Darnok

My third entry for Category B, subcategory "Flora":

617, Day 3 of the 12th month, In the jungles of Celestia, 18 Days before the Winter Solstice The last four days have been a rough trip. We tried to stay close to the river, but the rocky terrain and the thick jungle often forced us to make a detour. On one of these I noticed a type of flytrap by the wayside that neither me nor young Ms. Garnet has ever seen before. It had a strong smell around it, and Ms. Garnet insisted we move on - but I simply had to study it for a while! It was in fact the largest flytrap plant that I have ever come across! As fate seems to smile on me, I was lucky to observe a local species of fly getting caught, something I will share with the Royal Society. === To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy, from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia, more than a weeks travel east of Jameston, still in an area of jungle vegetation and rocky hills relatively close to the river, I came across a type of carnivorous plant of flytrap, larger than any other I have seen before. Together with its description I will share with you my observations of a local species of fly getting captured. On this first painting - the range ruler represents 20cm in fractions of 2cm each - you can see the plant in its open state: two large and two small green leaves, each with leave eaxtensions to the sides bent outwards and thin but stable spikes at the end. In its middle stands a stem with a blossom of bright orange and yellow on top, which is emenating a strong smell, like of rotten meat. I have no doubt this smell being the bait for the flytraps prey, which by my observation includes at least one type of local flies. I will describe these a bit more detailed below. One of such flies did get close to the flytrap and finally rested on its blossom - at which point all four leaves snapped together. This included the leave extensions also bending inwards, giving the plant the appearance of praying hands. Using this image, the fly was trapped between the "fingertips", firmly held be the tiny spikes. Two smaller paintings will illustrate this: Finally another painting (same scale as above) of the plant in its closed state: Due to its closed leaves giving the appearance of praying hands, I named this plant Dionaea Religiosa, or "Praying Flytrap". I will finish this letter with a few paintings I made of the species the Praying Flytrap caught when I observed it. It is a type of fly that seems to be common in this area of Celestia, with colourless translucent wings and a shiny black body. Its carapace is made of overlapping sharp plates, its head sporting a little spiky horn. The range ruler in the first painting represents 2cm in fractions of 2mm each: =============================================================================== This post also acts as my third entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge. A few more neutral pictures: As always, C&C is appreciated.

617, Day 3 of the 12th month, In the jungles of Celestia, 18 Days before the Winter Solstice The last four days have been a rough trip. We tried to stay close to the river, but the rocky terrain and the thick jungle often forced us to make a detour. On one of these I noticed a type of flytrap by the wayside that neither me nor young Ms. Garnet has ever seen before. It had a strong smell around it, and Ms. Garnet insisted we move on - but I simply had to study it for a while! It was in fact the largest flytrap plant that I have ever come across! As fate seems to smile on me, I was lucky to observe a local species of fly getting caught, something I will share with the Royal Society. === To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy, from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia, more than a weeks travel east of Jameston, still in an area of jungle vegetation and rocky hills relatively close to the river, I came across a type of carnivorous plant of flytrap, larger than any other I have seen before. Together with its description I will share with you my observations of a local species of fly getting captured. On this first painting - the range ruler represents 20cm in fractions of 2cm each - you can see the plant in its open state: two large and two small green leaves, each with leave eaxtensions to the sides bent outwards and thin but stable spikes at the end. In its middle stands a stem with a blossom of bright orange and yellow on top, which is emenating a strong smell, like of rotten meat. I have no doubt this smell being the bait for the flytraps prey, which by my observation includes at least one type of local flies. I will describe these a bit more detailed below. One of such flies did get close to the flytrap and finally rested on its blossom - at which point all four leaves snapped together. This included the leave extensions also bending inwards, giving the plant the appearance of praying hands. Using this image, the fly was trapped between the "fingertips", firmly held be the tiny spikes. Two smaller paintings will illustrate this: Finally another painting (same scale as above) of the plant in its closed state: Due to its closed leaves giving the appearance of praying hands, I named this plant Dionaea Religiosa, or "Praying Flytrap". I will finish this letter with a few paintings I made of the species the Praying Flytrap caught when I observed it. It is a type of fly that seems to be common in this area of Celestia, with colourless translucent wings and a shiny black body. Its carapace is made of overlapping sharp plates, its head sporting a little spiky horn. The range ruler in the first painting represents 2cm in fractions of 2mm each: I remain a humble servant of the Crown. Long live the Queen! Yours truly, Reinhard Wolffson =============================================================================== This post is my third entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge, in the subcategory "Flora" (the fly being an addition to the plants entry, not an entry of its own). If you want to follow the surrounding story of Reinhards expedition on Celestia, have a look at this thread. A few more neutral pictures: As always, C&C is appreciated.

Hum? I do not understand this. Having lived with at least one cat for most of my life (three at the moment), I can attest to the truth of this statement. Many a Lego build was devastated by feline monsters!

Many thanks for this write-up! An informative and entertaining read for sure, the effort put into it shows. It seems like Oleon outtraded Eslandola this time (a favour from their gods?), and that some Sea Rats seem to have a concrete death-wish.

Brilliant! Great microbuild, very realistic. I second this question.

My second entry for Category B, subcategory "Fauna":

617, Day 29 of the 11th month, In the jungles of Celestia Following the river, still eastbound, we came into rocky terrain over the last two days. Where before was only jungle, we now move between rocky hills. It also felt like the vegetation is getting a lot less colourful - I can not recall coming across a single flower today. We did set up our camp for the night near one of these rock columns. It was already dark, with the campfire burnign nearby, when I noticed another light in the darkness. I asked Ms. Garnet to put out the fire, to get a bette look. My first suspicion was quickly confirmed: we were looking at a luminous spider. 617, Day 30 of the 11th month, In the jungles of Celestia On the next morning I inspected this fascinating spider more closely - for some reasons young Ms. Garnet was not eager to follow me. I just have to put my observations into another letter to the Royal Society! === To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy, from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia, about seven days east of Jameston, in an area of jungle vegetation and rocky hills relatively close to the river, I was able to observe a type of spider with an uncommon mode of hunting. It seems that the lack of flowers nearby is forcing the spider to attract its prey with other means - in this case by the use of light. I do not know how it achieves this effect, but this spider can glow in the darkness, and by this attracts insects which then get caught in its net. Most of the spiders body and parts of its legs glow in the dark. Upon closer inspection by daylight, these body parts are covered in a transparent substance, which looks like glass or gems at first sight. I can provide a couple of paintings of this spider, based on my notes and firsthand observations. The range ruler represents 10cm in fractions of 1cm each - as ou will see this is quite an impressive creature: Due to its ability to provide light at nighttime, I have named this species the Arachnida Lumenoctis, or "Nightlight Spider". Apart from its size, its most interesting feature is the ability to glow in the dark. I suggest further studies of this species, for its special ability - if deciphered and well understood - has promising applications in many fields. I remain the Queens humble servant. For the Crown, for Corrington! =============================================================================== This post also acts as my second entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge. Here are some more "neutral" pictures of the spiders macro-build: A shot of the scene without "humans": And finally, two shots from the "real world", with the beast stalking two of my cats and taking my laptop hostage: I hope I have not given an arachnophobe a shock with this post. As always, C&C is appreciated.

617, Day 29 of the 11th month, In the jungles of Celestia Following the river, still eastbound, we came into rocky terrain over the last two days. Where before was only jungle, we now move between rocky hills. It also felt like the vegetation is getting a lot less colourful - I can not recall coming across a single flower today. We did set up our camp for the night near one of these rock columns. It was already dark, with the campfire burnign nearby, when I noticed another light in the darkness. I asked Ms. Garnet to put out the fire, to get a bette look. My first suspicion was quickly confirmed: we were looking at a luminous spider. 617, Day 30 of the 11th month, In the jungles of Celestia On the next morning I inspected this fascinating spider more closely - for some reasons young Ms. Garnet was not eager to follow me. I just have to put my observations into another letter to the Royal Society! === To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy, from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia, about seven days east of Jameston, in an area of jungle vegetation and rocky hills relatively close to the river, I was able to observe a type of spider with an uncommon mode of hunting. It seems that the lack of flowers nearby is forcing the spider to attract its prey with other means - in this case by the use of light. I do not know how it achieves this effect, but this spider can glow in the darkness, and by this attracts insects which then get caught in its net. Most of the spiders body and parts of its legs glow in the dark. Upon closer inspection by daylight, these body parts are covered in a transparent substance, which looks like glass or gems at first sight. I can provide a couple of paintings of this spider, based on my notes and firsthand observations. The range ruler represents 10cm in fractions of 1cm each - as you will see this is quite an impressive creature: Due to its ability to provide light at nighttime, I have named this species the Arachnida Lumenoctis, or "Nightlight Spider". Apart from its size, its most interesting feature is the ability to glow in the dark. I suggest further studies of this species, for its special ability - if deciphered and well understood - has promising applications in many fields. I remain the Queens humble servant. For the Crown, for Corrington! Yours truly, Reinhard Wolffson =============================================================================== This post is my second entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge, in the subcategory "Fauna". If you want to follow the surrounding story of Reinhards expedition on Celestia, have a look at this thread. Here are some more "neutral" pictures of the spiders macro-build: A shot of the scene without "humans": And finally, two shots from the "real world", with the beast stalking two of my cats and taking my laptop hostage: I hope I have not given an arachnophobe a shock with this post. As always, C&C is appreciated.

There is no point in sticky-ing this thread, so I will bump it. Please keep voting!

There is no point in sticky-ing this thread, so I will bump it. Please keep voting!

This is what I imagined you would mean. If I had worked in only two different scales, this would be something I had done. But this is not the case - for now. If I come across a similar situation again (maybe for another challenge?), I will keep this approach in mind, because you are right insofar that your version looks much better and more believable.

I think I understand your point, but I worked with this "one size fits all" ruler for a good reason. I have half a dozen more models that will be "painted" like in this entry. They all come with a range ruler, but represent different sizes of course. Instead of going for the impossible task to build rules in scale for every different build, I chose to use one easily visible (and placable - it can stand on its own without problem) ruler instead - which represents different scales each time.

I have wared up significantly to the DD, and will get the set at some point in the future. My main issue with it remains though, and it is this: I have yet to find a Modular looking good placed to the right side of the DD. It might be the teal, but for me the DD only works with other Modulars if they are placed on its left side. What could work for me would be to get two DD sets and combining them into one corner Modular on a 48x48 plate with the teal "tower" being in the middle. But then I would pay 300€ to make a 150€-set work... not exactly what I am looking for.

My first entry for Category B, subcategory "Flora":

617, Day 25 of the 11th month, In the jungles of Celestia We headed eastward and south for the last three days, following the river since yesterday. Ms. Garnet has been of invaluable help, telling me many things about the jungle here in general and a lot of plants and animals in particular. We hardly had to eat any of the rations I brought with me on this expedition, since she knows all the edible plants available - most of which are absolutely delicious! When following the river this very morning, Ms. Garnet pointed out that there was a species of flower she assumed I would like to study. It meant a short detour south, but it was worth it. This deserves a letter to the Royal Society of Natural Philosphy. === To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy, from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia, early on my expedition into the jungles of Celestia I have come across a plant like none I have seen before. In appearance somewhere between flower, bush and palmtree, the most prominent feature of it is its variety of differently colored flowers - ranging from orange to red and different shades of pink. Find attached some paintings of it (the range ruler representing 3m in fractions of 30cm each): By observing different examples of the plant, I have found another interesting fact. It seems that about one in thousand flowers is an anomaly: it is not in one of the colours named above, but combines all of them. Again, I have done a few paintings of one of such flowers (the range ruler representing 5cm in fractions of 5mm each): This "miracle" combined with its overall richness in colours has given the plant its name: Mirabilis Celestia, or "Miracle Flower of Celestia". Given the fact that the seems to be quite common so close to the settlement of Jameston, I wonder if it can be grown on other islands of similar conditions like here on Celestia. Its beauty would make a great addition to the Queens properties. The rare flowers described above would make great presents for the Crowns guests of honour. I remain the Queens humble servant. For the Crown, for Corrington! =============================================================================== This post also acts as my first entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge. Some more pictures of the scenery build, as well as the flower in a "not-painting mode":

617, Day 25 of the 11th month, In the jungles of Celestia We headed eastward and south for the last three days, following the river since yesterday. Ms. Garnet has been of invaluable help, telling me many things about the jungle here in general and a lot of plants and animals in particular. We hardly had to eat any of the rations I brought with me on this expedition, since she knows all the edible plants available - most of which are absolutely delicious! When following the river this very morning, Ms. Garnet pointed out that there was a species of flower she assumed I would like to study. It meant a short detour south, but it was worth it. This deserves a letter to the Royal Society of Natural Philosphy. === To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy, from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia, early on my expedition into the jungles of Celestia I have come across a plant like none I have seen before. In appearance somewhere between flower, bush and palmtree, the most prominent feature of it is its variety of differently colored flowers - ranging from orange to red and different shades of pink. Find attached some paintings of it (the range ruler representing 3m in fractions of 30cm each): By observing different examples of the plant, I have found another interesting fact. It seems that about one in thousand flowers is an anomaly: it is not in one of the colours named above, but combines all of them. Again, I have done a few paintings of one of such flowers (the range ruler representing 5cm in fractions of 5mm each): This "miracle" combined with its overall richness in colours has given the plant its name: Mirabilis Celestia, or "Miracle Flower of Celestia". Given the fact that the seems to be quite common so close to the settlement of Jameston, I wonder if it can be grown on other islands of similar conditions like here on Celestia. Its beauty would make a great addition to the Queens properties. The rare flowers described above would make great presents for the Crowns guests of honour. I remain a humble servant of the Crown. Long live the Queen! Yours truly, Reinhard Wolffson =============================================================================== This post is my first entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge, in the subcategory "Flora". If you want to follow the surrounding story of Reinhards expedition on Celestia, have a look at this thread. Some more pictures of the scenery build, as well as the flower in a "not-painting mode": C&C are welcome, as always.

Dammit, category A is heavily contested it seems.

First you need a thread showing your ship MOC. Then you have to fill out the ship licensing form.

Funny little plane, definitely well done! The colours work perfectly, and there are some neat building ideas used. I like this a lot.

@LM71Blackbird Welcome in the BotBS verse in general, and I hope you will feel at home in Corrington in particular! Your characters introduction is very detailed and well written, it was fun to read. There are sure a lot of plot points you can work with in the future! You will find most of the important links in the Master Index thread, especially the rules for the economical game system (EGS) which handles everything about the ingame currency. Also have a look in this thread for an overview of maps of the currently known world. There is also a thread listing all settlements, if you are looking for a "base of operations". Apart from Arlinsport, the biggest settlements of Corrington at this point are King's Harbour, Mooreton Bay and Jameston. Those three have seen a lot of "active play" over the last months, and are also much closer to other "active areas" than Arlinsport. There is a lot to take in at the beginning, I suggest you get yourself a rough overview, and then start asking all the questions you have either in the general intro thread (which is also for basic discussion and questions), here, or in the Corrington PM (which @Bregir will sign you up for soon I am sure).

How unfortunate... Sorry, but I have to be strict here: Mesabi is disqualified from the "Story" category of the Merrynight Mystery Minichallenge.

Voting has begun! Cast your vote before the 2nd of February 2018. All entries compete in both categories (except for @SilentWolf and his LDD build, which is not eligible for the "Build" category - but for the "Story" category!): Vote here for the "Build" category. Vote here for the "Story" category. Every BotBS player has one vote per category, voting is public, and voting for your own entry will get you disqualified.

The Merrynight Mystery Minichallenge is done, now it is time to determine the winner! There are two categories, "Build" and "Story". In this thread you vote for the best story, with the following rules: The voting begins with the posting of this thread and lasts for 14 days - ending on the 2nd of February 2018. Each player of the BotBS game has one vote per category. Votes from non-players will be discarded. Voting is public. Voting for your own entry will disqualify you. You are free to vote for whichever entry you want, judging the entry in question based on its quality as a story in the BotBS setting. Note that while the build is supposed to support the story, and often depicts central elements of it, you should base your vote in this category on the quality and creativity of the written story. As stated in the main rules of the minichallenge, I will not vote - unless there is a tie after voting has ended, in which case I will act as tie breaker. For reference, we had the following entries, in chronological order: If there is anything I missed or get wrong, or if there is any other question: please just ask. Now let the voting begin!

The Merrynight Mystery Minichallenge is done, now it is time to determine the winner! There are two categories, "Build" and "Story". In this thread you vote for the best build, with the following rules: The voting begins with the posting of this thread and lasts for 14 days - ending on the 2nd of February 2018. Each player of the BotBS game has one vote per category. Votes from non-players will be discarded. Voting is public. Voting for your own entry will disqualify you. You are free to vote for whichever entry you want, judging the entry in question based on its quality as a Lego MOC and the creativity shown in the build. Note that the presentation, while essential for how a build looks like online, is not a part of the build itself - please try to judge the build, not how well its builder can handle a camera and image processing software. As stated in the main rules of the minichallenge, I will not vote - unless there is a tie after voting has ended, in which case I will act as tie breaker. For reference, we had the following entries, in chronological order: @SilentWolf: Please remember that LDD builds are not eligible in this category, so your entry will only compete in the story category. If there is anything I missed or get wrong, or if there is any other question: please just ask. Now let the voting begin!