jFox

Whoa, these are really awesome! I love the green and red samurai, very formidable looking! I agree, the ninja helmet does look like it sits a little bit high. Also, it looks like the figure's head is resting on top of that cloth/vest piece. Is the opening not big enough for the head to sink down all the way? I think I might have to get some of these parts in the future. Have you ever tried the shoulder armor pieces from the minifigcat website? It says that they require modification to the minifig, but doesn't specify what that means. They look cool, but I don't know that I want to start chopping up figures.

Oh yeah, I have a few of those old samurai figures, I'll try those out and see how I like it. Thanks! I've tried out the 3L bars in LDD, but they're too long. Good suggestion, though; that's sort of of what I'm looking for though. Just need to find something smaller. Thanks for the ideas, everyone, I'll keep tinkering with it and see if I come up with something I like.

Whoops, I guess I was misunderstood here. I didn't mean to actually use paint on them (although I suppose you could if you wanted). I just meant covering up your colorful base with some LEGO plates of the appropriate colors. The plates would be a thin layer of color on top of what you already have--like paint on a surface. Sorry for the confusion!

Ahh, I see, thanks for that link. Maybe I'll pick one up next time I order something off of Bricklink and see how it looks. Shame they only come in white though.

Nice castle! I like the design of the entrance. Unless the invading army has some ladders or a way to get over the wall, that walk up to the gate is going to be deadly. If you're concerned about the colors I think it would be fairly easy to cover up. I think the hard part is building up the structure (which you've done already). Giving it a "paint job" with some green, brown, or gray plates shouldn't be too much work.

Thanks for the closeup shots of the windows. I love stained-glass, seeing it in LEGO always makes me smile. For the smaller windows on the sides, it looks like a bunch of cheese slopes pushed together. Are they loose at all? If you pick the building up to move it, will you have to be careful they won't jostle around and fall out?

Does anyone know of a good piece (or combination of pieces) to fit inside the angular horse helmet? BrickLink catalog entry The unicorn-style helmets have pretty obvious pieces that fit, but I can't seem come up with anything for these helmets. I don't think I've ever seen anything put in there on official sets, so I wonder what was the clip ever used for? Oh, and color-wise I'm looking for gold/silver/blue, to match with the fantasy-era Crown Knights.

I believe the size limit is 800x600.

+1 for stacker9000

That's a nice looking bunch of figures you've assembled, especially that giant undead ogre. I like the custom items from places like BrickWarriors, but they sometimes seem a little out of place with regular LEGO equipment. This is a good solution, make them foreign and exotic. What's that gold piece on the djinn's shoulders? I can't make it out from the picture.

You captured the features perfectly. If I squint my eyes a bit and blur the studs it looks pretty darn close to the real thing.

Having played a fair amount of Oblivion over the years, this brought back some memories immediately. I agree, the fire pieces are used very well. The coloring on the ground works as well, with many colors mixing together. Fair amount of chaos too, with the figures scattered about like that.

Wow, I think you win. I think you just raised the bar into space for anyone else thinking of upgrading Helm's Deep. Very nice work, the detail is excellent everywhere. I really love the interiors. Many MOCs (and commercial sets) just aren't big enough to really flesh out the interiors. But with this, you knocked everything out of the park.

Just add some mountainous terrain around this, or put it at the end of a long bridge (or narrow pass) and voila! Boosts the defensibility significantly! Good review though, I think this has tipped the scales toward "buy" for me.

I really like those windows on the abbey. If you have haven't already dismantled them, any chance of a closeup picture?

Well as far as price goes, looks like you could currently get just the parts from the Hulk set for $20-25 (at least in the US). Using the spare parts for your own creations seems like the better option. Having just finished building that particular set about 5 minutes ago, I can say for sure that's what I'll do with it. All in all I think the set is not very good, but there are some good pieces in it. Some dark blue, some big plates that could be used for towers and buildings, etc.

Very detailed and chaotic! I really like the overhead shots of the dead bodies floating away in the river. Especially the figure with the black torso and helmet (which has fallen off). I like little details like this which break up the typical minifigure pose. It adds an extra sense of realism. Also, the archers in the back, out of reach of the melee is a nice touch as well.

I think the black works very well in this case. Depending on the location, wealth of the lord, etc many castles were built with a lot of wood. Seeing the black in this case makes me think of a wooden castle that was burned down. All that remains is the charred or ash-covered timbers.

I would love chill and sail around anywhere on this vessel! The detail is spectacular, and I really like that cabin, especially the roof. What are those pieces under the tan slopes on the cabin? The orangeish pieces that look like they're curved?

Nice job so far. I think you should add the smaller wall (and extend it like the Urak-Hai set can do) and see what that looks like. You've fixed my only real gripe with the Helm's Deep set: the very very short walls. While I don't expect 100% accuracy, they seemed almost silly being so short. The curved ramp leading up seemed a bit unneccesary at that scale, but it's starting to make more sense now with what you've got.

+1 natesroom

Whoa, that's a lot of chrome! Good job on the shape of the plane, think you nailed it. Love the landing gear too, those technic pieces work very well. I feel like the cockpit "glass" should be clearer, though I don't know if there's a window piece in that shape, or other clear pieces to use instead. It's a minor gripe though. So shiny...

Maybe it's the woman with the eyepatch (movies have taught me they're always dangerous), or all the men with sinister-looking mustaches, but this airship and it's passengers look like they're up to something! Great looking airship, I think you did a great job on the framework. Very symmetrical, methodical, and laid out well. Great choice on the minifigures as well, made me smile as soon as I saw them. What's in that case they're loading? Is it some ancient artifact? Some relic they stole from a dig site? I feel like Indiana Jones is going to show up any minute now.

Hmm, or maybe they could give him the Hagrid treatment to make him extra tall and beefy.

I can't help but agree with this sentiment, especially the bit about compiling pieces and sets that go untouched... Unless a set is about to go out of production, there's no need to buy everything you don't have immediately. Like the new Avengers or LotR sets, for example. They'll be out for a good long while, there's no rush to get them. Wait until they go on sale somewhere to get them. Then, take the money you saved on that purchase and blow it all on BrickLink transfer it to a savings account.