Henjin_Quilones

The statue's base seems too big for the location it is in, for one, and the fact that the left building's interior is partially visible in the overview shot makes it seem half-finished (since everything else visible is exterior). Interiors on buildings primarily intended to be seen from the exterior also always seem cramped, since there is such a limited footprint (again, especially on the left building). Also, shots that include both inside and outside (especially like the one down the street towards the dock, from the back of the build) are visually confusing - not that I can't figure it out, but it takes a viewer like me a moment to establish what parts are being separated from the other parts by walls, or more simply put, what is inside and what is out. Cropping the picture to include only inside, or only outside, can help make it seem more distinct.

I like the stonework of the pier! I am less sure of the loose 1x1 round tiles used for the cobblestones, or the way Orsen is standing on a layer of water that is not level with the rest, but overall I like this character introduction. I suppose the uneven layers of water could be the flowing of waves, but then I am unsure what he is standing on. But I look forward to seeing the adventures of Orsen in Varlyrio!

This is great! It reminds me of the Ninjago City set, except for Guilds of Historica, with stuff happening all around, lots of different levels, finished interiors, and even a waterfront. I think that the busyness here is actually a strength, since it conveys very nicely the hustle and bustle of a lively port, one in which a person (or three) could easily get lost in anonymity and not have to answer difficult questions. I like how clean and tiled everything is, making it look crisp. My favorite detail is the lower terra cotta roof on the right hand building, since it is a small thing that adds a bunch of visual interest and a splash of color.

I was hoping you would approve, dG! After all, he has seen a lot of stuff in his time. Now he can enjoy being a grumpy old man while his sons take over the daily running of Sionnach. Plus I did not have very good parts to make him in my last minute scramble, so he got placed at the back in the dimmer light... Thanks! I agree, I don't like trying to cram a bunch of details into a tiny space, when real-life buildings have room to move around and breathe. Especially castles! (In my mind at least; I have been to some castles and they were actually quite cramped inside...) Unlike SK, I have no real love of detailed interiors on externally focused builds; I'd rather build it twice, once from inside and once from outside. I don't like the sharp shadows on the floor either, but I'll be honest, when I was taking these pictures I was not paying attention to the overhead light and forgot that it was on. Not sure how the pictures would have turned out without that additional light, but there it is. I'd love for you to experiment with the lighting, getting it done right, and then tell us all how you did it... And what do you mean, no loud partying? I did not make Lord de Gothia old - that was @de Gothia - but old people party too! His headache is probably just that much worse in the morning. But he needs to be loud so he can hear himself, what with all of the age-related hearing loss...

Fittingly with my previous post, from yesterday, I present today my build of Ovenntrie Castle, where eagle-riding elves like the fig above are known to stop and trade news.

Ovenntrie Castle A freebuild for Avalonia. Just off of the coast to the west of Avalonia, in the waters near the mouth of the River Lotharia, lies an island inhabited by Men. These Men are unique in that they are the only outsiders permitted near the famously exclusionary enclave of Hesperia, where High Elves, ruled by Fingolë the Golden, reside. Their castle is joined to the mainland by a bridge high enough for even the high masted ships of the elves to sail beneath, with room and more to spare. The humans have become wealthy due to their exclusive access to high-quality Elvish goods, and the elves have enjoyed the influx of money as well from the trade. It is not uncommon to see the ships of the Elves sailing into the Ovenntrie harbor to dock alongside the fishing vessels of the men, unloading their goods. The Hesperian Elves utilize enormous eagles as mounts for their messengers, so the men of Ovenntrie designed their keep to accommodate the preferences of the birds for a lofty landing and take-off position. Due to the amount of money involved, and the considerable amount of respect shown by the humans towards the elves, the settlement is a haven of peace and prosperity for both sides. Here an Elvish vessel approaches under the bridge, coming to unload its goods and take on others. The castle features a blacksmith shop and stables near the gate, as well as a decorative fountain that also serves as the water source for the castle, keeping them well-supplied in the event of a siege. A similar fountain in the town square below gives life and vitality to the celebrations of the humans. Long stairs lead from the town to the side gate of the castle More pictures: _____________________________ ........................................................... This was a build I did for the Summer Joust 2018, entered into the 48x48 castle category. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, despite it being my first serious venture into the world of microscale building. I might just have gotten hooked though, so expect to see more microscale builds (and minifig scale, too) in the days and weeks to come. C&C welcome!

I think it is improved on every count: the studs on the roof are gone, the angle of the pictures is better, and the new cult worshiping there is a great addition to the lore of Historica. I also think the addition of a couple asymmetrical spires improved the look as a whole! Nicely done.

There is always room for more races in Historica! The only limit is what you put on it, really, and keeping it in a sort of medieval fantasy feel (e.g. no robots, or space aliens, or something...though you could use a space alien fig and call it a swamp creature).

@Mike S Is it the protein powder and raw foods company? I'd be flabbergasted too, honestly. Seems utterly benign to me. No one is banning anything. I am sorry if any of my posts made it seem that way. @mccoyed put it pretty well in his last post, I think. It is really up to each builder what he or she wants to build in his or her own section of Historica, and no symbol or style is strictly off-limits (except insofar as Eurobricks says in the guidelines: "For the same reason, topics (or avatars and other expressions) about religion or politics are not welcome on Eurobricks", but I don't think what we are discussing quite falls under that umbrella). I do think that finding a way to weave whatever religious iconography any of us end up using into a broader lore is a good idea in a shared-world RBG, however, and explaining things with some back story helps all of that. If you (or anyone) do want to build a church topped by a steeple and cross, it might be nice to explain to those of us who are confused by the imagery what the cross represents to the people who attend that church, since it must be important to them to put it way up at the top of the building, or right at the front where everyone faces. It allows you to use whatever symbols you want, and it allows the rest of us to understand what the symbols mean in this particular fantasy context. I questioned Narbilu's use of the cross simply because it was so obviously Catholic imagery, down to being on St. Joseph's Church (and inside, too, made of gold and placed behind an altar) without any sort of explanation as to why Varlyrians would use such symbols in their churches, being as they were devoted to the worship of many different gods. I wanted more lore to explain the inclusion, or lacking that, to advocate for the substitution of them for some other symbol. It just seemed too easy for a Venice-inspired guild to fall into the habit of adopting the church styles of Venice wholesale, too, without trying to integrate it more fully into the lore of a new realm.

@mccoyed I liked your lore. I was thinking that your way of phrasing things was good for the context of Historica; I was posing the questions to help others figure out what they might want to do for themselves, rather than defaulting to real-world symbols and traditions. The Aslanic temples were perfectly fine by me, even if a few layers down they are based on Christianity. I have nothing against Christian references, being Christian myself, as long as in-game they make sense. @The Stad Exactly. @Mike S To say that a cross on top of a church in Historica has no inherent Christian meaning is just patently absurd. It is a deliberate homage or reference to common Christian iconography, even if yes, the geometric shape of a cross could in fact have other meanings for other people in other contexts. However, I have never seen a picture of a religious building, or any building, for that matter, with a cross on the top of a steeple or tower or dome that was not Christian. All I was suggesting is that we try to avoid using direct iconography of any given religion from the real world in this non-real fantasy realm. And not because they are bad icons, but because I think we can be more creative than that as a community. But if people want to build churches in Historica with crosses on top and call them the Church of St. Ignatius, run by Father Loyola, they can. Or call it the Temple of the Equally Proportional Cross, or whatever. There is room for it here, if that is what the builder wants to build.

For religions in Historica, I think there are some important guidelines to follow. First, we should make sure we are not bringing real world religion into it, and that involves names and symbols, as well as the descriptions of the rites themselves. For example, we should not be using the terms "mosque" and "synagogue", since they are so connected to particular religions, and I would argue even the term "church" is too connected to Christianity to be used without conveying that idea. "Temple" is the better term here, I think, since it describes any building for worship, from ancient Greece, Israel, Tibet, or Japan, to name a few. It is more universal and not connected with any particular religious practice like the other terms. Also, crosses should probably be avoided in Historican religious iconography as being too Christian. The term "saint" is more ambiguous, as it could just refer to a holy person, but especially when connected to the name of a church, it recalls Christian church-naming conventions a bit too closely. That said, there is a tremendous amount of room for creativity here. Everyone is worshiping something; but what do your people worship? Trees? The Sun? Water, Air, Earth, Fire? A spirit of some kind? The Man Upstairs? The Red Brick? Deified ancestors? There are so many options out there, some generically real world (deified anthropomorphic natural phenomena, e.g. thunder like Zeus or Thor, are cross-cultural, after all) and others specific to LEGO ABS bricks. Symbols of animals or plants or earthy things, or celestial things, should all be usable, as are geometric shapes. LEGO has made lots of interesting parts that could be part of a shrine in some way. For example, if blacksmiths have a patron god, perhaps his symbol is a hammer, and a large hammer hangs over his temples, and the temple itself is shaped like a hammer; and LEGO has graciously made Mjolnir for the Marvel Superheroes sets. Real-world architectural styles I think are fair game for copying, so if someone wants to make St. Mark's Cathedral from Venice here in Varlyrio, I hope they do; I just hope they don't call it St. Mark's Cathedral and keep crosses on it, since that would belong in a different sub-forum than the Guilds of Historica (perhaps Architecture). Similarly the Haggia Sophia, or Angkor Wat, or any famous (or not) religious structure. But as we copy, consider some things. If your temple has an altar, what gets sacrificed on it? Don't include things if they are not practical to the religion being practiced. Do the people sit while they worship? If not, why have chairs or pews or benches? What do the architectural details convey? Are books read, or written exhortations given? If not, why have a lectern or podium in the front? Why burn candles, or incense, or torches? All of these things can be included, as long as you know the why of it for your settlements' religious practices. All this is to say that I like the idea of various religions spreading around Historica, having an origin somewhere, so if @mccoyed wants to have the cult of Sana Argenta of the Sword and Cup spread, that should be fine. Why not, after all? There were countless Aslanic temples across Historica earlier, so if builders like this new idea they should be able to include the cult if they please. And if no one but one city in Varlyrio likes it, it will eventually die out, not unlike countless religions throughout history. And sorry for the long post... I teach theology at a religiously-affiliated high school, so I think about things like this often...

I used the torso here, for an Elvish Eagle-rider: In the right context, perhaps the Geonosis trooper's torso could work, but I'm not sure what context that would be for Historica. Perhaps a desert wanderer in Kali or Varlyrio could wear it, or something, but the pattern on it makes it harder to use. edit: After looking more closely, the variant with the straps could work decently well, with the right accessories (cloak, shoulder armor, weapons, different legs, maybe different arms, and head gear) to make it look like weather-stained leather armor.

I've been tempted to use the Senate Guard clone helmet before, myself. I haven't yet, though I have used the torso from the commander.

It is element number 6160464. It came in three 2017 SW sets, all based around the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One.

I love all of the arches in this build, creating various small colonnades around the edges. The gold accents are great, especially the dome, and the large doors look suitably imposing. The roof looks the slightest bit unfinished with the row of studs left exposed at the top, though. The interior is even better than the exterior, I think, with great rafters and statues, as well as nice pews. The thing I really don't like, and think does not make any sense, is the inclusion of Christian cross symbolism; it is obviously intended to call to mind European Catholic church architecture and styling, with a cross on the dome and an elaborate golden cross behind the altar, but Historica does not have Christians, and a symbol of torture makes little sense as the symbol of a religion without the appropriate Biblical context. Also, why call it "St. Joseph"? Do Varlyrian religions declare people to be saints? It is something that I have seen before in countless LEGO builds, from cemeteries full of crosses to every church or chapel in non-Christian fantasy builds. It is effective to convey what the building is, I suppose, but it seems like there should be a different way to do it. Especially if it is going to be a church for numerous deities. I hope that makes sense. Please don't read the previous paragraph as hostile or attacking, by the way. It is merely intended to raise questions about common habits. I like the build, and I like that the people of Kashgar have their place of worship so soon.

I like how this tower matches the style of the leather workshop. They look great together in the WIP. I do question how effective having the guards on the other side of a canal is, unless there is a bridge still to come to allow the troops to cross quickly to defend the Khaors. The arrowslit looks great, and the various architectural details up top are nice too. My comment on the leather workshop about angle of photography applies here, too. I don't like looking down on LEGO builds like that.

The colors of this build are very nice. I find the dark flesh and light grey and black go together very well. I love the detail of the furs made with the minifig hair! It works surprisingly well, though I wish that the walls and fur were different colors. What is the significance of the black skeleton? Is it a dummy to put armor-in-progress on, or a relic of a past customer who did not pay? I think, on a side note, that the photography and presentation would be improved with a lower angle, closer to street's eye than bird's eye. I find looking down so steeply at the build a bit off-putting. The build itself looks great, but adjusting the angle would make it easier to look at.

Nice job! I particularly like the backdrop for the picture of Throll, with the use of the quarter-circle tiles. The golden bracelet is a nice touch, too, signifying his wealth in a gaudy (on minifig scale) yet subtle (on human scale) detail.

@W Navarre, glad to see you over here! Welcome to the guilds. @Lord Vladivus, Avalonia will welcome you with open arms, like a long-lost son. Your home and heart may always be Nocturnian, but we would be honored to be your home away from home.

Fact!

I bought the Great Hall set back at the start of July when it went on sale in the USA. I am the kind of guy who buys sets rather than Bricklinking pieces (though I do use BL with some degree of frequency), since I have never lost the love of getting a new LEGO box and opening it, building a set, and admiring it for a day or so before tearing it apart and building other stuff. Plus I love, love minifigs! The Great Hall set is a little underwhelming, I have to say, by the way, so it's really up to you whether you just want a few parts from it or want to make the investment. TLG has made a fleshie smiley face, but not for a long time. My brother has one from an old SW A-Wing fighter from years and years ago. It turns out that the Great Hall set that the windows come with has an odd number of windows, and I needed an even number for the build, so I decided to make a branch grow through the 36th window opening. Perhaps it is not broken but just opened to allow some fresh air in? Thanks, SK! I scaled it back a bit from what I had been imagining for the interior category of the Summer Joust, but I am pretty content with the outcome here. The slopes above and below the windows allow me to give an impression of depth to the wall, befitting a castle-type building. And there are in fact two statues, but the second one is on the wall that never gets seen. I tried to avoid excessively boring walls! The back ones on either side of the fireplace probably need something, like banners, to break them up too, but I did not get to it. Perhaps it is too difficult sometimes to go outside to hug a tree, so we just let them grow inside so we can hug them there... A shipyard would be great, and it could also count towards your HSS-Nautical category. I am glad you like the writing. I do fancy myself to be a writer, and am in the (slow) process of writing a novel in the high fantasy genre. I'd be much further along with the book if I did not spend so much time building things with LEGO for a completely different story!

I like the apple trees, especially the way you scaled them to a minifigure as far as height. I'll echo Grover about the path, and the way it should be lowered a plate or so below the level of the grass. I also think that the trees would look better with more foliage (this is something I almost always think about trees made in LEGO), since right now they seem a bit sparse compared to a real tree out there in the world. I never have enough foliage pieces myself, so I understand if this is the best your collection allows, but in the future I think that investing in more foliage is something that will never be a mistake (one of these days I'll take my own advice, too!). There are ways to improve photography, as well, but I am not the best one to give advice there. You need @Gideon or someone of his caliber to set you on the path to excellent MOC photography. But this is a great start in the Guilds, and I look forward to what else you can make!

I'm sorry if I misunderstood. What did you mean?

The HSS is, and has always been, open to all of the Guilds, even though it is run out of Avalonia by the Royal Cartographer's Guild of Albion, an academic group in the capital of Avalonia. I don't see a compelling reason to dissociate the project from Avalonia entirely, because the cartographers are most interested in compiling a list of ALL settlements of note in Historica, not just Avalonia. Most of those who have registered settlements are not Avalonian, in fact. As shown in past books with the claims to land on the Avalonian maps, we Avalonians are rather particular about our maps, and thus having this particular task coming out of Avalonia makes sense. Similarly, the University of Petraea has always accepted candidates for the doctoral program from all of the guilds, even though the university itself is of course located in Kaliphlin. There is no way to get around that one being associated with Kali, nor would there be a good reason to do so. It would be nonsensical to expect the UoP to pack up and move to another location that was more neutral, like Cedrica. It is reflective of Kaliphlinite culture to have a large academic institution devoted to certain topics, just like the medieval Muslims had large centers for learning akin to today's universities, predating the rise of major European universities like Paris and Oxford, and thus entirely appropriate to remain in Kaliphlin. Yeah, your sigfig might have to get some sand in her or his boots walking to class, but that's just the way of it. As for AoM, I think it makes sense for EACH guild to have its own version of something similar, but be a separate thing. That is something that makes each guild unique. This is not "Historica" the RBG, but "The Guilds of Historica" the RBG. There needs to be something beyond just land and culture that makes us each special, I think. What remains to be done is the three non-Mitgardian guilds developing their own unique guild-specific challenge. I for one, as the leader of Avalonia, am working on something like that.

Great suggestions, Gideon! I am planning something along this vein, and it would not be amiss to remove "Avalonian" from the thread name. I am in the process of getting the HSS cleaned up and running smoothly again, so bear with me for a bit. There is quite a bit of dust to blow off...