Aurore

Here is my entry for Book III Challenge IV, Category B "The Crown in Daily Life". It was a bright, sunny autumn day in Horgaard, but Sigrid was worried. The rulers of the nearby villages had gathered to discuss the rumors that kept being relayed and amplified. Bards from the south sang the greatness of Queen Ylspeth, her wisdom, and how pleasant and prosperous life was in Avalonia under her rule. Scalds from the north sang her weakness, her ignorance, and how hard and barren life was in Mitgardia under her rule. Some of Horgaard's neighbours wanted Queen Ylspeth down, while others were ready to take up arms to defend her. The debates had been heated, to say the least. And Sigrid had no idea of what was the right thing to do. The information that reached the tiny, secluded village of Horgaard was so inconsistent and distorted that she felt unable to make an enlightened decision. After an endless, sleepless night, she needed to empty her mind. She had neglected her precious garden lately, and there were many things to do to prepare it for the winter. As with my previous MOCs, the hidden text gives more information about the featured flora.

I think a few parts from the late 2019 sets look interesting as details for a Pirate setting : - The coral/turquoise parrot from City - https://brickset.com/parts/6267152/bird-no-1 - The map from Jurassic World (for those who don't mind the obvious 'Isla Nublar' marking) - https://brickset.com/parts/6267015/flat-tile-2x2-no-395 - The golden lantern (for fancy ships!) - https://brickset.com/parts/6283475/lamp-no-1 - The golden egg - https://brickset.com/parts/6264068/egg-no-3 - The new tan envelope with red wax seal - https://brickset.com/parts/6284163/flat-tile-1x2-no-271 And also for minifigs : - The new Sirius Black (fleshie) - https://brickset.com/minifigs/hp174/sirius-black-printed-legs - Barney Rubble's legs (fleshie) and, arguably, the other Flintstone's legs - https://brickset.com/parts/6265480/mini-lower-part-no-1713 - The Executioner's torso (fleshie) - https://brickset.com/parts/6265651/mini-upper-part-no-4718 - The Klatooinian raiders' torsos and legs - https://brickset.com/parts/6279009/mini-upper-part-no-4870 https://brickset.com/parts/6279014/mini-upper-part-no-4871 https://brickset.com/parts/6279010/mini-lower-part-no-1784 - Not from 2019, but Professor's Trelawney hair and bandana could look nice on a Pirate Lady - https://brickset.com/parts/6236399/mini-wig-w-hat-no-9 And, of course, plenty of parts for a ghost ship crew in the Hidden Side sets (ex. https://brickset.com/parts/6273231/mini-beard-no-4 or https://brickset.com/parts/6271843/mini-armour-no-19)

@Thedarkmaster2 The totem head is the kakamora from set 41150 "Moana's Ocean Voyage".

Paul Vermeesch has used it in a interesting way as the central element of Willy Wonka's inventing room : Inventing Room Left by Paul Vermeesch, sur Flickr

@bricksboy Thank you very much! @Henk61 Thank you so much for those kind words!

Very nice build and story! And good luck to Eoin to manage to find the truth...

@WesternOutlaw Exactly! That song is the first thing I thought of when I saw "Clan of the Cave" Batman's leg part… Thank you for your comment! @MAB Thank you, I'm glad you like it! @JJBricker Thank you very much!

@Retro Thank you very much! I have to admit I had a more "temporary" return to primitive life in mind when building this vignette, more along the lines of the classic robinsonades than the Hothouse...but that is definitely an interesting perpsective! PS : the minifigure head belongs to Carina from PoTC (I think it has been re-used for Hermione in one of the latest HP sets)

Great build and great story! The rockwork is nice and the beach is very well done too, with the wet and dry sands and stranded seaweeds. I really like your idea of a haphazardly built fort on top of a rock. I also really enjoyed the lighthearted story and details - I'm definitely fond of the guard and the two hedgehogs who all patrol very seriously.

I'm feeling tropical lately, and decided to build something different from my usual medieval-fantasy MOCs - something inspired from vintage jungle adventures and pulp fictions. I hope it's in the appropriate forum category! Every morning, Miss Aurora McGregor would walk around the little tract of jungle she now called home. Several months had passed since the plane crash, since the party sent by the Natural History Museum in search of the lost city of Kibiru got stranded in a forgotten land. Some of the survivors were desperate to come back to civilisation. Others were thrilled to discover a lost world. Aurora ... just felt like she had always belonged here.

Finally! I was able to make an online B&P order a few minutes ago! I've not received the confirmation email yet, but the order does appear on my account. The Paypal payment did not work (I had to pay with the credit card) but I don't know if the issue comes from the Lego website, from Paypal, or from my own connection. I noticed a few licensed parts available : - Monica's head from the "Central Perk" set (Element Id 6162427) - Owen Grady's dark blue legs with brown holster from the Isla Nublar sets (Element Id 6226515) - The wings of the Hungarian Horntail from the HP "Triwizard Tournament Challenge" set (Element Id 6279960) - Old Luke Skywalker and Sirius Black's headpiece, in both dark brown and dark tan (Part Id 35494) Not licensed but gladly welcomed, the light orange leaf elements from the "Tree House" are available as well (Element Id 6273388).

Both your story and builds are very enjoyable and detailed! I really like Gisela's story and subjective point of view. Also, I'm glad to get to know Lady Gwenllian better - she seems to be the kind of person I appreciate and admire! It may also be a tiny detail, but I love how you made the mortar and trowel on the forge foundations.

Great prelude! Hard times seem to be coming for Mitgardia...I'm looking forward to the challenge!

What a great vignette! I really like the shape of the snowy terrain on the black base : it draws the attention to the story while showing a great amount of detail. Very nice tree too. And of course, I love the Avalonian Giant Hare and the owl lurking in the tree! Concerning your lighting experiments, I think the low-angled warm light works very well as the scene takes place in the morning.

@Aine As I got my CMF19 minifigs this morning, I can now illustrate my words and add a few observations. Here are the parts from this serie I expect to use for medieval/fantasy MOCs : 1 - From the Fright Knight There are 2 swords and 2 plumes per minifig (I got two minifigs). The rust accents on the shield, armor and legs are copper. On the torso, the border of the chainmail is dark brown, the collar is dark tan and the buckles are copper. The head has no back print. 2 - From the Monkey King For some reason, I forgot the staff, the shoulder armor (part #41637 in red) and the cape on the photo . There are 2 red plumes, 2 red bars and 3 pearl gold hilts per minifig. The torso and legs have gold and silver details. 3 - From the Fox Girl Both parts are recolored : the chicken is tan and the sack is dark tan. 4 - From Johnny Thunder the Adventurer The backpack is recolored, which makes it much more usable for medieval-fantasy : reddish brown with dark green sleeping bag. 5 - Bonus : from the Shower Guy and the Flamingo Lady Well...the duckie is not obviously medieval-fantasy, but it's so cute I'm sure it can be used in a funny way. And the plants will be useful for lanscaping (2 plants per Flamingo Lady minifig), but I have to admit it was mainly an excuse to get a flamingo.

I love this scene! So many details and hidden critters, such a lush vegetation...and very busy minifigs!

Falconry Training | Aurore | Mitgardia Mitgardian Advent Calendar | Aurore | Mitgardia (in case it would count as a free build?)

@soccerkid6 Thank you very much! I had much fun creating the figs and thinking of their stories - and it really helped me get a better picture of my Mitgardian village.

Also in CMF Series 19, the Monkey King has an interesting fantasy armor! The recolored chicken and bag of the Fox Girl, and maybe the two dogs of the Dog Walker would be nice additions to an historic village. I'm also eyeing Johnny Thunder's backpack, whose new colors (reddish brown and dark green) would look much better in a medieval setting than the previous colors of the piece.

How beautiful! The architecture of the building is gorgeous and the color palette is very peaceful. The way you made the transitions between rocks and the white and light grey building is wonderful. I especially love the tree merged with the white tower in the back corner!

What a great, lifelike build! The level of detail is rather impressive. I especially love the area around the cloak hanger : it really looks like the stuff has been randomly dropped there. Like most of us do with coats, keys or handbags at home *hem.

@Grover Your reviews are always so encouraging and helpful, thank you again! @socalbricks Thank you very much!

@Grover Thank you very much for your detailed and insightful review! Your comment on the bird's attitude made me go out in the garden and spend some time watching the blue tits who dwell in one of our trees. And I indeed, their heads were aways parallel with the ground, even when they were acrobatically perched on the bird feeder! I had never noticed that - thank you! Now I need to find a way to angle the little LEGO bird. PS : the flowing water is indeed a hand-held power blast element.

@Louis of Nutwood Thank you very much, Louis, for you insightful and kind comment!

@Etzel Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you think I nailed a "Mitgardian landscape feel"! @zoth33 Thank you very much! @Kai NRG Many thanks! @adde51 Thank you very much!