The_Nev

Thanks and thanks! Glad you like it, and I'm definitely glad I chose Avalonia, can't wait to get a few more builds done!

Good spotting! Shame it isn't likely to be the next modular, but imagine if that was how it leaked! Not that we can tell much from the picture...

Thanks for all the feedback! Glad you guys like the bases, I tried to keep them relatively simple to compliment the characters, rather than draw attention away from them. Good to hear that you think they were effective!

Equicius Clan | The_Nev | Avalonia Equos Valley | The_Nev | Avalonia

A bit more insight into my story & the Equicius Clan, and my submission for Tasks 1 & 2. Hope you enjoy!

Task One - The Equicius Clan The Equicius Clan of old were once known & respected across the lands for their fine herds of horses. They lived a semi-nomadic life, travelling with their herds across the eastern plains of Avalonia, with some small settlements scattered towards the northern reaches of their ranges. Their lives of peace & prosperity were not to last, however, as raiders from the northern mountains plundered and pillaged the few villages the Equicians had established, taking with them, destroying or scattering much of the herds that were the pride of the clan. Many of our finest warriors and herdsmen's lives were lost in those days, and all the remaining men, women and children were left with no choice but to disperse across the villages and cities of Avalonia, some venturing as far as the lands of other guilds in search of a new home. As the years and generations passed, the great horsemen of old were forgotten by all except legend, their stories passed down to the Equician descendants that remain today. Although the Equicius Clan has never restored their former glory, and remain scattered, some larger families stayed together, and found a life for themselves away from the pastures of their forebearers. One such family is that of my father, Albus Equicius, a direct descendant of the leader of our clan of old, Eorl Equicius I. Equicius Clan by The Nev, on Flickr The Equicians are skilled warriors, both on foot and horseback, fighting with sword, spear and bow. My cousin Eldred is a leader among our men, with the privilege of riding upon a purebred Equician steed, garbed in the colours of our clan. Cousin Eldred by The Nev, on Flickr As for our troops, they are of course small in number as a result of the scattering of our people, but display the strength and determination that stands them equal to some of the best soldiers you can find in Historica, and have often served under the greater banner of Avaloina in times of war past. Equician Troops by The Nev, on Flickr And then there's myself, Neville Equicius, son of Albus Equicius, descendant of Eorl Equicius I. Neville Equicius by The Nev, on Flickr Some of you may have already heard my story, so I will only briefly recount here. Nine years ago, my father set off on a journey to find the tomb of our ancestral leader, in the hope that it would contain the key to reuniting our clan, a step towards the ultimate goal of restoring our former prosperity. Five years after his expected return had not come, my father's uncle, Freca, uncovered a map that leads to Eorl's tomb, and since that day I have travelled across the land, seeking my father so that I can lead him to the tomb and he can reunite the Equicius Clan. Task 2 - My Travels Since I set out, I have often walked alone, other times I have had companions. Uncle Freca and my cousin Eldred often accompany me on my journey, between attending to tasks of their own. Field & Equician Travellers by The Nev, on Flickr Uncle Freca is a wonderful source of knowledge, and was once a great warrior, his career ending when he lost a leg in battle. Uncle Freca by The Nev, on Flickr My cousin, of course, has saved our necks on several occasions, while his faithful steed provides a welcome rest for weary feet and heavy packs. Equician Travellers by The Nev, on Flickr We are a strange sight to other travellers, not that we see too many, often we travel on the smallest, quietest paths through Avalonia, often passing by small pockets of farmland, the land of some solitary farmer making a life for himself off the land. View of Field by The Nev, on Flickr We travel light, venturing from town to town in search of answers that can lead us to my father, with the ever growing concern that he has come by some foul circumstances, as what bodes ill for Albus Equicius bodes ill for the whole Equicius Clan... = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Whew! Sorry for the long post, but I hope it establishes Neville's story well enough for some sort of foundation/background. Hoping to get a real storyline going through some future builds, time will tell what is in store!

Wow! Fantastic build, you really captured the scale well! As said above, I like how you've blended the structures into the landscape.

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I already feel at home here in Avalonia, and look forward to sharing my story with you, through both words and builds! Hoorah! Off to a good start, looking forward to the next challenge where I can hopefully lend a contributing hand!

I, Neville Equicius, son of Albus Equicius, pledge my allegiance to Avalonia! historica sig fig by The Nev, on Flickr OOC: I'm relatively new to Eurobricks, and very new to GoH, but not new to Lego! Looking forward to taking part, there's a short Bio for Neville Equicius in the Avalonia thread, and more story soon to come, along with some MOCs!

I, Neville Equicius, son of Albus Equicius, pledge my allegiance to Avalonia! historica sig fig by The Nev, on Flickr The Equicius clan were once respected as great horsemen, our herds of old were among the finest in all of Historica. Living a semi-nomadic way of life, the Equicius would traverse the eastern grasslands of Avalonia as the seasons changed, with only a handful of villages based in the northern-most plains. This way of life ended, however, when pillagers of the north raided and destroyed our villages, stole or scattered our herds, and many of our finest riders' lives were lost in those darkest days. Since then, the Equicius have never recovered their previous status, and the remaining clansmen are scattered amongst the towns and villages of Avalonia, and the horsemen of old are forgotten by all except legend. My father, a descendant of the leader of our clan of old, Eorl of Equicius the first, was determined that the Equicius would return to their pastures of old, and once again be admired across the lands for their herds. Nine years ago, he embarked on a journey to find the tomb of Eorl of Equicius, which he believed would contain the key to reuniting the clan, but he did not return. After 5 years passed, I came of age, and by a strange stroke of fate, received a map from my father's uncle, a map which revealed the location of Eorl of Equicius' tomb. That day, I set out to find my father and lead him to the tomb, and that continues to be my quest to this day. I fear for the odds of my success, as it has been too many years since my father was last seen. Who knows what foul circumstances have befallen him? I hold onto hope though, as I am sure it is my destiny to see that my father unites the clan of Equicius...

Any news, rumours, leaks, suspicions on the next fairground set? I swear I haven't heard anything about anything coming out in 2019!

The two modulars that are current available that I don't have are Parisian and Diner. Which one would you recommend, or should I get Palace Cinema from 3rd party, as price is still similar?

I can't wait! Also, what are our thoughts on the talk of there being an old modular re-release, now that the Vestas turbine has been announced? Still going to happen? There's been a lot of Creator Expert set numbers rumoured/leaked, but not a lot of sets to go with them...

I think the point will be that they end up doing rides that are similar to previous rides, but not necessarily repeating the same thing. Think how many roller coasters they could do. Even so, there's still plenty of rides to do, teacups, Rotor, drop tower, swings, slingshot, vomitron, XXXXL, etc style rides are all possibilities.

Yeah, I wouldn't expect their thought process to be something along the lines of "Hey, we should do a garage!" "Garage isn't going to work, lets turn it into a diner instead!" "Hey, let's try a garage again!" I can see a garage working really well, but wouldn't expect it to come so soon after they were almost doing one. Surely they'd move onto other options that they have, rather than keep trying with the one idea.

Should've placed a few bets on my prediction LOL! On topic, should be interesting how they would do a corner petrol station with another business above it, as I would've thought that there wouldn't be much room on the side for an entrance along with the driveway for the petrol station.

This is all very interesting news! I do remember hearing speculation that there will be another fairground set released this year, so that definitely fits. There's also the "Exclusive Lego Creator Expert set" that will have a new plant-based element in it due to be released this year. It makes a sort of sense to me if that set is the re-release of the Vestas Turbine, as both have the "green" environmental theme to them. Or maybe we will get a pharmacy with the green plus, and a new plant piece to go with it ;D

Interesting! Can't wait to see what it is, the last two have been pretty good.

When are we expecting to get a new train station? From what I can gather, Lego has been releasing a new train station every 3-4 years; the last 5 were released in 2014, 2010, 2007, 2003 and 1999 according to Brickipedia (http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Trains). So apparently we should be expecting one to be released this year, but I would've thought that if there was going to be a release this year it would have been at the same time as the two trains? Is there any leaks or info out there as to when and what the next station will be? Thanks, The Nev.

It's not like the Diner is the first one to definitely not be European, I think most of them could fit in in most countries, but the Fire Station has the stars and stripes on its flag, so there's not much left to the imagination concerning its location.. The Palace Cinema has always been reminiscent of Grauman's Chinese Theatre to me, which is obviously American. Personally, I like that the Diner is different to all the others, sure its nice when they all go together really well, but I think that a bit of variety does not go astray. After all, variety is the spice of life!

Thanks! Aussie Aussie Aussie!

Thanks!

Hey! The two big ones for me are Castle and City, but I also have gotten into a bit of everything over the years, especially Indiana Jones, and would like to get more into Star Wars, out of all my hundreds of sets, only one is Star Wars! (The latest X-Wing model) And as for the title, its got to be one of the best greeting in history, right?

Hello! My name is TheNev99. I am an AFOL from the land of Australia. I have been lurking here for many weeks, and only recently created an account so I could post. As you were!

I don't think you could call the rollercoaster in the art the one in the set, as the art has a loop clearly shown, while the real model obviously doesn't - there wasn't any ferris wheel or carousel on the boxes either, and if they were hinting at future sets, surely they would've included those ones? The mixer was released in 2014, I think its more likely that they were aware of the ferris wheel or even the carousel that were to come in the next three years than the rollercoaster after them. The rollercoaster set does have a ferris wheel in its box art though, which leads me to think that the reason for including a rollercoaster and swing-tower on the box is that they are iconic amusement rides - and as it would be a bit odd having a rollercoaster in the background on the rollercoaster box, they swapped it for another iconic ride, the ferris wheel.