Garmadon

Ooh, I can't believe I'd missed this in my own list of Ninjago scenes to build! Great job with the rickshaw and landscaping, and the dust behind them is very clever as well I agree with Exetrius that the leaves on the closer tree look a bit unnatural, but the one farther back looks great!

I really like this - I'd have thought the set couldn't be improved on much, but you've done a great job beefing up the original! I'm digging the dark red, and the handles on the cockpit are great!

I knew you were planning on editing it into this background, but the first time I saw it I still thought it was the original picture! Excellent job here, Kai, you've definitely nailed the scene, and you can't go wrong with seagulls! It is a pity that the lighthouse ended up so small and that you couldn't get an interior in, but making it any bigger and still doing the base would have ended up being a ridiculous amount of rock-work!

Nice, nice - those dragon handles look great! Let's just say I'd be quite happy to get this thing instead of the original

Oh my, this thing is awfully cute! I just love that you went ahead and added lil Nelson on the back!

You've got a nice little fire cooking here, mate! Great job with the roof, and the pot hanging by that handle is something I'm going to have to remember!

No, of course not - I love using nice illegal connections myself! But yeah, I had thought that the green blaster was causing the studs to spread out and not connect entirely, but it seems like my eyes were mostly playing tricks on me. The whole thing does look epic though, illegal or not! Sorry for provoking the confusion!

Very nice! The roof of the mill is excellent, and I'm digging the small insets of the woodwork all the way up! I'll echo Navarre on the lavender stalks as well, although that plant next to the family looks like it might just be inclined to gobble them all up!

And done, without a minute to spare!

Alrighty! Have I made it to the party? Let's start off with pics of the original set here, shall we? (Of course, there was a dragon too, but I had neither the time nor the skill set to build a better one of those at the moment, so forget you ever noticed that... ) And here we are - voila! Welcome to the Hands of Time's blacksmith's shop, worked by none other but Kai's infamous father himself. Well, at least, if you don't know what happened you may think of it like that, hahaha - if you have, you already know all the hows and whats and becauses of it all, XP Inside: And well, I had prepared a long and eloquent speech to deliver at this point about everything related to this build and the scene and the set, but time's a-wasting and the hour of midnight cometh on apace and bed is calling, so I think I'll just leave y'all with the goods and hit the hay! At any rate, what with the storms and rain and rules limiting it to three pictures this is all I've got at the moment, but I hope to have some more pics coming pretty soon if you want to head over to my Flickr to see them. Thanks for viewing, C&C are welcome as always! P.s. Oh, and one last thing - this build can only properly be appreciated if you're listening to this in the background at the same time - just saying.

Ooh, sweet little mech, mate! I think I spy several illegal techniques if I'm not mistaken, but the result sure is gorgeous! Very nicely done.

Fungal Road | mccoyed | Varlyrio Prelude: What Lies in Store | Rogue Angel | Varlyrio And for the next free build period: Mainhall Corridor, de Fiori Castle - Tergiversa | Garmadon | Varlyrio

Just to make sure exactly how much time I've got left, I assume this means that all of Friday is open for entries and that the deadline ends at midnight between the 31st and 1st, correct? I hope to have my entry done before then anyhow (me entering at the last minute?! ), but it'd be handy to get some clarification just in case. Thanks in advance!

Nicely done! The suspension and shaping on the crusher are great (and quite accurate, if my memory doesn't deceive me ), and the little bit of jungle is upgraded neatly as well

Oooh, this is fantastic! The layered dark green terrain, tree, and rock-work are excellent, but the visual interest you've managed to give to the wall is what really stands out to me - and that ballista! The flags and dragon hilts are great (and spraying Dragonbreath on the enemies from them is a wonderful idea! ), and the angled plating is intriguing as well. Top-notch entry all around!

Thanks all! Thanks Stad! The reflections on the floor of the pic I was copying were something I really wanted to capture with this build, and I was very happy with how the trans-dark-clear lent it that marble-y feel! So am I - hopefully it'll breathe some life into Varlyrian politics! Thank you! I'll try - so much to build, and so little time! Thanks man! That pose kinda just happened while I was playing with the figs Glad you like it! This is definitely how I picture the luxuriousness of Varlyrian nobility. Thanks pal, glad you enjoyed it! Ooh, thanks Kai! I hope to keep 'em coming here if I can! Yep, I really liked how the floor worked - the whole colors and pattern were certainly a bit out there, but it did work great in this context. Glad you like those windows too - took a lot of fiddling to figure out a solution that'd work! About that door, yeah - the problem with builds with too many unattached part is that it's awfully hard to keep track of them all when you get to photography! Thanks again, though! Thanks Bas! Those axle holes were just perfect for the texture I wanted, which would have been awfully difficult to work out any other way with the white parts I've got. I just wish that I'd had more of them! Thanks, and so am I!

Hmm - well, it's hard to say at the moment, since it depends at least in part if there is any reaction to the alliance (e.g., a counter-alliance, spy infiltration, etc.). So basically it's kinda played by ear by what seems like it would be the most likely/natural result in such a scenario, plus a little game-mastering randomness and hopefully epicness from the guild leaders (i.e., not everything will always be directly cause and effect - we're free to throw in a curve ball or two if it's judged to be fair and a good idea to spice stuff up). That said, if there is no reaction in a week or two you can expect the Conzaga's and di Carlo's to move up to the fourth rank (it would not be enough to affect the De Fiori's significantly without further developments, though), but unless they (the alliance) follow it up with something or other in the next month or so their hold on the rank would be tenuous at best. If there is a reaction of some sort within a few weeks... well, we'll have to wait and see what happens! Does that answer your questions? Basically, if the alliance holds together and remains operative, the group will continue to advance faster that single families - but this is Varlyrio; nothing is totally predictable! You never know what might happen next...

Another hilarious installment to your story, Captain B, and a very monkey-ish build as usual! Some of those flask devices really look neat, and the monkey doors are great as always! Looking forward to seeing where this goes from here

Oyez, oyez! The De Fiori, di Carlo, and Conzaga families have just struck a political alliance - check out all that there is to know about it (until some spy figures out more or something... happens ) here!

A new build from me, finally! The de Fiori's Mainhall in Tergiversa... Click on the picture to check out the topic Any other Varlyrians got some builds in the works?

...Recently, in the mainhall corridor of the de Fiori's castle in Tergaversa... Alesio de Fiori paced the floor of the mainhall corridor thoughtfully. It had been a long time since he had been planning on this meeting, and now that the representatives of three of the most powerful rising families in Varlyrio were in Tergiversa, he certainly would not let the opportunity slip. He looked up as footsteps sounded down the hall. Through the doorway came Aureo, Alesio's second and favorite son.  "di Carlo has arrived, father." "Ah, excellent," replied Alesio, with a nod. "Have him come in." The promising young administrator of his family's affairs, Luca di Carlo had won himself the position of a prosperous merchant from Ostia, and had pushed himself up into Alesio de Fiori's view as a most useful possible ally. "An excellent evening to you, di Carlo," began Alesio, "and congratulations on the success of your recent experiments. It is, in fact, at least partly due to that that I had invited you here tonight." "Oh yes, that worked out better than I had even expected," responded the grinning olive merchant; "but I hear that it was politics that you had in mind for the subject of conversation now?" "And right once again," Alesio de Fiori replied, smiling - "I see that you're already of my mind on the status quo in Varlyrio. It's about time things start moving." "Certainly, my dear de Fiori - but I thought I heard that the representative of another family was to be here as well?" "Just so - in fact, he has but arrived this very moment." Captain Conzaga came through the door which had been thrown open just a second before, and strode over to the group. After welcoming him to the group, Alesio continued, "I know it seems on the surface that Varlyrio is as placid as a pond. But I assure you, beneath the calm the people are getting restless, and I dare say you will agree with me when I say that the Amancio's have ruled for long enough..." ...More to come soontm! ... maybe A few more pics without figs: Stairs: Arches: And doorway: And finally another regular build from me! This thing's been in the works waay too long - since Challenge I, in fact; it was going to be an entry for that - but had to be put off for the Ninjago mods and a bunch of other stuff, but here it finally is! It is meant to officially start up an alliance between the De Fiori, di Carlo, and Conzaga families, and hopefully get some Varlyrian intrigue moving! Inspired by this picture (which I randomly stumbled across and decided that I had to build!), but I have no idea what that's all about Thanks for viewing, C&C welcome as always!

Nicely done, Kai, that rice looks great, and the winding terraces are excellent as well - the splitting one in particular! I do agree that the blue is better, but the higher pictures of the pink on your blog look pretty nice too Looking forward to more of your story whenever you get around to it

Oooh, here's something that can't be passed up! Count me in Re this: I assume that it makes no real difference which of the possibilities you pick, i.e., whether the build's inspiration has been featured in a set before or not?

Fantastic scene, Captain, love all the yellow everywhere, especially paired with the tan and the monkey faces! The bananas above the doors are probably my favorite detail, but the wig looks great as well And excellent job with the story, can't wait to see where this is going!

Very nice ship, TS, and I love that figurehead! Those sails look fantastic here as well, and the hull, while it doesn't quite look watertight, does do a great job of capturing the right shape