Kayne

I agree that it has a very Avalonian feel to it, but I don't think that's a bad thing! It fits in to Avalonia as an embassy, but has enough angles/gables to give it that older haunted feel. Throw a few werewolves or skeletons out front and there is no way an Avalonian would want to venture near! Looks great by the way, I love the MOC

That's what I was hoping to hear! This is a very fun way to draw a lot of us into not just building but sharing a story. A very cool thing for the site to do, and I was hoping it would go indefinitely. Based upon the interest so far, I would think it probable that we can keep this going.

Hey guys, I was off in Detroit for work for a few days sorry! Congrats to Gabe on the Watchtower! That truly is a beautiful build, and I am not surprised at all that it won! Kaliphites unite!(I think I just got too corny there...)

This is just stunning...I was snooping through the Avalonia forum last night and saw this, but waited til it was posted here to comment. The might of Avalonia is truly inspiring....as my countrymen stated, we Southerners will have to step it up a bit!

Here is a quick photo of the embassy in progress that I am building for Kaliphlin in Avalonia The back corner is going to have a tower with a desert feel, while the front tower is Avalonian. Also, lots of landscaping will be going on!

What Gabe said about the color palette is spot on for Kaliphlin. If you peek through some of the builds already done, you will notice that tan is almost a secondary color(or a landscape color), whereas the primary color is quite often white. Of course, the Kaliphlin colors are Red and Dark Blue, so we'd love for you to add those in, but as a Mitgardian you may not want to! But, like others have said, the PoP sets give a good idea on the general theme to the desert. Again, there are mountainous areas in Kaliphlin and even some oases(sp for plural?)

My lord Dextrus, The Nähtamatu have been traversing the Dune Seas where we make residence in this catamaran. Constructed from the weathered wood of the Withered Woods, this catamaran is what the Nähtamatu use to skim across the Dune Seas in the center of Kaliphlin. The thin wood found in the forests of the Withered Woods, is the only material that is both strong and light enough to traverse the treacherous Dune Sea. We can commission the guilds to build a fleet if these if necessary to protect Kaliphlin!

Constructed from the weathered wood of the Withered Woods, this catamaran is what the Nähtamatu use to skim across the Dune Seas in the center of Kaliphlin. The thin wood found in the forests of the Withered Woods, is the only material that is both strong and light enough to traverse the treacherous Dune Sea. A band of mercenaries, born out of the desert sands of Kaliphlin, the group sprang to being nearly a decade ago under little fanfare. However, in that time to the astute observer, The Nähtamatu have been involved in nearly every incident of political nature in the Siccus wastelands and its neighboring territories. Their involvement is always alleged though, for even the astute observer has no real proof of their involvement, just the footprints of their machinations.

Good Sir Moriartus, I would like to build a Kaliphlin embassy in your good city of Moria! Construction will start immediately upon approval by the city council.

Welcome to the group!

My Lord Dextrus Flagg, While our paths have crossed in the past, you may not fully recall the events surrounding our encounter. As such, I would like to formally introduce myself and the rest of The Nähtamatu. I am Saladus al Juhtiv, leader of The Nähtamatu. Our band is fully at your service for the glory of Kalaphlin! With me you will see Saaman, our magi and collector of the bones of his victims, which he uses in his conjuring. Also, Ratsu my dark knight and wielder of twin sabers. Paharet, our weapon master, who was enslaved when his orc tribe was massacred. Elevad Surnud is my closest friend, a mountian mummy without whom I would not be alive. Finally, Aran-Salath, my elven companion who can harness the energy of the land, and does so with a shield of energy that can absorb nearly anything thrown her way. The Nähtamatu A band of mercenaries, born out of the desert sands, the group sprang to being nearly a decade ago under little fanfare. However, in that time to the astute observer, The Nähtamatu have been involved in nearly every incident of political nature in the Siccus wastelands and its neighboring territories. Their involvement is always alleged though, for even the astute observer has no real proof of their involvement, just the footprints of their machinations.

WOW! So skipping the product, first let me say that I'm new here to EB. The review is so refreshing in its honesty and humor! The girls can sit on studs......I fell out of my chair and my wife looked at me like an idiot. Hink, you may be new favorite internet personality! TO the set, great review and I agree wholeheartedly with what you said. I have a 9 year old daughter that thinks the Friends line is stupid. As I started thinking I wanted to buy some just for the plethora of colors that come in here and not anywhere else, she changed her tune. I think she wanted to not like them, thinking that Dad wouldn't since I usually buy Kingdoms, PoP, etc...She has a ton of Lego as well, and always builds Gardens, Homes, Parks, etc....and does a great job with the Lego we have. With these sets, I think she will be much happier with the way her models turn out. For the record, she is no girly girl, she loves LOTR, Star Wars, etc....but she also enjoys this type of toy. And....now she won't keep begging for all of my girl minifigs....she likes the "Polly Pocket" look of the mini-dolls!

That is a very cool build! I love that scarecrow. Unfortunately if the official set was had this many pieces, it would be a bit more expensive than the Gandalf arrives set is supposed to be. But it would be worth the money to me to ahve this much in the set!

Unfortunately I don't have any additional details to add, other than that I too got the Vista Security virus while browsing the forums on 1/1/12. My AVG did not catch it, however for those of you that said you have had to wipe your computer when you got it, I did not. I unplugged the computer from the internet, then restarted it. While loading, I went to F11 System Restore and restored to a restore point from the night before. I had to do it this way, because the Vista Virsu blocks System Restore from working while Vista is running. Once I did the startup restore method, I was able to get in and clean up the computer. Hopefully this helps someone out in cleaning up if they too get this nasty virus!

For me, 2011 was a huge Lego year. I came out of my Dark Age in January of 2011, so almost everything was new to me. After about 16 years of being away from Lego, I came back due to the interest my kids found in Lego. I still had all of my old bricks, so that is where I started. However, I also discovered Bricklink this year, so my collection quickly grew. Most recently though, I think that the announcements of LOTR and Superheroes were huge for me. As a castle builder that was in the Dark Ages during the Fantasy Era, I think that LOTR will really help me to grow that portion of my collection!

I also hit the 50% Walmart clearance and loaded up on a few of the Rise of the Sphinx sets for all of the tan bricks, and the Dark Blue and Dark Red in there. Also grabbed Blacksmith shops, and the Earth Dragon Defense! Wish I had more money to spend....

Just wanted to say hello to everyone! I am new here(today), and just rejoined the Lego community in general January 2011 after a hiatus since I was a youth. I build mostly in the Castle/Fantasy Genre, but have unsuccessfully tried my hand at Sci-fi as well!

I am really hoping to see some Castle continue. I am hoping it goes the way that Space did with the Star Wars line out. Lego was able to keep going with themes like Space Police, Alien Invasion, Mars Mission, etc....But i Must say that seeing the Kingdoms off of shop.lego and seeing them all on clearance at nearly every store I go to is disheartening!

I would like to join the guild of Kaliphlin. I just joined Eurobricks, so let me know if this is alright!