Mike S

Here is my entry: link

Got my final Varlyrio pics up now... here is the link. And for those of you in the US, happy thanksgiving day!

Nice little vig! Keep it up!

This is really nice! The outside is great but the interior is what really catches my eye. The bunk beds and the desks, curtains,and the rooftop lounge, excellent job!

Thanks! I try to make my MOCs unique but its a hit and miss at times. I was quite pleased with how this came out although I keep getting ideas on how to improve it. I also would like to add the back half now that I've entered this and don't have to worry about size restrictions any longer. Thanks! Masa doesn't know what roughing it means. As long as he is on an adventure and he has his girl girls with him (there are two more in the tent but you probably can't see them) he thinks life can't get any better...

Thanks guys! Updated first post with the pics...

I've updated the first post with the latest changes I made. Thanks! The leStranges! I still would like to hear a backstory on them... I never read the Moominvalley books so not sure but if they are similar to Dr Seuss I agree as this is more of a fairytale build. Glad you liked it.

Bishop Jamon, leader of the Knights of Aslan, continued his search to find additional financing for the war against Victor Revolword. And so it was upon hearing of the wealth in Varlyrio that he decided to travel himself to Illyria, the capitol of Varlyrio in order to forge an alliance with the Order of St. Rafya. Bishop Jamon and his entourage drew quite a few curious gazes from the local residents. Here you can see a man with his date evidently having been out for a walk when the bishop arrived. Also you can see a local boy playing with his toy sailboat in the canal. The shiny armor of Bishop Jamon's guards catch his eye. And lastly, the grounds keeper is quite surprised by the visitors. Bishop Jamon was cordially welcomed but his mission was unsuccessful as far as gaining financial backing. The Order of St. Rafya alternatively welcomed wounded soldiers to be sent to the Convent for healing. I used cardboard for the background as my white board did not have enough contrast due to the white bricks and I don't have any other color background. Because of the time it took me to edit out the background of the first pic, I am not going to try and edit any of the rest. The build is modular and I have ideas about adding on the rest of the convent as what I envision is quite a bit larger than this (this is just the entrance to the convent)

I'm still waiting to find out how the Alleenridders expedition went to pursue Mikel Kalores story further. So in the meantime I decided to create a new character, Masa, who has no titles, no responsibilities, and is quite adaptable (and also has a few special powers maybe a bit like Prince of Persia? I have to tie those awesome Ninjago NRG minifigs in somehow )

Nice job! You have some great elements here like the brick built chest (awesome), bridge,and main house. However I think that the border in this case kind of distracts from actual build.

Thanks! All my aliases got to have the M&K

I finished my Varlyrio MOC yesterday. Now I just have to photograph it. I also came up with another idea for the University. Lets see if I can find time to build it. And I think this might be my 500th post! Also has anyone built the gates of Qarkar? From my understanding Qarkar is Kaliphlin's fortified city and I'm thinking my pieces might fit in better there than Barqa. One of the reasons I was at a slump with Barqa is that I kept thinking on fortifications and Barqa is more of a merchant city.

Nice job on the build and great idea on the plot!

Nice story and excellent MOC!

Well, I was thinking more on the lines of free builds but a contest would be cool. Thanks de Gothia! Thanks! Thanks for the ideas! If only the window was 1/3 stud shorter... Then I could put a black crossbeam across. But I will try a white or red 1x4 plate or moving the plate to the top of the window and let you know how it turns out.

Great idea! I'll see what I can come up with!

Nice job with the water and foam! Hope the assassins Know how to sail a ship as well!

Nice build! The dragon is really cool and you did a great job with the trees, snow and fig posing!

Thanks soccerkid6! Thanks and perhaps the reason why you don't quite get how it ties into the university is that it wasn't built with the university in mind. I just started building with the conical tower piece first and added elements along the way until it became what it is. Then I was trying to figure out why such a strange building would even be in existence and robuko's Duc leStrange gave me some inspiration. I then was reminded that the university build was expiring soon so I came up with the story (which I thought was quite humorous myself) imagining this crater in the middle of the university campus with this rock and lighthouse sticking out, then added the students to complete it. It may not be conventional but I think it fits well enough as it adds a bit of uniqueness and humor to the university. Thanks and also thanks for the suggestion! I do not have any red shutters but I did try using the only other panes I have available. (new pic in first post) I also tried other color frames but it didn't look quite right. Thanks! Let the lighthouse building now begin.... In fact I've been thinking about a lighthouse design for some time now. Thank you!

Wow a year already? Even though I didn't really find out about this and joined until February of this year, I probably wouldn't have joined Eurobricks or started MOCing if it weren't for GoH. So here's a toast to many more happy years of GoH. And btw, I have to say that thanks to the people in charge, GoH is very organized and fairly easy to keep up to date with what is going on unlike The lands of Classic Castle where I get lost everytime I decide to go and check up what is going on over there.... but that might just be me.

Here is my entry:link

Just posted my university entry: link I've been making good progress on my Varlyrio entry and I think it may be my best MOC yet.... @skaforhire - That contest sounds really cool!

This was not what I really had in mind for the university contest but it sort of built itself as I was trying to figure out a use for the yellow hexagon plates. So here is my attempt at a humorous entry: Baronne leStrange (not to be confused with the more famous Duc leStrange who strongly insists that the two absolutely are not related in any way) used to be the archeology professor at Petraea University. One day as he and his students were finishing excavating a great rock on campus, he lost his footing at the edge of the crater they had dug and tumbled headlong to the base of the rock. Surprisingly, he seemed to suffer no more injuries than a few bruises even though he was a bit dazed for a few minutes. However ever since the fall, he no longer has any interest in archeology but instead has devoted himself full time to the teaching of lighthouse keeping. When asked why the sudden change, the proffessor replies that when he fell into the excavation, he saw a “bright light” and then had a vision that the coast of Kaliphlin was large with many stretches of craggy coastline, yet it had too few lighthouse keepers to warn the ships on dark and stormy nights. He has now converted the rock where he had his “vision” into a lighthouse and offers an intense three month class in lighthouse keeping so that Kaliphlin may have enough lighthouse keepers to man every last mile of craggy coastline. EDIT: Thanks to suggestions I have changed a few details and so these first two pics are with the changes: And now the originals: At first I was going to have an open back but then I decided to "finish" the MOC and put on an opening back. The students must keep the light lit 24/7 and take turns sleeping in shifts. They also must practise climbing rope ladders and rickety staircases. This MOC has a lighting function but as this is my first time to try and photograph, the lighting effect didn't show too well. Edit: Changed the window panes and added photo of back.

Looking good! I really like how you alternate 1x1 round bricks with 1x1 round plates for the front pillars. I would recommend the rest of the 1x1 pillars to use the same technique. (example: pillars on the door underneath the arch and upper story in the back)