Darnok

Horatios Hookers: Playing defensively.

I will enter a team, but likely at the proverbial (or literal ) last minute. Life is busy right now.

Loving it overall, impressive build! The only thing that does not do it for me are the lavender rocks. Still, great looking scene.

Lovely looking team, if maybe a bit overdressed. Where are those great minifigs from?

Beautiful! The build is well done, the framing is excellent, and the overall athmosphere is so brilliantly captured. Loving it!

Boring licensing question: if I was to build a small watchtower with a (sort of) military/protection purpose, but not want to license it as a fort, what would it count as? I assume @Bregir or @Ayrlego come to the rescue, as always - thanks in advance!

But... but... spiders are cute and furry - especially the big ones!

Lovely little house, lots of details on small space. Well done! The WTC is most pleased with this response.

If it is of interest to you and inspires you to build(s): do it! I did not want to come across as "don't do this", I am just interested in what motivated you. And while there are some historical aspects of the Age of Sail one should keep out of this game - i.e. against the rules - impressment is not among them.

It both happened a lot in real history and was illegal then too. So while I would say it is definitely illegal in Corrington (why wouldn't it?) I can just as well see it happening anyway. Having said that: why exactly is this what you want to show in your builds? While it is not painting Corrington in the worst possible light, it plays in about the same league... so why go there?

I mean the reference to RL events is too close to keep me comfortable. I was half joking though - it is a cool idea well executed!

Too soon.

Echoing others: I really like the landscaping, together with the photography it provides some excellent little scenes. Really well done! Of course the real star of the show is the canned meat, provided by our ever benevolent WTC.

Thanks! Copper is not in the list of minerals here though - what is it actually worth? Edit: That issue has been fixed!

After early in the year a new venture of the WTC had been set up, word had been sent to WTC Offices all across the Brick Seas. From the one in Quinnsville a small expedition was ordered into the wilderness around the settlement. Two members of the newly formed WTC Mining Corps were inspecting some rock formations in the jungle. "See, I have a good feeling about these here." "But why though? Just some more rocks, just like all the other rocks, no?" "And this is why I am the Senior Officer. Do you not notice all those slopes and smooth angled surfaces?" "There must be something here, I tell you! Real rocks have studs on top!" The WTC veteran continued with his lecture: "So we will take great care here..." "... a few small samples is all we need for now..." "... a little bit of force applied at the right spot..." "... not pushing too hard of course..." "... we are professionals after all!" "You know what else I am? A great runner! If you ever want to get a Senior yourself, you better run as well - as I have just lit those fuses!" =========================================== A prospecting build for Quinnsville, licensed already. What will it be? Only @Ayrlego can tell us! 

Nice little troop build! For some odd reason all your text is one big link though? Glad to have you back.

Thanks! Yeah, I was quite happy with the build back in 2019, that's mostly why I never took it apart. The suit is from this Beetlejuice minifig.

This whole thing is amazing, and I am left quite a bit speechless.

Built years ago, and finally licensed last week: Using the same build:

The new year had just started, the winter fog held Mesabi Landing in its grip. Kadeus Mordo had come to meet Arthur Mengsk in his office, both speaking loudly with two stacks of sealed letters silently waiting on the desk in front of them. "Kadeus, long time no see! What brings you to me on this dreadful winter morning?" Arthur seemed to be in a good mood, even though Mordo apparently did not share the sentiment. "Long time no see? No sh*t, it feels like the last two years went by in a blur of craziness. What matters is that I am back right here right now - and we need to get the WTC back in action just the same. No more silly newspapers or extravagant military operations, back to business it is!" Mordo continued: "I believe the best way to go forward is to focus on our original strengths!" Mengsk interrupted: "Blowing stuff up and getting away with all the valuables?" Mordo chuckled, then continued: "You know, this is actually not too far away from my plans. I have set up a new branch of the WTC, with the express purpose to use our expertise with explosive for mining and the likes. In a sense: blowing stuff up and getting away with the valuables, indeed! However, this branch will also deal with affairs of trading, agriculture and getting necessary supplies to where they are needed when they are needed." "Sounds good to me, even though I feel like you have not come here just to share the new plans with me." Mengsk wondered with a raised eyebrow. "Of course not. Things have been silent lately, but you have proven yourself reliable. Thus I will make you the chief of this new Division for Unrestrained Mining, Bartering, Artisanship, Supplies and Stuff. While I will be the public face of things and the one responsible for all orders and technicalities on paper, you will run the everyday affairs from the background." "I like the basic concept of it all, but something feels odd to me here. Wait a minute... Division for Unrestrained Mining, Bartering, Artisanship, Supplies and Stuff... D. ... U. ... M. ..." Mordo interrupted Mengsk abruptly: "Sadly I have to leave again already. I have left you a schedule and specific orders. A couple of related letters have been written in advance by me, you will send these out on certain dates. There are also some blank papers with my official signature, just in case I am out of town and you need something specific. And last, but by no means least: we will closely cooperate with the Crown of Corrington whenever necessary. So remember to play it nice with them. And pray to Promethous that fool of a Count does not interfere!" "This whole thing has been set in motion, the first letter is already sent out. Do not disappoint me here Arthur - if you do this right, your future in the WTC will be bright. I will also personally bury you under gold beyond your wildest imagination!" === 3rd day of the 1st month, 622 Mesabi Landing To the honourable Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock, Colonial Governor of the Paradise Isles, Knight of the Order of the Compass Rose, Secretary of the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy, Dear Sir, while it has been quiet around the WTC lately - which I am sure you will appreciate in some regards - this is about to change. I therefore approach you with a series of requests you will hopefully find reasonable and in line with the greater interests of the Crown of Corrington. You are without a doubt aware of the WTC's experience with explosives in general and mining in particular. It has been decided to expand our business in this field, while cooperating with the Crown whereever possible for our mutual benefit. In less flowery language: we propose to take care of the mining groundwork in a vriety of places spread out over the Brick Seas, and share the profits in locations where we assume to get better results with the Crowns direct support. More specifically: The settlement of Black Beach in Gunpowder Island is in a delicate place. We have had some... experience over there in the past. Remember that pirate hunt from 618? See attached some notes of our venture (note #1, note #2). It is my belief the WTC can not only help keeping the settlement a safer place, but also in extracting those riches I am informed have already been discovered at least once. I hereby request permission for the WTC to set up a presence to organise our work on location, as well as the right to construct a mine. The latter would be under supervision and protection of the Crown, with a substantial portion of the mining yield going to the Crown as well. The construction of mines requires wood. As you are probably aware, vegetation is in short supply on our beloved Argentia. However nearby on Cascadia, Camp Isaac is known for the strong trees in its surroundings. So while the WTC is (for now) not primarily focussed on scientific endeavours there, I would still appreciate a permission to set up yet another WTC office in Camp Isaac. The WTC is no stranger to the settlement, we would merely expand our business there to farming proper jungle wood. At a later point we might come back to you in regards to some potential prospecting near the settlement - but this is a topic for another day. Rest assured: nobody will take matters into their own hands. Assuming you agree to these motions, there might be more joint ventures like this coming in the future. You are of course always free to suggest ideas on behalf of the Crown - the WTC will help willingly where and when possible. I am looking forward to a reply from either yourself or one of your representatives, confident in the merits of the propositions above. In the spirit of cooperation, yours sincerely, Kadeus Mordo Executive Commander of the WTC ================================================================ First things first: if this build feels familiar to some, it is because I have used it before. See over there for more pictures. I only noticed the lack of the previous "background" after the whole setup was taken down again - so now there is fog outside for some solid excuse. This also gave me a nice title. OOC this is an attempt to set up a storyline that might take a while to conclude, as well as give me a good IC reason for some mining builds I want to do in different places. It also diversifies the WTC a bit more, while providing options for both honest actions as well as possibly some shenanigans. Just maybe. Special thanks go to @Mesabi for providing a working acronym for D.U.M.B.A.S.S. in about three seconds. It changed a bit later on to the final version above, but I would not have had such an easy go without his glorious first attempt. Also for clarities sake in OOC to @Ayrlego and @Bregir: I would like to build a fortified warehouse and a saltpeter mine in Black Reach (Gunpowder Island), with the warehouse being WTC property and the saltpeter mine ending up as Crown/faction property. IC this would be a mining operation under Crown supervision. Eventually more prospecting should follow. The same applies to Camp Isaac (Cascadia), instead of mining I would like to do some plantations (wood and possibly chili) though. IC the wood is needed for construction purposes, and I'd like to set up a smaller story of the Myzec sharing their knowledge of the chili with Corrington (with some larger scale cultivation as a result). Some prospecting and/or mining might follow, but that would be done only after another "request to the Crown". There are more mining builds in other locations planned as a follow-up. As usual I have more ideas than time though, and this all might take months (probably way into 2023) - assuming no catastrophes in the meantime! Everybody else - mostly Corrington of course, but not restricted to them - should feel free to approach me if the WTC would be considered helpful for mining or related things. While my own ideas have priority, this whole storline is meant to establish the WTC as an expert for (among other things) mining, and it should IC work well to set up some solid cooperations. As always, comments and criticism are welcome!

Please let us know if and when, in advance. And if you ever make it to Berlin, please let me know.

Ha, I actually did not even consider the size of the builds - thank you for the reminder! The "jungle scene" is on a 16x16 plate: While I do not have more pictures of the "water scene" - and that part being taken apart again already - you can see on the original pictures above it is bigger than 12x12, which would make up the difference to 20x20. I will be more considerate of the size in future builds!

Excellent build, a great scene to look at! The baseplate and minifigs are a great nod to some true classics, and the buildings look just awesome. Well done!

Loving the story, loving the new interpretation of a classic set, this has all the good bits. Excellent, keep it coming!

Sweet! The Crown will be pleased to know that the WTC has plans to make their mining venture profitable for both sides. And poor ol' Jacks quest for gold continues...