robuko

Beautiful detailing and presentation Erynlasqalen - again! The minifigs really add a sense of narrative here, I would like to know what is happening in all those discussions. I gave a lot of thought to Torii as well, but I thought small ones would be too hard to photograph and a big one would be too dominant, you have done it very nicely here. I like the colour use, you really have a gift for choosing a good palette. For me the lake works well as a very placid one - my only critique is that I have never heard mizuumi (water-sea) used for a lake, as far as I know a more common usage would be hoshi-no-ko for a big lake or hoshi-ike for a small one - but of course, we do things as we like in Kaliphlin!

The leStranges really are an illustrious family, aren't they? For some reason I get a very Moominvalley feel about this. I really like the idea and the build, it's great that you have been able to incorporate those classic castle pieces, the closed back looks great, and as always your sand and vegetation are first class. I imagine this being a rather popular course.

This is a very original entry, I really like the idea and the play features. The build is a little blocky for my tastes in certain areas (the floor and the area behind the prow), but your minifig use and posing is really excellent. I am a bit confused by the waterfall, as it implies the shipwreck is geologically very old - but it's a neat feature. The High King of Historica will be very intersted to learn about this Mitgardian King, and so will the Prime Minister and Jarl . Very nice build and good luck!

I like what you did there. And there and there and there! Very nice to see the creativity on the textures here, and great colour and technique.

Thanks Legonater for the info. Pics or it didn't happen Just a reminder as vynsane posted quite a few pages back. We are looking at the beetle insect and blue robot in the Space Swarmer, and my guess is we have a mosquito in the Bug Obliterator, so he will probably appear in cheaper sets for just2good . It seems the blue robot will also come in the Warp Stinger. I am excited by this theme, especially on the alien side. The human side is a disappointment to me. Grey torsos? That's pretty cheap for a squad whose whole signature theme is having different colours. I do like the Bug obliterator design more than I expected to. That tilt-up hidden missile launcher on the "rugged utility vehicle" would have been a big hit with me when I was 9, and the pop-forward cockpit feature is pretty awesome on the ship. Moving parts are good.

Superb! A very intriguing story, and a lovely build. Fantastic minifig posing, and your use of colour here really stands out. Great work de G!

I just noticed while watching the first TMNT 2012 that the Ninjago and TMNT 2012 have pretty much the same characters. I don't really know TMNT that well but so far I guess Sensei Wu - Splinter Garmadon - Shredder Nya - April Jay - Donatello Kai - Leonardo Zane - not really Raphael? Cole - Michaelangelo I wonder to what degree they are modelled on each other? Eg Ninjago modelled on the original TMNT and then TMNT 2012 picking up on Ninjago?

I'm really enjoying these. Lovely builds and intriguing story. Beast is following Beauty?

This looks rather brilliant, Don't know how I missed it, Well done for persevering in the void. Your University is great. Supported.

Yes, it would be great to have you here! I would recommend Kaliphlin or Nocturnus right now. Twisted Tales can relocate to Historica pretty easily I think.

Wow, so many great builders came out of GoH. It's astonishing that so many of my favourite builders here are new to MOCing - now some are even MOC experts, in just one year! I was not an active builder before GoH, and since I joined Kaliphlin I have been blogged by TBB twice, so it has been amazing for me. A big thanks to the guild leaders and to all the members, and Happy Anniversary!

I have finished the Temple of the Mad Monks (clicky). With this, I am officially staking a claim on a site on the South side of the island in the lake in the Qar-Arkhen river. Building done, now I can get round to commenting on the other entries. So many contests right now with Valyrio and the University, and Challenge 6 round the corner. Good luck all!

The Holy Order of the Mad Monks was founded by Rasputin in search of his lost Isabella. The Temple and Order he founded on the Isle of Arrakheen has long been a magnet for those who want to remember, and those who want to forget. The Temple was built on the ruins of a yet more ancient Holy site, the Necropolis of Amset Ra. Deep beneath those slumbering ruins lie a thousand Holy Guardians, ready to awake and defend their king if they have to. By and large, the Mad Monks and the Guardian Spirits get on well enough, and any confusion is usually put down to drunkenness or madness. Those Guardians have imbued this ancient and terrible site with unearthly powers of protection. It stands alone in the great lake as a beacon of hope amongst chaos. It is here that the Petraea General Trading Company has moved its headquarters. Today is a doubly special day at the camp. Our loyalist forces have captured a foul beast that bears the mark of The Hand. He tells us nothing and swears that he fears only Victor. We could torture him, but instead we give him a nice cup of herbal tea and then leave him alone in his cell to see the error of his ways. And, then, we help him to decide he might be ready to talk. And sure enough, within a few hours he is begging to tell us everything about Victor's evil plans and the Hand of Corruption. Funny how a nice cup of tea can help you to think it over, I wonder what made him change his mind. Oh well, good news for us anyway. Even better news is that our Guildsman Dugal Maclean has managed to make it here not only in good health, but with a very pretty young lady in tow and a full dress uniform. They are engaged to be married, so the Reverend Rasputin Jones, who was ordained at this very temple, reads the Holy Vows. Miss Templeton-Jones is kindly organising an impromptu celebration for the happy couple in the Hall of Heads. Her preparations are only slightly disturbed by the sorceress Byarssh and the Goddess Alessandra, who have harnessed the training form the Order of Eden, and are practising elemental countermagic. We were very lucky that chef Antoine and his rather attractive assistant Marie were able to escape the debris and rubble of Nocturnus to join us in this sanctuary. Our tastes are a little more conventional than their previous employer, but cooking in these conditions is a good challenge for them. We do get a lot of beautiful fish and fruit here, and of course Ostrich thighs are a lovely treat. But Antoine's new casserole de Lapin aux tomates is a really special dish for the happy occasion. Elsewhere in the camp, life is taking on some semblance of normality. Doktor Frankenstein and his father, also Doktor Frankenstein (very confusing, that one) are building more and more high-power portable heliotropes to take the fight to the enemy, using a new patented lens grinding engine. One of these babies channeling the power of the sun on the back of a camel, and bye bye hand of Corruption! Herr Liebniz thinks there is a pattern in the location of the mystic sanctuaries of Historica, and has been trying to decipher it for us. We had a couple of new guys join us this week. Johnny has a real affinity for the animals. While Mike seems to have more of an affinity for the Ladies. He did a an extra great job of helping Rowena to dock her cargo of scimitars today. Rowena is a born sailor, she lives on the water now in that funny little boat of hers. Anyway, the Quartermaster will be pleased with the scimitars. He has somehow salvaged an extraordinary array of arms. Which he polishes, all the time. A bit creepy. It doesn't worry those old pros Rockbiter or al Jebra though. They are too busy working out our strategy to keep this place off the balance sheet and maintain a high return on capital for the PGTC after we win the war! Notes This is a fully modular structure, although all photos have been taken in situ. Levels are - roof garden, Hall of Heads, kitchen, Workshop, and Dungeon. Transport between levels is by a functional flying carpet elevator. The Dungeon has opening doors. This time I took all the photos with a Galaxy S3 handset as I was so frustrated with my Lumix digicam. I think the focus has generally come out a bit better, though still not wonderful. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Temple.

I pretty much finished my build, will post tomorrow. any more for Kaliphlin coming?

Exciting. If it's a new take, and it's castle, I wonder if this could be Mythologies ? I have no evidence for this, but CMF and monster fighters did happen

Great find, forgot these, let's hope it puts to rest the controversy over the Haunted House design, which clearly follows this initial sketch. I wonder if the cyclops will be the Patrick recolour? And what if the fortune teller is the hypnotist himself?

I love this car. Great skills!

"To join the Galaxy Patrol, you’ve got to be as tough as space-nails, able to resist the mind-control powers of a Pluuvian Brain-Beast, and capable of holding your breath in vacuum for at least 42 quarkoids. Most recruits wash out, but the ones that are left are the best of the best, ready to defend the universe from interstellar threats of any and every kind – no matter how many eyes, claws and tentacles they may have!" Nothing in there about what species you have to be. Alien trooper can be in it too. These both look great, looking forward to this series!

Sorry, I knew the thread existed but I couldn't find it, and I didn't think we've seen photos of the product before. I found that the cards are directly copied from the Lego ones, so please ignore what I said above about intended for export.

Not sure if this belongs here or in another forum, but there is a risk of Eurobrick members buying these fake figures secondhand on BL etc so I wanted to raise it. Today I found a lot of direct copies for sale of all of the large Superheroes action figs and several Ninjago sets and most of the Ninjago series 2 minifigs. I bought 4 of the ninjago minfigs out of curiosity (no moral indignation please), I paid HKD$70 for 4. This is what they look like - boxes My observations - the printing quality is really good on the minifig bodies. Better than Lego, on average! The leg printing is also better than Lego, it starts higher up on the thigh. But Nya's face printing is pretty bad with her lower mouth missing. The plastic quality is poor, with noticeable moulding flaws on the hands, feet, face wraps, Nya's torso and, and the back of Cole's legs. Colour consistency is good. The accessories are of highly variable quality, some parts such as Zane's shuriken and knives, Nya's black scimitar are very good, others are pretty terrible such as Zane's chain (many flaws) and Cole's scythe, which doesn't fit. Interestingly the cards are printed in English, German, French, Spanish (Italian and Japanese for the titles only, not the effect), suggesting these are intended for export markets. On average, these are a pretty good copy of some rare and expensive minifigs. I will happily buy the NRG Jay if I see him and maybe some of the snakes. Sadly I did not see Pythor Chumsworth. But do not pay Lego prices for these figures on BL! I would be very cautious about buying any Ninjago series 2 figs on BL especially from HK.

The second one is especially wonnderful. Great job and I am looking forward to the rest of them.

^ "It's so big and angry! And green!"

Excellent, congratulations! Watch out for that new Evilonia guy

vynsane, it looks like the same image on the big box underneath, I think this will be the Bug Obliterator and it is a modular capital ship. So the aliens will have a consistent colour scheme by the looks of it and the human vehicles will be different colours. I was hoping for more unified colour schemes on the human side - I like the MM reference but the black and bley looks a bit incoherent to me. I am guessing the white blob in the second biggest box is the Vermin Vaporiser and the middle box is the Mantis. Can't wait for hi-res. Suspsy, you, me, and everybody else!

Welcome! Love the username and picture. I hope we can look forward to some larger builds!