Str0ngbad

I love how you avoided any arches on this build in favor of angles. In my mind, that is a staple of dwarven craftsmanship and it definitely works for this gate. Your snowscape is nice too. The cheese slopes and raised tiles make very effective drifts. I like your dwarf but I think that I would stick a cape on him to see if it would lessen how much those pauldrons seem to stick out. All in all a great build that I can take a few pointers from. I really hope you will turn out more dwarf stuff soon. It makes me very happy.

Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions and asked for clarification of my problem. I'll try to explain what I am attempting and include a picture. I've been playing around with these in a mosaic. An almost square of four of them fits neatly into a space 2.5 studs wide and two studs high (20mm x 19.2mm) so a pillar that is 2.5 studs on each side would allow me to cover each side, making my pillar 4.5 studs wide after adding the triangles. On my gate, I simply went five studs wide and avoided the whole 2.5 problem but I was going to try and make narrow pillars using this same technique. It occurred to me today while thinking on this that it may be more feasible to make a pillar that is 19.2mm on each side and then make the height a multiple of 20 but I just got home from work and haven't tried anything yet. Soccerkid, I can't wait to give that sucker a closer look. I'm happy to see an interest in dwarves around here. Infernum, you are making me green with envy. Whenever I finally make it to the Lego store next month, I am going to have some really tough decisions to make. The 'monkey' shield from kingdoms is in our colors and has always looked more like a bear to me anyhow.

This whole thing is quite wonderful. I particularly like the use of the wheel in the house and the green hoses for the plants. I'm a bit jealous of your photography skill and the way the MOC tells its own story is fantastic too. They should have buried him under the tree with the others... Given how well you told a story with this MOC, I think you would really enjoy the Guilds of Historica. Finally, if all your old builds are as delightful as this one, you should really go ahead and post them. I'd like to see more.

I have a quick building question. I am trying (and failing miserably) to figure out a way to make a pillar that is 2.5 bricks wide (20mm) on each side. 19.2 or 20.8mm is the closest I can figure and won't work for my purposes. Any ideas? It may not be possible but I figured I should ask here before completely giving it up.

I originally thought it was some kind of forum version of the board game myself. I'm so glad you 'shamelessly promoeted' it Z or I would still be under that impression! Seriously, join Nocturnus! I will take all the Mitgardian allies I can get but Nocturnus has a fantastic style and is shorter on members. I want someone to pick up the mantle of the vile dark elves so badly... Just go look at the builds, make a few comments and get a feel for what is going on in there. I know a lot of you would enjoy the community that they have fostered.

Thanks guys and yes, carrots! Kabel, I think that's a good suggestion. It only requires a small number of common pieces and is a small enough build that it shouldn't intimidate anyone. You might mention it in the walls thread and see what everyone else thinks. At the very least, I think it would be a good idea to suggest it to new members. I wish I had come across it before the bulk of my pieces were already tied up in a WIP.

Thanks Soccerkid. It's going to be the face of a mountain when it's all done (I hope). Do we have an animal or symbol or anything for the guild or just colors?

The technic pin turns the light brick on in the forge. I tried a shelter of sorts but was put off by how difficult it made it to see the shop. I've got a lot to learn about photography.

You're right Legonardo; the tower is a little plain. Its 5x3 banners were taken off for my other MOC but even with them it's missing something. I'll try and dress it up a bit tonight.

I just posted my first small free build for the glory of Mitgardia! Here's an updated WIP picture of my larger project. I really hope I have enough light bley to finish it. As far as the gate is concerned, I decided I didn't mind the 'square-ness' of the masonry so much but I got rid of the rectangle at the top as Cara suggested. I still haven't gotten to try light bley masonry yet but should get those pieces in this next week. The mountain is new territory for me; I have never built rocky terrain before but I have been stockpiling lt. bley and wanted to give it a go. Any suggestions are always very much appreciated. (Apologies for the noob photoshop job. More pictures on my Flickr.)

You've been busy Yooha! Here's my first small contribution: (Click image to go to it's topic.)

This is Khudrin the dwarf's little shop in Valholl. He makes both weapons and jewelry for the people of Mitgardia though his finest works are heirloom weapons commissioned by the great and powerful (and those who'd like to think themselves so). He is surprisingly patriotic for a dwarf; owing largely to the great amount of coin he has managed to make beneath the guild's bright banners. Even with as little crime as Valholl has, it is comforting to him to know that his shop lies directly beneath a post of the city guard. This is my first build for Mitgardia (of many to come!). Comments, criticism, carrots?

Exactly how do you figure the DC sets affect the quality of Marvel sets?

The plastic that transparent bricks are made of is too brittle to be used for moving parts/joints in general from what I understand. Regardless, I think the sand green looks awesome. The_Chosen_1, I completely agree. We will see these sets on June 1 if not before. It will take GRogall telling me differently to believe otherwise.

I really like your standard troops. This is a nice little scene and I sure hope that hand of corruption soldier doesn't decide to start with the highest in command... I can't wait to see more! For Mitgardia!

Thank you for giving such a detailed account of your experience with this. I for one have been keeping an eye on it as dying parts is something I have been wanting to try.

Kayne, I like the suggestion. The ONE person who had enough is in Germany so it will be a little while before I get to try it. I ordered 2/5 of Bricklink's entire stock of that part. Cara, thanks for the suggestions. I'll play around with that tonight if I have any of the black slopes.

Thanks guys! Sir Gideon, I will try to get some pictures today or tomorrow outdoors. It was rainy yesterday and I was too impatient to wait. Kayne and Soccerkid, thank you for the suggestion. To be clear, do you mean sprinkling in some Lt Bley or using all Lt Bley around the stonework on the sides? Yooha, way to get building in a hurry! I really like your supports for the second story and the way you built the dresser inside.

I apologize for the picture quality. I'm using my phone and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing but I figure this is a learning process so I might as well get on with it. I, Khor II, have come to pledge the support of the dwarven kingdom of Thronghar to the guild of Mitgaurdia on behalf of King Thindir. For centuries beyond remembering we have lived beneath the surface of the Great Mountains in the south of Mitgardia. When the guild first established a presence here, we made ourselves scarce and took to fortifying our expansive kingdom of stone for well do we know of the dark desire in some men’s breast to conquer and force their will on others. We are a proud people who have kept to the old ways and we feared that and more would be taken from us. Yet as tribe after tribe raised the Mitgardian banner and still retained its distinctiveness, it became clear that this fear was unfounded. Still, we remained; out of sight and out of mind. Only recently, when the rumors of devastation and calamity reached our ears did the king begin to question our long held position. Did we not share a responsibility for the fate of the land as a whole? Could even we expect to be left alone if such a great evil went unchecked? Regardless, there was little we could do with the elemental storms raging all around us. Still the king ordered our army to stand ready to march near the main gate should the opportunity arise. When the storm subsided, the king sent me to find how we might aid in the fight only to learn to our great shame that Historica was saved at the cost of many lives while we waited in the dark. That is ended today. Whatever we can do to help rebuild Mitgaurdia shall be done. We have an inexhaustible supply of granite as well as masons whose skill is unsurpassed. Should the hard-won peace not last, our smithys and armoury are also at your disposal and lest you think the elves can do anything we can’t, dwarven runes are as fine an enchantment as anything those pointy-ears scratch on. If there is any other way that we might be of assistance and make our place among you, please let me know. I shall remain here in Valholl for as long as you have use of me. (Here are a couple of terrible pictures of an early WIP with a few dwarves. I am not sure which version [colors] to continue with and would greatly appreciate any suggestions for how to improve anything. That's half the reason I'm here after all ) http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

I figure we'll get 6 sets for DOS, give or take one. The movies have been known to be trilogies since early last year so they'll have had two years which I understand to be about how long their production process takes. There was nothing any of the toy manufacturers could do about the last movie but they should all be caught up this year. @8BrickMario, I kind of doubt we'll get another set with ringwraiths aside from the witch king. I went ahead and got my nine though I think I only really need eight.

Hey guys! This is me signing up for Mitgardia or at least a heads up that I will once I have my backstory and photography ready. SoceerKid was kind enough to already send me a welcome message and ask if I had any questions. It turns out I have a few and I figured I would get more complete answers faster if I just asked them all here. Replies here or by message would be greatly appreciated. 1. Can anyone point me toward a detailed map (particularly of Mitgardia and maybe Nocturnus)? I found a nice one on the Wiki page and it had numbers for important places but no key or legend that I saw to tell me what I was looking at. 2. Is there a 'canon' for what events have transpired up until now? I am trying to build an understanding of the world so I can create my place in it. 3. Any existing information dealing with dwarves and drows would be of particular interest to me. If any of you have spent time creating a story for any dwarven clans, I'd love to see it. 4. Are there any restrictions or guidelines for free builds at all? (size, content?) I assume there aren't but I'd hate to find out I was mistaken later. Thanks everyone! I am really looking forward to getting involved here.

Wow! Thank you guys for all the tips and the links to the tutorials! For now, I only have my old iPhone to shoot with so I'll only be able to do so much. I'm waiting on a Bricklink order to arrive before I introduce my character to the guild so I should have a few days to play with photos and work on a story. Thanks again for the warm welcome and all the great answers to my question. I'm awfully glad Z posted in the general History forum.

Nope, just standard green (I already had a couple yellow ones). I saw that Avalonia was packed but Mitgardia had my heart anyway. Do you know where I can find the photography tutorial? I know I've seen it around here somewhere but now that I need it, I can't remember where.

Thanks! I spent a good deal of time yesterday reading up on the different guilds to help me make my decision and today I picked up a couple green flags...

You got me. I'm sold. There is so much good stuff in here that I had no idea I was missing! So, someone please point me in the right direction. Do I sign up here, in my chosen guild's thread or both? :) Now to learn how to photograph my sigfig...