Khorne

I saw this on Flickr a while ago and was waiting for you to post it here. Really cool build! The street looks so liveley with the marching soldiers and people moving about, minding their business. I especially love the shot down the street (the penultimate photo in your post). The brick-bricks give it a nice period accurate atmosphere. Lovely collection of soldiers!

What a great idea to combine a temple and a pub. Really creative. The classical influence mixed with more modern touches is great and the minifig poses are outstanding. They give the build a bustling feel. It kind of reminds of the The Witcher episode where there's a hallucination of a similar bachanalie.

Welcome, @Thomas Waagenaar! That's a great introduction and interesting character. One of the more unique background stories around here, I think.

Nice scene and story to go with it, as usual. Cool way to tie in past events into a current narrative. I've said it before, but I like the look of the Brothers with their matching bowl cuts. I see they're already receiving their book-burning instructions . The tower is the stand-out part of the build with NPU on the roof. Some parts of it feel rather empty to me though. Maybe the ground could've been somewhat less flat? I can't really put my finger on it. Or maybe some crates in the background as filler? It would've been cool to have brickbuilt trees as well, the prefab ones can also come off as "simple". However, I'm not an expert in any way on building trees, so I probably would've used the prefab ones too . Like I said, I can't quite put my finger on the "empty" feeling, I"m just reaching here... Overall, I really do like the build, story and figures though!

I officially approve of this message. Let the collecting begin! Skulls for the throne! I like the humor in the story and the build itself isn't bad itself. The studless beach gives it a clean look, which contrasts nicely with the loose brick water. The Lotii soldiers look great too. I like how you made the flags on their back.

Wow, beautiful! You've really captured all the architectural details in LEGO and the resemblance is stunning. A job well done! Where can we see your first attempt to compare? I checked your Flickr, but couldn't find it. Maybe I didn't look good enough though... Did you show it to the owner of the bakery? I'm sure he (or she) would be stunned seeing their bakery so well-made in bricks!

I was merely speaking about the general outline, just as I did with Oleon/Corrington. There are always some "deviations", but that's what keeps it interesting. It's fantasy after all and a 1:1 correlation isn't the goal, like @Kai NRG said. Yeah, you're right; they don't have a very recognizable military look. I guess all armies kind of looked the same, yet the morion-wearing image is always tacked on the Iberian countries as the typical image. What would be super recognizable for the Dutch of those times, would be an extrapolation of their habit of wearing simple black civic clothing. It's probably to do with their calvinist tradition of humility and not outright boasting with your wealth. You see it a lot in paintings of those days. E.g: Michiel De Ruyter, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, paintings of the Amsterdam stock exchange. That look can easily be achieved using LEGO, by using a white ruff or one of those white bowtie pieces and a simple black torso (plenty of those around, such as Snape's). Neat to see! As @Bregir already said, that was also @Capt Wolf's inspiration for Weelond. There are some cool and inspirational builds there! I think the key to the colonial Dutch aesthetic is not going overboard on details. Keep things simple. Mostly straight lines vs organic shapes, muted colors vs eye-popping colors etc.

Wow, I was building almost the exact same thing . Not in terms of the actual build, but in terms of people and back story. I was even working on a rice paddy. What are the odds? Crazy, right! I'm genuinely shook . The MOC itself is nice. I like how you continued the architectural style of your previous build and the rice terrace does the job. The figures are also neat, with a nice mix between "native" elements and Lotti influences. It's nice to read the background, I always like stuff like that. Great job!

Eslandola is trickier to provide a 1:1 comparison. The common denominator between Eslandola's influences is obviously the trade aspect and the gold that is coupled with that. So that makes trade their main characteristic, as is stated in BoBS introduction thread. Spain and Portugal are both textbook examples of early exploration and colonization, which brought both countries immense wealth and a huge head start over the other Europeans during the early modern time. Later, the Netherlands were also a trade powerhouse until England took over their role and Venice is the quintessential (medieval) trade republic. In terms of government, though, the interesting thing about Eslandola is that, when you purely look at it on paper and ignore the Latin sounding names and Imperial Armada-inspiration, it's actually SUPER close to the Golden Age Netherlands (United Provinces). You have powerful trade companies who run the show, it's a republic, they're crazy good at trade, not really all that traditional or pious (or at least very open-minded), ... all of which contrasts heavily with historical Spain and Portugal, which were both extremely pious, traditional and powerful monarchies. So visually, Eslandola plays heavily on the popular image of the conquistadores, because that's just the image that is ingrained in everybody when thinking of colonization and early trade empires (El Dorado legends and such); while governmentally it's totally the United Provinces. Venice is only a very small part of the inspiration, as far as I can see. Which also corresponds to real life, because while Venice was huge in the late middle ages, it lost a lot of its power during the early modern times. They kind of got stuck in a Mediterranean slug fest with the Ottoman Empire and couldn't get their share of the global pie .

I think it's more of a general inspiration than a specific one. I.e. there probably won't be any Corlanders be named Karl Gustav Eriksen (just to give an example of a somewhat Scandi-sounding name), nor will Corrington be the land of ice, snow and impenetrable pine forests. The Enlightenment Swedish (and Danish) inspiration is probably more like a general protestant industrious semi-republican vibe these nations shared (together with the UK), where science has its place and such. Obviously exagerated for fantasy purposes . This contrast neatly with the other major bloc of the time, which were the Catholics (France and Austria primarily), who were -according to the clichés- opulent, traditional and less "popular", but more authoritarian. Obviously, the traditional ancien régime nation in BoBS is Oléon. Same here, even though the Austrian Empire is a general inspiration for Oléon, I doubt you'll see characters named Luitpold Habsburg roaming around anytime soon. You will see the gist of respect for tradition, monarch and faith seep through; which are great foils for the values of Corrington.

Yes! Ever since you first talked about this MOC, I've been dying to see it published. Very cool! I'm very curious to see where the story goes. If it's somewhat based on real life (or the fictive version of real events), it's bound to be good. I love a good mystery. The build itself is great. The way the ship is stuck in the ice looks realistic, plus all the snow and ice on the sides. I'd suggest your crew to dress a bit warmer though, there's only one guy with a sweater and one with a scarf. Arana's gonna freeze to death walking around like that .

Neat little build! Like Legonaut said, it is interesting to see other treasure than gold, silver or gems. The sulphur pit is well made and like with blackdeathgr's cenote, I like how you used the ice cream pieces as fumes. The minifig is great, too. He really looks like an explorer or frontiersman.

Great story to accompany an equally great build! The circular construction is eyecatching and rather unique. It's not that often done in Lego. Beautiful!

Thanks! Fleshies might be the more realistic choice, but I kind of like the nostalgia and neutralness the yellow figures have .

As the others have said the groundwork is really nice: the SNOTed sides and the thick undergrowth. Really gives a great jungle feeling. The sand green for water is also a nice touch. It's something else than the usual blue. It gives it a very murky feeling.

What a nice build! It has a classic feel to it that I really like. You've captured the essence of the Age of Empires 2 stables well. I love that it also has a furnished interior. What I like less, are the random tiles on the roof. The 1x1 round tile and such. They contrast too much with the brown. Maybe some dark brown pieces would've worked better to add some texture, or none. Right now, they kind of look random and out of place to me. But in general I really do love the MOC!

* insert innocent whistling emoticon * Yes, the Heraclists' rethoric and goals are rather republican and proletarian. They're not very keen on nobility and the king... They're a bit of a mishmash of several real-life historic revolutionary influences (obviously). Thanks for the comment. Glad you like it!

Thanks for the comments everybody! I'm glad you like the build . Thanks! The stove's body is a piece I found by accident on Bricklink, it is actually robot Plankton's body from Spongebob. The stove is based on something similar I once saw a long time ago. I think it was a Western MOC here on EB. I've had the infantry laying around for a while and never got to using them in a MOC. Originally I wanted to show Magnus' adventures with the Legion, but I could never come up with a good story. The small desert MOC is a quick one I built to show the figures on Flickr and then I snuck it in here, to show a bit of Magnus' background and where he's been the last years. I think it fitted well. The soldiers are indeed an amalgam of stuff: French soldiers/Foreign Legion from the 1830s (color scheme), mixed with 18th century gear (shako and general uniform style). I wanted to use the concept of the Foreign Legion, because it is so well-known and fascinating, but still ground it in BoBS' universe. Thanks! I really wanted to make this more industrial and pauper-ish than most builds, since the Society's powerbase and goals revolve around the working class and commoners. A palace wouldn't be fitting. It adds to the story and vibe .

It had been a long time since young Magnus left his small home town Bertelshafn, in order to join the legendary Oléonese Légion Etrangère. Often, dreams have tendency to shatter when confronted with the harshness of reality. While the Légion certainly offered adventure and a chance to see the world, the cost was high. Its members are not quite seen as full Oléonese citizens and are therefore viewed as expendable compared to proper Oléanders. They do the dirty work that others are spared of. The black ops and dishonourable jobs no recruitment leaflet ever speaks of, but that will haunt a man for the rest of his life. Stuff of nightmares for years to come. Magnus found himself shipped to Guelph where he helpen subdue the occasional insurgency by desert tribes, often pushed or triggered by hostile neighbours. The young man had enough. Oléonese citizenship wasn't worth all this and the action wasn't quite the promised adventure he had in mind. Disillusioned, Magnus decided to covertly go back North. However, going home would be difficult. Would his family still accept? Wouldn't he be viewed as an outsider and failure now in his community? In the end, Granoléon was as far North as Magnus got. Magnus still had to fight for his life, but it was different now. The fight was to come up with money for food, shelter and basic necessities. Luckily, Magnus knew some Oléonese from his time in the Légion and was able to get some odd jobs in the harbor every now and then. Which is better than the fate of other immigrants who come to the great city, but are left to their own and disappear in the poor districts to be forgotten. The future looked bleak, until Magnus heard of an organization that defends the rights of the commoner and struggles for change: the Society of Heracles, the Friends of Equality and Liberty. Their leader, Emilien Dorée, was a charismatic speaker and Magnus became entranced by his speeches. They do not only promise to feed the poor, they put their words in practice. While the nobility has been preparing itself for the feast of a life time, Emilien and his camérades have opened several doss houses and soup kitchens, where the poor and disenfranchised can regather their strength, get some rest and have a hot meal for a very small fee. You even get a free poster and a summary of the Society's radical egalitarian philosophy. The kitchen area is basic, but it gets the job done. Hearty meals are prepared dailyn while Rosalie oversees everything and aids where she can. The opening of these so-called 'Palais du Peuple' - or People's Palaces are said to be her idea. Upstairs are the bunks beds. They might not be the best quality, but they beat sleeping on the cobbles outside. There is also a small stove and some coal to provide some heat. The guests have to do their share of the labour as well and do some odd chores to help keep things clean. One person clearly loves the idea more than another. Magnus' military background piqued Emilien's interests. He might have a use for men such as Magnus in the future... Egalité, Liberté, Fraternité ou la Mort Vive la République du Peuple! ------- Phew! I've had this build for a long time, but never got around to finishing it. Then I did get around to finishing it, but not to taking pictures. I made some photos over the weekend, but had great difficulty with this. It's probably one of the bigger MOCs I made and as such I didn't really have a good place to shoot it. I'm not very proud of the photos as they don't do the MOC all the justice it needs IMO. I do love the MOC itself though, I'm super proud of it. In hindsight I should've switched the kitchen area with the stairs, so it's easier accessible, but then I'd have had troubles with the first floor. I might make some new, better pictures in the future, but for now, this is it. I hope you guys like it! PS: There will probably be some typos in the text. It's already kind of late and I'm getting tired, but I really wanted to finally get it online.

The whole build comes together really nice. I like the use of the ice cream cones for the bubbling like. You can feel the heat coming from the lake . The vegetation and ruins worked out really well!

As I've said on Flickr: great MOC and excellent part usage! The masks in particular are very clever, but all figs are great builds themselves as well. Like the others I had some difficulty reading through the text, but I got 99% of it, I think. I love the wildlife as well, with the two seagulls (probably fighting as they tend to do) and the two birds sitting on the roof. It adds a level of realism to the build for me.

Nicely done! I love seeing the different steps in making the ceramics. It's all laid out really well. Is the "Alleman" sign a custom, or did that come in a set?

Nice build! It's cool to see a fledgling settlement. I like the liveliness of the whole scene and the way it looks really "simple" and "basic". It reminds me of the first season of Deadwood, when the settlement was also mainly formed of simple tents.

Neat simple MOC. I like the landscaping with the irregular base. It does look a bit barren perhaps? Regarding the photography, I kind of agree with the other that the first photo is rather dark and it is difficult to make out some details. I get the effect you were going for, though. I don't know if you have access to Photoshop or the likes, but what they commonly do in movies to portray night scenes is to throw a blue filter over daylight footage. That way, you get the crispiness of a daylight picture but the dark blue filter conveys to the audience that it is taking place during the night.

Nice scene! I like the brick-brick outer wall. It's a simple design, but effective. The highlight is obviously the array of different Oleonese soldiers. Quite impressive! Really neat to see the diversity of Oleon's strength. Great collection of zouaves .