parts needed are common enough that I already had all but the red corner plates in my collection).
  3. BenA
    I thought the same at first, but now I'm wondering what it would look like with nine reindeer... The sleigh runners feel a little plain to me, but that should be easily fixed with the gold trim from the old version. Getting excited for the WV set reveal now!
  4. BenA
    I love it! You've captured so much character with just a few carefully chosen and cleverly placed bricks. I imagine he could tell some interesting stories about customers he's had in his chair! Top notch!
  5. BenA
    I'll just echo what everyone else has said - this is amazing! I love big detailed builds and you don't disappoint! Beautiful!
  6. BenA
    The way you've integrated the building into the landscape is really great. I also love the rockwork and that arched entrance to the mine tunnel - it's seamless! Thanks for sharing
  7. BenA
    This is really beautiful! I love the accuracy to the source material and I'm a sucker for all the little details. I especially love the woodwork on the tower, and the organic way in which the ivy wraps round it (with the associated colour change of the masonry). It blends perfectly with the landscape too. Top work on this!
  8. BenA
    Love the way you've kept all the design cues of the original, but redone in such an immediately recognisable gundam style. Always admire folks who can build great looking mechas like this!
  9. BenA
    Good start! It's a bit difficult to see but I like the way you've added details to the dragon's flanks, and kept a consistent colour scheme as well
  10. BenA
    Happy to help - go for it!
  11. BenA
    Sure - happy to help. I'd start a new thread if you're hoping for feedback from others too. Otherwise private message me and I'll see what I can suggest
  12. BenA
    Hi and thanks! If you'd like some pointers on how I created the landscape I did a couple of explanations of my thought process - with pictures - on my instagram (search for bena_lego), or there are lots of pictures on my Flikr that show work in progress (link is in the original post, but be warned my Flickr is very disorganised!). Other than that, my advice is: Gather plenty of reference material and use that for inspiration (I had lots of photos of real world streams and waterfalls, and I googled the artwork from the elves series to get a feel for the colours etc). You don't have to stick to them rigidly but I found having reference material to look at really helped me decide what I was going for, and also keep me consistent when my build took a long time. I sketch what I have in mind before I start building and that helps me spot and work out major problems early on. It also gets me thinking about how I might build it. Sketching things out also lets me plan how ambitious I can be. At the beginning I underestimated how many bricks it takes to build even just a small piece of detailed landscape and it was quite disheartening to have to stop and wait when I ran out. I learnt that sketching it out first let me find the right balance between what looked good and what I could realistically achieve - and also let me plan bricklink orders in advance! Once building I always go for interesting angles wherever I can, from whole chunks of scenery right down to individual rocks. I think most serious Lego moccers would agree that building 'off grid' is a very good way to make things look natural. I also try to make sure there's always a logical way for a minifig/doll to reach each part of the landscape, so lots of pathways, ladders, stairs etc... but that's just a personal preference and I don't always stick to it! Don't be afraid to change your mind or start over. I lost count of the number of times I rebuilt something on that moc because it didn't look right! My version of Rosalyn's blue Healing Hideout was especially tricky - must have rebuilt that 6 or 7 times. I also sometimes take a photo of the build in progress, then draw over the top of it to give me an idea of what to do next. Finally, enjoy yourself and don't forget to post whatever you build here - would love to see it!
  13. BenA
    So impressive! I had a poster of the Testarossa on my wall as a child and at first glance I thought someone had posted an image of that by mistake. Brilliant work.
  14. BenA
    Thanks, that's really kind! I'd love to take it to a convention at some point - will let you know if we do. I had a quick look at your Diagon Alley moc by the way - it looks great! We're considering something Harry Potter related for the next moc, just not sure what... open to suggestions! :D
  15. BenA
    Thanks! They were fun to do. We took plenty of inspiration from the animated series and original sets, but in the back of my mind was that the Goblins would have tried to copy the Elven buildings so they should share some similarities, but would then have messed it up in their own comical way.
  16. BenA
    Very cool - I'm inspired! I'd never really considered dots sets (other than for parts), but after seeing these pics I'm definitely going to pic a few up. Nice job!
  17. BenA
    Thanks! Playability was definitely an important factor when we set out because my daughter was just over 8 years old. But because it took so long to complete and she's now 11 (and has discovered phones and apps) I have to say it became less important towards the end :( Welcome to Eurobricks, and thanks for your kind comments! Regarding the water, using white and blue was a conscious decison to try and best capture the look of the animated series and original concept artwork. We tried transparent pieces at the beginning but couldn't get them in the length we needed to get the look. I'm thinking about trying the technique out with transparent pieces in a future moc though!
  18. BenA
    Please build your Elvendale - it will be amazing. I just looked at your Flickr and it was incredible. Your castles are stunning and I *loved* your council of Elrond build. Thanks! It was very nearly reddish brown but the original set was dark blue so we switched. Then we ran out of magenta leaves, which turned out great because we felt the yellow leaves worked so much better anyway. Funny how things work out!
  19. BenA
    Thanks Zoth33. There's only the one dragon in the photos, but we have 5 altogether (Earth, Water, Fire and Wind, plus Kronan's). They get randomly placed around the build, mostly on the meadow or beach! The floating islands were a direct result of the tensegrity builds showcased here. I just wanted to give it a go! I had an idea to add the music shop on top, but at the right scale looked slightly too large. I might revisit that one day... Thanks, that means a lot! We have your goblin village moc and medieval tutorials saved to favourites... they've been great inspiration! Thanks Elysiumfountain!
  20. BenA
    Thanks. We made a decision early on to try and build each rock individually. Didn't quite manage it everywhere but overall I'm really pleased with the way it came out. Many, many mixel joints were used! Thanks all, much appreciated. Thanks! I'm so glad you commented on the meadow area because that's my favourite part - we always wanted to have an open space, but as we built it was very hard to resist the temptation to fill it up! At one point the Starlight Inn was going to nestle in under the floating islands, but in the end I'm so glad we left it as-is. (And yes, it weighs a tonne! Thankfully it splits up into sections and the tower lifts off. When exhibitions are a thing again I might take it to one)
  21. BenA
    Thank you for your comments - I really hope you do go back to it because I'd love to see what you were planning. If it makes you feel any better it's taken nearly 2 and half years to finish this, and there were definitely times when I didn't think I'd get there. I'd spend whole days building something then the next day tear it down and start again. Rosalyn's tree was a case in point - I must have used every swear word under the sun while getting that thing to hold together! If you do go back to it and get stuck, feel free to PM me here - happy to help if I can. Thanks - that means a lot! Your Elves builds inspired quite a bit of this. Don't know what to say - thank you!
  22. BenA
    Thanks, really appreciate it. I wish we'd picked up more sets at the time - some of the minidolls are getting expensive now! Thanks Koalayummies! Really kind. Thanks all. Glad you like it!
  23. BenA
    These really made me smile! They're unique and have some neat techniques. Love the portcullis and drawbridge on the castle!
  24. BenA
    Well, 2.5 years later it's *almost* finished! Here is our moc of Elvendale and the Dragon Sanctuary. What started off as a fairly simple moc of the village quickly got out of hand and grew to include a mountain, our version of the Dragon Sanctuary, a goblin village and more! We took inspiration from the Animated series and the original sets, but added our own twist. Elvendale village includes the bakery, a mining store and a little house. Behind stands the Elvenstar tree. The Dragon School can be found high up on a rocky outcrop, by a high waterfall The Elvenstar Tree Follow the road East of the village (past the mushroom stairs into the Elvenstar Tree) and you'll come to the old windmill that sits above Naida's cove: Take the path west up the mountain and you'll find the entrance to the crystal mine. If you don't like the look of that, cross the winding stream to reach the mountain meadow, but beware - you might be being watched! Look up and you'll see the floating islands... And reaching into the clouds, the Dragon Sanctuary itself... The sanctuary had stood empty for as long as any elf could remember, and a huge tree was taking over. But when the goblins were saved from Kronan, they came to work for the elves and they soon had it back up and running... A bit of plumbing here, a fire there... The queen egg sits on top of a magic pool. The water is piped over the water egg, collected and used to water the branches round the earth egg. The goblins collect the wood and use it to feed the fire under the fire egg, and the hot air rises to turn the fans by the wind egg. Keep going West, and you'll come down the other side of the mountain. Rosalyn's healing hideout stands by the beach, and a mysterious entrance... ...which leads into the underground goblin village! The plants look fearsome, but they're friendly really... Maybe stop for refreshments in the inn? Ah, so that's how they get in! Keep going and you'll find yourself right back where you started - back in Elvendale Village! Of course, walking is fine, but it's much quicker to go by dragon! And here are a couple of bonus pics: Whole thing from the front (sorry about the background, I don't have anywhere big enough to properly photograph it!) And the back: Thanks for looking! There are lots more photos on my Flickr, including WIP and comparisons of the original artwork/sets and our versions. https://www.flickr.com/gp/160994572@N02/535Fa1
  25. BenA
    Sorry ?! A vpn makes it look like you're accessing the internet from a different place, so if content is blocked in your location you can make it look like you're accessing it from a different location. But just google Tunnelbear - they explain it way better than I can and it's very easy to set up. Pm me if you get stuck - happy to help.
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