Priovit70

25. by Wami_Delthorn (1 vote) 36. by oirad72 (3 votes) 41. by Devid (3 votes) 102. by Yatkuu (1 vote) 240. by Gene (1 vote)

2:2 4:1 33:3 good luck to everyone!

Wonderful entries! Congratulations to everyone! So hard to choose, but finally I decided that my votes go to: 28. Simon_S - 2 29. sdrnet - 1 36. Wedge09 - 1 38. vecchiasignoraceppo - 1

Exactly one week ago took place in Ballabio the most important Lego exhibition in Italy. It was the chance for me to display the full layout of my "modular" Winter Village, because, you know, at home I don't have enough free space, so every module is closed in its box, one on the top of the other. It was also the chance to take some pictures of the whole village and so, a week later I show them to you. By the way, my layout was right next to the one of my friend sdrnet (who was faster than me in posting his photos)… This was may layout with a little fan scanning it. For the exhibition I decided to put some charachters, not effectively Christmassy, in my Winter Village just to create confusion in it. I took pictures also of them during the exhibition and so here they are… The mighty Villagers! The yeti was the last addiction to my Winter Village (I bought on Sunday morning from one of the German Lego sellers at the exhibition in Ballabio), but it was immediately a big hit among the children! The dumpster that drips a weird green slime and the two hazmat guys taking samples of it is one of my favorite details. When the swamp creature minifig came out, the match seemed perfect to me. Practically nobody managed to pinpoint this; to be precise, everyone saw it, but nobody understood that it was a quotation from a movie (I confess, this was hard). One of my favorite movies is “The pink panther” (1963), starring David Niven, who, in the end, dressed in a gorilla suit, tried to steal the pink panther diamond, and then starts one of the most hilarious chase scene ever. This wanted to be an homage to that movie I love so much… Ok, ok! The hats are not like theirs, but, ultimately, they are the most similar among the available ones (for minifigs). Furthermore Jake bears a suitcase full of money, and Elwood has a microphone in his hand… I already put Batman on the bakery roof and everybody asked me: what is Batman doing there? So I decided to put a pretzel in his hand and then… as soon as I saw it, I got the idea of adding Catwoman, trying to get that pretzel with her whip. The Yoda wearing a Santa-like suit minifig came out with the 2011 Star Wars Advent Calendar. Since I saw it for the first time, I thought to put it in my Winter Village, piloting a speeder (the equivalent of Santa’s sleigh). I kept on put off, but finally I managed to build something good enough for me. This is the link to the Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34567255@N05/sets/72157634615213034/ I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun in building it! And only for the bravest (and most curious) of you, in this sdrnet Flickr picture you can see me and my layout… http://www.flickr.com/photos/49191153@N08/9254514100/

Great work!! I love it! So full of details everywhere! And the mermaid is another great touch!

Absolutely jaw-dropping!! I am really curious about the number of pieces you used in this moc. Did you manage to count them all? And it's your first MOC... I cant't wait to see the next ones! You could start a new Lego theme: UCS Architecture!

Added some pictures, included the original ones, in higher definition, on Flickr:

The same here!! Thank you very much GRogall for the info! I can't wait to see the first images of the set...

Well, this is so overwhelming… I don’t even know where to start to thank all of you!! You’re too kind, you’re pampering me! @genecyst, @theDeanoRama: thank you sooo much!! Maybe because the pictures I posted before were taken from a certain angle that didn’t allow to notice the drainpipes properly… In fact, if I wanted to show all the details, I would have to taken I don’t know how many pictures!! Thank you for your comment! Very glad you love it! Do you believe that every time I saw it, I start to think: “Maybe that detail would be better that way instead of this…” and so on, but I decided to keep it just like this, otherwise it would be a never ending process! Mostly for the price…hahaha!! Anyway, thank you very much! I am thinking about it; and I think I’ll do, even if I know I have little chance… but, who knows!? Yes, of course! Lack of time is my problem… I’ll upload them as soon as possible! If not tonight, surely tomorrow. I’ll keep you up-to-date. I think you got the point: I am so short of room in my house, that I decided, since the end of my Dark Ages, to build little MOCs, but full of details, even if they are almost hidden. And this is a typical example, and, surely, the best one so far, in my opinion. With pleasure! I hope you realized that there’s no bathroom in the lodge (I confess: this is my biggest regret!!), so you’ll have to make the best of it… Yes, very Italian indeed!! Too kind, too kind! Yep, Brickwarriors! Thank you! It’s one of my favorite details too!! Thank you so much!! I am happy that you recognized and appreciated the Italian style of my lodge! It was my goal, since the beginning… @Kristel, @ickleb: Many many many thanks!! Or a lunatic… I am very happy that you’re proud of the fact that it came from an Italian! If you want, you’ll be able to see it (with the whole Winter Village of mine) in Ballabio next July (http://ballabio.itlug.org/ ).

For the most curious among you, here is the complete Mountain Lodge. You'll understand immediately why I couldn't enter the "Expand the Winter Village III" Contest with the whole thing: it's too big. Actually, I started to build only the front part of the lodge (the one you saw in the contest), then I got the idea to add the cellar and then the hill around it, then the back and then the whole building process got out of my hand and this is the final result. There's also another reason why I couldn't enter the contest with the whole lodge: as you can see, there are some not-Lego parts, like the deer's antlers on the wall, the bear trap in the snow, and on the inside there's a Lifelites lighting. I hope you enjoy the full version, as you enjoyed the part that won the contest. the cellar with the lighting cable Lights on!! the interior

Great entries! Here are my votes: 1. Wedge09 - A Dinner with Old Friends - 1 point 4. madgarlick - R2-MKE - 1point 8. Daala - A Family Day - 2 points 11. Joff_Draeven - We're Getting Too Old for This - 1 point Good luck to everyone...

As I wrote in my reply in the voting topic I really think that this year all the entries deserved a vote, because every of them has at least one great detail to remember. Since it was obviously not possible, I decided to write this sort of thank-you to all the contestants. First of all, I want, obviously, to thank everyone who voted my creation. And I want to apologize to the people, whose creations I didn’t comment on, I must confess for my chronicle lack of time in combination with a sort of laziness of mine. And among all the comments I want to mention the one from stebai, who wrote “Well done Priovit70! It was an honor to cross swords with you!”. I was really touched… Well, it was an honor for me to cross swords (ehm, bricks…) with all of you! So, here’s my list: Winter Village: Winter Village Church by stebai: I love the organ and the Nativity, even if it was impossible to take pictures of it, it was such a great idea! Winter Village: Christmas Market by herrJJ: Santa Claus bell is a brilliant detail and the merry-go- round is very well built! Winter Village: Kirk by HundredHander: even before you posted the picture of that church, I thought that your creation reminded me so vividly of a classical English country church… I think you reached your goal! Winter Village: Brew Pub by brickdad46: the three is really wonderful, and the outhouse a funny addition. Winter Village: Train Depot by toorayay: the icicles are a lot better than the ones Lego put in the Post Office last year, and the gumball and the red ribbon are really clever details. Winter Village: Winter Town Hall by sdrnet: the Ape and the statue are my favorite details, but I really love the whole MOC, great work sdrnet, my friend, and congratulations on your second place! Winter Village: Winterville Station by ShaydDeGrai: I like the design of the ground floor windows and the color scheme of the entire building. Winter Village: Restaurant by Kai NRG: the timber work fits perfectly the Winter Village feeling. A lot of accessories, and a really cute truck! Winter Village: Library by viracocha: this is a really lovely library… I would spent gladly some time in it, reading a good book! And all those shelves are so full of books (and very well done)! Winter Village: Village Church by Righty: the roof is my favorite detail of this MOC, and it gives to the church a very Nordic look… well done! Winter Village: Clock Town and Winter Love by tatertots: the tower’s door is lovely, and the original use of the blades for the sleigh is one of the cleverest detail in the contest, imho! Winter Village: Grandpa's House by kabel: the stove is an awesome detail, kabel! May I use it in one of my next MOCs? Winter Village: Farm by Emma: the best door of the contest, great usage of LOTR rings, lovely upper part of the façade and great tractor! A great entry! Winter Village: Hardware Store by oirad 72: I love the overall look of the building and the water pump is so brilliant! Winter Village: Snowed In by legolegolegolego: A lot of great details to choose from, I think that my favorite are the moose (awesome!) and the guy who’s ice fishing… Winter Village: Store by Darkblane: the truck is in the same perfect style of the ones in the other Winter Village sets, and the roast chestnut stall is so lovely! Winter Village: The Old Ship Inn by TooMuchCaffeine: I really envy your snot roof and the brass footrail is a greeeat detail! Winter Village: Mountain Lodge by Priovit70: well, this one I don’t like so much… hihihi!! Seriously, every time I see it, I would change some detail, can you believe it?! Winter Village: Tavern by evan.evan.evan: the snow fort is one of the funniest detail of the contest, in my opinion… well done! Winter Village: Cheese Haus by slovakiasteph: as I already wrote, you did a great job with the ice and snow sculptures… and also with the cheeses display! Winter Village: Cafe by Kristel: your creation is so full of details; I love the ski rack and the coffee machine, really awesome! Congratulations on your third place! Do you mind if I use your ski rack in my Winter Village? Winter Village: Jewelry Store by sonicstarlight: a lot of awesome details inside (the safe and the microscope are unbelievably well done) and outside the store! And the proposing guy is brilliant! Winter Village: Lumber Yard by oo7: this is one of the most realistic MOC of the contest! And the way you recreate all those realistic details is mind-blowing! I really enjoy the fact that, just like me, you set your creation nowadays. Winter Village: OutHouse by dr_spock: one of the funniest and most original entry of the contest! Winter Village: the Winter Butcher Shop by Athos: great color scheme, a very inviting butcher with all those meats hanging up. Winter Village: Hot Sausage Shop w/ Roasted Chestnut Seller, Snowball by Joff_Draeven: your creation is simple, but surely very playable! I like the designe of the lamp posts, and the roast chestnuts cart is so damn realistic! Winter Village: School by Nieks: this is so adorable! Lot of details in the classrooms, and the skeleton is the cherry on top! Winter Village: Bus Station by crayonboi: the newspaper kiosk is really wonderful, and the minibus is perfect to fit in the Winter Village. Winter Village: Firehouse by Mrcool1804: the fire truck with Santa on it is awesome and the whole building has a very Winter Village feeling. Will it be next set? Winter Village: Florist's Shop by Sid Sidious: the delivery truck and the roasted chestnut vendor are so well built, and the colors choice is just perfect! Winter Village: First Aid / Search & Rescue Cabin by soundwave_sw: oh, your helicopter! I can’t stop staring at it… awesome work! My Mountain Guides (do you remember my last year’s entry?) really need one of those babies!! Winter Village: Pump 'n Stuff Gas Station by TheLegoDr: I really love this gas station, so full of details, with that awesome sand green colors… I definitely have to build something in that color! And the car, well your car! Sooo beautiful!! Winter Village: The Taylor's Shop by vecchiasignoraceppo: this could be a real Winter Village set, the feeling is the same of the original ones! The van is perfect and I looooove the knitting granny and the mannequin! Winter Village: 50's Family Farm by psiche: the snow on the roof is so realistic! And the stove! And the kitchen! And the tractor… oh my gosh! Winter Village: One-room Schoolhouse by MaineBrickFan: I really like the traditional style of this school, with its bell tower! Winter Village: The Brick Arms by helloearthling: it’s really hard to believe, what you was able to do with few pieces. I love the corner structure of your pub! And the whole “homeless feeding” part is in the real spirit of Christmas! Winter Village: Log Cabin by Etzel: this is one of my favorite! Great work with the logs and the interior and congratulations on your forth place! Winter Village: Nutcracker in the Park by eliza: very original entry, I love the popcorn cart and the stage decorations. Winter VIllage: The Winter Village Station by Cara: this is definitely a cozy station in a perfect alpine style! Lots of details, like the clock, the waiting room with the benches, the pamphlet rack… very well done!! Well, I did it! It was an effort (even because, as Italian, I am not so used to write in English, so please be patient if you find some errors), but I think you, and I really mean all of you, deserve it. Congratulations to everyone, from the bottom of my heart!

As many of you have already written, this year it's really hard to pick the best creations! I think that every entry deserves a vote, because in every of them there's at least one detail that is worth being mentioned. But obviously the voting rules don't allow it. So after racking my brain for days, here are my favorites: 6. sdrnet - 2 21. Kristel - 1 28. crayonboi - 1 37. Etzel - 1 Congratulations to everyone!!

Great entry! That work with the logs is so beautiful! And the interior so full of details... not to mention the fur!! Good luck in the contest!

Great entry! I love the interior with the Grand Ma knitting, the mannequin and the truck, very well designed!! Good luck in the contest