Grover

I've been saving comments on this since I wanted to have time to properly write. This is hilarious and brilliant on several levels. First, as always, your minifig posing and the scenes that you create are superb. I'm not sure anyone poses minifigures better. You are able to convey a story almost through pictures alone through the shots you imagine. Second, the use of the costume, HP, and Ninjago headware is great. I never thought of a use like this and largely considered the pieces curiosities for more modern settings or singular costumes (like the brothel I built). Third, the concept here is hiliarious and creative. I like how you are able to bring Yspleth to life as a child, with all the child-like innocence and wanting to emulate her father, while still making the story funny through the use of the costumes and accidentally shooting the gardener. You did a good job color blocking the ground into dark tan and dark green, leaving the vegetation for green, and the colors of the plants flow well even for the various flowers. I like the pipe tree in the corner. The others might use a few more leaves, although if they are just the bottoms of larger trees you can imagine a taller set of branches. I like how you've angled the table bench too. I'm not sure I've ever seen one straight unless it's attached. Nice work!

Oh, but he has! (Second link has Bob in the spoilers at the bottom).

Very nice! I like the inverted slopes on the walls, and the texture that doesn't go overboard. You've managed to make a very Mitgardian tower (architecture wise) while putting it in an Avalonian setting, which I think can be tricky since the setting can really change the perception of the tower. Love the trees and the elevation in the base. The irregular base is nice too. The only question I have is about the large rock in the middle with the gap. Is it supposed to be a shale/layered rock of some kind? I've seen limestones like this before and was curious what you were going for here. All in all, very well done!

Beautiful! I love that roof technique. I'll have to remember it for future builds! As usual, your colors are fantastic, and I love how you build with a particular style that is consistent throughout all your builds in Kaliphlin. It adds a sense of cohesion to the builds and helps tie them to the same area. I love the use of your giant sand red pots. I see you ordered some of those green claws, too! I've been waiting to try them with something, but hadn't considered succulents, and they work well there. The decorative technic gears look good, and the dark orange bricks really stand out. I like the utilitarian nature of the tower, too: the realism of guarding a water source is well thought out. Great job!

Very nice! I love how you easily assimilated the Varlyrio architecture. It's very recognizable, and the stonework along the canal edge is great. I like how the dark tan and the sand green work well together. Very nice job and I look forward to seeing where the story goes!

Thanks! I had some fun with the foliage. The tower was forced into simplicity by my desire to use only DG and LG. I simply didn't have enough DG pieces to do much else, and many of the cool detail pieces that we have now were never produced in DG. I think the vegetation is really the standout, too. I tried to build the tower with only DG and LG, which was limiting. At least this has a throwback feel to some of the original GoH towers from 2010, which was kind of what I had hoped. On the other hand, if I had some of those side stud pieces I might have been able to incorporate some vegetation into the tower as you suggest, which would have blended the old and the new. Oh well! I didn't have a lot of time for this so did what I could and tried to score a few points for Avalonia while supporting Guild challenges! Thanks for your feedback! and PS - Bob's adventures are not over!

I love the concept here. The idea that magic is a little haywire in parts of the isles is great, and the floating island concept is fantastic. The open arched fire for the lighthouse looks grand, and the details of the anchor and supplies going off the side of the floating island is superb. The eagle with the fish is awesome! The birch tree on the far side looks a little out of place with all the other greens to me, but it's pretty far back there and not easily noticed. Overall, great job!

Really pretty. It looks very Kaliphlin-esque but is in Nocturnus, so maybe it's Nocturniphlin? Love how you merged the Kali architectural style with some Nocturnus landscape elements. The whole scene looks great. I love the flowers with the spider legs around it. I only wish the pictures were bigger. Even zoomed in all the way on Flickr, there's some lost detail there. Where's Lord Ssilyrrlith? I don't see him in there. Keep up the good work, it's great to see another Nocty build!

Yes, as long as it's May 31st anywhere in the world, according to the discussion above. Looking forward to seeing your entry!

Awesome! I really like the hydra and the posed scene. The hydra looks a lot like the dark red creator dragon from a couple of years ago. Well done!

Welcome back! Love the tower. Daring color choices that work. The sand in the desert with the cracks are subtle and well done. I like the small field out front too. I'm curious to see where the story goes, I hope you have time to keep going!

Very beautiful work. I like the dark tan and light tan separated by the snow, and the natural archway is fantastic. Your attention to the snow piled up is great and looks very natural, particularly in the drifts against the tower. I like the tower, too, with its narrow profile (less volume to heat!) and steep roofs to keep snow off. Is there a chimney on this building or what do they use for heat? I like the high tower walls to keep wind off the soldiers, too. This is well planned. The story is compelling, and you have a great command of English. I always enjoy reading your stories! I have read the story three times and I still have some questions, though. If I understand the story correctly: * There is a village in the north in a desolate canyon called Völsung that is suspicious because it always has supplies even when no one from the village has access to food or supplies, and unusual activity at other villages in the region have been attributed to rumors associated with Völsung. * The winter came early and fast this year and a small group of individuals, Fiobvr among them, was sent by the chieftain to go to Völsung to 'understand' them. * Fiobvr's home village, Høydefür, is in distress and Fiobvr is sent away to see about his family. This is done before sunup so that his absence does not distress the other members of the militia/volunteers * The other militia members are traveling to Völsung in the morning Assuming this is correct, my questions are: 1. Why is there concern with Völsung? Are the villagers desperate for food and supplies, so they are reaching out to a place that seems to be self-sustaining? Do they think that Völsung is causing the early winter and want to fight them to end it? It seems to me that logic would dictate that time and energy would be best spent rounding up everyone that they can and getting them to well supplied villages like Roligsfrakk. If there is more of a connection of these bad happenings in villages to Völsung, then it might make more sense, but it seems like they are spending a lot of resources to trek to a place they know nothing about for an unknown reason. 2. Is Fiobvr headed north or west? I thought he was headed west to his home village, but the last sentence makes it seem like he's headed north into the Frozen Beyond, so I am confused. I have found that in writing for others, particularly in a fantasy genre in which little is common knowledge (i.e., in writing about Paris, most people have some preconceived notions what is is like), it's better to be more obvious than more subtle, since subtleties are sometimes lost on people when reading. Overall, good job!

Very nice! Whimsical, fun, and highly detailed with a creative take on castles. Well done!

Thanks, I had some fun with it. The roof is actually layered in half plate heights and staggered in half stud offsets, although it's a little hard to see.

The tower isn't the most amazing thing, but I challenged myself to build it out of dark and light grey (not dark and light bluish grey) for the historical sake of this part of the contest and the pieces were limited. Bob and the wizard passed a dark tower overlooking the road. It looked like one of those evil towers out of Lord of the Rings, and sure enough, it was filled with what looked like orcs on the battlements. Bob stared in amazement as they drove past. “Where the &*^# are we?” Bob asked. “We’re in western Nocturnus, as I explained before,” the wizard replied. “Yeah, but what state?” The funny man looked confused. “I don’t understand. This is Nocturnus, sometimes called the nightmare lands.” “This isn’t New Jersey?” “Not as far as I know,” the man replied with a shrug. Bob sighed. “Who are you?” “My name is Razin, the traveling wizard.” “I'm Bob. Nice to meet you.” “Likewise,” Razin replied. “And what do you do with these … things?” Bob asked, looking down at the crate he was sitting on. “I am a wizard by trade, so I use some of those things to cast spells. However, the magic business isn’t the most stable, I’m afraid, so I also sell components to other wizards, witches and spellcasters to help make ends meet.” “Huh,” Bob replied, now pretty sure this guy was nuts. “I’m not from anywhere around here and need to figure out how to get back home.” “I would suggest that you try Albion. Cedrica is the capital of all Historica, but there has been a lot of turmoil there with the many civil wars of late, and they have lost a good many people among the chaos. We have a new queen, but she is still trying to organize things.” “OK, sure,” Bob replied. “Hold on, my spell is about to expire. I need to re-cast it if we are to talk longer,” Razin told Bob. He muttered and waved his hands about again, then looked to Bob. “All right, it’s back again. I think we should try and teach you some of the rudimentary language so you can ask your own questions. I can get you to Albion, but I have a lot of other business, so you’ll be on your own after that.” Bob nodded. “Thanks for your help,” he replied, thinking that he needed to find a phone. Previously

Thanks! I try to incorporate humor, so I'm glad it came through! Don't worry, my tower coming up is in Nocty too! Thanks for the compliments! I think this was Bob's first appearance where he was originally meant as a joke. He's become somewhat of an amusement for me in each of my challenge builds now. Thank you for the high praise on the color scheme! I sometimes struggle with color, but the Nocturnus colors were a little easier for me, and you laid some good foundation work in your last build. And you're right to beware of Avalonian wizards! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I hope to expand on his story in the future. As for the colors, I'm glad you liked them and that they worked out. I've been collecting odd colored plants for just such a build for a while now, and it was fun to use them.

Pretty! That salmon really works here. The palm trees are great with their layered color, and the dark brown barrels look good too. I like the incorporation of the Ahsoka Tano headdress!

Nice micro build! It's very obvious the city is getting buried in the sandstorm. Nice use of the new 1x2 round plates. Well done!

I'd just color the border of the picture with your guild colors in photoshop!

Very nice work! Nice clean lines, great detail! Are the second story doors meant to be for loading cargo? If so, is there a removable winch that hangs overhead? Loving the hilarious interior. I appreciate it when builds have interiors and especially when there's some humor!

Oh wow, that's a lot of really beautiful foliage! The second picture is probably one of the best representations of dense forest canopies I've ever seen in Lego. I like the historic aspect to it as well. Great job!

Jus like mah kin folk!

Looks like I'm not going to be moving, at least immediately, so I have been able to finish several projects and am now posting them!

Nave de Kristallo | Grover | Avalonia Golden Banana | Grover | Avalonia Bianca Casino | Grover | Avalonia Gator Farm | Grover | Avalonia Bouncer | Grover | Avalonia Brewery at Prenmôr | Grover | Avalonia

New house for Varlyrio! The Bianca family.