robuko

The Chaos in Nocturnus has reached Abyssan. Riot, treachery, civil war, and now the unearthly forces of Revolword have been reported within a few days' march. The heliotropes are down on the trunk road, while messenger Eagles have been plucked from the sky and eaten like Ortolan by the Air Elemental. It is enough for Duc LeStrange, he must carry some important information to Flagg. Leaving chef Anatole in charge of domestic arrangements, he has sent 3 of the profane oracles back to Petraea on the flying carpet, while he himself carries the most important 4th oracle across the marshes and moutains and into the Dune Sea. But in the fog of war, he has failed to remember why the Nähtamatu use catamarans to cross these seas. The rythmic gallop of the ostrich attracts a baby Wyrm, and it bursts to the surface, bringing with it a strong stink of Auld Spice. And now leStrange must ride, ride, ride hard to the safety of the rocks, to carry his secrets back to the cities of Kaliphlin. The Wyrm is fast, but the ostrich can turn harder..... Will he make it? The future of Kaliphlin may depend upon it. Painter's notes: The sand, the sand. Our blessing and our curse. It is a tradition in Kaliphlin that we all break our heads on sand dunes in free builds. This is my monochromatic essay on that topic. Does the world really need another Sand Wyrm, after BrickMaestro's excellent portrait? Maybe not, that was definitive; but there are several varietals in our desert seas, and it is wise to be acquainted with the main ones. This is one of the blood-and-whites. A few techiques I was trying out here. After Daniel Marches, I wanted to experiement further on the diagonal. The wyrm is on the diagonal and also tilted skywards, fixed at one end and resting on bricks at the other. In the great Dune tradition, this is actually a triangular Wyrm core, held together (on a good day) with Travis bricks and tilting bricks. I quite like it, and this may have an afterlife as a tower. I have never really gone in for Black Fantasy, but my 2 year old tells me that this is "too scary", so I consider it mission accomplished. I wanted to add at least one point of articulation to the Wyrm, but I couldn't find a way to do it without sacrificing the integrity of the cylinder, any tips are welcome.

That's pretty outrageous behaviour to raise the price before it's released. Very bad, Lego :thumbdown:

It's just hilarious that you have to tell us your nice guy real personality is "out of character". Good on you Angeli. Drow are always welcome in Petraea, they eventually see the light and buy themselves a nice sturdy desert cloak

The Kaliphlin Times is Rasputin's favourite morning read. The mini Drow spies idea was genuis, and this trunk-twisting-treehouse is more genius. The Mad Monks would be very happy to host a Monster Mash, as long as we all understand that they run the betting book We look forward to the next edition over coffee and croissants

Just seen the video from BW, this is an amazing build. The photos somehow don't convey the sheer scale of it. The detailing on the diagonal wall is very eye-catching, and the level of interior and incidental detail is fantastic. I especially like the library, the summoning chamber, and the Mage's chamber. Always a pleasure to see such a great cast of characters, we must send Byarssh to pay a visit

This really is an epic, beautiful scene. Well done, and to do all those other towers in time for BW is amazingly impressive! Love the woodwork, the water, oh, and the stonework! Let's hope the enemies of Albion never bring fire arrows

Lovely build Kayne, this is exactly how I imagine the Withered Woods. I really like the variety of trees you have placed here. The strong LoTR vibe tells me you had a very good Father's Day! Lovely technique on the round tower and the river especially, although the river is maybe a bit too regular? Looking forward to learning more about the Moon Lord - of which moon? Great stuff

My build for the Drow war that wasn't, is done. Part of this MOC was already submitted for the embassy challenge, so I'm not sure if it will score anything. Bit of fun, anyway. Kayne, way to go with those Father's Day presents! Straight into the wither woods! Lovely.

Duke Strange reports that the usurper apprentice Daniel has taken the name of his erstwhile Master, Doctor Dee. Daniel was quick to declare for the rebellion against Lord Ssilyrrlith, yet he is no blind slave of the Drow. He won favour with the rebels by hosting a werewolf battalion, and plotted to use the chaos to install himself as First Lord of Abyssan. And yet,... An uneasy truce has taken hold in the Nocturnus civil war. Each side knows the Elementals are capable of wiping us all out. And yet, each side knows such unearthly power is an unparalleled opportunity to dispose of one's enemies. Troops loyal to Lord Ssilyrrlith have held the capital. They do not want to kill fellow Nocturnians while a greater threat surrounds us all, and they have offered Daniel and his followers a safe passage out of Abyssan. Daniel wanted to hold fast, but his werewolves convinced him to take shelter in the caves. And so, they march out, under the watchful eyes of the loyalist Minotaurs of the Bull, Bat, and Boar regiments who have requisitioned Sharpe's tower. The Ifrit fire lords and their squires lead the march, piped out by the sweet music of the Clawbreakers pipers. The heavy beserkers, including the ferocious albino were-rabbit, show their good faith by marching at the tail. Daniel himself rides the dog Cerberus, accompanied by his faithful Djinn Bartimaeus and his master's phoenix Fawkes. The loyalist troops make their feelings quite clear, in the noncon-frontational way that pumped up minotaurs have. It is obvious that Daniel's battalion was armed by Mpya Stedor, perhaps even by the I.A.M.S. If any of us survive the onslaught of the Elementals, questions will be asked of Lord DaMaximus by the Reconciliation Council. I am obviously about 3 weeks behind the times with this. The main techniques I wanted to try here were about building on the diagonal, use of loose bricks to landscape the lava river, and the suggestion of sulfuric lava through colour. I am not really happy with the colours, the browns get lost together; but I have tried to match the characters in Hersbrucker's band and this is what they wear. Maybe I should have gone for a stone bridge, but I wanted the feeling that the path heads out to the wastelands pretty quickly.

I have a couple of freebuild WIPs going on, though both incorprate elements of previous builds. I have to put up my Hogwarts build, so probably it will be the next cycle before the Temple of the Mad Monks gets constructed. Mitgardia and Avalonia are killing it on free builds right now, maybe we should put some small scenes up.

These are all great builds KK, I really like them all. The pheonix is amazing, and the dragon is great too. Love the minifig legs for the tower top!

Does challenge 4 have to take place in the home guild?

Superb build, with lots of great details. I really like the cheese mosaic walls, how did you keep them in place? Lord Mephistopheles well deserves his honour. And so does Rufus!

Things have taken a turn for the worse and no mistake. I never liked that Victor fellow. Do we have to build in Kaliphlin for this one? ZCerberus, your tower rocks, by the way! And so do your other towers.

Er, wow. A return of the much loved diver and footballer and skier? GRogall, if you think this is the list, I trust you on it. Sounds half amazing but with a number of potential misses.

By my count, we won this challenge! Not surprising, it was a very strong showing from all the guild who were able to participate . Well done to all, and especially to Erynlasgalen! And what a great set of prizes, many thanks to the hosts.

I really hope this controversy is not causing problems for Adam, he must be very upset by it. He is clearly sensitive to the comments in this thread, and although most people are huge fans of this set, I am not sure that is the main message he is getting in what should be his finest hour. Obviously, these are quite similar designs off the same source material and the detailing is in parts similar. Kris Kelvin, thankyou for posting Adam's thoughts, I have no reason to doubt him. I am quite sure that some of the similarities are indeed a function of the parts use compromises that have to be made in the design to production process rather than the original vision. We have a lot to thank Adam for. I love this set, I love the figures, and I love the Monster Fighter theme, it looks like the theme will be a big hit and I hope Adam gets the credit he deserves for that. Lurch the butler! Brilliant. Hope my wallet and storage space can cope with all the second half awesomeness this year!

Yes! That's a brilliant idea. Spooky Black Christmas Tree and monster-appropriate presents. Love it!

Oh, he seemed like such a nice old man, turns out he was just a doom-worshipping power crazed bad guy. What's his motivation? Beautiful builds SoT! But if this mage can do such things to our heroes, how can we rescue them and defeat him? Looking forward to challenge 4

yup. That Victor fellow is highly suspicious

Oh, juicy list! I'm interested in about 6 of these, seriously. Fizzing Wizzbys and Cockroach Cluster, in with a bang, 12. Dumbledore's office! That is, unless the awesome Matn is about to publish. Because we Gryffindors are braver than our abilities merit. Does it have to be square? I recollect it is a round room - if I build it round, does the circle go inside or around the 32x32?

Is our honoured guest seriously opening up a front against Kaliphlin? A bold move. But possibly not a wise one.

I would like to build, if there are any rooms available

That made me laugh. Game on!

The green legs and the artist face are so funny Great scene Mikel