Dragonator

A hell of a bargain. That monster is worth at least $3000. Wish I could have got it, but then, I don't have the space, nor the money. Now, you go pay of those lay-bys and invite me around to have a look at the MF.

Ah yes, I think I have a fair idea who that is too... I don't suppose you've hired extra security or anything? It might be a good idea... OK, OK, chill Hinck. We all love you, now tease us by gradually revealing each page, you big meanie. Really, to think I have to wait another week for the next page... although that said, I've already had to wait a number of months for this page. Who cares about your life, make more comics! If you don't get to work, I'll fetch my whip. I'm looking forward to the next page, it has been a while since the last one of these, I'm glad you've got around to resurrecting it. Comic ON!

It's back! Finally! It's been so long I thought you might have given up... What? Over-zealous praise? Oh um, bravo. Yes. Well done. Very funny, although a little shorter than usual. Is that the whole comic, or is there going to be more? And to be honest, there just wasn't the same level of violence that we've come to expect from these famous comics. Keep it up, I'm on the prowl for more now... EDIT: Oh yes, almost forgot, I like the use of digital editing to do the mud splatters etc, that was a very nice touch. Also, I hope that dragon head is just a model. I wont have dragon abuse in any comics I like to look at thank you very much.

I ordered the new BrickArms weapons yesterday, and man was it expensive with the exchange rate. I really need to make another Bricklink order for some very important windows, lihht bley 1x2s, plates, etc, but with the exchange rate as it is, I just don't know...

My front gate house will be 64x32. You can make the back gate house however you like, it doesn't need to be the same as the front one. I was planning on tiling my whole thing anyway, but I don't think it has to apply to everyone, only where somebody wants to. As for landscaping,I'll certainly do some of that! You do whatever you like mate, I'm sure it will look great whatever you do. Your baseplate extension sounds fine too, although I can't quite see how your going to extend a baseplate by 2 studs.

Yes, it doesn't look like anybody likes the back buildings. I'm thinking of doing the front gatehouse anyway, so perhaps we should... start on the left side... Or we could work on that front section, from the left around to the right. It entirely depends on what you all want to try building first. Just so you all know, I myself have changed a few things up the front of the castle. I want to build a wider gate house, so the oil smelter and mystery play have both been temporarily removed, and can be relocated if necessary. The plans are set in jelly with a small dash of sugar coating. Basically, if something needs changing for it to suit you better, then that is perfectly fine, as long as it is not unreasonable..

I'm thinking that I might try my hand at building the main gatehouse. However I don't think I'll be able to fit the whole thing on a 32x32 plate, as I want to include two round towers on either side. What I am thinking is perhaps relocation the two adjourning sections to another spot. Although, I don't think they would have had an oil smelter in a medieval castle, so perhaps that is no lose. The mystery play however I would like to move if that is OK. We can fit it in later if someone decides they want to build it. I don't think it really fits in next to the gatehouse anyway... So, does this sound OK to you all?I want to see if I can build a really big grand gatehouse, hopefully I'll be able too, although I don't really have a clue as yet to what should be in a gatehouse. EDIT: Oh and Sandy, I like your idea for the modules, I think that would work best for the main keep. It should definitely be taller too, since a keep is meant to be an imposing building and all that jazz. Captain Green Hair, I like your plans for the docks, good luck with that! It sounds very cool, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Wow. Now this is the Rocko I know and admire. I said all this already, but I may as well say it all again. Fantastic work there, you've really made something more than just a MOC. I love looking at your work, it holds much inspiration and your unique approach to certain things is greatly refreshing. I hope one day I might be able to build something half as good as what you do. Now, on to what I like. The architecture on the castle is just suberb, I love how you have integrated a number of different types of style; the classic stone, the timber 'tudor' style and the tan tower. The use of arches and other small details is really nicely done; the castle alone is stunning. But then there is the surroundings, and they are just beautiful. From the dock to the forestmen with their tree, it is all very appealing and full of good humour. The cobblestone technique I like particularly, it has a really appealing quality to it, and the small farm out the back is really nice. I also like how you have done the water, with the wake off the water skies and the use of light blue to show shallows and disturbed water. The dock is also really nicely done, I'm running out of complimentary words to describe this thing! Well, let me just say that you are certainly living up to your reputation, and this just shows what a small break can achieve. You are a well of inspiration, and we all appreciate the work you do. Well done, and keep building!

Right ho team, welcome aboard. First things first, we need to sort out what we are building. So what I want to know first is, who wants to build what, and what sort of stuff are you most likely to do, ie, do you want to build just interiors, just exteriors, or both? If your all happy to do both, then I was thinking we could perhaps start by tackling the back section, if anyone is interested in building some of those buildings. So, what do you guys want to do? If your happy to do that part fist, then we can start deciding who does what and how we're going to make this the best group build ever!

One little thing about the groups ISC, I notice that in your group you are working on the wizards tower, while stash is doing the stables. Since they're on opposite sides of the castle, might that not cause some problems? Of course, you could always swap some modules around to make them fit in a bit better. That said, shouldn't the wizards tower be in the main keep and not on the outer wall? It seems a bit weird having it up against the wall. Then again, it also seems a bit weird squashing a church up against the outer wall. It will be pretty hard for whoever's building the church to fit it on a 16x16 baseplate. Perhaps if we had a small chapel instead? Castles didn't normally have churches in them. Then again, they didn't normally have taverns and the like inside castles either. What is a thieves guild? That seems like a bit of a weird thing to be encouraging in a castle. If I was king, I certainly wouldn't encourage a guild of thieves, I'd want to eradicate them! It sounds a little to much like Terry Pratchett to me...

You would have to have been involved in Mystery Castle or the EBRP to recognise the people. Funnily enough, I was actually originally going to have a dragon cave, except I didn't have enough slopes to do it the way I wanted to, so I left it. As for an interior, I don't think I will do one, it would be to much trouble. I'd rather get to work on my next MOC.

I'm addicted to dragons... and Lego. And coming on this forum every waking hour of my life. It's all good! Nice vig, it really does get the message across. Is that his camera, or is that camera watching him? Somebody is using that camera to cheat in the poker games! The computer is done really nicely, although I don't think a computer keyboard would go amiss. For your next vignette, I want to see one of you building with Lego. Lego Addiction ON! Online Poker Addiction OFF!

This is a great MOC Rupi. The cliff details are great, and I love how you positioned the minfigs, especially the postman. Very creative, and a nice use of parts. Well done.

Just to clarify, this is one of Lord Dagonator's holiday houses, not Dragons Keep. That's coming later. As for the arrow slits, I tried to describe how they are made earlier in the discussion. Read that and hopefully you'll get it.

I'm looking forward to seeing your keep when it's finished. Explosives you say? Now that could make things interesting... Possibly, although it is meant to be in the countryside.

Lord Dragonator reporting for overseer duty. Lets get these work teams organised. I went and bought a 5 pronged whip specially for this. Serious now, we first need to decide which group is going to work on which part of the castle. Then we shall see who wants to do what. I am happy to work on any part of the overall model, so ISC, do you have a preference as to which part you want my group to work on?

Wow, thanks for all the compliments mate. It's good to know you like it so much. I like the tree stump too, it sure is one cool piece of vegetation. I'm looking forward to seeing your King's Castle Siege re-design! Thanks Teddy, I'm glad you like it.

Ah yes, that's right. Once my exams are finished I can probably finish off the one about the Dragon Masters Kingdom, and then you'll have four done. You know, I'm considering renaming the Dragon Masters Kingdom, I mean, we're meant to be the dragon's friends, not their masters. Wasn't the original Lego theme actually called the Dragon Knights? Perhaps I'll rename it the Dragon Knights Kingdom. What do you think? Or do you think it's fine how it is. I certainly hope Shadows comes back too, he was one of our main posters! And we all loved his unique story line, even if it does involve time-travelling wizards. Yes, it would be great if we could attract some new players to work on some of the other kingdoms. What we really need though is some players to start with. So, if there is anyone out there interested in playing, now would be a great time to let us know!

Indeed, and I think I remember mine fairly well. The question is, does anyone else? We need more than two players for this to work, and so we're going to need to attract some more. We can probably get Shadows back without to much hassle, but don't know about anyone else. What I'm really concerned about is that if we continue from where we are, will new players still be able to join up easily? Perhaps we should see what everyone else thinks is the best way to go forward with this. It's going to be hard without KhoRne. He made such beautiful maps. But I agree, we should continue with the indexing of kingdoms etc. However I think that right now it is more important for us to see if there is enough interest for it to be worth starting up again. If thereis only us two, it won't be much fun. I'm glad we've decided to try and get tis going again, I was thnking about it just last week actually, and I really miss it.

Yeah, so then perhaps we should continue as it is. I seem to recall I still had a lot of information to write down about the DMK. Perhaps we should start by focusing on story for a bit again. To be honest, I can't even remember what was happening. I'll either have to re-read everything again, or perhaps, instead of starting afresh, we could just say that a week or month has gone by, or something like that. That way I can read back a few pages to remind myself, and then continue things from a little time on. Perhaps we should continue this in the EBRP discussion thread? There are probably some new people around now who would be interested in playing. I haven't seen KhoRne around at all recently, and as he was the "game master", we might run into some problems... Oh, it was the 7693 Alien flying thingy. They all look the same to me. EDIT: Actually, I think a new thread would do it some good, so I'll get one up soon. Then we can hopefully attract a few new players.

Slaying dragons!? Why that's a horrible thing to say. EDIT: Opps, sorry for the double post, I thought the board software would attach it to my previous one.

Thanks for all your comments guys. I agree with you on those side windows, unfortunately I don't have any of the arched window pieces, and with the exchange rate as it is, probably wont get any for a while. As it is, I found it fairls tricky to do those windows, as I had to have some wird things happening on the back to make sure there weren't any gaps in the wall. Needless to say, if I had done an interior, I would definitely have needed some of those pieces. Yeah, I agree with this too. My main problem is that I, um, ran out of bricks. I'll have to order some more 2x1 more my next project. Initially I was going to have a big tower in the middle and some sort of large open rooftop area, but I ran out of small grey bricks, and so I put the roof on instead. And I have to say that I like it with the roof, so I'm glad that I ran out. Thanks for your tip[s, they were very helpful and have got me thinking on a few things. Thanks mate. The window design is quite easy to do really, I just used two 1x2 technic bricks with 2 holes in them stacked on top of each other, with half pins in all the holes. Then just add a 1x2 plate and tile and a 2x2 plate and tile to the respective spots. Simple, yet really effective, I like them a lot. Glad you like the back, I must say that the stained glass window took me a while to get right. I've seen various examples around the place, but I've never been able to figure out how it is actually done, so I had to find my own method. I used up my entire lot of spare 2x4 bricks. I started with the red, then the yellow, follwed by the blue, white, and whatever other colours I could find. Once I ran out I just improvised. Most of the roof is held up by my spare 2x2 inverted light bley slope pieces. I need to get myself a few anniversary brick sets for the next one... Yeah, as I said to Athos, I would need a few more bricks. The stream probably could benifit from a little bit of movement in it. I'm considering trying to build some rapids into my next MOC, which should be a challenge. As for a gate house, I'm not sure if there is room! I can't quite picture in my mind what you mean, could you elaborate a little please?

Thanks for all your comments guys, I appreciate them all. I'll answer a few questons now if you like. Heck no! It took me over a month just to make it as it is! I was planning on making an interior, but I kinda ran out of time. It's more of an exterior model. If I wanted an interior I would have had to design some of the windows differently, as they have some weird things going on behind them to pull off the desired effect. So no, this is just an exterior model. I can say in advance though that I will be making interiors for all the buildings in my village. Thanks for your comments WhiteFang. I don't know if I would make a very good teacher, as I don't feel I've mastered some of the techniques I really like using yet. As I've said, this is only my second major MOC, and the largest creation I've ever built, so I've still got a fair bit to learn too. For example, I'm useless at building brick-built trees. My long-term goal is to eventually get enough pieces to build a full-minifig scale castle, so in the meantime I'm working on such MOCs as this one to try and get a bit better. But WhiteFang, you are full of great talent, and I think that if you give it a go, you would be surprised at how well your own MOCs turn out. That's pretty much what I did when I built my first one, the Ravine Tavern, and although it had some flaws, it wasn't half bad. My best advice to you would be to imagine something in your head, and then build where your imagination takes you. I had a very different initial concept for this, for example, it didn't have a tiled roof at first, but it kind of evolved as I built, if you get what I mean. So yeah, go get building! As for EBRP, I miss it too. It was so much fun doing it, and it inspired me to build my first major MOC. I have completely forgltten where we were up too. Perhaps, if we can draw enough people back, we should start it afresh? It's an idea worth considering... Thanks once again for commenting everyone, and please, keep them coming!

Hi all, It's been a while since I last posted a MOC on EB, and so I think now would be a good time to rectify that. Today I would like to present to you my most recent creation, Dragon's Retreat. This is a small fortified Manor House located in the beautiful countryside of the Dragon Masters Kingdom. Lord Dragonator decided a while ago that he wanted to take a holiday every now and then, and so had this place built as a secure residence for him to stay in. This was a very challenging build, and I must say I am quite pleased with the end result, as it is only my second serious build. Some of you may remember my Ravine Tavern that I posted nearer to the beginning of the year. Thanks to all of you who commented on that, I used a lot of the advice I gained from it to help me make this. The most frustrating part of building any MOC I have found is getting all the pieces! You will notice that I used mainly 2x1 bricks on all the exposed walls, to try and give it a more 'stone work' kind of feeling. I can tell you, I used every last one I had spare, and I had to tear apart a fair number of things to complete the roof! This model was on display at the recent NZ Lego Show in Wellington, and I was lucky enough to win 1st prize for my age category with it. Yay for me! Of course, the prize had to be a crappy Mars Mission set, didn't it? Well, enough mindless chatter from me, I think you'll be wanting to see the pictures. Here they are! An overview of the front. This shot gives you a fairly good look at the overall model. It is built on a base of two 32x32 stud baseplates wide, and two and a half 32x32 stud baseplates long. The front Here it is, front on. I built it with a very symetrical design, which I wanted to contrast with the random asymmetrical feeling of the landscape. Hopefully I pulled it off. You may notice that I "borrowed" the window design for the arrow slits on the front from Teddy's module castle, they weren't to tricky to figure out luckily. I wanted to see what they looked like, and I must say, I really like them. The front gate This is the main entrance of course. It is lower than the main castle, which is for defensive purposes, anyone who makes it through the doors would have to fight their way up into the main house. I have used a classic piece of dragon design over the doors, which is to make the castle fit in with the style and theme of other Dragon Masters/Black Knights Castles. A signpost... The all important signpost. In this picture you can see one end of the bridge, as well as my favourite piece of greenery, the beautiful cypress tree. I wish I had more than one of those... The landward side I really like the angle of this shot, it gives a really neat foreshortening effect. Party? Lord Dragonator is holding a house-warming party. Looks a bit boring to me, I think we need to invite a few EB members along. The Bridge Here is a little bridge crossing the river on the main road. Some of you may recognise the horseman. In fact, there are a few faces around some of you might recognise. See how many you can name... The River Here is a shot of the riverbank. On one side we see a fisherman-turned-Shepard with his sheep, and on the other is the new cellar keeper taking in a recent delivery. The River Side Here you can see the steps leading up from the river and the windows overlooking this side. The Back I never like it when the back of a creation is plain and dull, so I decided todo something different here,and I thought, why not try my hand at a stained glass window? I think it turned out pretty good. Birds-eye Another look over the whole diorama. Riding to war I just really like this picture, and thought I would end with it. Sorry for talking so much, but I thought that since I don't post MOCs all that often I had better do some sort of running commentary. Thanks very much for looking, I hope you have enjoyed it. If you are interested, here is a link to the Brickshelf Gallery where you can find the complete set of all 49 photos. I would really appreciate feedback, as that's how I can learn what to do better on next time. My next major plan is working on the village that will feature in Mystery Castle II. I want to get everything spot on for that, so please, let me know what you think. Your feedback on my last MOC was what helped me to make this, so I really do appreciate what you all have to say. Thanks for all your help and support, without the EB community, I don't think I would be building anywhere near as much as I have been. It is a true pleasure to be able to share my creations with you all. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Dragonator

Yep, some bastard has blown the roof off of one of our towns fine buildings. Disgraceful! EDIT: Hey, we just got through the whole day without saying the word 'bastard' in excessive amounts. That's disgraceful too!